Despite Tuesday [Jan. 11] evening’s snowfall, the Cape St. Claire Improvement Association’s (CSCIA) annual meeting had enough residents in attendance to reach a quorum for voting on both the board of governors elections and the annual budget.

Re-elected incumbents are CSCIA Vice President Josephine Gardner and Clubhouse Committee Chair Mary Lamb. Five-year Cape St. Claire resident Scott Dembowski was also voted in as a new governor. Elected to the budget committee was Michael Dameron, who will serve alongside re-elected member Michael Buchet.

Treasurer John Berley said that the last fiscal year was a financial success, with approximately $17,000 remaining in unused funds. He noted that this was the first time for about four or five years that the association had not needed to dip into reserve funds, and credited the CSCIA volunteers and small staff for “doing a lot with a little.”

The 2012 fiscal year budget was approved, as was an initiative to increase the Special District Benefit District (SCBD) tax cap by $15 to a total of $110. Budget Committee Chair Louis Biondi said that the tax cap is only allowed to be raised every two years. (Cape St. Claire is one of several dozen SCBDs in the county, and the corresponding tax allows the community to receive services it may not otherwise have, including administrative benefits, special security services, and beach and playground maintenance.)

Newly-elected County Councilman and County Council Chair Dick Ladd (District 5) also made an appearance to briefly update the group about current Council activities. The Anne Arundel County charter will be reviewed by a five-citizen Charter Review Commission based on the results of the 2010 United States Census to determine county redistricting and other charter updates. Anyone interested in serving on the Charter Review Commission should call the Council office at 410-222-1401.

Chairman Ladd also reported that approximately 50 rezoning requests are being considered for Arnold and Severna Park, with about half pertaining to the Route 2 corridor. The requests will be reviewed by the Planning Advisory Board (PAB) to determine whether the requests will be heard by the Council. Public hearings will take place at both the PAB reviews and the Council legislative sessions. More information can be found on the Planning and Zoning Agency’s Comprehensive Zoning section of the county website.

Additionally, a new seven-member Citizen Advisory Committee is forming under the direction of County Executive John Leopold to study traffic congestion along nine major county corridors and Chairman Ladd encouraged any interested residents to provide feedback at one of three upcoming public listening sessions. The schedule may be found here. 

A representative from the county’s Department of Public Works made a presentation on a long-awaited road improvement plan for Cape St. Claire Road. Slated to begin this October and last for approximately one year, the $3.3 million project will widen the section of the road between Forest Terrace and the playing fields across from Graul’s Market.

Though the width of Cape St. Claire Road varies, it is no more than 30 feet in any one place, with many spots even narrower. The expansion will take that portion of the road to 34 feet and will include some much-needed curb and gutter installation, and add sidewalks.

DPW Project Manager Kathryn Sharp said, “The goal of the gutters is to minimize storm runoff that frequently floods residents’ yards who live along the thoroughfare. Construction plans call for water pipe installation, so those 19 houses directly impacted by the widening will eventually have a low-cost choice to hook up to county water.”

The Cape St. Claire Volunteer Fire Company will also benefit from the project as they will receive an upgraded emergency signal. Additionally, conduits will be installed at the intersection of Cape St. Claire Road, Hilltop Drive and Little Magothy View to provide the community the option of a future traffic light at the heavily-traveled intersection.

Other than obvious advantages for drivers, perhaps the most exciting benefit from the construction will be the addition of a new, eight-foot wide hiking-biking trail along the road. The Cape St. Claire path will be a spur off the proposed 6.6 mile Broadneck Peninsula Trail that will eventually link Sandy Point State State Park to the B&A Trail in Arnold.

The project will be capped off with landscaping improvements to replace the few trees that will need to be removed to accommodate the construction. The DPW team emphasized that traffic will be a top consideration during the construction phase, so that drivers will only experience lane closures and flag men rather than a complete road closure.

Editor's Note:  We welcome Cape St. Claire resident Ann-Marie Sedor to the Broadneck Patch family. She will be debuting her new "Cape Connection" column about the people and programs of Cape St. Claire next Tuesday. In the meantime, if you have any news tips or story ideas for her, you can email her at amsedor512@gmail.com.