Mayor W. Benjamin Brown continued his one-man lobbying effort Wednesday against the City Council's desire for $1.3 million in the coming year's budget for new city office space.
At a City Hall press conference, Brown derided the council for forging ahead with money for the project before determining how much space is needed or how much theproject ultimately will cost.
"The council has in its mind what it wants to do and is proceeding accordingly," Brown said.
Brown also was critical of a $35,000 consultant's study of city government space needs because the final report is not due until mid-May, after the council is scheduled to voteon the budget.
"I think it's ridiculous," he said. "It should've been before the public long ago."
Council members and city administrators have said they are unwilling to estimate the final cost of the project until the study comes back. Brown said he thinks the project will cost more than $3 million.
On Wednesday, the mayor called for debate at the May 6 public budget on the project and on its financing.
The council has proposed paying for the project with money collected from city impact fees on new development. Brown counters thata bond issue would be more appropriate because it would spread the financial burden over more than one generation of taxpayers.
The council said a bond issue would double the final cost of the project.
The current year's budget includes $270,000 for the project.
Thepublic hearing is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. May 6 at City Hall.
PLANNERS TO MEET
DATELINE: MOUNT AIRY
MOUNT AIRY -- Town planners will take a second look at plans for a 41-home development north of town tomorrow.
The Planning Commission will review revised sketch plans for Nottingham Village, a single-family home development planned near the intersection of Route 27 and Watersville Road.
The commission also will discuss a revised plan for the proposed Twin Arch Business Park, planned near Route 27 and Twin Arch Road.
The meeting beginsat 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall.
CHURCH ENTRANCE CLOSED
DATELINE: WESTMINSTER
WESTMINSTER -- County building inspectors have closed the entrance to the Church of the Open Door's Downtown Chapel because of loose bricks near the roof of the West Main Street building.
Although warning notices have been placed on the building, the main part of the structure is safe to inhabit, county building code officials said.
Church officials have said the problem should be solved soon.
Formerly the Carroll Theatre, the building has been owned by the Church of the Open Door for the past two years.
DECISION DUE IN MAY
TheMaryland Board of Education will decide next month whether to overturn the Carroll school board's refusal to grant an Eldersburg parent awaiver to the district's bus-stop switching policy.
Susan Ballas,a nurse, sought the waiver so her third-grade daughter could get offat a different stop, 1 mile from their home, twice a week.
LIBRARY CONSIDERS FEE
DATELINE: GREEMOUNT
GREENMOUNT -- The Carroll County Board of Trustees considered a fee for book reserves during its monthly meeting Wednesday at the North Carroll Library.
Patrons would pay 30 cents to cover postage for the notices sent out when the materials come into the branch.
Other library systems that charge reserve fees are Howard County, 35 cents; Enoch Pratt, Frederick, Harford, Montgomery and Prince George's, 50 cents; and Baltimore County, 55 cents.
In other library news:
* Board members tabled a proposed employee furlough policy, created in case state budget cuts are more severe next year.
The policy, which is expected to be considered and adopted at the May meeting, would specifically outline how layoffs -- if necessary -- would occur.
* Members discussed state legislation that would allow the state to take Social Security money from public schools and libraries, reallocating it to the Schools for Successprogram.
Library director Martha M. Makosky was unsure whether this would affect the Carroll system.
WIDERMAN PLAN RETURNS
DATELINE: HAMPSTEAD
HAMPSTEAD -- A proposal to build 290 homes near HighfieldEstates again will dominate the agenda of the Planning and Zoning Commission at 7 p.m. Monday in the Town Hall.
The plan had come before the commission at the last meeting, but members wanted time to examine it and to get recommendations from county planners and engineers.
The commission rejected an earlier version that had 308 homes onthe 127 acres off Sunset Road. Members asked the developers, Claude B. and Katherine Widerman and Newman M. and Marie Marsilius, to come back with a plan that had fewer units overall and only single-family houses and duplexes.
The new plan includes wells prepared by the developers that would be hooked into the town water supply. It also calls for the developers to turn over to the town a historic cemetery on the property.
In past meetings, several residents of the Highfield area have told commission members they fear the increased trafficthat a development of that size would bring.
Commission members said the town plans to hire consultants to conduct a traffic study ofthe area at the expense of the developers.
BOARD OKS APARTMENT
DATELINE: HAMPSTEAD
HAMPSTEAD -- The Board of Zoning Appeals approved arequest by a man to convert a single family house by turning the second floor into an apartment.
Elmer Martin, of Maple Grove Road just north of town, got approval for the conversion at a house he owns in the 4000 block Gill Ave.
Councilman Gary W. Bauer, a member of the appeals board, said he had been concerned about whether parking would be available for prospective tenants, but learned parking is available in a municipal lot 300 feet away, on the other side of Main Street.
Also, the house has a driveway, which could be used by one orboth tenants.
The meeting at which the board decided lasted 15 minutes. No one showed up or wrote to oppose the decision, Bauer said. Adjacent property owners had been notified of the request, he said.
DIXON FAVORS DUAL LIGHTS
Delegate Richard N. Dixon, D-Carroll, wrote to the County Commissioners last week in favor of a dual lighting system on the WGRX radio tower, adding his comments to those from the public hearing April 22.
Dixon said it was significant that the dual lighting system would be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration, reducing the argument that the strobe lights would be safer.
"One fact not mentioned during the hearing is that WGRX/WTTR has four radio towers within two miles of the Carroll County Airport," Dixon said. "These two towers have had red lights since their construction over 30 years ago."
In contrast, the tower near Hampstead is nearly seven miles from the airport, he said.
"As a former student pilot, the WGRX tower in Hampstead is not in the landing path of the present or proposed runways at the Carroll County Regional Airport, Jack Poage Field," Dixon said.
One reason Carroll's delegation introduced legislation providing for public hearings in such situations isthat citizens were not allowed to express their opinions prior to the tower being built, he said.
AIRPORT DEALS ANNOUNCED
The County Commissioners have announced their intention to purchase two parcels of land totaling 33.6 acres for a combined $251,700 in connection withan expansion project at Carroll County Regional Airport/Jack B. Poage Field.
The commissioners intend to purchase 19.3 acres on MeadowBranch Road from Clara J. Miller for $119,700, and 14.3 acres on thesame road from Charles J. Miller Jr. for $132,000.
The county is expanding the runway at the airport so it will be able to accommodatelarger aircraft and more air traffic.
Final action on the purchase must be made at a public meeting.
BUDGET BOOK PREPARED
The county's proposed fiscal 1992 budget document has been prepared for distribution.
The $115.3 million spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1 is a reduction from the current year's $117.6 million operating budget.
Slumping revenue in the last year has forced government cutbacks and reduced projections. The proposed property tax rateremains level at $2.35 per $100 of assessed property value.
"All agencies and the Board (of County Commissioners) have been forced to re-examine services and the manner in which these services are provided," the commissioners wrote in a message to Carroll residents.
"We firmly believe Carroll County has a leaner, more efficient government as a result of these actions. We do not mean to imply that some ofthe cuts will not cause inconvenience and sometimes pain to some sectors of our community. We do, however, believe the proposed budget isthe most appropriate expenditure plan for our current revenue picture."
The commissioners will have budget information meeting from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. May 9 in Room 300A of the County Office Building in Westminster. The public hearing is at 7:30 p.m. May 16 at Westminster High School.
ACTION TAKEN ON PARKING
DATELINE: MANCHESTER
MANCHESTER -- The Town Council Wednesday decided to eliminate one roadside parking space along Grafton Street in an attempt to alleviatewhat some residents called a dangerous traffic situation.
However, Councilman Geoffrey Black called the solution a "compromise" that does not adequately address the safety issue. The motion, introduced by Councilman Larry L. Gouker, passed by a 4-1 vote, with Black dissenting.
About 20 residents convened at Town Hall to discuss problemsat the intersection of Grafton and Chestnut streets. Grafton Streetresidents generally were concerned that street parking would be eliminated outside their homes. Chestnut Street residents complained thatparked vehicles along Grafton Street, especially 4-wheel drive trucks often parked near the intersection, block their view and make turning hazardous.
Some residents suggested making Grafton Street one way and eliminating parking on one side of the street, but the councilrejected the idea. Instead, the council agreed to extend a yellow line on the curb by 20 feet to signify that parking is prohibited.
In other news:
* The council approved a proclamation honoring Kathryn L. Riley, the town's clerk-treasurer since 1968, for her dedication to the job. The honor is intended to coincide with Municipal ClerksWeek from May 5 to 11.
The proclamation says that Riley is one ofa "dying breed" of workers in fast-vanishing small towns.
* The council agreed to send a letter to Carroll Public Schools Superintendent R. Edward Shilling and to Board of Education members urging that they move a new Manchester elementary higher on the school construction project priority list.
The school is not planned until about theyear 2000, said Mayor Earl A.J. "Tim" Warehime Jr.
Manchester Elementary, which has had portable classrooms to ease overcrowding for years, recently was renovated to expand capacity. But the school stillis overcrowded, even with the renovation, council members said.
The county has implemented a redistricting plan that sends some Manchester-area students to Hampstead schools.
SENIOR HOUSING DISCUSSED
A Howard County developer and his Westminster attorney presented plans Friday to the County Board of Zoning Appeals for a 75-unit retirement apartment complex in Eldersburg.
Richard Colandrea, of Columbia, needs approval from the board to allow the apartments as an exception on land zoned for 1/2-acre residential lots. The project is planned for the south side of Liberty Road, east of Route 32 and west of the Bonnie Brae subdivision.
A landscape architect and a property appraiser testified in favor of the project. The landscape architect said the developer had taken care to preserve sensitive environmental areas and a stream on the 6.8-acre property. The appraiser said a retirement development should not adversely affect property values of surrounding residences or businesses.