Millersville, Pasadena park projects advance | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

The state Board of Public Works last week approved money for the design and construction of a 5,600-square-foot visitors center at Kinder Farm Park, as well as additional funding for athletic fields at Lake Shore Athletic Complex in Pasadena and the Crownsville Area Park.

Frank Marzucco, county director of recreation and parks, said the Program Open Space money completes funding for the visitors center at the 288-acre park in Millersville. Construction is expected to begin next summer and be completed by 2010.

"Kinder Farm is part athletic complex, and part regional park with amenities including a working farm and community gardens," Mr. Marzucco said. "The one amenity that was missing was a true visitors center."

The visitors center will include a reception area complete with exhibits and several large meeting rooms. Similar centers at Downs Park in Pasadena and Quiet Waters Park near Annapolis draw hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

Original plans called for a 16,000-square-foot barn-style center, with the Maryland Cooperative Extension Service sharing construction costs. Those plans were scaled back when MCES backed out for financial reasons, Mr. Marzucco said.

Park Superintendent Bill Offutt said the exhibits in the center will highlight the county's rich agricultural history.

"There's really nothing like that in Anne Arundel County," Mr. Offutt said.

He said he expects attendance at the park to surpass 320,000 this year, with visitors coming from as far away as Harford and Charles counties.

"We want to make sure the building supports our educational plan for the center, so we don't want to rush into anything," Mr. Offutt said.

The board also approved $600,000 to build three baseball fields, two softball fields, a multipurpose field and a dog park at the Lake Shore complex in Pasadena, improvements that should be completed within two years.

Mr. Marzucco said the additional fields are another highly anticipated project, one which the county began planning in 1997. Baseball and softball are popular league sports in Pasadena.

"Popular is an understatement," he said. "It's a hotbed."

Lee Warner, president of the Lake Shore Athletic Association, said his baseball and softball players use the fields at Bodkin Park and Lupers Field in Pasadena.

But they're usually booked solid, especially now that two of the six fields at Lupers will be converted to football and lacrosse fields.

"Fields are at a premium," Mr. Warner said. "The population in the Pasadena peninsula has increased so much in the past 30 years, so there's a tremendous demand."

When making plans for the complex, Mr. Marzucco and other county officials solicited advice from people in the community, who cried out for a dog park. Similar parks and even a dog beach have been added to county parks over the last decade as people look for open space to play with their pets.

The Crownsville Area Park, a new park in the county system, received $650,000 for three multipurpose fields, support structures, a playground and connection to the South Shore Trail near Millersville.

Jeff Levy, president of the Arden Recreational Association, was thrilled to learn of the money coming to the Crownsville Park. Children from Glen Burnie to Annapolis play lacrosse and soccer on two small multi-purpose fields at Arden Field, he said.

But those fields, like those at Bodkin and Lupers, "are maxed out," Mr. Levy said.

The fields planned for the Crownsville Park. about two miles down the road, will be about a quarter larger, with lights that will allow youth to use them at night.

"That's great news for kids all along the Generals Highway corridor," he said.

Program Open Space funds are generated by taxes on real estate sales, and funneled to local jurisdictions. Anne Arundel County received $2.35 million in Program Open Space money last week.

The county is expected to match 20 percent of the funds, though Mr. Marzucco said the department budgets 25 percent, pending County Council approval.

"The recreational needs in this county are tremendous," County Executive John R. Leopold said. "North, south, east, west, there's always been a very strong interest in adding recreational amenities."