Recreation and Parks officials are planning to buy 120 acres of waterfront property to connect two county-owned parcels and create a 200-acre regional park on Stony Creek in Altoona Beach.
The purchase was one of three major North County parks projects that recreation officials presented to the Planning Advisory Board yesterday.
The projects are slated for completion in the next five years.
Parks officials also want $757,800 to build an outdoor skating rink next to the Arundel Center North in Glen Burnie in the next year. A $7.5 million swim center is being planned for 2001 and 2002.
County Executive John G. Gary said soon after his election that North County residents could expect to receive some key amenities during his administration.
Mr. Gary, a Glen Burnie High School graduate, is interested in providing some equity for North County, which lacks many of the amenities that other county residents enjoy and is upset at the prospect of a jail being built in Glen Burnie.
"Residents from North County pay taxes, too," said Larry R. Telford, a Gary spokesman, noting that Glen Burnie redevelopment is one of the county executive's goals. "That's one of the reasons we hope to bring [a] community college [branch] up to Glen Burnie."
The Stony Creek property would connect two 40-acre parks to form the regional park, said Jack Keene, chief of planning and construction for the parks department. The park would front Big Burley Cove on one side and Stony Creek on another.
Parks officials expect to spend $1,196,000 to buy the land. The money would come from a state grant for buying open space. County officials expect to receive more than $3.5 million this year in open space funds.
The state money will also be used to buy land for parks in Crownsville, Riva and the Crofton Athletic Complex.
PAB member Newton Gentry III questioned what he considered the high price of the land at Stony Creek, as well as the $1.2 million officials want in the 1997 fiscal year for property to expand the Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary.
"Is this the best way to spend the money?" he asked.
Mr. Keene said the price for the Stony Creek property might seem high, but there are few waterfront parcels available in North County. Though there are several waterfront parks in South County, North County residents "have rather limited access to the water," he said.
If the County Council approves the purchase when it votes on the budget in May, parks officials will make another request for money to make limited improvements. There is no scheduled opening date for the park, Mr. Keene said.
"Environmentally, it's a fairly sensitive property," he said. "I think the type of development we would be looking at would be for fairly passive uses."