Prince Frederick, MD – The Calvert County Commissioners accepted a ceremonial check for $3 million Tuesday, Feb. 12 at their weekly meeting. The money comes from Dominion Cove Point and is intended to be used to develop a recreational facility at the site off Route 2/4 in Lusby used by crews during construction of a $3.8 billion liquefaction unit at the plant.
“At the completion of the project, Dominion donated the approximately 100-acre property to the county to develop a regional park,” stated Department of Communications and Media Relations Director Linda Vassallo. “To make certain the park development happens quickly, Dominion previously donated $1.1 million to jump start the master plan for the park.”
Dominion Cove Point Vice President of LNG Operations Danny Woods presented the check to the board. “The new liquefaction unit would not be without the support of the county commissioners,” said Woods. He said the $3 million will aid the county in developing a recreational facility for the community to enjoy.
Commissioner Mike Hart [R-District 1] recalled when he was growing up in the Lusby area local youth had no fields in which to play. Hart said the new park—roughly 100 acres—will help provide “our own true facility.” He added the Dominion contribution is “seed money” to get the recreational project started.
In spring of 2014, about four months before the liquefaction project received federal approval, the county commissioners approved amendments to Calvert’s Comprehensive Water and Sewerage Plan to provide water and sewer to the parcel identified as the laydown construction area. The action was taken to meet a Health Department requirement.
In April 2017, as the project was nearing completion, the Maryland Department of the Environment held a hearing in Solomons to amend the permit associated with the bridge that provided vehicle access to the parcel to keep the bridge in place after the project was finished. Several area residents used the hearing to sound off about their opposition to the liquefaction project and rumors that the proposed new park was a replacement for Cove Point Park. Some of the attendees stated the Cove Point Park parcel would be conveyed to the operators of the plant for possible expansion. Tom Hejl, the county commissioners’ president at the time, testified at the hearing that Cove Point Park was not closing. “There are no pending plans to close Cove Point Park,” Hejl declared.
The county’s Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) for the next six fiscal years (FY), which was also presented at the Feb. 12 meeting, has the “Offsite Area A Park” budgeted at $1 million and is currently listed as a deferred project. There is a Cove Point Park-related project slated for FY 2020—a deck repair project estimated to cost $250,000 is planned for Cove Point Pool.
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com