The three way stop marks the end of the new county owned FDR Boulevard section. Photo by Ron Bailey.
Leonardtown, MD — The Commissioners of St. Mary’s County have entered into a land swap that gets them a portion of FDR Boulevard and paves the way for a new entrance to Nicolet Park in Lexington Park. The agreements were officially approved Jan. 26 during the commissioners, regular meeting.
The agreement was with Rachelle Millison, trustee of the will for the late county commissioner Larry Millison. The three deeds signed transfer to the county the roadway of FDR Boulevard behind MIllison Plaza from Great Mills Road to just short of the three-way stop near the old post office and the movie theater. In exchange Millison gets a small tract of county-owned land that is adjacent to the Millison holdings and is no longer needed by the county.
The agreement has been long in the works and was pushed now so the county could proceed with a new entrance to Nicolet Park that will now be accessed by a county road instead of a private road. Director of Recreation and Parks Brian Loewe reminded the commissioners in a memo dated Jan. 5 that monies for the new park entrance were deleted from the current fiscal year’s budget because the agreement had not been finalized.
Loewe told The BayNet that monies for design and construction of the $965,000 entrance would be requested for the fiscal year budget that begins July 1. He said that $65,000 is left over for the project t in the current year’s budget.
Loewe told the commissioners, “Current patrons enter the park via the back entrance from Midway Drive to Bunker Hill Drive through the Patuxent Park neighborhood. A two-phased, major park renovation and expansion project was completed in 2003 and 2005 at this site.”
In addition to paving the way for the new park entrance, the land swap gives the county one of the necessary pieces for the completion of the FDR Boulevard project. The county is wrapping up right-of-way acquisition for the first phase from St. Andrews Church Road to Chancellors Run Road.
The section from Pegg Road to Great Mills Road will be the final phase after the Chancellors Run Road to Pegg Road section is built. At the point where the new county ownership ends, the new FDR Boulevard veers off of Millison-owned land and runs behind the businesses along Three Notch Road.
Commissioner Mike Hewitt [R = 2nd District] at the Jan. 25 meeting before the unanimous vote to accept the deal, said to Loewe, “Good positive move. Good job!” Commissioner Todd Morgan [R = 4th District], who represents the Lexington Park area, quickly agreed.
Contact Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.com
