Baltimore County was ready to spend about $300,000 to build a storm drain system that would divert rainwater away from the private residence that County Executive Johnny Olszewski and his wife built a block from the Chesapeake Bay.

The planned installation was “hush-hush, need-to-know from day one,” said a former permitting official, who noted that the project’s name, “Baylight @ Chesapeake Ave. drainage restoration,” was designed to obscure its real purpose.

“And that purpose is to help Johnny out with his flooding problem,” the former official said.

Olszewski’s office says the drainage project “is currently not an active project and has not been since 2021” – a statement that runs counter to internal county documents and invoices that show the plan was active at least through 2022.

The plan could be activated again, says a source who was not authorized to speak to the media. Currently, progress has been stalled because of problems securing easement rights on private property, the source said.

Roughly $90,000 was spent to design six drain inlets and related pipework on the roadways in front of Olszewski’s property.

Overall, the county Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPWT) allocated $210,000 to design and build the system, according to engineering documents and internal emails reviewed by The Brew.

In addition, the county was prepared to pay about $88,000 for the easement right through a neighbor’s yard to permit the pipe to reach the shoreline.

In other words, about $300,000 in public funds was set to be used to resolve a problem that was obvious – or should have been obvious – when the Olszewskis purchased the land in 2016:

Namely, that the front of the 65- x 300-foot lot was located in a sump, or low spot, on the ecologically sensitive shoreline just one foot above the mean high-tide level.

“Long before this administration”

The Brew sent questions to the county executive and his chief of staff, Sean Naron, about the storm drain project.

We asked whether he or his aides initiated the plan, whether they were monitoring its progress, and whether the scheme amounted to a public subsidy that would boost the market value of the Miller Island property, which is currently assessed at $536,000.

In response, Olszewski’s press secretary Erica Palmisano denied that the project was ongoing and issued the following statement:

“Discussions for potential storm drain improvements at this location have been in the works for over 20 years; a study was completed in 2000 and plans first designed in 2010 – long before this administration. Storm drain improvements in low-lying areas in Baltimore County are not uncommon.”

Land records and other documents provide a different timeline and perspective.

Tirabassi Connection

In 2003, Hurricane Isabel destroyed the modest house that had sat for years on the lot at Baylight and Chesapeake avenues.

Widespread destruction from the storm led to major revisions in the county’s building code, including Flood Protection Elevation (FPE) laws passed by the County Council.

In addition to the new rules, the lot in question was located within the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area and bordered the Black Marsh Natural Area and North Point State Park.

In May 2014, the property was formally referenced as a Flood Hazard Zone by FEMA.

Nevertheless, in June 2016, Olszewski and his wife purchased the lot for $135,000 through Advance Realty Direct, a real estate firm owned by Philip Tirabassi.

Tirabassi has been in the news after The Brew disclosed that the retired firefighter had received a $83,675 payout from the county engineered by Olszewski’s top aides and hidden from public view under the name of “Philip Dough.”

The Maryland Republican Party has called on Olszewski to step down as county executive and abandon his run for Maryland’s 2nd Congressional District seat, citing the Tirabassi payout and his “corrupt decision” to use $550,000 in taxpayer’s money to fight against a lawsuit that has exposed details of the payout.

Olszewski has rejected their demand and is currently at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Zoning Variance Approved

The lot purchased by the Olszewskis was advertised as a place to “build your dream home with a great view of Chesapeake Bay.”

But construction on the site required a variance in keeping under the new flood protection requirements.

In September 2017, or shortly after he announced his candidacy for county executive, Olszewski was granted a non-conforming permit that required the first floor of the house to be elevated 9.7 feet and be used only for the parking of vehicles, limited storage and access to the inhabited building.

The variance barred the placement of electrical or plumbing devices below the Flood Protection Elevation and required vents be installed in a two-car garage “to permit the automatic entry and exit of flood waters.”

In December 2018, Olszewski became Baltimore County executive.

A year later, in October 2019, he and his wife took out a $500,000 mortgage to complete their Millers Island house, whose upper floors have an unimpeded view of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge 17 miles to the south.

At the front of their property, was the sump at Baylight and Chesapeake avenues that collected water during and after storms.

“A safety hazard”

According to a county source, who was not authorized to speak to the media, DPWT had a longstanding “bucket list” of storm drain improvements at Millers island and other nearby locales.

The push to install a drain system specifically at Baylight and Chesapeake avenues only got serious after Olszewski became county executive, the source said.

On October 21, 2020, DPWT entered into a contract with Monumental Paving & Excavating to design and build the drainage system.

Over the next two years, Monumental assigned KCI Technologies and AB Consultants to assist DPWT in designing the drainage line.

A February 2022 memo sent to the county Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability noted the line would alleviate standing water that “poses a safety hazard” to auto traffic at the sparsely used intersection.

If drains were not installed, “flooding of private properties could occur in large storm,” the memo warned.

Through 2022, the project seemed on course, with D’Andrea Walker, director of DPWT, and Lauren Buckler, the department’s top engineer, signing documents approving $210,000 in county bonds to finalize and build the pipeline.

Since then, the project has made little progress.

According to a knowledgeable source, installation was delayed because of difficulties in obtaining an easement on the private property.

According to spokesperson Palmisano, the project was shelved back in 2021 for reasons she did not specify.

“That’s for Johnny”

Several Millers Island residents interviewed by The Brew said they were aware of the drainage plan.

“Oh, that’s for Johnny,” exclaimed one resident, who asked not be identified. Another said the county had contacted him about the storm line several years ago, but never followed up.

Both residents expressed skepticism that the drainage system would keep the intersection dry during a storm, not to speak of a Nor’easter of the kind that periodically sweeps across Miller Island with large amounts of Bay water.

“See this spot,” says a resident, pointing to a light stain on a storage shed near the Olszewski property.

“That’s from Debby,” referring to Hurricane Debby that dumped heavy rains in Maryland earlier this month.

“That’s not too unusual,” he said. “But here’s the thing – the Bay will suck back the water it brings in. The water will go back out as quickly as it came in.”

Will It Work?

According to several residents, the best way to drain off surface water at Millers Island is divert it farther inland into the Black Marsh protected grounds rather than attempt to return it to the Bay.

Such an alternative was never addressed in the memos exchanged between KCI and DPWT.

But, significantly, the consultant told the agency that the gravity system it designed may not work.

“We offer no guarantee for positive drainage on any areas with less than 2% fall,” KCI said.

The Baylight and Chesapeake project has a 0.3-0.5% gradient, leading to the prospect of Bay water entering the outfall and surging up from the drain inlets, causing inland flooding during storms or at high tide.

To counter that threat, KCI proposed a tideflex check valve on the Bay end of the pipeline that would look like this:

To reach a reporter: reuttermark@yahoo.com