County S Economic Development

If it ain't broke, the saying goes, don't fix it.Howard County's economic development office has performed so well the past two years that it could hardly be described as "broke." Yet County Executive Charles I. Ecker has asked the Howard legislative delegation to act on his proposal to replace the current development agency with a nine-member board, or "authority," to be funded with both public and private dollars.Such a set-up, which has been effective in Prince George's County, would have advantages over the current operation, Mr. Ecker argues.

The past year has been tough for businesses nationally, and Howard County businesses have struggled, too, yet they have managed to make some gains, according to reports from the major business pulse-keepers in the county. The county's Economic Development Authority and Tourism Council delivered annual reports to stockholders and board members last week, painting a picture for county businesses of brighter skies ahead. Tourism officials said that by focusing on visitors who live nearby to support hometown tourism, their office has laid the groundwork for a better year that is already beginning.

Carroll County's eight municipalities will have another advocate for downtown renewal if the state approves a $20,000 Maryland Main Street Improvement Grant for consulting services.Yesterday, the county commissioners agreed to apply for the grant, which will pay part of a $50,000 salary for a proposed full-time consultant to devise a general marketing plan for all Carroll County's downtown areas.The completed plan would include specific suggestions on attracting businesses and customers to the individual municipalities.

Howard County will be looking to its neighbors to bolster economic development, studying the role of higher education in the county and getting closer to its elected officials, the board of directors for the county's Economic Development Authority said last week. The board outlined a plan to encourage business growth over the next 10 years. The plan, announced at its annual meeting Thursday, calls for a yearlong study of the county's higher education system, better collaboration with neighboring counties, better transportation, commercial revitalization and a closer connection to elected officials.

Three decades in the making -- but still three years away -- the new Route 100 is close enough to completion that Howard County officials and business people are salivating in anticipation of the highway's potential economic benefits.They hope a windfall will follow Route 100 from the Baltimore-Washington International Airport corridor, the Baltimore region's major economic growth generator.The new highway will put Howard that much closer to the airport -- and that carries the potential for a lot more jobs to come to the county.

HOWARD COUNTY'S extraordinary proposal to buy AlliedSignal Technical Services Corp.'s Columbia site to keep the company from moving elsewhere raises the question of how far government should go to attract or retain businesses.The county is offering to pay $7.5 million for AlliedSignal's 29-acre campus, which includes a 200,000-square-foot office building and a warehouse. The purchase would be unprecedented for Howard, but County Executive Charles I. Ecker is convinced the measure would ensure that one of the county's largest employers does not flee to someplace like Fairfax County, Va.The county's generous offer comes in a climate in which competition among counties and states for businesses -- especially for those boasting high-paying jobs -- is extremely fierce.

The past year has been tough for businesses nationally, and Howard County businesses have struggled, too, yet they have managed to make some gains, according to reports from the major business pulse-keepers in the county. The county's Economic Development Authority and Tourism Council delivered annual reports to stockholders and board members last week, painting a picture for county businesses of brighter skies ahead. Tourism officials said that by focusing on visitors who live nearby to support hometown tourism, their office has laid the groundwork for a better year that is already beginning.

Howard County's economic development director wants the county to become a force in the burgeoning biotechnology industry, but says he first needs help from the County Council.Richard W. Story, executive director of the county Economic Development Authority, is asking the council to grant property tax credits to high-technology companies engaged in research and development as a way of attracting new businesses. The credits would apply to new equipment only.The credits would reduce the county tax burden on new equipment by 75 percent, putting local research and development businesses on par for taxes with those in neighboring jurisdictions, Mr. Story said.

A Howard County Chamber of Commerce committee is asking County Executive Charles I. Ecker to develop a plan to help nurture the county's 90 minority businesses and aid their efforts to obtain government contracts.Chamber Vice President Earl Saunders, who oversees the organization's minority business committee, said Howard County has one of the worst records in the Baltimore-Washington corridor in helping with minority-owned businesses."I would say the effort has been lukewarm if anything," said Saunders, a black businessman from Ellicott City.

Howard County's glory days are over -- at least for now.Once Maryland's prized county when it came to annual revenue growth, Howard is now mired in financial stagnation.And continued weakness in the county's residential real estate market -- as evidenced by the latest data on average selling prices and county assessments -- is a strong sign that the bad times may continue."Howard County has had more of a change in its fortune than most counties in the state," said Michael A. Conte, a University of Baltimore economist and director of the school's Regional Economic Studies Program.

Owings Mills-based Sweetheart Cup Co. Inc. is looking at property in Baltimore, Carroll and Harford counties for an expanded East Coast distribution center, officials in those counties said.Baltimore County's economic development director, however, said the manufacturer of paper cups and plates is close to purchasing a site in that county.The director, Robert L. Hannon, said Sweetheart has been negotiating for an expansion site for some time. The company favors an undeveloped tract in eastern Baltimore County over two in Carroll and Harford counties, he said.

HOWARD COUNTY'S extraordinary proposal to buy AlliedSignal Technical Services Corp.'s Columbia site to keep the company from moving elsewhere raises the question of how far government should go to attract or retain businesses.The county is offering to pay $7.5 million for AlliedSignal's 29-acre campus, which includes a 200,000-square-foot office building and a warehouse. The purchase would be unprecedented for Howard, but County Executive Charles I. Ecker is convinced the measure would ensure that one of the county's largest employers does not flee to someplace like Fairfax County, Va.The county's generous offer comes in a climate in which competition among counties and states for businesses -- especially for those boasting high-paying jobs -- is extremely fierce.

Three decades in the making -- but still three years away -- the new Route 100 is close enough to completion that Howard County officials and business people are salivating in anticipation of the highway's potential economic benefits.They hope a windfall will follow Route 100 from the Baltimore-Washington International Airport corridor, the Baltimore region's major economic growth generator.The new highway will put Howard that much closer to the airport -- and that carries the potential for a lot more jobs to come to the county.

Howard County's glory days are over -- at least for now.Once Maryland's prized county when it came to annual revenue growth, Howard is now mired in financial stagnation.And continued weakness in the county's residential real estate market -- as evidenced by the latest data on average selling prices and county assessments -- is a strong sign that the bad times may continue."Howard County has had more of a change in its fortune than most counties in the state," said Michael A. Conte, a University of Baltimore economist and director of the school's Regional Economic Studies Program.

A Baltimore County graphic arts company that has increased fourfold in size since 1990 plans to move its 110-employee operation to Howard County in mid-December.Executives of Graphic Technology Inc. of Woodlawn -- also known as GraphTec -- said yesterday that the 15-minute move from Woodlawn is vital to the color printing company's plans to establish a greater regional presence."We have a hand-tailored, custom-made business," said David E. Rosquist, GraphTec's senior vice president and general manager.

Once there were none in Howard County. Now, there are five up and running or in the pipeline.We're referring to "power centers" -- those sprawling shopping plazas with numerous warehouse-type, discount stores that have come to Howard County and the rest of the Baltimore region in a big way.As a retailing wave, power centers are to the 1990s what enclosed shopping malls were to the 1970s. They have been drawn to Howard, as well as to Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties, by attractive demographics that indicate there is a lot of money to be made by the right retailers.

Once there were none in Howard County. Now, there are five up and running or in the pipeline.We're referring to "power centers" -- those sprawling shopping plazas with numerous warehouse-type, discount stores that have come to Howard County and the rest of the Baltimore region in a big way.As a retailing wave, power centers are to the 1990s what enclosed shopping malls were to the 1970s. They have been drawn to Howard, as well as to Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties, by attractive demographics that indicate there is a lot of money to be made by the right retailers.

Owings Mills-based Sweetheart Cup Co. Inc. is looking at property in Baltimore, Carroll and Harford counties for an expanded East Coast distribution center, officials in those counties said.Baltimore County's economic development director, however, said the manufacturer of paper cups and plates is close to purchasing a site in that county.The director, Robert L. Hannon, said Sweetheart has been negotiating for an expansion site for some time. The company favors an undeveloped tract in eastern Baltimore County over two in Carroll and Harford counties, he said.

Howard County's economic development director wants the county to become a force in the burgeoning biotechnology industry, but says he first needs help from the County Council.Richard W. Story, executive director of the county Economic Development Authority, is asking the council to grant property tax credits to high-technology companies engaged in research and development as a way of attracting new businesses. The credits would apply to new equipment only.The credits would reduce the county tax burden on new equipment by 75 percent, putting local research and development businesses on par for taxes with those in neighboring jurisdictions, Mr. Story said.

Carroll County's eight municipalities will have another advocate for downtown renewal if the state approves a $20,000 Maryland Main Street Improvement Grant for consulting services.Yesterday, the county commissioners agreed to apply for the grant, which will pay part of a $50,000 salary for a proposed full-time consultant to devise a general marketing plan for all Carroll County's downtown areas.The completed plan would include specific suggestions on attracting businesses and customers to the individual municipalities.