Montgomery Parks extends facility closures, as well as programming, rental, and permit cancellations, through May 31.

UPDATE

We are extending facility closures, as well as programming, rental, and permit cancellations, through May 31.

This decision comes as we continue to work to fight the spread of COVID-19.

Find out more: https://t.co/vWY85ChK6u. pic.twitter.com/Fl0eCpiR63

— Montgomery Parks (@MontgomeryParks) April 15, 2020

Guest Post: MCPS, stop playing tricks with Kelley Park. Give Gaithersburg the treat you gave Bethesda residents — NO new schools at parks!!!

MCPS Drops Plan to Build Schools on Parkland [Not MCPS' Land to Use!]

The Board of Education wants to Divest Lyttonsville of Their Open Space Land, Again. #AntiaircraftArtilleryBattalion

MCPS already designed a school for the Coffield Rec site.

Once again, the Board of Education has put the parkland next to the Coffield Recreation Center in Lyttonsville on a list of potential school sites.  

Back in April of 2011, the Board of Education was told by the Montgomery County Department of Parks that park land is not up for grabs for the placement of school buildings.  See the April 27, 2011, letter from Montgomery Parks to the Board of Education below. 

In 2011, the Board of Education was specifically told they could not have the land next to the Coffield Recreation Center for a public school, yet here that park is again on a list of potential school sites and the Board of Education has even gone so far as to pay for a possible building design for the proposed school.  See image from MCPS presentation. 

Not only is the Park land next to the Coffield Recreation Center the property of Montgomery Parks, but the land that became part of the fields at Rosemary Hills Local Park was probably the site for an Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion in the first half of the 1950s, as part of a group of such sites that ringed the Washington, DC region before the advent of Nike missile sites after the Korean War.

Because the land was purchased by Parks and Planning before there were federal and state environmental laws that mandated due diligence into toxic materials and other past land uses that could pose a threat to water quality or health and safety, the screening process to assess threats was very superficial, limited, for example, to noting whether a dump or other substandard structures were on site.

This site would need to be investigated thoroughly before any construction could commence and as the long time residents of Lyttonsville know, this past use of this land has prevented other construction projects from taking place on the existing fields. 

BOE Site Selection by Parents' Coalition of Montg... on Scribd

PARK POLICE INVESTIGATING ALLEGED EMBEZZLEMENT FROM FOUNDATION

The Maryland-National Capital Park Police are investigating an alleged case of embezzlement from the Montgomery Parks Foundation, according Lt. Jeffrey Coe, public information officer for the Montgomery County division of the park police.

There has not yet been an arrest in the case, Coe said, which the department estimated involves five or six figures.

“It’s still under investigation,” Coe said. “We haven’t got the exact amounts yet.”

An employee of the Maryland-National Park and Planning Commission assigned to support the foundation was described as a “person of interest” in the case, according to an earlier statement from the police. The department is working with the county State’s Attorney Office on the case.

According to a Feb. 5 statement sent to donors by the foundation’s board of trustees (and obtained by the Source), board President John Robinson discovered discrepancies in the foundation’s bank statements and other financial records.

Robinson had assumed the responsibilities of acting director following the October 2018 resignation of the foundation’s executive director. Park Police were notified of the discrepancies in mid-January, Coe said.

“It appeared that a Foundation staff person made unauthorized withdrawals from Foundation funds,” the statement read. “The person was placed on leave and has now been terminated.”..

https://www.sourceofthespring.com/general-news/crime/park-police-investigating-alleged-embezzlement-foundation/#.XJOe-yhKg2x

Mon. Meeting to Put 200' Cell Tower on Blair HS Baseball Field - 7:30 PM Blair HS Cafeteria @Silver_Chips

Monday, April 30, 2018 meeting at 7:30 p.m. at Blair HS Cafeteria on Montgomery County's proposal for a new cell tower in Blair Local Park (the location of the Blair High School baseball field), adjacent to Blair High School, with total height including antennas of over 200'. 

Montgomery Blair High School

51 University Blvd East

Silver Spring Maryland 20901-2451

The County Department of Technology Services is proposing a new cell tower with a total height, including antennas, of over 200 feet and at least 8 antennas initially, that would be used by both public and private entities. The tower and equipment shed would be adjacent to Blair High School in Blair Local Park, just beyond the left field baseball fence and would be visible down University Boulevard past Eastern Middle School. 

In addition, under the Spectrum Act, after the cell tower is built, it would be allowed to be increased by 20 feet in height and/or in width.

This park was established by the State specifically for school and community recreation and open space and is an inappropriate location for such a massive facility. If this were an application from a private entity, it would be the subject of a hearing with a hearing examiner. Since the property is owned by the government, they are not subject to such a hearing.

The Blair HS cell tower is so large it will be visible from Easter Middle School as shown
in above picture.  The red dot shows the height of the proposed cell tower.

County Parks Dep't. wants to colocate telecomm equipment in 3 parks. Two are in Silver Spring.

[Note: The tower in the outfield at Blair High School is empty.  This is not a colocation.  This is the new placement of a cell tower antenna. The Parks Department is not being honest with the public.]

PARKS DEPARTMENT SEEKING INPUT
On Telecommunications Applications

Montgomery Parks is seeking approval from the Montgomery Planning Board on three telecommunication applications seeking to colocate equipment in existing park facilities - two of which are in the Silver Spring Regional Area! - to improve the wireless system in the Montgomery County area.

The public is encouraged to post comments on the Montgomery Parks.org Open Town Wall web page * prior to the November 9, 2017 Planning Board Session when the applications will be reviewed.  Please share the following notice with resident and community groups.

*HAVE YOU TRIED THE
PARKS DEPARTMENT OPEN TOWN HALL?

• Wonderful new tool to facilitate providing input!
• Check it out on-line

Warning: Casey Anderson and Montgomery Parks are Not Telling Parents About Danger of New Park! @caseyandersonPB @MontgomeryParks

Casey Anderson and Montgomery Parks are celebrating the opening of a park in Kemp Mill. The surface of the new urban park is made from ground up tires.  It is a well known fact that ground up tire athletic or play surfaces get much hotter than natural grass.

MCPS has now posted warning signs (see below) on artificial turf fields due to the dangerous conditions of these fields on warm or hot days, but Casey Anderson and Montgomery Parks are not warning parents and children about the dangers of these surfaces.

According to MCPS Heat Index guidelines, if the Heat Index is over 105 degrees there are to be no outdoor activities.  Is Montgomery County Parks going to close these playgrounds when the Heat Index is 105 degrees or higher?

Community Use of Public Facilities advises field users to vacate the field at times of excessive heat and users will receive a credit of their rental fee. 

Parents can monitor the daily Heat Index at the National Weather Service website before sending kids to play on ground up tire playgrounds.

Temperature reading from Kemp Mill Park on June 30, 2017. Credit Sheldon Fishman. 

MCPS Heat Guidelines

The following is MCPS heat guidelines that apply specifically to activities conducted on artificial turf fields. 

• Anytime the outdoor temperature exceeds 80 degrees, coaches exercise caution in conducting activities on artificial turf fields. 
• When outdoor temperatures exceed 90 degrees, coaches may hold one regular morning or evening practice (before 12 noon or after 5:00 pm). 
• When the heat index is between 91-104 degrees between the hours of 12:00 noon and 5:00 p.m., school athletic activities are restricted on artificial turf fields to one hour, with water breaks every 20 minutes.

A heat warning sign is posted at all artificial turf fields to inform community user groups.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/facilities/maintenance/default.aspx?id=496174

Roger Berliner Met with FieldTurf as Parks and MCPS Scrambled to Address Artificial Turf Safety Issues #GMAX #FieldTurf @RogerBerliner

In the Summer of 2016, an article on Forbes online detailed the dangerous condition of the Walter Johnson High School artificial turf field.  That article caused MCPS and Montgomery Parks to scramble to respond to questions about the safety of all of the artificial turf fields in the county.

By October of 2016, Montgomery Parks knew that their artificial turf field behind Blair High School had failed and needed to be replaced.  Quietly, Montgomery Parks allowed 3 artificial turf vendors to make presentations to their staff. FieldTurf, the no bid vendor that has supplied Montgomery Parks and MCPS with artificial turf fields since 2009 was one of the vendors permitted to make a presentation.

E-mails obtained by the Parents' Coalition detail that during the FieldTurf presentation to Montgomery Parks staff on November 14, 2016, FieldTurf stated that they had a "new product that they had recently showed to Council Member Roger Berliner."  

Why is a Montgomery County Councilmember meeting with a no bid vendor?

The Montgomery County Council funds artificial turf on MCPS and Parks fields, but does not actually contract for the construction projects.  Why would a Councilmember be meeting privately with a vendor, especially during a time when the safety of existing FieldTurf artificial turf fields was being scrutinized?

Remember that the law firm Roger Berliner worked for before coming to Montgomery County has been the NYC lobbyist for FieldTurf.

Here is the e-mail from Montgomery Parks that describes the FieldTurf presentation to Parks staff on November 14, 2016.

  2016 December FieldTurf Met With Berliner by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd