Deceit Rules in Leonardtown
To the Editor:
We feel we need to comment on the article reported in the Enterprise on Friday, December 9, 2005. St. Mary’s County Commission President Thomas F. McKay fumed Tuesday evening over a planning decision that was made six months ago. His remarks came at a public hearing to gather testimony to bring a sewer line to 55 acres adjoining the Wildewood subdivision for a new elementary school site.
Commission President Thomas F. McKay should be reminded that the public hearing on Tuesday, December 6, 2005 was on a text amendment to the water and sewer plan. It was not a public hearing on the Lexington Park Development District. That public hearing was held six months ago and it was voted down 4 to 1 back on June 29, 2005.
Commissioner McKay may also need to be reminded that back on January 21, 2005 he suggested a policy that would enable each individual commissioner to propose text amendments to the Zoning Ordinance. “I don’t want to open this up to a free for all” of outlandish zoning suggestions, McKay said, but he wanted a chance for ideas to be voted up or down at the table.
We thought to put a proper spin on text amendments and how they came about there should be a small review. The public hearing on Tuesday, December 6, 2005 was on a text amendment. The Planning Commission had their public hearing on December 5, 2005 and the County Commissioners held their public hearing on December 6, 2005.
We are wondering why Commissioner McKay is so concerned about common sense in county government. That question should be directed to the Board of Education especially in light of the article “State Gives OK to Build New School” reported on page A-4 in the Enterprise on Friday, December 16, 2005.
We were led to believe by the Board of Education that time was critical at the local level because it was equally critical to get state approval before the end of the year. Some of us feel as though we were used and abused.
We wonder how the members of the Planning Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals, county planning staff, and the citizens who braved the weather for the public hearing to support the text amendment based on what they had been led to believe was critical to the educational needs of St. Mary’s County.
We wonder how the County Commissioners feel when they are expected to fully fund the Board of Education’s budget and approve the text amendment to allow water and sewer to this school site.
Could this be why Commissioner McKay was fuming on Tuesday, December 6 and some of the concerns the other commissioners had about the shortness of time for public comment? Could it have been that they felt that the Board of Education was moving ahead with getting state approval before local approval was received; something like the Board of Education putting the cart ahead of the horse like the Buchanan property in getting state approval and then learning that there were some title problems?
This raises the question as to how the state feels when county approval is still pending. How will the state react if the Commissioners reject the text amendment? How will the Commissioners vote on Tuesday, December 20? How do the citizens and taxpayers who are going to pay the bill feel regarding this whole circus?
You can be assured since we have taken the position to support the text amendment; we will stand behind our position. In the future we will remember how the game was played.
Linda Vallandingham Robert T. Jarboe