It wasn’t a particularly eventful meeting insofar as controversy went, but we got to hear from a rookie County Council member who shared his opinions on a lot of issues facing the county. That’s how the first new-look meeting went for Larry Dodd and the remaining WCRC officers. Perhaps the additional structure was nice, as Dodd asked me to compile an agenda and I made it fairly detailed. It did make the meeting run a little long, but not overly so.
After we took care of our normal business (Lord’s Prayer, Pledge of Allegiance, minutes, and Treasurer’s Report – unchanged from the last administration) we welcomed Bob Culver for his first WCRC speaking engagement as an elected official.
Bob told the assembled group that he “was having a great time” saying no to Rick Pollitt’s financial requests and that County Council has “jelled very well” since it took over.
He brought up three key issues County Council had addressed over the last few months; these issues included Bennett Middle School, an elected school board, and speed cameras.
Regarding Bennett Middle School, Bob informed us that the possibility of alternative financing would be more expensive to the county, which has as its goal paying off $10 million in bonding this year rather than borrowing. Culver asserted that the Board of Education had a “secretive” construction fund that wasn’t used, but any negotiations on its use should be conducted away from the press or county Public Information Officer. He also believed that we should attempt to bring other schools up rather than build anew, giving the example of water fountains which do not work at Beaver Run Elementary. An example of a good and comparatively inexpensive renovation project could be found at Stephen Decatur High School in Worcester County, said Bob.
Proposed changes to the elected school board bill by Delegate Norm Conway were “too confusing,” and Bob wanted a straight yes or no vote. Amendments to the bill were being pushed by Mary Ashanti of the NAACP – we need to “make the public know that Norm Conway owns this bill.”
Speed cameras were “a revenue thing,” Culver said, and he worried about both declining revenues as people adjusted to the cameras and using them as a backdoor way to fund the county’s LEOPS program as the town of Fruitland does.
“I represent the people…that’s the neat thing about it,” Bob concluded. He then opened the floor to questions. One surprising statement in his answers was his call for a provision to keep business within the county, citing a local company who lost out on a bid to provide tents for Pork in the Park by just a couple hundred dollars to a Queen Anne’s County firm. He also spoke about early retirement buyouts offered to county employees, stating that the big question about Obamacare’s effects hung over everyone’s heads.
Dave Parker gave the Central Committee report, noting the upcoming state convention in Ocean City and recommending that those interested in running for office or helping on campaigns make an effort to show up – it’s well worth the $50 for the training sessions.
We heard other brief reports from Shaun Jester, who had a twofer as Lower Shore Young Republican president and representative for Delegate Mike McDermott. Mark McIver chimed in with an update on Congressman Andy Harris and revealed that we should expect him in Salisbury at least one day a month to hear constituent concerns. McIver believed Andy’s most recent visit to the area was a success, as it included visits to manufacturing facilities in Princess Anne and Crisfield along with two townhall meetings, including one in Salisbury.
One departure from the norm will occur next month, as for the first time in recent years the Republican Club is taking a hiatus from the Salisbury Festival. But we will be back in 2012, and the Crab Feast will go on as usual August 27.
Two other pieces of business involved internal communications and voter registration. Our June meeting will be a working meeting in order to certify us for a registration push, which should be interesting.
In the meantime, we are considering a speaker for next month; most likely it will be Delegate Mike McDermott who will provide the annual legislative wrapup. See you on April 25th!
