St. Mary's County lays out transportation, water, jail and housing needs during Sen. Cardin town hall

St. Mary's County officials used a town-hall meeting with U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin to press for federal help on a slate of infrastructure problems, saying local growth tied to the Pax River naval base is stretching roads, water and wastewater systems, the county jail and housing resources.

County Administrator John Savage told the senator that transportation projects — led by the Thomas Johnson Bridge/Route 4 intersection and improvements on Maryland Route 5 through Leonardtown — are county priorities because of their importance to the workforce that commutes to and from the Patuxent River naval complex. "We have too much dependence on the workforce coming to and from the base, to not make this a priority," Savage said.

Savage also highlighted a regional-airport runway-extension project, noting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) process has been slow and could require outside assistance. He said aging water and sewer lines and the state mandate for enhanced nutrient removal (ENR) represent overlapping demands: communities must both expand capacity for growth and meet stricter environmental treatment requirements. "Enhanced nutrient removal is a mandate," Savage said, and he told Cardin the county is concerned about whether state and federal funding will be sufficient as costs rise.

Health-care capacity and workforce needs were listed among infrastructure demands. St. Mary's Hospital has an expansion planned to respond to population increases and growing admissions; hospital representatives and county officials described ongoing recruitment challenges for physicians and nurses. Savage and hospital officials said the expansion is being pursued with a mix of county, state and hospital financing and said the county is not requesting federal money for that specific project at this time.

Public-safety infrastructure and corrections capacity drew repeated attention. Sheriff Cameron described the county's detention center as operating well above its original design: "It was built as modified with a capacity of about 230 inmates. Our average daily population the last month or so has been 360," he said. County leaders said state and county funding for an expansion is in place but emphasized continuing federal needs for equipment and programs to reduce recidivism.

Housing affordability and federal reimbursement rules also surfaced as a federal policy issue. Savage told the senator the St. Mary's County Housing Authority is treated as part of a "balance of state" for some federal calculations, which undercuts local administrative reimbursement. He said the authority receives about $20 less administratively per Housing Choice Voucher unit compared with neighboring jurisdictions that are counted in the Washington metropolitan statistical area; local leaders urged a federal review of that classification.

Speakers tied many items to the county's long-term goal of preventing encroachment around Patuxent River. Savage said being "ready for the next BRAC" requires preventing development patterns that conflict with the base's mission; multiple elected officials and base representatives repeated that the county's smart-growth and land-use policies are aimed at protecting the installation.

Sen. Cardin acknowledged the list of projects and said his office would follow up. He called for a strategy on the Thomas Johnson Bridge and Leonardtown/Route 5 problems and noted federal programs that might help on water quality and airport funding, including the Water Resources Reauthorization Act work for Chesapeake Bay wastewater planning and the need to move FAA reauthorization forward so projects can proceed more smoothly.

The county also highlighted several completed and in-progress local projects tied to infrastructure and growth-management goals, including Evergreen Elementary School — described as a green building expected to open in August 2009 and aiming for LEED Silver or better — and several housing developments launched with nonprofit and private partners. Officials said a combination of grants, donations and local partnerships has produced projects such as Hunting Creek rental units and a Gateway condominiums project, while working on a separate senior/workforce housing partnership with the Archdiocese.

County and federal representatives also discussed interoperability and public-safety communications. Sheriff Cameron said the county has a newer 800-megahertz radio system and ongoing work to improve regional interoperability; local public-safety leaders noted some grant rules require volunteer fire companies to apply on behalf of jurisdictions, which complicates direct county access to certain federal grant programs.

The meeting closed with Sen. Cardin promising to take the county's requests back to his staff and colleagues and to work with the county and the state delegation on potential federal support.

Ending: County officials left the session with a list of follow-up items for Cardin's office — from clarifying HUD reimbursement for vouchers to seeking federal assistance on wastewater funding, FAA processing and policing/communications grants — and asked for help coordinating state and federal programs to keep growth localized and protect the Pax River installation.