For Immediate Release: Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Montgomery and Prince George’s Council
committees to discuss
transportation issues, New Hampshire Ave. revitalization in rare joint meeting
Also on Thursday, March 30, Montgomery
committees will address healthy vending machines,
proposed U.S. Route 29 Bus Rapid Transit
ROCKVILLE, Md., March 29, 2017—The Montgomery County Council’s Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment (T and E) Committee and the Prince George’s County Council’s Transportation, Housing and Environment (THE) Committee will discuss the status of the proposed Purple Line and plans to revitalize the New Hampshire Avenue corridor in a rare joint bi-County committee meeting at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 30. The meeting will be held at the headquarters of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) in Laurel.
The Montgomery T and E Committee, which is chaired by Councilmember Roger Berliner and includes Councilmembers Nancy Floreen and Tom Hucker, and the Prince George’s THE Committee, which is chaired by Councilmember Todd Turner and includes Councilmembers Mel Franklin, Mary Lehman, Obie Patterson and Deni Taveras, will meet in the auditorium of WSSC headquarters, which is located at 14501 Sweitzer Lane in Laurel.
The joint committee meeting also will have a worksession on the WSSC rate structure. WSSC and its consultant, Black and Veatch, will lead the presentation summarizing the status and work to date of WSSC's rate structure review.
At the request of both Councils during the Fiscal Year 20I7 budget review process, WSSC initiated a comprehensive rate study beginning the summer of 2016. A Bi-County Rate Study Workgroup was created, consisting of staff from both Counties and WSSC. A stakeholder group made up of various ratepayer classes was also assembled and met several times to discuss rate structure alternatives and provide comments.
At 9:30 a.m. in Montgomery County Council’s Office Building in Rockville, its Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee, which is chaired by Councilmember Nancy Navarro and includes Councilmembers Sidney Katz and Hans Riemer, will hold a worksession on Bill 1-17 that would require certain vending machine service contracts with the County to adhere to certain nutrition standards and labeling and product placement requirements. The meeting will be held in the Seventh Floor Hearing Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville.
Under Bill 1-17, all new vending machine contracts entered into must require:
According to the bill, any vending machine service contract entered into on or after July 1, 2017 must require at least 50 percent of the food and beverage items offered for sale meet the healthy vending standards. This increases to 65 percent for any vending machine service contract entered into after July 1, 2018.
Councilmember George Leventhal is the lead sponsor of the bill. Councilmembers Berliner, Hucker, Navarro, Riemer and Marc Elrich are co-sponsors.
At 2 p.m. in the Seventh Floor Hearing Room, the T and Committee will hold a worksession on the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line for the U.S. Route 29 corridor. A public hearing on the proposal is scheduled for Tuesday, April 18.
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Release ID: 17-109