Where is La Plata?

La Plata Forum

2006-03-31T12:46:00.000-05:00

Here is a great link to some La Plata area news and events.

http://www.topix.net/forum/city/la-plata-md

Is La Plata going crazy over having a Walgreens?

2006-03-25T08:11:00.000-05:00

Local Woman Says Walgreens Called Her 'Crazy'
WPBF-TV

PALM BEACH, Fla. - A Palm Beach woman who is suing Walgreens after she says her prescription contained mean remarks talked publicly about the incident on Tuesday. Janey Karp is suing Walgreens for defamation, among other things, after her prescription came along with startling comments from her pharmacist or other Walgreens staff.

The word "Crazy" was on her prescription along with other comments like "she's really a psycho!!! do not say her name too loud, never mention her meds by names and try to talk to her when ..."

Karp said the comments were accidentally printed out and stapled to her prescription bag.
"I just burst out hysterically crying I was so hurt so devastated," said Karp.

Karp said she suffers from depression and had been filling prescriptions at the Walgreens on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard and Australian for roughly a year and a half.

"I really don't want this to happen to anyone else," Karp said. "I am a very private person, but I felt this was something I had to do. I really believe in it."

A spokesperson for Walgreens said, "We want to ensure that our pharmacy employees are acting in a proper and professional manner, so we are looking into this matter."

Other Walgreens customers from around the country have come forward with similar complaints, including a woman from Palm Beach Gardens.

Facts You Should Know !

2006-03-15T20:16:00.000-05:00

Did you know?

Regular public town meetings are held the 2nd Tuesday of each month and start at 7PM.

Minutes of each meeting are published on the official town web site.

The town minutes are not updated so the last meeting you will find on the town web site is January 2006.

Based on the past year of available data the average town meeting last about 66 minutes.

Most of the people who speak at the public forum part of the town meeting are councilmembers or town officials and not members of the public.

There has been some bad press about how residents are treated when they speak before the council.

Now the council would like to limit the amount of time a resident can speak to three minutes.

What does this tell you?

Are we welcome anymore?

2006-03-14T13:20:00.000-05:00

Rumor has it that some of the council members are a little bored with citizens who come to Town Hall and speak out about the real issues that face La Plata.

So last night at the Town Hall meeting Councilman Winkler informed everyone of an ordinance (ORDINANCE 06-6 MANNER OF ADDRESS- TIME LIMIT) that would limit the amount of time a citizen could speak at an open meeting.

Yes if passed this means you will have a total of three minutes! Thats right three as in 3 MINUTES A MONTH! To speak with the council about important issues that impact you, your family and the town.

One resident told me that he was invited to town hall by his councilmember after writing a one page letter. The councilmember urged him to stop sending letters and come down to tawn hall to addresss his concerns in front of the council. But THREE MINUTES.....Give me a break!

SPEAK OUT! SPEAK OUT NOW! JUST THINK IF APPROVED YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SPEAK FOR 36 MINUTES A YEAR......

A recent email from one of our readers

2006-03-11T10:17:00.000-05:00

Dear whereislaplata@lycos.com

I am 15 years old and live in La Plata. I don't drive a car but ride a skateboard. Why can't La PLata have a skateboard park? Why do the police get after us so much? Why don't they get the people who park on the sidewalk in front of Casey Jones and go in there to drink. We don't drink and drive so what about them. There is no justice here and that's why so many young people want to leave La Plata.

What are the qualifications for the Town Manager's job ?

2006-03-11T10:05:00.000-05:00

This was posted on the MML website:

La Plata - Town Manager
Date Posted: 02/27/2006
The Town of La Plata is seeking a local government professional to become its next Town Manager. La Plata is a growing community of 9,000 residents located in beautiful Southern Maryland. Desired qualifications for this position include experience with working with elected officials, growth management, water and sewer, planning, financial administration, personnel administration, law enforcement and public works. Bachelor's degree is required with masters degree in public administration or related field preferred. City or town management experience is required, preferably in Maryland. Member of ICMA preferred. Residency required. Cover letter and resume should be sent to Michelle D. Miner, Asst. Town Manager, 305 Queen Anne Street, La Plata, MD 20646, or email to mminer@townoflaplata.org. Open until filled.

But this is what the town code states:

§ C5-2. Qualifications of Manager.
The Town Manager shall be chosen by the Council solely on the basis of his executive and administrative qualifications, with special reference to his actual experience in or his knowledge of accepted practice in respect to the duties of his office, as hereinafter set forth. At the time of his appointment, he need not be a resident of the town or the State of Maryland, but during his tenure of office he shall reside within the town.

A concerned reader writes......

2006-03-10T09:08:00.000-05:00

Time for a little Q & A

Question: I'm a La Plata resident and have been following your blog for some time. But I'm a little confused about your recent posting. You complain about the town not being responsive about vehicles parked on the sidewalk. Yet you stated that a town councilmember is looking into the matter. Then you say come on out and chat with the mayor because he is receptive to the residents. Why can't a councilmember and the mayor take care of a simple parking problem?

Answer: Thanks for your great question. The Mayor of La Plata and the Town Council lack the power to direct town employees to do much of anything. That's the job of the Town Manager. Too bad we can't vote for him. Maybe it's time to have a full-time mayor. Why is the town even hiring another Town Manager? And do we need two assistants? How many people are running Town Hall? I think it works this way - we vote a Mayor and Council into office. They appoint a Town Manager who in turn hires town employees. We later have a complaint about town services and go to our ward councilperson who, without the votes of the other elected officials, lacks the power to get anything done. Does this sound like red tape? And you said you were confused about the blog.......? Maybe it's time to take a good look at the town charter and code and make some big changes on how our system of government is arranged.

Here's a look at the Town Code:

§ C5-6. Interference in administration.

Neither the Council nor any of its members shall direct or request the appointment of any person to or his removal from office by the Town Manager or by any of his subordinates. Except for the purpose of inquiry, the Council and its members shall deal with the administrative service solely through the Town Manager, and neither the Council nor any member thereof shall give orders to any subordinates of the Town Manager, either publicly or privately.

Parking on the sidwalks ?

2006-03-09T14:34:00.000-05:00

One concerned resident found out just how responsive our town government is. His concern started when a wheelchair bound resident almost took a wild ride off the sidewalk and into the street of speeding vehicles in front of Casey Jones. That was more than two months ago. This concerned resident has reported the matter to a town police officer the chief of police and his ward councilmember. Both the police officer and chief observed vehicles parked on the sidewalk and the councilmember is still looking into the matter. More than two months later and there is still a concern about people falling off the sidewalks. Don't police write tickets? This photo was taken on March 9, 2006.

Chat with the Mayor of La PLata

2006-03-07T19:46:00.000-05:00

Mayor Ambrogio believes that everyone's ideas and views are important. He will be at Apple Spice Junction on Monday, March 13th, between 1130 am and 1pm.

ASJ is located at 6750 Crain Hwy in La Plata.

Come on out and chat!

La Plata on drugs - part II

2006-03-05T20:29:00.000-05:00

This is a open letter to the blog editor

Five pharmacies on the same side of the street within 2500 feet of each other! [Wallgreens, CVS, Safeway, Rite-Aid and Wal-Mart]. County Drugs on Charles Street and the soon to be built Target with pharmacy. Does all this sound like it makes much sense? I wonder who’s responsible for planning the town of La Plata? Do they care or are they just not getting it? Let’s try to put this in perspective. The recent Maryland Independent article of March 1, 2006 [La Plata Roy Rogers reaches end of the trail] addresses plans to bulldoze the Roy Rogers restaurant to make way for a Walgreens pharmacy. According to the article, McDonald’s Corporation (as in hamburgers) owns the land that their hamburger competitor Roy Rogers sits on as well as a small parcel of land behind it where there is now a two story house. Both Roy’s and the house will be demolished to make way for Walgreens. I’m sure many citizens enjoy having a choice or restaurants and businesses but to have seven pharmacies (once Target is built) is a little too much. How about seven donut shops or seven building supply stores all next to each other? Does that make better sense? Who’s planning this town? When you go to a Town Hall meeting you’ll see a town council that seems to enjoy just voting against each other and sometimes openly apologizing stating “they are only one vote.” Maybe it’s time to have a recall and replace some of these elected officials with a council that will work together for the best interest of the citizens and use some common sense. More importantly, they should get out and talk to the citizens and then support them with their vote. As a community we should have a say as to land use and the ability to offer different amenities to our citizens. Must citizens have to act on their own when we have elected officials to represent us? It’s time for citizens to get involved. So what can we do? Write letters, send emails, make phone calls and attend meetings. Tell your friends and neighbors to get involved. Lets tell the local McDonalds and its corporate headquarters how we feel about this deal with Walgreens. Demand that your ward councilmember start working for the citizens of this town and if they don’t find a new job.

A concerned La Plata resident

La Plata on drugs?

2006-03-05T00:05:00.000-05:00

Lets see ….we have five pharmacies here in La Plata. County Drugs, Safeway, Wal-Mart, CVS and Rite-Aid. Do we need more?

Hold on - - if McDonald’s Corporation. has its way they will bulldoze the Roy Rogers restaurant to make room for yet a sixth pharmacy – Walgreens. Yes a Walgreens directly across the street from CVS. Maybe we can put La Plata on the map for having more drug stores than any other town.

Residents should be concerned about the proposed acquisition of land by Walgreens from McDonald Corporation to build a pharmacy similar to CVS and Rite-Aid. Safeway and Wal-Mart have pharmacies in addition to the proposed Target. County Drug has served La Plata for years. La Plata seems to be wide open to developers who feel they have the freedom to build what they want, where they want with little thought about how the community is affected.

McDonalds Corporation is the land owner of the Roy Rogers location and will benefit by eliminating a competitor only to add another pharmacy to La Plata. Do we really need it?

The public must send a signal that enough is enough by contacting your town council, the local McDonalds and its corporate headquarters. They must reconsider their sale to the developer, Phillips Edison to build a Walgreens.

This is your opportunity as a community to make a difference.

2006-03-01T08:39:00.000-05:00

Look what we found on the MML web site

La Plata - Town Manager
Date Posted: 02/27/2006

The Town of La Plata is seeking a local government professional to become its next Town Manager. La Plata is a growing community of 9,000 residents located in beautiful Southern Maryland. Desired qualifications for this position include experience with working with elected officials, growth management, water and sewer, planning, financial administration, personnel administration, law enforcement and public works. Bachelor's degree is required with masters degree in public administration or related field preferred. City or town management experience is required, preferably in Maryland. Member of ICMA preferred. Residency required. Cover letter and resume should be sent to Michelle D. Miner, Asst. Town Manager, 305 Queen Anne Street, La Plata, MD 20646, or email to mminer@townoflaplata.org. Open until filled.

2005 Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year Award

2006-02-26T08:20:00.000-05:00

In 2005 this is what Edwin L. Kelly, President and Chief Operating Officer of ACPT said when accepting the award.

"Building successful communities, neighborhoods, and businesses requires teamwork and vision. This award is testament to our ability to do just that"

In 20005 ACPT http://www.acptrust.com/ broke ground on the construction of an additional two lanes of the Cross County Connector, and the extension of St. Charles Parkway to Rosewick Road in La Plata.

These two projects represent a private-sector investment of $20 million toward the improvement of the transportation grid that serves all of Charles County

http://www.stcharlesmd.com/body_index.html

Very Interesting !

2006-02-25T21:37:00.000-05:00

Here’s what County Commissioner Kelly told a constituent on February 25, 2006 about the Rosewick Road project. The Washington Post reported the Commissioners views on Rosewick Road on December 11, 2005.

Email from Commissioner Kelly to a constituentDate: February 25, 2006
Subject: Rosewick Road Zoning

I too support the proposed senate bill to limit annexation without County approval. The Maryland Municipal League is lobbying very heavily in opposition and there are concerns that in an election year, the state legislature will cave. You should make your thoughts known to the delegation. They need to know that there is support from citizens of the Town. My reasoning behind my support is not to regulate what the Town can annex, that's their decision, but to ensure that when they do annex and allow development, particularly residential, to take place that there is a requirement that what ever they approve there must be adequate public facilities funded and/or in place, such as school seats, road infrastructure, police support, etc.

The County must have a role in this, because ultimately we have to provide the schools, etc. Regarding the Faison parcel, the Commissioners held firm that the parcel must be used as it was zoned, as a Business Park. We did nothing extraordinary to pave the way for annexation. The decision to annex is the Town's, not the County Commissioners. The parcel was zoned business park and it is going to be a business park. I am comfortable with a Giant and Lowes and limited retail on the parcel.

I believe that makes sense for workers and a Giant and Lowes certainly would be of benefit to citizens. As a consumer, I like to have options in terms of where I purchase my groceries and a Lowes will be an added convenience, saving citizens a trip to Waldorf.

Again, from the beginning, I have found it surprising that Town residents are looking to the County Commissioners to regulate and control the Town Council. These folks are elected bythe Town's citizens. The County Commissioners honored the zoning and held firm. We did our job. Hope that helps. Have a nice weekend!

Candice Quinn Kelly,Charles County Commissioner

Proposal To Expand La Plata At Issue
Builder Wants Land For Retail Complex

By Ann E. Marimow
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 11, 2005; SM01

La Plata Mayor Gene Ambrogio was elected in the spring as a staunch opponent of expanding the town's borders. This month, in the first post-election test of that policy, Ambrogio seems to be sticking with his central campaign theme.

At issue is a prime intersection in Charles County that could become the northern gateway to the county seat and town of 8,500. Developers want La Plata to annex 97 acres -- between Route 301 and Washington Avenue -- partly to create a complex for shopping and senior citizen housing.

The way Ambrogio sees it, the town should not expand until it has developed available land within its boundaries. Ambrogio has characterized the Rosewick Crossing project as "just another sea of asphalt with stores."

"Do we want to be La Waldorf?" he asked last week, after a hearing on the project before the Charles County commissioners. "People move down to La Plata to get away from all the congestion."

Town residents will have an opportunity to comment on the annexation at a public forum scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Evie Hungerford of Indian Head, who has worked as a spokeswoman for project developers Faison Enterprises Inc., defended the proposal. In developments already approved, as many as 5,000 new homes could be built in the next decade in La Plata, Hungerford said, and the new residents would need more commercial outlets.

"The complexion of La Plata is wonderful just where it is in the town, but outside the area, the baby boomers are going to require certain things," she said. "To put your head in the sand is not the way to go."

The Charles County Board of Commissioners has bolstered Ambrogio's position, its members unanimously rejecting a proposed zoning change last week that would have rewritten the rules for the area and cleared the way for the retail center.

The question before the commissioners Tuesday was a seemingly technical one. But the discussion quickly evolved into something of a warm-up for the commissioners' 2006 campaign season. They touched on hot issues likely to figure in the outcome of the elections, such as crowded schools, roadways and crime.

Commissioner Al Smith (R-Waldorf), who has toyed with challenging commissioners President Wayne Cooper (D-At Large), called for a development "timeout" and the need to "rein in unbridled growth in La Plata."

Commissioner Candice Quinn Kelly (R-La Plata) concurred. "I'm a shopper with the best of them," she told the developers, but "I don't know that the demand is there." The county's resources -- from sheriff's deputies to space for students in public schools -- are stretched, Kelly said.

Faison Enterprises, which built the Waldorf Marketplace on Route 228, has proposed a Lowe's home center and a Giant grocery store for the site at Route 301 and the soon-to-be extended Rosewick Road. The development would include 120 homes for seniors.

As part of the project, the developers have offered to offset the effect on the town by redirecting sewage flow in the area and building a well and water tower. An evaluation by town officials on whether the developer has met standards for providing public facilities finds the project "has offered to meet and exceed those guidelines."

After the commissioners rejected the zoning change last week, David Cooksey, a consultant on the project with the engineering firm Loiederman Soltesz Associates, said of their decision, "It seems to me they're saying the town doesn't know how to manage its growth.

"It's a lack of understanding of the proposal," said Cooksey, shaking his head in disbelief. "Smart growth says you should grow where there's already growth."

Town Manager Doug Miller stressed that the La Plata council has not yet taken a position on the project. He took issue with Smith's suggestion that development in La Plata is out of control.

"I don't fault Commissioner Smith. He doesn't want us to annex willy-nilly," Miller said. "But I somewhat object to his inference that we don't know about our needs or care about them. We've prided ourselves in trying to stay ahead of those needs."

Vision Plans and Intellectual Discussions

2006-02-25T15:33:00.000-05:00

Lets get real! Lots of people want to beat the drum and hear themselves talk about vision plans and having intellectual discussions. Right!

The first requirement for such talking heads is to move yourself down here. Become a real La Plata resident and then walk the talk. We would love to have you participate but not from inside the beltway.

blog, blog, blog

Concerned Citizens for La Plata

2006-02-25T07:44:00.000-05:00

Are you concerned about annexation? Speak out and get involved!We are looking for volunteers to form a group that will take action to prevent the annexation north of Rosewick Road.Please contact us at whereislaplata@lycos.com for further information.

An open letter to Charles County Commissioner Kelly

2006-02-24T21:11:00.000-05:00

Dear Ms Kelly,

I saw your announcement in the Independent today, "What's important to you?". I'd like to share with you some concerns I have and also ask you to explain your position on the Rosewick road annexation.

I live in the town of La Plata and am against the Rosewick road annexation. Route 301 in the La Plata area is getting closer and closer to looking like the Waldorf 301. I have read many articles about the future of the water supply in Southern Maryland, specifically Charles County. I've seen cable replays of La Plata Town Council meetings where fears of the lack of future water supply have been questioned by citizens but have yet to hear any Council member even attempt to put those fears to rest.

Development of the Rosewick complex is not welcome by many La Plata residents. It sounds like it would have an adverse impact on sewer and water issues, traffic and other development issues. I feel the further development of the core downtown area is impacted by these type of shopping areas along 301. There is also a proposal for a shopping area south of town. It is proposed to have a large grocery and home center store there just like at Rosewick. While I personally am not for that development either, at least this one is on Town property. The Rosewick annexation and shopping development would probably jeopardize the development of this project south of town.

I'd like the town of La Plata to remain a "small town" as best as it can. I can go to La Plata Mill or the True Value that is opening for many "home center" needs. If I need to drive to Waldorf occasionally to a Home Depot or Lowe's, I don't have a problem with that. And many citizens feel the same as I do. They want to see the downtown area further developed.

I recently read in the Maryland Independent about a bill co-sponsored by Senator Middleton that calls for more collaboration between county and municipal governments regarding annexing land for development. The article stated it is supported by the Maryland Association of Counties. I also read another article that said the Charles County Commissioners agreed to approve a zoning change that allows for the development of the 75-acre shopping and business complex north of La Plata (the Rosewick road annexation). By approving the zoning change the Town of La Plata Council will be able to vote for annexation.

I supported Mayor Ambrogio in his campaign for Mayor where his campaign centered on no more annexations until after we develop land already in the town. It was considered quite an upset when he was elected. I think it showed that the majority of the citizens agree with his position. I also supported my ward Councilman because I thought he too was against annexations, but I was wrong. At least one other Councilman has changed his position on annexations since the election. So it appears if this annexation vote goes before the Council, it will be passed.

My questions are: Have you (the Commissioners) actually voted on approving the zoning change? Why did you and the other Commissioners go against the bill I've mentioned and the wishes of the Maryland Association of Counties? If you haven't actually voted yet, couldn't you first solicit comments from residents of Charles County and the Town of La Plata on how they feel about this annexation before you vote on the zoning change? What are your opinions on the Rosewick road annexation and related issues such as the lack of water supply?

Thank you for the opportunity to share my concerns and ask you these questions.

Faison annexation plan sent back for corrections

2006-02-24T16:58:00.000-05:00

According to the February 24, 2006 edition of the Maryland Independent there are leagal flaws in the annexation document. And that Faison gave the town incorrect information about the size of the parcel to be annexed and did not include all the land to be annexed in legal advertisements for public hearings that ran in the local newspaper. Other issues include a disagreement between the town and the company about how much it would cost to sink a deep well at the development site. Faison said it would cost between $6000,000 to $700,000 to install a well, but Doung Miller the Town Manager said it would cost at least $1.2 million to do it. If all this is true then what other information is being held back from La Plata residents? What is the real story?

The council states they want it done the right. But when you talk to the resident out on the street they will tell you the council doesn't care what we the residnets and taxpayers have to say.

The Town Manager states that if Faison officials resubmit the annexation petition to the town, new public hearings would have to be held.

All the more reason for La Plata residents to start getting involved now!

Let us here from you at whereislaplata@lycos.com

Is it time for a RECALL ?

2006-02-22T15:02:00.000-05:00

It appears Faison has run into a bump in the road regarding the proposal to develop a 75-acre shopping and business complex at Rosewick Road north of La Plata.

It is now believed that the Town has asked Faison to go back to the drawing board and provide the Town additional information about their project. If this is true, then the process to advertise and hold public hearings must be repeated. Very odd when you think about it! Almost two months ago, a La Plata resident asked the Town Council at an open meeting why the Town Attorney was not present at the meetings when annexation issues were discussed. A councilmember informed this resident that it was a waste of the taxpayers money to have the Town Attorney attend the meetings. I guess it’s not a waste of money and time to have the Town Council go thru the entire process again? On the other hand, if a company such as Faison didn’t get it right the first time what makes us think they can ever get it right?

All this may be good news for the many La Plata residents who are against annexation. But the fact remains that all but one of the voting members of the La Plata Town Council have favored annexation and plan to vote in favor of it when the issue officially comes before the Town Council.

Coupled with all of this is the growing number of residents who are dissatisfied with their own ward council members. Many residents have complained that whenever they have tried to express their concerns to their own ward councilperson they never receive a timely response, and in some cases no response. One resident states that his Ward Councilperson will no longer accept his emails. Another resident published a letter to the editor in the Maryland Independent about the annexation and urged residents not to contact their council members because they are not listening to their constituents.

The lack of council representation as viewed by some residents seems to be a consistent pattern that would in some measure rise to a level of grave concern.

Should the real issue and solution possibly be a recall for elected officials who are not serving the best interest of their constituents?

The Town of La Plata has a process for doing this and would require a petition by the voters, followed by a successful referendum. The petition must be signed by twenty percent (20%) or more of the citizens qualified to vote in the town elections.

LETS HEAR FROM YOU ON THIS ONE! PLEASE GIVE US YOUR
FEEDBACK.

whereislaplata@lycos.com

§ C7-13.1. Recall of elected officials.

Any elected official of the Town of La Plata may be recalled from the office upon petition by the voters, followed by a successful referendum on the matter. The petition must be signed by twenty percent (20%) or more citizens qualified to vote in the town elections. The petition shall satisfy all the requirements of Maryland law prescribed for petitions to Charter amendments. Upon receipt of a petition for recall, the Board of Supervisors of Elections shall verify that the signers are valid as to voter registration and the required twenty percent (20%). The Board of Supervisors of Elections shall notify the Town Council of the receipt of a valid petition within ten (10) days and shall schedule a referendum on the matter within sixty (60) days following receipt of the petition. If a majority of the persons voting on the matter shall be in favor of the recall, the recalled official shall immediately forfeit his office. The vacancy caused by the recall shall be filled as any other vacated elective office

Rosewick Road Annexation "SETBACK"

2006-02-22T08:17:00.000-05:00

The latest rumor is that Faison, the developers who are pushing the Rosewick Road annexation, will have to go back to the drawing board because they failed to dot every i and cross every t on their original petition for annexation.

This could mean months of delay for Fasion and the requirement for them to start from scratch to advertise and hold public hearings.

Let's watch and see what comes out of Town Hall and the news.

Volunteers Wanted !

2006-02-20T23:00:00.000-05:00

We are looking for lots of volunteers to help with the fight to STOP ANNEXATION. We will need your help if we are forced to have a petition drive in order to put a stop to needless annexation.

La Plata must continue development of land already within the town limits. Annexation of the 75-acre shopping and business complex north of La Plata will only create a greater amount of traffic problems along with complex sewer and water issues.

We can not afford to turn this wonderful Town over to developers; it belongs to us, the citizens and taxpayers.

Help to save La Plata and volunteer NOW!

Contact us at whereislaplata@lycos.com

Truck Traffic in La PLata

2006-02-20T22:29:00.000-05:00

With the continued development of La PLata there have been lots of dump trucks observed around town without the proper truck bed covers. According to Maryland law covers must be used when hauling items within the truck bed. Items that could fall out of the truck bed can cause injury or property damage. Keep La Plata safe and report drivers who are not following the law.

STOP ANNEXATION

2006-02-11T11:25:00.000-05:00

ANNEXATION

What are the issues?

Faison wants the La Plata Town Council to annex land to build a 75-acre shopping and business complex at Rosewick Road north of La Plata.

Some residents welcome the convenience of having big box stores here in La Plata to avoid the long and congested drive to Waldorf.

Other residents wish to see development to build on land already within the town limits in order to avoid traffic, water and sewer problems.

We can not afford to turn this wonderful Town over to developers; it belongs to us, the citizens and taxpayers.

What can you do to help?

****Start a strong anti-annexation group in your community****

****Contact your Ward Councilperson****

Councilman Wayne Winkler - Ward I, winklerw@comcast.net
Councilman Keith Back - Ward II, thebacks@comcast.net
Councilwoman Paddy Mudd - Ward III, paddy.mudd@verizon.net
Councilman Vic E. Newman - Ward IV, laplatacouncil@comcast.net
****Write letters to the editor of the Maryland Independent****

FAX 301-645-2175 or email to abreck@somdnews.com

****Attend and speak out at the next Town Council meeting****

Tuesday, February 14, 2006, 7 PM – Town Hall 305 Queen Anne Street

GET INVOLVED!

Bill proposes annexation limits for cities, towns

2006-02-11T09:14:00.000-05:00

ANNAPOLIS — A powerful coalition of state senators is pushing a bill that would restrict a municipal government’s authority to annex land for development.

The legislation has sparked a heated battle between the state’s influential local government lobbies — the Maryland Municipal League and the Maryland Association of Counties — while opening a debate on the volatile issue of land-use policies in an election year.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Thomas McLain Middleton, a former president of the Charles County Commissioners, said he is co-sponsoring the bill to emphasize that growth policies need to be hammered out between counties and towns.

‘‘The whole reason I co-sponsored the bill is to bring the two together,” said Middleton (D-Dist. 28) of Waldorf.
The Maryland Municipal League, which represents the state’s 157 town and municipal governments, accuses the Maryland Association of Counties of using heavy-handed tactics in pushing the legislation.

LA PLATA TAXPAYERS DOLLARS AT WORK?

2006-02-11T07:36:00.000-05:00

Recently the Charles County Commissioners agreed to rezone land north of La Plata thus clearing the way for Faison to request a La Plata Town Council vote on annexation to build a 75-acre shopping and business complex at Rosewick Road.

Many residents are not in favor of annexation because water, sewer, traffic and many other problems that would come with massive annexation.

According to news reports and the Maryland Municipal League (MML) web site - The MML is in favor of annexation and is aggressively fighting a new state bill that would limit a town’s authority to annex land for development. MML continues to push and encourages its members to fight against any effort to restrict a town’s ability and authority to annex.

This doesn’t seem fair and presents a conflict of interest for a number of reasons.
First and according to the MML web site http://www.mdmunicipal.org/documents/bulletins/bulletin080105.htm several members of the La Plata Town government are active members of the MML. Councilman Vic Newman serves on the MML Convention Planning Committee, Councilman Wayne Winkler serves on the MML Communications Committee and La Plata Town manager Doug Miller is on the MML Legislative Committee.

In addition it is believed that La Plata taxpayers foot the bill for a variety of MML expenses that pay the way for town employees and elected officials to attend MML functions and conventions in places like Ocean City. Hotel lodging, meals, transportation paid from the town’s budget.

If this is indeed correct then it appears to be a conflict of interest? Should taxpayers support a voluntary, nonprofit, nonpartisan association controlled and maintained by city and town governments such as the MML who are fighting to support annexation? In other word we the taxpayer are paying to fight FOR ANNEXATION.

Many of the town council members have spoken out in support of annexation. Are they obligated to support their organization the MML? Why would they continue to serve with an organization that is trying to force our town to be annexed?

Why don’t La Plata town officials speak out against the MML if they honestly believe that annexation for the Rosewick Project is not the desire of the majority of the voters and taxpayers in the community?

Why can't the La Plata Police do this?

2006-02-10T15:00:00.000-05:00

Some no or low costs suggestions for the La Plata Police Department.

Foot Partols - Have officers on foot provide patrols for the the downtown La Plata areas. Get to know the merchants and provide police services for visitors, shoppers, and people working downtown. (save on fuel costs)

Park and Walk Program – To promote community policing, have police officers park their patrol from time to time and conduct a foot patrol of the residental and strip mall areas. (save on fuel costs)

VIPS Program - Start a VIPS Program. In many jurisdictions around the country, volunteers in the community have offered their time and skills services to law enforcement agencies. These citizen volunteers help supplement and support officers and civilian personnel by allowing them to concentrate on their primary duties. Volunteer roles may include performing clerical tasks, serving as an extra set of "eyes and ears," assisting with search and rescue activities, and writing citations for accessible parking violations. (lower the need for full time paid officers)

Vacation Home Checks – Provide La Plata residents, property and business owners a service in which a police officer check the property at least once per day in the absence of the resident. This can be part of the officers normal patrol duties. (reduce crime)

Neighborhood Watch – Organize citizens to act as the eyes and ears of the police within the community. A program like this also serves to educate citizens concerning current crime trends and various crime prevention and detection methods. (reduce crime better relationship with residents)

Safe House Program – The Safe House Program is a cooperative effort between the Police Department and the various neighborhoods throughout the Town in which parents that are commonly home during times that children are traveling to and from school volunteer to provide a “safe house” for children to go to when they feel that there may be suspicious activity or a suspicious person in the area. The “safe house” volunteer receives an orientation in the proper response to a child in distress and the appropriate measures to take to contact the police. The “safe houses” within the neighborhood are clearly distinguished by placards that are prominently placed in the front windows of the homes.

Substance Abuse Programs – Have the La Plata police present educational and prevention programs to audiences of all ages concerning substance abuse. Beyond the traditional view of substance abuse as being restricted to controlled substances and drugs, the programs also cover the areas of tobacco use by young people, alcohol abuse and Driving Under the Influence issues.

Ride Along Program- Allow residents and business leaders the opportunity to ride a shift with a police officer. This enables them to gain a first-hand look at the many challenges they face each day.Youth

Fingerprinting – Start a Youth Fingerprinting Program in conjunction with schools within the the Town limits in order to provide a means of positive identification of missing children. The fingerprints are taken by trained police personnel and the fingerprint card is provided to the parent or child for safekeeping. Parents of children who have not had the opportunity to have their child fingerprinted in the schools could contact the La Plata Police Department.

Officer Friendly Program – The highly successful Officer Friendly Program would conducted by a uniformed police officer and serves to foster a positive relationship between young children and the police while also providing valuable personal safety and security information through the use of lectures, booklets and coloring books.

Stranger Awareness Program - A Stranger Awareness Program should be developed to help children learn the dangers of going with strangers and some of the ruses used to entice children. A “Patch The Pony” film is available to assist in presenting the program to children and a correlation is made between this program and the Safe House Program.

Bicycle Safety Program – Start Bicycle Safety Program. This program emphasizes the safe operation of bicycles and helmet usage. Police officers provide instruction to participants, inspect their bicycles and supervise exercises through a course set up to simulate various situations that a cyclist may encounter. The program has proven to be very effective and popular in other towns.

Police Station/Community Center Tours – When it is open start giving tours to the public. Such tours are of particular interest to young people who can see first hand how their local police department operates.

Scout Program– Have Town Police officers available to assist scout members with achieving merit badges through law enforcement related programs.

Street Smart Program Start a Street Smart Program assists children in learning the safety rules to follow when walking on or along the streets of the Town. Also address safety belt usage is emphasized when traveling in a car and school bus.

Halloween Safety Program - The Halloween season is a time of extra excitement for youngsters throughout the Town. In order to address the areas of safety and awareness when celebrating Halloween, the Police Department should develope a program with the assistance of local business sponsors to distribute “Trick or Treat” bags to students of the Town's elementary and nursery schools along with distribution to the general public.

Adult Fingerprinting – Provided for any adult resident or employee of a Town business for a twenty ($20.00) fee. Fingerprints may be required for various licensing requirements, such as Securities and Exchange Commission licensing, Insurance Brokerage licensing, Bar Examination qualification and State Teachers’ Certification.

Security Surveys - Provided upon the request of residents, area businesses, schools and private citizens. These surveys identify and provide information relative to strengthening areas that are vulnerable to thefts, break-ins and burglaries.(reduce crime)

*** The Town has just approved hiring another police officer. Hire someone with a background who could also serve as a youth community leader, outreach officer etc, etc. This would help to fill the needed gap for a Town summer youth program officer. Maybe give this officer a vehicle that has "Community Youth Officer" on the side.

Zoning = Annexation = Doom !

2006-02-09T14:43:00.000-05:00

The zoning approval for the Faison 75-acre development north of La Plata has cleared the way for annexation. Thanks to the Charles County Commissioners. On Monday, Feb 6th the commissioners agreed to approve the zoning change for the Rosewick Road project. Looks like the commissiners are not in tune with the Maryland Association of Counties and the Maryland State Senate who are pushing a bill the will limit annexation for Maryland cities and towns. Del. Murray D. Levy, whoo is co-sponsoring the bill stated: "The bill is an attempt to force municipalities to deal with these issues along with counties. Towns can't merrily go along and build massive projects without regard to thier impact on the rest of the county" And Del W. Daniel Mayer, also a co-sponser of the bill added: " Develpoers come to La Plata because it's a magnet. Every regulation we put in to control growth in the county La PLata didn't have. This bill forces municipalities and counties to sit down and come up with a growth plan."

Mac backs bill to limit annexation!

2006-02-08T12:11:00.000-05:00

The Maryland Independent article of 2/8/2006 made it clear that Thomas Mac Middleton has co-sponsored a bill that would help limit the kind of annexation going on in La PLata. He is also supported by the Maryland Association of Counties. What do the Charles County Commissioners have to say about this?

Here is a sneek peek at the unofficial copy of SB 536:

http://mlis.state.md.us/2006rs/bills/sb/sb0536f.pdf

Running dry?

2006-02-06T21:05:00.000-05:00

Maryland's growth could threaten water supplies, and towns have been forced to curtail development

By Timothy B. Wheeler
Sun Reporter
February 5, 2006
To house its growing congregation, St. James Episcopal Church in Mount Airy wants to build a bigger sanctuary and nursery school on a 12-acre campus a mile north of its historic home on Main Street.But groundbreaking for the new $2.6 million church complex has been on hold for months until more water can be found.

So have other projects aimed at reviving the old Main Street of this one-time whistle-stop community straddling the Carroll and Frederick county lines."Who would have thought somebody living in Maryland, where it's rainy, would have a problem with water?" asked the town's mayor, James Holt.

Yet in more and more places around Maryland, water is becoming a problem - or at least a nagging worry.Mount Airy and two other growing towns in Carroll and Frederick counties have been forced to curtail development - either voluntarily or under orders from the state - because their growth was outstripping water supplies.In Southern Maryland, the state's fastest-growing region, groundwater levels are dropping an average of 1 to 2 feet a year. And in Garrett County, students at Northern High School had to have drinking water trucked in until a few weeks ago after the school's well faltered during a dry spell last summer.

It's not as if the state is on the verge of becoming a desert. Maryland is a watery playground, a boater's and fisherman's paradise. It is dotted with lakes and reservoirs, and laced with rivers and streams that feed into the world's largest estuary. Rain and snow normally soak the landscape, from an average of 36 inches out west to 46 inches in the Baltimore region.

Nevertheless, the state's growing population is straining its water-supply networks, experts say, making it increasingly vulnerable to drought. Unless steps are taken, shortages and water-use restrictions could become a chronic woe in some parts of the state.Maryland's population grew by 35 percent from 1970 to 2000, and it's projected to swell by an additional 20 percent - or 1.1 million people - over the next 25 years."I think water is going to be the critical limiting factor in how Maryland develops, or doesn't develop," said Eugene A. Piotrowski, the Department of Natural Resources' director of resource planning.

Developers and small-town officials with big growth plans are proposing to build reservoirs and jockeying for the rights to water from state forests and parkland. Competition over water has triggered lawsuits in Calvert County, while other local officials are drilling deeper wells, building storage towers and laying new pipelines to keep the precious liquid flowing.

Need for planning Keeping water shortages at bay, experts say, will require a combination of new sources and conservation, plus much better growth planning and collaboration by government at all levels. Greater public awareness is also vital, they say.Statewide, nearly 1.5 billion gallons of fresh water are withdrawn daily from streams, reservoirs and wells to furnish drinking water, irrigate farm fields, generate power and run factories.By 2030, planners project, demand for water could grow by 16 percent, an extra 233 million gallons a day.

"Are there places in Maryland that are in danger of running out of water? The answer is a qualified 'probably', not a definite 'no'," says M. Gordon "Reds" Wolman, a geography professor at the Johns Hopkins University and chairman of the state's water advisory committee.

Twice in the past seven years, droughts have caused serious shortages around the state, with reservoirs and wells nearly running dry and restrictions placed on lawn watering, car washing and other major water uses. Experts say the dry spells exposed shortcomings in water supply - problems that could worsen as Maryland's population grows fastest in some areas where water is increasingly difficult and costly to find.

Making matters worse, experts say, local officials sometimes plan for growth without taking steps to ensure that there is enough water.

Eighty-four percent of the state's population gets its water from public systems, which appear adequate for now but are vulnerable to drought and can grow only so much.The Baltimore metropolitan system, with its three large reservoirs, and the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, which draws heavily from the Potomac River, serve 60 percent of all Marylanders. One dispute between Virginia and Maryland over the right to the river's water went to the Supreme Court - possibly a harbinger of future fights over water.

Among the regions most at risk for shortages are those heavily dependent on groundwater, experts say.A recent study by the Maryland Geological Survey, eyeing the 37 percent population growth projected in Southern Maryland, warns that the aquifer serving parts of Charles County could be in danger of depletion in 25 years unless deeper and costlier wells are drilled there.

'Not working' "The way we're going now is not working," said state Sen. Roy P. Dyson, a Democrat, who represents St. Mary's and Charles counties. "Some day we'll wake up and say, 'Oh, my God, where are we going to get our water?'"The availability of drinkable groundwater varies in Maryland. In the coastal plain that runs east and south of Baltimore, water has collected in vast underground aquifers, layers of porous sand and gravel that retain moisture. Like a tilted layer cake, the water-bearing aquifers are separated by thin sheets of clay or other relatively impervious soils or rock.

Getting water involves drilling a well down into one of the aquifers and sucking it out, like poking a straw into a saturated sponge sandwiched between sheets of cardboard.

The water found in the deeper aquifers in the coastal plain seeped into them from the surface thousands of years ago, ensuring a relatively steady supply even in severe droughts.

But heavy withdrawals from one or more wells using the same aquifer can cause other wells nearby to run dry, and if too much is removed over time throughout the aquifer, it could be depleted, experts warn.In the rolling hills and mountains to the west, finding water underground is less predictable.

Beneath the surface soil is a mixture of clay and rocks leading down to bedrock. The top of the bedrock is cracked and broken by weathering, allowing spaces for water to collect. The crazy-quilt pattern of such subsurface rock fractures forms an irregular network of natural "pipelines" that slowly feed water into springs, wetlands, streams and wells.

"The Piedmont provinces are much stingier in terms of water yield," says Virginia Kearney, deputy director of water management for the Maryland Department of the Environment. "You can get lucky and hit a crack or a fissure in the rock that's a good producer, but you could also drill a lot of dry wells."State law requires counties and municipalities to ensure adequate water and waste treatment for any new development, but many localities have not kept their plans up to date or adjusted them to reflect planned development.

Only 10 of the state's 23 counties have up-to-date plans, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment.
Lack of staff County officials often say they lack the staff to keep water plans in step with growth. The state agencies charged with helping the localities are also short-handed. The MDE, which regulates water withdrawals, cut its plan review staff from nine to one a few years ago.

The number of state planners involved also dwindled from four to one, according to a 2004 report by the state's water resources advisory committee.MDE officials say they have reassigned other staff to pick up the slack, but officials say the agencies still lack the resources to effectively plan for providing more water as demand grows.

State planning officials, for instance, cannot even say how many counties and municipalities have updated their "comprehensive plans," development blueprints that by state law must be reviewed every six years and guide water supply."There's no meaningful enforcement either of comprehensive plans or water and sewer plans,"

Laurence Fogelson, manager of water and sewer planning at the state Department of Planning, told the state's water resources advisory committee recently.The state environmental agency has cracked down in cases where it discovered local officials approving more growth than the community has water to serve.In 2004, for example, state regulators took the extreme step of halting all construction in Middletown, in Frederick County, saying town officials had ignored repeated warnings that growth was using up the community's water supply.Since then, after drilling 24 dry holes, the town acquired last year a new well that produces enough water to serve at least some new development.

The construction ban has eased, though Middletown must still get state approval before issuing more building permits."We are just the tip of the iceberg," says town Administrator Andrew J. Bowen, of a problem that he expects to affect much of the East Coast. "As the population grows, quality drinking water is going to be more and more of an issue, and it's not going to go away," he says.

Seeking to avoid more Middletowns, state environmental officials have stepped in to limit development in Mount Airy and Taneytown in Carroll County until those towns find more water.

Unable to find more water by drilling wells, Mount Airy is looking to nearby rivers or streams. Town officials are studying whether to run a pipeline to the South Branch of the Patapsco River or to Gillis Falls, a Patapsco tributary.

A third option may be hooking up to a pipeline Frederick County uses to draw water from the Potomac River.In the meantime, St. James Church and another downtown project have found a way to proceed - by diverting groundwater allocated to homes that have yet to be built.

Not far away, Taneytown officials are working to stretch the supply by fixing leaks in pipes. They are also looking to acquire water rights to land outside town, build a reservoir or tap into a nearby creek.With groundwater in the Piedmont region recharged from nearby stream drainage areas, state regulators have insisted that there be roughly an acre of land available for replenishing the water used by every household hooked up to a well.

But the state's policy of 1 acre per household encourages suburban sprawl, officials say, by raising barriers to concentrating new development in and around towns and cities."This could smack in the face of Smart Growth," acknowledges Herbert M. Sachs, a water supply coordinator at the MDE, referring to the state's pioneering anti-sprawl law."If a community wants to expand and we tell them they need so many acres of land to withdraw [water] from, they're going to look to annex or swing some deals on the outside."
A scramble begins That's already happening.

The building restrictions have set off a scramble among local officials and developers for water rights on undeveloped lands, even state parks.State natural resources officials say they have received about 10 requests in recent months for access to water in state parks and forests, either by piping it from public lands or by claiming the right to pump more water from their nearby wells.

Boonsboro, in Washington County, has asked about acquiring the groundwater allocation for 325 acres in the state's South Mountain Battlefield Park. Boonsboro manager John Kendall says more water is needed to serve a wave of growth expected over the next 15 to 20 years that could more than double the town's population.

More than 50 other towns and cities border state parks and forests and may follow suit if Boonsboro is successful."This is only going to increase in the future," said Piotrowski, the DNR's director of resource planning.

Local officials and developers are also beginning to inquire about claiming groundwater allotted to farmland that has been preserved from development.While such deals might help Smart Growth, state officials say they are leery of giving away or even selling water that might be essential to sustaining forests and future farming operations."

The question we don't see being asked is, should there be any growth in Boonsboro at all?" the DNR's Piotrowski says.Some residents in Mount Airy have raised similar concerns, pointing out that town officials approved more new housing than the town's wells could serve, and then seemed all too willing to strike an annexation deal for Patapsco River water with a developer who wants to build hundreds more homes.

"If we can't find water, there shouldn't be more development," says John Woodhull, a critic of the way the town has grown.The water problems are different in Southern Maryland, where water is easier to find. Though less vulnerable to short-term droughts, those aquifers can still be drained as more and more wells are sunk into them.Calvert County officials recently pledged to stop issuing building permits for the Lusby area after pumping more water than allowed by the state from two wells serving the area.

The county has applied for permission to nearly double how much it pumps from those two wells, each more than 600 feet deep into the Aquia aquifer.The request is opposed, however, by the Chesapeake Water Association, a private utility that fears the increased withdrawals could harm area wells, including the four it owns to serve about 10,000 customers there."The groundwater in Southern Maryland is being depleted rather quickly," contends George Hanson, general manager of the association.Pumping too much in one place can cause localized "cones of depression," where water levels drop.

That can pose problems for nearby shallower wells or for older wells with pumps that cannot adjust to the lower water levels.County officials have estimated that the increased pumping will lower water levels in the vicinity by about 4 feet a year. But groundwater levels there have been dropping 6 feet a year, so the total decline could be as much as 120 feet in the next 12 years."We're pulling water out of the ground faster than it can come in," Hanson contends.County and state officials dismiss Hanson's concerns, pointing to a study last year by the Maryland Geological Survey.

It predicted that the aquifers supplying water in most of Southern Maryland should be able to withstand the increased pumping expected as the region's population grows over the next 25 years.

Drilling deeper In Charles County, though, the study warns that pumping from the heavily used Magothy aquifer cannot increase much more without dipping below the sustainability threshold set by state regulators.Dropping groundwater levels could affect stream flows, the study adds, and dry out some wetlands.Around Indian Head, more pumping could draw salty Potomac River water into wells, rendering them unusable.With well problems cropping up in some areas, Charles County has been drilling deeper for its public water system to avoid causing homeowners' wells to run dry.

The county has also erected water towers in the Bryans Road area to ease the strain on wells there and extended a pipeline to connect with the Washington-area water system to help supply the booming Waldorf area.

Well drillers say the water is there in most of Southern Maryland, though it can cost $10,000 or more to drill 550 feet down.West of U.S. 301 in Charles County, though, wells must be drilled as much as 1,000 feet down into the Patapsco aquifers. The ground there "fights you every step of the way," said Sharon Morris, co-owner of Calvert Well Drilling, and drillers must sometimes try repeatedly before finding adequate water.

No easy remedies There are no easy solutions to the state's complex water needs and problems, experts say. Rivers do not offer an unlimited or drought-proof supply, and new reservoirs are costly and potentially troublesome environmentally.Some communities in Florida and elsewhere with extremely limited water have gone to desalination of seawater, but that is a costly solution not under consideration for Maryland.

The key, for now, is more coordinated planning: involving officials at all levels of government, including in neighboring states.Wolman, head of the state's water-resources advisory panel, says that officials need to step up their efforts to prevent and clean up contaminated ground and surface water."You can't separate quality from quantity if you're going to talk about available water," he says.

Geologists have begun detailed studies of coastal plain aquifers, with the aim of developing sophisticated computer models that would help regulators ensure a safe water supply for the state's fastest-growing region.The effort is expected to take six to eight years and cost up to $12 million."What's the sustainability of the resource?" asks James Gerhart, director of the regional water science center for the U.S. Geological Survey in Baltimore."Our goal is to look at it in one big picture," he adds, and to produce a water "budget" for the region.While funding has been provided for the first year of the coastal plain study, the federal agency found itself forced last month to shut down six stream gages in the coastal plain last month.

Stream gages are instruments that scientists need to understand how ground and surface water in the region interact.Experts say the stream-gage cuts reflect a larger problem: Politicians and the public seem to care about water only when it isn't there.

"We live in a humid, temperate climate where people just don't think of shortages," said Robert J. Shedlock, associate director of the regional water science center. "Droughts have made people think of water, but they tend to forget."

At the conclusion of a recent meeting of the state's water advisory panel, Chairman Wolman offered this benediction: "Quietly pray for drought - and only half mean it."

Bill would curtail annexation powers!

2006-02-04T14:44:00.000-05:00

Expansions of towns, cities would be delayed
By Timothy B. Wheeler
Sun reporter
February 4, 2006

A simmering political feud over where and how much Maryland should grow heated up yesterday with the introduction of a bill in Annapolis aimed at limiting the power of cities and towns to annex land for development.

Acting at the behest of county officials, environmentalists and residents upset about a recent flurry of municipal annexations on the Eastern Shore and elsewhere, three state senators proposed legislation that would delay an urban boundary expansion for up to a decade unless the neighboring county agreed to it.

"It's one of the hot-button issues related to growth," said Sen. E.J. Pipkin, a Republican and one of the bill's sponsors. He represents the upper Eastern Shore, where annexations that would double or triple the sizes of some small towns over the next 10 to 20 years have generated bitter debates and at least one lawsuit.

Other sponsors are Sen. Paula C. Hollinger, a Baltimore County Democrat, and Sen. John C. Astle, an Anne Arundel Democrat.

"What we're trying to do is bring the municipalities and counties together to provide them incentives to work together to provide some kind of planned growth," Pipkin said.
County officials welcomed the measure. Municipal leaders said they had not seen it and vowed to oppose it. It runs counter to Maryland's Smart Growth law, which uses state funding to encourage development in and around communities, they said.

"Basically, it is an anti-Smart Growth initiative," said Annapolis Mayor Ellen O. Moyer. If it passes, she said, it will encourage suburban sprawl.

Though municipalities other than Baltimore have long been able to expand their boundaries, the number and scope of annexations have grown in recent years, particularly in the state's small towns, sparking acrimony over the size and types of development planned.

County officials say towns and cities might gain tax revenue from annexing land to develop but do not share the costs of building roads and schools, and providing other services.
Critics point to Cambridge's annexation of farmland to build a 3,300-home resort near Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge as an abuse of the Smart Growth law.

Caroline County has gone to court in a bid to block Denton's annexation of farmland across the Choptank River.

Municipal officials counter that annexation is the most environmentally sensitive way to grow and that county governments have permitted more sprawling development.
"Underneath it all, there are sharply different views of how people see the Eastern Shore and other parts of the state, how they should grow," Pipkin said.

Under current law, county governments cannot block a municipal annexation but can delay for up to five years any zoning changes that would allow more intense development.

In what Pipkin called a "carrot and stick" approach, the bill would encourage counties and their municipalities to negotiate agreements on annexations and financing infrastructure for new development. If there was no agreement, counties could delay development on the annexed land for 10 years, and residents within a mile of the property could petition the expansion to a referendum.

Stop Annexation!

2006-02-01T13:49:00.000-05:00

Lets keep La PLata green!

"I firmly agree with Councilman Winkler when in 2005 he said this about annexation:

"We can't afford to turn this wonderful Town over to developers; it belongs to us, the citizens and taxpayers.

"I will work hard to keep La Plata a wonderful, safe, clean town with trees and lots of green space."

PLEASE KEEP YOUR PROMISE COUNCILMAN WINKLER!

Where did La Plata go?

2006-01-27T17:48:00.000-05:00

Don't you get it? La Plata will become part of Waldorf. All one happy family with lots of traffic, shopping malls, crime and accidents.

It started with the La Plata Town Council and the County Commissioners have now signaled that they might be warming to the annexation plan for La Plata.

It seems many La Plata residents do not want to see their small town become another Waldorf. In addition to the increased traffic problems the town will be forced to deal with serious water and sewer issues. But Some elected officials don't agree and plan to push for annexation.

Mayor Ambrogio stands alone in his fight to defend town residents against this unnecessary growth that would push the La Plata town limits north into Waldorf.

There are plans underway to form a citizens group to fight annexation, forcing a vote on the issue and sending some elected officials packing.

Lets join together on this to save our Town. GET INVOLVED !!!!! http://www.discoverynet.com/~ajsnead/allsongs_1/rocky.html

Contact me and get on board....................
whereislaplata@lycos.com

We'll Miss You Mr. Town Manager

2006-01-27T17:27:00.000-05:00

Is it trure that Doug Miller the La Plata Town Manager has found a new job? It sure looks that way and that could open the doors for a new form of town government.

The long standing rule of a Town Manager has got to go and it's high time to change the style and leadership for our growing town.

It's time we push for a full time Mayor position.

Let me hear your comments on this one.

whereislaplata@lycos.com

Know Your Town Codes!

2006-01-23T19:19:00.000-05:00

§ C7-13.1. Recall of elected officials.

Any elected official of the Town of La Plata may be recalled from the office upon petition by the voters, followed by a successful referendum on the matter. The petition must be signed by twenty percent (20%) or more citizens qualified to vote in the town elections. The petition shall satisfy all the requirements of Maryland law prescribed for petitions to Charter amendments. Upon receipt of a petition for recall, the Board of Supervisors of Elections shall verify that the signers are valid as to voter registration and the required twenty percent (20%). The Board of Supervisors of Elections shall notify the Town Council of the receipt of a valid petition within ten (10) days and shall schedule a referendum on the matter within sixty (60) days following receipt of the petition. If a majority of the persons voting on the matter shall be in favor of the recall, the recalled official shall immediately forfeit his office. The vacancy caused by the recall shall be filled as any other vacated elective office

Dollars and Sense!

2006-01-21T11:25:00.000-05:00

DID YOU KNOW?

This is how the Town of La PLata is spending your money.

FY 2006 General Fund Budget (from the Town's official web site)http://www.townoflaplata.org/vertical/Sites/{C5944482-8A4A-48D0-B56C-BE347B799FF3}/uploads/{62CB3E4C-E97B-45B3-9DA5-B49D6C6B4CAB}.PDF

Total FY 2006 budget $5,474.850 to run the entire town. But almost half is for the town police department?????

Yes $2,095.400 just for the police department.

Where in the world is Mayor Ambrogio?

2006-01-16T15:54:00.000-05:00

La Plata residents got to "Chat with the Mayor" today when Mayor Ambrogio was spotted at the Charles Street Bakery. One resident was delighted that someone is taking the time to hear what town residents have to say.

According to our source the Mayor is planning future "Chats" within the community.

Where will the Mayor be next?

“Comments”

2006-01-16T10:42:00.000-05:00

Here are some recent comments from our readers:

“I’ve lived in La Plata for twenty years and sick and tired of driving to Waldorf to purchase my building supplies. Please build a Lowe’s in La Plata. I’m for annexation”

“I attended the January 10th town meeting and will never go again. They ask people to speak and then they criticize them.”

“Why do we need town police? What do they do?”

“I want to thank Councilman Winkler for all he has done for La Plata.”

“What is the town doing about the RR tracks on Charles Street? It still has a big bump.”

“I am opposed the annexation. Let’s keep La Plata nice and small.”

“Will the new Rosewick Road create traffic problems on Radio Station Road in front of the schools? What’s being done to protect our children from all the traffic this will create?”

Let's hear from you: whereislaplata@lycos.com

Hello Town Council – Are You Home?

2006-01-16T10:24:00.000-05:00

The January 10th La Plata town council meeting proved interesting and was full of debate.

Town residents spoke out - all but one opposing to the proposed Rosewick Road annexation. One resident who was addressing the council was interrupted when council members clashed and stared to debate issues. Town resident Harlan Lang stood up and asked the council to please allow the resident to complete his presentation. Thanks to the Mayor the resident was allowed to speak.

One has to wonder if the council is more interested in internal debate or hearing what the public has to say.

Get Involved!

2006-01-08T17:02:00.000-05:00

Stop Annexation !

Don't allow big business to take over our small town.

Get involved and speak out now!

La Plata Town Council Meeting, Tuesday January 10, 2006, 7 PM.

Come to Town Hall and let your voice be heard!

Let me hear your comments. whereislaplata@lycos.com

Is La Plata For Sale?

2006-01-06T13:27:00.000-05:00

Town planning board votes 3-2 for rezoning!

This is a must read article see page 14 Maryland Independent Friday, January 6, 2006

A proposed annexation north of the town limits edged further along Tuesday evening when La Plata Planning Commission voted 3-2 to recommend the land br rezoned to commerical highway if the request is approvel by the town council.

The La Plata Town Council will continue its public hearing on Fasion development company's request to annex about 72 acres into the town at the intersection of US 301 and the extention of Rosewick Road at 7 pm this Tuesday ath the town hall at 305 Queen Anne St.

Let's stop this annexation - speak out now! Blog, blog, blog.............

I want to hear your comments at whereislaplata@lycos.com

AnySoldier.com

2006-01-02T18:12:00.000-05:00

Want to send your support to a Soldier in harm's way, but have no idea of what to send, who to send it to, or how to send it?

See what a La Plata soldier did and check out his web site: http://www.anysoldier.com/

This isn't your ordinary blog ... Let's get blogging

2006-01-02T14:29:00.000-05:00

Blog, blog, blog ... Blah, blah, blah.....

Everybody's blogging and the blogosphere can be frankly, boring. What is a blog anyway? It's a weblog or an electronically written series of narratives from a particular author. Instead of blogging you to death, let's make this blog a real interaction between La Plata residents.

We have added this blog to tell you stories behind the scenes, give you insight into the complexities of an issue and acquaint you with what really goes on day to day in the town.

Here's what I want to accomplish with this blog:

Educate - Try to explain what' going on in La Plata and why. If you understand happening, you'll be more apt and knowledgeable to engage in constructive dialogue with your elected officials.

Promote - Yes, you're going to hear about events and programs, as well as, other community activity.

Enhance - I'll give you the "behind the scenes scoop."Praise - I will be handing out kudos to the Mayor, Town Council, committees and citizens. Be sure and let me know if I'm missing anything so I can post it here.

Personalize - We are all neighbors, friends, and members of this small community.

Most important to me is your feedback. E-mail me with your concerns, comments and questions and I'll tackle them here on this page. So let's be effective bloggers, starting today.

I want to hear your comments - leave them here for all to see OR you can E-mail me at: whereislaplata@lycos.com

Agencies Warn of Danger and Illegality of Motor Scooters

2006-01-02T11:19:00.000-05:00

But what are we doing here in La Plata?

What might appear to be fun recreational toys for children can be extremely dangerous and illegal to operate on public roads and sidewalks in many parts of the country.

“Pocket Bikes”, miniature motorcycles, motorized scooters, and powerboards are commonly advertised by area department stores, sporting goods retailers and auto parts stores, leading many to believe that they would make ideal holiday gifts for children and teens. That may not be the case, cautioned state officials.

“Some of these vehicles are capable of speeds of 20 – 40 m.p.h., and due to their relatively small size, are inherently dangerous to ride on public roads or sidewalks,” said a NY State Police Official. “We see people die in car crashes at lower speed than that. Parents should be very cautious.”

Though they may seem like toys, gas and electric scooters and pocket bikes are considered motor vehicles by many State DMV's and Traffic Law definition, and therefore cannot be operated on public roads without first being registered. However, because they don’t meet state and federal safety and emissions requirements, they are too dangerous for road use and cannot be registered by DMV. They are therefore illegal to operate on public roads or sidewalks.

Children have already died while riding pocket bikes on streets, according to the American Automobile Club of Southern California, which has issued a similar safety warning. In states where these vehicles have just started to grow in popularity, statistics are scant, but police officers have witnessed an increase in on-road use this year, and are concerned about the potential safety impacts.

Officials urged consumers to use common sense and have an understanding of the simple definition of a motor vehicle when considering these purchases during the holidays and throughout the year. A parent or adult most likely will be involved in the purchase since young people alone will not have the funds for such purchases.

Consumers should be mindful of a few basic facts. Motor vehicles must be registered if operated on public highways and streets. They must also comply with all the equipment requirements of the law to qualify for registration. The operator must be appropriately licensed and, if required, wear a helmet. Insurance must be in effect while the registration is valid. The operator must obey all traffic laws and not operate such a vehicle on sidewalks. Law enforcement will take action if these requirements are ignored.

Looking back in 2005!

2005-12-30T13:50:00.000-05:00

Our top pick for the 2005 La Plata blog story is this Washington Post article, dated May 4, 2005.

By Joshua PartlowWashington Post Staff WriterWednesday, May 4, 2005; B08

Hard Work Pays Off in La Plata

The La Plata town manager swiveled in his chair and looked outside at an altogether foreign spectacle.

Children crowded the sidewalks to hold campaign signs high. Voters streamed up the steps of Town Hall in the Charles County seat. Even a protester showed up, parking his pickup out front and displaying a yellow plywood sign that said the town was "unfair to employees." Down the street, mayoral candidate Eugene Ambrogio cranked up the "Rocky" theme song on his boombox, pumped his megaphone in the air and bellowed at passing cars that "Rocky overcame all odds, just like Gene Ambrogio today!"

"We have never, never seen this kind of activity," said Town Manager Doug Miller. "There are probably more signs out this year than in the last 25 years combined."
Under cotton-ball clouds with flags aflutter, voters across Maryland cast ballots yesterday. In La Plata, a town of about 8,000 that is growing fast, the mayor's race hasn't been much of a contest since William Eckman took over 22 years ago. He presided as houses went up and as the tornado three years ago knocked them down. But at 75, he is stepping aside, and so three Town Council members brought freewheeling politics back to the old railroad stop.

"This will be the biggest election we've ever had here," Eckman said.

Letter writers clashed on the opinion pages of the local paper. Growth was the topic, and how much is too much. The primary election winner, Roy G. Hale, was the mayor's choice and an experienced hand after 10 years on the council. He sent three rounds of mailings to every household, speaking of continuity and foresight, touting a "vision plan" for the future.

Ambrogio vowed to knock on every door and came close to doing it. His messages: Rein in the growth; don't annex more land; limit the newcomers. He put a cover band out on the sidewalk of the main drag yesterday to play some Hootie and the Blowfish and get folks in the mood for change.

The third candidate, Wayne Winkler, 62, a La Plata native, wanted to preserve aesthetics: Move the unsightly Coca-Cola plant, build more parks and sidewalks. He was amazed by the race. Of Ambrogio, he said: "I have never seen anybody that tried so hard to get elected."

In the end, the effort paid off. Riding a record turnout, Ambrogio surpassed Hale by fewer than 100 votes.

"I took it to the people," Ambrogio said after the win, his face dark red from a day in the sun. Then he ran up the Town Hall steps like Rocky.

The Case Against Sprawl

2005-12-30T03:08:00.000-05:00

"Becoming the world's largest retailer was never considered. And being big has never been the goal." --Wal-Mart, 1996 Annual Report
America is drowning in retail glut--and we wouldn't have it any other way. As the Discount Store News proclaimed in 1994: "Welcome to the United States of Wal-Mart." Despite what they say, being big has always been the goal at Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart claims that more than 93 million Americans shop at Wal-Mart every week. Sales at Wal-Mart for the year ending February, 1999 totalled $137 billion. According to economist Tom Muller, the average American household spends around $1,100 a year at a Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart says in 1996 that the average American spent $360 at their stores.

Wal-Mart is the largest seller of cheap underwear in the world. The company boasts that in 1996, it sold 1.13 pairs of underwear for every man, woman and child in America. My family of five did not shop at Wal-Mart in 1996, so I figure that some family out there bought an extra 5.65 pairs of underwear, and my guess is that those underwear are sitting unwrapped in someone's drawer--because they are too embarrassed to admit that they purchased more than their fair share.

As of February, 1999 Wal-Mart operated more than 3,562 "units" in seven countries. Wal-Mart is the largest private employer in America, having surpassed General Motors. The company had 910,000 employees as of the start of 1999. Last year, a new Wal-Mart discount store opened every three days, and another 200 stores are planned for this year. It took Home Depot 20 years to open 500 stores, but they plan to open another 500 stores over the next 3 years.

All across America, consumers are making decisions every day that impact the environment they care the most about: that 10 or 15 mile radius that circumscribes most of our daily living. This is our "personal environment". It has more immediacy and relevance to most of us than any other environmental movement today. The personal environment is, after all, where we spend 90% or more of our time. It is the well-worn path to and from work, back and forth from the grocery store, or the shops downtown. Home to mall--and back again. We are acutely sensitive to changes in this environment, and to its degradation. It has more meaning for us than any "checkbook" environmental cause. we can "think globally" about ozone depletion, but there are few causes in our own hometown that allow us to "act locally".

Yes, we want to save the whales. Yes, we want to save old growth forests. But attack our "personal environment"--and watch out! We are the most defensive when it comes to defending our home territory. The construction of land-devouring, windowless hulks of dead architecture in our hometown is like insulting our Mother! How else can you explain hundreds of citizens showing up to testify at a Zoning Board hearing? From Kanawha City, WV to Tijeras, NM, we sit through hour after hour of dry testimony from traffic enginners and hydrologists--all because our home is being attacked, our personal environment is on the line. In many cases, citizen activists have derailed big corporations, or held them at bay for years. The key factor in these confrontations is that we sense that the future of our personal environment, and that of our children, depends on us. It's a matter of home rule. This is one battle where we make a difference.

The massive invasion of overstuffed retail stores is a hands-on environmental, economic and social issue, which has provoked a widespread citizen response. Retail redundancy, which accelerated in the 1980s, but became grotesque in the 1990s, has created thousands of accidental activists--people who never planned on fighting off a multinational corporation--determined to stop a problem too swollen to hide anymore. We can hear the sound of land being chewed up by the yellow corporate caterpillars. There, squatting on the edge of our community, we can see the problem. We pass it on our way to and from work. This is not the distantly understood destruction of a remote rainforest--this hits where we live. As one woman from Ohio told me: "The first thing we smelled was the burning of trees."

Environmental and land use issues have moved to the forefront of this debate, as citizens pour through zoning by-laws and wetland commission regulations looking for obscure tripwires that could bring down a project. In 1998, Home Depot and Wal-Mart alone built more than 250 stores, or more than 33 million new square feet of retail space in a nation that is already saturated to the bone with plazas and malls. Assuming that each store represents a trade area of at least 40,000 people, more than 10 million Americans will find themselves reading headlines about Home Depot or Wal-Mart in their local newspaper. The massive glut of capricious construction raises serious environmental and economic issues such as:

* the impact of traffic on air quality standards * the threat to water quality and acquifers
* the mismanagement of stormwater and sewage
* the reduction of wildlife habitat * the loss of open space and unique natural areas
* the homogenization of rural landscapes
* the expense of costly new infrastructure
* the deterioration of historic commerical centers
* the overdependence on the automobile and superhighways

"Sprawl" is defined by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as "poorly planned, low-density, auto-oriented development that spreads out from the center of communities." It creates that doughnut effect in some cities where acrylic and asphalt suburban shopping malls form a ring around the dead center, where the old downtown sits decaying. Between 1960 and 1975, the state of Pennsylvania lost a total of 3,600,000 acres of farmland. That's like losing a geographic area the size of Pittsburg every six months. At the opening of the Wal-Mart store in Rutland, VT, a man dressed in a neat suit carried a doomsday sign that simply read: THIS IS STUPID!

Here is how the Bank of America, California's largest financial institution, described the impact of sprawl in that state:

Urban job centers have decentralized to the suburbs. New housing tracts have moved even deeper into agricultural and environmentally sensitive areas. Private auto use continues to rise. This acceleration of sprawl has surfaced enormous social, environmental and economic costs, which until now have been hidden, ignored, or quietly borne by society. The burden of these costs is becoming very clear. Businesses suffer from higher costs, a loss in worker productivity, and underutilized investments in older communities.

California's business climate becomes less attractive than surrounding states. Suburban residents pay a heavy price in taxation and automobile expenses, while residents of older cities and suburbs lose access to jobs, social stability, and political power. Agriculture and ecosystems also suffer....We can no longer afford the luxury of sprawl.

Part of the mythology about Sam Walton is that he located stores in smaller towns because his wife Helen did not like the big cities. But I believe that Walton did not want to wrestle with big city developers and saturated markets. Besides, land was cheap in rural America. There were less zoning restrictions--sometimes no zoning at all. Walton sensed that Americans were moving out of the urban core and heading to suburbia. "Our key strategy," Walton wrote, "was simply to put good-sized discount stores into little one-horse towns which everybody else was ignoring...It turned out that the first big lesson we learned was that there was much, much more business out there in small town America than anybody, including me, had ever dreamed of."
But small town America started learning a "big lesson" also--one that took years to sink in: saturated retail markets bring deterioration and decay.

With retail sprawl development comes a series of economic and social problems for host communities. Sprawl is often mistaken for economic development, and the people it affects the most are least likely to understand it.

The 10 sins of retail sprawl
* It destroys the economic and environmental value of land
* It encourages an inefficient land-use pattern that is very expensive to serve.
* It fosters redundant competition between local governments, an economic war of tax
incentives- hire more police
* It forces costly infrastructure development at the edge of towns.
* It causes disinvestment from established core commercial areas.
* It requires the use of public tax support for revitalizing rundown core areas.
* It degrades the visual, aesthetic character of local communities.
* It lowers the value of other commercial and residential property, reducing public revenues.
* It weakens the sense of place and community cohesiveness.
* It masquerades as a form of economic development.

The violation of our personal environment by sprawling retail development leads to an alienation from community, a sense of isolation and disconnectedness. When mall developers created interior spaces to shop, they gave them names like "Village Square", or "The Main Street Shops", hoping to console us for the loss of the real commercial centers they were destroying. In Disneyworld artisans have created an acrylic Main Street facade, where they hand out pins that celebrate "Main Street, USA". These pins have a picture of Mickey Mouse on the front, riding an old-fashioned big-wheel bicycle, tipping his straw boater hat. But stamped on the back of the pin it says: "©Disney Taiwan".

The sprawl corporations are waging a war of indoctrination. They need us as accomplices in the destruction of our own hometowns. In 1997 Home Depot was able to spend $178 million on self-congratulatory advertising. What we ultimately have to do is convince our friends and neighbors that there is a politics of shopping. That is does matter to your hometown where you shop.
The big box corporations lay the blame at our feet. First, Wal-Mart says it needs bigger stores because its customers demand wider aisles. Then it says it needs smaller stores because its supercenters are "too busy and not convenient". Most of what we buy at Wal-Mart are unplanned purchases, and most of these items end up in the landfill anyway. A psychologist might argue that as our lives become emptier, our shelves become fuller. This 'shop till your community drops' mentality is imploding our own hometowns.

We see the results, but apparently are not moved by them--even when the evidence is all around us, as 60 Minutes noted:

In Iowa, ten years after Wal-Mart came to the state, nearly half of the men's' and boy's clothing stores, and grocery stores...closed. That's an enormous impact on a state in only ten years.
When Iowa State University Professor Ken Stone examined the sales changes in Iowa small towns from 1983 to 1993, he discovered "a huge shift of sales to larger towns and cities, with substantial amounts captured by mass merchandise stores." Stone estimates that the total number of businesses lost in small towns and rural areas was 7,326 in the decade studied. Iowans spent $425 million more at discount stores, but $153 million less at variety stores, $129 million less at grocery stores, $94 million less at hardware stores, $47 million less at men's and boys apparel stores, and so on.

In the 11 store types studied, businesses lost more than $603 million in sales. In this ten year period, Iowa lost:

555 Grocery stores 298 Hardware stores 293 Building Supply Stores 161 Variety Stores 158 Women's Apparel stores 153 Shoe Stores 116 Drug Stores 111 Men's and Boys Apparel store
People have said to me: "When Wal-Mart arrives, they hit the town with the force of 100 new businesses opening at once". The demise of smaller, independent businesses in Iowa suggests that the "retail hurricane" theory is true. Stone reaches a similar conclusion:
The shopping habits of consumers fundamentally change after the introduction of discount mass merchandisers. They purchase much more of their merchandise at mass merchandisers and less at local merchants. The result is the loss of many stores across the state.

According to the International Council of Shopping Centers:
* Discount department stores, conventional department stores, and toy stores are store types where three or fewer companies capture 50% or more of sales.
* The top three building materials and supply stores now control 31% of the market ($32 billion in sales). * The same with the top three drug stores: 33% of the market ($30 billion in sales). * Between 1987 and 1992, the number of discount department stores increased annually by an average of +3%, while men's and women's shoes stores dropped an average of -6%, household appliance fell by -3%, and grocery stores, Radio & TV stores, drugstores, building materials stores, apparel stores--all were in the negative column.

The impact of big stores has also been felt in the manufacturing sector. For example, in the apparel industry, America has literally lost its shirt. Between 1973 and 1996, America lost nearly half of its apparel manufacturing jobs. A total of 597,000 jobs were lost during the 23 year period. The same can be said for the shoe industry, or for the pharmacy industry. 90% of the shoes sold in America today are imported. During this same period, discount superstores rose dramatically.

Wal-Mart likes to underplay its market share by using the nation as its trade area. Here's what David Glass, Wal-Mart's President said in the company's 1997 Annual Report:
In the United States, Wal-Mart only holds 7% of a $1.4 trillion retail market. That leaves a tremendous opportunity for future growth. The supermarket industry, amounting to $425 billion a year, is a great opportunity for continued growth. It's almost three times the size of the discount store industry, where Wal-Mart is one of the three retailers that, combined, hold almost 85% of the market. Yet in the grocery segment, the top five players constitute less than 25%.

When Glass says Wal-Mart has a 7% share of the retail pie in America, he's talking about ALL retail sales of any kind, from gasoline to tomatoes, from paperclips to lip-balm. But in the discount store wars, three companies own the field. At the local level, however, where a retail trade area might span only a 20 square mile radius, the impact of one or two big box stores can be devastating to the rest of the retailers. Consider the study done by the San Diego Union-Tribune of the home improvement market in San Diego County. The survey asked consumers where they made their most recent purchase of common items. The results showed Home Depot has an astonishing hold over the county marketplace:

Economist Tom Muller estimates that in 1994 Wal-Mart in Arkansas had captured $1.2 billion out of a $4 billion market in department store merchandise sales. "Thus, Wal-Mart had captured 30% of all department store sales." In Mississippi, Wal-Mart sales in 1992 were 23% of all department store sales in the state.

When Wal-Mart says "one stop shopping", you should read that statement very literally. These big corporations want to be the ONLY place you and I shop. It's the Tennessee Ernie Ford theory of retailing: You will owe your soul to the Company store. In 1994, a retail analyst at Management Horizons made this tongue-in-cheek prediction about Wal-Mart:
If Wal-Mart grows in the next eight years as it has in the previous eight,it will control 100% of general merchandise sales in the United States; if it grows in the next 16 years as it has in the previous 16 years, it will control all of the non-auto retailing volume in the United States; if the same growth pattern for the next 24 years is like the previous 24 years, Wal-Mart will control all of the county's Gross Domestic Product.

That may have seemed like a joke in 1994, but Wal-Mart now has more sales than the Gross Domestic Product of Israel, Greece, Ireland and Egypt. A Price Waterhouse report says that by the year 2005 just 10 companies, including Wal-Mart, will control 50% of food store sales.
What's happening here? More money is passing through fewer hands. This suggests that stores like Wal-Mart and Home Depot are not the beginning of competition--but the end of competition. According to an International Council of Shopping Centers report in 1998:
Numerous store types that are key elements in U.S. shopping centers are dominated by a small group of retailers in each category that register a third or more of their respective category's total U.S. sales....as fewer firms exercise increasing sales dominance within their respective store types...the pricing power that will accrue to the largest retailers will likely make it difficult for large numbers of new, small operators to take root and thrive...

The fact remains, we are over-built and over-stored. The attitude among the development community is that land is superabundant, and the municipal officials who make the key decisions are all Village Idiots. One of the most prolific Wal-Mart developers in New England calls his limited partnerships "Infinity Properties".

Every time these developers come before a Planning or Zoning Board, they make their projects sound like they were written in Lake Wobegon, where all the site plans are good looking, and the economic impacts above average.

The symptoms of retail saturation are everywhere:
* We have more than 4,000 abandoned shopping malls in America.
* We have more shopping centers than high schools.
* We have 20 square feet of retail space for every man, woman and child in America, up from 14.7 s.f. per person in 1986, compared with 2 s.f. per person in Britain.

If you phone City Hall in Toledo, Ohio, they answer by saying: "Toledo, Ohio, An All-American City." The effects of suburban sprawl in Toledo are certainly all-American. When I went for a walk in downtown Toledo, I passed the old Lamson dry goods store: 9 stories of empty retail space. Each floor is the size of a football field. The building served as the home of a Macy's Department store from 1924 to 1984. For the past fourteen years, the store has been empty. The City now owns it, which means the taxpayers of Toledo are paying the freight for its upkeep. Meanwhile, on the edge of the city, Home Depot is building its second huge warehouse store, each only five miles apart. The city actually let Home Depot demolish dozens of apartments to make way for the second Home Depot. A stone's throw away from the Home Depot construction site sits an empty Builder's Square, and across the road, an empty Handy Andy. These are all monuments to the inefficiency of retail sprawl. The strip malls of Toledo have literally stripped downtown Toledo of its people, and its character--at the expense of the all-American taxpayers.

Even the people who produce all this sprawl admit that we have more retail stores than our disposable income can absorb. Here's Wal-Mart's confession in 1996 taken from a court deposition in North Carolina of Tom Seay, at the time Wal-Mart's Vice President for Real Estate:

"We have more shopping center space in the U.S. than is needed. We're in an over-built situation."

It's not as if we haven't been warned about the impacts of sprawl. Nearly 80 years ago, Sinclair Lewis in Main Street warned us about the homogenization of our culture:
Nine-tenths of the American towns are so alike that is it the completest boredom to wander from one to another....The shops show the same standardized, nationally advertised wares; the newspapers of sections three thousand miles apart have the same 'syndicated features'; the boy in Arkansas displays just such a flamboyant ready-made suit as is found on just such a boy in Delaware, both of them iterate the same slang phrases from the same sporting-pages, and if one of them is in college, and the other is a barber, no one may surmise which is which.

In her 1961 book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs wrote:
"Everyplace becomes more like every other place, all adding up to Noplace."

Big box retailers are turning America into a continuous landscape of one-story, pre-engineered, windowless metal frame buildings sitting on concrete slab foundations. Such buildings can simply be described as "dead architecture".

The Portable Wal-MartAs quietly as Wal-Mart tries to slip into a town, sometimes they try to leave just as noiselessly.

"Quite frankly," said Tom Seay, Wal-Mart's former Executive Vice President for Real Estate Construction, "I think the fact that we relocate stores--and we relocate a lot of them--is a well-known fact in the development community..." Just how portable Wal-Mart is, however, is not well known by the shopping public. In their 1998 Annual Report, Wal-Mart featured a short profile of their Real Estate division, under the title: "The Wal-Mart nobody knows." According to the company, Wal-Mart is the "largest owner and manager of retail space in the country."
Like a reptile crawling out of its skin, Wal-Mart has shed hundreds of stores to move onto bigger facilities. Most of these relocations have been in towns where Wal-Mart shuts down a discount store to open up a larger supercenter a few miles, or even blocks, away. "As (Wal-Mart) rolls out new supercenter prototypes," the company explains, "it must also find uses for existing relocated stores after they are closed."

Although the company claims that in 1998 it sold or leased 10 million square feet of what it calls "once-occupied" stores, the February, 1999 list of "available buildings" from Wal-Mart Realty reveals that the amount of buildings on the market at that time was closer to 20 million square feet of empty stores.

Based on Wal-Mart's own list, here are some statistics on these empty stores that might surprise you:

* Wal-Mart listed 333 empty buildings as of February, 1999. * These buildings are spread across 31 states. * A total of 20.66 million s.f. of empty stores were on the market * Only 17% (58) of these stores are owned by Wal-Mart, 83% (275) are leased * Estimating that Wal-Mart has roughly 2,850 U.S. stores open, these additional 333 empty stores meant that 10.5% of the units Wal-Mart owns or leases were "available". * 15 states had 10 or more empty Wal-Mart stores:

Texas - 40
Kentucky - 16
Illinois - 11
Tennessee - 30
Louisiana - 16
New Mexico - 10
Florida - 30
Mississippi - 15
No. Carolina - 10
Georgia - 26
So. Carolina 13
Alabama - 22
Missouri 13
Arkansas - 17
Oklahoma - 12

* The average size of empty Wal-Marts was 62,057s.f.--larger than most other retail buildings in a small community. * 52 of the empty stores (16%) were larger than 100,000 s.f, with some as large as 134,000 s.f. * 54 stores (16%) on the February list were marked "new".
This is the portable Wal-Mart company. This is Wal-Mart's moveable feast. Although the company says very few of its stores have failed, many are unprofitable, and dozens of others are simply shut down to make way for supercenters with wider aisles. This makes Wal-Mart the largest producer of empty retail stores in America, if not the world.
Don't expect a long-term relationship with any superstore in your town. Wal-Mart arrives with its bags already packed.

Citizens opposed to sprawl generally cite two major reasons for fighting companies like Wal-Mart or Kmart:

1. Negative impact on the local economy
2. Negative impact on their quality of life

Voodoo Economics: The Wal-Mart Dust MachineSam Walton liked to claim that Wal-Mart was the savior of small town America, that his company was creating jobs every place it touched. Here's how he described it in his autobiography:

"Wal-Mart has actually kept quite a number of small towns from becoming practically extinct by offering low prices and saving literally billions of dollars for the people who live there, as well as creating hundreds of thousand of jobs in our stores."
But such claims are a form of voodoo economics. Former developer Townsend Anderson of Vermont, has been quoted as saying:

Sprawl rarely brings about a net increase in economic growth. If there is not real growth, there is simply displacement of economic activity. This triggers a whole cycle of deterioration in older communities...

Companies like Wal-Mart and Home Depot utilize a form of "sprawl-math", which only looks at gross impacts on a community--never of the net effect of their stores. Sprawl-Math is not taught in local school systems. It's a form of developer's calculator that had no minus pad to subtract out jobs lost, or revenues diverted. The real truth about Wal-Mart and Home Depot, and the rest of the sprawl-mathematicians, is that they represent a form of economic displacement, not economic development. I know that Wal-Mart understands their fiscal impact claims are one-dimensional. The best proof I have of that I found in a most unlikely place: Volume 26, Issue 10 of Wal-Mart Today, from October of 1996. This is an internal "associate" newsletter that Wal-Mart says is "your window into our Wal-Mart world". There, in a column called "Wal-Mart Culture", is a quote that should be written on the side of every Wal-Mart superstore in the nation:

"At Wal-Mart, we make dust. Our competitors eat dust." --Tom Coughlin Executive Vice President, Operations Wal-Mart Stores Division

Since 1962, the Wal-Mart Dust Machine has done damage in every state in the country. Companies like Wal-Mart have cannibalized the retail food chain from the Mom and Pops on the bottom, to the mid-level regional chains, to the very top national chains. A recent illustration:
In February of 1998, New England lost another major regional retail chain store. Caldors, the company founded by Cal and Dorothy Bennett in 1951, turned into dust. This was the end of the sales pitch for the 4th. largest retail chain in America. 22,000 workers took home pink slips for their trouble. 145 stores in nine states were put up for lease. After 48 years, and annual sales of $2.49 billion, the going out of business sales at Caldors began. Bargain hunters who long ago moved to other venues, returned one more time to pick over the bones, looking for that last 3-pack of cheap underwear.

The lesson in sprawl-math is inevitable. When you oversupply an area with retail glut, you don't create jobs, you destroy them. Consider the example of the regional chain store Caldor's, which imploded in 1999. Industry analysts say it was expected: Caldor's was losing money to Wal-Mart, had fallen into Chapter 11 territory since 1995, and never recovered. As one news story said: "Wal-Mart and other rivals had choked off Caldor's ability to open stores outside its traditional Northeast territory." The next time some Mayor or Town Councilor starts talking about the jobs that a Wal-Mart or Home Depot will bring to town, remember the jobs lost at Caldor's and Rich's, or the building supply stores Grossmans and Payless Cashways. It would take more than 100 Wal-Mart Supercenters just to break even with the 22,000 jobs that went down with Caldors.

Or consider the case of the small town of Nowata, Oklahoma, (pop. 3,900) is described as hobbled by the closing of a large retail store. The store closed down to move to a larger supercenter 30 miles away. "They were not playing fair," said the President of the local First National Bank. "They came in and ravaged all the small businesses. And when it came to the point where they were not satisfied, they left." The Mayor of Nowata who welcomed the megastore to town, now says: "Wal-Mart has proven this: They're big and they're greedy. They have no compassion for the community or the individual."

Viewpoint

2005-12-28T12:55:00.000-05:00

(Charles Street in 1936)

I think it's unfair that our Mayor gets a bad rap from some for not supporting big developers in taking over our small town. I for one voted for Gene Ambrogio because he is a staunch opponent of expanding the town's borders. I give Mayor Ambrogio credit for sticking to his word and fully support him.Lets avoid another sea of asphalt with stores and make La Plata the best small town in America.

Letters to the editor!

2005-12-28T12:32:00.000-05:00

Have you read the December 28th Maryland Independent?

Should we speak up on the proposed developments in La Plata?

Or does the Mayor have a secret agenda?

Michael J. Runfola of La Plata writes: “With rampant growth such as this, it becomes imperative that we communicate our feelings to our representatives”

And John Meyer of La Plata says: For some reason the mayor is concerned with a view that the town will be another Waldorf”

Lets hear your comments…………..

Take a Walk on the Wild Side Part II

2005-12-24T20:02:00.000-05:00

Remember when? Yes the good old days when it was safe to use a crosswalk in downtown La Plata. I think it lasted about three days. Now you have an orange flag and you are on your own.

The best time to use the crosswalk is when the Charles County Sheriff's Office school crossing officer is on duty. Does La Plata have police?

Thank you Sheriff Davis!

What's Going on in Town Hall?

2005-12-24T12:38:00.000-05:00

They have a web site. Lets see......................

http://www.townoflaplata.org/

Knock - Knock Who's Home?

2005-12-24T09:20:00.000-05:00

La Plata citizens want to know whose home???? Who works in the 15,000 square foot, $2.6 million building? Who represents their community? And what are these people up to? After all, the town residents voted for them and want to know if they are responsive. Are they?

Mayor Gene Ambrogio - genecyte@yahoo.com

Councilman Wayne Winkler - Ward I- winklerw@comcast.net

Councilman Keith Back - Ward II - thebacks@comcast.net

Councilwoman Paddy Mudd - Ward III - paddy.mudd@verizon.net

Councilman Vic E. Newman - Ward IV - laplatacouncil@comcast.net

Proposal To Expand La Plata At Issue

2005-12-23T20:25:00.000-05:00

http://www.discoverynet.com/~ajsnead/allsongs_1/rocky.html

Washington Post, December 11, 2005; Page SM01

La Plata Mayor Gene Ambrogio was elected in the spring as a staunch opponent of expanding the town's borders. This month, in the first post-election test of that policy, Ambrogio seems to be sticking with his central campaign theme.

At issue is a prime intersection in Charles County that could become the northern gateway to the county seat and town of 8,500. Developers want La Plata to annex 97 acres -- between Route 301 and Washington Avenue -- partly to create a complex for shopping and senior citizen housing.

A retail and seniors housing complex is proposed for the planned intersection of Rosewick Road and Route 301. La Plata Mayor Gene Ambrogio was elected in the spring as a staunch opponent of expanding the town\'s borders. This month, in the first post-election test of that policy, Ambrogio seems to be sticking with his central campaign theme. The way Ambrogio sees it, the town should not expand until it has developed available land within its boundaries. Ambrogio has characterized the Rosewick Crossing project as "just another sea of asphalt with stores."
"Do we want to be La Waldorf?" he asked last week, after a hearing on the project before the Charles County commissioners. "People move down to La Plata to get away from all the congestion."

Town residents will have an opportunity to comment on the annexation at a public forum scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Evie Hungerford of Indian Head, who has worked as a spokeswoman for project developers Faison Enterprises Inc., defended the proposal. In developments already approved, as many as 5,000 new homes could be built in the next decade in La Plata, Hungerford said, and the new residents would need more commercial outlets.

"The complexion of La Plata is wonderful just where it is in the town, but outside the area, the baby boomers are going to require certain things," she said. "To put your head in the sand is not the way to go."

The Charles County Board of Commissioners has bolstered Ambrogio's position, its members unanimously rejecting a proposed zoning change last week that would have rewritten the rules for the area and cleared the way for the retail center. The question before the commissioners Tuesday was a seemingly technical one. But the discussion quickly evolved into something of a warm-up for the commissioners' 2006 campaign season. They touched on hot issues likely to figure in the outcome of the elections, such as crowded schools, roadways and crime.
Commissioner Al Smith (R-Waldorf), who has toyed with challenging commissioners President Wayne Cooper (D-At Large), called for a development "timeout" and the need to "rein in unbridled growth in La Plata."

Commissioner Candice Quinn Kelly (R-La Plata) concurred. "I'm a shopper with the best of them," she told the developers, but "I don't know that the demand is there." The county's resources -- from sheriff's deputies to space for students in public schools -- are stretched, Kelly said.

Faison Enterprises, which built the Waldorf Marketplace on Route 228, has proposed a Lowe's home center and a Giant grocery store for the site at Route 301 and the soon-to-be extended Rosewick Road. The development would include 120 homes for seniors.

As part of the project, the developers have offered to offset the effect on the town by redirecting sewage flow in the area and building a well and water tower. An evaluation by town officials on whether the developer has met standards for providing public facilities finds the project "has offered to meet and exceed those guidelines."

After the commissioners rejected the zoning change last week, David Cooksey, a consultant on the project with the engineering firm Loiederman Soltesz Associates, said of their decision, "It seems to me they're saying the town doesn't know how to manage its growth. "It's a lack of understanding of the proposal," said Cooksey, shaking his head in disbelief. "Smart growth says you should grow where there's already growth."

Town Manager Doug Miller stressed that the La Plata council has not yet taken a position on the project. He took issue with Smith's suggestion that development in La Plata is out of control.
"I don't fault Commissioner Smith. He doesn't want us to annex willy-nilly," Miller said. "But I somewhat object to his inference that we don't know about our needs or care about them. We've prided ourselves in trying to stay ahead of those needs."

ACLU, NAACP Say Town's Requirement to Show ID at Polls Violates Rights

2005-12-23T20:14:00.000-05:00

From the Washington Post

La Plata Pressured to Change Voting Rule
ACLU, NAACP Say Town's Requirement to Show ID at Polls Violates Rights
By Ann E. MarimowWashington Post Staff Writer
November 15, 2005

The Charles County town of La Plata, perhaps best known as the epicenter of a tornado, could become the eye of a voting rights storm because it requires residents to show identification to cast ballots in local elections.

The American Civil Liberties Union, joined by the NAACP, considers the practice a "violation of the fundamental right to vote" in Maryland. The groups are asking La Plata -- the county seat with a population of 9,000 -- to repeal the identification requirement, and the ACLU has suggested it might pursue legal action if the town does not comply.

Twenty-two states, including Virginia, require proof of identification on Election Day. Maryland does not, and La Plata appears to be unusual -- if not unique -- among the state's cities and towns, according to the ACLU and interviews with a sampling of election officials in Rockville, Annapolis, Bowie and Leonardtown.

Doug Miller, La Plata's town manager, said the Town Council would review the issue sometime before the next election, in spring 2007. He defended the practice, which has been in effect for more than two decades. "Obviously, we want you to prove that you are who you say you are to prevent voter fraud," Miller said in an interview last week.

ACLU staff attorney David Rocah and the NAACP said the state constitution does not allow counties or municipalities to add to the state's registration requirements.
The issue of identification has become part of a partisan debate since voting irregularities were reported in the 2000 presidential election. Federal legislation in 2002 required all states to ask for identification from first-time voters who registered by mail and did not provide acceptable documentation.

Many Democrats see it as restrictive and intimidating, particularly to minorities and the elderly. But many Republicans see it as necessary to curb voter fraud. "I'm not sure that either side makes a compelling argument," said Dan Seligson, editor of the nonpartisan Web site Electionline.org, which tracks and analyzes election legislation. Seligson said he has not seen evidence of a drop-off in voting in states that have adopted identification requirements. And, he said, such laws do not prevent what appears to be the more common form of voter fraud, which is carried out through the mail. Still, the debate continues. Last month, a U.S. appeals court upheld an injunction blocking Georgia from enforcing one of the country's toughest identification laws, which required voters to produce government-issued identification at the polls.

Del. Donald H. Dwyer Jr. (R-Anne Arundel) said he plans to introduce legislation for a third time in January that would require all Maryland voters to show identification at the polls.
Law-abiding citizens don't have any issue with presenting their ID to vote," said Dwyer, whose bill did not make it out of committee last session in the Democrat-controlled House of Delegates. "If someone is offended, I would be suspect as to whether that person is who they claim to be."
The controversy in La Plata began in May after the town's mayoral and council elections, in which a record 1,153 people voted. Catherine Stevens, a part-time lawyer who teaches at the College of Southern Maryland, said she was surprised to see a sign on the front door of the polling place that asked residents to have identification ready to show the election judge.
"I was afraid people who didn't have ID would just turn around before they got inside," she said. Stevens presented her driver's license and voted without incident. She called the ACLU because, she said, "I don't think it's constitutional." The ACLU of Maryland agreed, and leaders of the local NAACP branch last week joined the call for repealing the requirement during a legislative forum with Charles County commissioners and state legislators.

La Plata's attorney, Frederick Sussman, told the ACLU in a September letter that the requirement "did not have a chilling effect on any person's right to cast a ballot" and is "less intrusive and more respective of voters' privacy interests than the state mandates."
In federal, state and county elections in Maryland, election judges are supposed to ask for a voter's name, address and month and day of birth. In La Plata's municipal elections, voters are required under the town code to present identification with "a signature or picture and an address or a combination of any of these." Sussman said he would meet with the mayor and council to "determine what changes, if any, should be made." "While the issue raised in your letter is important," he wrote, "the matter is not one of great urgency" because the next election is scheduled for 2007.

It is uncertain what prompted La Plata's leaders to adopt an identification requirement in 1981. The mayor at the time, Victor Bowling, said he did not have an exact recollection. He remembered a discussion about how to clear up confusion for residents who had a La Plata mailing address but did not reside within the town limits and therefore could not vote in municipal elections.

Whatever the reasons, opponents of the identification requirement say the language in the La Plata code effectively means that voters must show a driver's license, U.S. passport or state ID card -- all documents that cost money. "It's hard for some people to understand or believe, but there are some people who don't drive or travel overseas," said Rocah, the ACLU attorney.
As for what's next, he said, "if they are going to repeal it, good. If they're not, then we're going to decide how to proceed. There is a clear policy choice for them to decide."

Mikulski Helps Bring New Police and Community Center to La Plata

2005-12-23T19:46:00.000-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:26-May-2004

Mikulski Helps Bring New Police and Community Center to La Plata, Maryland

La Plata, MD – Today Senator Barbara A. Mikulski visited La Plata to announce almost $150,000 in federal funding for a new police and community center. This project was funded through the Economic Development Initiative (EDI) Program in the Veterans, Housing and Independent Agencies (VA-HUD) spending bill, which passed the Senate in January 2004. Senator Mikulski serves as Ranking Member of the VA-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee.
Mikulski secured $149,115 for La Plata to renovate and construct a police and community center that will serve as headquarters for the town's police department, house its Emergency Operations Center, and house meeting space for community groups.

“The citizens of La Plata have been working to rebuild since their town was struck by a tornado in April, 2002. I'm so proud of the work they are doing to revitalize and reenergize their downtown,” said Senator Mikulski. “I promised I would fight for a federal investment in this project. I’m proud to stand here today and deliver on that promise. This is a great example of ‘partnership politics,’ where community groups, local leaders, and the federal government are all working together to effect positive change.”

Senator Mikulski continued, “I am fighting in the U.S. Senate to meet the day-to-day needs of Marylanders. This federal investment in La Plata will help create a more secure and friendly environment in their central business district.”

Economic Development Initiative (EDI) grants are awarded on a competitive basis and must meet the following criteria: Does the project create jobs or meet a compelling human need? Does the project benefit low- or moderate-income neighborhoods? Does the project eliminate physical or economic distress? Is this a one-year request that will complete a project? Does this request have a funding match from a non-federal source?

The legislation passed Congress on January 22 and was signed into law by the President on January 23, 2004.

La Plata, Maryland 20646

2005-12-23T19:24:00.000-05:00

When the Pennsylvania Railroad was planning the extension of its line through Charles County in 1869, it established a stop in the middle of an oak forest to serve several prosperous farms. The eastern side of the right-of-way in that area had been donated by the Chapman family from its property called La Plata Farm; the western side was sliced from the Stonestreet family farm. On its route map, the railroad chose to label the stop “La Plata Station.” The station built there in 1888 is still in existence.
The community that developed on Chapman-donated land on the east side of the railroad tracks naturally became known as La Plata. A post office was established there in 1873—the same year that the railroad began its service to the town.

As La Plata grew and prospered, a political battle developed at Port Tobacco, county seat of Charles County. Should the county seat be moved to La Plata, 3 miles inland to the east and boasting a railroad siding, telegraph station, and buoyant economy? A special election in May of 1892 maintained the status quo. Port Tobacco won easily.

Three months later, the courthouse at Port Tobacco burned to the ground—but, strangely enough, the records had been carefully removed beforehand. Apparently an incendiary act had been perpetrated. But no one was prosecuted, and no one ever admitted to knowledge of the deed. Feelings ran so high that it was impractical to consider rebuilding the courthouse at Port Tobacco. The situation dragged on until another special election was held in 1895 to determine whether to move the county seat to either La Plata or Chapel Point. This time, La Plata prevailed, mainly because of its location on the railroad. Without delay, a new courthouse was built of red brick in an imposing Victorian style. It still stands today, with several additions and embellishments. Next to the courthouse, on Charles Street, stands another structure of historical significance—Christ Church of Port Tobacco Parish. That parish is one of the 30 original Church of England parishes created in the Province of Maryland by an act of the Assembly in 1692.

Since La Plata's inception, it has grown into a town with a population of approximately 8,500 people.