County report details projects completed, programs begun

Commissioner notes

Friday, March 6, 2009

The report contains an impressive list of completed construction projects and new programs.

However, it does not address any challenges facing the county, such as controversies over the cross-county connector highway project, the purchase of drinking water to relieve pressure on aquifers or the impending funding problems of the VanGO bus system.

"The annual report is an overview," said Crystal Hill, the county's press information officer, whose office created the report. Hills said the document is intended to inform citizens about how their tax dollars are being used. "It's not a venue for controversial, unresolved or pending items."

Under planning and capital improvement accomplishments, the county listed the opening of the Regency Furniture Stadium baseball field, completion of the Middletown Road Extension and Phase 1 of the Western Parkway extension road, reform of the school allocation policy, initiation of the Waldorf Urban Design Study, participation in a transit corridor study for light rail and completion of a commuter bus survey.

The public facilities department's roads division said it repaired 55 miles of county roads, striped 300 miles, constructed 550 road signs and installed 2,000, dug ditches for 100,000 feet of roadway, rebuilt 35 storm drains and cleaned and rebuilt 30 stormwater management ponds.

The parks division noted acquiring 408 acres of parkland including Maxwell Hall House, a 13-mile abandoned federal railroad corridor and property along Poplar Hill Road in Waldorf. The division also completed designs for Pisgah Park and Mallow's Bay Park and began construction of the Indian Head Rail Trail. The division resurfaced four tennis courts and two basketball courts, replacing all hardware as well.

The Mattawoman Wastewater Treatment Plant completed its enhanced nutrient removal upgrades and treated 4.2 billion gallons of wastewater.

On the economic development front, the county touted the creation of a public/private partnership to develop the 250-acre Indian Head Science and Technology Park in Bryans Road, the creation of a tax increment financing policy to provide infrastructure for a hotel and convention center to be built at Swan Point and the relocation of Science Applications International Corp. to La Plata.

The emergency services department completed its radio enhancement projects and built new livestock stalls for the Tri-County Animal Shelter.

Pay false alarm fines online

The county announced this week that citizens may now pay their false alarm fines online.

The fines are levied on home and business owners who trip alarms accidentally and trigger an emergency response. Alarm owners are allowed three mistakes before the county starts to levy fines. Fines start at $50, but can escalate up to $300 per false alarm. The fines are only levied if the owner does not notify the county of the false alarm and a police officer is forced to respond to the scene.

According to statistics published by the county's Emergency Services Department, there were 7,778 false alarm calls in 2007, averaging 21 calls a day. The number of county residents with burglar alarms has increased from about 1,500 in 2000 to more than 13,000 in 2007.

Citizens can pay their bill online using a credit card at www.charlescounty.org/pay. Citizens can also pay parking tickets, red light citations, taxes, and water and sewer bills with the service.

County awaits bond ratings

After persevering through a heavy snowstorm and enduring a grilling from Wall Street bond rating agencies on the day the stock market fell to 1997 levels, the commissioners have returned from New York City.

But they won't know what Wall Street thinks of their $38 million bond offering until next week.

"I don't think we could have picked a worse day to be there," said commissioners' President F. Wayne Cooper (D).

Cooper said that the commissioners spent Sunday night in Baltimore so the snowstorm wouldn't prevent them from catching a New York train on time. While they interviewed with bond rating agencies on Tuesday, the Dow dropped 4.2 percent to 6,763, the lowest level since 1997.

However, Cooper was happy with the county's presentations.

"I felt very confident," he said, noting that the county was able to demonstrate economic growth and progress at a time when most governments are pulling back. "I think we had a great story to tell."

According to Cooper, the commissioners will find out Monday or Tuesday if bond rating agencies Moody's, Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor's agree. The county hopes to maintain or improve their AA+ bond rating and obtain a 4 percent interest rate. With a AAA bond rating, the state of Maryland got 3.39 percent interest rates on its recent bond sale.

jfriess@somdnews.com