Howard County officials are asking for $1.5 million in state aid to help fund three major recreation and parks projects.
“We?re really excited about that,” said Howard?s Recreations and Parks Director Gary Arthur of the planned Robinson Nature Center, which would provide the county?s first educational center for children.
The funding requests in the form of three state bond bills were among the legislative priorities Howard County Executive Ken Ulman and county officials presented to the county?s state delegation Wednesday.
State bond money is a funding source that comes to the county as a grant, which is not paid back.
The nature center, which is in the design phase and would be built on 18.4 acres, could cost about $5 million to $6 million, Arthur said. Currently, students travel outside of Howard for nature programs.
The facility would be a “green” building, which Arthur said could cost 8 percent to 12 percent more to build than a standard building but would save about 20 percent in operating costs over the years.
A green building uses environmentally sustainable materials that are energy-efficient and promote a healthy indoor and outdoor environment. The plans for the design of the Blandair Regional Park in Columbia have been delayed by court battles and funding struggles. Howard purchased the land in 1998.
The county is renovating the exterior of the mansion on the property and plans to have the design completed in 2008, Arthur said.
Plans for developing the regional park include athletic fields and game areas, which some residents oppose.
“What people really want is a nature park” rather than ball fields, said Froydis Beckerman, a member of resident group Thunder Hill Action Committee, which also opposed development on the Columbia Medical Campus.
The North Laurel Community Center has been considered for more than 15 years, Arthur said.
State Sen. Ed Kasemeyer, D-District 12, said a community center is needed in the Elkridge area, which county officials agreed would be the next location after the North Laurel Center is built.
Three state bond bills for county recreation and parks projects
» Robinson Nature Center: $500,000 for construction of the county?s first nature center, next to 1,000 acres of the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area
» Blandair Regional Park: $500,000 for the design of recreational facilities for the 300-acre site in Columbia
» North Laurel Community
Center: $500,000 for the construction of a 50,000-square-foot community center on a 51-acre site south of Laurel Woods Elementary Center
Source: Howard County Office of the Executive
