[RP TownTalk] Field of Dreams

[Jonathan Ebbeler]

Hi Maureen –
ACP actually actively considered and had given positive indications to the County and the Developer that they would sell the land.  It went to a final Board meeting whose vote quickly reversed those expectations.  The nay vote was very much unexpected.  Issues like this require constant lobbying, cheerleading, and communication with interested parties which did not happen from our town.  ACP was 1 of 4 potential alignments.  The FOD alignment being built was the last one.
In regards to the question of if this fell under my purview as Chair of Economic Development at the time or a Councilman from a different Ward, I would disagree.  This was a negotiation that required agreement from the impacted constituents and respective CM along with the town’s executive authority which Councilmen or Committee heads do not have.  I assume this is the same reason why the Mayor and CM Thompson met privately with UMD (the UMD land is in Ward 2 not Ward 1) as discussed in the Mayor’s Town Crier article two months ago on Page 6:  http://riverdaleparkmd.info/Crier/Apr%202016%20Crier_kda.pdf
The Mayor is the sole Chief Executive Officer of the town and currently the sole Chief Financial Officer whole is uniquely and solely responsible for the Executive and Financial Administration of the town.  If he wants to meet privately with UMD officials and discuss economic development without the Chair of the Committee or even looping him into the conversation, nothing prevents him from doing so other than professional courtesy.
I would disagree with your sentiments that discourse breeds inaction.  For the first time in many years I believe we are going to have a contested election.  Be careful not to assign causative logic to things like unopposed elections.  There are many, many reasons why seats are contested or remain unopposed.  I would suggest RP is long overdue to consider Term Limits or a new form of representation to go with its new form of government.  At-large CMs would provoke many more people to run.
I believe the public in general will benefit from the unique perspective on topics of discussion.  While many may opine from the outside about what was done and why, as someone who took part in discussions and negotiations I can shed light on the who/what/why/when that is usually missing.
JWE

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