3/28/2007

County approves $388 million capital plan
By Don Klein

Public school needs are expected to outpace all other county expenses according to the new 10-year capital improvement plan presented to the Worcester County Commissioners. The schools' projected needs will amount to $247,742,951, or 64 percent of all county capital expenditures in that period.

The commissioners have approved a massive overall $388 million spending  program which will cover capital improvements through 2017 at its March 20 meeting. All of it, of course, is subject to annual review.   

After schools, public works would draw the largest chunk of county funds, listed at $58,150,930 or about 15 percent of the total. The remainder will be allotted to public safety, the community college, recreation and parks and general government operations.

The county expects to pay for half of the capital improvement through the sale of bonds while most of the other revenue will come from state matching funds, user fees and general funds. 

School expenditures will be designated for renovations to Pocomoke High School, Snow Hill High School, Berlin Intermediate School and Pocomoke Middle School.

One of the smallest items in the proposed capital plan brought out the most criticism. There was concern raised about the $2.2 million for a  new Performing Arts Center to be located somewhere in the northern county area outside Ocean City, listed in the proposal to begin construction in 2008. Ellie Dingelmann, an Ocean City resident, addressed the board saying she did not see a need for an arts center and wondered whether it would generate enough funds to pay for itself.

Commissioner Linda Busick also commented about the priority of building an arts center when there were children at Showell Elementary School using eight temporary mobile classrooms. 

More hefty items in the budget included:

A 66 inmate addition and renovation to the 282 capacity Snow Hill county jail at $22.16 million;

Route 50 service road improvement near Holly Grove Road in Berlin at $8 million;

Mystic Harbor sewer improvements at $7 million;

a new senior center in the Showell-Berlin area  at $6.4 million;

a new branch library in Berlin at $3.1 million,

a new all-purpose county building; and

a storage building on Route 113 in Newark at $5.5 million.

There will be approximately $29 million spent on five different landfill projects, some $3 million to cap and close the Berlin Rubblefill and $3.03 million for construction of the Berlin Rubblefill nature park.

Presiding Commissioner James Purnell explained the presentation of the budget does not necessarily imply approval. "All items face individual approvals and bond issues need a public referendum." 

To critics who claimed the county was depending too much on borrowed money, Commissioner Bud Church responded, "We are the most conservative commissioners in a long time. We review costs carefully. We are prudent in spending taxpayers’ money. Don't worry about that."

Then he added the county cannot pay  cash for all its projects and needed to borrow to fulfill its obligations. In a covering letter to the commissioners, Gerald T. Mason, chief administrative officer, said: "Although we stress that this is a planning document to anticipate future needs of the county, we believe it is to the county's benefit to push back those items that will not occur until a later date, mostly due to funding."