Proposed improvements to Robert E. Lee Park will be the topic at a pubic meeting Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 7 p.m.

It's the third such meeting to be sponsored by the Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks.

The county, which is taking over management of the popular park from Baltimore City, has $6 million to make repairs and improvements, including reconstructing and reopening the pedestrian bridge, restoring the existing trails, installing parking and setting up a secure dog park, according to department director Bob Barrett.

The meeting will be held in the cafeteria of Dumbarton Middle School, 300 Dumbarton Road, in Rodgers Forge, but will be rescheduled if the school is closed or closes early that day due to inclement weather.

Barrett said in July that the 53-acre property was essentially an illegal off-leash dog park before it was closed off.

There were more dogs than people in the park, he claimed.

The new dog park will be legal, but confined to one area of the park, he said.

It will take a year to 16 months before the improvements are completed, he said in July, noting that they are the first phase of a larger plan that, in future years, might include dredging the reservoir as well as adding paddle boats, fishing tournaments and concerts.

More than 41,000 people visit the park a year, according to the Ruxton Riderwood Lake Roland Area Improvement Association, which has worked for a decade to transfer control from the city to the county.

"Lake Roland and the surrounding parkland are valued assets in our community, but they have been sorely neglected over the years," Kathy Palencar, the improvement association president, said in July. "We are optimistic that Robert E. Lee Park now will become the crown jewel that it deserves to be."

Located just inside the county line near Mt. Washington, Robert E. Lee is one of the largest parks in Baltimore County, and popular with north Baltimore residents.

Its heart is Lake Roland, which was created by the damming of Jones Falls in 1861 to produce one of the first municipal water supplies for the city.

The city stopped using the lake for drinking water in 1915, but the area thrived as a park. However, the city has had limited resources to devote to park management and maintenance, and the park has fallen into disrepair.

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