Baltimore County officials are scrambling to relocate a police substation after a convicted heroin dealer terminated their lease at the Loch Raven shopping center he owns.
Police have until May 31 to move out of the Hillendale Shopping Center, where Towson-precinct officers who specialize in community outreach have worked since 1998, officials said.
The county paid $1 per month for the space under an agreement with the center?s previous owner, but new owner ? and ex-con ? Meir Duke does not want to renew the lease, officials said.
Duke, who owns the Bare Feet Shoes chain, served four years in federal prison on cocaine and heroin charges, and has “no use for police presence,” said Donna Spicer, president of the Loch Raven Community Council.
Spicer said she asked Duke to relocate the police substation to another one of his shopping centers in the area, or if the county could build a small station on the parking lot.
“His answer was no,” Spicer said. “He said, ?Cops belong in cars. You call them when you need them.? ”
Duke declined to comment.
But Councilman Vince Gardina, a Democrat who represents the area, said Duke is planning to renovate the center and simply prefers a tenant who can pay market price.
County Executive Jim Smith said the county is working to find a new location in the Hillendale area. If the county can?t identify another space by June 1, the unit will temporarily relocate to Loch Raven Elementary School, he said in a letter to area residents.
Smith spokesman Don Mohler said officials are close to announcing a site.
“The important thing is, there will be no lapse of service or lack of visibility,” said Mohler, who wouldn?t give details on a new location.
However, Gardina said the county may try to negotiate a price to stay put.
“It?s a depressed shopping center, and I think they need the rent to make it work,” he said.
Spicer said the substation, which contains meeting space for civic organizations and the county?s parole and probation unit, accounted for a 30 percent drop in crime the first year it opened.
