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FREEDOM
AREA CITIZENS’ COUNCIL
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| A Publication
of FACC / Freedom Area Citizens’ Council |
December 2002
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Defense
requests extension in water suit
In response
to threatened sanctions, the county’s private attorneys
have requested a three-week extension to respond to plaintiffs’
motion for discovery in Perkins v. Carroll County.
The suit,
entered in the Circuit Court for Carroll County on Nov. 1,
2001, alleges that Carroll County has illegally collected
maintenance fees from current users of the Freedom Water and
Sewer District to construct a water treatment plant at Piney
Run Lake. A previous attempt by the County to dismiss the
case was rejected by Judge Luke K. Burns after a hearing on
May 24, 2002.
In an
order dated Nov. 19, 2002 the Court ordered the defense to
respond to plaintiffs’ requests for discovery in seven
calendar days. When the defense did not respond, plaintiffs’
attorneys filed for sanctions against the defense. Sanctions
could range from reimbursement for plaintiffs’ costs
to a directed verdict or fines against the county. While a
directed verdict would prove the plaintiffs’ case, it
would also mean that the county would not have to publicly
expose public information about the amounts and sources of
funds to be used for construction
of the proposed water treatment plant. The county has repeatedly
rejected attempts by private citizens to determine the source
of these funds.
Except
for illegal activities alleged in the suit, the case may have
been made moot by decisions by the new Board of County Commissioners.
The new Board voted on Dec. 3 to stop work on the plant and
to sign the Watershed Agreement with Baltimore City.
FACC
membership drive on course
The FACC’s
annual membership drive is underway and on course. Over 20
percent of last year’s members have
renewed their membership in the only civic organization of
its type in Carroll County.
FACC is
a non-profit, non-partisan private corporation organized to
keep the public in the Freedom Area informed about issues
that impact the lives of citizens in the area. We do this
through a series of planned programs such as our monthly meetings
with knowledgeable speakers on
important issues and publications such as our quarterly newspaper,
The Freedom Banner, and the monthly newsletter, The Informer.
The newsletter depends on membership fees for printing and
postage costs. Any profit that we make from either publication
is plowed back into the community through donations to local
charities and through college scholarships given to graduates
of local high schools.
FACC’s
annual memberships run from January to December of each year.
The membership fee is $10 per family per year. Memberships
entitle citizens to discounts at some local merchants.
Please
follow this link for a membership form to renew your membership,
or give it to a friend or neighbor to help us increase our
membership.
We need
your help to keep Freedom informed about local issues.
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Sensibility
returns to COB
Series of common sense decisions by new
Board found encouraging by FACC
Beginning
immediately after celebrating their swearing in, the new
Board of County Commissioners made a series of substantial
and sensible decisions to undo policies imposed by their
predecessors and to return common sense to the County Office
Building.
Many
of these decisions reflected promises made by the Commissioners
during their campaigns.
The
FACC is encouraged that these decisions are consistent with
positions taken by the FACC over the last several years.
We are also pleased that they are consistent with the will
of the majority of the voters in the recent primary election.
Included
among the early moves was the decision to stop work on the
proposed water treatment plant at Piney Run Lake. The Commissioners
also announced they would sign the Watershed Agreement with
Baltimore City, possibly as early as January, and ordered
the county planning department to amend the Carroll County
Water and Sewer Master Plan submitted to the Maryland Department
of the Environment to remove Piney Run and to include already
drilled wells in Sykesville.
Construction
of a water treatment plant at Piney Run Lake had been a
major issue in the recent elections. Signing the long-delayed
Watershed Agreement could open the way to obtaining additional
water from Liberty Reservoir and possibly to construction
of an additional water treatment plant at Liberty.
The
new Board decided to increase the size of the Planning and
Zoning Commission by two members. This could mean that new
members more concerned about controlling the rampant residential
growth in South Carroll can be placed on the Commission.
It could also mean that the county’s Concurrency Management
Ordinance, which was often ignored over the last six years,
will be revised.
A number
of decisions related the Carroll County Ethics Commission
were also made in the first two days of the new term. On
day one, the Board voted 2-0 (Commissioner Gouge elected
not to participate) to reject an eleventh-hour authorization
by the old Board of $10,000 for attorney’s fees related
to an investigation of a contract given by the State’s
DBED for a private business. The new Board then expanded
the Commission from three members to seven members. This
was followed on day two by an order to members of the existing
Commission to resign or to have their services terminated
on Dec. 31, 2002. The credibility of the existing Commission
has been widely questioned because of inconsistent and possibly
illegal treatment of elected and appointed members of the
county government.
The
Board also decided to support the Carroll County Council
of Governments (CCCOG) which includes representatives of
the county’s municipalities and civic groups like FACC
and the Finksburg FPAC.
Finally,
although there are several other decisions, each important
enough to justify an editorial, one particularly pleasing
to employees of the county government was the termination
of the county’s Character Education Program. This program,
which circulated a bulletin featuring an animal that symbolized
a specific character trait, encouraged county employees
to emphasize a specific trait each month. Many employees
had expressed displeasure with the program which they felt
was insulting.
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NEXT FACC MEETING
Tuesday Jan. 21 at 7 p.m.
Freedom Christian Church
Carrolltown Center
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Editorial:
Has Freedom come of age?
Who
would have thought only a year ago that the citizens of
Freedom would be on the cusp of having a meaningful voice
in local affairs as they are today? The dawning of a Council
of Governments (COG) in Carroll County holds forth opportunities
for the Freedom Community Planning Area as never before
thought possible.
We have
all seen Carroll County miss the boat on grant opportunities
and huge expenditures from the State treasury simply because
we looked as if we didn’t have our collective act together
– in fact, we plainly did not – so those counties
that could get their acts on the same page, working as a
team, were the ones that excelled in reaping funding opportunities
and attracting desirable business development. Now it’s
our turn.
Not
unlike Frederick County, which has had a COG since the mid
1980s, the proposed Carroll County COG can serve many purposes,
such as tackling the challenges and opportunities that lie
in the growth conundrum. The prime beneficiary of this efficiency
will be the citizens of Carroll County. Each community will
maintain its own distinct identity and goals but the time
has come for this County to have one collective strategy,
one Master Plan that works cohesively for each of its interjurisdictional
partners in achieving shared objectives. And the time is
at hand for the Freedom Area to achieve official recognition
as an individual planning unit – as a full member of
the new COG.
Think
of it, all of the major planning areas of Carroll working
as one to tackle growth, crime, public health, finance and
education issues. There is no intent to create a new bureaucracy,
no need to provide revenue for the COG – the entities
already exist.
Will
Eldersburg/Freedom be a full-fledged member of this COG?
That issue remains in question, a detail to be worked through.
But the important matter at hand is that Freedom’s
citizens have already carved out a place of recognition
for themselves through their volunteer organization, the
Freedom Area Citizens’ Council (FACC). Members of the
FACC have spent years and countless volunteer hours attempting
to get the attention of a county government that seemed
determined to shut them down by shutting them out. The day
may well be near when the 30,000 plus residents of Freedom
find that they really do have an official say in their own
future; in the quality of life of their own residents.
Short
of incorporating, the COG is the closest thing to real representation
South Carroll will see for years to come. Let’s not
miss this opportunity.
Neil
Ridgely
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SPECIAL EDITION
This
December edition of the Freedom Informer newsletter is a special
edition. Normally, the FACC’s quarterly newspaper, The Freedom
Banner, would be published in December. But the Banner’s editor,
Mike Naused, was ill at the critical time in the publication process.
But don’t worry. Mike is fine now and the Banner will appear
again in January 2003.
Krebs meets
with FACC Board
“I’m
here to work for and with the people of this community.” Those
were the welcoming and welcomed words of the newly-elected delegate
of District 9B, Susan Krebs, as she met for the first time with
board members of the Freedom Area Citizens’ Council.
The FACC welcomed
the opportunity to finally meet with a respected community leader
to discuss issues important to the citizens of South Carroll that
will be carried to the state legislature in Annapolis.
Ms. Krebs discussed
issues that she will concentrate on during her first months in the
General Assembly. These included bringing more education dollars
back to Carroll County, support of Sykesville’s Warfield Complex,
improvements to local roads including particularly improvements
on Sykesville Road (Route 32) and the improvements defined by the
State Highway Administration study in the last two years on Liberty
Road (Route 26) and improvements to local recreation and senior
citizens’ facilities.
With respect
to road improvements, Ms. Krebs noted that it will be necessary
to insure that improvements to Sykesville and Liberty Roads that
are not now included on the county’s priority list are included
in the county’s priorities. She pointed out that the State
would not normally
fund improvements not included in the county’s “wish list.”
However, Chairman Ross Dangel noted a conversation that he had had
with Wesley Mitchell, SHA’s project engineer for improvements
to Liberty Road who said that those improvements will be made even
without the county’s support. Improvements to Route 32 are
supported not only by the Town of Sykesville but also by the Episcopal
Ministries who have plans to build a Conference Center at Fairhaven.
Ms. Krebs and
the Board had a lengthy discussion on the possibility of changes
to the county’s government concentrating on whether it’s
time for charter government or for a representative five-commissioner
form of government. Generally the consensus was that enlargement
of the commissioner form of government with regional representation
was preferable in the short term and that might be followed in a
few years by Charter government. Ms. Krebs reported that proposals
for change in Carroll County’s form of government arose in
discussions with Delegate Don Eliott and Sen. Robert Kittleman.
Jeannie Nichols,
councilwoman from Sykesville, was also present. She proposed two
substantial changes aimed at increasing local control of local issues.
First, she proposed the establishment of an official planning group
in South Carroll that would have control over development in South
Carroll. She also argued for development of a regional water authority
including citizens served by the local water/sewer system with liaison
from the county’s Department of Public Works.
Ms. Krebs will
be sworn into office in early January. She said that she would like
to be able to establish an office in South Carroll to which citizens
could direct questions for her attention, but that the size of the
budget allowed for this purpose by the State might prohibit setting
up a Krebs: Continued from page 3 local office. Ms. Krebs will set
up an office in Annapolis. The Informer (and The Banner) will publish
an address and phone number where she can be reached as soon as
she is sworn in.
The
FACC looks forward to a productive working relationship with Delegate
Krebs, as we work together for a better community with South Carroll’s
first dedicated representative in the General Assembly.
Mike
Naused
Help! FACC needs
your help
At its November
general membership meeting, the FACC held a “brainstorming”
session to define issues of interest to the membership for the coming
year. Members of the audience were asked to suggest items of interest.
These items are listed in the following table. It was suggested
at the end of the meeting that the list be circulated for comment
by the membership and by the public. So our plan is to include the
list in this issue of The Informer, then to include it in the January
2003 issue of The Freedom Banner and to ask citizens to rank the
issues in the table in priority order.
Readers are
requested to take a look at the following table and if there is
an issue you wish to have addressed at one of the meeeting please
forward it to
FACC will select
the items that get the most support and attempt to find a knowledgeable
speaker(s) willing to talk to us at one of our regular monthly meetings
and will schedule the meeting and announce it in the newsletter
or in The Banner.
Phil Bennett
Editor
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