At the Rodgers Forge annual meeting and election tonight, the association honored Don Gerding, who has served on the board for more than 40 years. Don is one of the stalwarts of Rodgers Forge and represents the neighborhood at Greater Towson meetings, knows everyone in government, and works very hard for residents. He was honored with a formal Baltimore County Council resolution signed by Councilman David Marks and given a plaque from the board for his “40 years of tireless service to the community.” His wife, Taffy, was also honored.
Among the achievements mentioned by board member Janice Moore were the fact that Gerding led the effort to preserve the green space behind the Giant grocery store on York Road, he worked to get the stoplight installed at York and Stevenson, and he stopped a cell phone tower from being erected in the neighborhood. And the list goes on. (To read more about Don’s accomplishments, courtesy of Janice Moore, click here.)
“It’s a labor of love,” Gerding told the crowd after his standing ovation was over. “You can’t beat Rodgers Forge. Where else can you go that has our kind of transportation, food, education, and hospitals? You can not find a better area to live in and raise your families and retire.”
There was, of course, also an election. There were 19 candidates and 12 spots open. The winners were:
Doug Campbell
Jay Dunn
Jill Fisher
Bill Grothmann
Andrew Hazlett
Janice Moore
Roxanne Rinehart
Janine Schofield
Joe Segretti
Lawrence Swoboda
Jeff Wible
Carol Zielke
The board is going to re-count the votes to make sure their totals are correct but that’s where things stood at the close of the meeting. (NOTE: THE ABOVE LIST WAS CHANGED AFTER RE-COUNTING THE VOTES. SEE THE NEW RESULTS HERE.)
Candidate Art Buist and some others in the audience objected to the term extensions given to seven incumbents and their objections were noted and the board reiterated its position that the extensions were within its rights. Amid a cacophony of voices and general confusion, there was a motion from a resident to table the issue of term extensions and have the newly elected board review the issue later. Ada Montessoro, who was appointed in 2010 and whose term was extended, told those who objected that she never saw them at any meetings and that they should be attending more often if they are not happy with board actions. Other board members also encouraged greater attendance at the meetings. (Note: You don’t have to be on the board to serve on a committee and get involved.)
State Senator Jim Brochin also attended the meeting and told people there will be public hearings to look at BGE’s response to Hurricane Irene and he said he thinks schools should be one of their top priorities for getting electricity back on. I will post info about the hearings soon.
Brochin also said that Baltimore County Pubic Schools Superintendent Joe Hairston’s contract is up in June and that he thinks “it’s time for a change.” Brochin said that if he were grading Hairston’s performance over the past several years he’d give Hairston a “C minus.” Brochin also reiterated his support for a hybrid school board (half elected, half appointed.)
Residents brought up issues such as the need for a dog park, and a desire to have the community use its collective buying power to save money on roofing materials. It was also mentioned that the annual meeting conflicted with Dumbarton Middle’s Back to School Night, and board president Jennifer Helfrich said that issue should be investigated next year and that maybe the date of the annual meeting could be changed to make sure there isn’t such a conflict in the future.
On another note, I would like to call for an elevation of the tone of dialogue on The Forge Flyer. Things have gotten heated recently with the term-extension issue. While I tried to remain respectful, I probably could have done a better job — and the responses I received from the board could have also been handled in a better way. The comments from readers could have been less biting. (As I said originally, I don’t think this was a good plan and I don’t think it was executed well, but I also said that I don’t believe it was done with malice or in bad faith.) I hate to censor comments unless they really cross the line, but on the other hand, perspectives could be shared in a more constructive manner. I hope people will take this to heart before hitting the “comment” button.
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