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Saturday, May 22, 2021

Good Schools and Dry Homes

The Alliance for Greater County Transparency is fighting for Good Schools and Dry Homes. Our kids need a good education and a dry home to come back to.

The County is planning to build a huge, 4-story, 60 foot high, 2000 student school on the forested wetland by the Fort Washington Road roundabout.

The forest will be bulldozed in about one month. During the 2+ years of school construction, storm water that had been absorbed by the forest will instead add to the storm water which now flows OUT of overloaded storm drains and floods homes downhill from the school site.

The County plans to add storm drain pipes to increase the capacity of the local drainage system. Construction is planned to start in mid-2022. The water from the improved drainage system and the water from the school site will dump into the National Golf Course pond south of Swan Creek Road. The privately owned golf course drainage system has not been maintained over the years. The new management of the course is considering an upgrade to their system and the County is negotiating with the company for it to build enough drainage capacity in the upgrade to handle all the roundabout area storm water so it flows safely out to Swan Creek.

The Alliance wants the clearing of the forest and the construction of the K-8 school to pause so alternative sites for the K-8 school can be considered that won’t require a cascade of storm water management upgrades each of which have their own set of risks.

The Alliance has hired a lawyer and storm water and traffic subject matter experts to testify at the June 3, 2021, 10 AM, virtual Planning Board Mandatory Review (MR-2036F).

The Alliance asks for support:

1.    Signup to speak at the June 3rd hearing. 
You must register to speak and the window for signup closes at Noon on June 1st.

Go to The Planning Board schedule at http://pgplanningboard.org/883/Watch-Meetings. Scroll down to June 3: Agenda           Register to attend and click on Register to attend. Fill out the form and be sure to click on check the box to get confirmation that you are properly signed up. We have heard of one instance when the selection of oppose was recorded as in favor! The case number is MR-2036F and the Agenda Item Number is 7.
The link to sign up has you fill out a form like the one below. You should check the box to get confirmation that you are properly signed up. We have heard of one instance when the selection of oppose was recorded as in favor! We hear the Technical Staff Report for MR-2036F will be available on Friday. You should read it!

2.    We need your financial support to pay for lawyers and experts. Our costs are in the Thousands of Dollars. Your donation of any amount will help. We hope many individual donors will cover these costs. Some have already donated but we have to raise much more.

How to donate:

o   Send a check to your association president noting the donation is for the K-8 Legal Fund.

o   Or, use the PayPay button on the TCA website, http://tantallon.info/ to donate using a credit card. Please email TCA President Carter Ferrington, CARTESQ@aol.com, with your name and the amount of your donation to designate your donation for the K-8 Legal Fund.

We thank you for your support!