County Council Town Hall at Leisure World

This afternoon, I joined my Council colleagues for a televised Town Hall meeting at Leisure World in Silver Spring. The program was very well attended by Leisure World residents, and I saw many, many friends there. The women and men who live there always ask insightful questions of their guests and today was no exception.

Among the many questions asked—and answered—were those related to transportation and traffic, economic development, the growing deer population, senior services, the Costco project, the future of the Sligo Creek Golf Course, the Veterans Park in Wheaton, and County budget issues.

Many thanks to the Leisure World community for their warm welcome and their continuing interest in our work.

Council to Continue FY11 Budget Worksession on Wednesday 5/19

The Montgomery County Council will continue its worksession on the Fiscal Year 2011 Operating Budget on Wednesday, May 19, 2010 beginning at 9:30 a.m. This worksession will be held in the Third Floor Hearing Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville. The meeting 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 http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/.

The Council will receive an updated status report on the FY11 revenues and expenditures. It will also take action on the following items:

• Bill 13-10: Emergency Medical Services Transport Fee
• Bill 29-10: Excise Tax on Carbon Dioxide Emissions
• Telephone tax
• Transportation fees, charges and fares

In the afternoon, the Council will meet at 2PM to discuss the Montgomery County Public Schools budget.

The Council is scheduled to reach a tentative agreement on the budget on May 21 and is scheduled to adopt the budget on May 27.

To view Council session's complete agenda, click here.

Fiscal Year 2011 Operating Budget Worksessions to Continue on Tuesday 5/11

The Montgomery County Council will continue to hold worksessions on the Fiscal Year 2011 Operating Budget on Tuesday, May 11, 2010. The Council will discuss its intention regarding the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Montgomery County Volunteers Fire Rescue Association (MCVFRA) and later will hold a worksession on the Fiscal Year 2011 budget requests of:

Montgomery College
Department of Transportation
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (This packet will available online on Tuesday, May 11, 2010)
Department of Correction and Rehabilitation
Department of Libraries
Municipal Tax Duplication

The worksessions are part of the Council’s progress toward achieving a balanced FY11 Operating Budget.

The Council session will begin at 9:30 a.m. and will be held in the Third Floor Hearing Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville. The meeting 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 http://www.montgomerycountymd.go./

The Council is scheduled to reach a tentative agreement on the budget on May 20 and is scheduled to adopt the budget on May 27.

To view Council session's complete agenda, click here.

Appreciation: East County Citizens Advisory Board

I was very pleased to have had the opportunity to attend the monthly meeting of the East County Citizens Advisory Board last night. I was warmly welcomed by some old friends and I made some new ones.

I thought that we had a very thoughtful and, for me, a very useful discussion of many issues related to Eastern Montgomery County. We talked about the budget crisis facing the County, public safety issues, education funding and maintaining a safety net for the County’s most vulnerable residents.

Most prominently, we talked about giving more attention to economic development issues in the East County. I agreed with Board members that both the Executive Branch and the County Council could do—and should do—more to both promote new development and job creation in the area and to enhance community engagement around these issues.

I learned a lot from the conversation last night, as I do from all of the meetings that I have with residents across the County. I believe that the County’s Citizens Advisory Boards are a critically important part of the community engagement that makes Montgomery County great.

Many thanks to Board Chair Bill Strassburger and the ECCAB members for their hospitality and their service to our community.

Maryland Receives $14.8 Million for Transportation Projects From Federal Recovery Act Funds that will Benefit Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties

Last week, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that Maryland will receive $14.8 million under the competitive TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) Discretionary Grant Program designated for innovative, multi-modal and multi-jurisdictional transportation projects. The TIGER application was submitted by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments on behalf of its member jurisdictions and the states of Maryland and Virginia.

The funds will be used to construct three projects benefiting Montgomery and Prince George’s counties: the Takoma Langley Transit Center, a major transit hub for Montgomery County’s Ride On bus system, and priority bus corridor enhancements along University Boulevard and Veirs Mill Road.

“These additional federal resources will help us to advance important transit options in Montgomery County,” said County Executive Ike Leggett.

The Takoma Langley Transit Center project received $12.3 million to supplement matching funds of $2.5 million each from Montgomery and Prince George’s counties and $7.3 million from WMATA’s Transportation Infrastructure Investments fund. The transit center will be located at the intersection of University Boulevard and New Hampshire Avenue, on the border of Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. The eight bus stops and 11 bus routes that currently serve this location is the busiest non-Metrorail transit terminal in the region. The project will consolidate these scattered bus stops at the heavily used bus transfer point into one facility that will also serve as a station on the future Purple Line. The new facility will have bus bays, pedestrian walkways, a full canopy, restrooms, lighting and real time bus information.

TIGER funds will also provide 100 percent of project funding for two other projects: $1.26 million for
University Boulevard in both counties and $265,000 for Veirs Mill Road for priority bus corridor enhancements. These two corridors are among those identified by WMATA as having the majority of bus riders in the region. To improve speed and reliability, these corridors will be enhanced by queue jumpers, traffic transit signal priority timing, bus stop improvements and real time bus information.

TIGER funds are part of President Barack Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, designed to generate significant economic and environmental benefits and invest in America’s infrastructure, green economy and public education system. In particular, the areas served by these projects are in economically distressed areas, and the residents will be served through better connections to job centers throughout the region.

TIGER fund projects were selected based on their contribution to the economic competitiveness of the nation, improving safety and the condition of the existing transportation system, increasing quality of life, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and demonstrating strong collaboration among a broad range of participants, including the private sector.

Snow Removal Update: What to Expect This Weekend in Montgomery County

The two back-to-back blizzards in Montgomery County this week buried our area in more than three-and-one-half feet of snow, and the extreme wind conditions on Wednesday produced snow drifts of up to 16 feet in the upper part of the County. Montgomery County’s Department of Transportation (DOT) has responded to this record storm by mobilizing an unprecedented 1,200 pieces of equipment for snow removal, and crews have been working non-stop for more than a week and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Here’s What DOT Has Done:
Cleared Primary and Secondary Roads Through Plowing and Snow Removal. Because of the historic amount of snow that must be cleared, DOT is conducting two different snow removal operations. In some areas, crews are plowing snow. In the more urbanized areas where there is inadequate space to pile up plowed snow, DOT is actually removing snow by loading it into dump trucks and hauling it away. This is an extremely time and resource intensive job that will take much longer than typical plowing operations.
Begun Clearing Neighborhood Streets. Many residents are understandably frustrated by the huge snowfalls and are eager to get out of their neighborhoods and resume their normal activities. Typically, it takes DOT 60 hours after a snowfall ends to clear the County’s roads of a 24-inch snowfall. Yet, just 24 hours after the end of Wednesday’s blizzard, DOT has brought primary and secondary roads to relatively good condition and is already clearing neighborhood streets.
Ensured Emergency Services are Able to Reach Residents.  DOT snow plow operators continue to escort Police, Fire and Rescue and others to ensure they have access to residents who call with an emergency.
Aided in Getting Power Restored to Residents. DOT snow plows also accompanied PEPCO repair crews to make sure they could get to areas without power.

Here’s What to Expect This Weekend:
Business District Snow Removal.  Crews will begin removing snow in the business districts in Silver Spring, Wheaton and Bethesda.
Continue Operations on Neighborhood Streets. Crews will continue to clear neighborhood streets.
Return to Remove More Snow from All Roads. Crews will go back to primary, secondary and neighborhood roads to remove additional snow.

Some Facts to Help Understand DOT’s Operations:
DOT clears more than 5,000 lane miles of road in Montgomery County.
The State Highway Administration clears all numbered roads in the County, which includes major arteries, such as Wisconsin Avenue/Rockville Pike, Georgia Avenue, Connecticut Avenue, etc.
Major municipalities, such as Rockville and Gaithersburg, clear the roads within their jurisdictions.
DOT’s first priority in clearing roads is to remove snow from emergency routes and primary roads (main and divided highways such as Montrose Road or Norbeck Road).
Next, secondary roads are cleared, which are the main roads within neighborhoods. Residents may become understandably concerned that their street has been missed when secondary roads just a couple blocks away have been cleared and their road has not. However, all secondary roads must be cleared before any work on residential streets can begin because otherwise, residents driving out of their neighborhoods will have no access to main roads.
DOT’s policy about clearing roads is that primary and secondary roads are generally cleared to bare pavement. Neighborhood roads are not. Instead, they are made passable.

What Residents Can Do:
Be patient.
The county remains under a Snow Emergency Plan, which means there is no parking on roads designated by red and white snow emergency signs.
Give crews an opportunity to reach neighborhood streets over the next two days.
Residents may contact Highway Services at 240-777-6000 or highway@montgomerycountymd.gov if they believe their street has been missed. 

The Trachtenberg Office Attends County Executive’s Budget Forum at Leisure World

Naomi Bloch represented the Trachtenberg office last evening at the County Executive’s Budget Forum that was hosted by the Mid-County Citizens’ Advisory Board at Leisure World in Silver Spring. This was the third in a series of five budget forums that County Executive Ike Leggett has been conducting throughout out the County during the month of January.

After a presentation of the budget by Beryl Feinberg of the Executive’s office of Management and Budget, Mr. Leggett took questions from the audience. There were questions about the critical need not to cut the libraries budgets any further as use of the libraries is on the rise in these tough economic times; questions about the ambulance fees and concerns about the elimination of some bus routes in Olney, are just a few of the key questions the audience had for Mr. Leggett. The turn out was good and several in the audience expressed their appreciation to Mr. Leggett for holding these budget forums.

After the budget discussion ended the Mid-County Citizens’ Advisory Board conducted a brief Board meeting. After brief remarks from Sharon Dooley concerning bus Route 52 and Route 53 in Olney being slated for elimination, the Board voted to testify in support of those two bus routes at the Public Hearing to be held on Monday, February 1st in the cafeteria of the Executive Office Building. The Board also voted to have the Traffic Committee study the five other routes under threat and then present their findings to the full board at the next meeting.

Trachtenberg Office Attends African American Advisory Group Meeting

The Trachtenberg Office was represented at the annual budget meeting of the County Executive’s African American Advisory Group in Rockville, Maryland.

At the meeting, County Executive Isiah Leggett received the AAAG’s recommendations regarding the FY11 Operating Budget to be submitted to the County Council in March 2010. The Group’s recommendations addressed issues of spending reductions; new revenue sources; efficient, effective operations; collaboration on state budget cut mitigation; critical services prioritization; and strategic management of the financial crisis.

The County Executive was accompanied by Bruce Adams, Director of the Office of Community Partnerships, Reverend Timothy Warner, Staff Liaison, Office of Community Partnerships, and Joe Beach, Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

The AAAG is co-chaired by Dr. Sheryl Brissett-Chapman and Julian Norment. Our Chief of Staff Alan Bowser, who is a member of the Executive’s African American Advisory Group, represented Councilmember Trachtenberg.

Ride On to Hold Public Forum about Proposed Service Cuts

Montgomery County invites residents to attend an upcoming public forum and provide comment on proposed changes to Ride On’s bus service. Montgomery County is faced with a projected budget shortfall of $600 million for Fiscal Year 2011. To help close the gap, the County is proposing to reduce and/or eliminate Ride On routes that have the fewest riders or those where other alternative service is available. All comments will be considered before any route changes are finalized.
The forum will be held on Monday, February 1, starting at 6:30 p.m., at the Executive Office Building Cafeteria, Terrace Level, located at 101 Monroe Street, Rockville, Maryland. In case of inclement weather, the public forum will be held on Tuesday, February 2 at the same location.

Proposed route changes include discontinuing weekday routes 3, 21, 30, 33, 36, 52, 53 and 81; discontinuing Saturday routes 14, 23, 29, 43, 45, 83, 98, L8, T2, Z2; discontinuing Sunday routes 29, 38, 83, L8, T2; discontinuing weekday route segments on Route 7: west of Georgia Avenue and reverse of rush hour east of Georgia Avenue, Route 22: Elton Road extension, Route 32: Woodrock extension and Route 43: Fallsgrove branch; and weekday rush hour trip reductions to Routes 22, 43 and 93.

By close of business on January 25, individuals and representatives of organizations who wish to speak at the public forum should provide, in writing, their name, home address, telephone number, e-mail address and organization to the Division of Transit Services, Ride On Public Forum, 101 Monroe Street, 5th Floor, Rockville, Maryland 20850. Those who have signed up to speak must bring two printed copies of their testimony for the record. Sign language interpreter services will be provided only upon request with notice as far in advance as possible, but no later than January 27. Large print format is available upon request.

Comments on the proposed service changes and reductions may be provided to the Division of Transit Services by 5 p.m. on January 29 in writing, by emailing mcdot.rideonpublicforums@montgomerycountymd.gov, by calling 240-777-5800 or faxing 240-777-5801. For additional information on the proposed changes, go to the Ride On website at www.rideonbus.com and click “visit here” under “Riders’ News.”

County Executive’s Budget Forum in Germantown

The Trachtenberg Office was represented at County Executive Isiah Leggett’s first 2009 Budget Forum in Germantown. The meeting was held at the Upcounty Regional Services Center on Middlebrook Road. This is the first of five budget forums being held in January that are open to residents from any part of the county. The forums are hosted by the Regional Services Center Directors and the Regional Services Center Citizen Advisory Boards. The meeting was very well attended, with impressive participation of members of the Upcounty Citizens Advisory Board. Our Chief of Staff Alan Bowser attended on behalf of Councilmember Trachtenberg.

After introductions by the Director of the Upcounty Regional Services Center and the Chair of the Citizens Advisory Board, and an overview of the budget presented by an official in the Office of Management and Budget, the County Executive answers a broad range of questions from members of the audience and from online and telephone participants. Among the issues addressed were the impact of budget cuts on education, Montgomery College, affordable housing, transportation, library services and public safety. Participants also asked about taxes, and the County’s competitiveness vis-a-vis neighboring jurisdictions.

The Forum was broadcast live on Cable Channel Montgomery, and will be rebroadcast occasionally over the next several weeks.

Duchy Trachtenberg Meets with White Flint Partnership Representatives

Councilmember Trachtenberg met with representatives of the White Flint Partnership to discuss developments related to the White Flint Sector Plan, which is currently being considered by the County Council. Among the subjects discussed were the needs for pro-active community outreach, community partnerships, a sustainable fiscal plan, timely transportation infrastructure, and a transparent oversight framework for redevelopment.

The White Flint Partnership was begun in 2008 by a collaboration of local landowners working to together to transform the White Flint area into an accessible, engaging and vibrant community.

The Partnership’s website is located at http://www.whiteflintpartnership.com/.

To review the draft White Flint Sector Plan, click here.

County Council To Receive Briefing on County's Snow Removal Operations

The Montgomery County Council will be briefed on the County’s snow removal operations at a meeting of the Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee on Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at 2:30 pm.

The Committee meeting will be held in the seventh floor conference in the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, Maryland.

The Planning, Housing, and Economic Development (PHED) Committee discusses White Flint Transportation and Land Use Issues

The Montgomery County Council’s Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee today will continue its discussions on the proposed White Flint Sector Plan. The committee will review transportation plans and land use issues in morning and afternoon meetings.

For more information:
PHED Committee Packet - White Flint Sector Plan - Transportation
PHED Committee Packet - White Flint Sector Plan - Land Use Issues

Both sessions are televised live on Montgomery County Channel 6 or 30.

At the Montgomery County Council Session

Montgomery Council to Address I-270 Transportation Issues, ICC Tolls

Also Drug Enforcement Fund, Nutritional Labeling, Health Impact Assessment for Road Projects

ROCKVILLE, Md., November 16, 2009—The Montgomery County Council on Tuesday, Nov. 17, will make recommendations to the Maryland State Highway Administration and the State Department of Transportation concerning the scope of possible expansion for I-270 and the mode of transportation that should be used for the proposed Corridor Cities Transitway that would extend from the Shady Grove Metro Station to Clarksburg. The Council also is expected to make recommendations in regard to the range of toll charges for the Intercounty Connector that is being built to link I-270 to I-95 in Laurel.

The Council’s day will start at 9:30 a.m. with the dedication of a mural in the Third Floor Conference Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville. The mural, “Building Strong Communities,” was created by Project Youth ArtReach, a program with youthful offenders at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility. The regular session will begin at 9:40 a.m. in the Third Floor Hearing Room.

The morning and afternoon sessions of the Council’s day will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM—Cable Channel 6 on Comcast and RCN, Channel 30 on Verizon). The live broadcast also can be viewed via streaming through the County Web site at www.montgomerycountymd.gov. The broadcast will be repeated at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20.

During the morning session, the Council will discuss and take positions on several key issues concerning transportation in the I-270 corridor. In regard to the Corridor Cities Transitway, the Council will either recommend light rail or bus rapid transit over a dedicated line as the mode of transportation. The Council also will make a recommendation concerning expansion of I-270. Options include building two new lanes in each direction or building a total of two lanes that would be reversible depending upon the time of day.

The Council is expected to take action on Expedited Bill 35-09 would expand the possible uses for money seized from drug dealers and held in the County’s Drug Forfeiture Fund. The bill, whose chief sponsor is Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg, would allow the funds to be used for drug treatment programs and to help fund the County’s innovative drug court.

The Council also is scheduled to take action on Bill 19-07 that would require certain County restaurants to post nutritional information on menus and menu boards. The legislation, whose chief sponsor was Councilmember George Leventhal, has recently been amended recently to reflect provisions being discussed in a similar bill now being considered in Congress.

At 1:30 p.m., the Council will hold a public hearing on a proposed resolution that would require a health impact assessment before major road projects are allowed to proceed.

County Executive's Town Hall Meeting in Silver Spring

The Trachtenberg Office was represented at County Executive Isiah Leggett's Town Hall meeting at the Takoma Park Middle School, in Silver Spring, on November 12, 2009. Previous town meetings have drawn thousands of residents who have taken advantage of the opportunity to voice their concerns to the County Executive.

"Town meetings present an excellent opportunity for me to find out what's on the mind of our residents," said Leggett. "A cornerstone of my administration has been to make sure 'everyone has a seat at the table' and these public meetings provide a forum for our residents to share their ideas and concerns."

At the meeting, the County Executive addressed a broad range of questions including trends in the County budget, maintenance of effort issue, public safety, job creation, improved access for people with disabilities, and growth and development issues. One issue that attracted much public content was youth empowerment and programs for young people in the Silver Spring area.

At this meeting, the County Executive announced that Montgomery County and the Lee Development Group signed a final agreement permitting the construction of a Fillmore Music Hall on the property which formerly housed the J.C. Penney Company in downtown Silver Spring.

The town meeting was videotaped by County Cable 6, the County government channel, for future airing.

"Thinking Green" in the Trachtenberg Office

The Trachtenberg Office is "Thinking Green!" We give high priority in our office to recycling and conservation. One of the County programs that we support is the WeCar/MC Car Share program.

The Division of Fleet Management Services in the County's Department of General Services (DGS) encourages employees to take advantage of the WeCar/MC CarShare program. This innovative program reduces the County’s transportation expenses and helps the environment while providing a convenient method of business transportation for County employees. All of the CarShare vehicles are hybrids with greater fuel efficiency and lower emissions which lessen the impact on the environment.

“Montgomery County is committed to piloting this program for its environmental benefit, but also because we believe that, in the long run, we can save money by reducing the total number of fleet vehicles the County owns, which will cut fuel, maintenance, insurance and liability costs,” said DGS Director David Dise. “Since the program was implemented in January, the County has saved more than half a million dollars.”

The County currently has 20 hybrid and sub-compact vehicles available at five locations for shared use by employees. Users can reserve a car online, mainly for hourly use, and return it to an assigned parking space. The County currently has a more cost-effective rental program for day-long vehicle use.