MD BOARD OF

PUBLIC WORKS

HANDS I-95

TRAVEL PLAZAS

TO

AREAS USA

Existing Operator HMSHost May Sue

The travel plaza soap opera appeared to reach its grand finale yesterday, as Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley and Treasurer Nancy Kopp voted to approve a public-private partnership with Areas USA.

But just as the fat lady prepared to enter from stage right, Areas USA's Bethesda rival HMSHost stole the spotlight, threatening new legal action in what it says was an unfair process.

Comptroller Peter Franchot continued to enhance his growing reputation as an independent player, strongly questioning the wisdom of proceeding with the deal under such legal storm clouds.

The 2-1 decision puts the state in the awkward position of having evicted a Maryland company - with over 1,000 employees in the state - from its travel plazas. And doing so days after HMSHost was named "Best Overall Food and Beverage Operator" in the United States. And just won a ton of awards for its airport concessions at American airports nationwide.

Oops.

Now HMSHost may have to fire employees who worked at or managed the plazas. Not exactly a great PR move for the state during a time of record unemployment.

The other concern, and sadly, one that is all too common in today's Montgomery County, is that poor government relations with HMSHost will make them more likely to move their headquarters to a more business-friendly place. Like Northern Virginia? Here we go again.

Areas USA's bid is an impressive one. Should their very optimistic revenue projections be met, the deal would clearly be a winner for the state. O'Malley and Kopp are gambling that this will be the case.

It would be better, however, for the state to hear a matching offer from HMSHost and Airport Plazas/Tishman Construction. If they can't match it, then the taxpayer can be confident that they got the best deal from Areas.

I hope we can have that type of closure. That would avoid lengthy trials. And it would give Areas USA a chance to proceed with 110% effort on building two outstanding travel plazas, without this soap opera diverting company time and resources.

At this hour, however, it appears that only a judge can order such a resolution to this dispute.