The best laid plans...

Citizens of Anne Arundel County and the City of Annapolis have an opportunity right now to help shape development and land use for the next 10 years.

Both the County and City are in the process of updating their long-range development plans. Once finalized, these two documents will serve as blueprints for everything from zoning and development to housing and economic development to transportation and environmental protection. Several key dates and opportunities for input are coming up soon.

Anne Arundel County's General Development Plan (GDP)

On January 20th, the County will release the draft GDP on its website. The County will then hold four public forums to present the plan and receive public input. All forums will run from 6 to 9 p.m. at the following locations:

• January 26th at Annapolis High School
• January 28th at Old Mill High School
• February 3rd at Southern High School
• February 5th at Meade High School

The County will also accept input in writing or by email through February 16th.

After this public outreach effort concludes, the County will revise the draft and present a final proposed plan to the County Council shortly thereafter. Once the County Council receives it, the Council will hold public hearings of its own. I and likely other council members intend to hold special public forums in our districts to highlight local changes and to receive constituent input.

Community forum this Sunday: Two local organizations -- The League of Women Voters of Anne Arundel County and Growth Action Network -- are sponsoring a special public program on the GDP. It is scheduled for this Sunday afternoon, January 11th at 1:30 p.m. at Woods Memorial Church in Severna Park. LWV member and Growth Action Network chair Ann Fligsten will chair a panel discussion that will include Al Johnston, longtime civic activist and member of the County's Special Advisory Committee for the GDP. For more information contact Ann.

City of Annapolis' Comprehensive Plan

The City has already posted the public draft of its Comprehensive Plan online. The City's Planning Commission will hold a public hearing to receive input on Thursday, February 5th at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 160 Duke of Gloucester Street.

The City will also accept comments in writing or by email through February 9th.

I encourage all citizens to make the most of this opportunity to be heard and to shape the future of our city and county.

Arts Magnet Program at Bates update

This post is to encourage parents who support the Performing and Visual Arts Magnet Program at Bates Middle School to mobilize in support of it at the Board of Education's budget hearings in January.

Last Wednesday, Schools Superintendent Kevin Maxwell presented his proposed FY2010 operating budget to the school board. It is a bare-bones budget with very few enhancements, a reflection of our dismal government revenue outlook. The wonderful point for local families is that one of the few proposed enhancements is funding for the continued implementation of the Arts Magnet Program at Bates next year. Many families have already been making plans for their kids based on the expectation that the Arts Magnet will be fully implemented. It is critical for it to stay on track.

(In fact, support is not just local - parents all over the county are hoping to send their kids to Bates for the magnet program. The strong countywide interest is prompting school officials to consider moving up the opening of another arts magnet program in the northern part of the county.)

Dr. Maxwell's proposed funding is the first step; the next step is for the Board of Education to support it. Not everyone in the county shares our local enthusiasm for the Arts Magnet, and it is an easy target for anyone looking for a program to cut. Supporters need to demonstrate the community's strong backing for this program and to reinforce that Dr. Maxwell made the right decision for our kids.

Two budget hearings are scheduled: one is on Tuesday, January 13th in Glen Burnie, the other is on Thursday, January 15th at the Board of Education on Riva Road. Both public hearings start at 7:00 p.m.

On the web:

• The Sun: Arundel officials agree on school budget goals (Dec. 19, 2008)
  

Two upcoming transportation events

1. Public hearing on proposed elimination of 921 Commuter Bus Route

Recently the Maryland Mass Transit Administration (MTA) announced plans to eliminate several commuter bus routes and MARC train routes as a result of $25 million in budget cuts. One of the routes on the chopping block is the 921 bus route from Annapolis to the New Carrollton Metro Station near Washington, D.C.

Tomorrow, Thursday November 20th, the MTA will hold a public hearing to receive input on the proposed cuts. The hearing will be from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m., and again from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the gymnasium of the Stanton Center at 92 W. Washington Street in Annapolis. Comments may also be sent by email to commuterbus@mtamaryland.com until December 26th.

Elimination of the 921 route is ill-advised for a number of reasons. It is important that people who care about this route speak out. Even if one is not a rider of the 921 route, it benefits us all. Transit is a major part of the solution to avoid increasing gridlock in the future. Even though our national economic crisis may defer plans to expand transit, we need to hold the line and protect our current level of service.

Below is the text of a letter I sent last month to MTA Administrator Paul Wiedefeld shortly after the proposed cuts were announced.

October 21, 2008

Mr. Paul Wiedefeld
MTA Administrator
Maryland Transit Administration
6 Saint Paul Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21202

Re: Proposed cut to MTA 921 Commuter Bus Route

Dear Mr. Wiedefeld:

This letter is to respectfully urge you to withdraw the proposed elimination of the 921 Commuter Bus Route from Annapolis to New Carrollton. Cutting this service now will only put more cars on an already congested Route 50, and will increase household expenses for hundreds of working families already struggling to make ends meet.

The 921 is a mainstay for Annapolis-area commuters and has been for years. As you know, an estimated 42,000 riders rode the bus last year. Ridership has been increasing, fueled in part by the recent rise in gasoline prices. To accommodate this demand, the state has recently been enhancing – not scaling back – its Washington commuter bus service.

Unlike the other two Annapolis to Washington commuter routes (the 922 and the 950), the 921 serves a unique role. As the only commuter route that terminates at the New Carrollton Metrorail Station, it provides a vital service for the unanticipated trip. If a commuter is running late or needs to leave early to pick up a child from school, the 921 enables them to do so. The 921 also is the most efficient of the three routes because it fully empties at New Carrollton. By contrast, the 922 and 950 have multiple stops in D.C. and therefore transport fewer and fewer riders after passengers disembark at each stop.

Commuters to Baltimore are already dealing with the previous administration’s elimination of the 210 route. The last thing we need is to cut back on our Washington D.C. bus service as well. As you seek ways to absorb the state budget cuts, I respectfully urge you to protect the 921 Commuter Bus Route. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Joshua J. Cohen
Councilmember, District Six

2. Panel discussion on transportation

ARTMA, the Annapolis Regional Transportation Management Association, will be holding its annual meeting the week after Thanksgiving. I will be one of the panelists for a discussion about applying smart growth principles to a coordinated, multi-modal transportation system to improve mobility and reduce congestion.

The annual meeting is scheduled for Thursday, December 4th from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Annapolis. For more information or to register, visit www.artma.org and click on Programs.

Annapolis school construction update

Annapolis area schools made out well in the most recent (FY 2009) school construction budget. The County Council funded feasibility studies for seven schools, three of which are in Annapolis: Annapolis Elementary, Germantown Elementary, and the Phoenix Center, a unique school for students with special needs. (A feasibility study is the first step in the construction process and examines different options for revitalizing, modernizing or replacing a school.)

All three schools are long overdue for a makeover: Originally built in 1896, Annapolis Elementary is one of the county's oldest schools and needs a complete interior renovation. Germantown Elementary is significantly over capacity and holds the dubious distinction of having the most portable classrooms of any of the county's 119 schools. The Phoenix Center is fire damaged, leaky, and poorly configured for instructing its student population.

Superintendent's recommendations: keep each school separate

The three feasibility studies were recently completed, and yesterday Superintendent Kevin Maxwell released his recommendations for Annapolis Elementary, Germantown Elementary and the Phoenix Center.

The overriding goal shared by several parent groups and neighborhood associations, not to mention school administrators and teachers, was to keep each school separate and independent. In that respect, the Superintendent's recommendations hit a home run. Some county officials have expressed interest in merging two or more of the schools. However, Dr. Maxwell has been committed to preserving neighborhood, community-based schools where possible.

Summary of recommendations

[Note: the exhibits are large and make take a few minutes to download.]

• Germantown (exhibit): Dr. Maxwell is recommending the Replacement option for Germantown to construct a completely new, prototype school at the north end of the athletic field complex, fronting on Windell Avenue. The new school will provide for some additional capacity to accommodate future growth of the student population. This new capacity is strictly for the current school and is not for a merged school. The consultant considered two size options for the new school -- a larger option for a merged school and a smaller option just for Germantown. The Superintendent's recommendation is decidedly for the smaller school (even with the additional capacity) and not for the larger, merged school.
  
  During construction of the new facility, students will continue to be educated at the current school.
  
  
• Annapolis (exhibit): The Superintendent is recommending a complete revitalization of Annapolis Elementary. This will entail completely renovating the interior of the school while preserving its historic shell. The renovated school will connect to the administration building behind it (located behind Mills Wine and Spirits) via a breezeway. This project will be very cost-intensive but the Superintendent is committed to retaining Annapolis Elementary as a neighborhood school for the downtown community.
  
  During construction, students will have to be moved out of Annapolis Elementary and will likely be educated in unused classrooms at Annapolis Middle School. (Several years ago students at Mayo Elementary did the same thing while that school was being rebuilt.)
  
  
• Phoenix Center (exhibit): Dr. Maxwell's recommendation for the Phoenix Center is to modernize the current (soon-to-be-former) Germantown building and to move the Phoenix Center into it. (The current Phoenix Center will then be renovated for administrative offices displaced from the administration building downtown.) The new Phoenix Center will have a capacity of 240 students, double the current capacity of 120 students. From a fiscal standpoint this makes good sense because the county pays a much higher per-pupil cost to place special needs students in private placement or send them out of the county; expanding our capacity to educate them locally will reduce operating costs significantly.
  
  Students will remain at the current Phoenix Center until after the new Germantown school is built and the current (soon-to-be-former) Germantown facility is modernized.
  

Community concerns

Many details remain to be worked out with all three of these proposals. Some of the questions for Germantown include the potential loss of athletic field space as well as transportation and parking arrangements at the new location. Logistics are a big question if Annapolis Elementary students are to be moved to Annapolis Middle School for the duration of construction. Community fears about moving the Phoenix Center closer to Admiral Heights while also doubling the student population will need to be thoroughly reviewed and addressed.

I have emphasized to Dr. Maxwell and the schools' Chief Operating Officer Alex Szachnowicz the importance of doing a rigorous public outreach effort. Mr. Szachnowicz assures me that the school system routinely meets with parents and communities impacted by any new construction and works hard to respond to local questions and concerns. While I am confident that the school system will make every effort to do so, parents and community leaders will be well served to stay on top of the process and make their concerns heard.

County concerns

Certain county officials have concerns of their own about the proposals. As stated earlier, several county officials would prefer to maximize the county's cost-per-pupil by merging Annapolis Elementary with Germantown Elementary instead of embarking on a costly renovation of Annapolis Elementary.

The intangibles of keeping Annapolis Elementary on Green Street are worth the added cost. Over the years downtown has lost many of its institutions which are so important to the fabric of a community. The hospital moved to Jennifer Road, the library moved to West Street, and Rookie's Market, the last local grocer, closed its doors 20 years ago. Not only would the loss of Annapolis Elementary be a huge detriment to downtown, merging it with Germantown would create a mega-elementary school that few, if any, parents would want. Annapolis Elementary is a gem which needs to remain on Green Street.

Next steps

Dr. Maxwell's recommendations represent a victory for local parents wanting to strengthen each of these schools while keeping them separate and distinct. This is good news but the final outcome is by no means assured. The next step is for the Board of Education to vote on the recommendations, followed by the State Interagency Committee on School Construction, followed by the County Executive and then the County Council.

At any one of these stages the project could get derailed. Community support is going to be critical at every step of this process.

The next decision point comes in just a few days when the Board of Education meets to consider the recommendations. The Board meets this coming Wednesday, November 5th at 10 a.m. (bright and early after Election Night.) The Board will receive public comment on Dr. Maxwell's recommendations beginning at 11 a.m. The Board meets at the Carol S. Parham administration building, 2644 Riva Road in Annapolis. For more information contact the Board of Education office at (410) 222-5311 or click here.

County Charter Amendments

Several people have asked me about the two obscure county charter amendments at the end of Tuesday's ballot (labeled Question A and Question B.) The short answer is that both charter amendments will improve our county's governing document and I encourage voters to vote "Yes."

In contrast to the weighty statewide ballot questions, these two county questions deal with relatively minor, insider provisions of county law. The reason they need to be on the ballot is because they seek to change language in the County's charter. Unlike the County Code which is changed through legislation, the Charter can only be amended by the voters.

• Question A is a technical amendment that clarifies language about how a bill becomes law. The intent of the existing language is clear but the letter of the law is ambiguous. This amendment will simply clean up the language. It will not alter the balance of power in any way between the County Executive and County Council.
  
  
• Question B follows the state's model for appointing members of the Ethics Commission. The Commission is a volunteer body with tremendous authority to restrict all sorts of government employees' actions. This amendment will increase the Commission's independence by making its appointment process less reliant upon any one branch of government.
  
  Currently the County Executive appoints all seven members of the Ethics Commission. The charter amendment will change this by providing for the County Council to nominate several of the members. The Executive will be required to appoint three of the Commission's seven members from the list of people nominated by the County Council.
  
  In no way is this amendment directed towards any individual serving on the Commission. I and the other Council members have the utmost regard for the integrity of the Commissioners. This amendment should be viewed instead as simply improving the "good government" practices of our governmental structure.

Both charter amendments have broad, bipartisan support from both the County Council and County Executive Leopold.

[Update 10/31/08:

On the web

• Ballot language from Maryland State Board of Elections
• The Capital: Small changes to County Charter on ballot (October 30, 2008) ]
  

Community Conversation on Transportation

On Tuesday, October 28th, I will be hosting a public forum about transportation. Billed as a “Community Conversation on Transportation in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County,” the event will feature three Annapolis-area panelists who have broad experience working on transportation and land use issues from a citizen’s standpoint:

1. Shelley Row, Eastport resident, former president of the Eastport Civic Association and a national expert on Intelligent Transportation Systems.
2. Wilford W. Scott, Hunt Meadow resident, member of Annapolis' past two Comprehensive Plan Citizens’ Advisory Committees, and longtime member of the Annapolis Planning Commission.
3. Dinny White, Severn Grove resident, architect and planner, and member of Anne Arundel County’s Special Advisory Committee to the General Development Plan.
   

The forum will be held on Tuesday, October 28th from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of Calvary United Methodist Church, 301 Rowe Boulevard in Annapolis. The rear parking lot in back of the church is located at the Fellowship Hall entrance. This event is free and open to the public.