County IT and economic development show layered map and 2015 Census estimates to the YMCA committee

County IT and Economic Development staff demonstrated an updated St. Mary’s County GIS map and demographic layers to the YMCA Local Exploratory Committee, showing school locations, county-owned parcels, water and sewer service, and American Community Survey (ACS) estimates down to the census block group level.

Bob Kelly, the county’s chief information officer, said staff added a school-location layer and a filter for county-owned parcels 15 acres and larger. Kelly also displayed an “AICUZ/Acus” overlay the committee had asked for to show areas the committee had generally discussed avoiding. He demonstrated that the map’s property pop-ups include acreage, state-recorded property (S stat) information, and links to permit and development records where available.

Chris Casalemas, director of economic development, and Sue Beath explained the demographic layers are based on the 2015 American Community Survey five‑year data the county used because ACS five‑year estimates provide the most granular small-area data. Casalemas walked the committee through population density, median household income and age‑group layers and demonstrated tools to change transparency and to pull detailed data, including counts for age groups and race/sex breakdowns for a selected block.

Casalemas said ACS five‑year estimates in the map are “pretty darn close” but cautioned the committee to account for the data’s date — it reflects 2015 estimates and the county population has continued to grow. He said the next census count and subsequent ACS updates would provide newer block‑level values but would not be available immediately.

Committee members asked whether the parcels on the map had been checked against zoning; Kelly confirmed the team validated ownership and checked zoning for county‑owned parcels shown. The committee also asked about water and sewer layers; Kelly said the county receives water/sewer GIS data and customer service data from the local utility (MetCom) and can show connections and service availability.

Committee members used the map to identify denser population pockets in Lexington Park, Leonardtown and parts of California and Golden Beach, and discussed how density correlates with walkability and suitability for a community center. Staff offered to add additional requested data and to distribute the map links for committee members to explore between meetings.

The presentation gave the committee the spatial and demographic inputs the staff recommended using while selecting candidate sites for the feasibility study.