Howard County Executive Calvin Ball Reflects on Eight Years of Service and Progress During his Final State of the County Address

ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Calvin Ball this week announced that the State of Howard County is strong through his efforts to lead with vision, through uncertainty, and with boldness, conviction, and love. During his final State of the County address, Ball reflected upon Howard County’s past and how far the County has come, especially highlighting the progress over the past eight years. In his address, Ball also recognized the many people and partnerships behind all the progress, and highlighted what the future holds as it pertains to affordable housing, education, public safety, energy independence, public amenities, and more.

Full text of his speech and his PowerPoint presentation can be found on Howard County Government’s website and pictures from his address on the County’s Flickr page.

Preserving the Past, Investing in the Future

During his speech, Ball noted that, “Leadership is about making decisions whose impact may not be fully realized for 10, 20, 30 years, or beyond”, highlighting the passage of the County’s HoCo By Design and Gateway Master Plan. Passed in 2023, HoCo By Design is the County’s 10-year General Plan that will guide how Howard County grows and evolves, while preserving quality of life. Last October, Ball signed into law the County’s Gateway Master Plan, a bold and forward-looking vision for the Columbia Gateway Business Park. Through this 30-year vision, County aims to transform Gateway into an innovation district that will drive jobs, homes, opportunity, discovery, and economic growth for generations to come.

Additionally, Ball also touched on his administration’s:

• Investing in Howard Community College’s new Workforce Development and Trades Center. Once complete, this innovative center will help ensure that lifelong learners have the skills, training, and opportunities they need to compete for the jobs of today and the careers of tomorrow.
• Opening of the County’s new The Capitoline Center in Ellicott City. Through this renovation project, this historic courthouse and iconic landmark has become a space centered around community, housing multiple anchors that bring new life, arts, culture, and energy into this revitalized space.
• Constructing the East Columbia 50+ Center. At 29,000 square feet, the center is seven times larger than the previous center and stands as a beacon for older adults to connect, stay active, and thrive.
• Breaking ground on a new Performing Arts Center (PAC) and Artists Flats in Downtown Columbia. Now under construction, once complete, PAC will contain one 340-seat dinner theater, two 200-seat black box theaters, a public art gallery, several dance studios, and performance classrooms. The Artists Flats will feature 174 mixed-income units serving a full spectrum of household incomes, further expanding affordable housing opportunities in Downtown Columbia.
• Moving forward on a new Howard County Library System Central Branch at the Columbia Lakefront. In December 2025, the Howard County Council, in a bipartisan vote, passed legislation to begin planning and design process for a new Central Branch.
• Breaking ground on the long-awaited Elkridge Community and 50+ Center. To be constructed in two phased, when fully completed, this 95,000 square feet, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold facility will feature designated “General Recreation Program” spaces, 50+ spaces, shared spaces, a Howard County Police Department satellite police station, playground, ample parking, a park, pool, and additional amenities.
• Transforming the former Harriet Tubman School into the County’s Harriet Tubman Cultural Center (HTCC). In 2022, the County reopened the school as the new HTCC, preserving and restoring an important piece of Howard County’s history.
• Opening of the long-anticipated addition to the County’s North Laurel Community Center (NLCC), featuring two indoor pools in March 2026. The nearly 23,000 square foot, one-story addition to the NLCC includes a lap pool, a therapy leisure pool, women’s and men’s locker rooms, six family “universal design restrooms,” a reception area, office space, a youth playground, and a preschool playground.
• Expanding accessibility at County parks, including constructing a Sensory-Friendly Play Experience playground, creating a sensory trail loop, updated basketball courts, an ADA-accessible canoe and kayak launch at Centennial Park, an Age-Friendly fitness lot, and, new state-of-the-art turf fields with lighting.
• Opening of Laura’s Place “play-for-all” playground at Blandair Regional Park – North. Named in memory of former Department of Recreation & Parks’ Bureau Chief of Recreation Laura Wetherald, the playground was designed from the ground up to encourage children of all ability levels to be able to play together and boasts unique features designed to accommodate cognitive, communicative, social/emotional, and sensory disabilities.
• Expanding recreational opportunities in the realm of pickleball, with the construction of 28 new dedicated pickleball courts across county-owned parks, including six courts at Alpha Ridge Park in Marriottsville, six lighted courts at Blandair Regional Park – West in Columbia, six lighted courts at Rockburn Branch Park – West in Elkridge, eight lighted courts at Western Regional Park in Woodbine, and two courts at Atholton Park in Columbia.
• Breaking ground on the County’s first-ever Non-Congregate Shelter along the Route One Corridor in North Laurel. Once complete, this new 16,000 square foot, 22-room facility will expand the county’s shelter capacity by providing short-term private shelter, comprehensive assessments, and immediate referrals to housing and critical services. 
• Opening a new Howard County Circuit Courthouse to provide the County’s justice system with a modern facility able to meet the needs of residents for generations to come. This massive project was completed on time and under budget.
• Strengthening the County’s fire and rescue infrastructure. In 2019, Ball dedicated the Merriweather Fire Station – 14 to assist with the growing number of residents and employees in the downtown Columbia area, allowing for even faster response times. Since opening, Station 14 has helped absorb the 37 percent increase in call volume that the Department of Fire and Rescue Services (DFRS) has since 2010, while also easing the burden on nearby Banneker Station – 7 and boosting its availability by 10 percent.  In 2022, Ball dedicated the new Waterloo Fire Station – 12 along the Route One Corridor. A LEED Gold-certified facility, this station primarily serves Howard County’s communities of Jessup, Elkridge, and East Columbia and responds to more than 2,600 calls a year. Today, DFRS’s newest fire station – 15, is rapidly progressing toward construction as its final design is completed this year. Located adjacent to Howard County Public School System’s Career & Technical Education Center (CTEC) and Homewood campus, this station will be the first in the county to include dedicated classroom space where CTEC students can gain technical skills and explore careers in firefighting and emergency services.
• Developing his comprehensive Ellicott City Safe and Sound flood mitigation strategy to protect historic Ellicott City’s Main Street and surrounding areas. One of the most ambitious flood mitigation efforts in the nation’s history, the plan implements flood safety initiatives and flood mitigation projects to enhance the safety of residents, businesses, and visitors throughout the historic town. Under the plan to date, the County has:
  • Launched comprehensive stream inspection and debris clearing program to remove debris from waterways after major storm events.
  • Installed high ground signage and emergency access gates along Main Street, as well as an outdoor tone alert system to notify residents and visitors when a flood warning is issued.
  • Completed construction of three major flood mitigation ponds: H-4, H-7, and Quaker Mill, and H-4.
  • Begun construction of on the Extended North Tunnel. The single largest public works project ever in Howard County, when complete, this mile-long tunnel will move more than 26,000 gallons of water per second away from Main Street and safely into the Patapsco River. To date, more than 2,300 linear feet of tunnel have been drilled below Historic Ellicott City.
• Supporting Howard County’s agricultural community by creating the Office of Agriculture (OoA). Located at West Friendship Park, the OoA brings agricultural resources closer to Howard County’s farming community. To further support this new office, the County has invested more than $4 million to design and develop a new Charles C. Feaga Agricultural Center at the park. This Center will centralize agricultural services and create a true hub for Howard County’s farming community.
• Making bold investments to support veterans and military families, including Ball signing an agreement with Anne Arundel County Government and Fort George G. Meade in 2021, to provide workforce services to transitioning service members, spouses of active-duty personnel, and veterans. Since then, more than 1,200 people have received career counseling and employment support.

Expanding Old Programs, Creating New Opportunities

During his speech, Ball noted that “Leading with vision means understanding not only who our residents are today but anticipating who we are becoming as a community.” He highlighted that between 2000 and 2025, the county’s 65+ population grew from seven to 18 percent, an increase of more than 42,000 residents. Furthermore, by 2040, nearly one in four Howard County residents will be 65 or older.

To meet the changing needs of the community, Ball’s administration over the last eight year expanded programs and launched new opportunities, including:

• Launching Howard County’s Age-Friendly Howard County initiative in 2019, to create a more livable community where residents feel supported, safe and engaged as they move through their older years. Since then, the County has implemented several action plans including opening a newly renovated East Columbia 50+ Center, introducing the first Age-Friendly Fitness Lot at Centennial Park North, implementing a 24/7 caregiver resource through the online portal Trualta, and developing new age-friendly communications guidelines to enhance user-friendliness, decrease ageist and ableist language. In February 2026, AARP formally approved Howard County’s Age-Friedly Action Plan 2025-2029, which outlined nearly 50 recommendations designed to improve quality of life for residents of all ages.   
• Joining the Dementia Friendly America Network to position Howard County as a leader in how local governments respond to one of the fastest-growing public health challenges.
• Opening the County’s new Financial Empowerment Center to help people who live, work, or go to school in Howard County reduce their debt, grow their savings, and achieve long-term financial stability.
• Building a transportation network that better connects people to places and opportunity, and is safer, easier, and more accessible. This includes:
  • Launching the transformational microtransit program, HoCo RapidRide. Serving community members primarily located along the northern Route 1 corridor – Elkridge, Jessup, and Savage, the program also extends east to incorporate popular shopping destinations including Dobbin Center, Snowden Square, and Gateway Overlook. In its first year alone, HoCo RapidRide provided more than 30,000 rides.
  • Partnering with Montgomery County Government to extend its Flash Bus Rapid Transit service into Howard County. With service to Maple Lawn, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and Downtown Columbia, Flash Blue Route service in Howard County began operations on September 8, 2026.
  • Dedicating more than $77 million over the last eight years to grow the County’s multimodal transportation options and Complete Streets, including sidewalks, pathways, bike lanes, and trail connectivity by more than 100 miles while maintaining existing infrastructure and connections. These investments reflect the County’s commitment to safer streets, stronger neighborhood connections, and healthier transportation options for all.
• Reopening the County’s Agricultural Land Preservation Program. The program was closed one year before Ball took office due to budget constraints. Months after taking office, Ball reopened the program to help bolster preservation efforts across the county.
• Expanding the County’s Roving Radish program from just meal kits to now include the Roving Radish Marketplace and the Roving Radish Mobile Marketplace.
• Implementing steps to continue Howard County’s fight against climate change through environmental protection and energy independence, including:
  • Expanding the County’s “Feed the Green Bin” food scrap curbside collection program.
  • Expanding the County’s tree canopy by planting more than 170,000 trees in Howard County since 2019, with more than 18,000 trees distributed directly to residents.
  • Signing the largest Solar Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) in Maryland and locking in a fixed, affordable price for clean solar energy for a 25-year period. Today, the PPA projects are generating enough clean solar power to meet the electricity needs of more than half of all County buildings and saving county taxpayers more than $90 million.
  • Signing a new tri-party solar PPA with Howard Community College and Howard County Public School System that will add another $12 to $14 million in savings.
  • Becoming the first jurisdiction in Maryland to serve as a community solar developer, bringing discounted solar electricity to more than 500 low-and moderate-income households. When completed by the end of 2027, these projects will help ensure that the benefits of clean energy shine across the entire community.
• Growing the County’s Office of Workforce Development’s Summer Youth Employment Program from just 13 participants in the summer of 2018 to 360 this past summer.
• Expanding digital inclusion and increasing community access to broadband through the County’s Transform Howard Initiative, including providing funding in 2023 to expand access to broadband internet in rural Western Howard County. Now, the County’s team manages more than 250 miles of County-owned fiber and supports almost 300 locations, allowing all residents to be connected no matter where they are.  

Overcoming a Global Pandemic and Federal Government Shutdowns and Cuts

During his speech, Ball highlighted the hardships faced by many community members, stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic to multiple federal government shutdowns, unprecedented federal funding cuts, and economic instability, and his administration’s response to each, including:

• Organizing food drives, suspending water disconnections, and connecting residents with needed resources weeks after taking office during the federal government’s numerous shutdowns, including December 22, 2018 to January 25, 2019, October 1 to November 12, 2025, and February 14 to April 30, 2026.
• Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by standing up emergency relief programs for local businesses, distributing more than $11 million in grants, working closely with employers to share information and resources, providing food, delivering meals, and providing resources to vulnerable residents, establishing countywide testing sites and standing up vaccine clinics, and distributing Personal Protective Equipment.
• Supporting federal employees and contractors affected by Department of Government Efficiency led layoffs last year by hosting career fairs, increasing workforce training, expanding the County’s foreclosure prevention program, and allocating $2.5 million to address federal challenges and emerging economic needs. Leveraging these resources, the County invested in vital programs to help residents when they needed it most.

Expanding Housing Opportunity

Ball also highlighted his administration’s efforts to confront Howard County’s housing affordability challenges, noting that more than 6,000 households in the county cannot find an affordable place to call home. Among these efforts, Ball highlighted:

• Launching the comprehensive Housing Opportunities Meant for Everyone, or HOME, package, which uses policy and programmatic initiatives to increase housing affordability, strengthen housing stability, and protect tenant rights.
• Creating the Opportunities for Wealth-Building Now, or OWN, program to expand pathways to homeownership and help residents build generational wealth.
• Advancing redevelopment of the County-owned Hurst Property into a new mixed-income homeownership community, transforming a property that sat vacant and blighted for more than a decade into an opportunity to create new homes for Howard County families.

Investing in the Health and Wellness of Howard County

“Every person deserves the opportunity to live a healthy life. Health is not just physical. It is mental. It is emotional. And when someone reaches out for help, that help should be there,” said Ball.

During the past eight years, Ball has worked with healthcare providers and community partners to expand Howard County’s continuum of care, including:

• Opening a new Behavioral Health Unit at Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center, expanding its capacity from five beds to 24.
• Investing in a new 29-bed observation unit at the hospital, which will increase emergency department capacity for the first time since 2009.
• Breaking ground on Howard County’s newest residential crisis facility at Sheppard Pratt.
• Opening a maternal health clinic at Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center that has helped more than 200 people in need of prenatal care avoid the emergency room.
• Evolving the County’s Mobile Integrated Community Health program to better reach residents who are homebound or unable to travel for healthcare.
• Launching SmartER, a countywide urgent care navigation platform designed to help residents identify appropriate urgent care options and direct lower-acuity patients to alternative care settings when appropriate.
• Opening a new Mental Health Unit at the Howard County Detention Center to provide treatment, support successful reentry, and help reduce recidivism.

Strengthening Public Safety

Ball emphasized that caring for the health of the community and protecting its safety are interconnected responsibilities, highlighting historic investments in Howard County’s first responders. During the past eight years, Ball has:

• Added nearly 100 first-responder positions to the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services (DFRS), helping the department achieve minimum staffing requirements while reducing reliance on overtime.
• Made Howard County the first ground-based EMS department in Maryland to launch a Whole Blood Program. Since the program began in 2023, DFRS has administered 76 units of whole blood, allowing critically injured patients to begin receiving lifesaving care before arriving at a hospital.
• Invested $3 million in the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center and significantly expanded Stop the Bleed training, including integrating the program into the Howard County Public School System curriculum and installing bleeding control kits in all 78 schools.

Ball also highlighted investments in the Howard County Police Department (HCPD) aimed at strengthening public safety, transparency, accountability, and community trust, including:

• Increasing the number of sworn officers and supporting HCPD’s largest academy class since 1993. HCPD is now the only known police agency in the region that is fully staffed.
• Creating Violent Crime Reduction Teams. Since their launch in 2023, violent crime in Howard County has dropped by 21 percent.
• Equipping sworn police officers with body-worn cameras to strengthen transparency and accountability in interactions with the public.
• Launching four public-facing dashboards providing residents with greater access to information on crime reports, traffic stops, use of force, and complaints against officers.
• Prioritizing Howard County’s cold cases. Through persistent investigative work and advances in forensic technology, four of the County’s oldest and most difficult cases have been solved or significantly advanced, providing long-awaited answers to victims’ families.

Supporting the People Who Serve Howard County

During his address, Ball thanked the nearly 5,000 Howard County Government employees who serve residents every day and reflected on his administration’s work with the County’s labor partners.

“Public service is a promise. A promise that whether someone calls 911 in the middle of the night or walks into a County office on a Monday morning, their government will work for them,” said Ball. “Howard County Government is only as strong as its people.”

Ball highlighted his administration’s efforts to reach agreements with the County’s labor unions and thanked employees for their professionalism, compassion, and dedication to keeping Howard County safe, responsive, and moving forward.

Building a Community Where Everyone Belongs

Ball also reflected on his team’s commitment to making Howard County a community where every resident feels seen, respected, valued, and included. Among these efforts, under Ball’s leadership, they:

• Expanded the Office of Human Rights into the Office of Human Rights & Equity, broadening its mission beyond civil rights enforcement to include equity, education, outreach, community engagement, and belonging.
• Created new commissions representing Howard County’s Asian American and Pacific Islander, Latino, immigrant, interfaith, and LGBTQIA+ communities, creating new opportunities for residents to have a voice in County Government and the decisions affecting their communities.

“Nowhere is our love for Howard County more evident than in our commitment to our future generations,” Ball continued.

Throughout the past eight years, Ball has provided record levels of funding for Howard County’s public education institutions, including the Howard County Public School System, Howard Community College, and Howard County Library System. Recognizing that learning begins long before a child enters kindergarten, Ball also expanded investments in childcare and early learning, including:

• Investing in the Faulkner Ridge Center.
• Providing Pre-K Expansion Grants.
• Supporting the Community Action Council of Howard County’s Route One Campus.
• Expanding Early Head Start.
• Reopening the Children’s Learning Center at Howard Community College.

Additionally, following years of negotiations and land transfers, the County secured land for the future High School 14 at Troy Park in Elkridge, preserving an opportunity to meet future school capacity needs while responsibly stewarding taxpayer resources.

Ball also highlighted investments designed to strengthen civic engagement, expand economic mobility, and ensure residents of all abilities and backgrounds have opportunities to thrive, including:

• Renovating and transforming the High Ridge Center in Ellicott City, creating space for civic organizations and Howard County’s Black Greek Letter organizations to gather, collaborate, and serve the community.
• Opening the Opportunity and Economic Mobility Center, which brings resources together to help residents move beyond immediate needs toward greater stability, independence, and economic mobility.
• Advancing Patuxent Commons, an inclusive housing community intentionally designed for people of different abilities, ages, and backgrounds to live alongside one another with greater independence, connection, and dignity.

As the son and grandson of veterans, Ball also reflected on his commitment to honoring those who have served the nation and the families who have supported them. Among these efforts is the County’s new Veterans and Military Families Monument, which will create a permanent place to recognize generations of veterans and military families and ensure their service, sacrifice, and stories are remembered.

National Recognition and a Quality of Life Residents Value

During the past eight years, the work of Howard County Government employees, community partners, and residents has received recognition far beyond the County’s borders. The County has earned national recognition for innovation, financial stewardship, public safety, reentry programming, services for older adults, transportation, and other areas; maintained its AAA bond ratings; and received national recognition for its Complete Streets policies. Howard County has also continued to receive recognition as one of America’s safest, happiest, and best places to live.

Ball noted, however, that one of the measures that means the most to him comes directly from Howard County residents themselves.

Through the County’s recent Quality of Life Survey, conducted in partnership with the Schaefer Center at the University of Baltimore, nearly 90 percent of residents rated their quality of life in Howard County positively, reinforcing the County’s reputation as one of the nation’s premier places to live, work, play, grow, and thrive.

Looking Back on Eight Years of Leadership

Ball concluded his final State of the County by address by returning to the promise he made eight years ago to serve as County Executive for all of Howard County.