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Post by bchevy on Apr 13, 2014 18:17:40 GMT -4
Right. The users don't clean up, the county/state/you name it will not take responsibility for the trash cleanup, the police won't police it. This is not going to make the abusers stop. They need to be policed and fined...the abusers, not everyone else. It's nice that there are volunteers willing to pick up other people's filth, but they should not have to. Really, neither should govt. employees. Make people take responsibility for the places they use and that others would like to use, too. Unfortunately that's just not gonna happen, as much as I wish it would. And charging a tax will help this? NO Will the riff raff clear out? NO If they can patrol to check for permits, they can patrol to check for other stuff too. Maybe the Sheriffs office could spend less time at some fundraisers and more time patrolling.
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Post by bluecrabber on Apr 14, 2014 7:51:06 GMT -4
Counter productive. I would guess that most qa residents rarely use the parks. It's one of those things one slow day the idea comes up to walk down to Terrapin beach with the visiting grandkids. You pull up to the parking lot and see a sign "parking permit required... see if you can find a place on Sunday afternoon in the county that sells one" :/ That's the end of that idea and your last visit to the park you have already paid for with outrageous qa property taxes. Meanwhile, the abuse problem persists with the van loads of regular campers who pool their money for a single shared permit. :/
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Post by emsguru on Apr 14, 2014 10:23:40 GMT -4
www.parksnrec.org/more-information/parks-recreation-advisory-boards/ there seem to be a lot of passionate people on here that are against this fee. Perhaps someone should call Parks and rec and find out what they are going to do with these fees. If the answer doesn't please you then perhaps start a way to change them or get rid of them. Honestly I don't mind the fee if there is a noticeable difference in the way the parks are managed. But if they cannot promise a difference then I'm 100% against them.
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kncook07
Junior Member
Please check out Kent Island Beach Cleanups at https://www.facebook.com/KentIslandBeachCleanups
Posts: 54
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Post by kncook07 on Apr 19, 2014 20:16:12 GMT -4
I am the Founder of Kent Island Beach Cleanups - KIBCU, located here in Stevensville. I started my group about 2 years ago, and we have made great strides. We have gotten a few emails regarding the new QAC Beach Permit Process (and I have seen the out pour of concerns all over Facebook this past week). I want to inform the community on what KIBCU knows thus far... We personally email Parks and Rec on an almost weekly basis, and have been since starting our group. We too, were taken aback by this news this past weekend. It was never mentioned to us that this idea was ever on the table. While we disagree with the fact that QAC residents will be required to pay a fee for the permit, we do support any efforts to clean up our beaches and parks. We reached out to the county this week, expressing our concerns, and we have an in-person meeting with parks and rec next week to further discuss. What we can tell everyone is that KIBCU and it's volunteers will be exempt from the permits on the days we hold cleanups. Other than that we have no additional information until we meet with them.
While we completely understand the community's frustrations with the county and any past history they have with the county's previous decisions on matters such as these, we want to let everyone know that giving up on the cleanups (or giving up on going to any one of the beaches or parks included in on the permits) is not the answer. KIBCU's is in no way associated with the county or state. We are a grassroots group started based on realizing a major issue and trying to fix it. We ask for the county's help, but everything we do is solely on our own, with no financial help from anyone else. We rely on our volunteers to help build awareness and to pull together as a community to improve the beaches and parks we all love so much.
We hope that our volunteers do not decide to discontinue volunteering for our cleanups because of the county's decision to charge for beach and park access. Once we meet with Parks and Rec next week, we'll be informing our volunteers of the outcomes. We hope that we can at least gain more information on how this decision came about and where, the funds gained from these permits, will be going towards. Thank you, Kristin Cook, Founder Kent Island Beach Cleanups - KIBCU Kristin@KentIslandBecahCleanups.com www.kentislandbeachcleanups.com/www.facebook.com/KentIslandBeachCleanupsPlease "LIKE" and "SHARE" our page! Who doesn't want a cleaner, pollution-free KI?
Kent Island Beach Cleanups (KIBCU) is a grassroots organization whose mission is to protect and preserve the beauty of the beaches, parks, and estuaries of Kent Island, MD through regular cleanups, education, awareness, social and communal responsibility and advocacy.
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Post by oriolesfan on Apr 19, 2014 22:10:30 GMT -4
^^^^^^^ please report back here what they tell you
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kncook07
Junior Member
Please check out Kent Island Beach Cleanups at https://www.facebook.com/KentIslandBeachCleanups
Posts: 54
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Post by kncook07 on Apr 19, 2014 23:56:56 GMT -4
I most certainly plan on doing just that!! Thank you, Kristin Cook, Founder Kent Island Beach Cleanups - KIBCU Kristin@KentIslandBecahCleanups.com www.kentislandbeachcleanups.com/www.facebook.com/KentIslandBeachCleanupsPlease "LIKE" and "SHARE" our page! Who doesn't want a cleaner, pollution-free KI? Kent Island Beach Cleanups (KIBCU) is a grassroots organization whose mission is to protect and preserve the beauty of the beaches, parks, and estuaries of Kent Island, MD through regular cleanups, education, awareness, social and communal responsibility and advocacy.
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Post by frankf on Apr 20, 2014 16:05:23 GMT -4
I believe the new tax was voted on and approved in February - yeah, the middle of winter and I'm SURE it was highly publicized prior to. Right.
BTW, I was at Terrapin today, and they're now going around putting slips of paper under the wipers with notification that the robbery tax goes into effect May 12th.
It was all I could do to restrain myself and not throw it on the ground. ;-)
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Post by bchevy on Apr 20, 2014 20:18:42 GMT -4
What we can tell everyone is that KIBCU and it's volunteers will be exempt from the permits on the days we hold cleanups. Well that's mighty BIG of them isn't it..... in other words, "We won't charge you to come clean up "our" beach, our beach that we don't have time or manpower to take care of, but we do have time to come out and pass out FLYERS for the new parks use TAXGotta love the government, don't ya?
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Post by frankf on Apr 20, 2014 22:03:11 GMT -4
Let's not forget that this is the result of voting in the people in place today who ran under lower taxes, slow growth, etc.... It costs money to maintain these areas. And let's remember who the county commissioners are who voted for this foolishness this past February. Elections are coming up.
Once upon a time, there were billboards up in the park with information on the plants and animals and it was an educational area. No more. It's run down and neglected.
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Post by cruzincat on Apr 21, 2014 8:36:11 GMT -4
Let's not forget that this is the result of voting in the people in place today who ran under lower taxes, slow growth, etc.... It costs money to maintain these areas. And let's remember who the county commissioners are who voted for this foolishness this past February. Elections are coming up.
Once upon a time, there were billboards up in the park with information on the plants and animals and it was an educational area. No more. It's run down and neglected. Frank has a good point here. Elections are coming up. On a statewide level, remember which party it was that increased the tolls, taxes, and all the other fees that we have been hit with, just since the last election, and vote accordingly.
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birdseed
New Member
Hi. Please pass this along. The monday before last was my recycling day with Bates. After trying to
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Post by birdseed on Apr 21, 2014 17:12:27 GMT -4
In the town where I grew up they hired college students as Seasonal Park Rangers out of Parks & Recreation to monitor their parks. They represented the community in a very positive way by helping folks with needs, providing information and giving them a sense of security. The town also provided permits to the residents at no charge.
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Post by lainey on Apr 22, 2014 15:12:45 GMT -4
Let's not forget that this is the result of voting in the people in place today who ran under lower taxes, slow growth, etc.... It costs money to maintain these areas. And let's remember who the county commissioners are who voted for this foolishness this past February. Elections are coming up.
Once upon a time, there were billboards up in the park with information on the plants and animals and it was an educational area. No more. It's run down and neglected. Frank has a good point here. Elections are coming up. On a statewide level, remember which party it was that increased the tolls, taxes, and all the other fees that we have been hit with, just since the last election, and vote accordingly. EVERY SINGLE COUNTY COMMISSIONER WE HAVE IN OFFICE RIGHT NOW IS REPUBLICAN.
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Post by KITransplant on Apr 22, 2014 17:13:51 GMT -4
Frank has a good point here. Elections are coming up. On a statewide level, remember which party it was that increased the tolls, taxes, and all the other fees that we have been hit with, just since the last election, and vote accordingly. EVERY SINGLE COUNTY COMMISSIONER WE HAVE IN OFFICE RIGHT NOW IS REPUBLICAN. Well, if the Republican Commissioners are acting like Democrats, there is a primary process to remove them.
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Post by jackbquick on Apr 22, 2014 18:23:25 GMT -4
Frank has a good point here. Elections are coming up. On a statewide level, remember which party it was that increased the tolls, taxes, and all the other fees that we have been hit with, just since the last election, and vote accordingly. EVERY SINGLE COUNTY COMMISSIONER WE HAVE IN OFFICE RIGHT NOW IS REPUBLICAN. Can you imagine if they were all DEMOCRATS! Oh Boy.
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Post by frankf on Apr 23, 2014 6:49:33 GMT -4
EVERY SINGLE COUNTY COMMISSIONER WE HAVE IN OFFICE RIGHT NOW IS REPUBLICAN. Can you imagine if they were all DEMOCRATS! Oh Boy. Since Democrats are generally in favor of improvements to the lives of citizens, the environment, and the advancement of society, you'd probably have sewer.
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Post by jackbquick on Apr 23, 2014 9:37:41 GMT -4
Can you imagine if they were all DEMOCRATS! Oh Boy. Since Democrats are generally in favor of improvements to the lives of citizens, the environment, and the advancement of society, you'd probably have sewer. You are probably right. Is it illegal to switch parties until they vote to extend the line and then switch back?
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Post by KITransplant on Apr 23, 2014 9:40:54 GMT -4
Since Democrats are generally in favor of improvements to the lives of citizens, the environment, and the advancement of society, you'd probably have sewer. You are probably right. Is it illegal to switch parties until they vote to extend the line and then switch back? Nope. Or you can consider voting multiple times like they often do.
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Post by lainey on Apr 23, 2014 11:53:58 GMT -4
Dems don't vote multiple times. Are you referring to Wendy Rosen? When she voted twice, "by accident", she was a registered republican.
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Post by KITransplant on Apr 23, 2014 12:29:18 GMT -4
Dems don't vote multiple times. Are you referring to Wendy Rosen? When she voted twice, "by accident", she was a registered republican. I wasn't referring to former Democrat Congressional candidate Wendy Rosen.
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kncook07
Junior Member
Please check out Kent Island Beach Cleanups at https://www.facebook.com/KentIslandBeachCleanups
Posts: 54
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Post by kncook07 on Apr 24, 2014 22:00:02 GMT -4
We (Kent Island Beach Cleanups) had our meeting with QAC Parks and Recreation yesterday. I would say it went well overall. It could have gone better, but it also could have gone worse. We knew going into it that we would leave with some questions unanswered, and that we wouldn’t be able to change the permit process. But that wasn’t our goal. Our goal was to get as much information regarding the new beach permit process and how it would affect our group’s mission to continue to care for our beaches, and to report back to our volunteers. Like we have reported many times in the last week, we do not fully agree with this new process, but we will continue to support any efforts to maintain and care for our beaches and parks here on Kent Island and Queen Anne’s County. Please keep in mind that the answers to the questions below are not our opinions. We have placed our questions and opinions in parenthesis. The information we were seeking: - (How long had this idea been on the table)? - (Was the idea ever discussed to have only out of county residents pay for permits)? - (How much money they plan on making in the first year and during peak season)? - (What they plan on doing with the funds gained from the permits)? - (How this will affect KIBCU’s efforts and its volunteer’s)?
(How long had this idea been on the table)?
Approximately 6 months. Parks and Rec ultimately made this decision. Parks and Rec state that around 4 years ago, they had mass layoffs that resulted in the loss of 50% of their staff. Since then, they have been working with minimal funds as well as their focus being mostly spent on maintaining the sports and recreational fields in the county for baseball, softball, soccer games, etc…Little time and effort could be spent on maintaining the grounds of parks such as Terrapin Beach. They also have a staff of 22 employees who has to maintain all of the parks in QAC. They asked the current commissioners back in early Fall 2013 for additional funds, and they were denied. They came up with the idea for beach permits for additional revenue, and the commissioners approved. This was discussed and approved just recently, and the permits have already been printed and are currently available at select stores around our county. The effective date is Monday, May 12, 2014.
(Was the idea ever discussed to have only out of county residents pay for permits? We expressed our concerns and disagreement with the fact that QAC residents were being charged to access the beaches and parks we already care for and love. We asked them if the idea was ever discussed to only charge out of county residents, and continue to allow QAC residents to access the beaches for free).
They explained that “Program Open Space” or POS Funds is what kept them from being able to only charge residents outside of our county and/or state. They stated that these POS Funds are State Collected Shared Revenue and Grants, which are given to each county in the State of Maryland, to be used for the parks. Just like public landing and public marinas, they cannot accept state funds and grants, to then turn around and allow QAC county residents to access the parks for free, while charging everyone from other counties. We are waiting for Parks and Rec to send us additional information on this, but in the meantime, we found some information on POS Funds here www.dnr.state.md.us/land/pos/
(How much money they plan on making in the first year and during peak season)?
Parks and Rec states that they do not have any solid projections on estimated revenue for the first year of these permits. They have already sold around 40 permits. (We do not have any additional information).
(What they plan on doing with the funds gained from the permits)?
Parks and Rec’s plan is to hire 1-2 Rangers to monitor, patrol and maintain Terrapin Beach, Ferry Point Park, and Matapeake Park. They hope that the presence of the Rangers will also help to build awareness, and that they will not tolerate illegal activity of any sort at the beaches and parks. They also state that the Ranger’s will be able to enforce the rules and regulations of the parks by issuing tickets and working with the Sherriff’s Department. (We asked if they plan on working with us to refurbish the dated signs, cut and maintain the grasses and trees that are blocking the signs, and to overall improve the appearance of the park), and they said yes.
(How this will affect KIBCU’s efforts and its volunteer’s)?
Parks and Rec explained that they are very appreciative of what KIBCU has been doing for the last year and a half to get volunteers together to hold monthly cleanups. They do not want to interrupt our efforts, but more so work with us to collectively improve the beaches and parks. They have given our group exemption from the permits on the days we hold cleanups. The exemption will only be given to those that are volunteering with us, and they will be given a 1 day pass for that specific day only.
(KIBCU wants to reiterate that the information above is not our opinion. This information was provided to us by QAC Parks and Rec, and we felt that our volunteers and the community had a right to know more information on this highly disputed matter. We continue to have the same missions and goals as we did prior to this new beach permit process going into effect. Our mission: “Kent Island Beach Cleanups (KIBCU) is an organization whose mission is to protect and preserve the beauty of the beaches, parks, and estuaries of Kent Island, MD through regular cleanups, education, awareness, social and communal responsibility and advocacy.” We understand that the community may be frustrated with the county’s decision to move forward with the new process, but we ask all of you to keep a few things in mind…
Please don’t give up on us or the beaches and parks we love so much! Just because we face adversity doesn’t mean we just turn the other cheek or walk away. We want to try our best to be optimists, and hope that this process will better our parks and beaches in the long run. We hope that the money gained from these permits will go to good use and they will use the money just as they said they would. We also hope that you understand the position we’re in as a growing grassroots group - soon to be a nonprofit within the year -, that we need to all come together as a community and team, to keep our island and county pollution-free).
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us. We will be more than willing to listen and try to develop a resolution.
Kristin N. Cook - Founder
Kent Island Beach Cleanups
(410) 458-1240 cell
kncook07@yahoo.com
Website: www.KentIslandBeachCleanups.com
Like us on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/KentIslandBeachCleanups
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Post by ravens20 on Apr 24, 2014 23:01:41 GMT -4
If they actually do hire 1-2 park rangers then I'm all for the permit.
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Post by kibaygirl on Apr 25, 2014 1:58:13 GMT -4
Sign the petition! Make our voices heard & even if they don't, inundate Phil with emails!
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Post by oriolesfan on Apr 25, 2014 5:50:03 GMT -4
Thanks for the update Kristin
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Post by bluecrabber on Apr 25, 2014 6:25:16 GMT -4
Hmmm... wonder how long it will be before parks and recs wants every car that pulls into White Marsh Park to pay a fee?
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Post by jackbquick on Apr 25, 2014 8:15:09 GMT -4
Sign the petition! Make our voices heard & even if they don't, inundate Phil with emails! How is this any different then the annual permit to use the boat launches. Instead of raising the funds from everyone, just people who use the beaches pay. I buy a boat ramp permit every year. Should I ask the county to make everyone pay for this even if they don't use the launches? Everyone is always complaining about taxes property taxes going up including me but this is a way to make the users pay and not the general public. You want clean beaches like Kristin has been complaining about for 2 years. Well you get what you asked for! IT'S $35. One night of drinking for me (at home)
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