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Minutes - 8-7-2001


Minutes, Weems Creek Conservancy Meeting, 8-7-01

Evan Belaga called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. at his home, 3 Steffen Point, Annapolis, MD.

Attendance: Evan Belaga, Walt Charlton, Gretchen Clift, Dennis Crewell (A. Arundel Medical Center), Mary Huber, Fred Lisiewski, Jim Martin, Steve McKerrow, Capt. Bob & Elizabeth McWethey, Dick Morin, Corinne Reed-Miller, Molly Smith.

Oyster bar/turtles:

Evan announced that DNR had installed the day before an oyster bar at the mouth of the Creek, off Priests Point, which will eventually receive one million "spat," or larval oysters. The area is one acre, and a second one-acre site is also being considered elsewhere on the creek, for another one million spat. This is the result of contacts with the Oyster Recovery Partnership.

Molly Smith has made contact with a teacher at West Annapolis Elementary School to involve students there in a terrapin habitat project on the creek.

Project updates:

  1. Priests Point: Evan said there has been no further news regarding state or other interests in purchasing the property. He said the Conservancy is in no position to consider buying it, but does want to take steps to assure it is not developed. Dick Morin briefed the group on his knowledge of the property, which is near his home. He said several development efforts had failed over the years, including one two years ago when a potential developer of houses gave up in the face of County insistence that the property remain open space, with no more than the historical two houses. The property was surveyed in 1994, he believes. It is a 15-acre site and its asking price is believed to be $1.7 million. Dick agreed to find out the current ownership. Elizabeth McWethey said the Catholic Church has sold the property, and she fears that potential developers are waiting until the re-zoning cycle to once again launch efforts.

  2. County side: Evan listed the State Highway Administration projects that will be affecting the County side of the Creek, including the Rowe Boulevard Bridge, Medical Parkway crossing of Cowhide Branch and the new cloverleaf proposed to link Rte. 2 with Jennifer Road. He discussed how the Severn River Watershed Study now underway by the County will include only the County side of Weems Creek, and is of little use to us. But he said SHA officials have been very receptive to mitigating the impact of their projects with money toward Weems Creek.

  3. Funds/grants: Evan said an official at DNR, Verna Harris, has indicated the WRAS grant we have been seeking likely will not come to us. But she said there are better sources of funds. "Everybody is saying, 'What do you want?'" said Evan. He said contact has been made with several consultants, including the Center for Watershed Management in Ellicott City and the Annapolis firm EcoLogix, regarding possible contracts with the Conservancy to facilitate and guide expenditures of potential public funds on the Creek. He noted that he had talked to County Council member Barbara Samorazcjek regarding a project on Church Creek that produced a County-developed watershed plan.

  4. Water quality: Dick asked about the current status of County water quality monitoring. Evan and others said it appears little is being done right now. Dick noted that there was a significant study done in 1987. Steve McKerrow noted that Admiral Heights this summer has renewed a lapsed participation with the Severn River Association in Operation Clearwater, which is taking bi-weekly samples in the Creek. They test for an organism, enterrococci, which measures contamination by sewage. Results so far this summer have been up and down, with "spikes" following heavy rains making the water unsafe to swim. The same is happening throughout the Severn system.

  5. Organization: Walter Charlton said he was confused by the current structure of the Conservancy, saying, "What would we do with money if we got it?" He said the organization needs a formal organization structure, and that he brought a proposed general flow chart for discussion. Members received copies for study and discussion at the next Board meeting. It was noted that four officers and a 12-member Board had been elected at the June 21 general membership meeting. Dick said it would be helpful to know what individuals and organizations are currently members of the Conservancy, and that all members should get a copy of the by-laws. Corinne Reed-Miller noted the by-laws will be presented for approval at the September general membership meeting. Dick noted the success of the Conservancy to date has occurred without a lot of structure.

  6. Rowe Boulevard Bridge: Evan said that he, Gretchen Clift, and Mary Huber met last week with Merrill Plait, the County's stormwater expert, to talk about managing runoff when the eventual re-decking/re-building of the bridge takes place. Discussion ensued as to what position the Conservancy should take on the controversial bridge design/size issue. Consensus seemed to be to oppose any bridge wider than the current four lanes of traffic, but with a particular focus on the environmental impacts-not the wider issues of neighborhood impact that community organizations have been debating. Elizabeth said she fears the state has not given up on making this a six-lane bridge. Jim Martin disagreed. Dick said our focus must remain on the Creek. Steve noted that fighting any increase in traffic volume on the bridge is a vital issue to us, including the impact of air pollutants that settle on the surface. Jim also said we should seek to force the SHA to commit to a design process that involves community groups and the Conservancy, as well.

  7. Dredging: Fred Lisiewski reported that his investigations of documentary evidence of historical depths on the Creek have run into the problem that most agencies do not keep records of pier permits for very long. He said, however, that one resident has a permit that shows a 5 BD foot depth at the dock, where now he has just 2 BD feet.

  8. Large institutions: Mary Huber, who represents Westfield ShoppingTown Annapolis (Annapolis Mall), said she knows the mall has a great deal of impervious surface and is looking into "what's best to do?" to reduce that. She said Merrill Plait at the County had suggested a retrofit of the stormwater runoff pond near Nordstrom's department store. Dennis Crewel, who represents the hospital, said, "our goal is to work with the community as best we can" toward minimizing any impact of the developing institution on the Creek. "We don't want to be part of the problem," he said, noting that three gardens are already part of the building plans, and that they are looking at the new concepts of minimizing the impact of impervious surfaces.

Next meetings:

The Board will meet at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 10, at Evan's house, to make plans for the September general membership meeting.

The General Membership meeting was tentatively scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 17, at Anne Arundel Medical Center's Sajak Pavilion.

Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 9:55 p.m.

Minutes respectfully submitted, Steve McKerrow/Secretary