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Duck Hotline—Chaney’s letter to the Planning Commission

A letter by Frank Chaney to the Planning Commission—Courtesy of the Duck Hotline

Mr. Raymond Detig
Chairman of Planning Commission
PO Box 2150
La Plata MD 20646

Dear Mr. Detig,

Here’s an outline on what the benefits to Charles County are with respect to re-zoning our 149.56 acres in Hughesville and why Chaney Enterprises truly needs it followed by an overall summary:

A. Benefits (Economic,  Educational, Social, and Overall Quality of Life
Issues) that this re-zoning would provide Hughesville, Waldorf, Charles County and Southern Maryland from a:

i.  Hughesville Economic Perspective —-What New Businesses could do for Hughesville’s Economic Base.

ii.    Educational Perspective for Charles County & Southern Maryland — What a New College Campus in Hughesville could do for Charles County and the rest of Southern Maryland.

iii.    Social Needs Perspective for Charles County & Southern Maryland — What a One-Stop Shop for Charitable Needs (a “Hall of Charities” or a “Charity Capital of Southern Maryland”) could do for Charles County and the rest of Southern Maryland.

iv.    Benefits of Having Chaney Enterprises in Charles County — What Chaney Enterprises does for Charles County now and hopefully for the future if the Re-Zoning takes place.

v.  Transportation Benefit to Charles County — What New Roads in the Middle of Waldorf could do for Waldorf and for the rest of Charles County.

Hughesville Economic Perspective;

There truly must be a REALITY CHECK. The chances of Old Hughesville being developed in any way is dependent on a sewer capacity increase. There is no currently applicable Federal or State funds that Hughesville would have any chance of receiving at anytime in the foreseeable future. As a company, Chaney Enterprises is willing to be active and work with the community to build its economic base — because only with help from business does Hughesville have a chance of ever becoming a vibrant,  fun place to live.

In addition to whether or not Chaney Enterprises moves any of its operations to Hughesville, the cutting edge proposal to create an “industrial Campus & Community” would take advantage of its strategic location with respect to all of Southern Maryland and its 350,000 people.  More importantly, it would serve as a great location for numerous growing companies to be part of a unique concept. In today’s world many employees don’t get educated or trained because they cannot get away from work. With onsite training for growing companies (that cannot afford their own in-house training),  this site will have a unique marketing tool to attract businesses.

Educational Perspective for Charles County & Southern Maryland:

For over 20 years,  those who know me well are aware that I have had two true DREAMs that I have spent much of my life trying to make happen— one of them being that someday we could create an Articulated Career Path in the Construction Industry to help the “Forgotten 75%.”
75% of 9th Graders (based on 2004 figures) DO NOT get beyond a High School Degree. In one of her last, but best, speeches, our Past President of the College of Southern Maryland, Dr. Elaine Ryan, pointed this out. They are the “forgotten.” They are one of the main reasons why we have so many needs in our country. Everyone always talks about how many 12th graders go on to College — but they don’t talk about the 9th graders who don’t make it to 12th grade — or the 12 graders who go to, but never graduate from, a College. The Construction Industry has been the largest in Maryland for most of the last 10 years - and the Industry that pays well with good benefits - and, if helped,  could make a true difference for the “Forgotten 75%.” We, here in Southern Maryland, can make a positive difference. A centrally located site for the College of Southern Maryland in Hughesville can definitely help. Within 16 miles of Hughesville there are 61 Lower Educational Institutions to draw future College Students from.

Social Needs Perspective for Charles County & Southern Maryland :

My second DREAM is one that I have had even longer — at least 30 years — and that is to create what I call, a “Hall of Charities” — a place where anyone with a social need can go to and get a quick answer on what is available in our community to help meet their need -at the same time as providing an entity that provides help to all charities worth helping -especially bookkeeping, organizational skills, and ethical standards. This would truly be a “One-Stop Shop” for Charities — much like the one that has been built in Maryland’s own Carroll County. My DREAM can be a REALITY.

The Re-Zoning will result in:

a.  A Company, with a Record of Making a positive difference in our communities, being active and committed to Hughesville’s future
b.  Hall of Charities — a One-Stop Shop for civic needs (includes cultural needs)
c.  A piece of property zoned Industrial in order to generate the income (from Industrial Land Sales) needed to put in the required infrastructure (roads and utilities) in for the Hall of Charities and other non-profit uses (i.e College of Southern Maryland).

James Rouse, probably the greatest developer of all time in America with respect to making a true difference, and the Winner of the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States, once said, “What ought to be, can be, with the will to make it so.”  He is one my idols and like him, I know we can make it happen. We can have our “Hall of Charities” and there’s no better place than Hughesville where it can efficiently serve all of Southern Maryland.

Benefits of Having Chaney Enterprises in Charles County:

Every American born will need 1.71 million Ibs. of stone, sand & gravel in their lifetime.  Everything we use in our lives to sustain our quality of life, other than water and air, is either grown — or mined. That’s right; if it’s not grown, it’s mined. In addition 90% of everything is trucked.  In summary, what we do is absolutely needed to sustain the quality of life for our average citizen. A lot of us try - but only God is perfect. Someone has to provide sand & gravel to Southern Maryland, and if so, we feel we do it better than anyone.

We are a family-owned company that gives good paying jobs to close to 600 employees (including partnerships we are involved in) who in return: Take a piece of property and mine it for sand & gravel —which we first wash and segregate into different sizes with a plant — and then either sell or use in our own concrete. All of these materials, in addition to many other construction materials that we sell as the “One-Stop Shop” in the construction industry, are delivered using trucks. It is a demanding job that requires highly skilled men and women Driver Professionals (making from $35 to $85,000), and it’s a job that needs to get done if our communities are going to have the Quality of Life they have come to love at a very reasonable price, because we have it here locally (unlike oil).  Our materials are used for homes, roads, schools plus so much more. At the end of the process, we reclaim the mined property into a property that further adds to the Quality of Life for all in the community (i.e. parks, farm land, housing if the zoning calls for it, wetlands to help approve the environment, and award winning golf courses). And throughout this continuous process we work with and contribute to our communities to help where we can.

Chaney Enterprises is by itself (not counting its Partnerships) about a $100 million business that generates over 300 jobs, real estate taxes in excess of $758,000,  and payroll not counting its officers, of over $16.6 million — plus benefits (second to none in our industry and in the top 10% of all industries). Of course, none of these figures include what we spend with all of the local independent contractors and businesses in our community. Economic studies show that the multiple in our business is between 2 and 4 times; thus, by Chaney Enterprises being in existence, another $200 to $400 million is spent in our communities.

Our family settled in Southern Maryland around 350 years ago. With that commitment to longevity, we have made it a habit to be significantly involved in whichever county or area of Maryland we do business. Ail of our employees are very proud that we are the only company to be voted “Business of the Year” in Charles County every year that we have been eligible.  There’s a reason.

In simple terms, we give 10% of our net profits to our Community, 6 times more than our largest competitor — but more importantly, it’s not just a bunch of checks. We give our personal time — all of us — from the guy who sweeps the floor to the one who signs the checks. Pure and simple —it’s part of our culture to give back and to be a true partner in Our Communities.

Transportation Benefit to Charles County:

The fulfillment of the Waldorf Sub Area Plan, with respect to properties owned by our family, would extensively help revitalize all of Waldorf and Charles County. With respect to traffic,  the building of Post Office Road and Acton Lane through our property over the next 2 to 10 years would significantly relieve the traffic mess in Waldorf by providing numerous alternatives and “right” turns to better maneuver around the center of Waldorf and Routes 5, 301, and Leonardtown Road. We, like the County, have a great vision for the whole area that fits right in with the Waldorf Sub Area Plan. In addition to being truly “Smart Growth,” our plans would significantly change the way people think about Waldorf while providing a true sense of “Community.”

B. Why does Chaney Enterprises need this rezoning?

#1 - Tough Competition. You may think that oil prices are high because of foreign ownership and foreign supply. Well — 100% (or close to it) of all cement companies in the US are foreign owned. In addition, over 50%  of all aggregate (sand, gravel & stone) and Concrete companies in the US are foreign owned. The two other largest Concrete Producers in Maryland are Aggregates Industries (owned by Holcim, a $25 Billion Swiss Company) and LaFarge (a S25 Billion French Company). Obviously they have a lot of advantages,  including pure size that we as Americans don’t have. Also — by the way — they don’t give 10% of their net profits to their American communities. As a Southern Maryland company, we must be able to make up for the differences in size and other disadvantages to compete. Having adequate plant capacity near our Sand &  Gravel reserves in Charles County is crucial for us to be competitive with the Highly Vertically Integrated European Companies that we compete against throughout Maryland.

#2 - Insurance. Quite simply we cannot afford — at anytime — to not have the same amount of sand & gravel plant capacity that we have today in Charles County. If all of our agreements with the County to expand Post Office Road and Acton Lane in Waldorf work out and if our other new plant proposals go through as expected, we will not need Hughesville as a Plant site —  but —  in order to be absolutely sure we MUST have it as INSURANCE.

#3 - Fulfillments of My Dreams. As mentioned by others, it is true that the “One-Stop Shop” for Charities and the College of Southern Maryland seem to be permitted uses under the current zoning for our property —  but the property provides just a small piece of what we need. It’s the millions of dollars needed to pay for the development itself including the infrastructure (roads &
utilities) that we must have to make these two dreams of mine a reality.
Without the re-zoning we don’t have Marketable Industrial Property to sell to pay for the development to provide “finished lots” for the non-profit uses. Thus without the re-zoning it greatly decreases the chances that we can fulfill my two dreams —  a location for the College of Southern Maryland and a location for a “One-Stop Shop” for Charities both in Hughesville.

C.  Summary

I truly believe that there is a very small chance that we will need a sand &  gravel plant in Hughesville, but just in case we do, it will be placed in such a way that it would neutralize its impact on anyone living near. First of all,  because of technology, it would take up a much smaller area than plants of the past. Secondly, its location would be restricted to an area farthest from the current housing community on the east side of our property, and thus would be right next to the currently Industrial zoned property. The location of the Sand & Gravel Plant would also be buffered in two ways from the housing development. A small lake would serve as a “Buffer” and a nice amenity. In addition the largest area of the property would be between the plant and the housing development and would be an even bigger additional “Buffer” that would take in all the other uses including the College and the Charities.
Our location in Waldorf is a MAJOR KEY to our success at Chaney Enterprises since 1962, as it has a Sand & Gravel Plant that can run when needed and without restrictions due to its zoning and still be within an economical range of our aggregate reserves in Southern Maryland.  If the expansion of Post Office Road and Acton Lane takes away that advantage (without its Capacity being replaced), it will be our company, and all it does, that could easily be lost.

Sincerely,
Frank Chaney

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