There are cornfields everywhere and if you wanted to be cornier you could call it the “Field of Dreams.” But that’s exactly how officials from the Calvert County Government’s Department of General Services feel about the Ward Property on Ward Road in Dunkirk. The two parcels combined are over 200 acres and using $2.7 million from a state grant administered by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the land was purchased late last year with an aim to increase north Calvert’s strong need for additional playing fields and recreational space.
On Tuesday, Oct. 22, the Calvert County Commissioners, county government staff and other invitees took a hayride through the Ward property to ponder the possibilities. Sitting on bales in the backs of government pickup trucks the entourage saw two large ponds, pathways that would be suitable for horseback riders, trees and bushes of several varieties and the aforementioned cornfields.
Department of General Services Director Wilson Freeland commended the Southern Maryland Delegation to Annapolis for making the land acquisition possible. The DNR-administered grant is from revenues the state realized from the pseudo-slot machines used by three Chesapeake Beach businesses. That money is to be used for recreational amenities.
Freeland said the search to identify a potential location for additional ball fields in north Calvert began under the previous board of commissioners. After much discussion with Edmund Ward, the estate executor, who truly wanted to spare the land from residential development and maintain its bucolic character, the deal progressed. The availability of the DNR grant last year was crucial. The pending purchase was announced late last year and approved following a public hearing in November 2012.
Freeland said during the tour 14 proposals for developing the property have already been received.
“Wow, this is a chance to make a real park,” said Parks and Recreation Division Chief Doug Meadows.
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com
