Harford County officials say they have a BRAC action plan

We have a plan, say Harford County officials charged with preparing for an influx of thousands of new county residents expected to start moving here next year due to the military's Base Realignment and Closure Plan, in a story in today's Baltimore Sun. The plan was developed during the past year using a $1.7 million federal grant. The Sun story said the plan now goes to County Executive David R. Craig. The story says the plan will get a "public airing" three months from now at town hall meeting April 18. Until then, I guess we can be rest-assured that this plan addresses the scary scenarios detailed in the state planning department's cautionary report on BRAC revealed in a Sun story last Saturday which warned that our land, water, road and school resources would be strained by the sudden influx of new residents. The Sun story says the county's plan does not provide any cost estimates for the projects it recommends. It says county officials are expected to soon give the state a list of transportation project they'd like to get state and federal money for.

"The snowball's rolling downhill, and we're going to continue to keep pace," said J. Thomas Sadowski, chairman of the county's base realignment planning advisory commission.

I hope the county gives us a way to get a easier peek at the details of this plan before April. You know how folks around here generally react to a threat of snow. It's not exactly comforting.