QAC COMMISSIONERS DISMISS KENT ISLAND PARENT QUESTIONS, SEND BILL INSTEAD

County Grabs $2.3 Million in Federal, State Tax Dollars...But Demands $1,100 for Info on Homeless Project Steps from Schools and Playgrounds

Stevensville, MD, – A local resident is calling Queen Anne’s County’s response to questions about a homeless shelter project located at the entrance to the new Cross-Island Trail State Street Connector, within sight of the Old Love Point playground and between schools “an outrageous affront to all county citizens, especially parents.” After repeated inquiries and an official Maryland Public Information Act request, the county finally answered - with an invoice for $1,137.64

“If you’re a Kent Island resident who cares how your money is used, you’d better stop at an ATM on the way over to Centreville,” said Mike Ranelli, a Stevensville resident and Kent Island Elementary parent. “This is just the latest tactic in the county’s strategy of ignoring regulations, concealing information, and shamelessly denying past, present and future responsibility in order to ram through what it has secretly planned for years..”

Federal regulations for Community Development Block Grant funds require that the public be given reasonable and timely access to records. Despite documents showing the county leads the project, officials point to the Housing Authority and Haven Ministries, the non-profit shelter operator. Ranelli calls that a “total cop-out. Isn’t it true that the Housing Authority only owns the lot? And blaming official decisions on faithful church volunteers is beneath contempt.”

“The county should come clean and release all records and emails right now,” Ranelli says. “Take $1.1 million in federal tax dollars, ask for another million or so in state money, and hide what you’re doing with it - that’s what people in Stevensville, Annapolis and Washington, DC now see as the Queen Anne’s County way of doing business. It’s going to make key decision-makers skeptical of any future county initiatives.”

The county plans to demolish a 1,248 sq. ft. house renovated by volunteers for use as transitional shelter for women with children, and erect an 8,623 square foot facility for 20 transient per-night homeless and 24 longer-term transitional homeless - a plan endorsed by a 5-county social services agency. The new building will serve men, women and children, but will not provide shelter during daytime hours.

“Do our local representatives understand government by the people? How can it be that when such an unprecedented error in judgement has been made, we must look to the state, the federal government, and perhaps even the legal system to correct it?” Ranelli asked.

“The homeless need our help. But who benefits at 325 State Street? Only the county employees whose job it is to bring in grant money, and the contractors who will get it. Will the location benefit the thousands of children who use the four nearby schools, the fields and playgrounds of Old Love Point Park, and the Cross-Island Trail? The neighboring communities who were not given input?”

“What about the homeless of Queen Anne’s County? The area is intended to connect schools and parks - not serve the needs of a transient, struggling population from around the region,” Ranelli explained. “Experts say that the homeless need easy access to social services that will give them a leg up. Offering a bunk and a meal, then sending them out to the street, the trail that runs through schoolyards, the park - who considers that a productive solution?”

To express an opinion and ask questions, citizens should contact: qaccommissionersandadministrator@qac.org or call 410.758.4098