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Public hearing held on Rogers Drive CDBG project; county to accept comments for seven days
Summary
St. Mary's County opened a public hearing on May 16, 2017, to consider redirecting federal CDBG funds to a Rogers Drive road-connection project in the Colony Square neighborhood of Lexington Park.
St. Mary's County opened a public hearing on May 16, 2017, to consider redirecting federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to a Rogers Drive road-connection project in the Colony Square neighborhood of Lexington Park.
Chris Caslimas, director of the Department of Economic Development, described the proposal and its funding. The project would construct a road section linking Rogers Drive in Colony Square to Willows Road and was presented as meeting federal criteria for elimination of blight, increasing access to John G. Lancaster Park, improving emergency equipment access, and reducing conditions that may foster crime. Caslimas said the total project cost is $453,773, with $100,000 requested as new CDBG funding and $230,400.73 proposed to be reallocated from the county's existing CDBG Revolving Loan Fund. The remaining $123,300 was described as to be provided by the Community Development Corporation (CDC) in donated and in-kind services and local government fee waivers.
Vicky Volk, director of the Community Development Corporation, testified in support and said the Colony Square Neighborhood Association had unanimously endorsed the project. Volk said adjacent property owners and community policing had been consulted and that the property owner providing the right-of-way had agreed to donate the land.
Commissioner Todd Morgan asked staff to coordinate with the sheriff's office about traffic and child-safety considerations once the connection exists; Caslimas said staff would inform the sheriff's office.
After public comment from the CDC representative, the board closed the in-room hearing. The commissioners announced they will accept additional written comments on the proposal for seven days following the hearing. Comments may be mailed to the Commissioners of St. Mary's County, P.O. Box 653, Leonardtown, MD 20650 or emailed to csmc@st-marysmd.com (address as stated at the hearing).
No final allocation decision was made at the hearing; staff presented the proposal and solicited public input per federal CDBG procedures. The county indicated the road section would be built to county standards and, if completed, become part of the county road system.
