The 'Luxury of Time'

Kevin Kamenetz appears to be in no hurry to name his first appointment as county executive to the Baltimore County Revenue Authority.

Each of the five board members serves staggered five-year terms.

Joseph Blair's term expired June 30 and he had been appointed August 2005.

But Don Mohler, a spokesman and Kamenetz's chief of staff, said Blair will continue in the position for the time being.

"He's graciously agreed to stay on" while the county executive considers the appointment, Mohler said, adding that Kamenetz believes Blair has done a good job in the position.

Blair's agreement to remain on the board "gives the county executive the luxury of time" to make an appointment, Mohler said.

The authority is an independent agency charged with operating four public parking garages in Towson and a number of surface lots and metered parking spaces around the county. The authority also operates five golf courses and the Reisterstown Sportsplex.

Increasingly, the authority is being looked at for possible involvement in economic development projects around the county. It's part of the proposed retail, restaurant, office and movie theater complex.

This is Kamenetz's first opportunity to appoint a member to the board.

Board members are not paid for their work. Instead, they are allowed to play free golf at the county's five courses in addition to other benefits including discounts on items sold at course pro shops.

Late last year,

the board voted to confer the free golf benefit to former members of the board regardless of the amount of time served.

By law, appointments to the board continue in their positions until their replacements are named.

Typically, reappointments are a fairly straightforward affair.

Mohler cautioned not to read much into Blair not being immediately reappointed.

"It's just not been at the top of the county executive's agenda," Mohler said.

Kamenetz has even more time to make his decision. The authority voted in June to decrease the number of times it meets.

The board will now meet just six times annually—every other month—as opposed to the previous schedule of 10 meetings per year.

The board's next meeting is scheduled for August.

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