Crosswalks: Smart Growth in Real Places

 This is David Jenkins, your host for Crosswalks, Smart Growth, Stronger Communities, podcast and videos, now available on YouTube, YouTube Music, and Substack.   This is a good summary of the County’s required update to the 2026 Comp Plan, including What is a Comprehensive Plan,  2016 Plan background and the timeline for preparation/approval, and the critical public engagement process.  Reference...

After completing a rewarding four-year term on the La Plata Town Council, I’m excited to rebrand and expand the La Plata Ward 4 Update podcast and YouTube channel. Page 2 - The new platform, Crosswalks: Smart Growth, Stronger Communities, will bring fresh stories, expert conversations, and thoughtful insights on the issues that shape how we grow and live — planning, transportation, housing, econom...

 Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views of the Town of La Plata.  This is the fourth in a series of podcasts about the Town Council’s review of the FY 2026 Operating, Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), and Enterprise Funds (water, sewer, sanitation, stormwater management) proposed budgets.  This episode is about the Town Council’s discussion of the proposed Capital Budget ...

 This is a quick video providing clarification and context about campaign finances from questions and comments from recent La Plata Town Council candidate forums.   When filing as a candidate, a Certificate of Nomination,  Financial Disclosure Statement, is required and includes:  Schedule A – Real Property Interests  Schedule B – Interests in Corporations and Partnerships  Schedule C – Interests...

What is Ex Parte Communications?  When decision-making processes (e.g., in local government) give the appearance, real or imagined, of being one-sided or prejudiced, and therefore, full due process is not provided to the public.  This is important to ensure impartiality and fairness by the Planning Commission and Board of Appeals as they review projects for consistency with the Town Ordinance, the...

 The 4/5th Democratic Club hosted a La Plata candidate forum at the Green Turtle, La Plata, on Monday, April 14.  All candidates attended: Mayor, Jeannine E. James (incumbent), Ralph Wayne Winkler  Ward I, Paul C. Guttenberg, David Winkler (incumbent) Ward II, Richard Gilpin, Patrick McCormick  Ward III, Tarinna Olley, Gregory Sampson, Jr.  Ward IV, Tyjon C "TJ" Johnson – unopposed     Q...

Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views of the Town of La Plata.  This is the third in a series of podcasts about the Town Council’s review of the FY 2026 Operating, Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), and Enterprise Funds (water, sewer, sanitation, stormwater management) proposed budgets.  This episode is about the Town Council’s third review and discussion of the proposed O...

 Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views of the Town of La Plata. This is the second podcast series about the Town Council’s review of the FY 2026 Operating, Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), and Enterprise Funds (water, sewer, sanitation, stormwater management) proposed budgets. This episode is about the Town Council’s second review of the proposed Operating Budget, and fi...

Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views of the Town of La Plata.  This is the first in a series of podcasts about the Town Council’s review of the FY 2026 Operating, Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), and Enterprise Funds (water, sewer, sanitation, stormwater management) proposed budgets.  This episode is about the Town Council’s first review of two proposed draft versions o...

This is David Jenkins, La Plata Town Council member from Ward 4 and your host for this podcast and video, now available on YouTube, and YouTube Music.  This is an excerpt from my last article for the forthcoming Spring 2025 Town Newsletter - my hopes for the incoming Town Council, in place May 10, 2025.   It's been a privilege and honor to serve on the Town Council. I am proud of the progress...

An update about: 2025 La Plata Town elections Town Manager Selection process Links: YouTube Video 2025 Election Candidates 

My Facebook Page (David Jenkins, Ward 4 Update) and podcast/video series (La Plata Ward 4 Update) are evolving to become Crosswalks, providing an independent, factual look at planning and development in Southern Maryland. Crosswalks will continue to bring you information, - from land use and zoning to economic development, housing, transportation, and infrastructure. I will break down the policies...

When David Jenkins, La Plata, Maryland Town Council member, attended the Local-Motive session “Parsing Through Your Local Budget to Find Some Real Answers”—co-presented by Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns and Michel Durand-Wood, author of the Dear Winnipeg blog—he left with a new mission: to take a hard look at his own city’s finances. Inspired by the session, David worked directly with Michel, who he...

This is the next episode in a series of podcasts and videos about La Plata’s budget, which aims to provide transparency and information as the Town Council prepares the FY 2026 budget. This episode is based on work by Strong Towns’s priority campaign – Transparent Local Accounting - “Local government should be the place where residents collectively shape their cities. But to do that, you need clea...

This episode is about the need for a La Plata Economic Development function. At the December 10, 2024, Town Council meeting, Town of La Plata Ordinance 24-20, Tourism Zones was introduced as a first reading. This is based on State enabling legislation enacted by the Maryland General Assembly in 2024, House Bill 1281/Senate Bill 0014 (Maryland Code, Local Government § 18-401), which enables municip...

The first episode in this series about La Plata’s budget was posted on December 16, 2024 , and talked about the preparation of the FY 2026, including the calendar of Town Council meetings, basic budget definitions, the different funds, revenue sources, and expenditures (how money is spent), and the Captial Improvement Plan (CIP).   This and later episodes provide information and transparency as th...

This episode and later ones will provide information and transparency as the Town Council prepares the FY 26 budget, which includes the operating budget, enterprise budget (water, sewer, trash/sanitation, stormwater management), and capital improvement plan (CIP).  References: Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Town Budget  Adopted Town of La Plata Calendar of Events Preparation and adoption on the Town FY 202...

This episode provides the results from La Plata’s 2024 National Community Survey, presented to the Town Council at our September 20, 2024, meeting.  In April 2024, the Town engaged Polco to conduct the National Community Survey (NCS) to ascertain public perceptions of La Plata and its general livability. The NCS consists of standard questions asked of all municipalities and a limited number of cus...

This is David Jenkins, La Plata Town Council member from Ward 4 and your host for this podcast and videos, now available on YouTube, and YouTube Music. This episode is about questions and frustration from many Town and County residents about a new 7-11 gas station starting construction at Rosewick Corner. Future podcasts/videos:  Why La Plata should have an economic development/placemaking functio...

This is a follow-up to my August 13, 2024, podcast and video – Speed and Traffic, and the article in the latest Town newsletter. There is a need for traffic calming options and a community/town cooperative program in our residential neighborhoods. This is needed to reduce speeding and prevent a tragedy from happening. Two recent incidents in Clarks Run  - first,  last week, a car did not stop when...

I want to follow up on my  October 8th  podcast/video, La Plata 2025 Election, why I’m not running for re-election, and my greatest regrets comments – the lack of a Town citizen participation/engagement program, and little resident participation with their town government. I want to tell you a different perspective about citizen engagement/participation learned from my recent Facebook post and the...

This is David Jenkins, La Plata Town Council member from Ward 4 and your host for this podcast and videos, now available on YouTube, and YouTube Music. The 2025 Town election schedule and new Town Ward Maps are provided in this episode. This also includes my intentions about the 2025 La Plata Town election. YouTube Video Link  Reference Links: Candidate Information, Nomination for Candidacy - Town...

This is an update to my September 23 video and September 25 podcast about The Housing Shortage -   Charles County.  The monthly Charles County Strong Towns Local Conversation on September 26th discussed affordable housing in Charles County, providing additional information about the County’s work for affordable housing.  Please note the town has or will shortly post the new Town Ward Map, adopted...

The Town needs to improve our citizen outreach and information sharing. This is a critical need, as seen from feedback from our FY 25 budget process. There were many negative comments about the lack of budget information, other than the minimal and required two-week public hearing notices and materials included on Town Council agendas. Let’s look at a better way from Strong Towns (Community Engage...

The first podcast/video in this series (posted August 19, 2024) was about the housing shortage from the Maryland perspective.  This podcast/video episode now focuses on Charles County. YouTube Video Link References: Charles County Planning Commission 2022 Annual Report - Pages 3,4 Maryland Department of Planning  2022 American Community Survey Pages 5,6,7   Charles County Comprehensive Plan, 2026,...