County Officials

Anne Arundel County residents would see a second water and sewer rate increase in less than a year under a proposal made this week by County Executive Janet S. Owens. In legislation introduced at Monday's County Council meeting, Owens requested a 7.5 percent rate increase as well as the implementation of fees, public works officials said yesterday. In July 2003, rates climbed 9 percent, and public works officials told the County Council that they would be back soon requesting another increase.

The Carroll County commissioners and local mayors have agreed to meet for a second Town-County Partnership Conference to discuss economic development and county services.Hampstead Mayor C. Clinton Becker suggested the idea yesterday during a quarterly meeting of the commissioners and mayors at the County Office Building.At the first town-county meeting in December 1990, officials discussed a plan to guide county growth into the 21st century. The meeting was designed to promote cooperation among the county and town governments.

Harford's first comprehensive rezoning since 1997 - a process that could change the face as well as the character of the county - is moving forward. County officials will begin posting signs this week on the 327 properties seeking zoning changes. Last week the county scheduled four public meetings to gather public input on the proposed changes. The first will be held Aug. 31 at Aberdeen High School. "Pay attention," Councilman Robert G. Cassilly advised residents as government officials move to re-examine the county's land-use and growth policies for the next decade.

The Love Craft adult video store in North Laurel violates zoning laws and must close or move, Howard County officials say, though they expect a prolonged legal battle over the issue. The county recently lost a decade-long legal struggle to displace a similar store - the Pack Shack - on U.S. 40 in Ellicott City. But zoning inspectors had never visited Love Craft or tried to force the store's owners to comply with provisions of a law restricting the location and regulating operation of adult stores.

AS EXQUISITE as it is, the Rouse Co.'s quarry in Savage ought to give Howard County officials pause as they consider whether to convert the site into parkland. Rouse officials have offered to turn the property over to the county so it can become an extension of Savage Park. But there's a major problem: The pristine lake in the middle of the quarry may be treacherous because of its deep waters and frigid temperatures.How deep is it? Three hundred feet, and rising about five feet a year. That would not be such a problem except that the geology of the lake makes for some very cold water; as high as 70 degrees on the surface but a bone-chilling 40 degrees farther down, enough to startle and incapacitate an unsuspecting person.

Carroll County officials are worried that an increasing number of sinkholes in residents' yards could mean danger.The ground is sinking in some spots where developers buried tree limbs, stumps, bricks, stone and other building materials, said James E. Slater, administrator of the Office of Environmental Services.Burying construction debris is an accepted practice among developers and is not necessarily an environmental hazard, he said. But the sinkholes that sometimes result could cause problems.

County officials raised minor concerns yesterday about expansion plans for the 30-year-old Sykesville-Freedom District Fire Department. Carroll planners said they would like to see elevation figures and grading plans for the site -- to address runoff issues -- before the project is submitted to the county planning commission. Their comments were made during a public meeting of the Subdivision Advisory Committee. Sykesville's Fire Department serves Carroll's most populous area -- 28,000 people -- from a brick station on Route 32 at Freedom Avenue.

ANNAPOLIS -- Del. Richard N. Dixon, a Carroll Democrat, is confident that county officials can persuade the state Board of Public Works today to pay for a new South Carroll middle school.Sen. Charles H. Smelser, a Carroll and Frederick Democrat, isn't so sure. He said yesterday that he doesn't know if Carroll County and the Oklahoma Road Middle School are priorities for the governor.County and school officials are scheduled to testify today at a 10 a.m. Board of Public Works meeting about the need for the new school, which would ease crowding at Sykesville Middle.

WINFIELD -- Engineers, landscapers and foresters came to a public workshop on Carroll's proposed forest conservation ordinance not to debate the philosophy behind the law but the mechanics in complying with it."I'm 100 percent in favor of the ordinance," said Len Wrabel, a Westminster forester who was among about a dozen people who attended the meeting Wednesday at South Carroll High School. "I like it."Mr. Wrabel and others raised concerns about technicalities, including the size and species of trees required for reforestation and how existing forests on flood plains would fit into any reforestation efforts.

Baltimore County public works officials met with about 20 area members of environmental groups last night in the wake of two recent sewage overflows. Led by Public Works Director Ed Adams, county officials spent about 90 minutes explaining the huge county sewer system, which includes 3,000 miles of pipeline and handles 40 billion gallons of sewage per year. Some of those who attended the meeting walked away impressed. "I think it's very proactive for Baltimore County to call this meeting for citizen input," said C. Victoria Woodward, executive director of Safe Waterways in Maryland.