Catonsville has emerged as the leading contender for a $41 million police training center that until this year was destined for Sykesville in Carroll County.

Staffers for Gov. Parris N. Glendening, who in January angered Carroll officials by canceling plans to put the training center at Springfield Hospital Center, are seriously considering the grounds of another psychiatric institution -- Spring Grove Hospital Center -- as the new site.

"Just because of its location and its access to the [Baltimore] Beltway and I-95, the Spring Grove site has sort of emerged at the moment as the preferred site," said Glendening spokesman Ray Feldmann. Although there are other possible sites, Spring Grove is the only one Glendening aides are discussing with legislators.

The location for the center has been a topic of partisan sniping since Glendening said in January that Sykesville didn't meet his "Smart Growth" test of guarding against sprawl. Glendening argued that the additional traffic didn't make sense for such a rural area, but Carroll Republicans have grumbled that the Democratic governor was playing politics.

Now the potential switch is anticipated as an economic boost to Catonsville, though officials who represent that Baltimore County area have the same concern -- increased traffic -- that Glendening cited in dooming the Sykesville site.

"So you sell a couple more burgers on Main Street," said Del. Donald E. Murphy, a Baltimore County Republican who was briefed about the new site by the governor's staff earlier this week. "You're also going to get 500 more cars a day on those roads. That's not a fair trade."

Tentative plans for a training center at Spring Grove include academic buildings, dormitories, a cafeteria, gymnasium and indoor firing range, all of which would require renovation of existing buildings and some new construction.

One road that leads to the hospital, Wade Avenue, is a neighborhood street that empties onto a busy stretch of Frederick Road just west of the Beltway. Another entrance is from Valley Road off Wilkens Avenue, which may be the preferred access route if the training center is built.

At times, Catonsville residents have mounted forceful opposition to proposed development within the community, battling a research park at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and fighting against group homes and assisted-living facilities. Most recently, a small group voiced opposition to plans to build a Friendly's Restaurant in the heart of the town.

Carroll legislators are fighting, though against long odds, to keep the training center in Sykesville. They argue that with a police drivers' training facility already at the site, and a firing range under construction, it doesn't make sense to put the rest of the complex somewhere else.

"It's obvious you're going to have a lot of traffic between Spring Grove and Sykesville in order to get training done," said Del. Joseph M. Getty, a Carroll Republican. "I don't see any Smart Growth advantages to Spring Grove as compared to Sykesville."

Sen. Larry E. Haines, also a Carroll Republican, introduced a bill yesterday requiring the governor to build the training center in Sykesville, and House budget-writers have put the same requirement in their version of the budget. But both attempts are expected to fail.

The Carroll delegation's last resort is the three-member Board of Public Works, which must approve most state contracts -- including any to build the training center. Comptroller William Donald Schaefer and Treasurer Richard N. Dixon, who is from Carroll, sit on the board with Glendening, and both have criticized the governor for scrapping the Sykesville site.

Nevertheless, Glendening plans to push ahead with a new site, regardless of opposition from some legislators and his colleagues on the board.

"He's not going to change his mind about it," Feldmann said. "Let's not hold it up anymore because some people disagree with the fact that the governor wants it somewhere else."

Pub Date: 3/18/99