THIS Wednesday Public Water Access Committee Meeting 11/6/19 6:00 to 7:30 pm

[Lisa]

Hello all,

We're back. The Public Water Access Committee will meet THIS Wednesday, November 6, 2019 from 6:00 to 7:30 pm. We will meet in the DPW Training Room in DPW Building A, 445 Maxwell Frye Road, Millersville MD 21108. The doors will open at 5:30. The meeting is open to the general public. Please spread the word.

Please come with your wish list in mind. What do kayak anglers need? I've heard that you yearn for dawn fishing. What else?

So far the agenda has 5 items:

1) A presentation on the new Canton Kayak Club station in Homeport Farm Park
2) The "Spriggs" situation on the Severn. An obstructionist literally blocked the only public water access point on the upper Severn with a chain and a "Private Property" sign.
3) Updates on park projects: Jack Creek Park, Solley Cove Park, Beverly Triton Beach Park
4) A greatest hits celebration of all the public water access progress since 2013
5) A hard look at the Opportunity Parks list - aka the decades long shameful backlog of "future parks" in Anne Arundel County - 12 county and 2 state

BTW, County Executive Steurart Pittman decided to let the official Water Access Commission lapse.

Please turn out in force this Wednesday. I promise you we will end promptly at 7:30.

Longwinded version below.

Lisa

=======================

Good afternoon all,

We're back. The Public Water Access Committee will meet on Wednesday, November 6, 2019 from 6:00 to 7:30 pm. We will meet in the DPW Training Room in DPW Building A, 445 Maxwell Frye Road, Millersville MD 21108. The doors will open at 5:30. The meeting is open to the general public. Please spread the word.

We're going to talk about what we want in public water access and figure out how we're going to get it. People often complain about the lack of public water access in Anne Arundel County. We're going to spend a little time complaining and a lot of time brainstorming.

The county's public water access problem stems from the shell game of the government acquisition of waterfront property, a shell game that's played out for decades. Look at the attached Opportunity Parks list: 12 county properties, 2 state properties, acquired between 1962 and 2018, not a single one opened to the general public that owns it in a timely and responsible manner. Each of these properties was acquired to block development. We were promised that if the government spent our tax dollars on these properties to stop subdivisions, golf courses and shopping centers, we would in return get public waterfront parks. Instead, these waterfront properties became a hidden network of publicly funded de facto private parks, bought with tax payer dollars and enjoyed only by those live within walking distance.

You look at one individual property, maybe it's an accident, an anomaly, an oops. You look at a list of fourteen properties, that's not an accident, an anomaly, an oops. It's a plan and a systemic failure in the responsible use of public money and a breach of the public trust.

So, on Wednesday November 6th, we'll look at this list and start planning on how to use these waterfront properties to make up for the shortcomings and failures of public water access over the decades of acquisition. We'll start figuring out how the county can stop its haphazard, reactive acquisition of waterfront property without due diligence on the public water access potential of the property, without a commitment to opening public water access in a new property immediately and without a plan and a timeline for making the basic improvements necessary for families to enjoy the new county property in safety and comfort.

We'll also do some celebrating. We've come a long way in the last 6 years. Two new public boat ramps - Fort Smallwood Park and Discovery Village. A public swimming beach - Fort Smallwood Park. Two new improved kayak launches - Homeport Farm Park and Downs Park onto the Bodkin. Five secret parks opened as rustic, unimproved parks: Beverly Triton Beach Park, South River Farm Park, Beachwood Park, Spriggs Farm Park, Franklin Point State Park. Two paddle-in campsites opened on the Patuxent River - Emory Landing and Stocketts Run. Mayo Beach Park open a paltry 30 Public Open Days a year, up from zero in 2012.

Over the past decades, repeatedly, one small group would go after one park and either get picked off by the neighbors or bought off with a special privilege. This is 2019. No privileged classes, no special favors. It is all of us or none of us and if we remain united we will all get to the water in all of our public parks.

See you November 6th.

Lisa Arrasmith, Chair
The Public Water Access Committee

[Mark]

Lisa,

Thank you for your continued work in this matter.

I wish I could be there but I have a prior commitment at that very time.

I do encourage others on this forum to attend. Its a very worthy purpose that benefits many.

In terms of what we want, I believe kayak anglers and recreational paddlers are actually very grateful for the barest minimum of improvements. Most of all we want unfettered access. That means no angry neighbors in housecoats telling us to leave; no chains or other obstructions placed in our paths; and perhaps the hardest thing to achieve, the full support of local elected officials. After that we don't need much -- parking close to the launch when possible, a shoreline loading zone when not. A soft launch. Any other amenities, like those in full fledged parks are merely icing on the cake for us.

Again, thank you.