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The Port Towns' intergovernmental cooperation was on showcase to a group of Nicaraguan officials visiting the area last week as part of a U.S. State Department trip to learn about American democracy and governance.

Officials from the Port Towns, which are Bladensburg, Colmar Manor, Cottage City and Edmonston, took five Nicaraguan officials on a tour Oct. 29 that included Bladensburg Waterfront Park, Colmar Manor's ball fields, Cottage City's community garden and the CSX bridge overpass.

The projects highlighted the cooperation between not just the four small towns, but also between county, state and federal agencies.

The visit was part of a three-week long trip that is taking the officials to different areas around the country. It concludes Nov. 14 in Pensacola, Fla.

"The main goal of this program was really for them to have an opportunity to observe municipal government firsthand in the United States," said Carol Grabauskas, Deputy Director for the state department's Office of International Visitors.

Grabauskas said more than 4,000 visitors come every year as guests of the U.S. government. They are selected by American embassies abroad.

Cottage City Commissioner Aileen McChesney (Ward 1) said she was contacted by Phelps Stokes, the agency which arranged the Nicaraguan visitors' program, to discuss municipal government and show how the Port Towns have collaborated with each other and county, state and nonprofit agencies.

Marvin Garcia, councilman from Ocotal, a city in northwest Nicaragua, said the Port Towns visit was enlightening.

"We have learned about how mayors and city halls run and we have found the big difference with our system is that the mayors and council members are not elected by political groups here," he said.

Garcia added that in Nicaragua, political differences along party lines can become a barrier to getting projects accomplished.

Harold Bacon, mayor of Nicaraguan city Bluefields, said he was impressed by the Colmar Manor ball fields, which were built upon a landfill operating during the 1950s. The rolling hills now host 11 baseball fields and a soccer field.

"We have a lot of problems with garbage," Bacon said.

The towns do share commonalties. Towns from both countries are comparable in size, and some of them in Nicaragua grow and ship tobacco, much like Bladensburg once did when it served as a major tobacco port.

The export of the tobacco, however, has caused major silt problems in the Anacostia River so that it has to be dredged every year, said Colmar Manor Councilwoman Sadara Barrow.

"For all of you in tobacco-growing areas, beware of what it does to your waterways," McChesney said during the tour. About 12,000 people live in the Port Towns, and McChesney said that by joining forces, the four towns carry more weight in getting federal and state grants and attention.

The Nicaraguan officials commented that their small towns could benefit from a similar partnership.

"We may show our towns that small cities can become sister cities," Garcia said.