Centreville officials urge new wastewater plant, broadband fixes to keep housing affordable
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Summary
Centreville town leaders told a Queen Anne's County panel the town needs a new, larger wastewater treatment plant and more reliable broadband to support housing that local workers can afford and to guide planned infill development.
Centreville town officials told a Queen Anne's County community panel that the town’s aging wastewater plant and unreliable broadband are immediate constraints on growth and housing affordability.
Ashley Kaiser, president of the Centreville Town Council, said the town’s existing wastewater treatment plant "has reached the end of its useful life and its capacity," and that replacing and enlarging the plant is a top priority before other development can proceed. Kaiser added that broadband reliability is also urgent after a recent outage: "All my security cameras at home went down, and we didn't have Internet."
The remarks came during a panel moderated by County representative Patrick McLaughlin focused on economic development across northern Queen Anne's County. Kaiser said Centreville has strengths—historic downtown businesses, an expanding Wharf Park and trail system, and recent annexations—but must plan for different housing types so local employees can remain in town. "A brand new Centreville police officer or Queen Anne's County deputy and a brand new Queen Anne's County teacher cannot afford to buy a house in Centreville," she said.
Kaiser described work with developers on infill and on a recently annexed Providence Farm property as opportunities to add housing without losing the town’s character. She urged close collaboration with the town planning commission and noted the Central Economic Development Authority is being targeted for revitalization to support those efforts.
Kaiser also flagged that Route 213 runs through Centreville as the town’s main street, which shapes what businesses and pedestrian patterns are feasible. She said the town is pursuing options to increase broadband competition and reliability in the near term.
Panelists said next steps include prioritizing funding and technical studies for the wastewater plant replacement, advancing broadband options, and coordinating town and county planning to bring proposed housing types forward for review. The panel concluded with thanks to the speakers and an invitation to continue the discussion in future county forums.