MARVIN MANDEL, Governor                           2763

(3)    With respect to Item (A)(3)(e), this
appropriates $2,050,000 for the State's share of the cost
of constructing a District Court — Multiservice Center
Building in Centreville. This building is needed;
however, the General Assembly amended the appropriation
as submitted to require that the building be constructed
on a particular site in Centreville.

The selection of a suitable site for the building
has been a matter of considerable controversy in Queen
Anne's County, and the County Commissioners have
indicated their adamant objection to the site required by
the amendment to the appropriation. I have, in fact,
been informally advised that the Commissioners will not
presently approve the county share of the project if
required to accept this particular site. Under these
circumstances, the appropriation would be meaningless.

I intend to request the County Commissioners to
appoint a balanced site selection committee including
appropriate State officials to attempt to find an
agreeable site for the building. The appropriation can
then be resubmitted to the General Assembly.

(4)    With respect to Item (D)(3)(d), this
appropriates $35,000 to restore a stone schoolhouse in
Seneca State Park, Montgomery County, as a "schoolhouse
museum". This project was submitted for review by the
Maryland Historical Trust, and was discarded by the Trust
as a low priority item. Plans for the restoration have
not been submitted to the Department of State Planning or
the Department of General Services, and therefore no
determination has been made as to whether the project is
feasible or can be completed within this appropriation.

(5)    With respect to Item (D)(4)(b), this
appropriates $500,000 for shore erosion control projects
on critical State—owned land. Neither the lands nor the
projects are specified in the appropriation. I have no
doubt of the need for additional shore erosion control on
State owned land; however, there has yet to be a
comprehensive plan developed sufficient to identify what
and where that need is, and what the relative priorities
are. It would be more prudent, I think, to have that
information before authorizing this expenditure.

(6)    With respect to Item (M)(1)(d), this
appropriates $25,000 for the stabilization and program
development of the Carters Mill Ruin in Cecil County.
The Carters Mill was a large paper mill that was
destroyed by fire in 1900 or 1901. It is now totally
decayed, and no one seems to know how much it would cost
to restore the Mill or, for that matter, whether it
should be restored. The project was not submitted to or
considered by the Maryland Historical Trust.