Montgomery County Council Meets on Oct. 8 to Conduct Interviews with Candidates to Serve on the Board of Appeals

For Immediate Release: Monday, October 7, 2024

Also on Oct. 8: Proclamations to recognize World Mental Health Day, World Vegetarian Day and Domestic Violence Awareness Month and six public hearings scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

The Montgomery County Council will meet on Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 9:30 a.m. and the meeting will begin with two proclamation presentations. The first, presented by Councilmember Laurie-Anne Sayles, will recognize World Mental Health Day. The second, presented by Councilmember Evan Glass, will recognize World Vegetarian Day.

At 1:15 p.m., an additional proclamation, presented by Councilmember Katz, will recognize Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Also, on Oct. 9 at 11 a.m., the Council will hold an administrative meeting at the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission’s Wheaton headquarters and will meet with the State Delegation at 6 p.m. at the Rockville Memorial Library.

More detail on each agenda item is provided below.

Board of Appeals Applicants

Interviews: The Council will conduct interviews with candidates to fill one vacant position on the Board of Appeals. The second full term of Chair John Pentecost (Democrat) expired in Sept. 2024. Candidates to be interviewed include William F. Feller III and Donald P. Silverstein. By law, no more than three members of the Board shall be from the same political party. Applicants may be registered to vote in the County as a member of any political party or unaffiliated with any political party. Voter registration will be verified by the Montgomery County Board of Elections.

The current members of the Board include Caryn Hines (Democrat), Richard Melnick (Unaffiliated), Amit K. Sharma (Unaffiliated) and Alan Sternstein (Democrat). Members of County boards, committees, and commissions may not serve on more than one such group at a time.

Board of Appeals Chair

Interviews: The Council will conduct interview to fill the chair position on the Board of Appeals. Candidates to be interviewed include Caryn Hines and Richard Melnick.

Consent Calendar

Each item on the Council’s Consent Calendar can be found on the Council agenda for Tuesday, Oct. 8, which is available on the Council website.

Public Hearings

Unless otherwise noted, the Council will hold the following hybrid public hearings at 1:30 p.m.  Residents can visit the Council website to learn about the multiple ways to provide testimony.

• Bill 18-24, Housing Policy - Standards and Procedures – Amendments
• Bill 19-24, Taxicab Licenses - Amended Requirements
• Bill 20-24, Public Campaign Financing - Amendments
• Resolution to approve Supplemental Appropriation #25-14 to the FY25 Operating Budget, Montgomery County Government, Department of Housing & Community Affairs, Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant $764,010 ($150,000 Department of Environmental Protection, $614,010 Department of Housing and Community Affairs)
• Resolution to approve Supplemental Appropriation #25-17 to the FY25 Operating Budget, Montgomery County Public Schools, Juul Settlement Funds for Vape Detection and Prevention, $2,000,000
• Resolution to approve Supplemental Appropriation #25-12 to the FY25 Operating Budget, Montgomery County Government, Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Energy - Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023, Energy Projects $1,000,000

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The Council meeting schedule may change from time to time. View the current Council and Committee agendas, Council staff reports and additional information on items scheduled for Council review on the Council website.

Council and committee meetings are 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: 24-359
Media Contact: Sonya Healy 240-777-7926, Benjamin Sky Brandt 240-777-7884