Recreational activities on public property should allow full citizen participation without an exclusionary price tag.
The private swim club proposed for the former site of the old Baltimore County detention center, with initiation fees in the $2,000 to $3,000 range, and annual membership fees in the $500 to $800 range, belongs anywhere but on public property.
Former County Executive C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger, now a Democratic U.S. representative, promised to make the site, at Bosley Avenue and Towsontown Boulevard, available to the community in 2000. He made the decision at the same time the controversial expansion of the Kenilworth Drive detention facility was announced. A 2001 County Council resolution sponsored by then Councilman Wayne Skinner, pledging to work with the adjacent Southland Hills neighborhood on a park plan, secured Ruppersberger?s commitment.
Early in 2006, the Towson Times reported that county officials had been discussing the viability of a membership-only pool with representatives of the Southland Hills and West Towson neighborhoods for the previous four months. The rest of the community learned then that the nonprofit Towson Swim Center, LLC (TSC) was being formed to create a private swim club on the site.
Councilman Vince Gardina claims no decision has been made, but points to what he perceives as a 20-1 margin of public support for the proposal.
This comes as no surprise as he and Robert Barrett, director of the Department of Recreation and Parks, have nurtured this proposal since long before the rest of the community was aware of it. At Barrett?s direction, the TSC drummed up support for the plan in order to prove its viability. Moreover, citizens unable to afford memberships are unlikely to object publicly due to embarrassment.
The fact that multiple highly paid employees of County Executive Jim Smith?s administration live in these affluent neighborhoods further sullies the appropriateness of the plan. One public input hearing has been held, and more are promised before a decision. But this scenario hardly allows for a adequate vetting process where other suggestions can be given fair consideration.
TSC promises to create swim programs for non-members, including those for seniors and disabled children. Barrett has said this would satisfy the county?s “public use” requirement.
But does it? This provides little consolation to middle- and lower income families who could not afford memberships.
It may satisfy “public use” requirements from a legal standpoint, but fails miserably from an ethical standpoint, and hardly passes the smell test.
Could other citizen groups with the affluence and financial wherewithal to incorporate, develop other pieces of public property for private use, assuming public programs were included?
If the answer to this question is “yes,” where would it end? More public property would be gobbled up leaving less recreational space for average citizens.
If the answer is “no,” why is this group being given special dispensation?
An unusual grade and a historical landmark, a “Warden?s House” built in 1854, limit development. But given adequate consideration multiple uses are feasible. Ideas for the space include an indoor recreational center, a scarce resource in Baltimore County, or a “dog park,” where unlike other county parks, dogs could be unleashed and allowed to run. Or, in keeping with the existing historical theme, the site would be ideal for a cultural use like a combination museum/community center.
Barrett points to a lack of parking as one justification of the pool proposal. Such logic assumes that most members would walk there from Southland Hills and West Towson. If the center was meant for use by the entire community as claimed, it would require as much parking as any other use, like a community or recreational center.
Proponents have said a pool would be a healing experience for citizens still smarting from the divisive Kenilworth Drive detention center expansion, and that it would unite the community. However, this proposal would give certain residents a private club, and the rest of Towson what they already have ? a massive detention facility. The only citizens being united would be those with the financial resources to afford exclusive memberships.
Corinne Becker writes about quality-of-life issues in the community. She is president of Riderwood Hills Community Association in Towson. She can be reached at [email protected].
