Only Commissioner Gearhart voted against the resolution for "intent to borrow" for a loan to upgrade our town spray irrigation system. She opposes using taxpayer money for development regardless of how good a development is planned. Although there is still a chance that the actual approval could be turned down, it's unlikely. The road paved by our taxpayers will soon be open for the Ridgely Park development.
All along, I have maintained that this choice was between a lesser of two evils. Not taking out a loan and pursuing a more prudent path with grants (from sources other than MDE) would have taken longer and made it difficult for the Ridgely Park developers to hang on. I didn't want to lose Ridgely Park but some things simply cost too much. The danger to our citizens is a risk that seemed too high.
The route taken last night leaves many questions unanswered and could cloud Ridgely's fiscal future. It's like we are heading out on a trip without a road map. If Ridgely Park doesn't happen, the costs to our citizens will be high. The vote does, however, mean that the town has done all it can do as quickly as possible to ensure Ridgely Park's survival.
I always try to find good in every situation. In this case, the "good" is in the fact that it's a well planned traditional neighborhood development that is more likely to become reality. Ridgely has certainly rolled out a (risky and costly) red carpet.
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Thanks to commissioner Gearhart for voting against a loan for developers. She has always stood up for the people of this town and I hope that she will run for commissioner again.
It sure wouldn't be good for our town if the next commissioner was hand picked by the town manager.
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