Michael Subin asks that security be called on reporters at press event in Rockville

Former County Council member Michael Subin asks that security be called on reporters at press event in Rockville: pic.twitter.com/BpqUZBXgug

— Bethesda Beat (@BethesdaBeat) August 8, 2016

Belward Farm and our Truth- and Transparency-Challenged County

From Donna Baron in the North Potomac Patch, yet another boondoggle, this time in the western part of the county.   15,000 new residents.  How many new schools will be needed for the children of the residents?  And where will the money come from?  To read the entire article go here.

Once again, Montgomery County’s deficiencies regarding truth and transparency have come to light in the Brickyard organic farm debacle. 

But let’s not forget another of the County’s boondoggles: Belward Farm.  The County worked hand-in-hand with Johns Hopkins University to deceive the farm’s late owner, Elizabeth Banks.  As Fred Fransen, Executive Director of the Center for Excellence in Higher Education wrote: “What's particularly troublesome is that local officials, in effect, became co-conspirators in the university's effort to shaft the donor.”

An internal Johns Hopkins University letter from 1988 recounts just how the County, thwarted in their efforts to convince Ms. Banks to develop her property, contacted Johns Hopkins “sub rosa” (i.e. secretly), for help.  Former County Chief Administrative Officer Bill Hussman “was advised by County Councilman Bill Hanna that rezoning would be difficult unless…Hopkins involvement was proposed.”

Several meetings later, “it was agreed that a wooded section of approximately 30-35 acres [on what is now Key West Avenue] could be developed commercially by the University if the University would be willing to restrict the remainder of 100 acres to ‘academic and related purposes’.” In other words, the 35-acre parcel was to be developed commercially to raise funds to develop the academic parcel.

The letter confirms both the County and Johns Hopkins knew Ms. Banks’ “very strong opinions about the ultimate use of the property; she is adamantly opposed to residential and most commercial development.”

It was under these conditions that, in 1989, Banks gifted Belward Farm to JHU for the bargain price of $5 million for an academic campus, even though Ms. Banks had been offered up to $54 million from other developers.

and:

After Ms. Banks’ death in 2005, Hopkins worked with the County to rezone Belward Farm for a high-density, high-rise commercial office complex that would accommodate 15,000 workers in buildings up to 14 stories high.  County officials knew this was in direct opposition to the intentions of the late owner, but fast-tracked the plan for approval with the support of two out of three Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee Members: Mike Knapp, a biotech consultant, County Councilman and Committee Chair; Nancy Floreen, who never met a developer she didn’t love; and Royce Hanson, a staunch supporter of the new plan and Chair of the Planning Board.  

Cabin John: We've been Duped!

Yes, you have!

This is the message on a sign on the fence outside the construction site for the new Cabin John Middle School. Just last week this community saw that the plans for the new school had been radically changed. The community was alerted by the pouring of concrete into forms along the sidewalk. See the result below.

The school is now going to sit 12 to 14 feet above street level. At the street level a 12 to 14 foot retaining wall will hold the dirt for the school site in place. Above that will be a black metal fence 4 feet high. Total height of this wall will be 16 to 18 feet above the sidewalk.

This wasn't the plan for the site that was reviewed by the community. When did the plan change? Who approved the changes? How much will the construction of this massive retaining wall that covers much of the perimeter of this site cost? Where is the funding for this massive change in the plans for this school site coming from - the County Council or the State of Maryland?

These photographs show the huge retaining wall that is being constructed along the side of the Cabin John Middle School site that borders the Georgetown Hill Early Childhood Center. Will bungee jumping be a new activity at the pre-school?

Crisis at the Council! Breakfast buffet slashed!

Question: When did Montgomery County taxpayers agree to have our tax dollars used to buy breakfast for elected officials? 
For reference, here is the coffee bill for Montgomery County Public Schools alone:  $32,782

Thanks to WTOP's Kate Ryan for running this quote on WTOP's Twitter feed.

MCPS $1.4 million short for Year 4 Promethean lease payment

As readers may recall the thousands of Promethean Boards that landed in MCPS classrooms at the start of school in August 2008 weren't free or from a "grant". In fact, through a Maryland Public Information Act request the public learned that thousands of Promethean Boards had been purchased through a Four Year Lease plan. Not only weren't the Promethean Boards from a grant, they weren't paid for.

The press release put out by Superintendent Jerry Weast at the start of the 2008-09 school year only noted a "$3.3 million expansion" but neglected to state that $3.3 million was only the first year lease payment on 2,600 Promethean Boards, not the total cost for 2,600 boards.

Next, the public learned that MCPS had been holding on to federal rebates received for installing internet access to schools for the last 10 years. More on those funds here and here.  MCPS stated they would use those rebate funds to make the lease payments on the 2,600 Promethean Boards. (There is no connection between the rebates and the Promethean Board purchase. The rebates come back to the school system and into the general fund to be used by the governing authority as they desire. The rebates could have been used for school construction or teacher salaries, however, Superintendent Weast made the unilateral decision to use the rebates to purchase Promethean Boards.)

The final payment on 2,600 of the Promethean Boards in MCPS classrooms is due in 2011. (We don't know how the other thousand + Promethean Boards are being funded. That information remains out of the public view.)

There's just one problem. There isn't enough money in the rebate fund to make the full Year Four Lease payment on 2,600 Promethean boards in 2011.

On March 11, 2010, the Montgomery County Council's Education Committee (page 11 at link) discussed the $1.4 million dollar shortfall in funds needed to make the Year Four Lease payment on the 2,600 Promethean Boards.

They had a little chuckle about this. Here's the video:

Weast: Graduation Not Included

You might think that in Montgomery County Public Schools high school graduation ceremonies would be included at the end of a successful public school education.

Sure, MCPS has the highest per pupil spending in the State of Maryland.
Sure, the MCPS budget if over $2.3 billion.

But Superintendent Jerry Weast doesn't believe that students should be rewarded for earning a high school diploma with a graduation ceremony.

So Superintendent Weast doesn't fully fund graduation ceremonies. 

Many MCPS high schools use DAR Constitution Hall for their graduation ceremony. The rental of that facility is $5,700 per graduation.

Superintendent Weast has stopped paying the full rental cost for DAR.

On April 17, 2009, Superintendent Weast told the Montgomery County Council's Education Committee* that he wasn't going to fully fund the rental of DAR Constitution Hall for 2010 graduations.  He said he would only fund $5,000 of the $5,700 cost of the rental cost for 2010 graduations.

See "Program Reduction and Efficiencies" on Page 14 of the packet given to the Council's Education Committee.

And in January, Montgomery Blair's student newspaper Silver Chips reported that Superintendent Weast may cut even the partial $5,000 rental payment and only pay $3,400 of the rental costs for June 2010 graduations.

...Lafen estimated that graduating at DAR will cost Blair $6,000 beyond the $5,000 Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) allocates to reduce the burden of graduation expenses. Based on these figures, he predicted that seniors will have to contribute about $10 in senior dues in addition to money collected for cap and gowns. Lafen warned, however, that MCPS Superintendent Jerry Weast has proposed budget cuts that could further increase senior dues. "Just in the last couple of days, Mr. Williams [Blair's principal] was given notice that MCPS may cut graduation funding by $1,600," he said...

How will MCPS high schools pay for the rental of DAR Constitution Hall this year?

Seniors will be taxed.

It's called "senior dues" and it is a fee at many high schools that is required for MCPS seniors to graduate.

The "senior graduation fee" isn't discussed or voted on by the Board of Education, and isn't authorized by the State Board of Education, or the Maryland legislature.

Is it legal? Doubt it. But if you want your child to have a graduation ceremony you better pay up.

Don't count on any elected officials to stand up for your child's right to a free public education including a graduation ceremony. Local and state officials have ignored the illegal curricular fees still being charged by MCPS, and remember that the County Council already approved Superintendent Weast's underfunding of the DAR/Constitution Hall rental fee for 2010 graduations.

*County Council's Education Committee:  Valerie Ervin, Chair, Mike Knapp and Phil Andrews.

Council to take Action!

Is the Montgomery County Council going to require Superintendent Jerry Weast to bring funds received from outside sources to the Council for appropriation? No.

Is the Montgomery County Council going to require MCPS to follow state law and put out procurements over $25,000 for competitive bids? No.

Is the Montgomery County Council going to investigate how many contracts/leases have been signed by MCPS staff instead of by the Board President? No. (Of course, not. One of the Board Presidents' that didn't sign contracts/leases is now on the County Council.)

Is the Montgomery County Council going to rein in the unmonitored credit card use of MCPS staff? No.

But, according to the Washington Post the Montgomery County Council is going to overthrow their long standing tradition for electing a President. Whoa!

Will this "coup" create a County Council that actually exerts oversight over the MCPS $2.1 billion budget? Don't hold your breath.

...The real root of this unsightly feud is the cliquishness and toxic personal chemistry on the council, whose balance of power shifted last year after an incumbent's death triggered a special election to fill his vacancy. That shift tempted the new majority to throw out precedent on succession just because it can -- not because it's good governance, nor because it will benefit the county, nor because Ms. Floreen would make a better president than Mr. Berliner.

Well, all right. But here's a word of caution for the coup plotters: Beware of voters who, rightly annoyed with political machinations, may well decide to throw the rascals out -- just because they can.

White Flint Sector Plan: Congestion Pricing?

Get ready for it folks! The Montgomery County, Maryland Planning, Housing, and Economic Development (PHED) Committee is now taking up ‘Transportation Issues’ for the proposed White Flint Sector Plan. And what are the recommendations of the PHED staff, in the staff report by Glenn Orlin, the Deputy Council Staff director?


Well, let’s see how our great ‘vision’ for a lowered carbon footprint, ‘sustainable’ urban’ ‘pedestrian-friendly’ development fares. First Mr. Orlin makes clear, “Incorporating a new or expanded transportation project in a master plan does not even guarantee it will be built in the long term.”

Yep, there you have it in black-and-white on the first page of the staff report. We may never get any new public transportation. 20,000 new jobs, with people needing to go to and from work sites? We’ll get those. 9800 new residential units on 400 acres? We’ll get those. 7.49 million new square feet of commercial/residential space? We’ll get that. But the public transportation needed to support the tens of thousands of new residents and job holders? Well, not so fast…

Instead, Mr. Orlin states that ‘A plan in balance does not mean the traffic conditions at build-out will be deemed ‘good’ or even ‘fair’ more likely the traffic congestion will be at the borderline between ‘tolerable’ and ‘intolerable.’ Finally, an honest public employee. The traffic will be at the borderline between tolerable and intolerable.

How does the ‘Plan’ envision achieving even the most pitiful ‘tolerable’ traffic? Well, the non-auto-driver mode share for employees in White Flint would have to increase to 50 percent. Or, as Mr. Orlin posits it, “…so this would mean the proportion of commuters to White Flint not driving would have to nearly double.”

How could it reach 50%? How about congestion pricing? How about removing the median on Montrose Road between I-270 and Montrose Parkway and replacing it with a reversible lane, as is done on Colesville Road or Georgia Avenue? How about widening Rockville Pike from 6 to 8 lanes between Edson Lane and the Beltway? That is what the Planning Board and Mr. Orlin envision for our community. The roads should look more like the roads that represent some of the worst traffic nightmares in the region.

If you can’t wait for this traffic disaster to come your way, just sit tight and it will. IF you don’t quite see this ‘vision’ for your neighborhood, or for our county, please email the County Council immediately. Tell them you don’t want the ‘intolerable’ traffic that the Council staff says will happen. Tell them you don’t think the FAR is in balance with the infrastructure. Tell them you want the density decreased so our infrastructure can support it and tell them not to approve unachievable density plans. This is not sustainable.

Who is on the PHED Committee? Councilmembers Mike Knapp, Nancy Floreen, and Marc Elrich.

To contact the council email county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov; to read Mr. Orlin’s report, go to  http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/council/pdf/agenda/cm/2009/091130/20091130_PHED2.pdf

Knapp; "...community is being slowly pulled apart..."

Dear President Brandman:

As you are no doubt aware, the Superintendent, as part of his FY2010 proposal in the capital budget request which you will be considering in the coming weeks has recommended the closure of Monocacy Elementary School in the Poolesville and Barnesville regions of the Upcounty. As the County Councilmember representing the Monocacy Elementary School community, I wanted to bring their concerns and mine to your attention, especially as the Board will be discussing this matter this week.

Monocacy Elementary serves a small, close knit community in the Agricultural Reserve a community with spectacular views of Sugarloaf mountain, and where traffic is more likely to get backed up behind a combine than a FedEx truck. I held a meeting in the community several weeks ago to discuss the Board's recommendation and as you can imagine, the news of this recommended closure has rocked the area, which fears its sense of community is being slowly pulled apart in the name of economy.

I know, and appreciate, that the Board of Education is properly following all its formal procedures for a school closing. This is, however, more than a school closure. In a very real sense, this is the equivalent of a boundary change for students and families at Monocacy Elementary and boundary changes rightly take time. I believe we need to ensure the community is given the time it needs to discuss its options with the Board of Education, determine the impact of the closure on its community, and determine what options, if any, are available. I strongly encourage the Board to work with the Monocacy community to this end.

As part of its consideration, I would also appreciate the Superintendent providing a more detailed explanation of the cost analysis that was done to determine the savings generated by Monocacy s closure. Because cost is the driving factor in the decision to close the school, I believe both the Board and the Council would be better served by more information.

I understand that this is a recommendation that the Superintendent has not made lightly.

It is obvious that we continue to face many challenges when it comes to the county's budget, especially as our revenues drop and student enrollment continues to climb. There are many tough decisions to be made but I want to ensure that these decisions are made on the best available information, and with the fullest input from the affected communities.

If I can provide you with further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Regards,

Mike Knapp

Councilmember, District 2

MCPS Math and the Monocacy Madness

Our friends in the Gifted and Talented Association have agonized about Montgomery County School Superintendent Dr. Weast and math for years, stating that MCPS math is shallow on teaching arithmetic concepts needed to prepare our children to take their place in society.

Here is another demonstration of Dr. Weast's failure in math.

Dr. Weast announced he plans to close Monocacy Elementary School at the end of this school year because of declining enrollment.  

Wait - don't we have over 400 portables next to schools across the county?   Three portables are currently sited at Monocacy.  Are we hearing that the school population is rising?

So why close Monocacy now?  According to Dr. Weast, this will save $1 million dollars.  How?  He doesn't say.  Won't the kids still need to be in a classroom somewhere in the county?  Won't the teachers and staff  be placed elsewhere and paid?  And school buses?  What about that new roof?  Don't forget, we still need to keep a vacant building heated, so the pipes don't freeze.

Sorry, but the capacity is needed elsewhere - down the road in Clarksburg, where Dr. Weast plans on building two new elementary schools.  And yes, MCPS can always add on to Poolesville, with more portables in the short term and an addition at an estimated cost of $14 million - oops, that's not in the current plan.

Are Dr. Weast's projections all that accurate?  You need to look no further than Matsunaga ES, an overcapacity school that was supposed to be relieved by the opening of Little Bennett.  Matsunaga still has portables - so what happened there?

And Wootton High School with its mega additions a few years back is still over capacity.  Wootton manages by running College Institute classes in cooperation with Montgomery College and sending a signficant portion of its kids out on internships, so they get the staffing allocations without having the kids in the building.   Don't forget the monster development called Science City coming to the Wootton cluster with no new schools on the table.

I would be remiss to not mention the White Flint buildup.  Again, more building without more school capacity.

Dr. Weast doesn't get the math or the big picture.  Saving $1 million dollars in operating budget costs by closing Monocacy and then spending $14 million in capital costs for an addition to Poolesville ES does not make sense.  Given the Balkanization of our county by individual clusters, the budget makes even less sense - robbing from Poolesville cluster to satisfy new MoCo residents in Clarskburg doesn't make sense,  especially when the rest of the county has unmet needs too.

Closing any school in MoCo doesn't make sense, especially when we can't accomodate the students we currently have without the extensive use of portable learning cottages.  Dr. Weast's proposal is more than foolish  - it is almost unconscionable to continue to look at the cluster model as individual units without even considering the movement of programs or boundaries.

To repeat the mantra from the elementary school teachers across the county, its time to reteach and relearn the budget math.

Monocacy Blue & White will FIGHT!

Washington Post:  Montgomery County Residents Fight School Closure

By Nelson Hernandez
Washington Post Staff Writer

Thursday, October 29, 2009; 12:18 AM

More than 100 northwestern Montgomery County residents began mobilizing Wednesday night to oppose the proposed closure of Monocacy Elementary School, arguing that the move would hurt their community and possibly backfire against the school system.
A standing-room-only crowd of parents, children and local officials packed the Poolesville Town Hall meeting room, with another dozen listening outside in an overflow room. Many wore the striped blue T-shirt of the Monocacy Bobcats, the school's mascot.

High School Field to Be Replaced ... Again|ABC 7 News

High School Field to Be Replaced ... Again|ABC 7 News



BETHESDA, Md. - The football field at Montgomery County (web | news)'s Walter Johnson High School will soon be torn up and replaced -- for the second time in six months. One parents group complains it's a waste of money for a school system facing tough economic times.

As part of ongoing renovations at the school crews dug up the stadium field last year and temporarily replaced it this summer with a grass field.

"We didn't have a field last year and having a field now is really good for us," said Noah Scheetz-Ziegel, a student.

But the new grass field will be dug up in a few months to be replaced with artificial turf.

"It just seems like an incredible waste of money, but everybody's on this bandwagon to get artificial turf," said Marta Vogel, a parent.

The parents group claims the school system spent more than $400,000 on a temporary field only to have it dug up after a few months of use.

"I don't know if there's ever a good time in the economy when spending $432,500 on one football season is prudent, but certainly in these economic times, we're here to shine some light on that and ask, 'Can we really afford to be doing this right now?'" said Janis Sartucci, with the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County.

But the school system claims it spent less than $100,000 on the temporary field and the work laying it.

"Most of the cost of installing that sod field was in the grading, which will still be used when the artificial turf is installed," said schools spokeswoman Kate Harrison.

School officials say the sod and the underground sprinklers will be relocated to another school in the spring.

The parents group says it wants to know how much that will cost.

WJ field to be destroyed in 20 days! See it now!

It is a beautiful day! If you are out, take a drive by the Walter Johnson High School stadium on Democracy Boulevard in Bethesda, Maryland.

You only have 20 days left to see the beautiful, brand new sod football field that was installed for 5 home varsity football games this season. It's a beauty! Don't miss it. What you can't see is the underground sprinkler system that was installed to keep the grass pristine for these 5 home football games.

The exclusive Parents' Coalition images on this page show pictures of this beautiful sod back when it was being delivered to Walter Johnson's stadium, just a few months ago!

What MCPS high school wouldn't want this beautiful piece of landscape that cost taxpayers $432,500?

Well, actually, Walter Johnson High School doesn't want it.

The Board of Education doesn't want it.

The County Executive doesn't want it.

The Montgomery County Council doesn't want it.

So in 20 days it will be torn up (underground sprinkler system too) and removed so that Walter Johnson High School can get a brand new artificial turf football field. Yes, this will be WJ's second brand new football field in 6 months. Nothing but the best for the Wildcats! So drive on by today and kiss it good-bye!

UPDATE: ABC 7 News High School Field to be Replaced...Again


UPDATE:  The WJ grass football field has been given a reprieve until the Spring of 2010 when it will be ripped up and replaced with artificial turf.  Anybody want some used sod and underground sprinkler parts?

Artificial Turf: California goes after FieldTurfTarkett

We see now that California leads the nation by enforcing their law, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986. This law was originally Proposition 65 when it was brought to the ballot by the Citizens of California. Under this law California actually regulates the toxins leached into the water. California has left Maryland and Montgomery County in the dust on this one. Or should I say, in the crumb rubber dust. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, California Attorney General Jerry Brown brought suit against artificial turf manufacturers including FieldTurfTarkett. Why? Lead. Here is the text from the suit documents, clear as day.

"Defendant's Turf Products contain lead. Persons who purchase, use,

and/or come into contact with thse products are exposed to lead."

Could anything be more simple? More plain? More clear?

The State of California brought suit against three artificial turf manufacturers: Astroturf; Beaulieu Group, and of course our old friend, FieldTurfTarkett.

And not just our friend. FieldTurfTarkett is best buddies with members of the Montgomery County Board of Education, which is charged with managing the multi-billion dollar industry known as the "Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)" in Maryland, and of course the Montgomery County Council who voted unanimously to approve the installation of FieldTurfTarkett crumb rubber sheeting across the County. Each and every member of the County Council is satisfied that crumb rubber artificial turf is safe. You heard ‘em folks. They couldn’t be more satisfied.

And here is the roll call of those councilmembers in case you forgot:

Council President Phil Andrews; Valerie Ervin; Marc Elrich; Council Vice President Roger Berliner; Mike Knapp; Duchy Trachtenberg; Nancy Floreen; Nancy Navarro; and George Leventhal. Yup, each and every one of these councilmembers voted not once, but TWICE to rip up the natural turf and install crumb rubber sheeting across our county. Some of them, those on the Education Committee, got to vote thrice; that would be Valerie Ervin, Phil Andrews, and Mike Knapp.

Trailer City - Coming Soon!

THE COUNTY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING ON THE
GAITHERSBURG WEST MASTER PLAN IS SCHEDULED FOR

SEPTEMBER 15, 2009 at 7:00 PM
(RATHER THAN THE PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED TIME OF 7:30 PM)

at 100 MARYLAND AVENUE, ROCKVILLE, MD
Please mark your calendars

The Master Plan, as proposed, would bring high-density, high-rise commercial development to our area along with six- and eight-lane highways and 10- to 12-lane multilevel highway interchanges to accommodate approximately 50,000 additional workers and residents.

We must attend the Public Hearing to show our Council members we are united in our opposition to the scale of the proposed plan. This is the most important meeting of the entire master plan process. The Council can approve the master plan or they can have it revised or re-written.
For additional information on the Gaithersburg West Master Plan, email addresses of our County Council members, or for directions and parking information for the Public Hearing, please see www.scale-it-back.com.

Thank you,
Donna Baron
Coordinator
The Gaithersburg - North Potomac - Rockville Coalition

Overcrowded Schools Coming Your Way Part 2

Good government doesn't mean a bad reputation
by Jim Humphrey, Chair, Montgomery County Civic Federation Planning and Land Use Committee

Each June, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) submits to the Planning Board a set of student enrollment and school capacity projections for five years in the future, broken down by elementary, middle and high school level for each school cluster in the county. If any cluster is predicted to have an enrollment exceeding 120% of capacity on any grade level then, according to the county growth policy, the Planning Board must not approve any more residential development projects in that area until more classroom capacity is provided--and not those trailers either, but brick-and-mortar classrooms.

This year MCPS submitted data to the Planning Board for the school year beginning September 2014, and the Seneca Valley and Bethesda-Chevy Chase clusters were both projected to exceed 120% of capacity on the elementary level. So starting July 1, the Board imposed a temporary halt on approval of new housing projects in both cluster areas. They joined the Clarksburg area, which was already in moratorium for new residential project approvals due to insufficient middle school capacity.

This turn of events seemed to those of us in the civic community to be a sign of a well-functioning county government which was enforcing its Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance, a law enacted in 1973 that requires the Planning Board to find there is adequate roads, transit and school capacity to serve a new development before approving the project.

The county growth policy is reexamined every two years, in odd-numbered years. And on June 22 the Planning Board held a public hearing on proposed changes to the growth policy being recommended by the Planning Department staff. It was at this hearing that I first heard a phrase that was new to me.

A land use lawyer who represents development industry clients stated the moratorium would "damage Montgomery County 's national reputation" as a place that is friendly to business, and restrain the ability of the county government to attract new companies to locate here. This seemed to me to be an odd claim, since the moratorium in the Clarksburg , Seneca Valley and Bethesda-Chevy Chase school cluster areas only prevents approval of new residential projects. Commercial projects containing office and retail space can still be approved and built. And residential projects that have already received approval can also still be built.

A week or so later, I heard a high-ranking county official assert that a way must be found to lift the moratorium, as it will "damage the national reputation of the county" and impact the government's ability to attract new business to Montgomery County. Again, this seemed to me to be an odd claim, since I thought businesses might view the moratorium favorably as a firm commitment on the part of the county to providing adequate school facilities to their employees' children, should the companies move here.

Then, just last week I had a conversation with a realtor who handles single-unit home sales in my neighborhood, not commercial properties or undeveloped acreage. And I asked what they thought of the moratorium on new residential project approvals that now affects three of the twenty-five school clusters in the county. Again I heard the now familiar claim that "it will damage the county's national reputation" as a place that is welcoming of new businesses. I wondered how a temporary halt in approval of new residential projects, which affects a total land area less than one-eighth of the county in size, could possibly be a deal breaker for companies looking to locate here.

There are commercial development projects located throughout the county that are already approved but unbuilt, totaling four million square feet of space. Any company looking to move here has a long list of options to choose from--location, building size, price, and even the developer--all for approved projects ready to be built. The only thing I could see which might prevent businesses from locating here is, in fact, the county's national reputation.

If companies are thinking of locating to Montgomery County , the government will guarantee their employees' property taxes will increase ten percent each year, doubling every eight-and-a-half years.

The county is home to some of the worst traffic congestion in the nation which, coupled with inadequate public transit and ever increasing levels of planned growth, is guaranteed to get worse with each passing year.

Montgomery County has one of the widest income disparities in the U.S. At the same time the county ranks near the highest per capita income nationally, 25.8% of our public school students qualify for free or reduced-cost lunches based on low household income.

And Montgomery can boast of poor water quality in several stream watersheds, with perhaps the most serious offense requiring signs posted along Rock Creek near the Gude Landfill cautioning children and pets not to wade in the polluted water.

But the county getting a bad reputation for strict enforcement of a law requiring there be adequate school capacity to accommodate new housing projects before they can be approved...I just don't see it.

The views expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect formal positions adopted by the Federation. To submit an 800-1000 word column for consideration, send as an email attachment to theelms518@earthlink.net

Wootton Cluster - Trailer City?

The Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD is pleased to welcome Donna Baron of The Gaithersburg - North Potomac - Rockville Coalition as our guest writer today. MCPS had 516 classroom trailers in use for the 2008-09 school year with more on the way. Ms. Baron writes about another part of Montgomery County that will see more housing soon, without advance planning or funding for new schools to accommodate the incoming children. That means that more MCPS children will end up spending their school years outside in classroom trailers instead of in buildings. Classroom trailers mean walking to the main building to change classes or use the restroom (in inclement weather without coats), less security, mold and mildew issues, and safety issues.

*****

The Gaithersburg West Master Plan: How it will affect us

The Public Hearing with the County Council for the Gaithersburg West Master Plan is September 15th yet many people are still unaware of this master plan and how it will affect the entire county, particularly the residents west of I-270.

The Planning Board has proposed 20-million square feet of commercial space and 5,700 multifamily housing units in buildings up to 150 feet high in the area around Shady Grove Hospital and on Belward Farm which will be called the “Science City”. A website has been set up to disseminate information to the residents and to monitor the master plan. Please see the website, http://www.scale-it-back.com/ for a map of the “Science City”.

The county is using the 45-year old plans for the Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT) which will likely be a rapid-bus as justification for calling the “Science City” a “transit oriented development” which will allow them to rezone the area for much higher density, high-rise buildings and housing. This would add 50,000 people to our area as workers or residents.

However, the CCT will only carry about 15% of the additional 50,000 people so that leaves 85% or 43,000 people in their cars. In order to accommodate 43,000 extra cars, the county has proposed to widen some of the roads to six and eight lanes and to build five multilevel 10- and 12-lane highway interchanges in and around the Science City. For instance, a 12-lane highway interchange might be built at the corner of Muddy Branch Road and Great Seneca even though it will be in the middle of four residential neighborhoods and would result in the loss of homes and the reconfiguration of at least two of the neighborhoods. Also, there has been no accommodation for the people who live in the many subdivisions in the area with limited entrances onto secondary roads which will be jammed with traffic.

Another issue is the children from the 5,700 proposed housing units. Since the housing is not included in the staging requirements for the master plan, if the plan is approved, the housing could be build independently of the commercial development once the Public Service Training Academy (the fire tower area) is moved to Montgomery Village. Therefore, there is no assurance that any of the people in the housing will work in the Science City. At this point most of the children would attend the schools in the Wootton Cluster and many of the families may move to the Science City to enable their children to go the Wootton Cluster schools. However, Wootton is already over-crowded and the students have had classes in trailers for years. There is space for a high school on Crown Farm if that is developed and MCPS has said they would build an elementary school “if needed” but no firm commitments have been given.

If the master plan is approved by the County Council, Johns Hopkins Real Estate hopes to start building their high-rise commercial complex on Belward Farm for 15,000 people within three years. The county is pushing hard to get the Corridor Cities Transitway so they can proceed with the higher population density and high-rise buildings despite the potential problems. The construction in the Science City and on the roads would go on for at least the next twenty years.

The Public Hearing with the County Council is crucial because the Council can approve the master plan or they can revise it or re-write it. It is imperative that we all attend the Hearing in order to convey our opposition to the scale of the development proposed by this master plan. We have said throughout the process, we are supportive of biomedical development in the area but it must be in scale with our suburban community. For additional information on the Hearing and the email addresses for the Council members, please see the website.

You will also find additional information, maps, and photos and a “contact us” page to sign up for updates on the master plan process on the website. http://www.scale-it-back.com/

Thanks and best regards,

Donna Baron

The Gaithersburg - North Potomac - Rockville Coalition

Update: County Council Hearing September 15, 2009 at 7 PM

Council Votes to Approve "Safe" Turf at Walter Johnson

Here is the newsclip from Channel 7 news showing the County Council unanimously approving the next artificial turf deal at a Montgomery County Public School.

Health hazards? Nope, our product is so new that no health hazards have been identified. We know, because Joe Lavorgna and Phil Andrews said so, and Valerie Ervin has been reviewing the material for ages.



If the video doesn't work, try watching it on ABC's website.