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A lot happened this week, but I’ll try to do what I always asked of the horses I trained - cover the ground efficiently.
Deale Park
Opening Deale Park on Saturday was satisfying. The project came from the community in my first year when the sign went up to sell the lots for development on open land adjacent to the Deale Library. I was told by some locals that the community’s Small Area Plan had proposed a park there. We were introduced to the landowner, negotiated a purchase price, and later convened a stakeholder group to recommend amenities.
Recreation and Parks asked the South County Chamber to host the park opening, because our hope is that the Chamber and other community organizations will host a farmers market and other events there in the future. It’s a traditional town park, including a fantastic new playground, a perimeter walking path, a dog park, and a pavilion that also works as a stage adjacent to a courtyard where vendors and spectators can convene. There has been talk of building a monument there to the watermen who made Deale the special place that it is today. I look forward to all of it.
Impact Interviews
I did two in-depth interviews Monday about the impact of our eight years in office, one for a future write-up in the Banner and the other that was posted at this link by WMAR in its full 30-minute entirety. Let me know if you think what I said was accurate.
Farm Bureau
Pulling into the Farm Bureau meeting Monday night felt like time travel back to my years as a board member. But this time I was there to review with them the last eight years, in which we created an all-farmer ag commission, passed eleven bills to lessen the burden of government regulation, and invested in Rockhold Creek Farm Park, ag education, small farm grants, and a forthcoming Regional Agricultural Center at the Lothian Grain Elevator site. After I left, the Board voted to support passage next week of County Council Bill 61-26, the zoning code update that will finally remove the requirement that farmers get a certificate of use to farm on their land. My hope is that their support for the bill will lead to a unanimous vote by our County Council.
Bike Advocacy
On Tuesday, I attended the Bicycle Advisory Commission meeting where they presented checks from the proceeds from Lifeline100, and briefed me on efforts to build the trails and dedicated lanes that make it safe for our residents to use their bikes for transportation. There’s not a better example in our county of stakeholders engaging effectively with government than Bike AAA, the Bicycle Commission, and our county agencies. Under the leadership of Jon Korin, they push our pedal, oil our chain, and put the air in our tires to keep us on the road to a multimodal future.
Hispanic Faith
That night I entered La Sierra Restaurant on Riva Road to a mariachi band serenade and dinner hosted by the Hispanic Faith Coalition, a group of pastors who have been leaders in the work to protect immigrant families from COVID, mass deportation, and the many barriers that they face in building a life in our county. At their urging, I began with a shot of tequila, moved on to a large margarita, then spoke in both Spanish and English - mostly English - and then closed my eyes as they prayed over me in Spanish. Their faith, resilience, and gratitude will remain with me as long as I live. They are a blessing to our county.
Malcom X
The ceremony to unveil our Malcolm X memorial at the Michael E. Busch Library in Annapolis made clear to me and everyone in attendance just how important it is that people of all backgrounds and faiths know the Malcolm X story. Carl Snowden, Skip Auld, Joseline Peña-Melnyk, Shaneka Henson, Chris Van Hollen and others connected the man, his time, and the evolution of his thinking in ways that put his life in the context of our nation’s story.
He was raised in a family that was chased out of homes by white supremacists, he read voraciously and made sense of the world while incarcerated, he practiced the discipline and pride of the Nation of Islam, and his pilgrimage to Mecca transformed his thinking once again to a vision of multi-racial cooperation in the global work for justice. Malcolm X kept making himself a better man - with the help of books.
Most of us know parts of his story, the parts that were elevated by the media at the time and since. Some, including some Jewish staff at the library itself, were angry about things that Malcolm X said about Jews during his time with the Nation of Islam, and were uncomfortable with the idea of this memorial at their workplace. But the Jewish Federation of Annapolis & the Chesapeake made a decision to attend and support the unveiling, reminding us all of the powerful alliance between Black and Jewish Americans during the civil rights movement and since.
So thank you to Anne Arundel County Public Libraries, the Caucus of African American Leaders, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Committee, and private donors for putting our American history and a reason to read at the entrance to our county’s most welcoming public library.
Permit Efficiency
Thursday morning at the County Permit Center on Riva Road, I had the great pleasure of making an announcement that may come as a shock to folks who don’t believe that government efficiency is actually possible. Drum roll on this one…
In just the last three years, we have reduced the processing and approval time on permits by anywhere from a half to a third of what it used to be. For decks, fences, sheds, and small interior renovations, we’re now averaging 2.6 days when before it was 4.7. For tenant improvements, we’re at 3.8, down from 7. Single family homes in subdivisions are down to 4.1 from 6.2, and roof-mounted solar from 2.4 to 1.2 days.
It was a combination of new technology, staff training, and customer support under the leadership of Inspections and Permits Director Mark Wedemeyer that made this possible. The Permit Center itself has also become far more welcoming and efficient. Watch this video to hear how this all happened and how you can now easily find out what permits you need for your project, and what information you’ll need to apply. When you’re prepared, the Permit Center staff can get you through the process with very little pain.
But we can do better. And we will if the County Council passes Bill 61-26 on Monday night. The four hundred fixes in that bill are from notes by Office of Planning and Zoning staff that came from twenty years of projects getting delayed or ending up in the courts because of an outdated code.
After a year of public comment, passage of 37 amendments, and support from Growth Action Network, Farm Bureau, food truck operators, and the public servants who so desperately want efficient processes to better serve our businesses and residents, Monday night is our last chance to get this done, so that this council and this county executive can truly say that we are passing on a house in good order.
Until next week…