From Harford County Councilman “Capt’n” Jim McMahan and Bel Air Tommissioner Susan Burdette:
28 January 2015
NEWS
This is the new look of Coffee Talk. In order to serve you better I have teamed up with Commissioner Susan Burdette from the Town of Bel Air. In the last several years I have found that many of your questions and events overlap the County and the Town of Bel Air. Now you will have contact information for both your council representative and a town commissioner.
We are still working out the kinks on distribution. We do not want to send it as an attachment but we may have to do that until it is refined.
The Town of Bel Air has a new Town Administrator. Former Sheriff of Harford County L Jesse Bane has assumed the duties of Town Administrator after Dr. James Fielder was appointed “Appoints Secretary” by the Hogan administration.
Harford County planning officials were dealt a blow when SHA sent them a letter dated 21 January reversing their decision to deny ingress and egress off of MD 924 to the property at Plumtree Rd and 924. The reversal reportedly came after a September 17th meeting requested by WALMART with SHA in Baltimore. County officials say they stand by the Harford County Resolution passed 5 to 2 requesting denial of the access. Your councilman was not included in the “change Discussions” at all and has fired off a letter in opposition to reversing the decision.
Harford County has repealed the “RAIN TAX” County Exec Glassman said the county will still be good stewards when it comes to processing storm water run-off and protecting the Bay. Four other counties are considering dropping the fees as Harford County did or drastically reducing them.
EVENTS
JAN 28 CIM THE REGENT AT STONE HOUSE Community Input Meeting at Harford Technical High School Amoss Center beginning at 6 PM. This is a second CIM for this group after significant changes to the original plans were made.
URGENT
YOUR SUPPORT OF APG IS URGENTLY NEEDED.
JAN 29 CITIZEN SUPPORT FOR APG. The Army is considering the cut of 4,300 in the workforce of APG. A community listening session will be held at 6PM at the Amoss Center in Harford Technical High School at 200 Thomas Run Road opposite the College. We need to pack the auditorium and demonstrate to the ARMY our commitment to APG and its tenant organizations that number more than 90. YOU MAKE THE DIFFERENCE HERE. TIME 6 PM TELL THE ARMY BRASS WHY APG IS IMPORTANT TO HARFORD COUNTY. EVERY VOICE COUNTS NOT JUST THE POLITICIANS
I’ll kick things off by pointing out that the letter reversing the SHA decision was dated 1/21, which is the exact day that Hogan took office.
If you think that’s a coincidence, you’re in fantasy land.
I will also point out that almost 3 years ago I said the intersection with 924 should be a right-in, right-out only. In fact, I know Walmart reps were told that specifically by community representatives, and they said it wouldn’t work.
Finally, the last site plan submitted to P&Z by Walmart called for a traffic light at the intersection of Blue Spruce and Bel Air South Pkwy, but in 2011, when considering a round-a-bout for that location P&Z stated there couldn’t be a traffic light there because it was too close to the existing traffic lights.
So what’s it gonna be now? Walmart has made a total mess of this from the start, and if they had set out to do things the right way, rather than the cheapest way imaginable, things would have gone differently I think. The real truth is that there’s no “good” way to smash their square peg into this round hole, but they will keep at it, I’m sure.
The less they pay, the more you will.
Implying the change had something to do with the new administration is laughable.
Continental drift moves faster than the government.
Not true. The new governor is making quick changes. Hogan changed the phosphorus management tool within hours after he took office. That regulation limited the amount of manure farmers could spread on their fields. It’s almost incredible that he could have his hand in Harford’s Walmart issue, but obviously not incredible enough.
If you think Hogan woke up the morning of the 21st and said…
Hey I’m gonna change the phosphors management and the entrance to Wal Mart in Bel Air you are delusional.
Nope. You’re wrong. Within hours after taking office he repealed the PMT. Check it out.
All these things are well planned out and thought through You bozos who think they suddenly came up with the idea this morning scribbling on the back of a napkin at McDonalds and suddenly by noon it law are fricken nuts. If you didn’t hear Hogan talking about chicken poop before the 21st you really haven’t been paying attention.
Good news is, Obamacare covers your delusional issues.
Laughable= not thinking that one of the largest corporations on the planet has no influence over the Governor (any Governor) of Maryland.
Laughable= thinking that government moves slow because it can’t go any faster. When the kickbacks and deals need to be made, things move awfully fast in Washington. Or Harford County for that matter, as we all witnessed with our new County Executive in the last few months.
Hogan had plenty of time to hear from the Walmart lobbyists before being sworn in, and probably before even being elected, to make a phone call on inauguration day and tell the Director of the SHA that the approval letter will go out TODAY
Hogan didn’t have time for SHA on day 1 he was busy finding out who really killed Kennedy and requesting private tours of area 51.
It’s all a conspiracy I tell you!!!!!
As long as Walmart complies with existing zoning and law, SHA acted correctly. Residents in Bright Oaks area developments can access 924 via controlled traffic light intersections if needed.
That means Bright Oaks residents have to drive blocks out of their way to get on Laurel Bush Rd. or Patterson Mill Rd. to access traffic lights just to turn left on #924. HUGELY inconvenient.
Which by the way, according to Google Maps is less than a mile and takes just 2 minutes for the person living furthest away to get to the Festival. Or if they wanted to go further south, they could just turn right and then left on Plumtree. Both of which would be safer than trying to turn onto 924 currently.
There are plenty of people in that neighborhood who didn’t want a traffic light there, at least as many who wanted it.
Bottom line is a traffic light there would be a horrendous mistake, backing cars up from one light to the next.
My rap music is going to sound like this: bum bumm bum bum bum.
every night I drive to Wally World through bright oaks.
SHA has the discretion and authority to grant or deny access to state roads based on their own policies, so whatever Walmart does or doesn’t do has nothing to do with that decision.
Where SHA has acted incorrectly, in my opinion, is in issuing a denial of the access in 2013, and then suddenly granting it again. So what condition or policy changed and why?
It is alleged that Walmart met with SHA in September, and now we have a change in their decision. So who was at the meeting, where are the minutes, etc?
One step at a time.
Hope the residents of Bright Oaks like rap music, I’ll be plating it, volume to 11 and bass bumping around midnight, often, as I drive to Wally World.
That’s ok. You won’t hear the rumble strips until your piece of sh#t car runs over them.
A lot of people were against an RV park at RT152 & RT 1.
I find it ironic that RVs will now be staying overnight in the Walmart parking lot in Bel Air.
We stayed in Walmart parking lots all across the USA. They love the business!
Why do we care what an out of County business enjoys? Its profits go to Arkansas. Local business profits, especially those earned by our small businesses, tend to stay local.
WalMart profits go to the shareholders, of which there are *many*. They don’t just back the cash trucks up to Bentonville, AR and pile it up along the streets.
The big corporations that everyone complains about are the same ones that most people have their retirement money in, in one form or another.
I take you at your word that Walmart stock pays dividends. Most common stock does not, which means that shareholders are paid the theoretical value of the stock at the moment of sale, which may or may not have a direct relationship with the amount of profit.
Most small businesses are of the sole proprietorship variety, which means that the profits go directly to the shareholder, of which there is usually only one or just a few.
Meaning the residents who freaked out about the camp ground small business in fallston were wrong?
Welcome to Harford county where we hate small business and people trying to make a difference.
Who is the new chief of Planning in the State? That’s right the builders friend David. This was his plan all along and you fools thought he was trying to stop WalMart.
Nice theory, but the MD Dept of Planning has no authority on the matter. The sole authority on the 924 access is the State Highway Administration which is part of Transportation.
However, since Craig is appointed by Hogan, and Hogan controls who is in charge of SHA, I think we can safely assume Craig might have had something to do with it in reality.
Difficult to say though. Before I suspect Craig of trying to get favors out of Hogan, I’d say Hogan (also a developer) just has ties to the principals on the project.
They say good news comes in three’s. First Walmart get approval for their road entrance off of 924. Evergreen Woods Apartments complex is going to build 198 units. Tollgate Road is going to be connected. Just think all of this with in one half mile of each other.