Robin Finnacom

Leonardtown, MD — The St. Mary’s County Commissioners have approved spending $100,000 for a Tourism and Hospitality Master Plan. The approval was part of an overall consent for spending $184,129 for the second year of a two-year “set aside,” with a maximum of $250,000 each year, to address the issue of broadening the county’s future economy.

According to material supplied to the commissioners by Acting Director of the Department of Economic Development Robin Finnacom, the tourism plan would include “a 10- to 15-year capital improvement plan for the county tourism and recreation destinations, assessment of the county’s tourism operations and budget based on an expected return-on-investment; original and secondary research to identify new areas and markets for tourism development; identify program and project intersects with the St. Mary’s County Department of Recreation and Parks to include museums and sports offerings; and to develop an ‘action’ plan’ for South County where the retail and marketing potential has yet to be realized.”

Last year the set aside was used for studies by the University of Maryland and Towson University, which included a  Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis and a report on defense trends. All but $30,000 of the $238,000 was used for those two studies.

Commissioner Tom Jarboe (R- District 1) wholeheartedly embraced the plan. “I applaud you and I completely support it,” he said.

Commissioner Michael Hewitt (R – District 2) was also convinced, stating, “I am not sure we will be finding out anything we don’t already know.” He was assured by Finnacom and Tourism Director Carolyn Laray that the study would look at what has worked elsewhere that could be applied to the St. Mary’s County situation.

“We need to know what the heck to do to pivot the economy,” Finnacom said.
The other components of the agreed to work plan for the “set aside” monies are:

• Innovation Summit — $16,000
• Technology Industry Day — $3,500
• State Pitch and Innovation Contests — $20,000
• $22,629 to Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) to supplement local staff
• Sage Policy Group — $7,000 to revise last year’s presentation
• Economic Development Commission Analysis and Consultant Support — $15,000

The first three items would be pursued with cooperation from a number of partners, including NAWCAD Technology Transfer Office, Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, Patuxent Partnership, College of Southern Maryland, University of Maryland, TEDCO and the Small Business Development Center.

After discussion the commissioners unanimously approved the work plan for this fiscal year.

Contact Dick Myers at news@thebaynet.com