NEWS
August 5, 2007
Gov. Martin O'Malley and state Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp made the right decision last week in approving the state purchase of a 74-acre waterfront tract on the northern tip of Kent Island known as Love Point. State Comptroller Peter Franchot's concerns about the $7.2 million purchase price deserved careful review but did not justify a decision by the Board of Public Works to reject the deal once appraisers were satisfied. As The Sun's Greg Garland reported, a critical feature of Maryland's open space program is that it has a dedicated revenue source and is nimble enough to take advantage of the opportunity to acquire choice parcels when their owners want to sell.
NEWS
April 19, 2007
The state Board of Public Works agreed yesterday to spend $10.3 million to purchase 728 acres near the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge to preserve forests and farmland that had been threatened by a proposed golf resort. With Comptroller Peter Franchot absent, Gov. Martin O'Malley and state Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp approved the deal, ending a battle of more than year between developer Duane Zentgraf and environmental groups. The decision means that Zentgraf can build 675 homes for senior citizens on 328 acres along Egypt Road.
NEWS
By Michael Dresser | May 6, 1999
The state awarded a $41 million contract yesterday to build a new Juvenile Justice Center in East Baltimore to a company whose offer was $1 million higher than a rival firm's price.Within hours, the spurned bidder went to court seeking an order delaying construction of the the most expensive juvenile justice facility in state history.The decision to award the contract to The Poole & Kent Co. of Baltimore came on a 2-1 vote by the Board of Public Works, with Gov. Parris N. Glendening and Treasurer Richard N. Dixon outvoting Comptroller William Donald Schaefer.
NEWS
By Candus Thomson | February 20, 1999
BROOKEVILLE -- A combative Gov. Parris Glendening again drew a line through this town's proposed bypass yesterday, and then he drew a line in the dirt and challenged the road's supporters to cross it.Within hours, the battle for the bypass around this village in rural Montgomery County was joined once more.Glendening, surrounded by townspeople and elected officials, reiterated that the state will not pay for the $13 million road because it runs contrary to his anti-sprawl Smart Growth campaign.
NEWS
By JoAnna Daemmrich | January 25, 1999
In Highlandtown, he's Mayor. In Cumberland, he's Governor.And in Annapolis, as William Donald Schaefer ends his restless retirement to become Maryland's first new comptroller in 40 years, nobody knows quite how to address him."What will we call him?" puzzled House Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr. "Probably, at least in public, I'll refer to him as Mr. Comptroller. Most of the time, though, I'll call him Governor, which is what I've always called him. Privately, I'll call him Don."It's a dilemma that goes beyond etiquette.
NEWS
By Gady A. Epstein | January 28, 1999
One Carroll County legislator quoted from the Bible. An Eastern Shore delegate fell humbly to one knee, if in jest. Top Republican lawmakers from Howard County figured they helped their cause by simply keeping their mouths shut.Everybody had his own strategy yesterday as Baltimore and 19 Maryland counties performed the annual ritual of pleading before the Board of Public Works for state construction dollars to build and renovate schools.Officials of the 20 jurisdictions were vying for their pieces of $62 million in school construction money that the Board of Public Works is expected to divvy up this spring.
NEWS
By Thomas W. Waldron and Melody Simmons | February 24, 1999
Counties that lose state funding for local projects may seek support from Maryland's Board of Public Works, but the final decision remains with the governor and General Assembly, the state attorney general said yesterday.In an opinion requested by Carroll County legislators, Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. said county officials can ask the Board of Public Works to endorse the need for long-planned bypasses for which Gov. Parris N. Glendening has canceled funding.But even if a majority of the three-member board endorsed the projects, the governor could withhold the money under the state constitution, Curran said.
NEWS
BY A SUN STAFF WRITER | February 25, 1999
Frederick County residents will be getting a new playground soon, courtesy of a 167-acre purchase of farmland approved yesterday by the state Board of Public Works.The land along Route 144 is to be transformed into New Market District Park, with picnic areas, ball fields, playgrounds and nature trails.County officials will decide over the next few months how to develop the property, which includes fields and woods.Gov. Parris N. Glendening, Comptroller William Donald Schaefer and Treasurer Richard N. Dixon -- the three members of the Board of Public Works -- gave unanimous approval to spending $686,000 in Program Open Space money to buy the land.
NEWS
By Thomas W. Waldron and Gerard Shields | June 29, 1999
IN THE OLD DAYS (THAT is, before William Donald Schaefer returned to Annapolis as state comptroller,) the governor of Maryland pretty much had his way at the Board of Public Works.If another member of the three-person board -- either the state treasurer or comptroller -- had a problem with an item up for approval, the governor would quietly smooth things out beforehand, out of public view.But with Comptroller Annoyed on the board, it's almost a given that Gov. Parris N. Glendening will run into at least one problem at every meeting.
NEWS
By Kristine Henry | February 11, 1999
The state Board of Public Works awarded Westminster and Hampstead $63,641 yesterday from Program Open Space.Westminster received $23,891 to buy land on Main Street that will be developed into a meeting place for downtown shoppers.Hampstead received nearly $39,750 to buy land and install playground equipment next to a basketball court on West Street, the second phase of its Towne Centre Park project.In Westminster, a 2,500-square-foot plot in front of Locust Lane Mall and across Main Street from the Carroll County public library will be turned into a common area with landscaping, park benches and a directory of downtown businesses.