Leonardtown, MD — The majority of the Commissioners of St. Mary’s County have rejected a proposal to include property acquisition for a new fourth section of FDR Boulevard in next year’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). The project was suggested by Commissioners Mike Hewitt (shown). The project was for the final section of the road from Pegg Road to Great Mills Road.

Hewitt [R – 2nd] suggested the new project because he said several land owners had told him they would be willing to donate land in exchange for having access off the new road. Projected cost of the land acquisition would have been $1.5 million in the next fiscal year and $625,000 the following year.

Several of the commissioners objected to the new project out of fear it would interfere with the already approved schedule for the first three phases and would create a gap between completed sections. Hewitt had noted that land acquisition for one of the phases was behind schedule and the new project could replace that. But Director of Land Use and Growth Management George Erichsen said the acquisition involved only one other property and should be completed shortly.

The commissioners initially agreed to put the new project in the capital budget temporarily but after more details were presented by Erichsen at a March 9 work session, the project was pulled.

Erichsen had told the commissioners that the section of road has not yet been designed so the exact location of the land needed was unknown. Hewitt argued that there was a very small area available through which the road could go.

But at the Mar. 9 work session Commissioner Todd Morgan [R – 4th], a strong proponent of the completion of FDR Boulevard, argued that the new section hadn’t been properly vetted with the planning commission and the public. He said the FY ‘16 capital budget was more than $35 million without the proposed new project.

Commissioner John O’Connor [R – 3rd] agreed that the project needed to be properly planned and written agreements in hand from the property owners.

Part of the project proposed by Hewitt involves pulling monies already allocated to design a new entrance into Nicolet Park and that would have been used for engineering the new road section and a park entrance redesign.

In the capital budget for next year is $3.4 million (in addition to $6 million already approved) for construction of the First Colony to Chancellor’s Run Road section, followed by more than $12 million over the next two years for construction of the Chancellor’s Run Road to Pegg Road section..

The commissioners didn’t make any other changes in the capital plan which includes a new library and Garvey Senior Center and renovation of two buildings at the Naval Air Museum.

Contact Dick Myers at news@thebaynet.com