SALISBURY, Md. - The Wicomico County Council has overriden a veto by County Executive Julie Giordano aimed at introducing more council oversight to certain events.
That legislation was crafted in response to the controversial "Safari at the Quarry," an off-road Jeep event held at a County-owned quarry near Delmar.
Council took issue with what it viewed as a non-transparent process in which the Executive entered into the agreement with LiveWire Media LLC, the organizer of the event.
At Tuesday night's Council meeting, the veto was overridden. Council says with the legislation now allowed to take effect there will be enhanced transparency and oversight. Council approval will now be needed for motor sport events on county property as it relates to leases, licenses, permits and contracts.
We asked Giordano about this veto override. She told WBOC she expected the Council to do this, and that they did what they felt was the best thing for the County.
The event became more widely known after residents of the Shadow Hills neighborhood, which is near the Quarry, raised concerns about the agreement. Mike Goldberg, who lives in the Shadow Hills development says "it was certainly the appropriate way of handling that. There was legislation, the County Executive certainly had the right to veto it. But the County Council also has the right to override that veto just as in the federal government. They did so, and they did so out of recognition of the necessity to protect neighborhoods."