Montgomery County Councilmembers Reimbursement Reports #ExpenseReports

2017 Reimbursement Requests by on Scribd

Contractor Sues Glenstone Museum Foundation for $24 Million

From the New York Times by reporter Colin Moynihan. Full story here.

A month before the much anticipated unveiling of the revamped Glenstone Museum in Potomac, Md., a contracting firm that oversaw the ambitious expansion there has sued the foundation that runs the institution, seeking at least $24 million in damages. ...

The company, Hitt Contracting of Falls Church, Va., filed the suit at the end of August in Federal District Court in Maryland, accusing the foundation of breach of contract and mismanagement, adding that a “torrent of changes” the foundation had demanded repeatedly disrupted and delayed work.

Hitt listed millions of dollars in unpaid fees it says Glenstone owes and stated that those outstanding debts had left the company “exposed” to $14 million in claims by subcontractors.

@MikeOzanian - Montgomery County School Board lied about disposal of artificial turf field

Montgomery County School Board lied about disposal of artificial turf field https://t.co/gpmuVO33Kn

— Mike Ozanian (@MikeOzanian) July 27, 2018

RMHS Plastic Field Headed to Brunswick, VA Landfill. Thank you Virginia! #artificialturf #makingmemories

8/6/18 Update:  See all the environmental pollution generated by the removal of the artificial turf at RMHS at this link. 

Yesterday, we showed you the dumpster full of plastic artificial grass, ground up rubber tires, hay and plastic bottles at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, Maryland.

That dumpster showed that despite years of promises, the Montgomery County Board of Education and Montgomery County County Council were not going to recycle the artificial turf football field at Richard Montgomery High School.

Instead, at least 8 tons of the field are being sent to the Montgomery County incinerator in dumpsters.

But what happens when those dumpsters arrive at the Dickerson incinerator?  As we know from the September 26, 2011, Montgomery County Council hearing on artificial turf (the one where Councilmember Roger Berliner cut the video feed), artificial turf plastic grass is a "nonprocessable waste" (Page 86 of Power Point) and if delivered to the Dickerson incinerator will be sent to our out-of-state landfill in Brunswick, Virginia.

Not only is the RMHS artificial turf field not being recycled, at least 8 tons of it will permanently reside in the landfill in Brunswick, Virginia for centuries.  Artificial turf football fields are used for 10 years and take 1,000 years to decompose (or will never decompose) in a landfill.

You can take your grandchildren to visit the Brunswick, Virginia landfill and rehash the football, lacrosse, and soccer games that were played on the field during it's very short life at RMHS.  And while you are there you can also visit with the artificial turf fields from Blair HS, Wootton HS, Walter Johnson HS, Paint Branch HS, Gaithersburg HS, Whitman HS, BCC High School, Somerset ES and all the others to come.  They will all be there soon.

https://www.scribd.com/document/66591209/T-E-9-26-11-AT-slides

https://www.nmwda.org/montgomery-county/

Click here for more on the story of the removal of the Richard Montgomery High School artificial turf field.

Floreen to Berliner: “This is not a game! You cannot have it both ways, my friend. I mean, what are you smoking?”

WASHINGTON — A long-delayed transportation project aimed at relieving traffic congestion in the White Flint area of North Bethesda, Maryland, could face further delays due to a move Thursday by the Montgomery County Council’s transportation committee.

By a 2-to-1 vote, the committee declared that construction work on Montrose Parkway East should be pushed back by three years. The recommendation now heads to the full council...

...The project, which has already been delayed by eight years, would stretch between Rockville Pike and Veirs Mill Road.

Under the plan laid out by “the three amigos,” construction would be moved from 2021 to 2024, freeing up more than $94 million...

https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2018/03/montgomery-co-could-further-delay-parkway-project/

How Accurate is MoCo Tower Committee Approval Process? They think Board of Ed. owns Fire Station?

The Montgomery County Transmission Facility Coordinating Group (Tower Committee) has just released their January 3, 2018, meeting agenda.

According to the Agenda, the Tower Committee will be approving without discussion a proposal to change the antennas on a monopole located at the fire station at 12100 Darnestown Road and owned by the "Board of Education of Montgomery County."

When did the Board of Education acquire a fire station?  According to the public land records for this location, the land is owned by Montgomery County, not the Board of Education.

How accurate is the rest of the Tower Committee's review of cell tower proposals for Montgomery County if they are not even clear on who owns fire station property? 

Answer: The Tower Committee review process is simply a rubber stamp and errors are frequently found in the submissions.   

How is the public to be notified of cell tower construction projects or changes if the only public notice is from a last minute Agenda that is not even proofread for accuracy?  

http://montgomerycountymd.gov/cable/Resources/Files/Towers/agendas/2018/1-3-18_agenda.pdf

NYT: Why Does Verizon Care About Telephone Poles?

Sam Liccardo is the mayor of San Jose, Calif., and a member of the Federal Communications Commission’s Broadband Development Advisory Committee.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Like every other 8-year-old whom I tutored at a local school, Omar didn’t know anything — and didn’t care much — about high-stakes disputes over net neutrality, free speech and privacy that have consumed much of the news coverage of the telecommunications industry in recent years. Yet the inability of Omar’s parents to afford broadband internet access lies at the heart of a battle that will have a far greater impact on his future: the fight over street poles.

Public street poles may not look like much, but to wireless service providers, they’re valuable real estate. Companies like Verizon want low-cost access to them to install equipment to handle the rapidly growing demand for mobile data. But poles are owned locally, and cities and counties aren’t eager to give away access at below-market rates. Doing so would essentially subsidize an already wealthy industry — nationwide, as much as $2 billion a year, money that could otherwise go to expanding low-cost broadband access for people like Omar’s family.

As a result, the industry is waging a war for those poles, at all levels. Big Telecom and its allies in the White House have quietly carried out a campaign to secure rapid and cheap access to those poles, at taxpayer expense. Here in California, state legislators recently advanced a bill introduced by Senator Ben Hueso that would allow wireless service providers to install their equipment on public street poles at below-market rates — and to do so nearly wherever and whenever they choose — all in the name of “streamlining” local permit approvals.

We’ve seen similar efforts in Texas, Florida, Washington and dozens of other states, where telecommunications industry lobbyists spent more than $24.5 million in campaign contributions last year, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics. At the federal level, Trump administration appointees to the Federal Communications Commission have publicly cheered these proposals, while releasing their own draft regulations to carry out additional industry-friendly rules nationally...

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/03/opinion/wireless-verizon-telephone-poles.html

More Turf Fields Across the District Are Being Replaced or Treated With Gallons of Glue

...Customers across the U.S. that purchased so-called top of the line FieldTurf fields have seen the fields quickly fall apart. Some received a line of FieldTurf turf called Duraspine that was known to be defective. Instead of withstanding a beating from athletes and the sun for eight years or more, the blades quickly become brittle and shed.

Other lines of FieldTurf turf — sometimes sold as premium “upgrades” to schools experiencing Duraspine failures — have also seen grass blades fall out easily. FieldTurf begun dumping 1,000 gallons of glue on those fields in recent years to make them stronger. Serra High, Patrick Henry High and Clairemont High had the glue treatment in 2015, district officials confirmed. Morse High, San Diego High and University City High got glued this year. Edison Elementary is next.

During the so-called “slip lock” glue treatment, rubber pellets that serve as infill cushioning between blades of fake grass are sucked up so gallons of glue can be poured on top of the surface, before the infill is put back. FieldTurf officials say the glue is safe.

Despite the problems, FieldTurf is still the only turf installed at schools districtwide...

http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/topics/education/more-turf-fields-being-replaced-or-treated/

MCPS Staff Says Cell Tower was Approved in 2007 and Infers that 2007 Approval Applies in 2017 #NeelsvilleMiddleSchool

Base of cell tower on MCPS playground.

On June 8, 2017, a parent and community meeting was held at Neelsville Middle School to discuss the application by a cell tower vendor to build a cell tower on the school's field.

MCPS Real Estate staff member Boyd Lawrence began the meeting by announcing that a cell tower for Neelsville Middle School had been approved by former Superintendent Jerry Weast back in 2007. During the course of the meeting, Mr. Lawrence would bring this point back up as if that prior approval was still valid in 2017.

There are just a few problems with Mr. Lawrence's reference to a cell tower approval by Jerry Weast ten years ago.

First, the proposal for a cell tower back in 2007, was for a cell tower that was 83 feet high.  The recent proposal for a cell tower at Neelsville Middle School is for a cell that that was 150 feet high.

Second, the 2007 application was made by Sprint-Nextel, while the recent application was made by Verizon.

The height of the cell tower is an important fact in the recent application as the proposed location of the cell tower would put it close enough to the school so that in the event the cell tower were to fall over, it would land on the school building.  The area around a cell tower where the tower could fall is known as the fall zone and is one of the construction features reviewed when a cell tower is proposed.

Video of the entire public meeting is below and you will hear multiple references to the 2007 application as if the cell tower then was the same one that was being proposed this year.  Toward the end of the meeting you will hear the vendor's representative divert attention from the 2007 application drawing that was enlarged on the screen.  Obviously, MCPS and the vendor did not want to point out that the 2007 drawing was for a different cell tower from a different vendor.  That fact was not revealed to the public at this meeting.

At the end of the meeting the Neelsville Middle School PTSA voted unanimously to oppose the construction of a cell tower on the school's field.

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

Paint Branch HS & Gaithersburg HS Alert: The Latest FieldTurf Issue Is Nothing 1,000 Gallons of Glue Won’t Fix #FieldTurf #artificialturf #fooledUagain

 [This is the brand of artificial turf that was installed at Gaithersburg High School and Paint Branch High School.  You know, the old no bid favorite of the Montgomery County Council!]

...FieldTurf crews are dumping a thousand gallons of latex glue called Beybond on top of the Revolution fields. During a weeklong process, crews vacuum up all the crumb rubber and sand infill cushioning between the grass blades, pour on the glue, then re-apply the infill in layers.
FieldTurf documents sent to San Diego Unified in October 2015 by turf salesman Tim Coury blamed the issues on a polyurethane “breakdown on the backing” of the turf rolls. The topical glue remedy was described as “non-invasive,” and FieldTurf claims in the documents that testing so far indicated there was “no negative impact on drainage,” often a selling point for the company...

http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/topics/news/latest-fieldturf-issue-nothing-1000-gallons-glue-wont-fix/?utm_source=Voice+of+San+Diego+Master+List&utm_campaign=bea815ad5a-Morning_Report&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c2357fd0a3-bea815ad5a-84139409&goal=0_c2357fd0a3-bea815ad5a-84139409

SPECIAL REPORT: Top turf company made millions selling faulty fields to taxpayers #mcps #FieldTurf #MCPSLOVESFieldTurf

Have you read this report yet? Have you watched all the videos in the article? Just insert MCPS and Montgomery County Parks into the article for a good read on what has gone on here in Montgomery County, Maryland.

You will never see this type of investigative reporting here in Montgomery County. Thanks to the New Jersey reporters who put together this comprehensive report on how Montgomery County public schools came to have defective artificial turf football fields at Richard Montgomery High School, Walter Johnson High School and Montgomery Blair High School. Those three football fields have now failed and are putting players at risk on a daily basis.

Here in Montgomery County we will have to wait for a catastrophic injury to a child or adult on one of these fields before any of our elected leaders will acknowledge this crisis. But no worries for MCPS, the legislature has protected MCPS will a cap on any damage claims. Does Parks have a cap on their liability for the Blair High School field? SPECIAL REPORT: Top turf company made millions selling faulty fields to taxpayers #mcps #FieldTurf #MCPSLOVESFieldTurf: Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Berliner, Hucker & Katz want to Eliminate Office of People's Counsel, Because Why Should the Public Have Any Representation in the Planning Process?

A Bill has been proposed (without consultation with communities) to permanently abolish the Office of the People's Counsel from the County Code and replace it with a Resource Officer that would not be allowed to participate in hearings.

The Montgomery County Civic Federation (MCCF) pushed hard to establish this office and it was finally placed in the County Code in 1990.  The funding for the Office of People's Counsel in 2008 was $246,000 for 1.8 positions. In 2010 the Montgomery County Council removed funding for this important office ostensibly for fiscal reasons.

MCCF pushed hard to establish this office and it was finally placed in the County Code in 1990.  The funding for the Office of People's Counsel in 2008 was $246,000 for 1.8 positions. In 2010 The County Council removed funding for this important office ostensibly for fiscal reasons.

Take the time to read the testimony from the MCCF and then send a note to the County Council asking them to reestablish funding for the Office of People's Counsel, not just a resource officer.

In the MCCF testimony it shows that the 3 development ombudsmen/coordinator positions ($577,000) that have been funded since the time that the Office of People's Counsel was defunded, are being funding with Montomgery County Department of Transportation Capital Improvement funds.  Yes, we are using debt service to pay for public positions that assist developers but the County Council (Berliner, Hucker, Katz) does not want to fund the position that is supposed to represent the public interest. 

   MCCF Testimony OPC Printed by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

Current Councilmembers Who Gave Away an Entire MCPS High School for Free: Floreen, Leventhal, Berliner, Navarro, Elrich #educationfirst #MaybeNot

Is your local Montgomery County Public School overcrowded? Are your children spending their days in classroom trailers instead of school buildings?

Peary High School, Rockville, Maryland

You can thank the Fabulous 5 that are still on the Montgomery County Council for the loss of public school classrooms.  As recently as 2010, current Councilmembers Nancy Floreen, George Leventhal, Roger Berliner, Nancy Navarro and Marc Elrich all voted to give away an entire MCPS high school building for free.

State Delegate Ben Kramer and State Senator Roger Manno were instrumental in shepherding this sweetheart deal through the Maryland Board of Public Works.

And let's not forget the person behind this deal, County Executive Ike Leggett who made sure that public school children were robbed of classrooms at a time when MCPS was using over 400 classroom trailers.  The deal that County Executive Ike Leggett sealed called for the buyer to only pay for the land and get the entire public high school building (a building that was bought and paid for with your property taxes) for free.

#EducationFirst
#FooledYou 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  

 Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010

County Council approves sale of Peary High School

Andrews opposes deal, but many in Aspen Hill say decision was appropriate

by Erin Cunningham and Margie Hyslop | Staff Writers

Montgomery County government will sell the former Robert E. Peary High School to the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy despite protests from the county's Board of Education...
...The County Council voted 8-1 on Tuesday to allow the sale, which is expected to become official in the next several weeks.
Councilman Philip M. Andrews (D-Dist. 3) of Gaithersburg voted against the sale, saying the site in Aspen Hill could be needed for a public school in the future.
The council's decision ratifies a deal proposed by County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) to sell the 19.5-acre site in Aspen Hill for $1.9 million. It includes a provision making it possible for the county to repurchase and occupy the site five years after a judge decides the county needs it for a school.
The state's Board of Public Works, which is composed of Maryland's governor, comptroller and treasurer, must sign off on the deal...

However, Leggett's plan has drawn criticism from those who say the price is too low and from the county school board, which says the move is ill-advised given public school enrollment is growing, and large tracts of land are scarce in the downcounty area.
Those claims were disputed Tuesday by some council members who said the school system has 51 unused school buildings and no immediate need for the Hebrew Academy site.
"The school system is accustomed to having it all," said Councilman George L. Leventhal (D-At large) of Takoma Park. "The school system wants everything. It wants its cake and to eat it, too."
Council Vice President Valerie Ervin (D-Dist. 5) of Silver Spring said Monday the school system was not persuasive in making its case for the school. Ervin is expected to be sworn in as council president next week...

...Leventhal said it was not convincing to hear school officials say they don't need the site now, but might at some unspecified date...

 http://www.gazette.net/stories/12012010/rocknew220733_32534.php

Council's Education Comm. will Take Up State Audit of MCPS while You are on Vacation

According to a message posted on Facebook today by Montgomery County Councilmember Marc Elrich, the Council's Education Committee will be discussing the 2016 Maryland State Office of Legislative Audits report on Montgomery County Public Schools sometime in August.  No date has been set yet for this discussion.

August is traditionally a time when many Montgomery County families take vacations.  Obviously, the Council wants to make sure you are out of town when the 2016 MCPS Audit is discussed.
The Council does not want you to see any news reports about the Audits findings or hear MCPS' response that the State auditors are wrong in their findings.

So let the Council know when your family will be out of town this summer so they can safely schedule a discussion of the 2016 State audit of MCPS when the least number of County residents will be in the County.   

County.Council@montgomerycountymd.gov

Fuzzy Math Keeps Opposition to Tobytown Ride On Bus Alive

Last year, the Montgomery County Department of Transportation estimated that a Monday - Friday daytime Ride On bus route running every 60 - 75 minutes to Tobytown would draw 100 patrons.

http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/Resources/Files/agenda/cm/2015/150424/20150424_TE1.pdf

This morning, at the County Council's Transportation Commitee meeting, Council staffer Glenn Orlin said that the Tobytown route would draw 48 patrons daily.  He said the line would draw 30 patrons during peak hours, and an additional 18 during the day.

But, Councilmember Tom Hucker apparently only heard the number 18 and said:

"I am struck by the cost per rider, if 18 is correct that's $10,000 per rider...it would be cheaper to buy them a car, right?"

No one in the room corrected Councilmember Hucker and he voted against the proposal to add all day Ride On bus service to Tobytown.

No one in the room explained why the Department of Transportation estimate of 100 patrons daily was not being used to discuss this proposal. 

How the Descendants of Freed Slaves Lost their Land in Montgomery County #Tobytown

In 1969, the residents of Tobytown in Potomac owned the land that they lived on.  The land had been passed down since 1875 from their ancestors, the founders of Tobytown.

History from Maryland Historical Trust

But, then Montgomery County Government came in, demolished their homes, and replaced their homes with townhouses that the residents were forced to rent for 40 years before they could buy just the homes back from the Housing Opportunities Commission.  They could not get back the land. 

The land owners had lost their land. 

All of the land that had been in these families for almost 100 years was either taken by condemnation or transferred to Montgomery County Government.

Some of the land was taken by a condemnation proceeding, and some was transferred in processes that current relatives describe as based on threats.  Current relatives remember that the Tobytown landowners of the 1960's did not necessarily know how to read or write, and did not want to give up their land.

Montgomery County land records tell the tale.  Below are copies of all of the Deeds to Tobytown land that were transferred or taken by condemnation from 1970 to 1999.  The last names in these deeds are many of the same last names as the current residents of Tobytown. 

It is 2016, and the current residents of Tobytown, who lost their land to Montgomery County, have asked that their community be included in the County's public transportation system.  They just want a RideOn bus to serve their neighborhood. 

To this day, Montgomery County Government still owns over 5 acres of original Tobytown land.  The land around the Tobytown townhomes is owned by the Housing Opportunities Commission.

The RideOn bus service for Tobytown would cost between $200,000 and $300,000 a year.  The County has consistently denied the Tobytown residents normal RideOn Bus service.

Washington Post

From a 2010, Washington Post article:

...In 1972, the housing authority used federal housing funds to build 26 duplexes and single-family homes and a small community center. The goal was for the low-income residents to eventually purchase the inexpensive dwellings.

Florice Martin, 49, a longtime resident who is now raising her grandchildren in Tobytown, grew up in the shacks and vividly remembers when the development was unveiled to great fanfare.
"All the rich people were here, the people that mean something," she said. There were journalists on hand, and a big reception. It was the first time she had seen caviar.
The glowing promise of the day was never fully realized. Over the years, 17 families purchased their own homes for about $16,000. But nine units remain in the control of the housing authority, which also maintains the community center and grounds.
"It seems like they forgot us," Martin said. "It seems like we're not here."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/12/AR2010111201997_3.html?sid=ST2010111202147

 

Tobytown Deeds 1970-1999 Maryland by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Berliner to Tobytown: Normal Bus Service Does not Make Economic Sense

Note:  RideOn bus service does make sense in other parts of Montgomery County with similar average ridership numbers to Tobytown's. 
A Tobytown RideOn bus route is already predicted to generate 100 patrons.   That is more or similar to other currently running RideOn bus routes.  See page 28 of this Council information packet.

-----------------------------------------------

Berliner Announces Potential Transit Service for Tobytown Residents at HOC Meeting

 

Montgomery County’s Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC) held a meeting with Tobytown residents on Monday night at the community’s recreation center. While HOC initially limited the event to the Tobytown community, residents from surrounding areas and the media were able to join local officials at the meeting.

Montgomery County Council Vice President Roger Berliner stopped by the meeting and discussed Tobytown’s request for public transit.

Berliner announced his plans to support a shuttle route proposal, that would include Tobytown, at a Council meeting to be held on Thursday. He said that the proposed all-day transit service would connect residents to Metro, schools, and jobs...

Video of Councilmember Roger Berliner's statement at this link.
 http://www.mymcmedia.org/berliner-announces-potential-transit-service-for-tobytown-residents-at-hoc-meeting-photos/

We petition the Obama administration to: direct the CPSC to ensure playgrounds + sports fields are safe and the in-fills do not exceed harmful chemical limits.

One ton of crumb rubber leaking out of bag at Wootton HS.

We petition the Obama administration to:

direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to ensure playgrounds and sports fields are safe and the in-fills do not exceed harmful chemical limits.

Direct the CPSC to ensure playgrounds, play surfaces & athletic fields for young athletes are safe by meeting the standards for lead & harmful chemicals set out in law for children’s products. The CPSIA of 2008 defines a children's product as a “consumer product designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger." Industry marketing of tire derived surfaces clearly target children’s use. Yet, the CPSC has balked at categorizing these surfaces as children’s products neither have they acted to make these surfaces safe for children. Therefore, please direct the CPSC to ensure these products comply with the statutory limits for children’s products, so that these surfaces are lead-safe & don't pose a contamination risk to children.

 http://wh.gov/iGCcg

Feds Finally Take Action on Crumb Rubber Turf

Crumb rubber is still in use today on Montgomery County Public School football fields. 



http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/artificial-turf-debate/feds-finally-take-action-crumb-rubber-turf-n517726