Anne Arundel County has presented a proposal to the Mayo Peninsula Parks Advisory Committee that would create an approximately 3.3 acre swimming beach along the fragile and eroding shoreline of the Bay, construct restrooms/changing rooms/septic drain field for 400 people/per day, and pave 1.3 acres of the 4.7 acres of developable park land to create approximately 152 parking spaces on the Beverly-Triton Beach Park. This is an irresponsible over-development of a fragile and environmentally sensitive public park.

The proposed plans can be viewed at the links listed below:

I have started a petition "PROTECT BEVERLY-TRITON BEACH - NO DESTRUCTION OF HABITAT, NO MORE DEVELOPMENT, NO PAVING!". The goal is to reach as many signatures needed to stop this proposal to develop swimming at the Beverly-Triton Beach Park by September 9, 2016. Please consider adding your name and sharing this link with all of your friends and neighbors: https://is.gd/cn81FJ

The 2016 General Membership Meeting and Election of Officers and Board Members for the Saunders Point Citizens Association is scheduled for Thursday, November 17, 2016, at 7:30PM at the MCA Hall (Opposite Mayo Elementary School). Please attend and participate.

The Anne Arundel County Watershed Stewards Academy is offering free trees and shrubs to Anne Arundel County residents as part of the DNR Backyard Buffers program.

Planting a woodland buffer:

FREE workshop on buffer planting and maintenance techniques:

Order your buffer bundle or BUNDLES now!

At the request of residents of Saunders Point, the Saunders Point Citizens Association has filed an application to participate in the MD Dept. of Agriculture's Mosquito Control Program. Saunders Point's application has been approved for the Adult Mosquito Surveillance and Control Program for 2016.

The spraying is accomplished by truck-mounted ultra low volume (ULV) application of insecticides. If you have any questions about the spraying or program, you may contact the MD Dept. of Agriculture at:

If you have any questions or additional information, please contact Patrick Schmitt at: pschmitt@saunderspoint.org

The 2015 General Membership Meeting for the Saunders Point Citizens Association was held on Tuesday, December 3, 2015, at 7:30PM. The following are the Election results for Officers and Board Members:

The next Membership Meeting for the Saunders Point Citizens Association is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, May 19, 2016, at 7:30PM at the MCA Hall (Opposite Mayo Elementary School).

Plans are set for Beverly-Triton Beach Park 2015 - 2016 deer management hunts. Go to http://www.aacounty.org/RecParks/resource_conservation/deermanagement.cfm. Beverly-Triton Beach Park will be closed until 12 noon on each of the following days for managed hunts: October 9, 2015, November 4, 2015, December 2, 2015, January 21, 2016.

WE NEED YOUR HELP at the Playground Demo Work Day on Saturday, June 20, 2015, at 7:30AM. We have a County Permit thanks to the hard work of Darrell Gomes and Cher Sommer. The Playground Committee has planned a Demo Work Day for this coming Saturday to do the following:

WE NEED VOLUNTEERS to help with the demo and preparation of the Playground for the new playground equipment to be installed. Please come and bring your power tools and paint brushes. If you know any residents of the Community who do not receive these email blasts, please forward this to them. Please plan to attend and thank you for your support.

Saunders Point has a Community Park located at the end of Carroll Drive and Ridgely Drive on the Big Pond. The playground equipment at the Park is older and in poor condition. The Association has discussed the need for upgrading and replacing this playground equipment for our young people for several years.

At the November Board of Directors' Meeting, the Board authorized me to appoint a Committee to work on planning and fundraising to upgrade and replace the playground equipment. The Board also allocated $10,000 as initial funding for this project. Cher Sommer (Carroll Drive) has accepted the task of chairing this Committee at my request. Cher has enthusiastically advocated that the Community upgrade and replace the playground equipment and we owe her our thanks and appreciation for focusing everyone's attention on this project. As I indicated at our November General Membership Meeting, I am committed to making actual progress on this project this spring. This is a big project and will require the participation of the whole Community to realize results. The Community needs everyone's assistance, so please volunteer to help in whatever way you can.

If you have any questions or want additional information, please contact Patrick Schmitt at: pschmitt@saunderspoint.org

The third section of median along Carvel Lane will be planted with the large trees and plants in December. The rest of the plantings will be installed when the entire median is spruced up in the Spring of 2011. The Project was funded by two grants that saunders Point received for landscaping and the creation of rain gardens for stormwater collection in the median: $36,896 grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust and $1,000 from Unity Gardens. The Community has discussed improving the median for quite some time, so these grants are a huge step forward to meeting our goal. These grants are contingent on the Community providing funding for shrub and tree removal and our �sweat equity� to plant the smaller shrubs and perennials. You can view a detailed plan sketch and a planting list at: Flyer Side 1 and Flyer Side 2

I want to recognize Mr. Matt Rhoderick on Kings Road for volunteering his time and expertise as a Landscape Architect to develop the plans for the median improvements and in aggressively pursuing and winning these grant for the Community. I also want to thank the Chesapeake Bay Trust and Unity Gardens for the grants and McHale Landscape Design of Annapolis and Upper Marlboro and our many other partners for their participation in this project. As part of the project, a sign will be placed on the median recognizing each group and organization individually that has made a contribution to the project.

The Association voted to begin the process of creating a special taxing district at our May 2010 General Membership Meeting. The County has approved the petition and the Association is now actively petitioning property owners to supprt a community special taxing district. The approved petition has been mailed to all property owners in Saunders Point. We encourage all owners to sign the petition in support of the community special taxing district.

The purposes of this proposed special taxing district would be:

• To maintain, repair, construct, and remove snow from, non-County-owned roads, streets, street or road signs, drainage ditches, swales, culverts, walks, ways, bridges, jetties and wharves;
• To maintain, improve, develop, acquire and protect the community-owned real and personal property;
• To provide recreational activities directly related to the community; and;
• To establish and operate of a community security program; and,
• To provide for the administrative and operating expenses incidental to carrying out these purposes, including postage and mailing, auditing, insurance, attorney�s fees, legal costs, and including acquisition and repayment of any loans and any interest thereon.
  

  It is requested that the method of taxation be a uniform assessment per tax account.

The Anne Arundel County Code requires the we petition and get the signatures of more than 50% of the property owners and then go before the Anne Arundel County Council to request approval of a community special taxing district. You can read more information on special taxing districts in Anne Arundel County and the requirments and procedures to be followed in creating one HERE

Under the provisions of the Anne Arundel County Code, a special taxing district permits all the property owners within the district to request that the County levy a "special" tax on the properties within that district to be used to fund the purposes for which the district was formed. In the case of Saunders Point, we are asking that property owners in the Community agree to a tax to maintain the Community-owned roads, park, walkways, and the approximately 1100 feet of shoreline property and beach in front of Kings Road on the Chesapeake Bay. Each property owner in Saunders Point would be a voting member of the group that would determine any tax to be levied. An annual budget would be prepared and voted on by all property owners. Any tax to be levied would be approved by a majority of the property owners.

Since Saunders Point was developed, by Barse Stonebraker, an annual $20 fee has been collected to maintain the Community's roads, walks, ways, bridges, jetties, wharves and beaches. There are 185 platted lots in Saunders Point, so that $20 fee generates $3,700 per year. While that was a large sum of money in the 1950's, today $3,700 does not go that far in covering insurance and maintenance of the Community's property. The condition of our park and beach is a direct result of limited resources that the Community has. As I indicated during November's General Membership Meeting, there is a real danger that soon the $20 annual fee we collect will not cover basic expenses and the insurance bill for the park and beach.

The proposed special taxing district would permit a tax to be uniformly levied and collected on each property tax account in Saunders Point by Anne Arundel County. This tax would be a flat additional amount added to the current property tax total on each tax bill that a property owner receives for property owned in Saunders Point. If you receive more than one tax bill, for property you own in Saunders Point, you would pay this additional "special" tax on each property tax account.

The amount of any proposed tax would be determined by the annual budget approved by all the property owners. Voting would be by property tax account in Saunders Point. Each property tax account would be entitled to 1 (one) vote on the annual budget for the special taxing district. All owners of record per the Land Records of Anne Arundel County would have to agree on how that property's vote would be cast. Individuals with multiple tax accounts in Saunders Point would receive a vote for each property tax account. The "special" tax levied by the County would be determined by dividing the property owner-approved annual budget by the total number of tax accounts in Saunders Point.

Residents of the Community have regularly expressed their opinions that our park should be maintained in better condition and that we should do something to maintain and stabilize the beach. In 2004 when a former president of the Association was studying beach restoration, he determined that to restore the beach we would be looking at a tax of approximately $85.00 per year per lot assuming a 15-year State interest-free loan. I am sure those numbers are different now. I don't know if the Community at-large would support such an expenditure, but these are some of the projects for which resources that could be generated through a special taxing district are needed. The park and the waterfront are amenities that provide value to our property and they should be cared for and maintained, but ultimately that is a decision all property owners will have to make.

More than 50% of the property owners of record in Saunders Point must sign a petition agreeing to be taxed in this manner for the Community to proceed with the process to establish a special taxing district. Members of your Community will be approaching you to ask for your support. You can download and sign the Approved Petition and return it to SPCA at P.O. Box 275, Mayo, Maryland 21106.

If you own residential property in the State of Maryland as your principal residence, you're entitled to the Homestead Tax Credit. The credit saves you money because it limits the amount of your property tax assessment lowering your property taxes.

To be eligible, your home must be your principal residence and not a vacation or rental property, which wouldn't qualify for the credit.

In past years, it's likely that you've already received the credit. Beginning this year, you'll now need to file a one-time application before April 1 of the year of your assessment to continue to receive the credit. If you're a property owner not currently receiving the credit, you should also apply now in the event that you become eligible in the future.

To apply:

Visit www.dat.state.md.us to submit your application online directly to Maryland's Department of Assessments and Taxation, or fill out and return the application that was mailed to you with your assessment notice.

You should follow Saunders Point on Twitter:

Get community alerts via email
Now you can be notified by email of what's happening in your community. Send a message with "Community Alerts" in the subject line to webmaster@saunderspoint.org and you will be added to the list of wired Saunders Point Citizens. No Spam, we promise.