Meetings On The $1.5 Million Question

There are two more meetings on the question of the loan request for the town's spray irrigation upgrade. Thursday, March 27, 2008, there will be a meeting at 7:00 PM in the Ridgely House devoted entirely to this question. And, Monday, April 7, 2008, there will be final discussion and a vote at the Commissioner's monthly 7:00 PM meeting at the Ridgely House.

Last night, the Planning and Zoning Commission met and the question dominated our meeting like a 900 pound gorilla sitting in the middle of the room. We all wanted to know how we got into this position and had voted for a Developers Rights and Responsibilities Agreement (DRRA) that doesn't cover all the costs of development. No matter how good a development might be, our citizens SHOULD NEVER PAY FOR DEVELOPMENT. The question of the spray irrigation upgrade could have been addressed in the DRRA in a way that would have required the developer to make the upgrade first.

Commission member Martin Sokolich brought up the fact that the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) has recently been more strictly enforcing its regulations. Municipalities are no longer being allowed to do what was once considered standard.

For my part, I APOLIGIZE FOR MY VOTE ON THE DRRA. We shouldn't be in the position that we are now in. Although not standard procedure, I should have gone to MDE myself. (In this case, only the Town Manager contacted MDE.) They should have been at our meetings. In the future, we will not consider contracts with developers without MDE.

The question now, however, is whether or not we should complicate a bad situation with a risky loan. The answer is ABSOLUTELY NOT! The only prudent course is to apply for grants to make the upgrade. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a program that could help. This, of course, might put Ridgely Park at risk because of the time involved. We have a classic choice here between the lesser of two evils.