Councilman Ladd Returns from Break with News of Community Upgrades

The following is from the September edition of a monthly column written by Anne Arundel County Councilman Dick Ladd (R-5th District), who represents Broadneck and Severna Park.

The Council’s first “summer legislative break” has come and gone with surprising speed, and now the school year has begun with a new “interim” Superintendent - Ms. Mamie Perkins.  I had the pleasure of joining Ms. Perkins at Jones Elementary on the first day of school where she began her initial round of “get-acquainted” visits to her sprawling school system.  She could not have picked a better place to start.

Our visit was delightful:   the children were filled with excitement for the first day of school;  the new Principal, Pat Keffer, was warmly greeting new students and teachers alike; and our new Superintendent was fully engaged in meeting the children.  The “teacher” in her showed through brilliantly.

The parental support and effort common to District 5 schools was very evident.  As your representative, I must say that you would have been similarly impressed and pleased to see how our community schools combine the wonderful foundation of family support and caring faculties to nurture our children – our future.

Now that school is back in session, please drive extra cautiously in neighborhoods and near school zones and remember to STOP for all school buses with red flashing lights indicating that children are getting on or off of the bus. 

This month we have seen some upgrades to our playgrounds.  Kinder Park now has an awning to shade much of its playground equipment and work has begun at our Broadneck Park playground to replace the old equipment.  We are excitedly awaiting the completion of the new pirate ship playground scheduled for the end of September. 

The County recently broke ground for our new Eastern District Police Station on Pasadena Avenue, just off Ritchie Highway.  This site is more centrally located within the Eastern District and much closer to Severna Park and the Broadneck Peninsula.  This $9.1 million, 20,000 square foot project will complete the modernization of the County’s district police stations and will be ready for use late next year.

The County Executive will be hosting an Open House on Wednesday, September 18, 2013, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. and invites everyone to tour the Arundel Center (44 Calvert Street, Annapolis), and meet her executive cabinet.  The County Council Chambers will also be open to the public.  Unfortunately, I will not be available that evening, but feel free to stop by and say hello to my legislative assistant, Diane, and share any comments or concerns you may have with her. 

I am pleased to note that County Executive Neuman selected Chris Phipps as the new Director of Public Works.  Chris was previously named acting Director after the retirement of Ron Bowen.  Chris served as Director of Engineering for many years, is an accomplished engineer very familiar with the infrastructure needs of District 5, and will maintain the Department of Public Works’ high professional standards.  Congratulations Chris!

The Maryland Department of Transportation will be holding their annual Consolidated Transportation meeting in the Council Chamber on September 16, 2013 at 3:00 p.m.  At this meeting, MDOT will present the draft of their Consolidated Transportation Plan and solicit input from the Council as well as the public.  Everyone is invited to attend. 

Finally, my office is in the process of updating our community association database and would welcome current contact information for our communities.  Please telephone my office at 410-222-1401 or e-mail Diane Jennings at d.jennings@aacounty.org and provide her with this information so we can get in touch with you on matters important to your community.  

Thank you!