Cape Resident Connects the Community

After growing up in Cape St. Claire in the early 1970s, Frank Newman moved away to attend the University of Maryland, then came back to the county and lived in several nearby communities before returning to the Cape in 2004.

Though the neighborhood had changed physically since he was younger, he says, the community spirit had not, and so he and his wife decided to settle back here to raise their children. Of coming back after so many years, he says, “There are things you miss and then things you didn’t realize you missed.”

Newman immediately jumped into participating in the Cape St. Claire Improvement Association activities. He redesigned the association’s website in 2005, adding better navigation, more interactive features and a search feature. “I basically gave it a face lift,” he says, “moving it from a 90’s-era site to one with a newer look.”

The site is an excellent resource for Cape residents, and even for people just looking to move here, as it contains just about anything anyone needs to know about the neighborhood: beach information, clubhouse rentals, association documents, the Caper newsletter, a community photo tour, a monthly calendar, even historic maps—all of which is maintained by Newman.

Though he began serving on the board of governors in 2006, he worked on the external budget oversight committee during 2005, which provided him with a good view of Cape activities and the funding they need. It was this same year that he decided to launch the public Cape Google group, which has grown to having more than 600 participants.

The Google group has become a very beneficial way for Cape residents to exchange ideas and advice. “I think of it as a continuous town hall meeting, one that’s totally independent with no political ties,” says Newman. “I always wanted the group to remain the property of the community and not the property of the board of governors.”

While residents can’t be too anonymous—their email addresses and profiles are visible to other group members—there’s no shortage of topics that can lead to emotional discussions. Most recently, connecting to county water lines has been a hot topic.

Because he is the moderator, Frank stays out of much of the conversation, jumping in only if dialogue becomes too mean-spirited. “It seems like a cyclical thing, sometimes it’s running along fine and other times, it spirals out of control,” he reports.

“Personal attacks or racial undertones are not acceptable, and we’ve had to sometimes take a vacation,” meaning he will take the group offline for a week or so to cool down. But, like the varying opinions on the Google group, Frank says his decisions aren’t always obvious in moderating the group and he sometimes goes to professional colleagues for advice. “It’s a fine line to walk sometimes,” he says.

Right now, the Caper, Cape St. Claire’s official newsletter, is the primary means of communication with residents and contains important news and items such as mail-in ballots. It also earns advertising revenue. While the Caper is printed and mailed to each home quarterly, an additional four issues a year are published exclusively as online editions found on the Cape St. Claire website.

“The traditional means of communication with monthly mailing and printing is just too expensive,” Newman says. “We’ve even been exploring the option of taking it totally online and I think we’ll be there in five years."

Newman believes the forms of electing Cape’s board and committees [via printed ballots] is quickly getting outmoded and he is considering ways that will help everyone participate in elections more easily. He cites blogs and Web 2.0 (website tools and applications that promote user interactivity) as ideas that he’s looking into to increase Cape communications.

Newman’s other mission is managing the Cape’s beach erosion problem—fast becoming a critical concern for all residents. “It’s an issue that will require tremendous time and resources, not just my own, but from the whole community,” he says.

Newman’s tone of voice changes with the subject, emphasizing the gravity of the problem. “Every storm we get at Lake Claire seems to wash more of the beach away, and it seems to be getting exponentially worse. At high tide, you still get your feet wet on the fishing and crabbing pier—which we keep extending.”

His role as chair of the beaches and parks committee is at the very heart of this issue and it’s his job to tell Cape residents the bad news that their beaches are disappearing. “This is a problem that will keep coming up and at some point, we’re going to have to vote whether or not we get funding to fix it.”

While Newman gives a tremendous amount of energy and ideas to constantly improving the Cape, he’s also quick to point out that he’s not the only person who dedicates time.

“I understand that people can’t always come to our CSCIA meetings,” he says, “but they give back in so many other ways. I see contributions that other people make here, from scout leaders to soccer coaches to teachers who stay late to help their students, and I see them making this community wonderful.”