County Councilman Tom Quirk Addresses Rotary Club

At the Tuesday evening meeting of the Catonsville Rotary Club, Tom Quirk had finished his dinner and was ready to deliver his speech about the first six months of his term on the Baltimore County Council, but first he had to share the spotlight with Larry King. 

Evening event organizer, Joe Loverde, had hired Bob Heck, who impersonates the CNN interviewer.  Heck seemed to enjoy making fun of everyone.  Of the guest of honor, Heck said, “He’s a little weird, that’s why they call him Councilman Quirk.”

To open the meeting, President Cal Oren announced that the club will be changing from weekly breakfast meetings to twice monthly evening meetings (2^nd and 4^th Tuesdays). 

The Catonsville Rotary is seeking new members to keep it active and successful in raising and giving away money to charities, local through international.  Also in attendance was Alvin Thompson who helped found the Catonsville Rotary.

Before she introduced Councilman Quirk, Sandra Kurtinitis, President of CCBC, shared a few successes.  CCBC is now the largest community college in the state, having just outpaced Montgomery County, with 75,000 students. 

Councilman Quirk’s review of the last six months comprised the following topics:

Speed camera legislation. When Quirk was campaigning door to door, speed enforcement was one thing many residents talked to him about.  Living on Edmondson Avenue, this is an issue which personally affects him and his family.  For Quirk, the larger issues are walkability and bikeability.

Strategic land use decisions.  With respect to the recent PUD legislation, Quirk argued, “I pushed hard for a good bill which required agency review and community input; it will mean that the Council will have more facts in front of them before making PUD decisions.  Our goal is exceptional quality with clear public benefit.”

Redevelopment, revitalization and transportation.  Quirk is concerned that the county grow thoughtfully.

“We need to be creative and hyper vigilant about land use decisions," he said.

Quirk hopes to require transit-oriented design as a formal part of the County’s planning process with more attention to existing or planned infrastructure:  roads, bus lines, rail networks and even bike trails.  He has introduced a Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee. 

An advocate of Catonsville Rails to Trails, Quirk is proud of our community’s trolley trail and the newly resurfaced short line trail behind Paradise.  He is actively working to get an 10-acre parcel of land off Maple Avenue designated as the first Neighborspace area in Catonsville. Neighborspace takes open space and preserves it as passive space.

Budget.  Quirk credits Baltimore County’s ability to absorb a $60 million shortfall in the 2012 fiscal year budget with our “good tradition of fiscal responsibility.”

But he also said, “the good news is that we prepared for a rainy day,  the bad news is that it’s absolutely raining.” 

The District. Quirk is working hard on Security Square Mall revitalization and promotion. “If our neighbors are doing well, then we are doing well.  It is critical for Catonsville to push the boundaries out,” Quirk said. 

As much as he touts Catonsville’s vitality, Quirk is equally proud of the accomplishments of other parts of his district.  “Lansdowne has great momentum right now," he said.

New projects in Catonsville.  Quirk said, “People want to invest in Catonsville.”  He is still working with the YMCA.  He said, “Everyone agrees that we need a revitalized YMCA, but on questions of land use, I will not be rushed.” 

The YMCA has done a traffic study which it claims will improve traffic at the Wilkens Avenue intersection, which Quirk said he needs to review himself and then with the community. 

“These are all projects which have potential for a great upside but also challenges that need to be reviewed," he said.

Board of Education.  One of the follow-up questions from the audience probed the relationship between the Baltimore County Council and the Board of Education.  Quirk was candid, saying that 51 percent of the county budget goes to the Board of Education and that there have been “some contentious meetings with Hairston, but I can assure you, we do have influence.” 

He reminded the audience that the county is studying the school board composition question right now, so people should let their views be known.  Quirk himself has been “pushing aggressively for more of a deregulated decision making environment in the schools.  Principals should have more autonomy.”

Transparency.  Quirk showed the audience a budget report from the County Council and urged that the public make better use of the Council website to become aware of how our tax money is being spent.

Overall.  Quirk said of his first six months in office, “The honeymoon was over after about a week.”