“At Tilghman Island Seafood, we collaborate closely with watermen who are dedicated to the Chesapeake Bay’s unique ecosystem.  These local watermen recognize that their livelihoods are deeply connected to the health of our waters. We are committed to balancing productive fishing with responsible practices to help secure the Bay’s future.” – FromTilghman Island Seafood’s promotional marketing material

Rumplestiltskin perfected a method for spinning straw into gold.  A pretty neat trick.

Now some latter-day local Rumplestiltskins– swapping American ingenuity for the spinning wheel–are doing something similar except with invasive catfish and oyster shells instead of straw.

Blue catfish ravaging Chesapeake Bay’s crabbing and finfish industries, and millions of tons of discarded and aging oyster shells on Washington’s Pacific coast are proving profitable for enterprising watermen. Ecological benefits are also part of this unique equation.

Nick Hargrove of Tilghman Island Seafood and his oyster partners at Dorchester County’s Farm Creek Oyster Farm and Madison Shell Recycling–brothers Alex and Benny Horseman–are in the thick of what is shaping up to be an inspired renaissance for the Chesapeake seafood industry. Inspired, because Hargrove’s marketing of catfish from coast to coast is helping control a damaging invasive species, while importing discarded west coast oyster shells is helping address the scarcity of local oyster shells needed for restoration of the Chesapeake’s oyster populations. Good for the oyster industry. and good for cleaning the Bay’s waters.

That, in turn, is solving Pacific Seafood’s dilemma of what to do with endless piles of oyster shells discarded after their meats have been harvested.

“Pacific Seafood is one of the West Coast’s largest seafood processors,” said Hargrove in a recent interview. “Up until now the only use for the shells has been by Washington state for nature trails. They looked at us like we were crazy when we told them we thought we could use them all. We’re talking about seven million or so tons of old oyster shells, piled up in heaps forty and fifty feet tall.”

So, while Hargrove has been building a nationwide network of catfish sales, including Whole Foods and other seafood purveyors, he and his oyster partners successfully completed the lengthy process necessary to receive Maryland’s first permit for importing non-native shells for restoration and aquaculture.

After the permit process to ensure the old and aged imported shells won’t create another invasive species problem, it appears the west coast trove will meet decades of need for replenishing, rebuilding and seeding the Bay’s oyster bars. “The big deal for the permitting was the fact that these west coast shells are domestic and not foreign,” said Hargrove.

When weather isn’t hampering catfish and oyster harvesting, as ice is doing now, Hargrove’s operations handle 100,000 pounds of fresh catfish filets and 1,000 bushels of oysters per week.

He employs 30 people in processing and about 70 watermen who harvest the oysters and catfish.

 “It’s a lot of responsibility and requires lots of capital,” said Hargrove.

“Ice in the upper Chesapeake is keeping our catfish watermen in and that’s hampering our production,” he said recently.  “We like to handle about 20,000 pounds of filets a day, but in weather like this we’re lucky to get 20,000 pounds a week. Demand is exceeding our ability to supply, but that goes with this business. There will always be ups and downs.  We’ve learned to bob and weave.”

The juggling act is continuous: perfecting marketing and sales, creating new products like catfish nuggets, seeking legislation to further enhance catfish harvesting, and making plans for meeting spring and summer planting demands for oyster shells being trucked east.

 “Right now I’m working with Sen. Johnny Mautz on a bill that would allow electric-shock fishing for catfish,” said Hargrove.  “That would be particularly helpful for the summer when the fish aren’t as hungry.”

At the same time, he and his partners are figuring out how many oyster shells they will be able to sell to the state for this year’s demands. The state buys loads of bushels with attached spat–baby, tick-sized oysters–as well as bare shells.

Bare shells are deployed to help rebuild oyster bars with material that attracts naturally occurring oyster spat in the Bay’s waters. Spa- on-shell are used to seed sanctuary, public fishery and leased aquaculture bottom where proper substrate, also known as cultch, already exists.

Chris Judy, director of Maryland’s shellfish division, said the west coast oyster shells–of the crassostrea gigas species–are proving effective at attracting spat. “They have been properly assessed and approved, and have the added advantage of being less expensive than shell bought from Virginia. Even being shipped all the way across the country they are still less expensive than the shells from Virginia,” said Judy.

He said west coast gigas shells, as well as crushed concrete and rocks, have been tested by University of Maryland’s Horn Point Laboratory in Dorchester County as possible alternatives to the native crassostrea virginica oyster shells typically used for restoration. Because of demand up and down the Chesapeake, in Maryland and Virginia for restoration projects, native shells–recycled after harvesting and shucking–are in short supply.

In laboratory conditions, the gigas shells proved the most effective of all the alternatives at attracting spat.  They even proved more effective than native shells included as part of the test.

“That was in laboratory conditions,” said Judy. “In the Bay waters, in more variable conditions, the gigas shells performed better than native shells in some areas, equal to them in other areas, and not as well in some areas.

“We deployed about 89,000 bushels of gigas shells last May and June–just shells–in places like Tangier Sound, Honga River and Harris Creek to improve the oyster bars, the spat set and to enhance the industry,” said Judy. “When we checked on them again in the fall, we found they had worked well.  A favorable spat set. They do the job, as do the other alternatives, but these are more cost effective. Concrete and rocks also work as a substrate for catching spat, but they are more expensive.”

The gigas shells, said Judy, will be a “major contribution” to what is already being accomplished in Maryland’s oyster restoration efforts.

Over the next two months, Judy said the shellfish division will be contacting various county oyster committee officials to determine their preferences for where in 2025 they would like bare oyster shells and spat-on-shell planted. Those discussions will also include what kind of shells would be preferred.

Between federal funds, state capital funds, sanctuary funds, bushel taxes, oyster export taxes and surcharge fees paid by watermen for oystering licenses, the state has millions of dollars to spend over the next few years for planting bare shells, seeding with spat on shell, and other restoration efforts.

That is in addition to other efforts such as Oyster Restoration Partnership initiatives which included hundreds of millions of spat on shell deployed in  2024.

Judy said that given the attractiveness of the West Coast gigas shells supply and their cost effectiveness, the amount the shellfish division buys this year will be up to how much Hargrove wants to sell and the amount funding will allow. He said that includes bare shells and spat-on-shell for public fishery bars, and for whatever may be available for the state’s oyster sanctuaries.

Hargrove said he sees the gigas shells as a game changer.  “We received our permit to use the shells in August of 2022. In 2023 we deployed about 100,000 bushels of spat-on-shell, and 180,000 bushels in 2024.  That’s for public and private ground seeding efforts. We deployed more spat-on-shell bushels on private grounds than on public grounds and that’s a first.” They also deployed hundreds of thousands of bushels of bare gigas shells for bottom restoration purposes.

Hargrove said he used a pen and the back of a napkin to design the oyster-tanks-and-cages system he uses for his spat-on-shell operation at the Tilghman Island Seafood complex.

Using larvae purchased from oyster hatcheries like Horn Point, near Cambridge, and Ferry Cove, near Tilghman, he blends them into cages filled with about 30 bushels of oyster shells in tanks pumped full of  Bay water from Knapps Narrows.

The larvae take about two weeks to attach to the bare shells.  “When the spat are about the size of a tick on the shells, we lift the cages out of the tanks and transport them to a hopper and conveyor belt.  We load them on the decks of buy boats we use to take them to the bars designated by the different state and county entities.

“We’re getting the resources we need,” said Hargrove, “and the industry is starting to grow. Now we have access to the shells we need, access to all the larvae we need for spat–Ferry Cove is doing a helluva job–and we have the capacity to exceed the state’s needs and handle private aquaculture needs as well. Plus, we can do it cheaper than buying from Virginia and keep all the money in Maryland instead.”

Judy said results from the annual statewide fall oyster survey in October will be released in March.  “Generally speaking, the Bay received a spat set, and the survival rate was good.  The spat from the tremendous, widely distributed set we saw in 2023 are growing now to smalls.  That’s all positive news.”

 

Dennis Forney has been a publisher, journalist, and columnist on the Delmarva Peninsula since 1972.  He writes from his home on Grace Creek in Bozman.

As the new Trump Administration begins to roll out its approach to border control and immigration policies, one group on the Mid-Shore is watching closely what those new initiatives might mean to the unique communities they serve is the Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center based in Easton.

For over 12 years, the organization has been helping immigrants and multicultural communities on the Delmarva by providing legal assistance, education programs, job support, health services, language classes, and community integration resources.

Given that background, the Spy asked its director, Matthew Peters, to come by our Zoom studio for a conversation about what this might mean for the Mid-Shore’s increasingly diverse communities and share some of the organization’s highlights in 2024.

This video is approximately ten minutes in length. For more information about ChesMRC please go here .

 

Freezing temperatures, just taking a break now, have been clogging Eastern Shore creeks making it difficult for watermen to get out to public oyster bars.  It’s tough enough for them to make any money during the lean months of January and February without the added complication of ice.

One of Maryland’s fleet of buoy tender/ice breakers, A.V. SANDUSKY, deployed earlier this week out of Annapolis to open a few of the channels leading to the grounds where tongers and dredgers work.

In Grace Creek, where several watermen keep their boats and offload their catchers at PT Hambleton’s oyster and crabbing complex, a few of the watermen eased their vessels gingerly through the ice last week to reach the open waters of Broad Creek. The Sandusky’s arrival on Monday built on those efforts to further solve the problem and allow more watermen to ply their trade.

Gregg Bortz, media relations manager for Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources, provided additional information about the ice-breaking initiative:

“All of our boats have multiple purposes. During the year they are used to place navigation markers and buoys, assist with debris removal in the Bay, and other tasks. For ice breaking, the Sandusky’s primary areas of responsibility include Kent Narrows; Rock Hall; Chester River to Cedar Point; Miles River to St. Michaels; Eastern Bay and Tilghman Creek. But it also is used as needed elsewhere.

“Our boats are shallow draft so they can get into some smaller waterways that Coast Guard vessels can’t reach.

“The Sandusky,” said Bortz,“ is led by Captain Mike Simonsen. Our website has more information about the whole fleet: https://dnr.maryland.gov/boating/Pages/ice_breaking.aspx.”

The website indicates that the M/V A.V. SANDUSKY is an 80-foot vessel with 700 horsepower and icebreaking capability of eight inches. The site also adds that a new replacement vessel for the fleet is in the procurement process. “Areas of responsibility will include Knapps Narrows; Choptank River to Secretary; Broad Creek to Neavitt Wharf; Tred Avon River to USCG Station, Town Creek, Easton Point Landing; Cambridge Creek/Harbor, Little Choptank River, Slaughter Creek, Chapel Cove and Madison Bay.

Dennis Forney has been a publisher, journalist and columnist on the Delmarva Peninsula since 1972.  He writes from his home on Grace Creek in Bozman.

Easton Planning and Zoning Board meeting this week was the stage for a lively debate over the approval of a second cannabis dispensary proposed for a site just across the street from another already-approved location on the East side of town. The nearly three-hour hearing drew business owners, lawyers, and a few concerned residents, all eager to weigh in on whether the town should allow two cannabis stores within 150 feet of each other.

These special licenses are the first to be issued as a result of the Maryland Cannabis Administration’s (MCA) licensing design to benefit individuals from areas disproportionately affected by the over-policing of drugs drug qualify as a social equity applicant; individuals must meet specific criteria, including having lived in or attended public school in a disproportionately impacted area. Interestingly enough, the town of Easton met that criteria.

At the center of the discussion was Driller Ventures, a minority – and female-owned business seeking approval to open a retail cannabis dispensary in a former bank building on Elliott Road. The site features a drive-through, 22 parking spaces, and a reciprocal parking agreement with Walmart. Mae Hauschel, an experienced cannabis industry professional, and her husband, Michael Dunaway, lead the project.

Their application came under scrutiny due to its proximity to a similar project approved last month for BG, FY LLC, whose dispensary is planned for a site across the street. The town’s zoning code requires a minimum separation of half a mile between cannabis dispensaries. However, BG, FY LLC’s location has yet to be finalized as it awaits subdivision approval.

“We’re ready to proceed. This site meets all setback requirements, has an existing subdivided lot, and benefits from experienced operators,” said attorney, Tony Kupersmith representing Driller Ventures.

BG, FY LLC’s representative, Zach Smith, argued that the town should not approve another dispensary so close to a site that already has zoning board approval. “Allowing a second dispensary would undermine the intent of the half-mile setback and create a race to see who can open first. That’s not in the public interest,” he said.

Smith also raised concerns about parking, claiming that the reciprocal parking agreement cited by Driller Ventures may not allow for additional use. “If they can’t meet the parking requirement, their application cannot move forward,” he added.

In response, Driller Ventures pointed to clear language in the easement agreement and emphasized their readiness to meet all conditions, including odor mitigation, security, and compliance with state regulations.

Both parties touted the economic benefits of their respective projects. Driller Ventures highlighted its plan to hire 24 employees and the suitability of the existing infrastructure, including a vault and drive-through windows. Michael Dunaway emphasized that their operation would run like an upscale retail environment, offering personalized customer service.

BG, FY LLC’s owner, Noah Matten, underscored the investments his company has already made in their project, including raising significant capital and beginning the subdivision process. “We’ve worked diligently and in good faith. Approving a second dispensary so close by would be unfair and could jeopardize our ability to secure additional funding,” Matten said.

Public comments reflected mixed views. Some residents expressed concerns about clustering cannabis businesses, fearing it could stigmatize the area. Others argued that competition would benefit consumers and provide more economic opportunities.

“I think approving both dispensaries would create a chaotic and unfair race,” said Easton resident Jackie Wissman. “It’s the town’s responsibility to ensure orderly development.”

The board wrestled with the legal implications of approving two dispensaries in such close proximity. The half-mile separation rule emerged as a key point of contention, with differing interpretations on when a “use” is established. BG, FY LLC argued that their prior approval should effectively reserve their rights to the area, while Driller Ventures countered that no dispensary currently exists at the site.

The town’s staff recommended approving Driller Ventures’ application, subject to conditions. However, board members expressed concerns about fairness, regulatory consistency, and the possibility of creating a foot race between the two applicants.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the Board voted (2-1) to approve the Special Exception request subject to the following conditions:

1. Prior to the issuance of an occupancy permit, the Applicant shall provide the Town with an up-to-date local contact person (based in Talbot County) who shall be available and
authorized to respond to complaints concerning any operational issues associated with the dispensary.

2. Prior to the issuance of an occupancy permit, the Applicant shall provide certification by a Professional Engineer, Certified Industrial Hygienist, or other equivalently qualified professional that the proposed odor control measures will effectively eliminate outdoor odors for all odor sources.

3. The cannabis dispensary shall not be open to the public prior to 9:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. Operations not involving the public such as the stocking of shelves, completion of
booking, etc., may occur outside of this window.

4. Any subsequent change in ownership, tenancy, or operation shall require a new application and approval for the continuation of the Special Exception use.

5. The Applicant shall obtain a Certificate of Occupancy within two (2) years after the date the Special Exception is granted. Failure to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy by January 21, 2027 shall void this approval.

6. The Applicant shall satisfy all provisions of the minimum parking requirements asdeemed acceptable by the Town Attorney and Town staff.

The debate raises broader questions about Easton’s approach to cannabis regulation. Should the town encourage competition or prioritize orderly development? How should zoning rules be interpreted when multiple applicants pursue similar projects? The board must navigate these challenges as Easton joins the growing number of communities grappling with the complexities of legalized cannabis.

As one resident noted during the hearing, “This is about more than just two businesses. It’s about setting the tone for how we manage this new industry in our town.”’

This video is approximately three minutes in length.

Transparency has been a controversial issue for Cambridge Waterfront Development Inc., the entity responsible for the Cambridge Harbor project. The City Council and citizens alike have complained in the past about CWDI’s opaque dealings and lack of communication with the public. So, it was appropriate, and likely inevitable, that the issue arose during the January 15th meeting of the CWDI Board of Directors at the Dorchester Chamber of Commerce.

As if anticipating this, CWDI President Angie Hengst addressed it during her opening remarks. After mentioning the December 19th groundbreaking for the Cambridge Harbor promenade, she said that the board had “talked about some planning for public information sessions throughout 2025 just to keep the public informed. Obviously, they can come to our meetings, but maybe some more specialized meetings talking about various parts of the project. But, you know, we really want to keep the public abreast of what’s going on so they feel part of the project and know where we’re headed. So we’ll be looking into planning some of those for the year and then some possible community events.”

Later, after board member Frank Narr discussed profits and losses due to last year’s litigation, the beginning of construction on the promenade, and predicted property sales, his colleague Tim Crosby inquired about the public’s involvement in decisions about the design and development of the Harbor project.

“Because it’s been two years since the public input side of this was a very active role, right?” asked Crosby. “And there are different stakeholders out here. Some are community based, some are based by ethnicity and things like that. Are we going to exert a particular effort to those communities and say, ‘Okay, look, here’s where we are. What do you think and what are we missing before we get too far down this thing?'”

“So where a particular commercial entity goes or whether residential goes or where hotel goes is still subject to a response from a developer,” Narr responded. “So, you know what the community may say, if the community says how we think of hotels here, it’s really the market’s going to kind of drive where those things go.”

Crosby agreed that the citizens can’t really have a say regarding the major parts of the project, but he said “there’s an awful lot of small pieces that can have a direct impact on certain communities that I think I just want to get out and communicate with. The more we communicate, I think the better off we are.”

Hengst then said, for the benefit of the audio recording and the citizens present, that the public is encouraged to reach out to city and county representatives with comments and concerns. “So, that’s another way for the community to voice their thoughts along the way.”

When the meeting was turned over to the public for comments, new resident Stephanie Willett pointed to Crosby’s remarks about communication and mentioned how important that is. “Passive communications, putting information out there, is not always good for a lot of minority communities. I haven’t caught up with everything that’s been going on, but to the extent that you all can get out and get into some of these communities and share your faces and show that you’re willing to be engaged with them. Relationships are very important.”

Jennie Leichtling of Mill Street, whose background is in fundraising development for nonprofit organizations, proposed that public communication can manifest itself in more ways than just talking or sending messages.

“The one thing that I am hearing a lot of is ‘if you build it, they will come,'” said Leichtling. “You need to build the community first, and you need to make sure that what you build reflects what the people want. And so, I’m hearing really responsible building stuff, everything that you guys are doing the research for, the capital investments, I think it all sounds great, wonderful. What I would propose adding in addition to this is doing kind of consistent community development and not just at meetings, but on the location.”

For “the location,” Leichtling focused on the playground next to the Visitor Center. She suggested bringing in a coffee cart or food trucks, installing picnic benches, and building a beach volleyball court.

“Because,” she said, “we need to continually invite the community to that space. Because I think the more we invite them, the more we’ll see how the community wants to use that space. Because, until we actually get the community there, we don’t really know what they’re going to actually do.”

“We’ve definitely had conversations of how we can get the community out there and start utilizing that space more, and they’re all wonderful ideas,” Hengst replied.

Since Mayor Lajan Cephas, City Commissioner Sputty Cephas, and City Manager Glenn Steckman were present at the meeting, along with several concerned citizens, one could say that communications are open and the conversation has begun. The next CWDI board meeting is March 19 at 4pm. For those interested in keeping up with the project or who want to contact CWDI, go to Cambridgeharbor.org.

The Cambridge Association of Neighborhoods (CAN) is dedicated to encouraging and assisting community members to be good neighbors. They strive to enhance the safety, quality of life, and well-being of Cambridge’s residents as well as promote code-compliant housing, social events, and community involvement in the city. CAN is open to both renters and homeowners, and newcomers are invited to join and help make Cambridge an even better place to live. Anyone interested can find out more at cambridgecan.org.

CAN President Chuck McFadden recently sat down to tell the Spy about the organization’s origins and plans going forward. (His answers have been edited for length.)

How did CAN get started?

Well, I joined the old civic association, the West End Civic Association, WECA. And they were kind of dying out, and I tried to get some things going and had some disagreement with some of the board members.

You remember when this was?

2016.

Oh, okay. So, it’s pretty recent.

Right. And there was a long time and work. They’ve done some really nice stuff. They used to do a walk on High Street and explain all the history of High Street, but they were getting older and were not into “come-heres.” Okay, so they liked it “from here.” So anyway, after some frustration, there I was, standing out on my lawn across the street. I used to live right across the street, and talking to Judd Vickers and Dave Thatcher and Roman Jesien. And, on the lawn, we decided to start a new association, and Roman came up with the name Cambridge Association of Neighborhoods, CAN.

So, that’s how we started, and the idea that we originally started with was just to try to develop neighborhood feelings within different blocks of the West End and try to organize the blocks into neighborhoods so people would know each other and then try to help each other out and just be nice. We helped people take down a fence, we took down a shed, we painted a porch, stuff like that, trying to help out our neighbors. And we used to do a big summer CAN Jam down at Long Wharf. And that all was a nice feeling. And it was definitely Ward 1 focused. And then COVID hit, so we couldn’t have big group gatherings, we couldn’t get together.

Everything was the Zoom meetings. And we evolved during that, into more of a organization that reported on what was going on. So, we report on the City Council, County Council, [Historic Preservation Commission], school board, planning and zoning, number of government stuff. So, that function that we do there is pretty well received, and people like knowing what’s going on with the different government stuff. We also advocate for different positions, especially in the zoning and code enforcement area. People don’t feel like they’re getting a response from the city, they contact us and we get involved and try to see what we can do.

What do you do?

Well, we contact the city and try to put pressure on, and we have a fair success rate in getting the city’s attention. We have gotten the city’s attention several times at board council meetings and stuff like that. We have flooded the council building with people. So, instead of just one person speaking, when they see 20, 25 people, it’s a different look. But it’s a pressure technique that only works once in a while. You have to be careful in using that. You’d rather just have conversations with the city officials and say, “You know, why don’t we do this and that?” So, it’s important to us to get the feel of what our members want. We have over 800 email addresses and we figure over 1100 members’ emails. Like this household: there’s only one email, but there’s my wife and I. So we’re figuring around 1100. I think that’s conservative, probably higher than that that we reach.

And I think one of the things people like is that we do it through email. So, we contact them through their email and they can either look at it or not. But part of the problem the city has getting the information out is they don’t have a vehicle like they used to have in the past. So, they put it on the website, but nobody knows where it is on the website. Nobody knows it’s posted. They’re trying to make an announcement, but nobody knows it’s there. So, how do they get it out? Cambridge is 13,000 people. Four to 5000, maybe a little bit more, are children. So, seven, 8000 adults are trying to get to and how do you do that?

Is the format of your meetings different than when you were starting? How did you do it when you started out?

Well, we would have members’ meetings and we would invite the mayor or a council person or the police chief to speak, somebody of interest. We’ve had the superintendent of schools, we’ve had Larry White, who’s doing the Shoreline Resiliency Project. We’ve had a number of people more than once to talk about their projects or their area of interest or what’s going on or what the future holds. And that’s received fairly well, although we would like more attendance and, as you’ve been to many a meeting, we could use more people there. I’ve pondered about, with as many members that we have, why can’t we get more active participation at members’ meeting? We’d like to get more people at the meeting and we’d like to get a more diverse crowd at the meeting.

Like, more than just Ward 1.

Well, yeah, but in terms of race. [Cambridge] is 50-50 and we’re not getting 50-50. An interesting thing happened. We used to charge $20 a year to be a member when we first started out and we hovered around 60 to 80 members. And then we decided to drop the membership fee and, as you can tell by the numbers, that was worthwhile. We really increased our membership and contributions. We ended up about the same as and we don’t spend a lot of money.

What do you use the money on?

Well, meetings and stuff, advertising the meetings, filming the meetings. We had to rent any room space when the library closed down. So, that kind of stuff. So, we’d like to get more diversity. An interesting thing is that we used to be primarily in Ward 1. Now we’ve got a lot of members in the outlying section, the new area next to Long Wharf and all around. And we’ve done some stuff. In fact, the last city manager put $15,000 in the budget to fix little things that we brought up. We went down to him for Blackwater Landing, behind the Dollar General Store, and they wanted a fence put in and they couldn’t get the city to pay attention. We went down and talked to the city manager and he agreed to put a fence in and he said he wished he’d done more about it because it really didn’t get to him, the request. So, he put 15,000 in the budget for stuff like that. The people brought it to the attention, not just CAN, but anybody bringing stuff that they had a little flexibility to do, minor stuff, you know, okay, which we thought that was listening to the public.

So, what other activities is CAN involved with?

Well, we’ve got several subgroups. We have one on [Cambridge Waterfront Development, Inc] that follows what they’re doing and trying to dig in and figure out what’s going on there. We have another subgroup that’s concerned about Cannery Park and what’s happening and not happening there. And I just met with the city manager on the marina committee.

So, what are CAN’s plans for 2025?

Well, right now we’re in the process of developing our priorities. We had a meeting in December to talk about priorities, and what came up was One, the publication of minutes is the most important issue that we do the reporting on. CWDI was Two, code enforcement issues is Three. And then it gets a little difficult because it depends on how many people we have to work on it. And we got some people working on the Cannery Way, which is a wonderful project. And there’s money for Cannery Park and the bike trail, but there’s not an overall concept. So, we’d like to come up with ideas. It could be a very nice project. So, CAN would like to get involved and get some issues going there. And of course, Cambridge Harbor. CAN was very opposed to the Y[MCA] moving down there. We had a survey, we had 680-some people respond to the survey. 85% were opposed to going down. And the main reason, the nonprofit going into what everybody considers the economic engine of the city. This should generate money through taxes and stuff, and you’re putting a nonprofit right in the middle of it.

Second, they were concerned about what was going to happen to the vacant school building where the Y is now. That’s the two big ones. But then you have the other ones like the safety issue of people getting to the Y, especially the youth. It’s right on the edge of the city instead of in the middle of the city. So, we’re very opposed to that. We’re opposed to building a 125-foot slip marina in there, which would be in direct competition with the city marina, which right now is only at 60% capacity. So it’s like, what were the city planners thinking? And the answer to that is there was one project at a time. There needs to be overall planning going on for the city. And it’s that feeling of frustration that our members have given us that we try to pass on to the city. I mean, I just met with the city manager yesterday and talked about exactly that. You need overall planning of what the city’s going to do.

What are your hopes for the future of CAN?

We’d like to see more diversity. And one of those things we’re going to be working on next year is how do we find out what people want and what they don’t want. It’s a difficult thing. And you know as a reporter, you get people who speak out, you can hear those opinions, but you don’t know what everybody wants. And I think CAN is probably one of the better methods of getting. So we have the capability of doing very sophisticated surveys and you can’t overuse that. But we’d like to use it more to get people’s temperature on different topics. A woman, Kim Miller, who is taking over as secretary, has a statistical background and knows how to do surveys and knows how to read the surveys more importantly when they come in and how to do the questions so you get the answers that you’re looking for.