It’s not very often that Chestertown welcomes a new mayor and a new president of Washington College all in the same year. So it was fascinating to compare and contrast the Spy’s interviews with Mayor Chris Cerino and Interim President Jay Griswold discussing their new jobs over the last week or so.
It was reassuring to hear the mayor and the acting president, even with differences of age and life experiences, use the same calm but upbeat voice in discussing town-gown futures. In Chestertown, civility and optimism can go a long way to solving complex challenges, and one feels an exciting and mutually-supportive game plan starting to form.
The most apparent sign of this has been on Chestertown waterfront planning. Both Mr. Cerino and Mr. Griswold appear to be on the same page at looking creatively at all the various moving parts that make up the town’s remarkable access to its river — together.
Only good things can result from a shared vision on the waterfront. Funding opportunities will certainly grow since both foundation and government grants are pro-actively encouraging private-public partnerships. Economic and cultural benefits will also only improve the quality of life for all who live and visit the historic district while at the same time start attracting those who don’t.
It is perhaps time for North Chestertown to similarly rise to this same level of intense planning and creative thinking. At the moment, most of the discussion about the Route 291 Bypass and Route 213 area has been over traditional zoning concerns, and not so much about what northern Chestertown could develop into with appropriate attention from both the town and college.
Part of that may indeed be that there are quite a number of landowners involved. And a few of those, like the Cordish Companies, who own the woefully sad Kent Plaza, have generally resisted overtures for any in-depth discussion on the neighborhood’s future.
Nonetheless, North Chestertown offers the same opportunity to grow into a unique public-private partnership as does the downtown and the waterfront. With a vision of land use that includes commercial, professional, recreational, and residential mixed-use, this long neglected backside of town can be united through the College’s campus and rails to trails pathways to its historic core.
Given their renewed commitment to work together, the college and the town would be well advised to once again revisit the idea of a joint town-gown study group to spend quality time and expertise on a comprehensive vision for both downtown and North Chestertown. Challenges of this kind are simply too complex and nuanced to be resolved at the planning commission level without the right amount of time, thinking, and due diligence to study the unique options available.
Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article
We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.