Daniel Menefee - Chestertown Spy

Town Won’t Pick Sides in Internet Squabble

February 20, 2020 by Daniel Menefee

Tuesday’s vote on an ordinance to establish regulations in public right-of-ways for utility companies was put on hold by the Chestertown Council because of a legal challenge.

ThinkBig Networks and Talkie Communications have been in a highly competitive race to connect customers to highspeed fiberoptic Internet in Chestertown. As a result, both companies have accidentally damaged water or sewer lines.

Both companies often use the same subcontractor to install the fiber.

“We have sort of an impasse where two fiber companies want to wire the same neighborhoods at the same time and they might feel like they have a valid reason for doing that,” said Chestertown Town Manager Bill Ingersoll at Tuesday’s council meeting. “One has threatened a suit. For that reason, I would say we listen tonight…and not enact the ordinance.”

Talkie has sought legal counsel to force the town to honor a permit that was approved in August. The company said it was later told that two providers could not serve the same areas in town.

Talkie argues that this is a violation of FCC law, which prohibits barriers to businesses providing telecommunications services.

Talkie Co-founders Andrew and Andre DeMattia believe they were given a “bad shake” by the town when they began installing fiber last May.

“When we were first greeted in the town…the first statement was ‘we don’t need fiber here, we already have ThinkBig, Maryland Broadband and Atlantic Broadband; we don’t want anybody else here’,” Andrew DeMattia told the council. He said the town office told this directly to his engineering contractor.

The two brothers said they were committed to Chestertown and have staked their personal fortunes to connect 300 customers so far.

“Talkie has committed to this town and has committed private funds of almost $7 million,” said Andrew DeMattia.

The arrival of Talkie in May of last year challenged the business plan of ThinkBig, which believes that Kent County and Chestertown are too small for the two companies to prosper, said Dee Anna Sobczak, COO of ThinkBig Networks.

She said that two companies laying fiber in the same areas was not a sustainable business model and she made a sales pitch to the council to select ThinkBig as the right provider for Chestertown.

“Kent County and Chestertown do not have the population numbers to sustain two fiber companies,” she said. “Most likely one of the companies won’t survive…or worse case both companies won’t survive.”

She said her company should be the provider of choice in Chestertown because of the company’s deep pockets.

“We have a very diverse investor pool,” Sobczak said. “It’s conservative to say that our collective personal net worth of our investors is north of $200 million.”

“I’m confident that when you do your research the answers will show that ThinkBig Networks is the right company for this,” she said.

Chestertown Mayor Chris Cerino pushed back on the idea that the council can choose a preferred provider.

“I don’t think it’s our job to pick one company over another,” Cerino told Sobczak. “That does get to a legal question. “What [the council] is being told is that utility companies have a right to these right-of-ways.”

Cerino said his job was to protect the town’s underground utilities.

“My biggest concern is not to pick one company over the other, but to protect our pre-existing resources,” he said.

He said if the council tried to pick one carrier the town would be subject to litigation.

“We are in my view caught in a private sector squabble,” he said. “I hope both of your companies kick ass and make a ton of money.”

In an email on Thursday, Andre DeMattia said there was plenty of room for more than one provider to service customers in Chestertown.

“All Internet providers can prosper side-by-side in Kent County and Chestertown,” Andre DeMattia said. “The community benefits from competition that brings lower prices and better services for everyone.”

In the video below Cerino questions Talkie on the need for two Internet providers in town.

In the video below Cerino explains to Sobczak why the town can’t pick one preferred Internet provider.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Chestertown Redistricting Committee Established

February 20, 2020 by Daniel Menefee

The Chestertown Council established a redistricting committee by unanimous vote on Tuesday to redraw the districts by the next town election. Each council member submitted names from their wards to serve on the committee.

The new committee is in response to a letter from the ACLU of Maryland in mid-January that implored the town to correct its malapportioned voting districts and create a ward with a “substantial plurality” of black voters.

The districts were last reapportioned in 1995.

“The existing four-ward election system in Chestertown is severely malapportioned, and also unfairly dilutes black voting strength,” said Deborah Jeon, legal director for the ACLU of Maryland, in a letter to Mayor Chris Cerino on Jan. 17.“It is imperative that the problems of Chestertown’s election system be corrected in advance of the next election.”

Chestertown last apportioned its districts in 1995–and since then the population of Ward 3 has swelled to twice that of Ward 1.

“Thus giving individual voters of Ward 1 a disproportionate voice in local elections, and Ward 3 voters proportionately less,” Jeon said in her January letter.

Cerino charged the councilmembers with submitting 2 names for each ward by the Feb. 18 meeting and they were unanimously approved.

Ward 1: Former Ward 3 Councilman Sam Shoge and Vic Pfeiffer

Ward 2: Charles Taylor and Linda Dawson

Ward 3: Rebecca Murphy (2nd name to be submitted at the next council meeting).

Ward 4: William Maloney and Kitty Maynard

Cerino said the goal of the committee would be to have new lines drawn by the end of 2020, and the committee meetings would be supervised by Town Manager Bill Ingersoll.

Cerino said the wards would not be finalized until the results of the 2020 census are in.

“I suggest we wait until the new census information becomes public [so] we can double check the numbers and the ethnic break downs,” he said.

When asked if the council would consider a map recommended by the ACLU in January, Cerino said it would be a consideration for the new committee.

“I wouldn’t say it is totally off the table but I don’t think they should be making our maps for us,” Cerino said. “It certainly can be used as one of the possible templates for the committee to look at. If the committee comes up with a different map I think [the ACLU] would be more than welcome to review it.”

Cerino suggested the committee invite the ACLU and the NAACP to attend meetings.

Trump Flag Waved in Racial Hate Incident at WC

February 19, 2020 by Daniel Menefee

Chestertown Police are investigating an alleged racial hate incident at Washington College, said CPD Chief John Dolgos in a brief phone interview Thursday.

The incident is the third since October, which resulted in one individual being referred to the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services.

flickr photo: Ellen Jo Roberts, Not Actual vehicle or flag involved in the incident

The latest incident occurred Sunday at around 7 p.m. when a dark gray Chevrolet Suburban drove through the campus waving a TRUMP flag–with occupants shouting the N-word several times at an African American women, Dolgos said.

Dolgos said a bystander walking by witnessed the incident and has been interviewed by CPD, along with the victim.

There were four occupants, three males and one female, all juveniles, Dolgos said.

CPD was able to identify the vehicle and the driver. Det. Chris Pavon is running the investigation.

Dolgos said the Kent County State’s Attorney is being consulted.

Shore Lawmakers Get Bipartisan Support to Bring Data Firms to MD

February 17, 2020 by Daniel Menefee

A bipartisan bill sponsored by Senate Minority Whip Steve Hershey and Prince George’s Sen. Doug Peters, a Democrat, could make Maryland more competitive with surrounding states that have successfully used tax incentives to lure data center companies.

“This is a tax exemption bill that we feel is necessary to begin attracting multi-million dollar data center facilities to Maryland,” Hershey, R-Queen Anne’s, said before the Senate Budget and Tax Committee on Wednesday. “We are not asking to dig into the Maryland coffers to give anything away, we’re simply asking the committee to make a thoughtful economic decision.”

The bill would offer data centers exemptions to Maryland’s personal property and sales and use tax, provided they invest $5 million within three years of filing for the exemption — and hire at least five personnel earning 1.5 times the state’s minimum wage.

The investment requirement drops to $2 million in the Tier I counties of Allegany, Baltimore City Caroline, Dorchester, Garrett, Kent, Somerset, Washington, Wicomico and Worcester–because these counties have unemployment rates the exceed 150 percent of the state average.

“Other states have recognized the valuable economic impact these facilities bring to local economies and have changed their tax policies to incentivize these companies to come to their states,” Hershey said. “Maryland is not leading, we’re not even in the game.”

He said the demand for new data centers is increasing and that other states have seen economic rewards from providing tax incentives to data center firms. The bill would also allow a local jurisdiction to reduce the percentage of its own personal property tax to attract data centers.

Former U.S Congresswoman Barbara Comstock of Virginia also testified before the committee and spoke of her state’s tax revenue windfall from data centers.

She said in 2012 Virginia updated its incentives for data centers and tax revenue in Loudon County alone soared from $50 million in 2012 to $350 million in 2020.

She said there has not been a year where the taxpayers lost any money.

Hershey commended the efforts of the Kent County Economic Development Office for requesting the bill, which will have a statewide benefit.

Kent Economic Development Director Jamie Williams said the tax incentives would be the first step in attracting data centers.

“The need for data storage and processing increases daily,” she told the committee. “It’s not a matter of if these data centers will be built, it is a matter of where.”

Kent County Commissioner Bob Jacob said that new data centers would greatly benefit from the county’s recent $7 million investment in an open fiber-optic network. He said the 150-mile network was recently completed without state funds.

He told the committee that Loudon County, VA had increased its commercial tax base 15 percent while increasing funding for education.

“They did it with the attraction of data centers and it was possible in part from the sales and use tax exemption,” he said. “Maryland would like an opportunity to share in a small portion of that industry.”

Dee Anna Sobczak, CEO of Kent FIBER Optic Systems, said the need for data centers is growing 40 percent a year–and will continue at the current pace for the next decade.

She said data centers draw other tech companies that want to be near them.

“There are many areas in the state that are prime for data centers, but without the incentives, they will never come,” she said. She said it was hard for Maryland to be competitive with tax-free Delaware and Virginia, “the data center capital of the world.”

There are currently 35 other states offering tax incentives to attract data centers, she said.

Hershey’s co-sponsor, Sen. Doug Peters, said Prince George’s County is also well suited to host data centers.

“This bill is important because we need to be competitive like neighboring states in order to attract data center clients to Maryland,” he said in an email to the Spy. “Prince George’s County is perfectly positioned to house these data centers in its numerous industrial complexes.”

Del. Jay Jacobs, R-Kent, has a cross-filed bill in the House of Delegates that has also won bipartisan support. A hearing is scheduled for March 6.

“Our Legislators should act on this bill quickly to ensure companies can invest in Maryland communities on an equal footing with competing states,” said Chestertown Ward 2 Councilman Tom Herz, who campaigned on the benefits of data centers tapping into Kent’s fiber network. “Doing so will spur economic growth in both our rural counties and urban centers.”

There was no testimony in opposition to the bill.

Don’t miss the latest! You can subscribe to The Chestertown Spy‘s free Daily Intelligence Report here.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

County Mayors are Mixed on Tax Differential

February 13, 2020 by Daniel Menefee

The Kent Commissioners on Tuesday heard from the county’s five municipalities on the need for a tax differential–and the response was mixed.

The differential is a rebate on property taxes town residents pay the county for services like police, street cleaning and planning & zoning, which the town provides and pays for out of its own budget. The differential exists in the vast majority of counties in the form of a lower county tax rate to town residents or a direct cash payout to the municipality, but not in all cases.

Kent is one of only three counties in Maryland that does not provide a differential to its municipalities.

Chestertown Mayor Chris Cerino and the Town Council have maintained that withholding a differential to Chestertown amounts to double taxation because the county does not provide these services within town limits–yet town residents are taxed at both the municipal and county levels.

“We provide three major services that you otherwise provide to every member of the county accept in a few of these incorporated towns,” Cerino said at a commissioner’s work session with the county’s mayors on Tuesday, Feb. 11.

An ongoing argument between Chestertown and the county is a grant-in-aid for waste disposal that the county discontinued in fiscal 2015.

Since then, Cerino has gone to the commissioners unsuccessfully each year to have the grant-in-aid reinstated. This year he requested a $250,000 rebate for fiscal 2021 to help recover some of the cost of services.

Cerino said the town bears the expense of police, street maintenance and planning & zoning at a cost of just over $3 million annually–and that the town’s request for $250,000 is a bargain for the county. He pointed out that the town sends $8.6 million in property and income tax revenue to the county annually, according to data the town obtained from the Maryland Comptroller’s Office.

“The $250,000 I’m requesting as a proportion of the [county’s] $50 million budget is one-half of one percent of the total budget,” he said. He said it would represent the smallest rebate to any municipality in Maryland.

Cerino lamented that the lack of a differential was an economic handicap for Chestertown because it discouraged investment in Opportunity Zones and Enterprise Zones.

“It’s becoming the place with by far the highest tax rate,” Cerino said. “If you want to draw in new businesses…it’s in your best interest to give us a little kickback so we can keep policing ourselves. It saves you money and allows us to keep our tax rates low.”

But the Kent Commissioners have maintained that they provide support for services that benefit Chestertown in a manner that equals or exceeds an annual payment of a differential. The commissioners also maintain that these services are above and beyond what other counties provide their municipalities.

Millington Councilman Kevin Hemstock said determining a differential for the incorporate areas was easy because “that wheel has already been invented.”

He referenced a news article from 1989 that reaffirmed the county’s commitment to continue a five-cent tax differential to the municipalities in a year when property taxes were increased 33 cents to close a $1 million deficit.

“It was equitable and it adjusted itself for inflation in various tax assessments,” he said. “We don’t have to come up with an exact amount, somewhere along the line the county did that already.”

Betterton Town Mayor Don Sutton said he was not seeking a differential and said a review at the town’s finances indicated no significant inequities that would require one.

“We’re OK this year,” he said.

Rock Hall Mayor Dawn Jacobs expressed no real need for a differential either and said there was a strong relationship with the Kent County Sheriff’s Office to support the town’s three police officers. She said the county was also providing needed support with emergency services and equipment.

Galena Mayor John Carroll said they looked for duplication of services and found that the lack of a differential wasn’t “burdensome” to the town. He said any future rebate that could be justified should translate into a tax rebate directly to the citizens and not a cash payout to the town.

“[A rebate] going back into the coffers of the town isn’t always better than going back to the taxpayers,” he said.

Commissioner Tom Mason asked Cerino if Chestertown would raise taxes if the county provided a differential directly to the citizens.

Cerino responded that the town would in fact recoup the differential by raising taxes on residents, but the additional revenue would help the town increase services.

“If you did give us a 5-cent differential on the county tax rate that potentially allows us to raise our taxes by an equivalent amount and it would be a wash for the taxpayers,” Cerino said. “It would help the taxpayers because it would allow us to stay solvent and keep our own police force…and get back on track paving streets.”

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Chestertown Man Faces Murder Charges in Delaware

February 12, 2020 by Daniel Menefee

Ervin Christy, Jr.

Ervin Christy, Jr., 35, of Chestertown was indicted by a New Castle County grand jury on Feb. 3 for the New Year’s Eve murder of Cornelius Wright, 37, of Middletown, Del.

New Castle County detectives apprehended Christy in Philadephia on Feb. 6, with assistance from federal agents and the Philadelphia Police Department.

On Dec. 31, New Castle Police responded to a reported shooting at the Ashton Condominiums on Willings Way at around 7 p.m. When police arrived, Wright was found in a parked car with multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to a police press release.

An investigation by New Castle County Homicide Squad identified Christy as the suspect.

Christy was charged with first-degree murder, possession of a firearm during a felony, attempted first-degree robbery and second-degree conspiracy.

He is currently awaiting extradition from Philadelphia to Delaware.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Some Lawmakers Aim to Ban ICE Detention Centers in Maryland

February 10, 2020 by Daniel Menefee

On Sunday Feb. 9, Glenda Quintanilla, mother of three U.S. born children, was turned over to ICE by the Queen Anne’s County Detention Center. Her children are ages 8, 9 and 14.

Quintanilla’s whereabouts are unknown, and she is not currently listed in the ICE online locator. Quintanilla’s situation has become common since the Trump administration ramped up deportations in 2017–but some Maryland lawmakers aim to put ICE detention centers out of business in the state.

Hearings are scheduled in the House and Senate, Feb. 25 and 26, on the Dignity not Detention Act, a bill to ban new ICE detention centers and close current ones by the end of 2021, whether they be private or government operated.

“No one should profit from human misery,” said the bill’s lead sponsor in the House, Del. Vaughn Stewart, a Montgomery County Democrat. “The Dignity not Detention Act will keep ICE and its contractors out of Maryland, protect our immigrant communities, and make sure that no town, county, or corporation is profiting from family separation or incarceration. “

The bill would prohibit state and local government from “setting up a facility or participating in the continued operation of detention facilities.” It would also ban new contracts and the renewal of existing contracts.

The bill was in response to the Town of Sudlersville’s consideration of a private 600 capacity ICE facility last year. Resistance in the region eventually forced the town to abandon its efforts.

The bill has over 40 co-sponsors in the House and a dozen co-sponsors in the Senate.

All of the sponsors are Democrats and it is unlikely any Republicans will support the measure.

There are currently three ICE detention centers in Maryland: Worcester, Frederick and Howard and counties.

Attempts to locate Quintanilla at any of these detention centers were unsuccessful. ICE personnel refused to comment on this story.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

MacIntosh, Schratwieser Pitch New Arts Committee

February 5, 2020 by Daniel Menefee

Chestertown Arts and Entertainment Coordinator Kay MacIntosh and Kent Cultural Alliance Director John Schratwieser have called on the Chestertown Council to create an arts committee that would eventually evolve into a commission established by ordinance.

“Right now we were thinking of getting something a little more temporary…to help chart a course for a permanent standing committee,” MacIntosh said at the Feb. 3 Town Council meeting.

She said the committee could begin to carry out the goals established in the Chestertown Public Arts Master Plan.

The Master Plan was created after a series of public meetings and charrettes in 2014–with the goal to “identify types of and locations for public art projects.”

“Establish a Commission on Public Arts, comprised of seven to nine Art and Design professionals to be appointed by the Mayor & Town Council,” the master plan says, page 8.

MacIntosh and Schratwieser said there is currently a possibility of getting a significant donation for public art from a potential donor. They said discussions were underway.

“There are some discussions that might lead to the donations of some public art in the next year or two and we’d like to be ready to work on that project,” she said.

Schratwieser said the Kent Cultural Alliance was working on public arts projects in other parts of the county, like Rock Hall and Betterton, and Chestertown could lead the way by establishing an art committee.

“If we can get a commission or committee moving in Chestertown than that’s going to lead the way for us to work with committees and commissions in the other towns in the county,” he said. “If Chestertown can lead with this then we’ve set an example for the rest of the towns to follow.”

Ward 1 Councilwoman Meghan Efland motioned to begin the creation of a committee and it was carried unanimously by the council.

In the video below MacIntosh and Schratwieser pitch for a new art committee.

Don’t miss the latest! You can subscribe to The Chestertown Spy‘s free Daily Intelligence Report here.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Lt. Dolgos Offered Contract for CPD Chief

February 4, 2020 by Daniel Menefee

The Chestertown Council voted unanimously Monday to offer acting Chief John Dolgos the job of Chief for one year; the contract gives the town the option to extend the contract for six months, which would end at the time of Dolgos’ mandatory retirement in October of 2021.

Dolgos was in the council chamber during the announcement and would not comment after the meeting. He said he would wait to see the details of the offer.

The offer to Dolgos is made a week after the town council voted to recommit to Chestertown keeping its own police force, as opposed to handing policing over to the Kent County Sheriff’s Department, an idea hatched last October by Mayor Chris Cerino and outgoing Ward 1 Councilman Marty Stetson to cut ballooning public safety costs that had reached 43 percent of the town’s annual budget.

The costs should come down since staff strength has fallen from 14 to 12 officers. The council voted Monday, Jan. 27 to keep the number at 12, including Dolgos.

Citizens and other officials told the Spy they believed the town raised the specter of nixing the police department to force the Kent County Commissioners to pay a tax differential, or grant-in-aid, to the town.

But the Kent Commissioners have been steadfast that they support the town in ways that equate to a differential.

It became apparent since last fall that uncertainty was driving CPD officers to look elsewhere for employment.

Mayor Chris Cerino said at Jan. 27 Council meeting that the fate of CPD and Dolgos’ inability to replace staff was hurting morale.

“The uncertainty is not helping us with retention or morale or anything that makes a workplace a positive place to be,” he said. “Right now [Dolgos] is in limbo where we’ve kind of undercut cut his ability to do his job well. I feel bad about that and I want to try and rectify it.

Dolgos has been with CPD for over 28 years and has served under a handful of police chiefs. He is the longest-serving officer in CPD history.

Former CPD Chief Adrian Baker promoted Dolgos to second-in-command shortly after his arrival in 2012.

Don’t miss the latest! You can subscribe to The Chestertown Spy‘s free Daily Intelligence Report here.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Ted Landskroener: The Last of the Greatest Generation, the War Years

February 3, 2020 by Daniel Menefee

Ted Landskroener has worn many hats in 96 years: husband, father, company president, bank board member, and volunteer fire company advocate. Yet for Ted, the first great challenge of his life was the one he shares with millions of veterans who joined the Greatest Generation to vanquish Hitler and Hirohito in World War II.

Born in Saginaw, Mi. on October 31, 1923, Ted was a child of the Great Depression. His parents moved the family east where the Landskroeners settled in first in Bethlehem, Pa. and then in central New Jersey, where Ted grew up.

Ted was one of many Navy aviators who trained for the Allied invasion of the Japanese mainland, where millions on both sides would have face certain death had the U.S. decided against the use of atomic weapons. In this interview, Ted recalls the magazine cover of the sharp dressed Navy flier that caught his eye. He decided then if he had to risk his life, it might as well be as a Navy pilot. Ted shares his memories of finding his way into the air unit, learning to fly and land on make-shift aircraft carriers–and the constant unmentioned fear of the future in time of war.

Ted also shares his memories of hearing that President Truman had dropped the second atomic bomb on the City of Nagasaki and the loss of lives that saved his own.

By Daniel Menefee and Steve Meehan

Don’t miss the latest! You can subscribe to The Chestertown Spy‘s free Daily Intelligence Report here.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Sections

More