The Anne Arundel County Council will begin its review of a lengthy and complex redevelopment agreement for the former David Taylor Research Center near Annapolis at a meeting tonight at the Arundel Center.
Introduction of the legislation comes amid simmering controversy over the high cost of maintenance at the former Navy base and criticism by opponents who say the redevelopment plan is flawed. They worry it will lead to excessive development.
"The sad part about it is that the council is unlikely to pay any attention to anything we say," said Jim Martin, one of six members of the David Taylor Redevelopment Advisory Committee who voted against the agreement, which was drafted by representatives of the county, the military and developers.
Martin and the five other committee members spelled out their concerns in a recent letter to County Executive Janet S. Owens, who supports the redevelopment project as a way to create jobs and generate tax revenue. They have yet to hear from her, he said.
Opponents have shifted their lobbying efforts to council members, some of whom could suffer at the polls if they back the redevelopment plan. All but one member of the council are running for re-election this year.
"We will remember which members voted with us and which ones voted against us," Martin said.
After a brief reading of the legislation at the meeting tonight, the seven-member council is expected to hold its first public hearing on the issue July 15.
"I think there will be a meaningful debate, but whether the county executive's foursome joins the fray or not is another question," said Crofton Republican John J. Klocko III, referring to council members who rarely vote against bills backed by the Owens administration.
Owens, who is running for re-election, has high hopes for the project. Her administration has been working closely with Annapolis Partners, which includes businessman Maurice B. Tose of TeleCommunications Systems Inc., to turn the partially shuttered base into a high-tech office park on the Severn River. Businesses lease space from Anne Arundel County Economic Development Corp., which has served as a temporary landlord at the base since the Navy left in 1999.
Still in the works is an agreement between Anne Arundel County and the Navy to transfer the 46-acre property from the military to Annapolis Partners. Once that happens, an event that hinges on council adoption of the David Taylor legislation, demolition and construction could begin.
The redevelopment process - which has limped along for years - has not escaped controversy.
Last month, a government watchdog group accused Owens of violating state and local ethics laws after learning that her husband, Baltimore attorney David Sheehan, works for a member of the committee, Annapolis businessman and developer Conrad Monts.
The county's ethics commission dismissed the complaint Friday, stating in a letter to Common Cause of Maryland that a contract between Monts and Sheehan could in no way "result in a conflict between Ms. Owens' personal and official duties."
Two months ago, council members were shocked to learn that the EDC owed $1 million to a Chicago firm that performed maintenance at the site.
Although the EDC paid Harza Engineering Co. $450,000, the agency still owes about $550,000. Recently, county officials said they plan to meet with account executives from Harza, which now does business as Montgomery Watson Harza, to try to reduce that amount.
"We will probably dispute some of [the bill], but I am not prepared to say what parts of it will be disputed," Walter N. Chitwood, assistant chief administrative officer, said last week.
Council members grilled William A. Badger, the EDC's president and chief executive officer, at a budget hearing last month about how the debt would be paid. Elected officials said they want to make sure he doesn't take money from the county's general fund.
Council member Cathleen M. Vitale of Severna Park recently requested a legal opinion from the Office of Law about what funds could be used to settle the bill. Vitale, a Republican, said Thursday that she had not heard from the county's lawyers.
She and other council members will consider several budget transfer bills necessary to close out the fiscal year at the meeting tonight. Vitale said she wants to use revenue collected from the businesses that lease space at the former David Taylor Research Center to cover the maintenance invoice.
County spokesman Matt Diehl said Friday that some of the money must go to the Navy, as dictated by a long-standing lease agreement. The rest of the money is expected to go back into the general fund, he said.