Group pitches ‘campus of caring’ at former industrial site; commissioners urged to back purchase

A volunteer team seeking to buy the former Russell Metals/Electrotherm property on Meeting House Road told the Caroline County commissioners Oct. 14 they want to convert the roughly 14‑acre, 80,000‑square‑foot site into a multi‑agency resource center that would house a food pantry, a commercial kitchen and an expanded shelter and workforce‑development programs.

The presenters said the plan hinges on environmental reviews by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Maryland Department of the Environment and asked the board for support — including possible help with funding applications and zoning questions — while those studies finish.

The project team described the site as four parcels totaling about 13.7 acres and said it carries a long history of contamination from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) tied to earlier industrial activity. Rick Carver, a member of the project team, said the site has been tested repeatedly: “The property was contaminated with VOCs way back in the eighties ... Over the years, the VOCs, the contamination started going down,” he said, noting monitoring wells and a large remediation system installed by prior owners. Carver said the EPA asked for an additional 30 days to complete current testing and that the…