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Harford County Hosts Tour for Fort Personnel
By Paul Wein
About 200 Fort Monmouth employees gathered together on Saturday morning, May 3, 2008, to travel by bus to Harford County, Md., for a Relocation Fair and to tour the Maryland County in which Aberdeen Proving Ground is located. The trip was sponsored by the Harford County Government and was similar in nature to last month’s Greenlight Baltimore trip, which was sponsored by Live Baltimore.
The trip began with the two-and-a-half hour drive to Harford County. Upon arriving there, the day’s touring activities began at Cal Ripken Stadium, a Minor League baseball field named in honor of Major League Baseball great Cal Ripken Jr. For two hours during the Community Fair and lunch there, attendees met with local real estate, education and community specialists who gave them information and answered questions.
Some dignitaries attended the event to welcome the fort personnel to both the Stadium and Harford County, including Michael Bennett, the Mayor of Aberdeen, Md.
“It’s pretty exciting to have everyone here,” Bennett said. “We are very excited to get things moving forward.” Bennett said that no matter a person’s individual situation, the Aberdeen Proving Ground area would be a great place for them to live. “We have a pretty diverse group of housing….so we can handle anybody,” he said.
Jim Richardson, director of economic development for Harford County, who organized the event along with his staff, said he was very pleased with the outcome. “I am very happy with the turnout,” he said. “The folks from New Jersey have been wonderful. We’re very excited to get on the road and give them a windshield tour and answer their questions and they’ll get a better feel of what is available in the greater Harford county region.”
With homes that average around $279,000 and apartments that rent at an average of $950 per month, Richardson said Harford has a lot to offer new residents. “Harford County’s got a great quality of life,” he said. “We‘ve got a very aggressive plan for infrastructure improvements and we just think it’s a great place to, as we use the slogan from the Proving Ground, ‘live, serve and play.’”
After lunch, guests boarded the buses and were taken on a comprehensive tour of the County. During the tour, guides on each of the four buses gave descriptions of each neighborhood and community as the buses drove through its streets. The tour guides explained each neighborhood’s history, attractions, schools and places of worship. They even went so far as to point out good restaurants and local businesses.
The tour began in Aberdeen, where the population is approximately 14,000. Aberdeen was named after the original Aberdeen City in Scotland by Scots emigrating from home. Aberdeen is part of the Baltimore-Towson Metropolitan Statistical Area which is the 20th largest United States metropolitan area; and is also the home of Cal Ripken, Jr.
As the tour continued, the buses made their way to Bel Air, incidentally the former hometown of John Wilkes Booth, assassin of Abraham Lincoln. Bel Air, with a population of approximately 10,000, is Harford County’s commercial and nightlife center, with more retail stores and restaurants than other towns in the County.
The next stop was Havre de Grace, which has a population of approximately 11,000 (compared to the estimated population of 15,000 of Tinton Falls, N.J.). Havre de Grace is named after the port city of Le Havre, France. Its name in French means “Gracious Harbor,” or, more literally, “Harbor of Grace.” Housing development there is moderate but steady and includes the complete rebuilding of blighted areas into middle class homes. There are five public schools in Havre de Grace as well as the oldest hospital in Harford County, Harford Memorial Hospital. Havre de Grace’s location on the headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay and the outlet of the Susquehanna River makes it popular for recreation.
The last stop on the tour was Bulle Rock, a gated community within Havre de Grace. Well-known for its golf course, it’s the home of the Ladies Professional Golf Association. Bulle Rock offers housing areas ranging from condominiums to single family homes to villa homes and has a 37,000 square foot Residents’ Club with resort-style attractions and services.
After touring two of the community’s model homes, guests made their way to the Residents’ Club for light refreshments before boarding the buses to return to New Jersey.
“I thought it (the County tour) was informative,” said Angel Pacheco, a program analyst for the Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications Tactical. “We got to see different areas of Harford County so it was helpful in determining where you might want to live.”
Having attended both this trip and the Greenlight Baltimore trip, Pacheco said she liked this one better. “With the Baltimore trip, you had to pick just one tour so you only saw one area. Here, they kind of showed you a greater majority [of the area] than they did with the Baltimore trip.”
Richard Rogers, who works in the Logistics and Readiness Center’s Command and Control Systems Avionics Directorate, said he enjoyed the trip. Planning on moving but hoping to move early, Rogers said he’s considering moving to Bulle Rock.
The next bus trip to be sponsored by the Harford County Office of Economic Development will be held on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2008.
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