Strange Bedfellows

Employees of the county Revenue Authority and their families will be treated tonight to a holiday party at the Reisterstown Sportsplex and it sounds like it will be quite the evening.

The facility is a combination ice rink, indoor soccer and lacrosse facility which the authority built in partnership with the county. The authority manages the rink along with a handful of public golf courses.

“We used to have something (at the Towson office) during the day, but a lot of people couldn’t make it and that just didn’t make any sense,” said authority Chief Executive Lynnie Cook, adding that this year’s event is small “but we expect it to grow” in the future.

Attendees will be treated to ice skating, food, turkey bowling (yes, bowling on the ice rink with a frozen bird) and other goodies. (more…)

Summer is winding down and the talk of Don Hutchinson running for a third term for county executive not only won’t go away, they’re heating up.

Hutchinson, the two time county executive, isn’t saying he’s in.

“I’ve just let the rumors fly,” Hutchinson said, acknowledging the talk. “I”ve had a nice summer.”

In June, Hutchinson, 63, tried to play down any talk of another run. (more…)

 Baltimore County’s gain was Baltimore City’s loss in the most recent rankings of Best Municipal Golf Courses in the country from Golfweek Magazine.

Greystone Golf Course, in White Hall, was new to the top 50, checking in at number 28. The course, managed by the county Revenue Authority, was the only public course from Maryland to make the list.

The 2009 and 2008 lists were among the topics of discussion at Thursday’s meeting of the Baltimore County Revenue Authority board.

Last year, Mount Pleasant Golf Course, in Baltimore, was the only course in the state on the list, coming in at No. 12.

That ranking surprised some members of the board who made a few jokes at the expense of the city course.

“For hold-ups, armed robberies,” quipped board Chairman Hannan Sibel. (more…)

County Recreation and Parks Director Bob Barrett says more community input will be accepted in the coming months about the future of the former Gunpowder Falls Golf course.

A resumption of golf operations, however, is not in the cards, Barrett said. (more…)

The Baltimore County Revenue Authority publicly supported a Senate bill that would require a public hearing before the quasi-governmental agency can close, sell or transfer facilities. But, that support doesn’t mean there weren’t concerns.

Don Hutchinson, a current board member and former state senator and county executive, wondered aloud during the board’s March 26 meeting if hearings “cause complications with communicating with the county.” (more…)

Councilman Vince Gardina says he considered applying to be the next chief executive of the county Revenue Authority but is now “no longer interested.”

“It’s a pretty interesting job with a lot of interesting possibilities,” said Gardina, who represents the 5th District, including Towson and Perry Hall. (more…)

The public lost out when the quasi-public county Revenue Authority board awarded a $5,500 severance payment to Nevins and Associates at its Dec. 4 meeting.

The five-member board voted unanimously to close the meeting at the request of Hanan Sibel, the board’s chairman, who said he wished to discuss a “matter pertaining to compensation and personnel.” That’s one of 14 exemptions recognized by the state Open Meetings Act.

The act is designed to ensure that public officials do the people’s business in the open. (more…)

Former County Executive Dale Anderson knew how to work things to his benefit, including getting rid of a tree that hampered his golf game.

Former County Executive Donald Hutchinson during the Dec. 4 meeting of the county Revenue Authority board told the tale of a bout between a 150-year-old oak tree on the grounds of the Rocky Point Golf Course  then-County Executive Anderson in the 1970s. (more…)

County Council meetings in Baltimore County can sometimes become heated. Reasonable people will disagree. Sometimes strongly disagree.

They never get physical.

Depending on whom you talk to, things might have gotten physical between Don Mohler, a spokesman for County Executive Jim Smith, and Leslie Pittler, a county Revenue Authority board member, after the council’s Nov. 17 meeting. (more…)

What happens to the theater at Towson Circle III when it closes for good?

It’s true, ground hasn’t even been broken on the Heritage-Cordish project that includes a county-subsidized and county-operated parking garage, but members of the Baltimore County Revenue Authority board are thinking of the future.

Under the agreement with the authority, Heritage can convert the space so long as it meets zoning requirements and generates at least 70 percent of the parking the theater would have, George Hale told the board in response to a question asked by Hannan Sibel.

The agreement prevents Heritage or a future owner from converting the theater into operations that would be less profitable for the garage, such as a self-storage business.

“As a practical matter, what we all know is that the theater ultimately will close,”Donald Hutchinson said during the board’s Sept. 25 meeting.

Hale and others agreed.

“A lot of them don’t make it as long as they think they are going to make it,” Sibel said.

“On the other hand, they are a pretty good anchor for an investment property,” Hutchinson said.

Heritage was in discussions with up to three theater operators. That number is now down to one. The term of the lease could be 10 to 20 years, Hale told the board.

“And the length of our relationship with Heritage is?” Hutchinson asked.

“Kind of perpetual,” Hale replied.

“It’s like a marriage, only we can’t get a divorce,” Pittler added.