COMMUNITY FACILITIES AND SERVICES

INTRODUCTION

Community Facilities and Services is a broad topic. Among other things it includes the basic infrastructure of the Town such as water and sewer service, essential services such as solid waste disposal, and public safety services such as police and fire and rescue.

This chapter examines the community facilities and services provided in Easton. It offers some brief background information on each component of this system and incorporates the input received at the Town Planning Workshops and throughout the Visioning process into a series of goals and objectives and recommended implementation strategies.

BACKGROUND

Easton's public services and utilities are of vital importance to the continued physical, economic, and social improvement of the Town and the surrounding region. Expansion of certain basic economic activities can be more readily accomplished provided that public and private utility and service systems are adequate for the existing and projected population of the Town. A major goal of the Town is to ensure the continued adequate maintenance and expansion of community facilities and public services necessary to guarantee public health, safety and welfare and enhance residents quality of life. This goal is balanced against the fiscal ability of the Town to provide necessary community facilities and services and its objectives for managing the location and rate of the Town's growth and development. It must also be remembered that because of the Town's dominant function as a regional commercial and employment center, Easton must consider the demands of the surrounding region, as well as the needs for local residents, upon Town facilities and services.

UTILITIES

Utility service in the Town of Easton is predominately provided by Easton Utilities, who is responsible for the operation, management and maintenance of the electric, water, sewer, gas and cable television systems for the Town (and some surrounding areas for some services). In 1923, Easton became the first municipality in the state to own all of its utilities, and this arrangement is still unique today.

Easton Utilities is governed by the Easton Utilities Commission, a board of three residents of Easton who are appointed by the mayor with the advice and consent of the Town Council. A full-time Secretary/Business Manager has day-to-day responsibilities for executing the policies and regulations as determined by the Commission.

Electricity first came to Easton in 1887, but was not under town jurisdiction until 1915. Electric service is now provided by Easton Utilities to over 8,000 customers through 16 diesel engine generators and through Easton Utilities' interconnection with Delmarva Power and Light and the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland Power Pool. Easton residents benefit from this arrangement because Easton Utilities is able to choose the most economical and reliable source of electric power on an hourly basis, either through the Power Pool, through its own generators, or a combination of these sources.

Easton's installed electrical generation capacity is 60 megawatts, which is more than adequate to met the town's current demand. Plans are underway to install additional generators as well as promote energy conservation to meet the Town's future electric needs.

At the present time, all of Easton is served by Easton Utilities for electrical service. As the Town grows, that will not always be the case. The service areas for both Choptank Electrical Cooperative and Delmarva Power are very near to existing Town Boundaries and in at least two cases run through currently undeveloped portions of the incorporated Town. This points out the need in the near future for coordination and cooperation among the various electric companies in order to continue to provide Easton with the most optimum service. For example, the various companies should work together to transfer service areas when necessary to avoid situations where single subdivisions or projects would be served by two (or three) different companies.

Water and sewer services for the Town are also provided by the Easton Utilities Commission. The Easton Utilities Commission is responsible for the operation, construction and maintenance of the Town's water and sewer systems. It is anticipated that the Town will remain the sole supplier of water and sewer services in Easton throughout the plan period. The capacity of Easton's water and sewer facilities will be sufficient to service projected Town populations of between 13,690 and 22,012 by the year 2020.

The Town's water source currently is derived from wells tapping into deep fresh water aquifers. Water service has been supplied by the Town to its residents since 1914. The present system is supplied by six deep-water wells, the newest of which is at 1,200 feet and feeds directly into a state-of-the-art water treatment plant on Glebe Road. Half the drinking water in Easton is supplied by this new well with its capacity to pump over 900 gallons per minute.

The total storage capacity of Easton's Water Department is 1.5 million gallons, which is met through three separate storage tanks located around town. At the present time the Water Department serves 4,600 customers through 60 miles of water mains and over 450 fire hydrants.

The Town of Easton first constructed a sanitary sewage collection system in 1911. Through the subsequent years, as the Town grew so to did the need for additional capacity and treatment. In 1938, a treatment plant was constructed along the banks of the Choptank River. In 1988, construction was completed on an innovative treatment facility. This new facility utilizes an Overland Flow Treatment Process which at the time of construction was the fifth largest such system in the United States.

The Overland Flow System incorporates a lagoon from the previous treatment facility as part of the treatment process. The new facility utilizes a 68 acre overland treatment area, which is divided into 35 terraces. The Overland Flow system is designed to treat 2.0 million gallons in an eight hour period.

Extensions of the Town's public water and sewer systems are currently based upon a County-wide Water and Sewer Facilities Plan and " on demand as required" by new development. In order to more effectively manage the location and rate of growth and development in Easton, it is recommended that, in the future, sewer and water service extensions be based upon a Capital Improvement Program which is in accordance with this Comprehensive Plan. The Town should revise its Sewer and Water Facilities Plan, which establishes immediate, short-term, medium-term, and long-term service areas priorities, to be in accordance with the development patterns established by the Conceptual Development Plan Map and the growth management objectives and policies of the Comprehensive Plan.

The Town should continue to provide water and sewer delivery services to only those areas within the corporate Town limits. Annexation decisions should carefully consider the costs and benefits of extending services to proposed annexation areas.

The Easton Utilities Commission has established "Tap Fees" for water and sewer for all new development within the Town. These fees compensate for the Town's expense of hooking-up service to new development and an equitable proportional share of future capital improvements costs for sewer and water systems maintenance and expansion. The costs of extending sewer and water lines to any new development is borne in full by the developer.

More recently the Town has enacted legislation which limits the amount of sewer service available to any one development in any one year to not more than twenty (20) percent of the Town's annual net available capacity. Annual net available capacity is determined by subtracting the Town's annual obligations for sewer capacity from the annual gross available sewer capacity as determined by the State. The basis for this new regulation is to extend the availability of the Town's sewer capacity over a longer period of time and also to ensure an equitable distribution of that capacity to a number of different development projects in different areas of the Town. Without this annual twenty (20) percent cap it is possible that a single large development project could consume the Town's entire annual sewer capacity in one year thereby necessitating the Town to undertake expensive expansion of its treatment facilities.

Acquired by the Town in 1923, Easton's Gas Department is the only municipal gas utility in the state today. Originally, Easton's gas was derived by burning coal at a plant on West Street. However, Easton Utilities converted to natural gas in 1966 when it signed an agreement to purchase its gas supply from Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company.

The town's gas supply is now piped in from the Federalsburg, Maryland area, and distributed to over 2,000 customers through 38 miles of steel and plastic mains. The Gas Department distributes an average of 1,200,000 cubic feet of natural gas per day to Easton's residents living in its 8.5 square mile service territory.

POLICE SERVICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY

Many issues relative to public safety were discussed in the Neighborhood Planning Chapter. However, as a part of Community Facilities, it is appropriate to address issues such as the adequacy of existing police services and the expected future needs of the police force.

The International City Managers Association recommends a ratio of 1.75 police personnel per 1,000 population served. With 40 sworn officers in a Town of approximately 10,600, Easton easily exceeds the recommended ratio. There are, however, some factors which warrant a higher ratio. First, Easton is a regional center for entertainment and commerce. Second, Easton's citizens have repeatedly called for strong and active community policing. Factors such as these place a stronger demand on police resources than may normally be found in a "typical" municipality.

In light of the above, it would seem that police staffing should be adequate for some time. This seems to be supported by the results of the budgeting exercise at the Town Planning Workshop. During this exercise, participants indicated that while they still wanted public safety to be the single largest recipient of a given budgetary dollar, they did not think that this sector needed as much as it has received in the recent past.

FIRE SERVICE

Fire protection in the Town of Easton and the surrounding County area is provided by the Easton Volunteer Fire Department. The department is an all volunteer organization with financial support from the Town and County. Recently the Easton Volunteer Fire Department has added Emergency Medical Services, service for which is split between all volunteer for one part of the day and paid service for the remainder. There is a State Fire Marshall responsible for Fire Code enforcement in the Town and County.

Fire Protection services should be expanded throughout the Plan period as the Town and County's population continues to increase. As the Town of Easton continues to grow, an additional fire station will eventually be needed. The Town should consider sites in south Easton to locate this additional facility. The Town Planning and Zoning Office should confer with the Fire Department in the review of commercial building permits and subdivision plats in reference to the availability of adequate water supply, access to structures, and the strategic location of fire hydrants.

Based on comments received at the Town Planning Workshops, Town residents, workers, and visitors are generally quite pleased with the efforts of the Volunteer Fire Department. In short, the public believes this to be a great community asset which saves the Town a lot of money based on what a paid service might cost.

SCHOOL FACILITIES

The establishment of County schools within the Town greatly affects Easton's development. An adequately trained labor force depends upon the quality of education as well as the types of courses offered to local residents. Because of the impact of schools upon the Town's development (in both social and economic terms), coordination between the Town and the Talbot County Board of Education in preparing a County Education Master Plan and reviewing proposed facility plans should be encouraged.

While the quality and the location of schools are vitally important to the overall quality of life of Easton's residents, the Town has little control in such decisions as curriculum, facilities improvements and location, etc. This is because schools are County (or private) facilities. However, it is important to note that Town residents are indeed also residents of Talbot County and as such are entitled to become involved in such decisions. In this vein, the residents of Easton have far more power in issues relative to County schools than does the government of the Town.

The continued use of school facilities and grounds within Easton for Town and County sponsored Parks and Recreation Department activities and programs is encouraged. School grounds within the Town are important play and recreation areas for neighborhood children and adults.

LIBRARY SERVICES

Easton residents enjoy library service from the Talbot County Free Library. In accordance with recommendations from the 1974 Comprehensive Plan, the County constructed a new and expanded Free Library to the rear of the County Courthouse. This facility is comprised of 16,000 square feet, including a meeting room with seating for up to 150. As of 1995, the Library's holdings included 90,000 books, 1,000 audio tapes, 625 video tapes, and 125 magazine subscriptions. With all of these amenities, the current facility is projected to adequately provide library service needs for the Town throughout the Plan period. It should be noted, however, that like schools, this is a County Facility located within the Town. While this facility should easily meet the future demands of the residents of Easton, the corresponding analysis for all County residents is left up to Talbot County and their Comprehensive Planning efforts.

HOSPITAL FACILITIES

Hospital Services in the Town of Easton are provided by Memorial Hospital. In the realm of the Comprehensive Plan, this facility has two kinds of impact. The first is the service provided to the community. The second is the impact this facility has on the Town in general and its neighborhood more specifically. In the former area, the impact is unquestionably positive. In the latter though, the results are mixed.

As Memorial Hospital has expanded, the Hospital and surrounding residential areas have encountered increasing conflicts. The Hospital is unable to consolidate all related facilities on a single parcel of land because of a lack of space. As a result the Hospital and its parking facilities have begun to encroach upon the surrounding neighborhood. Neighborhood residents are disturbed by traffic, parking and the intrusion of intensive activities into their residential environment. Activities to reduce conflict between the Hospital and adjoining residential areas include; continued coordination of Hospital expansion plans with the Town, and improvement of the traffic circulation and parking pattern in the area.

Memorial Hospital recently announced an affiliation with Dorchester General Hospital in Cambridge. This will undoubtedly exacerbate problems relative to parking and traffic as more and more health care services are provided at the Washington Street location.

SOLID WASTE FACILITIES

The citizens of Easton receive collection of their solid waste from the Town. The Town of Easton in turn contracts with Talbot County to dispose of this waste at the Mid-Shore Regional Landfill located on Barkers Landing Road, southeast of town. In 1993, the Town adopted a residential disposal fee to cover the tipping charges associated with solid waste disposal at the landfill.

Facilities, in the form of "igloos", for recycling are located at the landfill and at several sites in and around Easton. At present time there is no public curbside recycling service in Easton. A private company (Infinity Recycling) will provide such service for a fee.

Support for Recycling was strong among participants in the Town Planning Workshops. In fact, 58% of respondents said that they would be willing to pay an additional $30 per year in taxes or fees for curbside recycling service. Furthermore, while a majority indicated that they would not pay any additional fee for a yard-waste recycling facility, a clear majority said that the Town should have such a facility.

STORMWATER MANAGEMENT

Stormwater management in the Town of Easton is reviewed on a project by project basis by the Town Engineer. Stormwater must be managed to achieve improvements in both quantity and quality of run-off. Regional approaches to stormwater management, incorporating multiple development projects, are not often considered. Regional Stormwater management represents an opportunity to improve water quality and possibly to incorporate the device as an amenity. For example, a regional stormwater management pond might be used as a water feature in a park.

 COMMUNITY FACILITIES AND SERVICES GOALS, OBJECTIVES,

AND IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES

GOAL

To continue to provide a high-quality of community services and facilities through adequate maintenance of existing systems and the addition of new facilities/services when necessary to guarantee public health, safety and welfare and enhance the quality of life of those who visit, live, or work in Easton.

OBJECTIVES

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES