25/10/2023
Excerpts about Old Ellicott City from last night's State of the County address.
More info will probably be available at meeting this evening.
"Ellicott City Safe and Sound: County Executive Ball announced two major advancements in his comprehensive Ellicott City Safe and Sound flood mitigation plan. In Summer of 2024, Ball will break ground on the H4 flood mitigation pond, which will hold more than 5.5 million gallons of water during storm events. As part of the EC Safe and Sound plan, the H7 and Quaker Mill flood mitigation ponds have already been completed under Ball’s leadership, and hold a combined total of more than 7.5 million gallons of water.
Ball also announced that this January, the County will begin the building removal work on Lower Main Street in Ellicott City. He anticipates that once the work begins in January, it will continue into Spring of 2024. Four structures are slated to come down as part of Ball’s plan, and the County and will preserve and renovate six other County-owned buildings on Lower Main Street. Under the prior administration, ten buildings were slated to be removed, adversely impacting the historic culture in Ellicott City."
"Revitalizing the Ellicott City Courthouse: Ball announced that the Historic Courthouse in Ellicott City will be repurposed to become a transformative Center for Arts, Culture, and History. After receiving comments from more than 600 community stakeholders, the historic courthouse will become a space for the Howard County Center for the Arts, the County’s first Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Cultural Center, the nationally recognized Roving Radish, and a shared commercial kitchen space.
The current site for the Howard County Center for the Arts will become a new space for Howard County Black Greek Letter Nonprofits. For the first time in Howard County history, there will be a dedicated space for historically black fraternities and sororities to meet and offer key programs for the community. This space will be the first of its kind in Maryland."
During his State of the County speech, County Executive Ball noted that the state of the county is “strong” based on educational, economic, and health and wellness progress.
