Press Releases

Montgomery County Council Committee Meetings on July 15 and Council Meeting with U.S. Senator Ben Cardin on July 16

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, July 14, 2021

A series of virtual joint and individual Committee meetings will be held on Thursday, July 15 at 9:30 a.m., 11:15 a.m., 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to obtain information on COVID-19 rental assistance programs, receive updates from the Office of the Inspector General and the Office of Internal Audit, and review Bill 20-21, Swimming Pool – Lifeguard Requirements, and Bill 3-21, Special Taxing Area Laws – Silver Spring Business Improvement District Established.

On Friday, July 16 at 10:30 a.m., the Council will continue its series of informal discussions with elected officials with a virtual meeting with U.S. Senator Ben Cardin. The meeting will be broadcast on County Cable Montgomery (Channels 6 and 996 on Comcast/RCN and Channel 30 on Verizon) and livestreamed on the Council's Facebook and YouTube pages.

A summary of the Committee agenda items is provided below.

Joint Health and Human Services (HHS) and Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee Meeting at 9:30 a.m.

COVID Rent Assistance and Evictions

Briefing: The joint HHS and PHED Committee will meet to receive an update from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) on their progress in distributing funds through the COVID Rent Relief Program (CRRP) to hear from the Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) regarding their work with nonprofit organizations to support to assist tenants.

The joint Committee will also receive information from Frank Vitale on what Legal Aid and the Homeless Persons Representation Project are seeing in terms of Montgomery County cases. Moreover, Captain Lewis of the Sheriff’s Office will discuss the trends in failure to pay rent evictions and efforts to provide DHCA with additional information on where evictions are being scheduled to help DHCA and DHHS target outreach to tenants and property managers.

Those expected to attend and provide information include Dr. Raymond Crowel, director, DHHS; Amanda Harris, chief, Services to End and Prevent Homelessness, DHHS; Ilana Branda, deputy chief, Services to End and Prevent Homelessness, DHHS; Aseem Nigam, director, DHCA; Frank Demarais, deputy director, DHCA; Rosie McCray-Moody, acting chief housing division, DHCA; Captain Robin Lewis, commander, Criminal/Civil Division, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office; Frank Vitale, chief and supervising attorney, Maryland Legal Aid, Montgomery County Office.

HHS Committee Meeting at 11:15 a.m.

Bill 20-21, Swimming Pools – Lifeguard Requirement– Amendments

Review: The HHS Committee will meet to discuss Bill 20-21 which would update lifeguard requirements at swimming pools. Lead sponsors Councilmembers Katz and Rice introduced the bill which would define the term health club, exempt certain swimming pools at certain facilities from the requirement to have a lifeguard on duty when the pool is open for use, require posting of certain signage, require certain facilities with a swimming pool to have an emergency alert system and require an employee to regularly inspect the swimming pool area.

Those expected to attend and provide information include Clark Beil, senior administrator, DHHS and Kenneth Welch, environmental health manager, DHHS.

Audit Committee Meeting at 1 p.m.

Updates from the Office of the Inspector General and the Office of Internal Audit

Briefing: The Audit Committee will meet to receive briefings from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and the Office of Internal Audit about their ongoing activities and reports. The OIG has issued eight reports since the end-of-year Audit Committee report in December of 2020 and currently has five announced reviews and audits in progress. The Office of Internal Audit has released five reports since the end-of-year Audit Committee report and has two ongoing reviews.

Those expected to attend and provide information include Megan Davey Limarzi, inspector general, OIG; Fariba Kassiri, deputy chief administrative officer, Office of the County Executive (CEX); and William Broglie, manager, Office of Internal Audit.

Joint Government Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO) and PHED Committee Meeting at 1:30 p.m.

Bill 3-21, Special Taxing Area Laws – Silver Spring Business Improvement District – Established

Review: The joint GO and PHED committee will meet to review Bill 3-21, which would establish a business improvement district in Silver Spring. The bill would establish guidelines for the district, authorize a district corporation and authorize a tax on nonexempt property located in the district to finance the operations of the district corporation. The goal of this bill is to improve public services and facilities in the Silver Spring Urban District.

The lead sponsors are Councilmember Riemer and County President Hucker. Councilmembers Friedson, Katz, Navarro and Rice are cosponsors.

Those expected to attend and provide information include Ken Hartman, strategic partnerships director, CEX; Steve Silverman, representing the BID applicants; Theo Holt, performance management and data analyst, Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO); Stephen Roblin, performance management and data analyst, OLO; Gino Renne, UFCW Local 1994 MCGEO; Carson Henry, chief of operations, Silver Spring Urban District; and Reemberto Rodriguez, director, Silver Spring Regional Services Center.

The Committee meeting schedule may change from time to time. The current Council and Committee agendas, Council staff reports and additional information on items scheduled for Council review can be viewed at: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/ondemand/index.html.

The virtual Council and Committee meetings will be streamed live on the Council’s web page via YouTube and on Facebook Live and can be watched on County Cable Montgomery on Xfinity/RCN 6 HD 996/1056, Fios 30, and on the CCM live stream.

Release ID: 21-290
Media Contact: Sonya Healy 240-777-7926, Benjamin Sky Brandt 240-777-7884