Hudson said she has mixed feelings about the change in ownership.
"It will be nice to know who actually owns it. I feel like I've been dealing with people behind a shroud," she said about trying to get information from the more-remote Howard Community College Educational Foundation board.
Hetherington said Howard County provided half of the $4.4 million for the purchase deal, with the rest coming from donors and the foundation, the previous owner.
That might sound confusing, but Hetherington said donors can't legally give money directly to the college, but instead must donate funds to the foundation, the college's fundraising arm. All of the donations went to retire some of the outstanding debt on the property, she said.
The college foundation bought the secluded 81-acre conference center/estate in 2004. Controversy erupted shortly thereafter, partly over $1.3 million provided by developer Harry "Chip" Lundy, a foundation board member who originally hoped to build senior homes on part of the land, sharing the profits with the foundation.
After residents organized opposition, that plan stalled and at one point Howard County government was to buy the estate. That too fell through.
Lundy was repaid by the foundation in March, removing any claim he had to the Dobbin property.
