'Rebuilding' Forest Heights council looks to bond bill, land sale to boost revenue

Town Council also swears in new members

‘‘What we’ve got to do now is get some funds,” said newly elected Councilman Larry Stoner (Ward 3). ‘‘We’re rebuilding.”

Council members said that in coming weeks they will begin to evaluate the town’s finances in preparation for fiscal 2009’s budget. The town is still recovering from a string of leadership problems in recent years that culminated with the October 2007 conviction of a former mayor who embezzled town money.

In the March 12 election, incumbent C. Lynn Smith-Barnes ran uncontested for the Ward 1 seat and received 18 votes. Incumbent and town council President Andrea McCutcheon defeated Clifton Atkinson for the Ward 2 seat with 34 votes to 17. Stoner, a former council member, defeated incumbent Taunya Hines with 34 votes to 19.

The three were sworn in Wednesday by Mayor Quincy Hines during a brief ceremony.

‘‘We’re trying to do the best we can here and catch up with ourselves. I think we’re on the right track,” Councilwoman Anne K. Reifsneider said.

Town officials said they have tried in the past to get state funding to repair the roof of their municipal building, which houses the government and hosts various youth programs and social activities. Rain and snow accumulates on the building’s flat roof and leaks into the second-floor meeting room.

A past request for funding was rejected by the Maryland legislature because the town was in political crisis at the time, Stoner said. This time, the town expects to receive $100,000 from the Maryland Senate, and could receive an additional $100,000 from the House of Delegates.

Council members discussed the sale of 135 N. Huron Drive, a 7,500-square-foot property with a water pumping station the town purchased for $3,000 almost 10 years ago.

Four potential buyers have expressed interest in the land, with some considering building a house there, town officials said. The town was planning to advertise the land and start collecting bids.

‘‘We’ll find out what they’re offering, and we’ll consider it,” Stoner said.

Town council members agreed to hold a meeting April 7 to begin discussing the budget.