LINDA KELLEY

County Commissioner

Serving you since 1994

Linda has worked hard for 16 years to provide needed facilities and improve the quality of life in Calvert County.

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RESIDENTIAL GROWTH MANAGEMENT

• Reduced residential build-out by 50%.  Enacted zoning changes and land preservation to meet this goal.  Together they eliminate at least 14,000 future houses!  That equates to 4,070 elementary students, 1,820 middle school students, and 2,464 high school students for which we will not have to build new schools in the future!!

(And didn’t raise your taxes!)

 

AGRICULTURAL PRESERVATION

• Initiated new and improved agricultural preservation program

• Preserved 6,000 acres since 1998, a 42% increase in three years

• Total preserved land of 20,000 acres!

• Raised the goal for preserved land to 40,000 acres!

• For the first time in decades, we are preserving more land than we are developing.

(And didn’t raise your taxes!)

 

EDUCATION

New schools opened:

• Patuxent High School - January 1996

•  Windy Hill Elementary - September 1997

• Southern Middle Addition - September 1997

• St. Leonard Elementary - September 1997

• Windy Hill Middle - September 1999

• Dowell Elementary - September 2000

• Mill Creek Middle - January 2001

(And didn’t raise your taxes!)

 

Education Staffing:

• Added a total of 416 new teacher positions.  This figure included 342 teachers to handle the growth in student population and reduction in class size, and 74 new Special Education teachers.

• Added nurses in schools

• Revised Adequate Facilities Ordinance to restrict
  subdivision of land when schools are 100% full, rather than 110%.

(And didn’t raise your taxes!)

 

COLLEGE OF SOUTHERN MARYLAND

• Obtained a new home for the College in Prince Frederick

• Infrastructure (roads and utilities) being constructed at new site on Williams Rd.

• New flagship College building under construction, opening in Spring 2004

(And didn’t raise your taxes)

 

PUBLIC SAFETY

Sheriff’s Office:

• Initiated move of Sheriff’s Office to newly purchased quarters at the Calvert House.

• Approved 39 new positions for the Sheriff’s Office.

 

Control Center:

• Funded and implemented a new $5M state-of-the-art 800mhz communication system which is used to dispatch Sheriff’s Office personnel, Maryland State Police and Fire and Rescue in response to calls for service.

 

Fire and Rescue:

Funding of :

• $7,515,467 for capital projects (buildings, equipment and fire vehicles)

• $10,089,450 for fire service operational expenses

• $2,035,986 for Volunteer Retirement program (LOSAP - Length of Service Award Program)

 

Included:

• Addition to Prince Frederick Rescue Squad

• New firehouse for Dunkirk Volunteer Fire Department

• Renovations to the Huntingtown Volunteer Fire Department

• Addition/renovation to the St. Leonard Volunteer Fire Department

• New quarters for Calvert Advanced Life Support

• Two new positions funded in Public Safety for Fire/Rescue recruitment and retention

(And didn’t raise your taxes!)

 

FARMERS AND WATERMEN

• Initiated and created a permanent home for watermen at Watermen’s Wharf

• Initiated and established a new home for the Farmer’s Market

• Established a loan fund for Land Trusts to preserve land

• Supported Farmland Trust efforts to preserve farmland

(And didn’t raise your taxes!)

 

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (1999-2001)

• 555 new businesses in County, an increase of 28%

• 1445 new jobs in the County (10.6% increase)

• Additional commercial floor space of 1.2 million sq. feet added

• Commercial tax base increased by 44% to $586.9M

• Tourism visitors increased by 5.8%

• 13 new businesses opened at Industrial Park

• Spearheaded the drive for the successful small business incubator program.

• Economic Development loan fund established.

(And didn’t raise your taxes!)

 

FISCAL MANAGEMENT

• Currently maintaining a healthy fund balance (reserve) of $37M

• Planned for electric deregulation budget impact by maintaining an annual $4M reserve.

• Established policy of maintaining a minimum of $10M Undesignated Fund to cope with unforeseen emergencies.

• Our financial picture is far better than that of other surrounding jurisdictions

• Used excess reserve to fund services to citizens, rather than raise taxes

(And didn’t raise your taxes!)

 

PARKS AND RECREATION/NATURAL RESOURCES

• 34 Additional Soccer fields

• Initiated and created a Skateboard Park at Dunkirk Park

• Indoor Swimming Pool planned in Prince Frederick

• Outdoor Swimming Pool planned for Cove Point Park

• Expansion of fields at Cove Point and Hallowing Point Parks

• New Playground, Rest Rooms and Picnic Area in Dunkirk Park

• New Lighting on existing fields

• Established a therapeutic recreational program for Persons with disabilities

• Opened up riding trails at Kings Landing Park

• Purchased Dowell House in St. Leonard and opened to public use

• Preserved and Renovated Phillips House in Prince Frederick and opened to public use

• Built new educational building at Flag Pond

(And didn’t raise your taxes!)

 

SENIORS

• Supported Senior housing complex at Southern Pines

• Opened new Senior Center at Southern Community Center

• Building new Senior Center at North Beach

• Expanded Sr. Center hours of operation to Saturdays

• Supplemental funding for Eating Together Program

• Increased hours/funding for ceramics program staffing

• Supported Long Term Care staffing

(And didn’t raise your taxes!)

 

LIBRARY PROGRAM

• New library planned and approved for Prince Frederick

• Funding for expanded library hours, including Saturdays

• Additional staffing approved for better service

• Addition to Fairview Library Branch

• Funded new Bookmobile

(And didn’t raise your taxes!)

 

TRANSPORTATION

• Planning completed for loop road around Prince Frederick
• Built first leg of loop road to bypass Prince Frederick congestion

• Second segment of loop road being engineered and constructed

• Supporting a So. Connector Road from Rousby Hall Road to Rt. 4 to relieve congestion and provide an additional avenue of egress to Rt. 4 for local traffic.

• Opened Park and Ride in Dunkirk Park

• Built and opened new Dunkirk Park and Ride

• Park and Ride opened at Fairground

• Five new commuter buses from Fairground

• New Park and Ride lot in St. Leonard

• Added seven commuter buses, St. Leonard to D.C.

• Two additional Park and Ride lots planned

• Commuter bus ridership up by 24%

• County bus system ridership increased by 104,715

• New bus routes added, Dunkirk to Beaches

• Additional bus between Solomons and Prince Frederick

• Additional bus for the Prince Frederick shuttle, and extended hours of service

• Added service to Chesapeake Ranch Estates, Lusby.

• Saturday bus service added

(And didn’t raise your taxes!)

 

WOMEN’S ISSUES

• Founding member of Safe Harbor, Inc.

• Led the drive for opening of shelter for domestic violence victims

• Chairman, Safe Harbor 1991-1998

• Current Safe Harbor Board member

• Initiated Transitional Housing units which have been approved for Safe Harbor

• Former Member, County Commission for Women

• State Commission for Women Hall of Fame selection committee

(And didn’t raise your taxes!)

 

ANIMAL ISSUES

• Commissioner representative to Animal Shelter, 1998-2002

• Obtained three new environment-controlled animal control vans for Humane treatment of animals

• Close coordination with rescue/adoption groups

• Spearheaded the feral cat sanctuary program

• Advocate for dog parks in north and south county

(And didn’t raise your taxes!)