[...]

Now, you might say, as others have, that Preserve Hughesville is against everything. Until recently, that would have seemed to be correct ... it wasn’t, but it may have seemed so. But we have worked with Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative and with Ray Mertz off and on for about two years now. SMECO asked us to attend a presentation in its offices of a project to expand operations. Mr. Mertz has been in contact with us for a few years on his project, Hughesville Station. After a few meetings, he has come up with a solid plan which includes many of our ideas. As I said before, having nothing outside of the village until the implementation of the revitalization plan would be the best scenario.

But we realize that these projects may encourage that implementation. And we are convinced that SMECO and Mr. Mertz have the best interests of Hughesville at heart and will lend the corporate help that we need get our dream plan moving.

We feel that Chaney Enterprises does not have our interest at heart. In his letter to the Charles County Planning Commission, Mr. Chaney wrote, ‘‘Our location in Waldorf is a major key to our success at Chaney Enterprises since 1962, as it has a Sand & Gravel Plant that can run when needed and without restrictions due to its zoning and still be within an economical range of our aggregate reserves in Southern Maryland. If the expansion of Post Office Road and Acton Lane takes away that advantage (without its Capacity being replaced), it will be our company, and all it does, that could easily be lost.”

I suppose Mr. Chaney wanted us to pay particular attention to his thinly veiled threat to leave. Make note of this portion of the paragraph, ‘‘as it has a Sand & Gravel Plant that can run when needed and without restrictions due to its zoning,” because that describes what will happen in Hughesville if the parcel in question gets rezoned.

So are the commissioners going to fold as did five of seven planning commission members or are they going to do the right thing?