Councilmembers: Lavender Lot Money Should Stay In Parkville

Two Baltimore County legislators say that a $100,000 grant promised to the Parkville community by the Baltimore County Revenue Authority should stay in Parkville.

The during a Revenue Authority meeting last week.

In a letter dated Oct. 31, Sixth District Councilwoman Cathy Bevins—whose district includes the Lavender lot—and Fifth District Councilman David Marks express their opinions to the authority.

"As the representative in whose district the Lavender Avenue lot is located,
Councilwoman Bevins advanced the idea of designating a portion of the sale proceeds for economic development in Downtown Parkville," the letter says. "Both of us agree with that concept. The $100,000 identified for community use should stay in Downtown Parkville."

The letter, signed by both legislators, goes on to say that the money should be used for one-time infrastructure improvements and to help nurture small business.

You can view the letter in full in a .pdf attached to this article.

At a meeting last week, the Revenue Authority proposed that the money should be available to any community in Baltimore County.

"Any money that we give out, anybody in the county has a right to it. It belongs to everybody—as much to Parkville as it does Pikesville because we're all one big county—and we should look at a way to distribute any monies that we decide will be distributed," said Gordon Harden, a member of the board and a Towson resident, at the meeting. "I think we ought to take a look at how we do it and possibly set up a grant procedure where anyone can apply."

After hearing that the authority might renege on its promise to the community, State Del. John Cluster promised legislative retribution against the quasi-public agency.

The Baltimore County Revenue Authority accepted a bid on the parking lot late last year from Towson-based DMS Development, which would build a Walgreens on the lot.

The sale is contingent upon the Revenue Authority's acquisition of a .2 acre parcel of land owned by the state that was once part of a bus loop.

Baltimore County political reporter Bryan P. Sears contributed to this article.