Town, College Near Agreement on Riverfront Trail

At the Chestertown Council meeting Aug. 19, Town Manager Bill Ingersoll gave the council draft copies of a memorandum of understanding between the town and Washington College. The document concerns the long-planned riverside walkway that would cross the college’s property from Wilmer Park to the neighborhood of Radcliffe Creek. The Eastern Shore Land Conservancy is also a party to the agreement.

The agreement states that the town is to construct and maintain the waterfront trail at no cost to the college and to give the college “a reasonable opportunity” to review plans for the trail and to have direct input on its placement as it crosses college property. The town is also to coordinate construction and maintenance of the trail with the college so as not to interfere with its operations and events. And the town would be required to maintain liability insurance for the trail, with the college named as an additional insured party.

For its part, the college would grant a 30-year easement on the property to be used for the trail, and for the college property at the Custom House and at the Hynson-Ringgold House gardens, which was used for the walkway from the foot of High Street to what is now the town-owned marina – an easement that is now due for renewal. It would grant permission for members of the public to use the trail during the hours in which Wilmer Park is open – essentially, dawn to dusk. The ESLC would assist in identifying funding opportunities for the building and maintenance of the trail.

Councilman Marty Stetson said the proposed agreement weighs heavily in favor of the college. Ingersoll said it is in the college’s best interests to be careful about a project that would bring the general public across its property. He said the terms of the agreement are essentially the same as the town agreed to when it built the boardwalk from High Street to Cannon Street. He said the town would want similar terms if an outside party wanted to use its property.

Ingersoll said the town’s attorney is vetting the draft and will provide his opinion before a final agreement is prepared.

Ingersoll said the waterfront walkway, which is between Wilmer Park and the old Armory, would not cross any public road, but that it would generate increased pedestrian traffic on the nearby roads, basicallyQuaker Neck Rd, as would the college’s new environmental center along the river. He provided a map of the proposed river walk and the fourth leg of the Gilchrest Rail Trail, which would extend across the Morgnec Road bypass near the college campus to the vicinity of Foxley Manor at the northern edge of town. He said that work on the rail trail is still in the early planning stage and that he welcomes input from the council. Bids for work on the trail were received on Aug. 16.

Mayor Chris Cerino said the waterfront trail project dates back some 15 years, to when he served on the town’s Planning Commission. He said it was exciting to see it moving toward becoming a reality.

Also at the meeting, State Highway Administration District 2 engineer Ken Fender and members of his team invited questions from the council about road projects in town. Councilman Marty Stetson raised the issue of the pedestrian crossing button on the southeast corner of Washington Ave. and Campus Ave. Stetson observed that it is on a corner where there is no sidewalk leading to the east, where Kent County Middle School is located. He said it would be better to locate the button on the northeast corner for the safety of school children.

Councilman David Foster said he had spoken to the engineers before the start of the meeting about the intersection of Cross Street and Maple Avenue, which he said is one of the more dangerous pedestrian crossings in town. Fender said that pedestrian safety is a “huge” concern at SHA, and promised to look into possible ways to improve it.

Councilwoman Linda Kuiper asked about the status of a proposed third Bay Bridge. Fenders said the project would not be his direct responsibility, although he has heard a lot of discussion from Queen Anne’s County about traffic issues related to the Bay crossing. “I don’t have a lot of say in what goes on,” he said of the proposed bridge.

Councilman Ellsworth Tolliver asked Fender what he sees as the greatest challenges in the district. “Trying to keep service up with declining funding,” Fender said. “Next year I’ll probably tell you something different.”

Kuiper, in her ward report, discussed plans to lay a memorial plaque in Fountain Park for Owen McCoy, the long-term farmers market manager who died a year ago in July. She said she had consulted with McCoy’s daughters about the text for the 8” by 8” bronze plaque, which would include his time of service with the market – 1979 to 2018. The plaque would be placed near the corner of Park Row and Cross Street, where McCoy regularly parked his truck to sell farm produce.

The meeting, which began at 7:30 pm, ended a little after 8:30 pm. The Chestertown Council officially meets at town hall at 7:30 pm on the first and third Mondays of each month.  However, the first Monday in Sept. is Labor Day, so the next Chestertown council meeting will be on Tuesday, Sept. 3, usual time and place.

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