Traffic concerns and soaring costs could jeopardize highly touted plans for an agricultural center in Baltimore County, lawmakers said Thursday.
What was originally proposed as a $2 million project off Shawan Road in Hunt Valley will now likely cost more than $10 million, county auditors told lawmakers during a budget hearing Thursday. The project is a top priority for County Executive Jim Smith ? the Democrat?s proposed 2009 budget includes $3 million for the center ? but some lawmakers questioned the expense during the economic downturn.
“I?m shocked at the price,” Council Chairman Kevin Kamenetz said. “I think it?s really mushroomed into something much larger than I ever imagined. I?m not sure the juice is worth all the squeeze.”
The 149-acre facility has been described as a consolidated office for agricultural agencies including the local cooperative extension, 4-H, the Maryland Wineries Association and the Maryland Horse Breeders Association. County officials said they intended to keep about 100 acres of the farm, purchased last year, in active agricultural use and build horse trails.
This isn?t the first time the plan has met resistance. Councilman Bryan McIntire, a north county Republican, criticized county officials in December for accepting a donated barn for the site he said arrived as a heap of rotting planks.
On Thursday, he said neighbors of the future center have complained that David Carroll ? the county?s sustainability chief spearheading the project ? is not heeding traffic concerns and limiting input from area farmers.
McIntire said he still supported the project.
“The agricultural community has pushed for this for years,” he said. “They just want their voice to be heard.”
County officials defended Carroll and said they were working to address community concerns. Administrative officer Fred Homan described recent meetings as “productive.”
