Carroll Co. Commissioner Howard holds town hall

Carroll County Commissioner Doug Howard, R-District 5, held a town hall style meeting Tuesday night, speaking on and answering questions about the form of Carroll County's government, education and the Freedom Area Comprehensive Plan, among the topics.

More than 60 people came out to the South Carroll Senior and Community Center in Eldersburg to hear Howard speak and to ask him questions in what became a conversation that was at times emotional.

One man asked Howard about state education requirements.

"My 17-year-old granddaughter told me: 'Grandad, we have to get rid of Common Core math. I haven't learned anything,' " he said. "You guys can call the governor; the governor can get that crap out of the school system."

Howard said that he would also like to know why Carroll County could not lessen the burden of standardized testing required of teachers and students, but also said that he believed the typical conversation about schools in the county — focused on buildings and enrollment — miss the mark.

"We need to have robust conversation about education, and I don't think we are," he said. "I don't hear us talking about how we can make our schools more inviting to the best teachers."

Howard also noted that he would like to see the Carroll County Board of Commissioners and the Board of Education meet during evening hours more often rather than during the morning or afternoon. At least one community-member agreed.

"I don't want to see the same kinds of people running for county commissioner year in and year out," a woman said, saying that people whom she had urged to run could not commit to the hours and schedule of a commissioner. "It is not representing the average adult in this community."

And when it comes to representing people in the community, Howard said that he believed the Freedom Area needs more representation in local government.

"I believe we need to ask this board or the next for some sort of ability to govern this area," he said. "I am going to ask for the formation of a citizen advisory committee."

One woman in attendance took issue with that idea.

"It sounds to me like you want to create an extra layer of government in this area," she said. "I live in the county because I don't want that extra layer."

Howard assured the audience that he does not want to expand Sykesville or create another municipal government in the Freedom District, but would like the commissioners to give the area more resources.

"We're being asked to take on the burdens of growth without the benefits that are being spread across the whole county," he said.

Conversations then turned to the Freedom Plan, a long overdue, state mandated guide for the long-term development and zoning of the Freedom District. Approved by the Carroll County Planning Commission in July, the plan will now come before the board of commissioners, who will decide whether to modify or reject it, or adopt it, which would begin its implementation.

The planning process generated for the plan generated a large amount of public comment, much of it critical of the process itself as well as the plan, which many people at past public meetings felt would lead to too much development in the Freedom District. One woman at Tuesday's meeting echoed those concerns, recognizing that more commercial development would provide tax revenue, but at a cost.

"If the community needs more services, what about the infrastructure, like roads?" She asked, noting that she had recently been in an accident on Md. 26/Liberty Road. "If you think there is more commercial development needed, we need that infrastructure — Liberty Road is horrible now."

Another man voiced his concern that new developments would bring violent crime into Eldersburg from Randallstown.

"There was a carjacking the other day. I have never heard of a carjacking in Carroll County in all my life," the man said. "Be careful about what you allow to be built so you don't attract the crime."

While Howard said he was not necessarily in favor of higher density development and thought, for instance, that big box stores made for poor commercial developments — he prefers business parks and employment campuses — it's also not possible to control development on a business by dwelling basis.

"This is the fallacy, that we can say, 'We don't want that there; we'll put a Nordstroms there," Howard said.

The Board of Commissioners takes up the issue of the Freedom Plan at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Room 003 of the Carroll County Office Building, at 225 N. Court St., Westminster. For more information on the meeting, visit http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/news/local/cc-commissioners-freedom-plan-20170817-story.html.