'It Is Now Time for the College's Accounting of Events'

Editor's note: A version of the following commentary by O'Brien, president of St. Mary's College of Maryland, was delivered to the St. Mary's County commissioners in connection with last week's public forum on legislative proposals that the county could submit to the 2008 session of the Maryland General Assembly. One of those proposals would require gathering community input on construction projects at the campus.

St. Mary's College is committed to a good-neighbor policy.

Over the past decade, we have made a determined effort to enhance service to the community. Examples include the popular River Concert Series; certification by the Project Management Institute as a project management provider; hundreds of hours of student volunteer efforts in the schools and projects such as Christmas in April; the home for Special Olympics Maryland sailing, community sailing and sports camps; a competition-size pool in the new Athletic and Recreation Center used by local swimming groups; the County Scholarship Program to encourage local students to stay local by attending St. Mary's College; an attractive dining facility that is used by the community; special programs for area high school students; arts outreach programs for the area high schools; and a new Masters of Arts in Teaching program to better serve the needs of the school district.

We are distressed that this strong record of community support has been disturbed by controversy over the new Rowing Center, which houses our water safety equipment and rowing shells up to 63 feet in length. We strongly oppose the proposed state legislation to ensure community involvement in future construction, and we do not support the proposal that is before the St. Mary's County commissioners. In the case of the Rowing Center, our intention was not to be oblivious to neighborhood interests. In order to ensure that this kind of disagreement does not occur again at such a late stage in a construction project, the college is committed to instituting a program of public meetings early in the planning process of all future capital projects.

Over the past several weeks, the subject of the college's Rowing Center has been very much in the news. Throughout that time we have listened to the various criticisms, and we have responded in a respectful fashion in group and private settings. It is now time for the college to go on the record with its accounting of events.

¿ The waterfront development project has been in the works since program planning began in 2000. The permitting process associated with the project began in 2001, and all of the necessary permits were obtained in the prescribed fashion. After first claiming that the college sidestepped elements of the permitting process, opponents now claim that the institution was "legally correct but morally wrong" despite the fact that this project will reduce storm-water runoff by 32 percent and will have strong "green" building elements such as a geothermal heating and cooling system.

Furthermore, the Maryland Historic Trust during a recent visit reaffirmed its earlier judgment that the project did not endanger St. Mary's City's historic character. As a matter of fact, the college was founded in 1840 by the state legislature as the first effort to create a living monument to the original capital of Maryland. A complete description of the permitting process can be found on the college's Web site, http://www.smcm.edu/facilities/rcFAQs.

¿ The college understands that some of its neighbors are upset that the construction of the Rowing Center in its current location momentarily disturbs the preexisting views of the river as one heads north on Route 5. Upon learning of the depth of some of these feelings, the college did what good neighbors ought to do: We opened up a dialogue to assess the nature of the complaints, and we devised a process to resolve the dispute.

Two open forums were held on campus Aug. 29 and Sept. 2. An audience of approximately 100 community members, students, faculty and staff attended each meeting. As a result of some of the strong sentiment expressed during these meetings, the college established the "4-Cs" advisory committee consisting of seven self-identified members of the community, two members from Trinity Church parish, two members from Historic St. Mary's City, three members from the college staff and four college students. Some have suggested that the community members were handpicked as rubber stamps to a predetermined college position. Nothing could be further from the truth, and the suggestion is an insult to all who volunteered countless hours to help resolve an issue that is contentious to some.