For Immediate Release: Monday, December 5, 2016
Montgomery Council Committees to be
Discuss ballfield renovation, maintenance
Also on Monday, Dec. 5: Coalition for Adult Literacy,
Bethesda Purple Line Station, Marriott in Bethesda
ROCKVILLE, Md., December 2, 2016—The Montgomery County Council’s Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee and its Education Committee will meet jointly at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 5, to discuss a completed assessment of County playing fields that will lead to development of programs to keep the heavily used fields better maintained.
The PHED Committee, which is chaired by Councilmember Nancy Floreen and includes Councilmembers George Leventhal and Hans Riemer, and the Education Committee, which is chaired by Councilmember Craig Rice and includes Councilmembers Marc Elrich and Nancy Navarro, will meet in the Seventh Floor Hearing Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville.
The meeting will be will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM). The channel can be viewed on Cable Channels 996 (high definition) and 6 (standard definition) on Comcast; Channels 1056 (HD) and 6 (SD) on RCN; and Channel 30 on Verizon. The meeting also will be available live via streaming through the Council web site at http://tinyurl.com/z9982v8 .
There are 389 diamonds and 331 rectangle fields at 303 different sites in the County.
In response to long-standing questions and concerns about the condition, maintenance, funding and use of Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) and Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) elementary and middle school ballfields, the Parks Department conducted a project over the last year to systematically assess athletic fields.
The approaches to maintaining the fields have varied, with available funds be a key factor in certain situations.
At 2:30 p.m., the PHED Committee will meet jointly with the Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee, which is chaired by Councilmember Roger Berliner and includes Councilmembers Floreen and Tom Hucker, to discuss the proposed $8 million supplemental appropriation County Executive Ike Leggett has recommended to comply with an agreement between the County and Carr Properties to redevelop the property at 7272 Wisconsin Avenue.
The Project Description Form states that the appropriation will facilitate the redevelopment of 7272 Wisconsin Avenue (also known as the Apex Building). The redevelopment will allow for the future Bethesda Purple Line Station to have a more prominent entrance, a wider platform, stairs and an elevator and escalator from the street level.
The enhancements will improve ADA accessibility and eliminate the need for patrons to cross the tracks. The redevelopment also will allow the County to improve the safety and user experience of the Capital Crescent Trail by creating a tunnel under the current property.
At 2:45 p.m., the PHED Committee will have a worksession on the supplemental appropriation of $11 million that will help Marriott International relocate to a new headquarters in downtown Bethesda.
The Project Description Form describes the project as a unique economic development opportunity to retain Marriott International in the County. Marriott will spend approximately $500 million to build a new 700,000 square foot office for its global headquarters. It will retain 3,500 employees in the County, of which 3,250 are full-time and 250 are part-time and equivalent contract workers.
At 2:30 p.m. in the Third Floor Conference Room, the Education Committee will get an update on the Montgomery Coalition for Adult English Literacy (MCAEL).
The first committee meeting of the day will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the Seventh Floor Hearing Room as the Public Safety Committee, which is chaired by Councilmember Elrich and includes Councilmembers Hucker and Sidney Katz, and the Health and Human Services Committee, which is chaired by Councilmember Leventhal and includes Councilmembers Berliner and Rice, receives a briefing on the Pay for Success Permanent Supportive Housing initiative.
The Pay for Success program would leverage private funding to house homeless residents who are also experiencing incarceration or barriers to housing from frequent involvement with the criminal justice system. These people would benefit from placement in permanent supportive housing, which has been shown to reduce overall costs when compared to the cost of correctional services, emergency room use and other crisis services. It is a joint project with Prince George's County. The model expects to serve 100 people from an expected pool of about 480 eligible persons.
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Release ID: 16-378