Affected neighborhood communities were NOT involved in the site selection committee for the proposed @mcps @mocoboe school

The City of Gaithersburg is considering selling Kelley Park, including most of the athletic fields, playgrounds, and green space, so that an elementary school could be built on the land.

The proposed school already has land to be built on which can accommodate the needs and traffic of a large school. Although Kelley Park will not be completely torn down, some parts of it will be lost to the school and the use of Kelley Park may be restricted while school is in session.

With lack of community involvement thus far in this decision, it is important to understand what is at stake, and how to let your voice be heard.

WHY IS THIS PARK SPECIAL?

Kelley Park, built with $550,000 of State and Gaithersburg City funds through the program know as Open Space, is the only multi-use park east of 355.  People from across the region come and use these facilities.

https://savekelleypark.com/

Leggett wants Cell Tower on Blair HS Field, No Review or Approval from Board of Education (BOE holds Easement for all of field)

Deed of Easement

Montgomery County spent $1,767,000 in Program Open Space funds to acquire the land for the Blair High School athletic fields.

Deed of Easement

Then, Montgomery County gave the Board of Education an easement for the use of "all of" the land for "play fields."  See the Deed of Eastment starting on Page 4 of the document below.

Program Open Space funding is pretty clear on its purpose as providing funding for recreational or open space land.

Giving the Board of Education an easement for all of the recreation area is also pretty clear.

Yet, the Montgomery County government run by County Executive Ike Leggett has decided to come on to the Blair High School "play fields" and build a cell tower for public and private (commercial) use without any approval from the easement holder the Montgomery County Board of Education.

County Executive Ike Leggett's staff will present their plans at a meeting this evening at Blair High School. 

   Blair High School athletic fields MOU between Montgomery Parks and MCPS by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

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.

State Property taxes hold steady

...The three-member [Board of Public Works] panel voted to maintain the state property tax rate of 11.2 cents per $100 of assessed value on real property and 28 cents per $100 on public utilities.
The action comes a week after the State Commission on Debt recommended last week to hold the line on the tax rates for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
...
The state started issuing more bonds in 2009 under then-Gov. Martin O’Malley as a way to free up cash from programs such as Program Open Space and the Chesapeake Bay Trust Fund to offset structural budget deficits amid a deep national recession.
Since then, the gap between what is owed and what is covered by property tax collections has been growing.
This year the state needed nearly $252 million in general fund dollars to make the required payments. Projections for fiscal 2018 show that gap is projected to increase to $356 million — an amount that surpasses state spending on school construction. By fiscal 2021, that amount grows to $521 million — nearly twice the projection for the current budget year...

 http://thedailyrecord.com/2016/04/27/md-board-of-public-works-holds-line-on-state-property-taxes/

City of Rockville to Lose 8.5 Acre Athletic Fields .@mocoboe .@mcpssuper .@Rockville411

Mark Twain Athletic Park at Ewing Center

Time to say good-bye to the 8.5 acre recreation area in the City of Rockville that is known as the Mark Twain Athletic Park.  The Park is located at 14501 Avery Road in Rockville.

The City of Rockville constructed this park and maintains the facilities on Board of Education land.

The Board of Education and Superintendent Joshua Starr now have other plans for this Program Open Space land.  They are going to park over 400 MCPS buses on these fields.

The Mark Twain Athletic Park is at the Blair Ewing Center school that the Superintendent and Board of Education want for bus parking because Montgomery County wants to put 2,200 housing units on the property that houses the current MCPS bus lot at Shady Grove. 

• County wants public land for developer, kicks MCPS bus depot off leased County land.  

• BOE and Superintendent move bus depot to athletic fields, kick kids off athletic fields. 

Tell the kids this is called "Smart Growth."