Our guest on this episode is Mikele Dahlen of “Save Connelly Mill Park,” who explains the conditions under which the County accepted the donation of this environmentally-valuable site, a portion of which is presently being used to mine sand for use at the landfill. The donation documents called for a low-impact public park to be created after the sand was exhausted, but despite this commitment, the County Executive seems dead-set on using it for other purposes. Her most recent plan is to use Connelly Mill to dispose of large volumes of dredge spoils presently stockpiled at Sharps Point, thus destroying its most valuable natural features and foreclosing any possibility that a park can be established. We discuss the many other uses for the dredge spoils that will be far more beneficial, significantly less costly and will do much less environmental damage (including potential contamination of the county's subsurface water supply). Clearly, using Connelly Mill for disposal of dredge spoils is far from being its highest and best use. So why is the Executive continuing to pursue high-impact, industrial uses for Connelly Mill? Perhaps it's retribution against the residents of nearby communities who exposed her duplicity with the Safari at the Quarry debacle, which cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars. How can we trust an Executive who actively seeks to break the County's promise for nefarious purposes? The short answer is: WE CAN'T.

Big environmental questions and concerns remain about whether or not Wicomico County will keep its promise to develop the long-discussed Connelly Mill Park in Delmar.

The dredging of the Wicomico River has also created fears that the County Executive’s office is going to break its promise to create the park and turn Connelly Mill Park into a dumping ground for possibly contaminated dredge spoils. What is at stake and what could happen?

We are joined this week by local Delmar community leader and park advocate Mikele Dahlen to discuss what is really happening with the Connelly Mill Park Project.

Note the timestamps below:

3:40 Park Plans in flux and the CIP

9:45 Why is the park in Jeopardy?

10:58 Will Connelly Mill become a waste disposal site?

14:25 Save Connelly Mill Park

17:56 Julie Giordano caught in a lie about the Park

20:34 Trish Melvin’s Analysis