Capital Improvements

WASHINGTON -- White House officials sought yesterday to quash speculation that the administration's next budget will end operating subsidies for Amtrak, insisting that six senators who have protested the presumed cuts had been misinformed."

WASHINGTON -- Amtrak is expected to receive $555 million for the next fiscal year under a Senate compromise reached yesterday within a larger bill that would set the amount of money that can be spent on transportation projects.Despite his outspoken opposition to subsidies for Amtrak, Sen. Richard C. Shelby, an Alabama Republican who leads a subcommittee that allocates money for transportation, approved the figure.The money represents an 11 percent cut from the $621 million proposed by President Clinton early this year for the national passenger rail system.

AMTRAK, this nation's only passenger railroad, faces a bleak future. It lost $83 million last year and anticipates losing another $100 million this year. Republicans in Congress want to phase out federal subsidies. A labor union threatens to strike next week unless its wage demand is met.There is no consensus in Congress on what to do about the railroad, which carries 60,000 intercity passengers in the Northeast daily.Some $2.3 billion for badly needed capital improvements was tucked into the balanced-budget accord, but it can't be touched until Congress implements management and labor reforms.

WASHINGTON -- Being the president of Amtrak is not a position most mortals would covet.The railroad has aging equipment, an overhang of debt and up-to-the-precipice struggles for congressional funding. Its name gets hit by accidents on lines of private railroads from which it leases track space. A constant chorus of critics suggests its entire operation be liquidated.But Tom Downs, a 54-year-old career manager with an irrepressible sense of humor, loves leading Amtrak. And right now he's ebullient over a new $2.3 billion lifeline from Congress.

A boost in its credit rating will allow Mercy Medical Center to sell $30 million in bonds to finance capital improvements and other initiatives, the hospital said yesterday.Both Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's Corp. gave Mercy an "A" rating, citing the hospital's ability to increase market share, recruit top surgeons and align with 70 doctors in Maryland Personal Physicians Inc., a group of Central Maryland primary care providers.The "A" ratings come after four years of cutting costs and repositioning the hospital as a top provider of women's health services, said Thomas Mullen, Mercy's chief financial officer.

An increase in revenue from county and state sources and from town impact fees has generated a budget surplus of nearly $300,000 for the town of Sykesville.An independent audit of town finances identified the surplus, which is about 25 percent of the town's $1.2 million budget and comes in the same year that Sykesville has reduced its property tax rate by 4 cents per $100 of assessed value.The surplus could mean another tax reduction next year."I know there will be a lot of sentiment to lower taxes again, but we have to see about putting this money to the best possible use," Mayor Jonathan S. Herman said.

The Sykesville Town Council is looking for a new member to fill the seat of Julie A. Kaus, who resigned Monday night.Ms. Kaus, who is serving her second term, attributed her decision to personal reasons."

The Sykesville Town Council swore in Michael H. Burgoyne as its newest member last night and discussed increasing the impact fee for new homes to $900, nearly double the current $475."

The Carroll County Planning Commission is facing the same unpleasant task it faces every year: choosing which capital improvements to include in the next year's budget.As long as Carroll County continues to follow the self-imposed austerity program that limits money available for construction of public infrastructure, the planning commission will be forced to just say "no" to deserving public construction projects.Carroll is no longer a rural county with a static population. The populace is growing at a steady rate, creating a need for more schools, libraries, senior centers and recreation centers.

WASHINGTON -- Although Amtrak is getting closer to self-sufficiency in its operating budget, the government-owned railroad needs a huge infusion of federal money to replace dilapidated equipment and property, federal and Amtrak officials say.Amtrak passengers paid 80 percent of the railroad's operating costs in 1993, continuing a steady increase from the 48 percent they contributed in 1981. The officials say the railroad could operate self-sufficiently in the next decade.But they also say the railroad needs nearly $4 billion in federal money to repair and replace its aging trains, dilapidated stations and inadequate maintenance yards.

Baltimore County is working on a long-term lease agreement for city-owned Robert E. Lee Park that would accelerate the pace of necessary repairs if state funding is approved. The footbridge that serves as the most popular entrance to the park, just north of the county line, has been closed since the summer after Baltimore County inspectors declared the bridge unsafe. County Executive James T. Smith Jr. said Monday that the county is seeking $3 million in state money - its only bond bill request - to repair the bridge and address environmental concerns.

What a difference a surplus makes. Baltimore's rosier financial picture allowed Mayor Martin O'Malley to announce last week a $75 million plan to help build and renovate city schools, which average nearly 50 years in age. His initiative is meant to fit in with an ongoing school downsizing and restructuring plan. While City Hall and North Avenue have often been at odds over rebuilding schools, these efforts are a sound investment in the city's future. But many Baltimore schools are so dilapidated that the new city money is merely a drop in the bucket.

The Columbia Association is poised to spend an additional $1.5 million in renovations to the Supreme Sports Club after already dedicating more than $820,000 in upgrades to its fitness facilities while facing the threat of a mega-sports gym competitor. If the association does not respond to the proposed Life Time Fitness in Columbia's Gateway Commerce Center, it stands to lose between $4 million and $5 million annually, said Rob Goldman, the association's vice president for sport and fitness.

Facing the threat of a mega sports facility opening in Columbia's Gateway Commerce Center, the Columbia Association will expand the Supreme Sports Club's operating hours and make more than $220,000 in capital improvements. The Supreme Sports Club is scheduled to begin operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week on Sept. 7, Howard County's first gym to be open at all hours, said Rob Goldman, the association's vice president for sport and fitness. In customer surveys since 1985, Goldman said 10 percent to 12 percent of users have indicated that they are not satisfied with the club's hours -- 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays; and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Magna Entertainment Corp.'s offer of $68 million to buy Rosecroft Raceway includes $12 million for the track itself plus capital improvements, backstretch upgrades and guaranteed purses for 10 years, according to Tom Winebrener, president of the board of directors of the Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners Association. Representing the CSOA, which owns the Prince George's County harness track, the board voted Wednesday to sell Rosecroft but to wait until Oct. 17 to decide whom to sell to. Magna and two other companies made presentations to the CSOA membership - trainers, breeders and horse owners - and submitted letters of intent for purchasing the track.

A lawsuit that could affect how Carroll County finances a $16 million water treatment plant on Piney Run Lake in Sykesville will be heard in Carroll County Circuit Court at 1:30 p.m. today. Several South Carroll residents, who oppose the project, filed the suit. They contend that the county cannot use water maintenance fees, paid by those using the public water system, to fund capital improvements such as the plant. "The basis of the suit is that this type funding violates the state constitution," said Gerald J. Ryan, a Westminster businessman who is paying residents' legal fees.

ON THE RADIO the other day, Mayor Martin O'Malley offered a tantalizing glimpse into a rosy future. He mentioned Olympic Games in Baltimore in 2012. Let us dream. He talked about economic fallout, such as high-speed trains between here and Washington. Let us dream some more. He mentioned all those people who work in high-priced D.C. but are moving to Baltimore for our cheaper housing, and would be further encouraged with the futuristic high-speed rail. And this is where the dream begins to dissolve.

The Columbia Association is charging $12,000 a year to rent its troubled horse center and is requiring the tenant to spend $50,000 a year on capital improvements, according to terms of a new lease. The arrangement will not end the association's losses from the horse center, because the homeowners' group remains responsible for debt incurred for the facility. Six-figure annual losses are projected for the next three years, and annual losses in the tens of thousands of dollars are expected to continue for more than a decade.

St. Joseph Medical Center named John K. Tolmie its new president and chief executive officer yesterday. Tolmie is president and chief executive officer of the St. Joseph Regional Health Network, a two-hospital system in Pennsylvania. He starts work at the Towson hospital Jan. 8. He will be replacing James J. Cullen, who came to St. Joseph two years ago and resigned this month. Yesterday, Cullen declined to discuss his reasons for resigning, saying, "That's past." Carmen Deyesu, chairman of the St. Joseph board of directors, said of Cullen, "He had to decide if this environment was best for his abilities, and both sides came to the same conclusion."

City school consultants are expected to recommend closing some schools and combining pupils from others to offset shrinking enrollment, steps that are expected to draw protests from parents but could mean hundreds of millions of dollars in new funding from the state. The school system has a capacity of more than 131,000 students, according to state statistics, but only about 101,500 are projected to be enrolled this fall. And the downward trend is expected to continue. Officials said they don't know how many of the more than 180 schools would be closed.