Construction terms for driveway at St. Leonard firehouse laid out

Friday, Nov. 13, 2009

The Calvert County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously at its Tuesday meeting to advance construction of an exit driveway and bio-retention facility at the St. Leonard Volunteer Fire Department by executing a memorandum of understanding.

The driveway will grant access to Calvert Beach Road from the rear of the station, providing an alternate exit route and increasing emergency response time. The county received approval for the driveway, a portion of which will be located on State Highway Administration right-of-way, after agreeing to also build the facility, which will improve the SHA's stormwater drainage.

Under the memorandum, the SHA will allow construction of the driveway portion and the facility on its right-of-way while the county will take responsibility for the construction and maintenance of both.

A contract to build the driveway and facility was awarded in March, and both are expected to be operational by the end of the month.

"This has been a long time coming. It's very much needed, and it will give that, even if it's just a small edge, but it will give that edge in response time" Commissioner Barbara Stinnett (D) said. "I'm glad they finally got this done."

The SHA will retain ownership of the affected right-of-way and at its discretion may require the county to remove the driveway segment and facility in the future. Should the county fail to do so, the memorandum allows for the SHA to remove both and invoice the county for all expenses.

"This is really a tight MOU," Commissioners' President Wilson Parran (D) said. "They do have a huge hammer in this case but they have also worked very well with us to get this done."

If left unpaid, the invoices will be deducted from the county's share of the State Highway User Revenue fund, which helps counties pay for street repairs and maintenance. The county has already seen its SHUR funding plummet from more than $6 million in 2008 to $259,000 this year.

"They've already taken everything, so there isn't anything left to take," Stinnett said.

In other business, the commissioners:

- Voted unanimously to appoint Alonzo Barber III as chairman of the Economic Development Authority, replacing Nathaniel Pope Jr.;

- Voted unanimously to appoint Dominion Cove Point liquefied natural gas facility Director Mike Frederick the county's citizen representative on the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland, replacing David Hale, who is resigning his post.

"Mr. Frederick's extensive knowledge of the county coupled with his involvement in the community will make an exceptional addition to this board," Parran said.;

- Recognized the Calvert County Planning Commission and Principal Planner Jenny Plummer-Welker for awards they won Monday from the Maryland Chapter of the American Planning Association.

Plummer-Welker, the immediate past president of the chapter, won an award for outstanding service to the chapter while the planning commission co-won an award for the Solomons Town Center Master Plan.

The chapter pegged the plan as one of the state's two most outstanding in 2009 for populations of less than 100,000. Commission Chairman Maurice Lusby thanked staff for its efforts and the public for its involvement.

"If the community didn't do it, it wouldn't really stand for a whole lot," Lusby said.

jnewman@somdnews.com