WICOMICO COUNTY, Md. - Wicomico County is gearing up for "Safari at the Quarry," an off-road Jeep event coming to a county-owned property near Delmar.
But neighbors who live in the nearby Shadow Hills community are voicing their concerns, including during a public comment session at a Wicomico County Council meeting on Tuesday.
The President of the Shadow Hills Homeowners' Association Mikele Dahlen said among neighbors concerns are noise, impacts to wildlife and property values.
"I'm all for people having fun, driving jeeps, motor sports, I'm not sure anybody would want it 300 feet from their backyards," Dahlen said.
County Executive Julie Giordano says she understands neighbors have concerns, but says noise should not be one of them.
"What we're having is Jeeps coming in, driving 5 to 10 miles an hour, doing the pathways and then they're leaving. So it's a very quiet event, we don't have a noise ordinance in Wicomico County right now," Giordano said.
Dahlen says after voicing concerns, Giordano called her.
"She described us as selfish, as arrogant. It was a very demeaning, belittling conversation," Dahlen said.
Giordano says that's not how the conversation went.
"I don't feel like I yell, I mean I think some people, I guess she could have perceived it that way. I had a conversation with the old HOA president, this was the new HOA president," Giordano said.
Giordano entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the event sponsor "Live Wire Media LLC." Neighbor Mike Goldberg says it was a bad deal, and should have had public input.
"It is highly disadvantageous to the interests of Wicomico County residents particularly because I have little doubt that they are going to lose money," he said.
Giordano says she wants the community to give the event a chance.
"I really would hope that our community would trust our judgment, they elected me to make decisions like this. And I get that they're upset, but lets allow the event to happen. If it's not successful and if something happens we won't do it again."
The event is planned for the weekend of May 4th and 5th. Details about "Safari at the Quarry" can be found here: https://www.safariatthequarry.com/
Details on neighbors' efforts to stop the event can be found here: https://worryforthequarry.com/