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CommunityTown celebrates at park portion of wharf project
But fences remain at site of kickoff for tricentennial of St. Mary’s County seat
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photos by REID SILVERMAN
With some help from Leonardtown Town Administrator Laschelle E. Miller and Leonardtown Mayor J. Harry Norris, 3-year-old Logan Caton, Norris’ grandson, makes the first cut into the celebration cake at Friday’s grand opening of the Leonardtown wharf as Sen. Roy Dyson (D-St. Mary’s, Calvert, Charles) looks on.
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Mayor J. Harry Norris called state legislators and St. Mary’s county commissioners to a podium outside a newly constructed boathouse, and they took part in a rope-cutting by the flagpole of a mosaic promenade. Later, a band played and restaurateurs offered food under a tent in the festive atmosphere, with little notice of chain link fences surrounding two barren lots.
Town Councilmember Robert C. Combs noticed, just before a storm descended on the celebration. He offered an analogy between a former U.S. president’s comments at the Berlin Wall for his Russian counterpart about 20 years ago, and Leonardtown’s current processes with developer Ron Russo.
‘‘I’m going to quote Ronald Reagan to [Mikhail] Gorbachev,” Combs said. ‘‘Mr. Russo, tear this fence down.”
The two quarter-circle pieces of commercial land are the last phase left in the resurrection of the wharf area largely abandoned after fire destroyed a nightclub there in 1985. Russo bought property on both sides of Washington Street, built townhomes on a hill and sold the park portion to the town.
The town recently declared that Russo’s concept approval for his unbuilt shops and restaurants has expired, amid concerns from townhouse residents and town officials about parking and traffic in the area.
Russo repeated this week his expectation that the issues will be resolved, as the two sides pursue solutions to the issues.
‘‘You’ve got the [town] planning commission, the town commissioners and the neighbors. I’m sure the town is trying to please as many people as possible,” Russo said Tuesday. ‘‘It will happen. I hope Mr. Combs didn’t equate me with Mr. Gorbachev.”
Speakers at the podium Friday credited the partnership of the town, county and state on revitalization issues like keeping the courthouse downtown and securing public funds for the waterfront park.
‘‘We remember what was here, and what’s here to stay,” state Sen. Roy Dyson (D-St. Mary’s, Calvert, Charles) said.
What is now standing on the site also took major environmental studies and approvals, Dyson later said as he stood on the sidewalk at the water’s edge, and any additional approvals could be difficult to come by for the town or the developer.
‘‘They ran up against a brick wall,” Dyson said. ‘‘You don’t want a little section in there that’s a blight on the whole area. Coming together is in the best interest of everybody. We’ll have to see who makes the first step.”
The paved walkway on the water’s edge covered over the pervious area approved by the state for development, the senator said.
‘‘The agreement was this would be it. This is what they requested,” he said. ‘‘When they took this spot, there was not a lot of covered surface, along the water.”
The state and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would have to give their approval, Dyson said, of any boat slips in the water for the general public or townhouse residents.
‘‘This was the biggest hurdle,” he said as he stood on the sidewalk. ‘‘I’m not here to get some developer some boat slips.”
During the earlier short speeches at the podium, county Commissioner Kenny Dement (R) said visitors won’t necessarily need a restaurant to enjoy the area. ‘‘They’ll pack a picnic,” Dement said, ‘‘and I’ll see you at the park.”
