Follow-Up: Clearing the Path

With one chain saw, two lawn mowers and an arsenal of hand tools, a handful of involved residents fueled by two dozen donuts donated by Bakery Express filled two truckloads of overgrown foliage and debris in four hours.

That's how public access was restored to a footpath connecting the 1200 block of Sulphur Spring Road to the Arbutus Elementary School athletic field.

"The path hasn't looked this good in years," remarked a woman walking by during the work project Sept. 17.

For a couple of years, by a homeowner living on the property next to the path, who piled branches and yard waste behind a barrier of fencing and knotted cable.

Nikki Marlatt-Young, president of Arbutus Improvement Association, with the assistance of Halethorpe Improvement Association President Mike McAuliffe, organized a Saturday morning cleanup.

David Mason, of William N. Mason Inc., supplied the truck and trailer, then hauled all of the debris, which will be chipped into mulch.

McAuliffe explained that the group decided to go ahead with the cleanup after researching the ownership of the property. While the county owned the 55-foot stream bed and an adjacent 10-foot right of way, a small strip of property several feet wide existed between county property and the homeowner's property next door.

That small strip of property last changed hands in 1928, McAuliffe said, and was owned by Arbutus Land Company—an entity that apparently no longer exists. The property with overgrown foliage may not be owned by anybody, he said.

Care was taken to preserve vegetation along the water. Foliage was cut back, but not uprooted. A large amount of vines and dead branches were removed, along with four contractor-sized bags of trash. With a light-choking canopy removed, ground cover and smaller plants will have an opportunity to thrive.

The result is a clear path from Sulphur Spring Road to the athletic field, without the dense foliage cover that provided a place for kids to hang out.

AIA has assumed responsibility to patrol the path area periodically to remove trash.