"The long-term impact of the project is important to the quality of life in the area. Decisions made now will affect the area for many, many years to come. It is not a matter of when, but, ultimately, which is the best [way] to serve residents well into the 21st Century."

"I'm mystified. I was led to believe a decision would be forthcoming some time ago," said state Senator Harris McDowell. "I've been led to understand the issue had been resolved. I wonder why there hasn't been an announcement."

The issue to which he referred was whether to keep at least a partial intersection at Concord Pike and Augustine Cut-off. Residents of Wilmington's near north side, whom McDowell represents, have opposed complete closure because of the traffic that would be diverted onto 18th, Broom and other streets in their neighborhood. Residents who live along Augustine Cut-off and in adjacent suburban developments generally favor closure because that would significantly reduce the amount of traffic passing by or near their homes.

It was that controversy which apparently sidetracked an immediate Carper-Gordon announcement last month.

A group of Wilmington residents showed up at the governor's Wilmington office first thing in the morning of Jan. 14 to protest a recommendation by elected and appointed officials who make up the taskforce's 'executive' and 'policy' committees that the intersection be closed. That ran counter to results of a survey of the taskforce's community people which recommended, by a slight majority, retaining a partial intersection. Keeping the present full intersection was not an option available in the survey.

Gordon soon afterwards said he favors a partial intersection.

Michelle Reardon, public information officer for the Delaware Economic Development Office and the Blue Ball Project, denied that the governor and the county executive are divided on the issue. "There is no split decision as no decision has yet been made. County Executive Gordon has stated publicly he endorsed the partial signal at Augustine Cut-off. Governor Carper has not made any public statements regarding this issue other than to say he is still reviewing the information. That is not a split decision – that is one-half the answer," she said.

She said a 'partial signal' refers to a traffic-control signal that allows only right turns from Augustine Cut-off onto southbound Concord Pike and left turns from northbound Concord Pike onto Augustine. Presumably, that same restriction of movement would also and more effectively be directed by the physical layout of a modified intersection.

Traffic headed for northbound Concord Pike and onto Augustine from southbound Concord Pike would make those connections at a partial highway interchange recommended to replace the present Blue Ball intersection at Foulk Road. The interchange would partial in the sense that the free-flow of some traffic would be interrupted by two traffic-control signals. Augustine Cut-off would reach it by way of a new road paralleling Concord Pike through what is now a cornfield between the pike and the Alapocas Two subdivision.

State Representative Cathy Cloutier, who represents the area and presently favors closing the intersection, said "there has to be a way" to reach a compromise that would improve safety there "in a way that has the least negative impact on the [city] neighborhood."

Astra Zeneca had asked for agreement on the basic road design by mid-January so it could initiate the county land-use approval process looking for a decision that would allow it to break ground in June for the first phase of the expansion.

The Blue Ball Project taskforce, which included civic and business representatives as well as the state officials, was convened, over the objections of some members, during the Christmas season in an effort to meet a Jan. 5 deadline to arrive at a consensus. It didn't, but the survey was injected into the process as the next best thing.

Even though a decision apparently is still pending, Astra Zeneca has filed a preliminary development plan with the county Department of Land Use. One active taskforce participant speculated that might indicate the company has been assured that parts of the road plan directly affecting its site will not be compromised.

McDowell noted that there has been "a shift of all federal funds out of the [Blue Ball-related] project" in Delaware Department of Transportation's capital spending plan. "The reason for that is clear – failure to meet air-quality standards," he said.

The published minutes show that Delaware Route 141 in the area of Children's Drive and Rockland Road was another point of serious contention. Although it was said at the time -- and the minutes support that --  there was near-unanimous agreement that Powder Mill Road, now part of 141, should be kept open where it passes through the Astra Zeneca complex, there has been some speculation that DelDOT's original leaning toward closing it may still be alive.

Meanwhile, it was learned that an effort is underway to deal with the proverbial 'other shoe' – the parkland proposal, which evidently was lost in the shuffle at the four-hour meeting held behind closed doors at Astra Zeneca's present offices.

Reardon, in effect, confirmed that the meeting was all but completely taken up by highway matters when she referenced only to the recreation committee's endorsement of a partial, rather than full, interchange at Blue Ball when asked the position of the park plan relative to the overall project recommendations.

Mark Chura, the state Department of Parks & Recreation official who chaired the recreation committee, said he has contacted members of the endorsing committees asking them to agree retroactively to the parks plan. In general, it calls for active recreation east of Concord Pike, passive recreation and conservation west of the pike.

Pending endorsement, the plan is "in limbo," according to state Representative David Ennis, who proposed a multi-purpose recreation complex at Blue Ball long before the state's wooing of Astra Zeneca gave impetus to the project. He pronounced himself "generally satisfied" with the park plan, except for its largely ignoring his notion of incorporating, for instance, stormwater management ponds as a feature of some of the golf course holes.

Ennis said the key point in the park plan is its rejection of a large reservoir at the site. The taskforce early on turned down a proposal to put one there as part of the separate effort to satisfy the long-term water supply requirements of northern Delaware.

McDowell, who was responsible for the state's acquiring the west side tract for open space, said he agrees with the plan "once you swallow hard and accept the fact the open spaces have been carved all to heck." He previously had objected to a state agreement calling for use of parkland ponds to manage stormwater runoff from the Astra Zeneca's property.

Asked by Delaforum if the park will definitely be built, Chura replied: "We have made that commitment. We haven't [spent time developing] a master plan for something that may or may not be built.

He said the state is confident it will be able to buy land on the east side of Concord Pike for the active recreation component of the park. As reported to the taskforce last autumn, that purchase has been held up pending the outcome of a suit between Al-Zar Ltd., its owner, and B.M.R. Associates over whether the latter should be compensated for claimed 'development rights'.

"We have a signed contract with Al-Zar [to buy the property] as soon as [it] has clear title," Chura said. Al-Zar is the real estate affiliate of the Nemours Foundation.

A potentially more contentious issue would involve ownership and management of an expanded Rock Manor golf course and golf driving range. "We would like to see state ownership of the entire [parkland] tract, but we have said all along that we envision joint management [of its components] by the state, county and city," he said. Wilmington city government owns the present golf course and contracts with a private nonprofit firm to operate it.