ROCKVILLE, Md., November 29, 2010—The final legislative day for the 16th Montgomery County Council on Tuesday, Nov. 30, will include several significant actions, including a schedule vote on Bill 50-10 that would create a special tax district to help pay for transportation infrastructure improvements to support the redevelopment of the White Flint area. The Council also is scheduled to vote on the proposed sale of Peary High School in Aspen Hill to the facility’s current tenant—the Berman Hebrew Academy.
The Council’s general session will begin 9:30 a.m. in the Third Floor Hearing Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville. The meeting and today’s public hearings will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM—Cable Channel 6 on Comcast and RCN, Channel 30 on Verizon) and also will be available via streaming through the County Web site at www.montgomerycountymd.gov. The meeting will be rebroadcast on CCM at 9 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 3.
The morning session will be the final one for two-term Councilmember Mike Knapp, who represents District 2, and for at-large Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg. It also will be the final presiding meeting for Councilmember Nancy Floreen, whose one-year term as Council President officially concludes on Dec. 6. The 17th County Council will elect new officers to one-year terms on Tuesday, Dec. 7.
Councilmembers Knapp and Trachtenberg are scheduled to reflect on their Council experiences at 11:15 a.m. Council President Floreen will offer thoughts on her one-year tenure as president and accomplishments of the 16th Council.
During the morning session, the Council is scheduled to take action on Bill 21-10 that will authorize funding for the replacement of Glenmont Fire Station 18. The station’s replacement is necessary because the existing station must be demolished to accommodate a major intersection improvement at the corner of Georgia Avenue and Randolph Road. The replacement station is estimated to cost $13 million.
The Council also will appoint 11 members to the new Clarksburg Infrastructure Working Group that will study options to help finance public infrastructure in the emerging community in the northern part of the County. Jennifer Russel, who served as the County’s ombudsman to Clarksburg in 2006-07 and who is now director of planning for Rodgers Consulting, Inc., is expected to be named the group’s chair. The Council created the working group when it voted to terminate the Clarksburg Town Center Development District this fall.
At 1:50 p.m., the Council is scheduled to vote on a resolution that would authorize sale of Peary High School in Aspen Hill to the Berman Hebrew Academy. Peary was closed in 1984 due to declining enrollment. The facility deteriorated while vacant, but in 1996, then County Executive Douglas Duncan negotiated a lease agreement with the Berman Academy. The agreement included an option for the school to purchase the property. The proposed sale terms the Council is scheduled to act upon include a provision that would allow the County to repurchase the school if it is needed for public school use. More than 500 people attended a public hearing on the issue on Nov. 23.
Discussion and possible action on a financing plan for public infrastructure for the future of the redeveloped White Flint area is scheduled to begin at 2:45 p.m. Earlier this year, the Council approved the White Flint Sector Plan that will lead to mixed-use development in the area around Rockville Pike between Bethesda and Rockville. The area will be transformed into a more urbanized community with increased residences, offices and retail space. Existing retail businesses standing one or two stories high could become modern complexes as high as 30 stories. The traffic- heavy Route 355 (Rockville Pike) will be part of an area with distinct street grids, creating a more walkable neighborhood.
2 comments:
This is the type of monster master plan that the council hopes will increase its revenue flow. They are really at a loss as to what to do unless their revenue is increasing rapidly. Witness last year's 240% increase the county residential energy tax!
If it wasn't for your amendment, Robin, we'd all be in a ton of trouble.
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