Harford County Council

District A Happenings
February 1, 2015

Volume 1, Issue 2

Mikes Musings
On January 20, the County Council voted to pass a hotel tax of 6%
here in Harford County. I voted against the tax for a number of reasons. First, I didnt think a new tax would be appropriate when we
have not yet been through a full years cycle of expense review. Second, there was nothing in the bill addressing or exempting those Harford County residents who are living in our motels. Third, I didnt think creating a dedicated revenue
stream to fund tourism was appropriate given there are so many other needs for
county funding which need to compete with one another for general fund money. Fourth, I did not like the inequity which arose from allowing municipal governments to keep a portion of the tax revenue raised within their borders while unincorporated communities have no ability to receive or administer their own revenue.
Last but not least, I believe Harford County hotels had a competitive advantage over
Baltimore County (and to a lesser extent, Cecil County) hotels. Baltimore County has
an 8% hotel tax. Given how easy it is to get prices and book hotel rooms online now,
someone travelling down I-95 and looking to spend the night now would have had a
good reason to stay here in Harford County instead of Baltimore County. The same
holds true for contractors I think. Not everyone staying in Harford County for business is doing business with APG, and Im sure there are plenty of longer term business travelers who have historically chosen Harford County over Baltimore County
for our hotel tax-free lodging.

Digging out from Debt, Part 1

Donna Blasdell
Hi everyone! As I mentioned in my introduction in the last newsletter, I am passionate about helping others to get out of
debt. I find debt of all kinds to cripple individuals and families. When a large chunk of your income is paying off debt,
your ability to have options and makes different choices is limited. Are you able to purchase your dream house or car or
are you limited in what you can afford to pay because you have too much existing debt?
The first thing anyone needs to do is get a handle on is where the money is going. The only way to do this is to track the
spending. I know, not a fun thing to do, but it can be very eye opening when you realize the daily drivethru run is costing your family $150.00 a month. Think of what else you could so with that money!

Edgewood American Legions Long Winters Nightmare

Think back to February 10, 2010. Do you remember what you were doing? I bet you do, if you were
not shoveling snow, you werent going anywhere.
The Baltimore area was buried under two feet of
snow. Two days later we were received under another two feet of the white stuff. Snowmeggedon,
Snowpocalypse, Snowzilla all names which were
applied to this double whammy of snow storms.
The storms left behind fun for the kids, but major
headaches for the adults. One of which is still being
felt in the Edgewood Area.

month, a wind storm caused the trusses to collapse again. The contractor once again replaced
them.
Shortly after the second collapse the contractor
came to the American Legion and informed
them Harford County was now requiring them
to have sprinklers in the building and it was
going to cost an additional $164,000. The Legion was able to cover this cost through down
grading of interior design, donations and fundraising efforts. At this time, the Legion was
also having problems having the insurance
company releasing funds to pay the contractor.
The contractor told the American Legion he was
going to issue a Stop Work Order to force the
insurance company to release the money, but
he was still going to work and complete the project. At that point the contractor walked off the
job and has not returned.

The weight of the heavy snow of caused the roof of

the Edgewood American Legion Post 17 to collapse. The damage left the building unsafe and
required it to be torn down and rebuilt. American
Legion Post 17 has had many challenges getting
this feat accomplished. First they had to sue their
insurance company. In December of 2009, the Post
had updated their insurance policy, but the agent
did not provide the total coverage the Legion had
asked to be provided, so they were under insured
for the buildings damage. The Legion won the lawsuit and was given a financial award.

When the American Legion had the County Inspectors come out to inspect the contractors
work, it was determined most of the interior
plumbing was not up to code and needed to be
redone. In addition the kitchen needed to have
different type of walls, ceilings and lights installed since it was a food preparation area. The
Legion also needed to change the incoming water paper pipe size to allow for the sprinkler
system to have the correct amount of water
available to function.

Once they had this award, the Legion began a

search for a contractor, choosing a Baltimore county architect and contractor company to tear down
the existing lodge and rebuild the new one which
would fit within their budget. In order to remain
within their budget, the Legion chose to build a
slightly smaller building. A benefit of this design
change allowed them to forgo having to install
sprinklers in the building, provided the correct
building materials would be used in construction.

The American Legion sued the builder to recover the money spent so they could have their
building finished. However, when the judgment
came down against the builder, the company
filed for bankruptcy and the financial award
has not been collected. During the discovery
process for the lawsuit, the Legion found out
the contractor had gone to Harford County and
said the Legion wanted the sprinklers, when it
was not the case. The special construction materials to allow the building to not need a sprinkler had been improperly stored and damaged
by the weather. Rather than replace the materials himself he chose to add the sprinklers without the Legions consent.

Work began on the project in March 2010 when the

banquet hall portion of the old building was demolished. Work stopped until November 2010 when
the contractor was chosen and the rest of the building was torn down.
Construction began on the new building and was
proceeding well until January 2011, when Harford
County had an ice storm. The ice caused the new
buildings trusses to collapse. The contractor filed
a claim with his insurance company for payment to
replace the trusses. It was approved, the damage
was cleared and building resumed. Within a
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Long Winter Nightmare (Continued)

How to contact the District A Office

All of this has left the Edgewood American Legion

without a usable space to hold their meetings, or a
place where they can serve their members and the
community. The American Legion provides services for veterans, provides scholarships for our
local high school and college students and provides
services to homeless veterans.

1)
By Phone. My office phone number is 410638-3521. My cell phone number is 443-752-2598. If
I am not available, Donna Blasdell is available to take
your call and assist you. Her phone number is 410638-4109 x 1813.

According to Mary McCann, the Posts Adjunct,

the building is 90 percent complete, and they have
the supplies necessary to do the required work.
They just need the funds to complete it. The Legion has brought in several contractors to provide
estimates to complete the building. The average
amount needed to perform this rehab is $300,000.

2)

By e-mail. The primary email :

DistrictA@HarfordCountyCouncil.com
This is the email both Donna and myself are able to
access. This ensures we can respond to you quickly.

The organizations by-laws do not allow it to take

out a loan for the completion of the building. The
Legion needs to show they can repay the loan, but
they do not have a building open to generate income to pay back the loan. The Legion has been
holding fundraisers, but the amounts brought in
only have been covering monthly expenses of doing
business, basically the building insurance and
utilities.

My email is:
MPerrone@HarfordCountyCouncil.com
Donnas email is:
DBlasdell@HarfordCountyCouncil.com
3)
In Person. Joppatowne Flea Market at 1000
Joppa Farm Road. My table will set up on the second
Sunday of the month from 2:00 pm until 4:00 pm.
Drop by the Flea Market to shop and discuss any concerns you may have.

American Legion Post 17 has been closed for five

years, they want to have their building open and
be able to serve their community. If they are not
able to open this year, they are at risk for losing
their property on Edgewood Road. The Legion is
currently in the process of applying for grants, but
the Legion needs funds now to begin the work to
get the building completed. If you are inclined to
donate, please contact Ms. Mary McCann at
MaryMcCann400@gmail.com .

Council Meetings are held the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Tuesdays of the month at 7:00 PM in the Harford County
Council Chambers located at 212 Bond Street, Bel
Air, MD 21014.

Digging out from Debt, Part 1 (Continued)

This months homework assignment is to track your spending for the month. Yes EVERY single dollar and cent. Get
one of the little 50 cent spiral notebooks and find a pen hanging out in your junk drawer or purse. Every time you spend
money, write down the date, what you purchased and the cost. Track all of your outgo, rent/mortgage, insurance, gas,
groceries, and even the quick stops into the gas station for those candy bars. Write down everything! Have everyone in
the house participate in this exercise to get the best picture of where the money goes.
At the end of the month, add up all the money spent. You should be able to track how the money for the month was
spent and put it into a category such as gas, insurance, etc. Do not be judgmental or harsh on yourself or any member of
your family, this is an exercise to become aware of your spending habits. Once you know better, you can do better.
Next month we will take the information from this exercise and come up with the dreaded budget. I actually prefer to
call it a spending plan, because you are deciding how you are going to spend your money. It should be freeing, not confining to decide how you use your money.
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Around the District Happenings

Harford County Schools

Abingdon Library

3 hour early dismissal elementary schools

2/13/2015
Schools Closed 02/16/2015

Winter Crafts
02/05/2015 6:30-7:30 pm
Middle School Party Games
02/06/2015 6:00-9:00 pm

Joppatowne Community Council Meeting

Southern District Police Station
February 2, 2015 7PM

Edgewood Library
Scholarship Application Writing Workshop
02/03/2015 5:30-7:30 pm

Edgewood Community Council Meeting

Southern District Police Station
February 11, 2015 7PM

Hearts & Crafts

02/09/2015 6:30-7:30 pm

Anita C. Leight Estuary Center

Joppa Library

Wait - Am I Drowning?
02/01/2015 1:00 pm-2:30 pm
How do wetland plant roots stay submerged
in the water and mud? Can they breathe?
Find out this and more as we explore the lives
of cattail and phragmites. Use a reed pen to
make an ink drawing as a memento.

Friends Book Sale

O2/05/2015 02/19/2015
Seed Swap
02/05/2015 4:00-6:30pm
Get Ready for Valentines Day
02/10/2015 4:30-6:30 pm

Critter Dinner Time

02/07/2015 10:30 am-11:00 am
Watch our turtles, amphibians, and snakes
eat as you learn about these fascinating creatures.

Warm Up with a pair of Mittens

(learn to knit)
02/12/2015 6:30-8:30 pm

Nature Tales
02/08/2015 1:00 pm-1:30 pm
Story time with a natural twist! Come listen
to some stories, learn new songs and move
like the animals.

Spotlights on:
Southern Harford Rotary Club
Rotary is a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders united to provide
humanitarian service, to encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and to help build
goodwill and peace in the world. Rotary club membership represents a cross-section of the
community's business and professional men and women. Rotary clubs meet weekly and are
nonpolitical and nonreligious.
The main objective of Rotary is service - in the community, in the workplace, and throughout the world. Rotarians develop community service projects which address many of today's
most critical issues, such as children at risk, poverty and hunger, the environment, illiteracy, and violence. They also support programs for youth, educational opportunities and international exchanges for students, teachers, and other professionals, and provide vocational
and career development. The Rotary motto is: Service Above Self.
Although Rotary clubs develop autonomous service programs, all Rotarians worldwide are
united in a campaign for the global eradication of polio. In the 1980's, Rotarians raised $240
million to immunize the children of the world; by 2005, Rotary's 100 th year, the PolioPlus
program had contributed $500 million to this cause. In addition, Rotary has provided an army of volunteers to promote and assist at national immunization days in polio-endemic
countries around the world.
Southern Harford Rotary Club (SHRC) was chartered January 2008, in the Joppa, Edgewood, Belcamp and lower Abingdon areas. It is the fourth Rotary club in Harford County.
Their vision is to assure children of Southern Harford County are secure, protected, thriving, valued, and nurtured.
Their mission is to assist the children in Southern Harford County, as a group or
through their families, to reach their maximum potential.
Each year the SHRC give scholarships to students graduating from Edgewood and Joppatowne High Schools. Scholarships are also given yearly to the SAGE (Sharon Ann Grose Educational) Group to help at-risk students in Harford County Public Schools Reconnecting
Youth Program. These scholarships are provided to students living in the Edgewood/Joppa
area to help them realize their dreams of furthering their post-secondary education. SHRC
sponsors Harford Countys only Eagle Scout Honor Guard. They also give dictionaries every
year to third graders in each of the 9 schools in their service area and participate in Operation Warm Coat for children who need a coat for the winter.
If you are interested in learning more about their club please contact here.
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