February 6, 2012
Where is the justification?
I don't get it. Russell, Dement, Mattingly and Raley ignored the recommendations made by two different appraisers of the Hayden Farm. Appraisers strongly recommended that an engineer be consulted as to any development potential of "Parcel B". That advice, paid for with taxpayer money, was ignored. As it turned out, there is NO development possible of "Parcel B", 78.92 acres. This resulted in a total waste of taxpayer money. Money that could now be used to offset the deficit and reduce budget cuts.
Now we have the rezoning of 600+ acres in the Hillville area from rural conservation to industrial. Staff reports recommended that the zoning not be changed to industrial. The Planning and Zoning Commission voted against changing the zoning to industrial. The above named 4 Commissioners ignored the vote of the Planning Commission and advice of staff and voted to change the zoning of the 600+ acres. WHY? What is the public NOT being told? Why did a member of the Planning Commission "lobby" the Commissioners on behalf of the land owner to change the zoning after voting against it in committee? Is this a case of, "I was against it before I was for it"? Where is the the justification for NOT questioning the ETHICS of this "lobbying" effort?
The really sad thing is that the residents living in the Hillville area have no real recourse. The Russell, Dement, Mattingly and Raley will not allow a targeted public hearing so that questions can be asked. How is an industrial site going to impact the traffic along the RT 235 corridor? Will the neighborhoods around this site still have the "quiet enjoyment" of their homes and neighborhoods? OK, no race track, no landfill or landfill substation is planned. So some of the Commissioners must have a pretty good idea of what type of "industry" is going to be developed. Why isn't that being shared with the public? All of the above refuted possibilities leaves a huge list of negative development possibilities that have the potential of impacting the daily lives of residents in and around this acreage. This, "Damn the torpedos (no pun intended) full steam ahead", mentality does not work. Ask Pelosi, Reid, Hoyer all who share poll numbers that have tanked. Oh, then there is Corizine, Deeds and Coakley.
I feel like I live in a pseudo-dictatorship county. Ignoring staff and Planning Commission advice, without at least one targeted public hearing on this zoning change we seem to have omnipotent elected officials. Residents, taxpayers, landowners have the right to ask questions. So where is the forum to do that without a targeted public hearing? It is the right of citizens to ask questions of their elected officials. My questions are this: In view of the advice of staff and Planning Commission what is the justification for the zoning change? Where is the public hearing for citizens to ask pointed, tough questions concerning this zoning change? Or, have you taken away this most basic of rights?
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Joan,
Having grown up in St. Mary's County and served for almost twelve years as a County Commissioner, I hope I can, succintly, answer your questions.
How do they justify such stinky deals?
There is an unspoken feudal system of entitlement for a select few of the County gentry in St. Mary's County that dates prior to the Civil War and the reconsruction politics that followed. This has been exclusively a function of the Democratic Party with an evolution of the Boss Hogs and the liberals in a very unlikely and unholy alliance. As long as the politically connected "Big Boys" throw a few extra tax funded scraps to special interest groups, there was always, in the past (pre 1994), enough votes to easily roll over any Republican reform leadership.
On the two past Republican dominated Boards upon which I served, there was no local land deal that was labeled in terms of stench. The Hackerman Deal was crafted by Gov. Ehrlich and former Comm. Pres. Tommy McKay in Annapolis. None of the other commissioners knew the players or were involved with the backroom negotiations. The deal died at the hands of an outraged State legislature.
The MacIntosh Watershed Scandal has the potential of casting the same disrespect that Hackerman earned on the two developers (Facchina-Knott) and the four County Commissioners (Dement, Russell, Raley, and Mattingly) who support the zoning upgrade.
These four commissioners cannot shake the skunk of the Hayden Farm Deal no matter how many tax dollars they try to throw at it. It was a bad deal, negotiated by Comm. Mattingly. I am very glad I noted my dissention early and voted against the proposal as well as the simply stupid Christmas Eve public meeting.
There is time, however, for all of these players to come out on behalf of the public interest which developer Paul Facchina, prior to this fiasco, has gained a reputation for doing. I will document the solution this week in my column in ST. MARYS TODAY.
In the meantime, the Town Hall Alliance candidates are working with aggrieved neighbor Steve Riley to organize a public meeting close to the site to provide as much information as is available. Obviously, there are facts not being divulged by the developers which must lead to conjecture on the ultimate industrial use planned for the site. I think the plan is for a natural gas power plant/garbage transfer station combo with a waste to energy plant as the final use.
As far as the quasi-dictatorship control of our County, there is a very simple solution:
Register Republican as soon as possible and vote for all four of the Town Hall Alliance candidates in the September Primary Election.
Larry Jarboe
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