The first meeting of the newly formed St. Mary’s College and Historic St. Mary’s City Capital Design Advisory committee (CDA) will be held on Thursday, June 19, at 7 p.m. in Schaefer Hall, Room 106, at St. Mary’s College of Maryland (SMCM).  The primary agenda item for this meeting is the College’s proposed new amphitheater.  This meeting is free and open to the public.  For more information, contact Charles Jackson at 240-895-4412.

The CDA was created by SMCM and Historic St. Mary’s City to provide an interface for community input to their capital development planning.  The CDA is charged with seeking public comment in its review of master plan and design proposals for major capital improvement and landscape projects on the St. Mary’s College campus and the grounds of Historic St. Mary’s City.

Upon completion of their review, the CDA will provide comments for the adoption, modification, or rejection of proposals to the Building and Grounds Committee of the College’s Board of Trustees, and/or  the HSMC Commission Executive Board.  In its review and formulation of comments, the CDA will focus on the following issues: quality of design, visual impact, stewardship of significant historical resources, stewardship of environmental resources, and sensitivity to community interests.

Membership of the CDA includes representatives from established community organizations, the college, and the city.  These include the following:  Chip Jackson, SMCM co-chair; Roger Hill, HSMC co-chair; James Hardin, Trinity Parish representative; Gary Williams, St. Mary’s River Watershed Association representative; Ingrid Swann, St. Mary’s County Arts Council representative; Raymond Dodson, St. Mary’s Chamber of Commerce representative; Bryan Siebert, Citizens for the Preservation of St. Mary’s City representative; Pete Himmelheber, St. Mary’s County Historical Society representative; Julia King, faculty representative; Mac McClintock, college staff representative; and Sunny Schnitzer, student representative.

The public meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the Schaefer Lecture Hall, Room 106.  In addition to receiving a presentation on the proposed new amphitheater, this meeting will include an overview of the SMCM master plan, the HSMC master plan, and the college early-warning security system.  Each topic will be followed by a discussion and public comments.