| The Greater Arbutus Community
Alliance was pleased to have Cheryl
Jordan join us. Cheryl is the new Community Supervisor for
Arbutus, replacing Jerry Hahn. Jerry has been transferred to Perry Hall
after serving the community for some time. Cheryl presented a brief
description of the Recreation and Parks "You Care, So Be
Aware" program. The program was developed to encourage parents to
become more involved in the lives and activities of their children.
Although most volunteers participating in sports and other Recreation
and Parks sponsored programs are honorable people, the County does not
screen them. They are not subject to fingerprinting or background
checks. Therefore, it is up to parents to ask questions and observe.
Recreation and Parks has also created a brochure to accompany the
program. The brochures were distributed at the meeting and additional
copies may be obtained through an e-mail request to gaca@bcpl.net, or by
contacting Cheryl Jordan. Cheryl's address is 5525 Sulphur Spring Road,
Halethorpe, MD 21227, and the telephone and fax numbers are 410/887-1435
and 410/242-0809, respectively.
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Delegate Jim
Malone provided us with an update on some issues of local
interest including the following:
- State and County funding has been secured to allow for the
construction of sound barriers at I-195 parallel to Selford Rd. The
project is expected to start in July, 2004.
- Construction of the MARC Train Station/Parking Lot is projected to
begin in April, 2002. Estimates for the project range from $7 - 9
million. Parking restrictions have been placed on Oregon and
Carville Ave., prohibiting commuters from parking in front of the
homes along those streets. Parking along the median remains
unrestricted. Del. Malone has been in contact with Precinct One to
request enforcement.
Preliminary discussions have been held with regard to a long-range
plan for an additional MARC stop near the Baltimore City/County
line, in the area of St. Agnes Hospital. Traffic studies indicate
that a majority of passengers on the MARC line are coming off of the
Beltway from the northern suburbs. MTA officials think that
commuters might prefer to use Wilkens Ave. to access the Beltway,
thereby eliminating some of the cut-through traffic in Arbutus and
Halethorpe.
- Negotiations are ongoing with State and County officials and
representatives of the Mears estate for the acquisition of the
property adjacent to the Patapsco State Park. Del. Malone feels that
the State will be successful in adding this parcel to the Park,
however he has concerns that the protracted nature of the
transaction is adding needlessly to the final cost. An announcement
is anticipated by April, 2002.
- Legislation has been introduced by the Baltimore County delegation
in both the House and the Senate to transfer the funding requested
in 2000 for the Boys and Girls Club to the County for the purchase
of the former AMF Bowling facility on Maiden Choice Lane.
- The following local schools have been approved for capital
projects:
a) Arbutus Elementary School $1 million
b) Arbutus Middle School $.5 million
c) Halethorpe Elementary School $1.3 million
d) Relay Elementary School $2.5 million
e) The Maiden Choice School $3.5 million
- Although public hearings will continue on the MAGLEV project, Del.
Malone does not anticipate that the project will go forward. (See
announcements at conclusion of minutes.)
- A series of hearings have been scheduled to take place at U.M.B.C.
regarding the proposed sale of Carefirst-Blue Cross/Blue Shield of
Maryland. In addition, a number of bills have been introduced in
this legislative session. Hearing dates are as follows:
* Monday, March 11, 2002 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
* Wednesday, March 13, 2002 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
* Thursday, March 14, 2002 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.*
*All or part of Thursday's schedule will be an opportunity for
public comment.
Hearings will be held in the University Center Ballroom. The
telephone number for the University is 410/455-4551 if there are
questions about parking or 410/455-1000 for special accommodations.
A "Wave and Ride" shuttle bus service is also available.
- Once again, legislation has been introduced that would allow St.
Agnes Hospital to provide additional services to patients requiring
cardiac care. At present, patients requiring open heart surgery or
cathiterization must be transferred to Sinai, St. Joseph, or Johns
Hopkins hospitals. This year, the legislation introduced would
permit St. Agnes to provide cathiterization procedures. Delegates
Dewberry, Malone and Murphy are among the sponsors of the bill. Del.
Malone advised that the primary reason that this is controversial is
that the cost benefit to the few hospitals that are permitted to
provide these services is enormous. There is considerable pressure
on legislators to vote against the expansion of services to other
facilities.
- Delegate Malone briefly discussed the redistricting issue, telling
the group that he lost a precinct in Catonsville (the Western
Voc-Tech voting site) as a result. The remainder of the district
remains intact.
- Harry Robertson asked Del. Malone about the replacement of the
sound barriers at Leeds Ave. after the completion of the Beltway
widening project. A project official on site had told Mr. Robertson
that the barriers would not be going back up. Del. Malone told Mr.
Robertson he would look into it and get back to him.
==========
Bryan
Sheppard was our next speaker, and provided updates on the
following:
- The Rental Registration bill, discussed at length during our
November, 2001 meeting has been pulled. No agreement could be
reached on the scope of the bill, however, the Council passed a
resolution requiring the establishment of a listing of rental
property. The listing will be developed from the existing State
Assessments and Taxation information and it is anticipated that it
will eventually be available on the internet. An article in the
Sunpapers from March 21, 2002 was e-mailed to the membership
describing the reactions of some Council members and affirming the
need for increased code enforcement activity. The establishment of
the type of listing described, while an important first step, will
unfortunately not include those homes with multiple apartments,
unless the tax bill is sent to another address.
- 4313 Leeds Ave. - The exterior of the property has been cleaned
up, but code enforcement has not been able to get into the interior.
A tax lien in the amount of $10,000 has been levied and fines will
continue to accrue until the County is satisfied that the problems
on the property have been abated.
- In further news relating to the former AMF Bowling Lane site, the
County is continuing negotiations with Johns Hopkins for the
purchase of the property. Two obstacles remain before the matter may
be concluded. The first is the requirement that Hopkins agree to
permit the County right of entry for an environmental study. There
is some concern about possible ground contamination because of the
placement of underground gasoline tanks. The second issue relates to
the structural problems which might be encountered when the bowling
alley is razed, while the attached High's store remains, hopefully
intact.
- A Council resolution requiring the County to formulate a Traffic
Calming Plan was also passed recently.
- The reconstruction of Maiden Choice Lane from Westland Blvd. to
Leeds Ave. will begin in the Spring, 2002.
- The reconstruction of Ridge Ave. in Halethorpe is on schedule.
- A lengthy discussion of a proposed cellular tower on the property
of the Arbutus Volunteer Fire Department became moot, when it was
found that the initial information provided to the Alliance was not
accurate. The proposed tower is not, in fact 200', it is 100'. As
such, it is not expected to have a significant impact on the
appearance of the Southwestern Blvd. "gateway" to the
community. The tower is to be located at the north end of the
property, near a set of advertising billboards already in place.
==========
Pastor Dick
Goodlin described the plan to permit the Boys and Girls Club
to begin operations at St. Stephens pending their permanent location in
the community. A search is underway for a Director of Programming and it
is expected that services will be offered as soon as one month after a
Director is hired.
St. Stephens will host the operation of an after school program
Mondays through Fridays, from 3:00 in the afternoon until 7:00 in the
evening. The target age group for the program will be middle school
students, with computer labs, "Smart Moves", and a Torch club.
==========
In response to the expression of community
interest in local history, Gail Ross
discussed the proposed use of a portion of the library to house a
history collection. A list of items needed for the room was presented to
the organization and a motion was received to permit the disbursement of
up to $2,500.00 through the end on 2002. Gail plans to move most of the
Maryland related materials in the library to the room, and to accept
donations of research materials from residents and local organizations.
==========
Dave Bowers,
with the University of Maryland at Baltimore County's Police Department,
joined us for the first time. Chuck Strachan, the former UMBC Police
Dept. delegate to GACA has retired and moved to Florida.
Dave provided us with a reminder that students living in the
community are expected to adhere to the University's Code of Conduct and
can be sanctioned if found in violation.
==========
Officer Theresa
D'Anna announced a retirement party for Sgt. Kahler and two
other officers to be held in March. For additional information, call her
at 410/744-1542.
The next series of classes for the Citizen's Police Academy start on
March 6, 2002 and will run for the next ten weeks.
============
In view of the time and noting that a number of announcements
remained to be provided, the discussion of a marketing brochure for the
Arbutus area was tabled until April.
==========
The next meeting
of the Greater Arbutus Community Alliance will be held on Thursday,
April 18, 2002 at 7:00 p.m., St. Stephens Lutheran Church.
MAGLEV Public Meetings on Alternative Alignments
March 13, 2002
Lindale Middle School
415 Andover Road
Linthicum, MD
4:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
March 21, 2002
Penn Station
1525 N. Charles St.
Baltimore, MD
Times not indicated
Website: www.bwmaglev.com
The Greater Arbutus Community Alliance
Minutes of the February 21, 2002 Meeting
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