Residents of southern St. Mary’s County would like a share of the county’s prosperity. That was the message received by the St. Mary’s County Commissioners at a public forum held Tuesday at the Ridge Volunteer Fire Department. Considering the frigid temperatures outside the firehouse, the meeting was well attended with about two-dozen people.
Speakers criticized the health department for being an impediment to even low-key development. Most of lower St. Mary’s County is rural and wet, making percolation tests iffy and limiting development. But the area also is the home of two major tourist destinations, Historic St. Mary’s City and Point Lookout State Park. Both are begging for services for visitors.
Nora Blasco, co-owner of St. Inigoes General Store, said they had been prevented from establishing a sit-down restaurant by the health department.
J. D. Blackwell, who owns a fledgling aquaculture operation, said a friend had explored setting up a coffee shop but was deterred by the health department. “There’s a difference between a rural culture and nothing at all,” he told the commissioners.
Jim Grube, who owns Woodlawn Bed & Breakfast and Slack Wi8nery with his wife Maggie O’Brien, said the county needed to encourage innovative projects for the area, such as wineries and water oriented activities.
Addie McBride, a real estate agent, said she had seen a number of people leave the county because they couldn’t develop their properties or because the real estate taxes for waterfront properties were disproportionately high for land that had limited development potential.
Former County Commissioner Dan Raley said of Route 5 for the final stretches of the county before it enters Pt. Lookout State Park, “The road ceases to be a road and becomes a paved path.” Raley observed that two well-known south county residents who are now deceased, Bud Ridgell and Beth McCoy, had pressured to have the road improved at the annual meeting the county has with Maryland State Transportation department officials. He urged the commissioners to reintroduce that topic with the state officials.
On the issue of health department regulations, Raley, who served three terms, also commiserated with the commissioners about their lack of control over some matters. “Your control is being taken away6 by Annapolis.”
Virginia Faden, executive director of Historic St. Mary’s City, asked the commissioners to continue to “support and promote tourism” in the county. Commissioner President Francis “Jack” Russell responded, “We will try to continue to enhance tourism in our upcoming budget.”
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