Harford County Councilman Chad Shrodes announced Jan. 27 he has established an advisory committee to address citizen concerns about how MD 24 through Rocks State Park should be improved. The move follows strong citizen opposition to a State Highway Administration plan to move portions of the roadway 20 feet away from Deer Creek in places throughout the park, known for its scenic rock outcroppings and boulders along the road — features the SHA plan would have literally blasted away. SHA officials backed off its plan when a number of citizens and elected officials called their attention to the Save The Rocks campaign, a committee of local residents who created a Facebook page in late December that quickly attracted more than 7,000 fans denouncing the plan.
Shrodes said the advisory committee includes several local residents involved in the Save The Rocks group, as well ...Continue Reading
With sparks flying over the impact fee, it was easy to overlook a resolution passed unanimously by the Harford County Council in early November that could have big consequences for the way taxpayers fund public school facilities.
Resolution No. 19-09 calls for decision-makers in the capital school funding process to meet as a group, formally named the Bipartisan Commission on School Construction, and formulate a long term action plan to “resolve the capital funding needs of our public education system.” That means building new schools when necessary, but also maintaining and renovating the schools we already have. It also means taking a hard look at current revenue sources, alternative funding mechanisms, land use regulations and potential changes or additions to state law.
Given the complexity of the task and a 12-month timeline to report findings and recommendations, the goal is ambitious, but born of necessity. With a deep, national ...Continue Reading
During an oddly serene session Tuesday night, during which neither NIMBY nor developer stormed out of the chambers, the Harford County Council unanimously approved 67 Comprehensive Rezoning amendments – setting up what is expected to be a smooth approval next week of the new official Harford County Zoning Map.
Compared to the confrontational rezoning process of two years ago, which culminated with a veto by then-newly appointed County Executive David Craig and mandated restart of the process, Tuesday’s meeting was subdued and only attended by a few dozen people – mostly developers, activists, and members of the county Planning and Zoning Department.
Here is a summary of amendments and comments by district:
District A – Joppatowne/Edgewood:
“You can’t make everybody happy. You try to do the best you can and what’s best for the county,” – Councilman Dion Guthrie
Guthrie’s 14 amendments consist mainly of upzoning residential land to commercial and business property, which would ...Continue Reading
The decision by the Havre de Grace City Council last Monday to withdraw all $12,000 in city funding originally designated for the Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway may also jeopardize significant funding for local museums and the city itself.
In an eight-page letter sent to Mayor Wayne Dougherty and the City Council last Wednesday, Greenway Executive Director (and Harford County Councilwoman) Mary Ann Lisanti informed the City Council that its decision to cut all funding for the Greenway – which describes itself as “a non-profit organization whose mission is to stimulate local economic activity by developing a linkage between our natural, historic and cultural resources” – may result in hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars in additional grants and aid being lost.
“We hope that the City now fully understands that this minor budget
amendment substantially impacts current and future capital projects by creating an unintended but serious consequence. Our ...Continue Reading
Harford County will be a primary beneficiary of $65 million in federal funds designated for infrastructure improvement as part of the BRAC process.
Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger presented a ceremonial check for the amount to Harford County Executive David R. Craig, Councilwoman Mary Ann Lisanti and Maryland Lt. Governor Anthony Brown.
The funds will help pay for road, mass transit, and other important infrastructure improvements on and around Aberdeen Proving Ground. Of particular importance will be intersection improvements along key transit routes to the APG area.
Monies specifically earmarked include over $3 million dollars for road improvements in Harford, $13 million for improvements to the MARC train service, $475,000 for the Aberdeen MARC Rail Storage Yard, $1.9 million for locally operated transit systems and $500,000 for improvements to the water infrastructure at APG.
As a result of the Base Realignment and Closure process, Harford County is in the midst of preparing for the ...Continue Reading
Pat McGrady, organizer of the Havre de Grace Tax Day rally, attended the recent Harford County Council budget hearings and reported her findings and impressions to The Dagger in the following series of letters:
Harford County Councilman Dion Guthrie (District A) said today it was very exciting to have President-Elect Barack Obama’s train stop in his district at the Edgewood Train Station on Saturday afternoon.
Reacting to the news reported on The Dagger, Guthrie said the inaugural train would naturally have to pass through Edgewood after picking up Vice President-Elect Joe Biden in Delaware and on its way to Washington D.C. as Guthrie noted with a laugh, “because that’s where the tracks were.”
On his historic recreation of Abraham Lincoln’s inaugural railroad ride to the White House this weekend, President-Elect Barack Obama could be making an unexpected and unlikely stop in Harford County along the way.
Obama’s much-celebrated trip begins Saturday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, continues to Wilimington, Delaware (where he will pick up his vice president-elect Joe Biden, and continues to Baltimore, before rolling on to Washington D.C. But sources this week have indicated the Obama team was contemplating, and possibly even preparing for, a stop in Edgewood.
