Harford County Councilman Dion Guthrie went before the Harford Delegation Friday to make his case for a bill that would extend Harford County's tax credit to three additional residences near the waste-to-energy plant in Joppa.
"The interesting thing about this is the waste-energy center is going to close," Delegation Chairman Rick Impallaria said Monday.
Impallaria said Guthrie "came across as the delegation has been blocking them [the properties] from getting this tax break." The county council, he continued, has the ability to give these homeowners the tax credit, but has "never acted upon it."
"It really doesn't make much sense to add more houses to it [the tax credit bill] and give these people the opinion that they'll get something they're not," Impallaria said.
The delegation chairman went onto say that Guthrie also addressed the issue of the people who live near the sand and gravel pit on Fort Hoyle Road.
"If that's the case, shouldn't we extend the tax break to Joppatowne? To the people who live on Haverhill [Road] that actually back up to the sand and gravel pit?" Impallaria asked. He added that he's been to that area when the dirt and dust is so bad "that the elementary school can't let kids out during recess."
According to Impallaria, Guthrie told the delegation that he has never received a complaint from that area about the dust from the sand and gravel pit. The delegate disagreed, saying he called and complained to Guthrie personally, as well as the county's department of environmental services.
"He [Guthrie] has no comprehension of what was going on there, yet he was asking for these additional properties to be included on this tax credit," Impallaria said.
The delegation had additional questions for Guthrie that, as of Monday, was finding the answers for and preparing a memo to send back.
Over the phone, Guthrie said these questions revolved around the three properties near the waster-to-energy facility, why he wanted to include them on the bill and the history of the sane and gravel pit owned by Harford Sands, Inc.
"Impallaria said the sand and gravel pit [has been] there for 150 years," Guthrie said. "Of course I knew that wasn't true."
According to the memo written by Guthrie, Larry Stancill, the owner of Harford Sands, purchased the pit in 1965 from the Dwayer family, who used the property as a farm.
Guthrie said when the original bill was passed for the property tax credit three homes on Magnolia Road were left out: 117, 119 and 203 Magnolia Road.
"It's not fair for the [County] Council to go forward and give the rest of the houses credit," he said. "We can't give these three [properties] the tax break until the delegation gives us the right to do that." Guthrie added that he just wanted to "fix the bill."
Guthrie explained that a big part of the issue is the homes near the sand and gravel pit and the effects it has had over the years on the health and well being of the people who live there.
It's for those reasons, he went on, that he wanted to include the additional three properties to the tax credit bill.