Fire in the West

From my experience, the best way to sum up the politics of the HoCo Fire Department is to say it’s complicated. Whenever a major issue crops up like a change in fire districts or, more recently, the contingent firefighter program, the internal battle lines are not always clearly drawn, at least it can appear that way to this outsider.

It is clear that passions can run high yet it’s hard to get anyone within the department to speak out. It's almost as if everyone wants to keep their stuff within the family.

The exception to this is the Lisbon Volunteer Fire Company. As they were with the fire district dust up, the Lisbon firefighters have taken the point on opposing the plan to eliminate the contingent employee program. Contingent employees are paid part-time workers who assist in the staffing of volunteer fire companies, notably West Friendship, Elkridge and Lisbon. According to this story by Blair Ames in The Sun, Fire Chief Bill Goddard believes that ending the program will allow the department to operate more “efficiently with career and volunteer personnel working together.”

"The only people that suffer in this is the community," said Kenny Livesay, a volunteer firefighter at the Lisbon station. "It's setting us up for failure."

This is likely more indicative of the political disconnect between the urban east the rural west and a desire to preserve a way of life that is rapidly disappearing in HoCo than it is a disagreement with fellow firefighters .

Fire Drill

When I stopped in the Old Mill Bakery and Café for coffee this morning they were debating whether to call 911. From their parking lot you could see the black smoke rising from the hill above Ellicott City.

“It’s just a fire department exercise,” I informed them.

“It would have been nice if someone had told us,” one of the clerks replied.

Actually I thought Howard County had done a pretty decent job getting the word out, at least in my neighborhood. Even before I drove past the action on Weavers Court I knew what was going on. Earlier in the week I received alerts from both my community email list and from Notify Me Howard.

“That figures,” she said, “we’re in Baltimore County and they don’t tell us anything.”

Such is life in a bordertown.

Later in the day I drove past the controlled burn again but this time the fires were out and the trainees were busy rolling up hoses and packing up their gear.

Andrew Metcalf with Patch reported from the scene.

Bonnie Branch Blockage

HoCo residents living in the Ellicott City Elkridge border area are acutely aware that Bonnie Branch Road has been closed to through traffic since mid February. As in most cases, you don’t really appreciate something until you can’t have it.

We won’t have our Bonnie back until sometime in July.

Big chunks of it are missing right now as the county tries to keep certain portions of the winding road from falling into its namesake water body. Yesterday, Mama Wordbones and I walked up to take a first hand look. It was a rare pleasure to walk along Bonnie Branch Road without having to watch for cars.

And now I can’t get that song out of my head.

Mulligan’s Wall

After the retaining wall along Mulligan’s Hill Lane in Ellicott City collapsed during Tropical Storm Lee in 2011 the county erected a temporary wall to stabilize the site and keep Dohony Hall from tumbling down the hill. The temporary fix eliminated about seven parking spots in Parking Lot C.

They aren't coming back.

The replacement wall will have much the same footprint of the temporary one but at least it will look a lot better than current conditions.

Electric Stuff

Yesterday, as I was driving out of my neighborhood on the way to work, I noted that a phalanx of hard hatter workers had descended upon my street along with an assortment of “Grid One” vehicles.

Later, when I returned home, there was a note on my door telling us that we now had a new smart meter. It also suggested that we might want to check our clocks since the power was off briefly during the installation.

We’re pretty ambivalent about this meter switch but there are others who suspect BGE of nefarious designs. For those folks the utility offers the option of opting out of the program.

They are scheduled to be finished in HoCo by August.

And keeping on with this electric theme, later in the afternoon I spotted this Chevy Volt in Oella. It is the first time I've seen one of these in the wild.

Nice looking car!

Collateral Damage

This afternoon the only sound to break the afternoon silence was an aluminum soda can being blown down the street. I was a little surprised that such a small object could be so noisy.

The clanging can provided the perfect backdrop for all the other garbage that was flying around the neighborhood. It seems that the majority of my neighbors did not get the memo that our faux snow day resulted in a slide day scenario for trash pick up. Today was our normal recycling day. Tomorrow is our slide day.

The combination of wind gusts up to 30 mph and stuffed blue bins resulted in an accumulation of trash on lawns that rivaled Wednesdays’ snowfall amounts! 

All about the Trees

Michael McCall says that his epiphany on Symphony Woods occurred as he was leaving a concert at Merriweather one night last summer, “For about fifteen seconds I got disoriented” in the dark woods.

“What a wonderful thing that that you can be right next to all this development yet feel like you’ve escaped”

That set Michael on a path that radically changed the future direction of Columbia’s central park.

"The worse thing I think you do is to start drawing straight lines through the woods."

Michael is the president of Strategic Leisure, a Columbia company that has designed the Inner Arbor Plan. He and his wife Barbara are also longtime Columbia residents though he readily admits he knew very little about local politics before deciding to get involved with Symphony Woods. It was his old boss from Enterprise, George Barker, who introduced him to Ken Ulman.

This rest is history.

And speaking of Ken, our county exec was recently honored by Government Technology Magazine for his One Maryland Broadband Initiative. We talked about that in our local news recap along with the new storm water management fees, Wilde Lake Village Center redevelopment, the Merriweather noise legislation  and the political ascension of Laura Neuman.

You can listen to 85^th episode of “and then there’s that…” here.

A Trail Less Traveled

The little taste of spring yesterday drove many locos outside for the first time in weeks. When we arrived at the trail head of the Grist Mill Trail on Ilchester Road around one o’clock, cars were parked in every available spot. After wedging our car into a space of questionable legality, we decided to explore the HoCo side of the river instead of taking the paved trail that lies in Baltimore County.

Actually, the opposite side is paved too, in places at least. Remnants of a former road provide an easy trek for the first leg. On the other hand this is not a path for cyclists.

Approaching Bloede Dam, things get a bit dicey as the road disappears and hikers must navigate a narrow path along the rivers edge. The recent wet weather made this portion of the trail a little muddy and a bit trickier to traverse.

 Bloede Dam, like other man-made dams on the Patapsco River is slated for removal though no date has been set for the work to begin. The cost is estimated to exceed $4 million and will include some attempt to preserve part of the dam on the Baltimore County side of the river.

On the other side of the dam it is smooth sailing on obstacle free  paved roadbed all the way down to the swinging bridge.

Postal Blues

Stopping by the Ellicott City Post Office last week I spotted this notice on one of two available parcel bins. The hand written commentary, presumably by disgruntled patrons, gave me a chuckle. How long is temporary?

Now What?

When I first read this story about the HoCo Housing Commission backing off their previously announced plans for the Beechcrest Mobile Home Park in North Laurel, I thought it was in response to community opposition. After conducting my own inspection of the property today I now believe that it is much more than that.

My first reaction while driving through the community was “What were they thinking?”

This is a tough piece of ground with a couple of immediately obvious development obstacles, aside from relocating the current residents.

To begin with, access appears to be problematic. The community shares a narrow access road with an Econo Lodge hotel. I doubt that it meets current standards, much less what would be required if the property were redeveloped with more residential units. As I exited the property this afternoon another SUV entering pulled to the side to let me pass.  In order to fix this the county would likely need to acquire the property next door.

Assuming you could fix the access issue, the next hurdle is topography. The existing mobile homes occupy about half of the five and a half acre site that slopes up about ten feet from Route 1, levels off slightly for about two acres and then drops about 20 feet. In the development business we'd refer to this as challenging.

The commissions site plan shows a "bio-retention" storm water management area that looks to eliminate about half of the existing trees. I'm not sure how that works.

Then there are the existing mobile homes. Many of them look barely inhabitable and I'd be surprised if any of the units meet current minimum standards for county owned housing. Now they are the county housing authority’s responsibility so even if the property isn't redeveloped, the commission will likely have to do something to improve conditions for the current residents.

What a mess.

Good Parker, Bad Parker

Last night I tried out the new Streetline parking system in Ellicott City for the first time. At 5:32 PM I pulled into a space in front of the Phoenix bar and dutifully noted the number of my space. When I then entered the number in the parking kiosk I received the message above.

I must say I was pleasantly surprised by this. I had been under the impression that the new system would not allow unused time to stay on the meter after the car left the spot. It appears that this was a mistaken assumption.

That was the good news.

Around ten this morning, as I pulled into a space in front of the Little French Market, a freezing rain was falling. I thought this would be a perfect time to test out the Parker app on my smart phone allowing me to feed the meter in the comfort of my warm and dry car. I entered my space number along with my credit card but when it came time to finalize the transaction the app said I was paying for space 402 in Miami, Florida.

I wish. If I had been in Miami I wouldn't exactly need the warmth of my car. It appears that this little feature is not yet activated for Ellicott City.

I headed out in the rain to a nearby kiosk where I learned something else about the new system.

It doesn't take American Express.

I see a potential commercial here.

EC Parking System Debuts Next Week

It’s official. The black covers will finally come off of the new parking meter kiosks in Ellicott City. As of next Monday, February 4^th , parking in the historic district will cost a buck an hour on Main Street and Maryland Avenue and a half a buck an hour in the metered lots. Residents and visitors will also be able to use the Parker app for smart phones and tablets to locate available spaces.

Historic district residents have also been given a break from the county. They apply for a residential parking pass that will allow them to park free at any time in all the public parking lots and between the hours of 5 PM and 10 AM on Main Street. You can find residential permit info here.

Quiet Day at the Dump

“It seems pretty quiet today.”

I had just pulled up the weigh station at the Alpha Ridge Landfill. It was around ten on a Saturday morning, normally prime time for dump visits.

“It’s real slow for a Saturday,” the attendant observed.

Last weekend we had finally gotten around to trimming our ornamental grasses, just in time to miss the last day of curbside yard waste collection. I told Mama Wordbones I’d haul the clippings to the dump.

It turns out today was the perfect day. There were no crowds and the yard waste area of the landfill was beautiful with a fresh coat of snow.

On this January morning, there were more deer tracks than tire tracks.

Coalition of the Unwilling

Alan Klein is energized. The proposal to transform Symphony Woods into an Arts Village has awakened his anti downtown Columbia redevelopment activism. Once again he is attaching “Coalition for Downtown Columbia” to his byline, insinuating that he represents something real and vital to the interests of the citizens when he mounts his soapbox in opposition.

In a bellicose email sent out yesterday, purportedly on behalf of this coalition, Alan claims the proposed "Inner Arbor" plan would destroy “the serene, park-like environment which we all supported and which was brought to fruition by Cy Paumier's design and which was already approved by the Planning Board.”

This is intentionally misleading. The Cy Paumier plan he refers to may have been approved by the CA board but the Design Advisory Panel, charged with overseeing the cohesion of the downtown redevelopment process, found it inadequate. They directed CA to go back to the drawing board.

It really wasn't much of a plan, particularly when compared to what is now being considered. The key elements were a fountain and a café. There weren't even any restrooms in the plan. The whole café concept was somewhat suspect too. Cy told me that initially it likely would be a  mobile café, something that would be wheeled into the park during the warmer months and then parked away during winter. In any other place this would be known as a food truck.

The fountain was a nice design element but it’s not a destination, even if it is interactive. How many times would a family spend an afternoon there?

So who exactly is this coalition that Alan claims to speak for?

He claims that CoFoCoDo is made up over 400 members yet it has no regularly elected board of directors or officers. The membership (or supporters) list is at least five years old. Many of those who initially signed on are no longer supporters. County executive Ken Ulman is listed as a member yet he has wholeheartedly endorsed the new plan for Symphony Woods.  I doubt he would have ever signed up if he knew doing so would mean committing to a lifetime of having Alan claim to represent him on issues pertaining to Columbia's downtown.

Alan and his small but vocal band of aging activists are predictably opposed to anything that disturbs their own belief of what Columbia should be. They are truly the coalition of the unwilling. 

Stretching the Zone

The speed cam van parked along Doncaster Road in Ellicott City seemed out of place. These vans were sold to the council as a deterrent to speeding in school zones yet there are no schools on Doncaster. Where this van was sitting, there aren't even sidewalks, on either side of the road.

There is a school within a half mile of where the vans location so I am assuming that this was the justification for the its placement. Still, this seems to be stretching the intent of the enabling legislation.  I wonder if there are any other locations in HoCo where the speed cam vans are taking liberty with school zones.

Parking Perk

This year we brought in the New Year by spending the night in Annapolis at the Robert Johnson House. Yesterday, as I left the building in search of my first cup of coffee of 2013, I noted that the some of the prime parking spots around State Circle were unoccupied. Even though the state house was locked up for the holiday and the General Assembly doesn't start until next week, Delegates still get reserved parking in the heart of the capital, whether they need it not.

Conflicting Interests

Officials in Prince Georges county have adopted a sense of entitlement when it comes to the proposed new headquarters for the FBI. The county believes it has been short changed when it comes to sharing in the largess of federal government spending when compared to the other counties that border the nation’s capital. When the FBI issued a solicitation of interest from neighboring jurisdictions, Prince Georges county saw this as their chance to even the score.

Not so fast said Montgomery. According to this story by Miranda S. Spivack and Victor Zapana in The Washington Post, the county’s economic development director “confirmed that he is soliciting local developers and consulting with federal agencies about potential sites.”

“Montgomery’s effort surprised Prince George’s officials, who said they thought they would be alone in Maryland vying for the lucrative deal. Last year, Prince George’s lost out to Montgomery for a $450 million lease for a federal Health and Human Services office complex that instead is remaining in Rockville.”

This move also surprised a few local officials including our own economic development director, Laura Nueman. According to the article, at a recent meeting of state and local economic officials she asked if any other counties were planning on responding to the solicitation “and no one spoke up.”

Huh?

What about HoCo?

There are quite a few HoCo residents who work for the FBI and make the daily commute to DC. Why shouldn't HoCo throw its hat in the mix?

I’m willing to wager that this was never even considered and one of the reasons is likely political. Our county exec is trying to build statewide support for his governors race and supporting PG’s bid would be a smart political move, particularly considering the fact that more than a few major employers like Merkle have abandoned PG for HoCo in recent years.

Parking App Gap

During this years Midnight Madness celebration in Ellicott City, I gave the new “smart” parking system a test run.

It failed.

In fairness at least part of the blame could be user error based on my lack of familiarity with the system. The main problem however, was pointed out in this story by Randall Stross in The New York Times.

“Smart-parking apps aren't as useful as might be expected for drivers seeking open spots. When a parking space is vacated, there is a short delay before a sensor’s signal moves through the wireless network, reaches the centralized system and finally arrives on a driver’s phone. But if other cars are circling, even a 30-second or one-minute wait can be too long.”

That would seem to be particularly true during a period of high demand such as Midnight Madness. After our initial failure to harness the apps power to locate an open space, we simply headed up the hill to Parking Lot F by the Court House where we found plenty of avilable spaces. Even after the new pay system becomes operational on January 1^st, the spaces in this parking lot will remain free.

March of the Meters

Despite the efforts of some merchants to stop or delay implementation, the new metered parking system in the Ellicott City historic district is ready to launch, as planned, on January 1^st. A couple of weeks ago I ran into Steve Lafferty at the Wine Bin and he told me you can already download the Parker app for your smartphone or tablet. Steve has been the county’s point guy on this project, which hasn't always been fun.

Spaced at intervals along Main Street, new pay stations have been installed, covered by black garbage bags awaiting their 2013 debut. All parking spaces are now numbered and the ones along Main Street have been clearly defined with fresh lines and markings, an improvement that has already helped the parking situation.

Some historic district residents are lobbying county officials to establish some sort of residential permit program and there is meeting on November 27^th with county officials to discuss that and other areas of concern. Other residents are exploring alternative parking strategies.

I’m not sure what a residential permit program would look like but I’d hope it would make more sense than these permitted spaces on Church Street.

Sign Bandits

HoCo’s tolerance for illegal campaign signs has broken. Last week independent senate candidate Rob Sobhani blanketed HoCo roadways with multiple campaign signs in single locations. That apparently was the straw that broke the camels back. Up until now the county had tolerated campaign signs placed illegally in county right of ways and a few school board candidates took advantage of this. Last week all illegal campaign signs were caught up in a sweep by HoCo road crews. Loco candidates can thank Rob Sobhani for this change of heart.

Yesterday Mr. Sobhani made a brief campaign appearance at the Bain Senior Center early voting location accompanied by his own film crew. Council chair Mary Kay Sigaty was working the polling site on behalf of school board candidate EllenFlynn Giles when Rob, with crew in tow, approached her. After introducing herself, Mary Kay took the opportunity to upbraid the candidate for his illegal HoCo loco sign saturation. Rob tried brushing off the criticism by laying the blame on “overzealous” campaign workers.

Mary Kay wasn't having any of that. “"That's the excuse we all use,” she responded, “but ultimately, those illegal signs are your responsibility."

Well said.

A witness tells me that at this point the camera crew stopped filming.