Sun editorial cavalier about hospital fears
Before your Feb. 23 editorial about future use of the downtown Annapolis hospital site, I had avoided potentially polarizing comments in The Sun when your news staff wrote about the hospital board's selection process.
But your editorial position warranted comment. The editorial was cavalier in characterizing residents concerns as "exaggerated" and "overblown."
You did recognize that "it is natural that the residents would be wary" about the future use of "the hospital's strategic location in the heart of Annapolis' historic district."
The viability of that district for residential life is now threatened by a lack of basic services and loss of population. There has been no grocery store for years, and two months ago the last drugstore downtown and a bookstore closed.
This important land-use decision will either support the residential character of the surrounding neighborhood or accelerate the trend that is rapidly converting downtown into a place that no longer meets community needs, and where no one without an automobile can live.
Despite its importance, this is a decision that neither residents nor elected policy-makers control, only the hospital. You are confident the residents will have their say because a couple of us sit on an advisory committee the hospital put together.
Do not naively overestimate the role of an advisory committee, especially one which is chaired and selected by the hospital, and which has been informed that it will be permitted to see only a few select proposals pre-chosen by the hospital's Board of Trustees. Despite your expectations, this closed committee could be the only forum for resident comment. There may be no public hearing, depending on the new use that is selected.
The hospital provides essential and excellent service. Its location has permitted our community for nearly a century to readily offer support to our residents at times of birth and death or medical crisis. Many of its employees are shuttled into town so as not to clog our colonial streets or park in front of our homes.
Its quiet, round-the-clock use is preferable to a huge office block in our residential midst that would go dark at 5 p.m., inviting crime and inhibiting pedestrian activity on the principal neighborhood thru street in the evenings.
New residential and service uses would be welcome on this important site.
The buildings the hospital now seeks to sell for a "handsome return" were heavily financed by the public, not only with money contributed by a gallery of generous donors, but by years of funding from state and county taxpayers and free land and early improvements given to the hospital by the state.
Now the hospital has hung up a "for sale" sign. We are simply trying to ensure that citizen concerns receive serious and deserved consideration, more than was volunteered in the past.
I do think all interested parties -- city, hospital, residents and future developer of the site -- will desire to work together. While tourists and pub-crawlers continue enjoying our downtown, we don't want community life in Maryland's historic capital to become an anachronism.
Sandy Cohen, Annapolis
The writer is with the Murray Hill Residents Association.
Md. Wine Festival is not Hardesty's
I wish to bring to your attention certain inaccuracies in your March 2 news story "Restaurant Cash Trail May Lead to Costa Rica."
The Maryland Wine Festival is not a Jerry Hardesty festival. It is a well-respected wine festival conducted by the Carroll County Farm Museum as a fund-raiser to help defray the operating costs of the museum. The Maryland Wine Festival receives the wholehearted support of the Association of Maryland Wineries. Virtually all Maryland wineries participate in the festival each year.
Mr. Hardesty produces two festivals, one in Anne Arundel County and one in Ocean City.
Neither of these festivals is supported by the Association of Maryland Wineries because under the economic terms offered by Mr. Hardesty wineries are not even able to recover their costs -- not because "winery owners wanted a bigger share of the profits," as the news story suggests.
Albert M. Copp, Glen Arm
The writer is president of the Association of Maryland Wineries.
On school funding, it's eerily peaceful
What a difference a year makes: This time last year, the school board, unions, teachers and parents were demanding miracles in funding from Anne Arundel County Executive John G. Gary.
This year, the docile school board accepted the budget as proposed by the superintendent. The president of the school board now apparently understands county-funding difficulties. The teachers union will be ever so happy to get a 3 percent raise. We find unanimous agreement for whatever Janet Owens deems to do.
Wonder what will happen the first time she says "no"? Just what is so unique with our school system anyway that we have to look at double-digit increases year after year? Baltimore County apparently only needs 5 percent more; Prince George's County 6 percent more; Carroll, Howard and Harford counties, also 5- to 8-percent increase requests.
More attention should be given to quality construction in schools. Why should 40 percent have leaky roofs? The last I heard, the system was trying to get money back from builders. Whatever happened to those attempts?
John J. Miara, Pasadena
County police falling farther behind on pay
I am a member of the Anne Arundel County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 70. Our organization represents first-line police officers who work every hour of every day to ensure that Anne Arundel County remains a desirable place to live, work and play.
Our membership is in the process of negotiating a new labor contract. This year's negotiation is critical to members of FOP 70 and the citizens of Anne Arundel County.
During the past several years, police officers in this county have fallen far behind in pay, pension and benefits compared to other agencies in the Baltimore-Washington corridor. Our membership is concerned that if the disparity is not addressed, the county may never be able to "catch up," and offer competitive salaries. The quality of law enforcement in Anne Arundel County would decline and public safety would be impacted.
Without competitive salaries and benefits, experienced officers will leave and new recruits will be those rejected by other departments, coming to Anne Arundel as a last resort.
A recent salary comparison by the Maryland State Police Troopers Association revealed that Anne Arundel County police officers are among the lowest-paid in the state. A closer look at the survey revealed astonishing disparities between Anne Arundel County and surrounding jurisdictions.
Even though starting salaries do not vary significantly, major disparities occur at or about the 6-year mark in an officer's career with Anne Arundel County.
In fact, officers from about half of the other county police departments make the same or more during their sixth year of employment than our officers can expect to make even at the end of 30 years.
The disparity between top pay varies between 12.3 percent and 26.8 percent between other jurisdictions and Anne Arundel.
This data was obtained prior to recent contract negotiations by surrounding jurisdictions. After July 1, the disparities will greatly increase.
During her campaign, County Executive Janet S. Owens told our membership that she is "concerned with maintaining a competitive posture" of wages and benefits in the Anne Arundel County Police Department.
Last year, the Anne Arundel County Council passed a resolution which stated that it will take into consideration salaries and benefits of area jurisdictions when considering salaries and benefits for Anne Arundel County employees.
I hope that our elected officials stand by their words.
Our membership looks forward to a successful negotiation process which is fair for our members. They did not seek a professional career as a police officer to get rich.
However, they expect to be compensated fairly for the risks and responsibilities that they face every day. Please support your police officers. They need your help now.
P. E. Ingley, Annapolis
The writer is a member of Anne Arundel Lodge 70 of the Fraternal Order of Police.
Pub Date: 3/07/99