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March 20, 2023

The Chestertown Spy

An Educational News Source for Chestertown Maryland

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Heron Point Resident Tests Positive for COVID-19, Fifth Case in Kent County

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A resident of an independent living cottage at Heron Point Retirement Community has tested positive for COVID-19, making the county’s fifth patient, Kent County’s health officer confirmed.

William Webb said the Kent County Health Department is working with Heron Point on a contact investigation.

As a cottage resident, there is limited exposure to the broader facility, he said.

Heron Point, an Acts Retirement-Life Communities facility on Campus Avenue in Chestertown, includes cottages and apartment homes, as well as assisted living and skilled nursing care accommodations, on 66 acres along the Chester River.

Webb said Heron Point has been conducting the standard practices listed by the CDC and WHO, including frequent hand washing and disinfecting surfaces.

“They have been doing a lot of that already,” Webb said. “They’re very good at that over there.”

For the general community, Webb also encouraged frequent hand washing and following Gov. Larry Hogan’s stay-at-home order.

“Stay the course,” Webb said. “This is going to take longer than anybody wants. Stay at home if at all possible.”

 

Follow Guidelines, Use Reliable Information Sources, Health Officer Says

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Kent County’s health officer urged residents to follow social distancing and cleaning guidelines and to rely on reliable sources for information about COVID-19.

Kent County has confirmed two residents with the virus, with the most recent positive test result being reported to the health department late Thursday night. The county’s second patient is a man in his 60s with no known travel history. He was tested on March 23.

“As COVID-19 is now widespread in Maryland, it is likely that we will continue to identify more positive cases in the county,” William Webb, Kent County health officer, said in a statement. “A contact tracing investigation is underway to determine exposure within the county, and we are working with the Maryland Department of Health to take the appropriate precautions.”

In a Friday morning phone interview, Webb said area residents should continue to practice social distancing, frequent hand washing, and regular cleaning of surfaces.

“The important message that I want to send is for the community not to panic,” he said. “This disease will be with us, it’s here in the community and will be with us for a while. Most people who get infected only develop a mild case of the disease and will be able to recover at home with minimal medical attention.”

“We’re asking everybody to follow the recommendations that have been posted and what leadership has currently advocated relating to staying home, use social distancing, make sure you wash your hands, cover your cough, and disinfect your high-touch surfaces.

“We know that it’s coming,” Webb said. “Limiting group activities and social activities, all of that’s being done to hold that off as long as possible. In Kent County, we have a lot of people who love to do things on the water. The analogy I like to use is we can handle a high tide every once in a while but we can’t handle a tsunami.”

Webb also encouraged people to stay in touch with family, friends, and colleagues through phone calls or social media.

“At this point we’re hearing all about social distancing. The message that I also would extend is that doesn’t mean disconnect. Please stay connected with your friends, your family members, your co-workers.

“You don’t have to be physically in contact with them. Please remember to reach out and stay socially connected whether it’s by telephone, whether it’s by Facebook, whether it’s by other social media,” Webb said. “Just to make sure that folks are not feeling alone because it’s very easy to get cabin fever and knowing that we’re in this together as a community, knowing that you have people that are looking out for you — it’s one of the reasons I live in a small town.”

Webb said the biggest challenge for Kent County has been the limited amount of testing supplies and personal protective equipment.

“Also in planning a community response for a spike in the need for health care services,” he said. “All of the response that has been put in place at this point has been to slow the spread of disease to allow our healthcare system to ramp up to be able to handle the increase in cases that will be coming.”

The health department has been working with Shore Regional Health and other health care providers to prepare for a surge in cases.

“The health department is an important partner with Shore Health and the University of Maryland Shore Regional Health hospital in Chestertown,” Webb said. “We are helping to facilitate the University of Maryland, from a statewide perspective, get equipment and resources that they need.

“For example, the health department has received personal protective equipment from the national strategic stockpile. We have distributed that to the hospital to augment the supplies that they have and we’re also actively working with all the hospital systems to plan and coordinate surge capabilities in our acute medical centers.”

Webb said the Chestertown hospital has been operating under its licensed capacity for more than a week as non-essential and elective services have been postponed and 911 calls for emergency services have decreased.

“They have worked very diligently to minimize all non-essential or elective services that are going in that the hospital is seeing in preparation for the surge capability,” he said. “I think that’s a general understanding that the hospitals moving forward for the next several months are really going to be where services related to COVID-19 are going to be most critical.”

Asked about concerns about guests who are lodging in Kent County, Webb said those who have travelled from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut should self-quarantine for 14 days.

“That means that you can come and you can stay but please stay wherever you are for 14 days to ensure that you don’t have symptoms and you aren’t spreading it into the community,” he said.

Webb said the “community response to this crisis has been outstanding.”

“The health department has gotten almost universal public and private cooperation from all of our sister agencies, both county and state; we’re getting cooperation from the private nonprofit sector; it has truly been overwhelmingly impressive.

“Our leadership has been engaged and proactive; it has been responsive to the needs of the community,” Webb said. “This is a situation in Kent County where we’re a small community where everybody is pulling together and I have been overwhelmed by everybody’s willingness to pitch in and help when I call so that’s just been fantastic.”

As the pandemic continues and more cases are confirmed, he urged all residents to “use reliable sources of information.

“In a small community there are a whole lot of rumors that go around and there can be a lot of misinformation,” Webb said. “I encourage everyone to use reliable sources such as the CDC web page, the Maryland Department of Health and the Kent County Department of Health web page.

Those without internet access may call 2-1-1 at any time or the Kent County Health Department’s hotline at 410-778-1350 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

Kirwan Conversations: A Chat with Kirwan Commission Member Karen Couch

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Last week, the Spy started a series of interviews with senior stakeholders in the state and on the Eastern Shore to discuss the landmark recommendations of the Kirwan Commission and the resulting legislation now under consideration in Annapolis.

We began with Michael Sanderson, the director of Maryland Association of Counties, who stated very clearly that the proposed Kirwan recommendations would be the “most consequential policy decisions that any of these policymakers are going to make during their whole political career.”

Given how serious these reforms would mean on the Eastern Shore, we continue with our interview with Dr. Karen Couch, the superintendent  of Kent County Public Schools, and, more importantly, one of the few education professionals to serve on the commission. It is also noteworthy to point out the Dr. Couch represented the smallest county school system in the State.

In her Spy interview, we talk specifically about the five primary elements of what is now called the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future and its impact on Kent County education.

This video is approximately twelve minutes in length. For more information about Kirwan and Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, please go here. 

 

County Mayors are Mixed on Tax Differential

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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.” 

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

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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

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Fithian Responds to Chestertown’s $250,000 Request, CPD Safe from Sheriff Takeover

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As 2019 came to a close, Chestertown Mayor Chris Cerino made a year-end plea to the Kent County Commissioners for a tax differential or rebate in the amount of $250,000 for the town.

A tax differential is a rebate on property taxes town residents pay the county for services like fire, police, street cleaning and planning & zoning.

Chestertown provides and pays for many of these services out of its own budget and town leaders have complained in recent years that the absence of a differential has forced the delay of road maintenance and other infrastructure needs.

“County taxpayers living within the municipal boundaries of Chestertown receive none of these services from the county,” Cerino wrote in his Dec. 19 letter to the Kent Commissioners.

A tax differential exists in the vast majority of Maryland counties in the form of lower county tax rates to town residents or direct cash payouts to municipalities, but Kent is one of three Maryland counties that doesn’t provide a rebate or differential to its municipalities. Chestertown received rebates of $100,000 from 2012 to 2014 to help offset declining tax revenue during the recession. 

Cerino’s letter echoed many of the talking points he and Ward 1 Councilman David Foster made before the commissioners this summer. 

“Put simply, Chestertown residents get far fewer services for the same tax dollar,” Cerino wrote. “They are essentially taxed twice (once by the County and once by the Town) for services that are provided solely by the Town of Chestertown.”

In an interview on Dec. 31, Kent County Commissioner Ron Fithian shot back that the county pays service providers directly, instead of passing the funding through the municipalities. 

Fithian highlighted fire protection, EMT coverage and high-speed Internet as examples of direct support services to the municipalities. He said the annual contributions to Chestertown come to “far more” than $250,000.

He said the county pays $1 million annually to operate eight firehouses and $1.7 million for EMTs and paramedics. He said 40 percent of the calls for EMT services are for Chestertown.

In the county’s current fiscal budget, $128,000 went to the Chestertown Fire Department and $70,000 went to EMT services, Fithian said. In Fiscal 2020, the town contributed $49,000 for fire equipment and $20,000 to the rescue squad.

Fithian highlighted the $7.4 million investment in high-speed Internet in the county and said Chestertown municipal facilities were connected “free of charge” at an initial cost of $65,000 to the county. He said there’s about $10,000 in recurring costs the county will pay to cover 10 town facilities.

Fithian said Kent’s other municipalities have not asked for a differential or rebate.

“I think they understand the contributions we make to them,” he said. 

Fithian said he understood Chestertown’s tight budget, but that it was not a reason for the Kent County Sheriff’s Office to take over the Chestertown Police Department, an idea that Mayor Cerino floated last year to cut costs. 

“I don’t know of a county or town…that at one time or another hasn’t had financial issues,” he said. “You have to make the hard calls if you want to be in charge.”

Fithian reaffirmed that the county is unlikely to support a takeover of CPD and said Cerino and the Town Council are responsible to shore up the town’s budget.

“If you’re going to be the Mayor of Chestertown you gotta’ be the Mayor of Chestertown and make these decisions, good or bad, to best serve your people and pay the bills…”

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Shopping Center Vacancies Reflect Struggling Retail Economy

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Plaza Tapatia closed its door suddenly on Oct. 31

With reports of record employment and a booming economy, there’s a fair amount of vacant retail space at Kent Plaza and Washington Square shopping centers in Chestertown.

Most recently, Plaza Tapatia at Kent Plaza shut its doors suddenly on Oct. 31. The chain still operates other locations on the Eastern Shore.

John Peters, Director of Construction and Facility Maintenance for Cordish Companies, which owns Kent Plaza, said discussions were ongoing with some national chains to lease the Plaza Tapatia location, which at one time was a Pizza Hut.

“It will not be a Chick-Fil-A,” Peters said of rumors floating around on Facebook. “But we are talking to national chains.”

The record job growth and a slight uptick in wages of late have not reduced store vacancies at the two major shopping centers. One retailer said a stagnant population and nominal wage growth is making it harder for retailers to survive.

“The rents are simply too much [and] the traffic isn’t high enough to make the rent worth it,” said an uptown retailer who asked to remain anonymous.  “Either we need more people or the rents need to come down.”

Kent County Economic Development Director Jamie Williams said online shopping has taken a bite out of local retailers’ income.

The former Luisa’s location has been empty for four years since it moved to 849 Washington Ave.

“The current retail situation is not unique to Kent County or rural communities,” she said.  “Retail is changing, approximately 15% of all retail is online and that number is expected to increase.  Attraction is difficult in Kent County, retailers want to know the population, number of households, and traffic counts.”

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, average weekly wages in Kent increased by $29 over 2018, from $753 to $782–still well below the national average of $1,095 and the state average of $1,178. The rise in the Consumer Price Index of 2% took roughly $16 from the $29 increase.

Kent ranks sixth-lowest in the state for average weekly wages, but things are progressing on the wage front, Williams said.

“Kent County’s average weekly wage ranked number 1 in a one-year change in percentage growth from 2017 to 2018, and number 10 in the 5-Year change in percentage growth,” she said. “The focus has been the attraction of high paying jobs with low environmental impacts.”

“Our population needs to grow to sustain our current retail businesses and to attract new retailers,” she said.  “Kent’s population has been slowing declining and is projected to decline for the next 5 years by 2%–compared to Queen Anne’s at a 3% increase and Cecil at a 1% increase.”

She said the three counties of Delaware are expected to grow by 14%.

Former Olympia Sports location at Kent Plaza

Currently, there are store seven vacancies at Kent Plaza and three at Washington Square.

The Rite Aid at Kent Plaza closed this year, a year after the drug retailer announced it was merging with Walgreens. There’s a handful of other vacant spaces at Kent Plaza, including the Olympia Sports Shop, which also closed its door this year.

The King Buffet at Washington Square has been vacant for three years, and an adjacent retail space is also empty.

The former Luisa’s location at Washington Square has been empty since the restaurant opened its new location in 2015 at 849 Washington Avenue, the former Village Bakery & Café.

And the old Towne Stationers location remains vacant after closing this summer.

Former King Buffet remains empty

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Foster Reports on Tax Differential Discussions

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Are Chestertown residents due for a break from Kent County property taxes?

At the Dec. 16 Chestertown Council meeting, Ward 1 Councilman David Foster reported on a meeting of Eastern Shore municipal officials for discussion of that issue as it applies to Shore communities in general. The Dec. 13 meeting in Berlin was called by the mayors of Ocean City and Salisbury, and attended by the mayor of Denton and city managers and/or council members from Cambridge and Easton, as well as Foster. Attorneys from several of the towns were also at the meeting, Foster said.

The Maryland General Assembly, in 1975, passed legislation requiring all counties in the state to provide some sort of tax set-off – either a differential or a rebate – for towns that provide services such as police protection, highway maintenance and trash pickup that the counties are saved from providing within town limits. Originally, Foster said, the legislation required all counties to provide such set-offs, but the law was later downgraded to state that a number of counties – including all the counties on the Shore – “may” provide the set-offs, but are not required to.

Currently, only Kent, Wicomico and Worcester do not provide any tax relief to their constituent towns. Kent provided a rebate of about $100,000 to Chestertown and lesser amounts to other towns until 2014 when tax revenues declined as a result of the Great Recession. While Mayor Chris Cerino and other council members have consistently pressed the County Commissioners to restore the rebate or to offer a lower tax rate to town residents, they have not been successful.

Foster reported that Ocean City sued Worcester County a couple of years ago on grounds that its failure to provide a set-off violated a provision of the state Declaration of Rights requiring fair treatment of all state residents. The judge found against the city but admitted that there was an issue of fairness that went beyond the legal minimum. The case has been appealed to a higher court, Foster said.

However, because the outcome of Ocean City’s lawsuit is still in doubt, the mayor and council plan to propose legislative action to remove the exemptions from the 1975 law providing for tax set-offs. Foster said that all attendees at the Dec. 13 meeting agreed to endorse that action. Several of them also offered to file “amicus” briefs – essentially, letters of support – to Ocean City’s appeal, but they were told the deadline for that action has passed.

Foster said he had stressed the need for the Maryland Municipal League, representing the towns within the state, to support a legislative solution to the issue of tax set-offs for those counties that don’t currently provide them. He said the Mayor of Denton, Abigail McNinch, who is on a legislative committee, agreed to work on the issue. Also, Salisbury Mayor Jake Day is running for president of the MML and if elected, will rally support from that body.

Meanwhile, Foster said, it is important to raise public awareness of the issue. He said he believes that fewer than half the residents of Chestertown are aware of the tax differential issue and what it means for the town. He said the town should make more use of social media to educate the public. Also, Foster said he has had “one good meeting” with County Commissioner Ron Fithian on the issue and hopes to continue his conversation with all the commissioners.

In an effort to determine an appropriate range for a tax differential or rebate, Foster said he has identified “two highly qualified people” who would be interested in putting together a study of the town’s expenses for police protection, planning and zoning, street repairs, and other services not provided by the county within town limits.

Cerino said the town currently gets no tax set-off from Kent County, which is not legally compelled to provide one. He said he has been working to change that situation ever since the county stopped providing the rebate in 2014. He said that the “legal route” was the most likely way to remedy the situation. He said he felt the people of Chestertown are being “ripped off” by the county’s billing them for services it doesn’t provide within town limits, such as police protection, snow removal, and garbage collection. He said changing the law was important, but it was equally important to see that the county would be required to pay “a fair amount” and not just a token sum.

Fosters said that the tax set-offs provided by other counties are actually increasing every year. He said a good solution might be to require arbitration, with the provision that both sides submit a figure and the arbiter is required to choose one or the other, rather than some in-between figure.

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