Town Center Committee Elects New Chairman

The  elected engineering consultant James Fraser as its new chairman Tuesday, replacing Donald Price, who resigned from the board.

The board voted 4-3 in favor of Fraser, who will serve a two-year term.

Fraser praised Price for his leadership and was particularly complimentary of his role in crafting the updated version of the Odenton Town Center Master plan in 2009.

"We're kind of in a different phase of things with the committee now, and maybe it's time for a change in leadership," said Fraser, who joined the board in 2011.

Price's two-year term had expired, but he was eligible to be re-elected. He first joined the board in 2007 and became chairman in 2009.

Price, who is the lead intelligence analyst for the Department of Transportation, chose to resign from the board entirely after Tuesday's vote. 

During his time as chairman, Price was . While other board members pushed to allow for flexibility in order to encourage development, Price pushed for a stricter interpretation of the plan, particularly with regard to 

"I think the committee can do good work," he told board members Tuesday. "The only thing I ask you to do is stick to the plan."

The town center committee meets monthly and serves as an advisory board to the county on issues relating to the Odenton Town Center Master Plan. County planners must present all development projects in the town center to the committee before review.

Price's resignation leaves the board with three openings. It accepted an application from Maria Avellaneda, a retired Air Force officer and real estate agent from Odenton. Board members also spoke with Thomas Sand, a Defense Information Systems employee who recently moved to Odenton and expressed interest in joining the board.

All board members are appointed by County Executive John R. Leopold.

Anyone interested in joining the board is asked to contact Michael Fox from the county Office of Planning and Zoning at MFox@aacounty.org.