ELLICOTT CITY, Md. — Howard County Council chambers is getting an upgrade, at a price tag of around $700,000. But citing recent cuts and tight budgets, chair Opel Jones is the sole representative who’s raised concerns about the costs.
“There's federal cuts happening at the federal level, at the state level and to spend three quarters of one million dollars to upgrade a room to give us more convenience, I think it's a waste of money,” Jones said.
The General Services team provided an update on the Banneker room project to council on Monday at its monthly meeting. The plans include creating an ADA accessible horseshoe shaped dais as well as new carpet and lighting.
Howard County chair opposes $700K Council Chamber renovation
“Right now, our dais is kind of flat,” District 3 council member Christiana Rigby said. “When you can see the whole person, have a whole discussion with them, you get to better solutions."
Rigby also points out the space is used by other government bodies that also sometimes need more seats than is typically used by council.
“I don't think we need to spend almost $1 million for upgrades to communicate better,” Jones said.
The funds have already been allocated from the previous budget year. Meaning, they’d have to go through another reallocation process if council wants to reconsider.
But most members are on board, including District 5 David Yungman who specifically requested the horseshoe shape for the dais. Though, at Monday’s meeting he did have questions regarding specific costs.
“It’s real dollars that I ant to make sure that we don’t spend unnecessarily. And there’s also optics,” Yungmann said. “We’ve got leaks in schools but you walk into the county council room and it looks like it’s brand new.”
Engineering manager Zach Hollenbeck informed council that about a third of the estimated costs will accommodate the tech upgrades, which Rigby says are really needed in a post-COVID world.
"The technology and components in our Banneker room are definitely aging, we have challenges with the microphones, challenges with sound integrity so when people are streaming and watching it is challenging for them to fully participate in the meetings,” Rigby said.
Some other costs, like the lighting upgrades, are already being done in other government buildings for cost-savings through BGE rebates, Hollenbeck also said.
Jones believes the money might be better used for schools or roads, or as he says, about 10 different things.
“It’s just like if you saved up x amount of thousands of dollars to go on this huge vacation and you have cuts you may say, ‘Hey I may delay my vacation,’” he said.
The county has already spent $50,000 on the design process.
General Services also provided a report to council about the utilization of leased spaces, and is working on a longterm plan to use owned spaces.
“We really want to get to ultimately a facilities master plan but this is the first step, how are we utilizing our space, how can we consolidate and roll off our leases, how can we consolidate in our own space to save on costs for taxpayers,” Rigby explained.
Next steps include renovating the former armory on MD-103 for the Department of Fire and Rescue Services, relocate the Board of Elections and the acquisition of 9755 Patuxent Woods Drive.
