Vote FOR Question 1 on the State Ballot

[willie]

Oz,
What would have been the benefit to St. Marys if developers got the Salem Tract? It was reported that it was at a rediculously low price, was that correct?

[Oz (Premo)]

Originally Posted by willie

Oz,
What would have been the benefit to St. Marys if developers got the Salem Tract? It was reported that it was at a rediculously low price, was that correct?

St. Mary's County would have received a very large land donation (50 acres I believe) for a school site. Millions of our tax dollars will now be spent to acquire land for this project (high school) which is in the BoE's CIP Budget for 2012 - 5 years from now. So $2-3 million dollars of your money and mine is now allocated in 2009 for High School site land acquisition.

The mistake that was made is that Hackerman was going to pay the same price paid by the state several years ago to acquire the land without consideration for property value appreciation. This is where the deal fell through, and probably rightly so. The process worked - he should have paid fair market appreciation for the land at today's value, and that didn't happen - so the Board of Public Works derailed the deal.

There is no concrete reason to vote for this ammendment. It is nothing more than a political ploy to dillute the power of Governor Ehrlich should he win re-election, and more unnecessary bureaucracy and red tape for the State of Maryland.

[willie]

Oz,
If Ehrlich had of been open about the deal and presented all the benefits, do you think it would have flown? The way this was presented to the general public was that it was an old time, good ole buddy back room deal. Everything that I have read about the deal makes it look bad, I never remember reading about any benefits, just the secrecy.

[Oz (Premo)]

Originally Posted by willie

Oz,
If Ehrlich had of been open about the deal and presented all the benefits, do you think it would have flown? The way this was presented to the general public was that it was an old time, good ole buddy back room deal. Everything that I have read about the deal makes it look bad, I never remember reading about any benefits, just the secrecy.

Your question is quite slanted based on bad reporting. There was nothing shady about the deal. It was fully disclosed as required. At that point, proper scrutiny led to the correct conclusion that the deal was not fair.

Now, it would have been a fair deal if Hackerman was offering to pay the 2006 market value for the property. But, in business, you buy low and sell high. That's all he was trying to do. He's guilty of being an aggressive businessman.

It's public record so the insistance that something was secret is just media manipulation of the facts and timeframe. Obviously many people have been influenced by the slanted media reports.

So, a good deal for the county in terms of a school site was a bad deal for the state in terms of land value so it didn't fly. It's a shame that the bad reporting didn't facilitate a more fair deal instead of being used for political slander.

Funny part is that Roy Dyson wanted this land for a school site in a 2005 letter to the State, but he was suddenly against it when someone else found a way to get the wheels turning.

[Toxick]

Originally Posted by mygoldnhorse

In 2004, the state tried to sell the so- called Salem Tract—an environmentally sensitive 836- acre tract of land in St. Mary’s County—to a private developer for the same price the state purchased it in 2003.

I totally missed this entire thread until now.



Can you please define for me what "environmentally sensitive" means?

[mygoldnhorse]

Originally Posted by Toxick

I totally missed this entire thread until now.



Can you please define for me what "environmentally sensitive" means?

This term is to define a variety of environmental factors found in a track of land which may include but are not limited too soil type, stormwater management, hydrology (aquafiers, individual wells, headwater springs), drainage, slope, non-tidal wetlands, stream and wetland buffers, stream valleys, rare, threatened and endangered species, forest interior birds, forest animals, exotic plants, tree preservation, restoration and mitigation, etc.
Hope that helps.
When developing a track of land environmental factors are ALWAYS taken into consideration. Typically the environmentally sensitive areas will be the designated "open space" within the track while reserving the remaining area as buildable use whether for residential or commercial.

[mygoldnhorse]

Originally Posted by Oz

So, a good deal for the county in terms of a school site was a bad deal for the state in terms of land value so it didn't fly. It's a shame that the bad reporting didn't facilitate a more fair deal instead of being used for political slander.

Funny part is that Roy Dyson wanted this land for a school site in a 2005 letter to the State, but he was suddenly against it when someone else found a way to get the wheels turning.

I would find it hard to believe that an entire 836 acre tract of land could be demed environmentally sensitive. I have never researched the Salem tract itself to find out how the State of Maryland aquired it and why it was preserved. There are many reasons why individual tracts are placed into peservation trusts. The Salem Tract was just an example of what can happen with State aquired land. We could beat this matter into the ground amongst ourselves and all for what?
I do feel that OZ you are correct, that if the State were to of wished to sell this land that a fair market value should of been paid.
But I will tell you this, when the State buys a tract of land and it is "marked" preserved, should they decide to sell/dispose of it in the future they are going to face alot of adversity from the public. And it definetely better not be done in any secret manner that will cause discredit to our public officials.

I myself do like Question 1 because I do prefer that selling/disposing of any preserved state park, conservation, or recreational land go for approval from the General Assembly. And this type of matter takes years to happen so I'm sure they will take everything necessary into consideration.