baltimoresun.com

« O'Malley's football loyalties | Main | Changes at the Maryland Democratic Party »

January 7, 2009

Maryland buys more land

The Sun's Tim Wheeler reports that the state has approved the purchase of a large wooded tract on the Eastern Shore this morning for $14.4 million. This is part of a $70 million land purchase Gov. O'Malley announced a few months ago, a deal that raised a lot of eyebrows at the time because many found it crazy to be buying land at the same time that the state is cutting back on spending elsewhere, furloughing employees etc.

(The reason the state is doing it is because land purchase money comes from a dedicated tax that isn't supposed to be used for other purposes, though sometimes it has been in the past.)

But another detail Tim uncovered that could raise some more eyebrows is that the $14.4 million is the higher of two appraisal prices for the land. The lower appraisal was for $12.2 million. $2 million may not mean much in the scheme of Maryland's budget problems, but the question of how the state handles land purchases when two appraisals differ has been a pretty hot topic in the past.

In this case, the state apparently rejected the lower appraisal as flawed because it considered properties from far and wide in trying to come up with comparable sales (there being relatively few such parcels out there to sell). The $14.4 million figure relied solely on sales from the Shore. But it still leaves open a lot of room for debate over whether the state's getting the best deal, not to mention whether it should be buying land now at all.

Posted by Andy Green at 11:20 AM | | Comments (3)
        

Comments

Who is the state purchasing this land from? Are these individuals or groups or what? I'm not suggesting that anything shady is going on (although it wouldn't be the first time!), but I'm just curious how a deal like this goes down. Does an individual with a tract of land that they don't want developed contact the state after getting offers from developers, or is the state actively seeking land like this. So many questions...

Wait till you see how much it costs to cover that area in a custom made oriental rug!

"I'm not suggesting that anything shady is going on"...

no no, ask away Jeff because their is little to no transparency in these deals. Especially knowing we are paying at least 2 million more than the low appraisal. Yet Governer Owe Malley is now trying to raise the fees on EZ Pass to "recoup costs".

Post a comment

All comments must be approved by the blog author. Please do not resubmit comments if they do not immediately appear. You are not required to use your full name when posting, but you should use a real e-mail address. Comments may be republished in print, but we will not publish your e-mail address. Our full Terms of Service are available here.

Verification (needed to reduce spam):

About the bloggers
Annie Linskey covers the statehouse for The Baltimore Sun. Previously, as a City Hall reporter, she covered the corruption trial of Mayor Sheila Dixon and kept a close eye on city spending. Her reporting on the city’s economic development arm led to the termination of multiple improperly bid seven-figure public works contracts and her coverage of the death of a fire department cadet resulted in overhaul of that agency’s top brass. Before that, as a crime reporter, she interviewed Bloods gang members and the police detectives who pursue them.
Originally from Connecticut, Annie has lived and reported on war crimes tribunals and landmines from Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She lives in Baltimore.

Paul West covers Washington for The Baltimore Sun, continuing a tradition that began the month the paper was born, in 1837. He hasn't been in the DC bureau that long--only since Ronald Reagan was president. He's covered Congress, the White House and presidential campaigns as the paper's national political correspondent and Washington bureau chief. He's on the lookout for news of significance to Sun readers at the other end of the B/W Parkway. That includes the activities of the state's congressional delegation and anything else that might shed some light on the inner workings of the nation's capital.

Julie Bykowicz's first days as a political reporter, in January 2009, coincided with Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon's indictment and the start of the Maryland General Assembly's 426th legislative session. She focuses on coverage of state agencies, such as social services, juvenile justice and prisons. During the session, she wrote about the death penalty, slots parlors and speed cameras, among other hot topics. Julie began political reporting after more than seven years on The Baltimore Sun's crime desk. She lives in Baltimore and works primarily in Annapolis.

-- ADVERTISEMENT --

Most Recent Comments
Headlines from The Baltimore Sun
Michael Steele
Coverage of RNC chairman Michael Steele
Photos: Through the years

Local politics news
Blog updates
Recent updates to baltimoresun.com news blogs
 Subscribe to this feed
Charm City Current
Stay connected