Anne Arundel County officials have scuttled a plan to sell a downtown Annapolis park for possible development, hoping that the city will be willing to take over management of the county-owned land.
Alan R. Friedman, county director of government relations, asked the council at its Monday meeting to withdraw a plan submitted in December by County Executive John R. Leopold.
Annapolis Mayor Joshua J. Cohen said he is reviewing a draft agreement that calls for the city to lease the land at no cost for the next three years, though he said he's open to potentially developing the land.
Councilman Chris Trumbauer, an Annapolis Democrat, said he helped broker a pending agreement between the city and county in which the county would retain ownership of the park. The city would lease the land and be responsible for maintenance.
"We were able to find a compromise that takes the financial pressure off of the county and allows the community to continue to enjoy using the open space," said Trumbauer. "It's a win for everybody."
The city's Recreation and Parks Department would absorb the approximately $20,000 annual cost to maintain the park and would be responsible for routine, maintenance, repairs and beautification, Cohen said. The county would remain responsible for major repairs.
"It's a valued community asset," said Cohen, who said the city is looking into private funding and plans to ask community groups to commit to donating "sweat equity" to clean up the park. "The county's been very cooperative and receptive to working it out, and I appreciate County Executive Leopold's collaborative spirit."
Cohen said the three-year lease agreement will give the city and county time to come up with a long-term solution.
"I think it's highly underutilized right now," said Cohen, a Democrat. "Frankly, I have questions about whether its current condition and use is really the best use for the property. … I think new street-front retail can create more activity there and help anchor that part of West Street, particularly at night when it's sort of a dead space."
Whitmore Park, a county-owned, half-acre park at Calvert and Clay Streets, was established in the 1970s and had fallen into disrepair in recent years. County officials called it a "financial drain."
A decade-old study of the park called for up to $70,000 in maintenance to repair cracks in the concrete foundation, fix a failing brick retaining wall and to make other repairs. A recent appraisal valued the property on Calvert Street at $642,000, according to county officials.
Frederick G. Schram, director of the county's Office of Central Services, said that the county considered selling the land to raise much-needed revenue for the county and that the park's crumbling infrastructure was proving too costly.
"We always try to look for revenue sources; however, there were concerns in this case, and rightly so," said Schram. "This is a piece of property that part of the community does in fact use. Once they brought some concerns to our attention, we wanted to try to resolve them in a proactive fashion. Councilman Trumbauer talked to Mayor Cohen, and that set things in motion."
Schram said he expects for both parties to have an agreed-upon plan in the next couple of weeks.
Erik Evans, executive director of the First Sundays Arts Festival at the park, spoke out against the plan to sell the park. Evans said he was pleased with the pending agreement.
"Now the real work begins with raising funds to get the park back into shape," said Evans.