Cecil County Government: A Change

On April 8, 2010, Mark Parker, P.E., Principal and John Gonzalez,P.E., CPSWQ, Havre de Grace, MD Branch Manager attended a Cecil County Chamber of Commerce Luncheon to listen to the proposed changes in Cecil County Government. John attended an event in Perryville today and got another update on the same. The following presents a summary of the updates:

In November, 2010, the citizens of Cecil County will be voting on a proposed change in County government. The issue regarding the proposed change will be whether the County government format should change from the Commissioner form of government to Charter government.

In 2009, the County Commissioners appointed a group of people to work on a committee to research and write a charter. This group of nine people was comprised of community leaders, businesspeople, and citizens. The committee researched charter government, charters of the counties currently operating under charter government, and gathered information from citizens of Cecil County to help structure a charter.

The current form of county government is by elected County Commissioners. There are five Commissioners, each representing a different District.

Under Charter government, there would be five elected County Council Members, and one County Executive elected at large. There is debate about whether the Council Members should be elected by District, or at large.

A question that has arisen is why Cecil County needs a change in County government. The public wants a better, more efficient local government, citizen representation by district, more public control over government functions, accountability from government to the citizens all the time, strategic planning for the County, and responsive elected officials.

Under the current Commissioner form of government, when a bill gets brought up to the Commissioners, the Commissioners take the bill to the State Delegates who represent Cecil County (among other counties). The State Delegates can decide whether the bill should be brought forth to the General Assembly. If the bill is brought before the General Assembly, the General Assembly can decide to act or not to act on the bill during their 90-day legislative session.

Under Charter government, when a bill gets brought up before the County Council, the Council can enact the bill, at which time the bill goes before the County Executive who can then sign the bill into law. If the County Executive vetoes the bill, the bill goes back to the Council, and if enacted by the Council, gets put on a referendum on which the citizens can vote. If the citizens vote on the bill, it becomes law.

In essence, Charter government “brings democracy home” to the citizens. Charter government provides the tools to give the public what the public wants from a government- responsiveness, accountability, and leadership.


The committee researched the costs of Charter government versus the Commissioner form of government. It was determined that Charter government can run at less cost than the Commissioner form of government.

The committee included a provision in the Charter for the Council to set out a strategic plan. The strategic plan will focus on issues the Council deems as priorities for the County, and how the County can work to meet the challenges imposed by these issues. The strategic plan is to be reviewed on an annual basis and updated/revised as necessary.

The outcome in changing from a Commissioner form of government to Charter government should provide the form of government Cecil County needs during these times where the County is experiencing growth and a change in demographics. More flexible government is needed for the County, and the decisions need to remain with the County. The County needs to wean itself off from the State Delegates and the General Assembly with regards to issues more at home. Charter government can do that.

The committee is on a mission to educate the citizens of Cecil County about Charter government. Several meetings have been scheduled, and some have already been held. More information on the Charter government process, along with a draft of the proposed charter, can be found on www.ccgov.org.

As always, Landmark/JCM follows these issues as they affect our clients and the future of development in the counties and states in which we all practice. Please call us so that we can make your next project the huge success you expect.

FIRST ANNUAL GREEN FEST A SUCCESS

The First Annual Green Fest, put on by the Green Building Council and the Home Builder’s Association of Delaware, was a great success, held this past Sunday.

Held on Legislative Mall in Dover, this was the first time for this green themed earth day event. Despite somewhat cold wind, temps 50’s and sun in and out, everyone seemed to enjoy the beautiful day. There was music all day, storytelling to kids and kids friendly activities, a fashion show, exhibits and more, all taken in by an estimated 1,000 attendees.

The Air Quality Partnership of Delaware participated to educate people about air quality and they held a press conference to announce the start of the air quality monitoring season. The main speakers at the press conference was DNREC Secretary Collin O’Mara and Dover Mayor Carleton Carey.

LandmarkJCM was happy to attend and support our green building clients. The NAHB Research Center participated as an exhibitor and explained the benefits of certified green building to many attendees. Of course we brought our collection of wild critters, always a popular draw.

Congrats to all who participated, sponsored, and helped make this a reality. Special congrats to HBADE and their dedicated and tireless staff for creating and holding this exciting event. We’re sure it will become an annual event not to be missed.

National Green Building Program Strengthened

Recently the NAHB Research Center strengthened the Green Building Program, by taking over a number of program aspects from NAHB, and announcing the retirement of the Green Building Guidelines certification program. The Guidelines was the original program which brought nearly 50 certified green homes to Delaware that would not have otherwise become green.

In contrast, the Standard certification program is a wider based program and bases the energy section on newer energy codes. It is the only residential green building certification program which is ANSI and ICC approved. It can be used to certify single family, multifamily, remodeling projects, and green subdivision sites.

Anyone needing more information can contact Howard Fortunato at howard@jcmenv.com.

First Bog Turtle of the Season

Amy Nazdrowicz found her first bog turtle ever at a "secret" site in the Brandywine Valley. A DNREC representative accompanied Amy and Mick McLaughlin from Landmark Science & Engineering to this site that had a record of a bog turtle colony.

Although the official Bog Turtle search season begins on April 15th (and ends on June 15th), Amy was still able to find a turtle. The warm weather has probably made these secretive turtles active earlier this year than in "normal" years.

The turtle was a large male (136 grams) that was well hidden under dead vegetation. Mick made the official measurements and the turtle was released back where it was found.

If you find that you need a bog turtle survey this season, please contact Amy at 302-323-9377 X136

Craftsmen Developers, First Certified Green Site in Delaware

Congrats to our client Craftsmen Developers! Their site Wharton's Bluff, Parcel B in Millsboro, Delaware, received the top-notch designation of 4 Stars Green Subdivision Certification! We are happy to have helped them with this accomplishment, under the National Green Building Standard, as this is the FIRST site certification in Delaware. As their Accredited Verifier, our Joe Gordon worked with their staff members Conor Gilligan and Kris Thompson to ensure that development of the site passed muster for all the green criteria needed for site certification under the NAHB Research Center program. Situated adjacent to Millsboro, the community and future residents will enjoy lovely waterfront views of the Indian River.

Craftsmen is dedicated to responsible green development, as demonstrated by this Certifications. Congratulations again!

Green Tour and More of NAHB Research Center

Members of our HBA/DE and Green Building Council, including representatives from Kent County Inspections Department, were treated to a presentation, tour and lunch last week at the NAHB Research Center located outside Washington, DC. Mike Luzier, President of the Research Center enlightend us to the extensive scope of services they perform, over and above certification of Green built homes under the National Green Building Standard. They are a widely recognized product research testing facility and they also perform independent market research.

Bob Hill, Director of the Laboratory and Certification Services, guided us thru the myriad of stations of different testing areas with the facility. Here he shows us a Universal Testing Machine which has a 200,000 pound capacity for tension, compression, and flexural testing.

We were all wowed. In fact, the building inspector on our tour commented that more public and building officials in Delaware should make time to take this tour. We'll see what we can do to set this up.