October 2018 Volume 26 Number 10 YOUR FREE ISSUE VOTER’S GUIDE: Meet the candidates running for office RENAISSANCE FEST: We have the festival by the numbers STILL CLOSED: Patapsco Valley Trail needs $4.5 M to open The Business of Howard + Anne Arundel Counties and the BWI Business District Medical Cannabis Industry Grows Despite Challenges By Mark R. Smith While it’s frustrating, most dis- Senior Writer pensary owners feel that it’s an issue that will improve as the indus- Sales have been brisk. Unan- try grows. ticipated challenges are still unresolved. But Maryland’s med- Software Saga ical cannabis business is moving According to Phil Goldberg, forward. president of the Maryland Canna- It’s been an “uneven” roll-out bis Industry Association and owner for the first medical cannabis dis- of GreenLeaf Medical, a dispensary pensaries licensed to operate in the in Frederick, performance of the state. software setup provided by the Lin- It’s great for the dispensaries thicum-based Maryland Medical when sales are brisk and one cus- Cannabis Commission, known as tomer after another walks through METRC, is the major concern. their doors. However, software METRC is the seed-to-sale track photo by Becky Mangus glitches – that don’t provide cus- ing software. It’s the season for cooler weather, earlier sunsets and, of course, pumpkins and tomer verification that is necessary “The business owners can be Halloween. There are several pumpkin patches and hayrack rides in Anne Arundel and Howard counties including at Clark’s Elioak Farm, Larriland Farm, Sharp’s at – are putting a crooked dent in a still checking limits, then the software Waterford Farm, Triadelphia Lake View Farm, Knightongale Farm and Greenstreet healthy bottom line. Continued on page 13 Gardens to name a few. Energy Manager Ready to Cut Costs By Susan Kim information from county departments and identified the top priorities to reduce energy Staff Writer agencies and then develop plans for improving use, I’ll have a better sense of exactly how much energy efficiency. we can reduce energy use.” Cutting the cost of heat, power and light for “Howard County budgets approximately $10 Howard County has nearly 200 government county services by at least 20 percent, saving million each year for electricity, natural gas, and buildings with 2.5 million square feet of space millions of taxpayer dollars, is the goal of How- propane,” said Miller. “From my experience in — and Miller is looking at ways to save energy ard County’s new Energy Manager. this field, I would expect that the county can in them all. Leah Miller, most recently Montgomery reduce energy use by 20 percent or more over The energy manager position is part of a County’s Sustainability Program Manager since the next five years. Once we have completed the policy office that works closely with the county 2016, is ready to start gathering utility billing full analysis of the county’s energy usage and Continued on page 11 WIN RAVENS TICKETS INSIDE 2 The Business Monthly October 2018 Onward and upward for readers and advertisers Dan Medinger Publisher PUB NOTE I am grateful that Cathy Yost and Becky Mangus, the Much is new in this issue of The Business logo. We have a new design to make reading eas- Monthly. ier and more inviting. We have new features, too, previous owners who made I started my that will inform, enlighten and entertain. this paper an important career in the news- Some things are not new. I am grateful that paper business and Cathy Yost and Becky Mangus, the previous and relevant publication I am delighted to owners who made this paper an important and for 17 years, will be staying be the new owner relevant publication for 17 years, will be staying and publisher. on to help us continue to grow. Our dedicated on to help us continue to Since leaving grad- and experienced staff of writers, designers and grow. Our dedicated and uate school with a sales team continue to fulfill their duties. degree in commu- Soon, we will be updating the website, experienced staff of writers, nity newspapering, expanding our e-community and extending our designers and sales team I have held virtu- social media and other digital activities. We will ally every job in this be offering many ways that you can participate continue to fulfill their duties. with us, too. Don’t miss the chance to win Ravens industry. I have been away for nearly a decade and tickets with this month’s contest. I am happy to be back where I started — putting When I was growing up my mom would say to The Business Monthly readership area is one ink on newsprint. of the most diverse and dynamic business com- me around bed time, “I can’t wait until tomorrow While many things have changed, the core rea- munities in the world. We look forward to telling because you can get better every day.” That was a son why newspapers exist is the same: to provide the story of what we are doing now and in the nice way to end one day and to get ready to begin readers access to accurate, unbiased informa- future. another. Here at The Business Monthly, we are tion and to provide advertisers the opportunity We are especially pleased that businesses are closing one chapter in our history and beginning to deliver their messages. We have a fuller state- continuing to use this publication to deliver mes- another. With much to be proud of in our past, ment of our mission on Page 35. sage about their services. we look forward with optimism to the future and Regular readers will notice several changes to So, if you are a new reader or a long-time having you be part of it all as we move onward The Business Monthly. We have a new flag and reader, we are delighted that you are here. and upward. No Just Tricks OLD ELLICOTT CITY, MD Treats Ellicott City Ghost Tours October Frights and Delights Every Friday and Saturday until November, we dare •Yappy Hour at The Wine Bin, Oct. 5 & 19 you to walk the streets of this historic milltown- one •The Spirits Pub Tour at The Wine Bin, Oct. 18 of the oldest and most haunted locales in America. •Howl-O-Ween at Clipper’s Canine Cafe, Oct. 20 Tours begin at 8:30pm. Reservations are required •Harvest Hootenanny at The Wine Bin, Oct. 20 •Hallowread at the Roger Carter Center, Oct. 26 & 27 before 5pm the day of the tour. To purchase tickets •Farmer’s Market at The Wine Bin, Saturdays until Oct. 27 online, go to hchsmd.org.events-tours/. •Movie Night at the Wine Bin- IT!, Oct. 27, 8pm For more information, call 410-480-3250 or email •Haunted House at Patapsco Female Institute, Oct. 26 & 27 [email protected]. •Trick or Treat Main Street, Oct. 31 VisitHowardCounty.com • 800-288-TRIP (8747) October 2018 The Business Monthly 3 Odenton Town Center Boulevard Gets Ready By Mark R. Smith Senior Writer Figuratively speaking, it’s been a long road to progress at Odenton Town Center. The rise of var- ious residential projects in recent years has been encouraging, but due to shifting markets, not all has gone as planned at the 1,600-acre mixed-use development that was first imagined in the 1970s. But a key piece, the tree-lined Town Center Boulevard, will soon link the community of Seven Oaks to the western extension of Odenton Road. While the initial intention was for the artery to ter Boulevard, it “will eventually be developed,” to market factors. “Costs and densities that can connect Seven Oaks to a transit-oriented devel- said Raj Kudchadkar, CEO and president of the be achieved on that site are probably a little thin opment (TOD) at that southern end point, the Central Maryland Chamber, who discussed the from a coverage standpoint,” Title said. “The larger project hasn’t fully materialized. need for capital projects. “We’re discussing open rents would have to be higher than this market spaces with the county Department of Recreation bears to build up eight stories, for instance.” Parking Places and Parks around the Odenton Library and as far He said that building office space atop the When Town Center Boulevard is complete, east as the U.S. Naval Academy Dairy Farm site.” Odenton Station parking garage might have been not only will residential and retail projects rise And that points to another concern, about a way of achieving additional returns, “but the along the route, a parking garage across from walkability. office market is thin, too.” Ruth’s Chris Steak House may also be built, said “The state recently conducted a feasibility study “We, as a community, have tried to push local County Councilman Andrew Pruski, of District 4. that has not been released,” Kudchadkar said. “We politicians to advance the TOD concept. Some More parking has long been needed in Town want to use it [to promote the] extension of the were very engaged, but their efforts didn’t seem Center, especially considering that Odenton is sidewalks adjacent to Fort Meade eastward, to the to help. We can make that a priority again,” said the busiest MARC station between Washington, traffic circle at Sappington Station Road.” Title, “but the politicians and the economic devel- D.C, and Baltimore. The nearby Annapolis Junc- opment community need to see this through.” tion Town Center station is almost as busy, so the More Possibilities Mark Wildonger, senior planner for the Anne demand has Pruski advocating for bus service to While the rise of mixed-use Odenton Station Arundel County Office of Planning & Zoning, the train stations.