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Per National Weather, Flood warning issued for Charles County until 1115pm. At 8:12pm Doppler Radar indicated showers and isolated thunderstorms over the area. Additional rainfall of between 1/2” to 1” expected, causing creeks and streams to rise out of their banks with ponding in urban areas. 4064
Click here to view the notification on the Charles County CNS website
...of ‘Devastating’ Pension Shift Impacts
With a political battle brewing in Annapolis over a plan to shift the costs of teacher pensions to the county governments, Charles County joined a number of Maryland counties in holding media events to raise awareness of the plan’s fiscal impacts to the county and county schools.
School officials joined the commissioners in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the proposal and its impacts on Charles County residents.
“If approved, this proposal would have a profound fiscal impact, approximately $240 million on counties statewide,” Charles County Commissioner President Candice Quinn Kelly (D) said. “That figure is rising fast.
[...]
“The price tag for the teacher pension shift will be a steep one. In Charles County, the new county cost for the coming year is 6.8 million dollars. The fiscal staff in Annapolis says that would grow immediately to 8.8 million the next year, and all the way to 10.3 million over the next three years. That kind of burden would put massive pressure onto the county’s taxpayers and to the public services our citizens deserve and depend on.”
Maryland’s school board is proposing that officials only be allowed to suspend students for more than 10 days if they believe that is the sole way to keep the school safe.
[...]
The board is seeking public comment over the next 30 days and will introduce changes to regulations in April.
Most planners are very familiar with the terms greenfield development (development on previously undeveloped land) and brownfield development (development on land formerly contaminated by environmental pollutants).
But planners should learn a new term that will only become more common as the U.S. begins to slowly recover from the recent economic recession: redfield development, or development on foreclosed properties — properties “in the red.”
The best example of successful redfield development thus far is the SchoolStreet development in the Village of Libertyville, Illinois, a community of 21,800 located 35 miles northwest of Chicago and the subject of a recent Tuesdays at APA podcast, “Redfield to Redevelopment in Libertyville, Illinois.”
The symbol of American success often involves having the biggest house possible, but our outsized fantasies seem to be shifting. According to a new survey, more than three quarters of us consider having sidewalks and places to take a walk one of our top priorities when deciding where to live. Six in 10 people also said they would sacrifice a bigger house to live in a neighborhood that featured a mix of houses, stores, and businesses within an easy walk.
For once, our preferences align with our impending reality; in the future, we may not have a choice whether or not to downsize our lifestyles. The housing bust exposed that the McMansion phenomenon is unsustainable, which has forced us to re-examine our priorities. In another study in 2010, the ideal number of square footage people desired for their houses dropped dramatically. It’s becoming increasingly clear that the American dream of buying a big old house will need to be revised for the youngest generation.
...and Docket 250 Amendment #12-250(1)
Notice is hereby given that the Charles County Planning Commission will conduct a Public Meeting on proposed Zoning Map Amendment #12-45 and Docket 250 Amendment #12-250(1), at their regularly scheduled meeting on March 26, 2012 at 7:00 p.m., in the County Commissioner’s Meeting Room located in the Charles County Government Building, La Plata, Maryland.
The applicant, Swan Point Development Company, has requested an amendment to allow for the phasing of Forest Interior Dwelling Species mitigation, including the submission of planting plans and required bonding for the Villages at Swan Point. This property is located off of Maryland Route 257, also known as Tax Map 86, part of Parcel 41, Tax Map 86 and 88, part of Parcel 41, Tax Map 88, part of parcels 5 and 28. It is located in the 5th election district.
Efforts by the Charles County Planning Commission to develop an enlightened and competent comprehensive plan for 2012 seem to have hit what I would consider a crisis point.
At the same time that our county commissioners have adopted forward-looking, fact-based policies that respect their constituency and serve their overall interests, certain members of the planning commission are mired in monolithic philosophies of planning, which are more in line with an oligarchic government than democracy.
They clearly subscribe to the notion that what enriches a few profit-driven developers is best even though it drains the wallets of county taxpayers needlessly and does not serve the long-term interests of our county as a whole.
Read more...Over the past two years, Patricia Santee has seen a change in the people seeking assistance from the Charles County Children’s Aid Society, where she works as an administrative assistant.
“People who were donors two years ago are now coming to us for help,” Santee said.
A new report states that the cost of getting by for a parent with two young children in the county has risen more than 50 percent over the past decade to at least $65,000 more than three times the official federal poverty level.
One person spoke at a public hearing Tuesday night about changes to plans for a natural gas power plant on the outskirts of Waldorf.
Shawn Becker of Waldorf tried to ask a question about the effect of Competitive Power Ventures’ plans on local air pollution, but was told by a Maryland Public Service Commission staffer that the hearing was for making statements, not inquiries.
[...]
Afterward, Becker said in an interview that he was “concerned about pollution and a little disappointed at the lack of questions here. Maryland already has one of the, well, Charles County has one of the worst records on pollution. It concerns me because we have heard about the building of this plant that will siphon off methane gas from the dump. Now they come in and want to use bigger turbines,” Becker said.
Balanced Growth Initiative members and supporters came in large numbers Monday night to criticize the Charles County Planning Commission chairman for comments he made at the commission’s last meeting, following his decision to push most of the public forum to the end of the meeting.
[...]
After the commission finished its agenda for the night, more BGI members spoke, but citizens who supported Edmonds and disagreed with the actions of the commission’s majority also spoke.
Read more...
A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 59,389,913 visitors in 2010 spent $1.7 billion in national parks in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia and in communities near the parks. That spending supported 22,650 jobs in those local areas.
In the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which also includes portions of Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, and West Virginia, the NPS offers 54 national park units, five national historic or scenic trails, and numerous national recreational trails. The NPS Chesapeake Bay Office works with partners throughout the watershed to offer heritage and recreational tourism opportunities on the Captain John Smith Chesapeake and Star-Spangled Banner national historic trails and through the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network.
Most of the spending/jobs are related to lodging, food, and beverage service (52 percent) followed by other retail (29 percent), entertainment/amusements (10 percent), gas and local transportation (7 percent) and groceries (2 percent).
2-28-2012 Charles County Commissioner Meeting
Date: 02/28/2012
Individuals and Groups Invited to Help Work Toward a Trash-Free Potomac Watershed!
Volunteers are needed for this year’s Potomac River Watershed Cleanup scheduled for Saturday, April 14, 9 a.m. - noon.
Help ensure clean water…be a volunteer for this year’s watershed cleanup efforts! In addition to new shoreline sites, community and adopt-a-road groups are also encouraged to participate. This is an excellent opportunity for student and scout community service hours! The Potomac River Watershed Cleanup event will be held rain or shine.
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