Important CRE Meeting!

[residentofcre]

This Saturday 07/29/06 at 10 AM there will be a special meeting of the Chesapeake Ranch Estates Board of Directors to review the bids and award the contract [hopefully] for the Resurfacing of Golden West Way....

We have been wading through the engineering that seemed to take forever and County approvals and finally we are at the point where we are actually reviewing the bids!

If members of POACRE are interested in being there for this important decision they are more than welcome to attend....

We will have only one matter on the agenda... there will be no member comments.... this is a special meeting of the Board ....

Finally.... this has been a long time coming!

 

[Kain99]

Lowest Bidder!

 

[hvp05]

Lowest Bidder!

Or the one with the most "special connections".

 

[Bronwyn]

Or the one with the most "special connections".

The one with the most illegals will have the lowest bid

 

[slaphappynmd]

what about the rest of the ranch club...golden west way is only 1 part.

 

[mAlice]

My HOA has a web site to announce these things.

 

[residentofcre]

what about the rest of the ranch club...golden west way is only 1 part.

We're working on it.... One of the reasons I decided to run for BOCC was to work on getting our gas tax back so we would have more money for roads. My plan would pull money that would not take away from anyone else in the County. Check out the COIAC page of my web site...

 

[Oz]

to work on getting our gas tax back so we would have more money for roads.

What is the deficit of fuel tax collected by the State of Maryland versus the State's investment into Calvert County roads each year?

 

[FastCarsSpeed]

What I think is majorly dumb is allowing builders to create new streets and courts and not asking them to do more then just stone road surface. Our new house is being built on a new court and another builder has 3 brand new homes he just put in there and all that looks like is required is reused chipped up asphalt. Guess since we have that we will be last on the list to have our court paved..

 

[Ponytail]

What I think is majorly dumb is allowing builders to create new streets and courts and not asking them to do more then just stone road surface. Our new house is being built on a new court and another builder has 3 brand new homes he just put in there and all that looks like is required is reused chipped up asphalt. Guess since we have that we will be last on the list to have our court paved..

Shoot, my road was paved at one time. It's so bad now, the last time they did repairs, they covered the entire thing with 2 inches of cinder. No joke. It's all washed away now, but it looked good for a few days.

It doesn't bother me though. I'm starting to chuckle at the sound of the pebbles pingin' off the back of my helmet when I ride out in the morning.

One thing that helps make our road last so much longer than everyone elses is that our 10mph speed limit is strictly self enforced!

 

[residentofcre]

What is the deficit of fuel tax collected by the State of Maryland versus the State's investment into Calvert County roads each year?

The money that Calvert County receives for roads that are maintained by the County is based on mileage. Calvert has less than 500 miles of roads to maintain.

According to the study done by the Infrastructure Task Force in reponse to the bill passed by the Maryland General Assembly, there are about 100 miles of road that are not in the County system. These roads are maintained by the communities. The majority of those roads are in CRE and Drum Point.

When these communities were developed there were no real standards [there was hardly courthouse staff] and the roads have numerous problems that would require the state to grant the county amunity before the county could take them into the system.

On top of that they are in such a sad state that it would put a horrible burden on the county to bring them into the system.

Meanwhile, the communities also have covenants that will only allow a certain amount of money to be collected for the maintenance of the roads so they are struggling to keep up.

Back to the tax part.... The people who live in these communities pay tax at the pump just like everyone else in the county but unlike those who live on a county road, none of that money comes back to them or to the county to pay for road maintenance. They are now paying a second tax [the special taxing districts] to maintain [overlay, storm water management etc] the roads. [The fees collected by the HOA are used for sand, salt, etc.]

The people of these communities are willing to keep the responsibility for their own road maintenance [which is a good thing for the county] but we want the fuel tax portion [that would go to the county if the roads were in the system] to repay the communities for services rendered.

The alternative.... CRE could become a municipality... which would mean a major expense to the County and State. The costs of changing all the tax forms alone would be huge.... let alone all the other costs the county and state would have to absorb....

It is a feasible plan... it could be done legislatively and only the amount of money that would go to the county if the roads were taken into the system would be returned to the community for services rendered by the community.

OH... and the money the state spends on county roads... the county only receives funds for county roads based on mileage. The state has roads in Calvert County that they maintain... and those funds would stay at the state.



Sometimes when I start talking about this I get carried away and talk in terms that only someone that has been working with the task force would understand... I hope I didn't do that here.... This is really a good thing for everyone in a community that was platted before 1980 that has roads to maintain.

 

[Oz]

The money that Calvert County receives for roads that are maintained by the County is based on mileage. Calvert has less than 500 miles of roads to maintain.

If you're going to run a campaign platform that you want your fuel tax back for road maintenance, you better figure out how much was collected in Calvert County and how much was returned by the state, both for State roads, and the contribution to maintain county roads. What I'm really saying is that I think if you check the numbers for the tri-county area, you will find that we receive more from the State than our citizens pay in taxes.

The majority of those roads are in CRE and Drum Point.

When these communities were developed there were no real standards [there was hardly courthouse staff] and the roads have numerous problems that would require the state to grant the county amunity before the county could take them into the system.

Your county commissioners would be foolish to accept those roads as county roads. Those roads are private roads and public funds should not be used to modify or maintain them.

Communities with covenants which aren't maintaining their roads, or charging enough to maintain their roads then need the county to come in and fix the problems, and thus a special taxing district is created so that the people living on the road are the only ones paying for that road and public funds aren't used for private roads. We have several instances of special taxing districts in St. Mary's County for exactly that purpose.

The alternative.... CRE could become a municipality... which would mean a major expense to the County and State. The costs of changing all the tax forms alone would be huge.... let alone all the other costs the county and state would have to absorb....

Certainly an option, but if CRE's Board of Directors can't manage their community now, why would the taxpayers of Calvert want to create a bureaucracy surrounding an existing problem? Get rid of the directors who can't run the community now, and find people who have experience running something to try to fix it.

The people of these communities are willing to keep the responsibility for their own road maintenance [which is a good thing for the county] but we want the fuel tax portion [that would go to the county if the roads were in the system] to repay the communities for services rendered.

Sorry but these private roads have no business receiving tax funds to fix and maintain them. It is not a good thing for the county. If those roads were built to public standards and accepted by the county, then thats fine. But they are not. They are private roads and driveways and should be maintained by the HOA's and residents who reside there.

Sometimes when I start talking about this I get carried away and talk in terms that only someone that has been working with the task force would understand... I hope I didn't do that here.... This is really a good thing for everyone in a community that was platted before 1980 that has roads to maintain.

I appreciate that. But you can go far deeper in planning and zoning without losing me. It's a good thing for everyone in the community prior to 1980, but it's bad for the rest of the citizens in Calvert County.

If all of CRE votes for you, and the rest of the county votes against you on the issue of taking public funds for private roads, can you still win your race?

 

[mrweb]

This Saturday 07/29/06 at 10 AM there will be a special meeting of the Chesapeake Ranch Estates Board of Directors to review the bids and award the contract [hopefully] for the Resurfacing of Golden West Way....

We have been wading through the engineering that seemed to take forever and County approvals and finally we are at the point where we are actually reviewing the bids!

If members of POACRE are interested in being there for this important decision they are more than welcome to attend....

We will have only one matter on the agenda... there will be no member comments.... this is a special meeting of the Board ....

Finally.... this has been a long time coming!

If the members of POACRE are really concerned, they should ask about the unused STD funds. Yes this has been a long time coming, however, IMO you should be focusing on how POACRE manages the STD funds and why they have so many paid employees instead of puppy mills.

 

[residentofcre]

If the members of POACRE are really concerned, they should ask about the unused STD funds. Yes this has been a long time coming, however, IMO you should be focusing on how POACRE manages the STD funds and why they have so many paid employees instead of puppy mills.

We have been persistantly pushing to get things moving on the Special Taxing District.

I appreciate all the work the volunteers on the Roads Committee have done to get to this point. These same men have been working on these committees for 20 years. I constantly hear people complaining about the lack of progress and I invite them to help out... but I rarely see new faces at the meetings.

I insisted that the Roads Committee hold evening meetings so that there could be public input. The Roads Committee meets during the day and again at night to give everyone an opportunity to make a positive change. We rarely see anyone from the committee on a regular basis.

If you live in CRE and you are willing to help keep the focus on the Special Taxing District and getting it moving better... please join me at the Roads Committee meetings.

The meetings are annouced in the Round Up Times, on the website www.poacre.org, and on the signs at all three entrances. It's a new fiscal year and we need some very energetic, no nonsense people to join the committee and breathe some new life into it.

 

[residentofcre]

If you're going to run a campaign platform that you want your fuel tax back for road maintenance, you better figure out how much was collected in Calvert County and how much was returned by the state, both for State roads, and the contribution to maintain county roads. What I'm really saying is that I think if you check the numbers for the tri-county area, you will find that we receive more from the State than our citizens pay in taxes.?

The citiizens of Calvert County are treated fairly by the State and the County, however, in my opinion, the large number of residents in communities that were platted before 1980 are being double taxed.

http://www.beckytice.com/TiceisRight.html

Your county commissioners would be foolish to accept those roads as county roads. Those roads are private roads and public funds should not be used to modify or maintain them.?

These fuel taxes I am talking about are taxes paid by the people who live on community roads that are no longer private. Gates were removed long ago. County transportation vehicles use them on a regular basis. LNG has even incorporated the roads in CRE in their evacuation to Patuxent High School in the event of an emergency.

Communities with covenants which aren't maintaining their roads, or charging enough to maintain their roads then need the county to come in and fix the problems, and thus a special taxing district is created so that the people living on the road are the only ones paying for that road and public funds aren't used for private roads. We have several instances of special taxing districts in St. Mary's County for exactly that purpose. ?

What you are describing here is a Road Taxing District which is different than a Special Taxing District, CRE does not qualify for a Road Tax District because of all the easement problems... as a matter of fact the task force studied the special taxing districts and special services districts in St. Mary's County.

Might I add here, our Roads Supervisor is a resident of St. Mary's County and I heard we hired him from your County Roads Dept.

It's a good thing for everyone in the community prior to 1980, but it's bad for the rest of the citizens in Calvert County. ?

The return of the fuel tax to the communities platted before 1980 responsible for the maintenance of roads will not hurt the County. As a matter of fact it will help the county. The roads will not enter the system but they will be maintained.

The important thing here is the fact that the people who are paying to maintain these 100 miles of road, pay a tax for which they get abosolutely no benefit.

If all of CRE votes for you, and the rest of the county votes against you on the issue of taking public funds for private roads, can you still win your race?

I do not want to take public funds for private roads.... these are funds that the residents have paid into the system just like the people who live on any county maintained road. The difference is the citizens of communities platted before 1980 get no return on it. We would not be taking the money from the County... we would not be burdening the County in any way.

This is not a tax increase... or the use of public funds for private use.

We just want our taxes to be used in the best way.... just like everyone else.

 

[greyhound]

The citiizens of Calvert County are treated fairly by the State and the County, however, in my opinion, the large number of residents in communities that were platted before 1980 are being double taxed.

I try not to talk politics in the forum but this bothers me. As a voter looking at the candidates in Calvert County, I have to say that this subject could decide how I will vote. Let The Buyer Beware. If you live in the Ranch Club, a private community, I don't want to pay for your roads. I live in a private community and the private roads are paid for by the community. We have fewer roads to take care of. Your community has a lot more homes.

 

[residentofcre]

I try not to talk politics in the forum but this bothers me. As a voter looking at the candidates in Calvert County, I have to say that this subject could decide how I will vote. Let The Buyer Beware. If you live in the Ranch Club, a private community, I don't want to pay for your roads. I live in a private community and the private roads are paid for by the community. We have fewer roads to take care of. Your community has a lot more homes.

I don't want you to pay for our roads either.

When you go to the gas pump or when you register your car, a certain amount of the money is for you because you live in Calvert County.

The state collects all the money and then it gives a little over 2 cents on the dollar to the county. The county then takes that money and uses it to maintain county roads.

We all agree that is fair right?

http://www.beckytice.com/TiceisRight.html


The 2 cents I pay in doesn't come back to the county now. I say bring that 2 cents that I already pay... back to the county where it belongs and once the community has paid to maintain the community road [that really isn't private anymore] then reimburse the community with that 2 cents.


Things would stay the same for 90% of the county. But for the other 10% they would get some of their taxes back in the form of services...

Let me make this real clear.... I won't use public money that is generated for the use on County Roads for the roads in the private communities.

Let me make this extra clear... I won't raise any taxes....I pay enough taxes now... don't you?



You know I think I'm being pretty brave to bring this up. Not one of the other candidates has even begun to tell you what they would do.... none of them are in forums discussing these ideas with you... they are simply running 1/2 page ads, putting up signs, and asking you for donations....

 

[greyhound]

I don't want you to pay for our roads either.

When you go to the gas pump or when you register your car, a certain amount of the money is for you because you live in Calvert County.

The state collects all the money and then it gives a little over 2 cents on the dollar to the county. The county then takes that money and uses it to maintain county roads.

We all agree that is fair right?

http://www.beckytice.com/TiceisRight.html


The 2 cents I pay in doesn't come back to the county now. I say bring that 2 cents that I already pay... back to the county where it belongs and once the community has paid to maintain the community road [that really isn't private anymore] then reimburse the community with that 2 cents.

And if my tax money goes to pay for roads in your private community that decided to remove the gates, I'm sure you won't mind if I use your lake and beaches.

 

[residentofcre]

And if my tax money goes to pay for roads in your private community that decided to remove the gates, I'm sure you won't mind if I use your lake and beaches.

That is why I can say I won't use your money.

I pay just as much as the pump as you do. On top of that I also pay in again to the Special Taxing District and Road fees.... there are over 3000 families that double pay in Calvert County. The State takes our money and they don't give it back like they do with your money.

 

[residentofcre]

I try not to talk politics in the forum but this bothers me. As a voter looking at the candidates in Calvert County, I have to say that this subject could decide how I will vote. Let The Buyer Beware. If you live in the Ranch Club, a private community, I don't want to pay for your roads. I live in a private community and the private roads are paid for by the community. We have fewer roads to take care of. Your community has a lot more homes.

I know how you feel. I appreciate the fact that you don't want to pay for our roads.

If you live in a "private" community in Calvert County, you should really look into the Common Ownership Infrastructure Advisory Committee [COIAC]. We made recommendations five years ago and the BOCC only granted a charter for the committee last year after some of us demanded it. The study is available on my website... click on the picture of the Infrastructure Task Force Report on the COIAC page.