Of Parking Lots and Golf Contracts

Defining the term "fiduciary responsibility" can be a tough thing.

Just ask some members of the Baltimore County Revenue Authority board who voted this morning to approve the .

The lot, which has been a money loser for the last decade, was sold to developers for $530,000 over the objections of community and business leaders along the Harford Road corridor.

Joseph Blair, a member of the board, said he was voting to sell the lot because it loses money.

"I'm influenced by a number of factors," Blair said. "The major factor is that we have a fiduciary responsibility to manage our property effectively, efficiently and properly."

Blair called selling the poorly performing lot "a no-brainer."

Compare that to what Blair said during last month's meeting when he asked a board member to stop asking questions about a contract that gives exclusive rights to offer , a public golf course managed by the authority.

The contract was not put out to bid and the five-member authority board didn't see a contract before it was asked to approve the agreement last month.

During the April 28 meeting, Blair argued against the need to invite other companies to bid on the contract and asked another board member to stop asking questions because the meeting was in its third hour.

"All that due diligence would be worthwhile but if we did that in every aspect of our business we'd have to triple our staff," Blair said in April.