It is almost too painful to recall the many twists and turns of the Chestertown Marina project since the town purchased the property in 2012. The setbacks, the economic recession, the second-guessing, the mixed signals from Annapolis, and the inevitable last minute surprises over the last six years would give anyone a serious about heartburn. And no one could possibly feel more of that indigestion issue that Chestertown’s mayor, Chris Cerino.
Even before the town took the unprecedented step to purchase the marina, Cerino had been tracking it. Heading up the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission, as well as serving as the Sultana Education Foundation’s director of education, Chris was well aware of its opportunities and challenges well before he decided to make the marina his number one priority when he ran for mayor in 2014.
And for the last four years, he’s seen first hand how complex and frustrating a project like this can be for a small town. But it has also allowed him to join other leaders in town for a modest victory lap as the real fruit of their labor is now being very tangibly being seen on Chester River waterfront.
The Spy talked to Mayor Cerino last week in the new Marina Interpretive Center to talk about this long journey and the almost unlimited potential it has released as this three hundred year old community reclaims in historic ties to river and offered a future door for economic development.
This video is approximately eight minutes in length. For more information about the Chestertown Marina or to make a contribution to its final phase of funding, please go here
Marty Stetson says
It got done for the most part because of the hard work and effort put into it by Mayor Cerino. His passion from the very beginning to the conclusion was infectious to all around him. It has been a drain on the town’s budget but hopefully that part is over and we can move on. I for one am looking forward to seeing the slips all full and the marina doing well enough to pay for its self and maybe even to pay down some of the debt which we obtained in its purchase.