The Metro Council last night chose to put off any decision on the controversial Cordish Company negotiations. We finally heard from the Baltimore developer, who is none-too-pleased with the Council’s questioning of the deal it had already worked out with the Mayor.

Bottom line is there are several deal-breakers involved, the biggest being a desire by Council members that Cordish guarantee it will spend $200 million on the project. Jim King told the C-J that a minimum investment requirement would shoo Cordish away.

Crazy twist of the night — Hal Heiner wants to dictate that there’s no gaming on the block. Huh? Hal, there’s a state law against casinos, and the Governor famously can’t get that changed. Heiner obviously wants to put up more hurdles, assuring that Cordish won’t play and will go away.

But the Council members may have come to the Cordish topic fatigued from a sometimes comical and consistently partisan fight over the bomb storage facility the administration wants to put at Cardinal Hill. For two hours, Council members argued the issues they were arguing four months ago, then spent another 30 minutes going over the rules of argument because no one could figure what Robert had in mind when he made these rules.

At issue was an ordinance sponsored by Doug Hawkins to cut off funding for the facility — a back-door, last-ditch attempt to get the facility out of his district. Rick Blackwell offered an amendment limiting the amount of explosive that could be stored there. Then Hal Heiner introduced an amendment requiring a 700-foot barrier from residences, a move that everyone knew would eliminate Cardinal Hill.

At issue was a public safety meeting where the administration provided reasons that 100 sites offered up by Hawkins were eliminated — they were either in the parks system, in a flood plain, or Metro didn’t own it. There were other reasons, but Cardinal Hill, according to the administration, was the only suitable place in the county. Twelve councilmen (11 Republicans and Dan Johnson) don’t believe it.

Based on the references to the proceedings being televised, I’d say the discussion would have taken about half as long if members weren’t so aware that there was a TV audience.

So for two hours they tossed the topic around, trading barbs about NIMBY, politics, explosives, etc. Here’s some highlights. I’ve taken some liberties with the paraphrasing:

Read the Rest after the Jump. . .

Rick Blackwell:This issue is all about the Nov. 4 election, and Doug Hawkins sends out untrue statements. It’s crazy and saddens me to think that we would rush this thing through because of the Nov. 4 deadline. It’s a dark day for this council.

Kelly Downard: The administration was never going to approve another site. It was farcical.

Vicki Welch: This is all to do with politics and grandstanding. Mr. Hawkins claims he is protecting South End.  Half of his sites are in the South End, many in my district. You’re dumping on the South End.

Dan Johnson: They’ll take them through roads in the South End. They’re dumping on the South End.

Judy Green: Time’s running out. Let’s vote.

Tom Owen: You 12 voting against it need to come up with something that’s acceptable, and quit just saying you don’t like this site. You’re a bunch of NIMBY people.

Judy Green: I got MSD and a bad smell in my district. Quit being so NIMBY. Let’s vote on it.

Hal Heiner: I know you just defeated my amendment to eliminate Cardinal Hill, but now I’m going to propose the same amendment, but word it differently and waste your time by making you vote on it again. We are on TV, right?

Ken Fleming: One property was suitable except it was in a flood zone. Let’s put it there.

Kelly Downard: I don’t trust the answers from the administration. I suggested three sites in my district, so I’m not NIMBY, so there. I’m pissed.

Dan Johnson: It’s not partisan. I’m with the Republicans because everybody’s dumping on the South End.

Kevin Kramer: I’m baffled. I’m not NIMBY.

Rick Blackwell: I was out there at Cardinal Hill. You can’t see a residence from the site. Nobody’s back yard.

Mary Woolridge: The administration worked in good faith. I believe them. Hal’s wrong.

Vicki Welch: All of Heiner’s sites are in the South End. They’re dumping on the South End.

Doug Hawkins: I’m speaking out of turn just to break the rules.

Vicki Welch: You’ve sent out false information in e-mails.

Doug Hawkins: I’m not NIMBY. It’s all about the water supply. If something happens, the world will end because nobody will have water. The terrorists are coming to get our water.

Rick Blackwell: Al Qaeda is not targeting Cardinal Hill, Doug. Water Company says worst case is lower pressure.

Doug Hawkins: The C-J said it was a threat.

Rick Blackwell: They were quoting you.

And on and on it went. Heiner’s amendment was voted down, so was the ordinance. Hawkins tried to withdraw ordinance altogether, setting off mass confusion about rules or order, requiring a five-minute break to confer with the county attorney.  This is embarrassing. Hard to say what really happened, except they spend all that time and nothing happened.

The facility will be built at Cardinal Hill, unless Hawkins comes up with some other way to block it.