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Re: FY09 Capital Budget: Rec. & Parks Chairman Watson and members of the County Council: The League of Women Voters of Howard County supports the proposed FY09 Capital Budget for the Department of Recreation and Parks...Our support for these specific capital budget items is based on our League’s Recreation and Parks position for "facilities accessible to and meeting the needs of a changing and diverse population and accelerated acquisition of land for recreation and parks." The League has consistently supported the Howard County Delegation's bond bill requests for Rec. and Parks projects and we are quoting some of our testimony presented to the Delegation on November 29, 2007. Blandair Regional Park-N3102: The League has testified for the past five years ..on behalf of the 298 acre Blandair Regional Park. The FY09 request provides the dollars that will finish design and start construction of the south area of the park. State Bond support for FY'09 is $300,000. North Laurel Park and Community Center-N3940: The League has also testified in the past for the 51 acre park and community center to provide recreational amenities to the Laurel area. This project also received $300,000 in State Bond for FY09. The FY09 request will start construction. The League did note that $11 million for construction cost was removed. We assume Rec. and Parks will seek Revenue Authority funding for the aquatic center. Parkland Acquisition-N3103: The League regrets that FY 09 State Open Space dollars are expected to be substantially less than FY08. In fact, this capital budget project is also impacted by major reductions in County transfer taxes. The proposed expenditure is slightly larger than $1 million compared to $7.4 million in FY08. There are approximately 89 acres of land that the Rec. and Parks Department are negotiating to purchase and another 29 acres that they are seeking appraisals on. The League noticed that a zero amount of developer fees in-lieu-of was budgeted in FY08 and the FY09 budget shows $48,000. Is this the accumulated collection of fees for 2 years? Robinson Nature Center-N3960: The Nature Center project also received $300,000 of State Bond support for FY09. The 18-acre site along the Middle Patuxent River will provide an opportunity to all residents of the County to understand their relationship not only to the Howard County environment but our relationship to the Chesapeake Bay. The Robinson Nature Center has the potential to become a major environmental teaching center. The FY09 request is for design and construction with completion set for FY11. The League notes that the cost for the Robinson Nature Center has increased almost $3 million over the approved FY08 Capital Budget. Thank you for this opportunity to testify. We urge your favorable consideration.
Barbara Russell |
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