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Live Discussion with County Executive Marc Elrich

Virtual Town Hall Meeting from Thursday, July 11, 2019


Marc Elrich Good afternoon! Thank you for joining me today. Let's get going.

Christopher from Bethesda-Chevy Chase
Can you give us an update on resolving the Moses Cemetery situation? We understand that a group of professional engineers visited the HOC building where the cemetery is located, and you were there as well. We understand an engineering solution to accessing the parking area is possible by granting 1,000 sq ft from the Balmor Building (which is also owned by Regency) to Westwood II. This seems like the least expensive option. If approved, will the HOC pay for the mew entryway? And when can construction begin?

Marc Elrich Thank you for your question.  Getting to the ground floor is the least of the problem. To make this work, there would be a significant loss of parking spaces in the garage. We would have to build ramps in the garage; and we have no assessment yet as to whether or not it's feasible to do this work on the existing garage, which is part of the overall apartment building. 

John from Bethesda-Chevy Chase
I work for the federal government and I recently was told that GAO is minimizing federal space in Montgomery County due to the high burden of energy taxes. Ike Leggett promised this will be removed after the recession, later he changed his tune that it brings revenue from these federal spaces. Now with the above action by GAO what is your stand on these sneaky energy taxes. Are we fleecing the residents with this alternate tax on top of all the taxes?

Marc Elrich The Fuel Energy Tax (Energy Tax) is authorized under Chapter 52-14 of the County Code. It was first introduced in 1971. The tax applies to electricity and fuels (natural gas, fuel oils, and LPG) used in residential and non-residential buildings in the County. It is charged to utilities and fuel suppliers, who are authorized to pass the tax on to their customers by the Maryland Public Service Commission. This is the reason that federal facilities pay the tax; normally, County taxes aren’t applicable to federal and state facilities. However, in the case of the Energy Tax, the ratepayers are utilities and fuel supply companies. Energy Tax rates are set by Council resolution whenever there is a desire to change the rates. Revenues collected via the Energy Tax are used to support general government operations. Getting rid of the energy tax would require replacing it with another form of tax revenue, which most likely would fall more heavily on residents than even the Energy Tax does, since the Energy Tax collects revenues, as stated above, from entities that don't normally pay taxes to the County. 

Holly from Eastern Montgomery
Why doesn't east county get any love. All the low income housing is here so we have a lot of crime and schools that have too many kids with behavioral issues.That and the vacant burtonsville shopping center is impacting the current and future community. This area is not a destination and I know many families, including me that travel to Howard county and Laurel for shopping and entertainment. Many are also leaving for higher performing schools. The tax base is leaving and spending their money elsewhere.

Marc Elrich
The REVITALIZATION of the Burtonsville Crossing Shopping Center has been a priority from Day One. 
  • I met with Burtonsville community members (Build a Better Burtonsville) on December 6, 2018, within the first week in office to discuss ideas for revitalization of the Burtonsville.
  • My Administration is looking into a number of Ideas discussed including:  
    • Feasibility of integrating structured parking as part for the Burtonsville Bus Rapid System parking garage plan. 
    • Temporary low-cost traffic calming treatments/ measures on MD 198 (across Burtonsville)-  widened edge lines, transverse markings, rumble strips, speed warning signs/flashing yellow lights, etc. 
    • Providing short-term/pop-up (place making) uses of the Shopping Center/spaces to bring the community together and create a greater sense of community in this region
    • Support implementation of the Burtonsville Community Legacy Plan-public amenities, mixed-use development, transportation/parking, business/economic development, housing, environmental sustainability.
  • Montgomery County Government (MCG) Senior Staff met with representatives from Burtonsville, EDENS and Councilmember Tom Hucker’s Office shortly before taking office to update community members on MCG’s ongoing talks with EDENs, who is the property owner, the developer’s vision for the center and constraints/barriers for moving forward for revitalization.  
  • Historical Background: 2003 Giant sells Burtonsville Crossing Center to EDENs and moves across the street in 2010; Giant terminates Burtonsville Crossing lease in 2016 and goes dark; Giant maintains lease restrictions on their old site preventing the owner from leasing to another grocery store; and the owners have not been able to find an alternative anchor tenant. This obstacle is something the County does not control.  The County is looking for a tenant for our portion of the site, which hopefully would increase interest in developing the rest of the shopping center. 
  • Other efforts made to promote redevelopment: MC tax credits for real estate and personal property in 2013; County exemption from impact taxes in 2015, Maryland tax credits for real property and income tax credits for new employees in 2017.
  • The Directors of the East County RSC and Recreation Department recently met with County Planning staff to coordinate a plan in close collaboration with EDENs, local Burtonsville businesses, community and County government partners to establish a Place Making Program in Burtonsville.
East County is on a DEVELOPMENT PATH:

  • The White Oak Science Gateway Master Plan approved and adopted in 2014, ending over 20-year moratorium on development and creating opportunities for significant developments and transformations in Eastern Montgomery County
  • Bus Rapid Transit System on US 29 in East County from Burtonsville to downtown Silver Spring - First area designated for RAPID TRANSIT (BRT)
  • FDA Headquarter Consolidation in White Oak-130 acres, 6,000m Sf, 5,900 additional jobs on campus
  • VIVA White Oak-mixed –use development, science hub
  • White Oak Medical Center (Washington Adventist Hospital) - to open August 25, 2019 
  • Hillandale Gateway Projects- collaboration with HOC, Mixed-use development, office, retail, commercial- Home2 Suites Hotel in Hillandale to open early April, 2019  
  • White Oak Town Center (US 29/Industrial Parkway)-mixed-use residential, office, commercial
  • Affordable Senior Residential Developments- Affordable Senior apartments (Victory Crossing by the 3D Police Station, Willow Manor at the East County RSC, 2 by the Buddhist Temple on New Hampshire Avenue (Independent and Assisted Living apartment communities).

Glen from Rockville
Would the county be willing to fund independent air quality, ground vibration, nighttime noise levels, and air blast testing in the vicinity of the Travilah quarry? Aggregate Industries conducts their own testing, but nearby residents still have concerns about blast vibrations damaging their homes, noxious asphalt odors, concentration of silica in the air, and nighttime noise levels.

Marc Elrich The quarry is subject to both State and County oversight, and they are in compliance with applicable State and County laws. MDE and DEP were actually out yesterday looking at the operator’s dust control equipment, which was in good working order and vastly better than quarries operating elsewhere in the state according to the MDE rep. Aggregate, the company that owns the quarry will have its seismic contractor put a seismograph on an individual’s property if they feel the vibrations are a concern. A number of residents have had this done. If you would like a seismograph, you should contact the company about getting one. 

Judy from Bethesda-Chevy Chase
What are the County’s plans to deal with the repeated and horrendous flooding in the area of River Road at the intersections of River and Westbard, River and Goldsboro and beyond towards Potomac? Massive flows of water pour into our house, as recently as Monday, every time there is flooding or even a heavy rain. We have had to pay five or six times in the last decade to totally rebuild the lower level of our house and the county has done nothing to improve the infrastructure or the antiquated sewer system on River Road. Please help! We are beyond desperate.

Marc Elrich

The magnitude and frequency of storms exceed the capacity of systems that were built on different assumptions about weather patterns. 

Our Department of Transportation is constantly looking at areas of the County that repeatedly have excessive damage during major storms. However, as much as we try to get ahead of specific areas, sometimes we only learn about them following sudden storms--such as what happened on Monday. We had been studying potential upgrades to a stream under a roadway in the Potomac area--just off MacArthur Boulevard--and planned to do them in the near future, but Monday's storm washed out the road before the upgrades could be made. The fortunate part: Our Department of Transportation worked quickly to have a temporary road installed with seven hours so 75 families that were totally cut off had access to their homes restored before the dinner hour. Every area of our county that has flowing streams is an area we must study because some of the things we love about our neighborhoods--like the ability to live near natural areas and the streams that support those areas--also are potential areas that can see problems during a major storm. I will ask our Department of Transportation to look at your area to see what would be required to alleviate overflow conditions during these conditions.

Montgomery County has opened the damage assessment portal, which is a tool for gathering data on the damages caused by the Monday, July 8 flooding event.

https://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail.aspx?Item_ID=23308

Through July 15, 2019, residents and businesses can submit reports by going to this site: 

https://apps.montgomerycountymd.gov/OEMHS/stormdamage.aspx


Bob from Up County
Last year $28M in CIP funding for a long-planned, high-priority improvement project for Goshen Road was reallocated. Might this funding be retained in the Up County and be used to partially fund the completion of the 5.6 mile gap of the Mid-County Highway on the Master Plan Route? Buses on the completed Mid-County Highway would shuttle riders between Clarksburg and Shady Grove Metro in half the time of the proposed Corridor Cities Transitway BRT. The Upcounty Citizens Advisory Board has been recommending construction of M-83 for many years. I understand that additional funding may be possible by connecting the Mid-County Highway to MD-200 (ICC) with a small toll charged on the segment between the ICC and Shady Grove Road.

Marc Elrich

During last year’s CIP process, the Council reallocated the funding for the Goshen Road project, leaving only $300,000 to study alternatives to the full-scale project as originally proposed. I don’t support advancing the M-83 project because it would have enormous negative environmental and financial impacts; I believe we should use our resources to help alleviate traffic congestion by providing more transit options - the county Department of Transportation is currently working to develop a rapid bus line on route 355 - FLASH to help address upcounty needs; and we are also looking to expand the capacity of 355.


Link Hoewing from Up County
Hi Marc. Your visit to Poolesville on your listening tour was a landmark. You heard about the “services desert” in the western county and our very aged school. You acted by supporting a study of the services needs of our area and how collocation of facilities could work with a rebuilt high school. We thank you. We have met with county agencies and school officials and are hopeful about the prospects. But our history with the county out here with regard to investing in our citizens and students is a sad one. We have been left out too many times in the past. Can you give us an update on where things stand and next steps? Are you satisfied with the progress made to date? Any advice for us in terms of moving the process forward?

Marc Elrich We're looking to develop a scope of services that would be included in a project. We're aware that the school system is open to letting us put an addition on the new science wing that could provide a home for services. Once we know what we would like to put there, we will begin to study the design and costs of the project. We continue to work on this. 

Maria from Mid County
I do my part to alleviate traffic on I-270 by taking the route 70 ride on bus; however, the bus is frequently late due to traffic jams, and thus usually takes longer than driving alone. This is especially true for those with later work start times (ie parents of young children with late school start times), as HOV protections expire at 9am. Would you consider a bus on shoulder program, such as has been successfully implemented in parts of North Carolina and Minnesota?

Marc Elrich I would be happy to suggest consideration of bus-on-shoulder to the Maryland State Highway Administration, which is the agency responsible for managing most of our major highway corridors. In the past such a program operated on I-495 headed toward Virginia and is in place on US 29. I also support reclaiming the inside service lane and using it as the HOV lane and taking the existing HOV lane and using it for general traffic. As you may know, the County continues to support using the service lanes to provide two reversible lanes that would increase capacity on I-270 in the most cost-effective way. 

Mark from Bethesda-Chevy Chase
County Executive Erlich, Do you or the county council have a timetable to abolish the Department of Liquor Control monopoly and bring our county in to the 21st century? DC updated their laws a few years ago and heck, you can even enjoy a beer while shopping at your favorite grocery store. The county promotes alcohol awareness, yet it's in the business of selling it. Doesn't make much sense to me. Thank you, Mark C. McKaig Bethesda

Marc Elrich

It does make sense for the county to continue in the operations of the Alcohol Beverage Service (formerly, the Department of Liquor Control).  Montgomery County budget relies on $30 million+ in liquor revenue per year.  That is no small amount of money, and it supports critical county services, including almost $11 million for bond payments.  Nobody who has proposed privatizing the county’s liquor supply has a workable plan to fill the budget hole privatization would create, likely because there is no way to do so that doesn’t create other problems for the state. Instead, we should continue to look for ways to make the ABS more efficient and effective than it has been in the past, and to increase sales so that we can increase the revenue that the ABS generates.

We’ve already changed the way the ABS is run by bringing in industry professionals, including the director and the warehouse manager, who have improved the operations of the liquor system and brought in a philosophy of continuous improvement.  We've reduced lower markups for more expensive items, which they did, and I’ve supported and will continue to support efforts to help local breweries and wineries sell and distribute their goods.  Both the Director of ABS and I want to hear and consider other ideas for helping the ABS become  a more  professionally run system.

In fact, if a private-sector business had a division that produced a substantial profit but was identified as having management problems and customer service issues that prevented it from being more profitable, its most likely course of action would be to change management, work to improve services, and strive for greater profits.  That is exactly what we have been doing with the ABS and we will continue to do so.

George from Up County
I see you announcement the paperless airplane about a new homeless coalition. I applaud you for trying to pull organizations together to improve all Montgomery County Citizens but can you elaborate on how you plan to ensure the best use of resources in this new arrangement? The homeless coalition of the past failed to report progress in a timely fashion (Last I checked they were 3 quarters behind in reporting). Moving along, I called the new group and when I report individuals, they have no tracking numbers or timelines for execution. What is real purpose of this new group? Is it to just put numbers around homeless or to eradicate homelessness?

Marc Elrich Our Interagency Commission on Homelessness (ICH) has been working on ending homelessness since its inception a few years ago. It is a partnership between the County (Health and Human Services) and more than one dozen nonprofit providers in the community providing services to homeless individuals. As you noted, in mid-March we began operating a homeless information line for the County, in partnership with EveryMind (available at 240-907-2688). The purpose of the line is to provide resources, connect those at risk with support, and ensure that outreach and engagement teams are connecting with those in need. The line complements the work of the ICH and our many nonprofit partners to consolidate information and streamline our ability to provide services to those in need. The Inside Not Outside campaign to end chronic homelessness (as defined by U.S. HUD) has housed 416 individuals to date in permanent, supportive housing. We continue to work on finding homes for those individuals and next will be working to end family and youth homelessness. The most recent regional count showed a 23% decrease in the number of individuals experiencing homelessness in Montgomery County. For many years, the County has accepted that our shelters would not provide year-round housing. We are working to expand the availability of housing for homeless individuals; and my goal is to get to the point where people aren't forced to sleep outside.  There is more information about our efforts at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/homelessness. You can read more about our efforts, and those of the region, on ending homelessness here https://www.mwcog.org/documents/homelessnessreport/.

Mike Silverstone from Eastern Montgomery
Why is there a 5 gallon limit on used oil per day and as of 5/22 a 5 gallon limit on paint per month, if residents cant bring it all in one trip and drop it off guess where a lot of it will end up, in the trash or abandoned somewhere creating an environmental hazard. I understand it's an issue if commercial companies or non county residents bring large amounts but the county actually gets paid for the used oil it makes no sense to limit the amount recycled

Marc Elrich Thank you for your question.   Residents can deliver five gallons of motor oil every day at no cost. The goal is to limit commercial businesses from using this service due to the limited storage capacity. No, the County does not receive any revenue for the motor oil. Under the new household hazardous waste service contract, residents are limited to delivering 5 gallons of latex paint per month per household at no cost. The limit on latex paint delivery was started in April 2019. The employees of the household hazardous waste contractor are training residents to solidify the latex paint at home for curbside collection of the dried-out paint. Again, the goal is to limit commercial businesses from using this service. Commercial businesses can use this service by paying a fee at the weekly ECOWISE program on Wednesday afternoons. The household hazardous waste contractor still accepts unlimited oil-based paint.

Amy from Up County
With a growing population of diverse seniors in the county -- what will you be doing to make Montgomery County an age-friendly community in areas such as affordable housing, employment, health, transportation? Thank you.

Marc Elrich

I am proud to lead our Age-Friendly Montgomery County initiative, which seeks to enhance Montgomery County as a place where all residents can age, thrive to their full potential, and contribute as a powerful resource in making our County even better, a community for a lifetime. The 3-year progress report is available on the County’s Age-Friendly webpage.

I am exploring a variety of options to both preserve and produce affordable housing.  We also are pursuing creative ways to increase new affordable housing units. This fiscal year, our Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) closed 7 senior housing loans providing $33.5M in County funding, which produced or preserved 736 total units of which 654 were affordable to low income seniors.

The County is piloting a home-sharing program for seniors, which tries to identify seniors who would like to find other seniors who would be interested in sharing a house. 

Looking ahead, DHCA has committed, or plans to commit, $27M for five additional senior housing projects, all of which are new construction, which will produce 741 new units of which 497 will be affordable to low income seniors.

Regarding employment, we will continue to recognize Age-Friendly employers as we also work with public, nonprofit and other partners in offering residents career guidance, technical skill training and other job-search supports.

Our public health initiatives include outreach, resources and services for aging individuals from diverse backgrounds through our three minority health initiatives and our support of community-based nonprofit agencies that understand the needs of elders in their communities.

Finally, we continue to expand transportation options for all, including seniors. We are building Bus Rapid Transit or BRT, with a line under construction on Route 29 and other BRT plans in development. We continue to offer free bus service during off-peak hours for seniors and persons with disabilities. And, our Call-n-Ride program offers discounted taxi service to those with modest income, who are primarily seniors.  And most recently, we began Ride-On Flex, which is a one-year pilot in Rockville and Wheaton/Glenmont areas to provide short rides to close the gap between a metro stop and the person's home or other destination. 

You can find more information on these and other senior-related initiatives here:

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/senior/


Ximena Rivera from Bethesda-Chevy Chase
Hello: I was wondering if the exectutive holds town hall meetings for the public. I see he attends several events in the area are there opprortunites to meet him in person for a meet and greet or he is too busy to do this and meet and greet is only done virtually thanks.

Marc Elrich

I have held many Listening Sessions and town hall meetings this year. Please subscribe to the Paperless Airplane and the County's news site for more information. 

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcg/esubscribe.html


Marc Elrich Thank you for joining me. See you next month!