A decision on whether the Howard County government should buy $4 million worth of space in the office-condominium building proposed for the Oakland Mills Village Center is months away, but the pot continues to boil on the deal.
County Executive Ken Ulman's decision to give up on building a government office complex appears to bolster his argument that the county will need the 15,000 square feet of space he wants to buy. In addition, he has said the county's investment is critical for construction financing for the building - which Oakland Mills boosters favor.
"Vacant village centers and abandoned lots aren't good for anybody's neighborhood," said County Councilman Calvin Ball, an east Columbia Democrat who represents Oakland Mills.
While the investment decision is pending, a "Closed until further notice" sign recently placed in the front door of the two-year-old Fire Rock Grill restaurant (formerly Last Chance Saloon) at the village center again raises the question of retail viability.
Meanwhile, Councilman Greg Fox, a Fulton Republican, and Councilwoman Mary Kay Sigaty, a West Columbia Democrat, continue to research their contention that the administration violated county zoning rules on parking to get the Meridian Square office building approved - a charge administration officials deny.
The council members said they're worried that if the rules were violated for this building, developed by Metroventures, they could be violated again during rezoning for downtown Columbia's redevelopment.
"It could be a harbinger of things to be asked in the downtown area," Sigaty said, adding that "I think there's lots of questions left to be asked" about Meridian Square.
The two council members have been so zealous in their research that they drew a polite warning from Planning Director Marsha McLaughlin after an impromptu foray into zoning files to look through county development records after office hours Feb. 4.
Fox and Sigaty were looking at 38-year-old final development plans for Columbia as part of their research on the office project, Fox said. Two county employees were with them at the time.
"It wasn't a big deal," Fox said, adding that he said Sigaty had been looking at the materials earlier in the day, and they walked back and "yelled" to see if "anybody back there could give us a hand."
In an e-mail to the council Feb. 8, McLaughlin asked that members arrange visits to the files in advance.
Ball said he finds pointed questions about the office project irritating.
"It's curious to me how much energy that council members who don't represent those constituents appear to be putting into making things more difficult for that community," Ball said.
He noted that Sigaty, for one, is dealing with nascent plans to redevelop the Wilde Lake Village Center in her district.
"As she and other council members look at issues in their districts, they would want the rest of the council to show a certain level of respect and courtesy," Ball said.
Frugal in New York
Traveling to New York City can be an adventure, even a bit daunting. But in her reports to fellow County Council members about the two-day trip last month to meet with bond-rating agencies, Council Chairman Courtney Watson was clearly impressed, with the town and with County Executive Ken Ulman's frugality.
"We saw many sights in NYC," she reported, including a view of Ground Zero from high above in a bond agency's offices.
"Ate dinner in a barbeque place, of all things in NYC. Ken's choice - saving money," Watson wrote in an e-mail report to her colleagues.
She also reported news of the executive "making us leave the hotel for breakfast to go to a diner around the block that is cheap!"
Next year, she added, Ulman said county officials can ride the subways instead of using a car service. At a council administrative meeting Feb. 11, Watson joked that she's glad she won't be chairman next year if that's the case.
Ulman said he finds subways speedier than sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
"I like the subways," he said. "I ride them all the time."
As for other cost-cutting initiatives used on the trip, Ulman said, "I think we should eat at reasonably priced restaurants," adding that he and his wife, Jaki, are fond of the barbecue place.
"I kind of think it's an adventure," he said.
Watson was less impressed.
"It's a beautiful city, but I appreciate Howard County even more," Watson wrote in her e-mail.
The message concluded with the sign-off: "Reporting live from New York City, your humble chairperson."
larry.carson@baltsun.com