Listening to the budget presentation, l to r, Commissioners Hewitt, Jarboe, Guy, O’Connor and Morgan

Great Mills, MD — The contentious issue of where to locate the new Leonardtown Library played out in full view Tuesday, April 14 at the Commissioners of St. Mary’s County budget hearing.

More than 50 people spoke at the Great Mills High School hearing, with many of them taking sides on the site while at the same time praising the commissioners for proceeding with a new library.

Speakers also testified in support of more funding for the College of Southern Maryland and St. Mary’s County Public Schools.

Representatives of the St. Mary’s Library Board of Trustees, St. Mary’s County Branch of the NAACP, former commissioner Tom Mattingly and a number of residents from Leonard’s Grant and elsewhere in the county voiced support for the library at the county-owned Hayden Farm property.

Leonardtown Commissioner Hayden Hammett, representatives of the Leonardtown Business Association (LBA), and some private citizens spoke of the need for the new library on donated land near the center of town at the Fenwick Street/Lawrence Avenue intersection.

The lone dissenter to having a new library was former commissioner Cindy Jones. She defended the former commissioner board’s decision to renovate the existing library. She said a consultant’s report called for a new library in the Hollywood/California area and the county could not afford to build two new libraries.

Mattingly expressed concern about potential traffic conflicts between a library on Lawrence Avenue and the nearby fire department, rescue squad, and funeral home. Rebutting the argument that a benefit to an in-town library would be the ability to walk there, Mattingly said the Hayden Farm site was walkable for more people.

Mattingly said he had great concern about the Lawrence Avenue/Point Lookout Road intersection, particularly when fire engines and rescue squad emergency vehicles are exiting Lawrence Avenue. “The congestion is a safety issue,” he said of the intersection.

Also speaking in support of the Hayden Farm site were Library Board of Trustee Vice President Carolyn Guy (with other trustees standing beside her) and Robert Woods, NAACP youth committee member (with other NAACP members standing by him).

Hammett and others said there was enough donated land available for the library and the proposed new Garvey Senior Center within town. He said the county could regret using up land on the Hayden Farm site and then being forced to buy land for schools and other uses in the future.

“Please don’t miss the opportunity for economic development,” he said of the importance to downtown Leonardtown of the library. He said the alternative could be strip malls. “Leonardtown is a place convenient to all places in the county,” he insisted.

Hayden Farm site supporter Paul Kelly rebutted Hammett by saying of the downtown location: “The Fenwick Street location, to put it politely, is a most inconvenient place.”

Joe Orlando, owner of Fenwick Street Used Books, called Leonardtown “the crown jewel of the county,” and asserted “the library is integral to the growth of the town.”
Randy Richie, LBA secretary, noting many storefront vacancies in town, said of the siting decision: “downtown Leonardtown is at stake.” He observed the proposed site was within walking distance of low-income housing.

Jennifer Cochran said having the library in downtown would “extend the sense of small-town life” created with the town festivals and events to throughout the entire year. She noted that the location is also close to Leonardtown Elementary School. Supporters of the Hayden Farm site have noted the benefit of its proximity to the new Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary School.

Mike Mummaugh, who owns property on the town square, said he was concerned about its future without the library.

The site issue was discussed earlier in the day by the commissioners during their regular meeting. Although Commissioner Mike Hewitt [R – District 2] observed that a tentative decision had been made for the Hayden farm site, he urged “the silent majority” to let the commissioners know their feelings. Another opportunity before the commissioners make their budget decision is the May 5 public forum, he said.

But Commissioner John O’Connor, who supports the Hayden Farm site, said he was disappointed about “the divide this has caused the community.” He said if the town wants it so badly they can put up the money and build it themselves. Blaming Leonardtown Mayor Dan Burris for stirring up the debate, O’Connor said, “There is a lot of subversive politics being played on this.”

College of Southern Maryland

The commissioners at the public hearing heard a number of speakers urging additional funding for the College of Southern Maryland (CSM). The commissioners provided level funding for the two-year college in their proposed budget. Speakers included college officials, parents and students.

College President Dr. Brad Gottfried (shown above) reminded the commissioners that the agreement between the three Southern Maryland counties that established the regional institution required each county to provide funding of the college’s “indirect costs” which includes operational costs.

“It’s all about quality of life. It’s all about economic development,” observed Gottfried of his institution’s graduates who are nurses and work at power plants.
Gottfried said CSM is raising tuition to cover some of the employee costs, but can’t cover it all. “This is a serious situation. We don’t want to cut services.”

Before the CSM president spoke, Dr. Tracy Harris, dean of the CSM Leonardtown Campus, told the commissioners about the large number of adults in the community who avail themselves of offerings at the institution, including the fitness center and pool.

St. Mary’s County Public Schools

Superintendent Scott Smith, with board members Chairman Karin Bailey and Mary Washington by his side, while thanking the commissioners for funding almost $5 million above the required Maintenance of Effort state formula, asked for additional monies to fund a second Step increase for employees.

Spokespersons for the three SMCPS employee unions also spoke in support of education funding and a Step increase for school employees.

Other Speakers:

• Michael Barnett of the St. Mary’s Advanced Life Support unit thanked the commissioners for funding architect and engineering costs for their new building. He said the unit wasn’t being forced out of their existing facility by MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital but they had outgrown the building with their growth from 20 to 100 members.

• Dale Taylor, of the group that has collected 3,000 signatures for a new Garvey Senior Center, thanked the commissioners for advancing funding of the facility.

• Sotterley Executive Director Nancy Easterling, with her board chair Janice Briscoe-Baldwin by her side, thanked the commissioners for continued funding of non-profits such as Sotterley.

• Jeff Burrell of Basketball4Lyfe urged the commissioners to be active in finding a facility for young people to congregate.

• St. Mary’s Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #7 President Will Watters urged the commissioners to fund a second Step increase for sheriff’s department personnel.

The Budget

The commissioners are proposing a $221.1 million budget for next fiscal year that is three-tenths of a percent more than the current year. A budget presentation was made by Acting Chief Financial Officer Jeannett Cudmore, who was appointed to the position earlier in the day. Commissioner Hewitt said of the choice, “You are the one who needs to carry us forward.”

Before the hearing Public Information Officer Tony Jones recognized former CFO Elaine Kramer, who passed away recently just days after the commissioners finalized the budget.

Commissioner President Randy Guy [R} said the commissioners assembled their budget just like every family does. “We have to make choices just as in our personal lives,” he said. He noted that the budget had education and public safety as its top priorities.

Three public hearings were held. In addition to the budget, hearings on the proposal to raise the Mechanicsville Volunteer Rescue Squad (VRS) tax and on the Constant Yield were held.

Mechanicsville VRS is requesting an increase from eight-tenths of a cent per assessed $100 to 1.4 cents, or $14.01 a year for every property owner in the 4th and 5th Election Districts. Mechanicsville VRS Chief Jessica Vallandingham and Mark Miller of Lexington Park VRS spoke in support of the increase.

Keith Harless, the only speaker at the Constant Yield hearing, said the proposed budget increase was too high. To maintain the constant yield the commissioners would have to reduce property tax revenue by $543,849.

The commissioners are keeping the record open on the three hearings until 4:30 p.m.  April 24. They will have budget work sessions April 27 and May 4 before making their final budget decision May 12.

Contact Dick Myers at news@thebaynet.com

Acting CFO Jeanett Cudmore presents budget explanation at the Great Mills H.S. hearing