For Immediate Release: Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Also on Oct. 16: Review of the Bicycle Master Plan and briefing on Colocation of Public Facilities Study
The Council will meet on Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 9:30 a.m. Individuals interested in attending a Council meeting should confirm the information on the day of the meeting by visiting the Council’s web page or by calling the Council’s Legislative Information Office at 240-777-7832. All meetings are held in the Council Office Building (100 Maryland Ave., Rockville, MD.) in the third floor hearing room, unless otherwise noted.
Resolution to approve amendments to the Office of Zoning and Administrative Hearings (OZAH) Rules of Procedure governing zoning, conditional uses and Board of Appeals referral cases
The Council will introduce a resolution to approve amendments to the OZAH Rules of Procedure governing zoning, conditional uses and Board of Appeals referral cases. Modifications to the zoning rules of procedure are requested by the hearing examiner to better assure an orderly and time-efficient process for the volume of expected conditional use approvals.
The Council staff report for the resolution can be viewed here.
Bicycle Master Plan
The Council will review the Bicycle Master Plan, which has the goals of making the County a world-class bicycling community; promoting access to a comfortable, safe and connected bicycle network; and making bicycling a viable transportation option that improves the County’s quality of life. The Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee recommends approval with the following changes:
The Council staff report for the Bicycle Master Plan can be viewed here.
The council will vote on the following bills:
Bill 6-18, Contracts - Labor Peace Agreements - Displaced Service Workers -Amendments would amend the County procurement laws to:
The goal of Bill 6-18 is to prevent potential interruptions of services for residents provided by County contractors. A covered contract is defined as a County contract to “provide services directly to County residents with a value equal to or greater than $250,000.” Some examples of these types of contracts include: building maintenance, food preparation, janitorial, security, trash hauling and some non-professional healthcare services. Councilmembers Marc Elrich and Tom Hucker are the lead sponsors. Councilmember Craig Rice and Council Vice President Nancy Navarro are cosponsors. The Council staff report for Bill 6-18 can be viewed here.
Expedited Bill 13-18, Transportation Services Improvement Fund - Use of Fund would expand the purpose and use of the Transportation Services Improvement Fund. The goal of Bill 13-18 is to provide flexibility to use these funds for any transportation purpose in the County.
In 2015, the Council enacted Bill 33-15 to impose a charge authorized by the State of Maryland regulating “transportation network companies” (TNCs), which include ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft. In addition to imposing the charge, Bill 33-15 created the Transportation Services Improvement Fund to receive and distribute the revenue generated by the charge. Money from the fund is to be used to offset higher costs of operating accessible taxicabs in the County, and to provide incentives for improving or expanding transportation options for eligible seniors and persons with limited incomes. Bill 13-18 would remove these specific use requirements for the fund and would instead allow use of the fund for any transportation purpose in the County. The Council staff report for Expedited Bill 13-18 can be viewed here.
Update from Dr. Travis Gayles, County Health Officer
The Council will receive an update from Dr. Travis Gayles, County Health Officer. On September 24, Dr. Gayles met with the Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee as a follow-up to the July 2018 meeting with the Council. At the July meeting he informed the Council about the Department’s data-driven approach to looking at health conditions and health disparities in the County. At the HHS Committee meeting, he provided a slide presentation on the “D2P” approach, which includes prevention, promotion, policy, practice and planning.
Annual Meeting with Commission on Health
The Council will hold its annual meeting with the Commission on Health. The County Code establishing the Commission on Health requires the Commission to report to and meet with the County Board of Health at least annually. The Council’s practice has been to hear from the Commission as a part of its October update. Information from the Commission will be presented at the session.
The Council staff reports on the update by Dr. Gayles and the annual meeting with the Commission on Health can be viewed here.
Colocation of Public Facilities Study
At 1:30 p.m. the Council will receive a briefing on the Colocation of Public Facilities Study. In 2016, the Planning Department and the County Executive’s Office, at the direction of the County Council, advanced the Colocation of Public Facilities Study with the assistance of a consultant. The work was also overseen by an interdepartmental work group consisting of senior staff from various County agencies, the Board of Education, the County Executive’s Office and the Council. This report establishes a framework for the County to pursue colocation opportunities for County agencies and departments. Colocation conserves resources and helps to promote operational cost-effectiveness.
The Public Facilities Colocation Study focuses on approaches to:
Specific objectives include:
Those expected to attend include the following: Ramona Bell-Pearson, Director, Office of Community Use of Public Facilities; Gwen Wright, Planning Director, Montgomery Planning (Planning); Carrie McCarthy, Division Chief, Research and Special Projects, Planning; Nick Holdzkom, Senior Planner, Planning.
The Council staff report for the Colocation of Public Facilities Study can be viewed here.
Semi-annual report of the Montgomery County Planning Board
Twice a year the Montgomery County Planning Department and the Department of Parks jointly produce a report that provides highlights from their work programs. Department leaders and Planning Board members present their report to the Council for review and comment. The Council will review the Fall 2018 Semi-Annual Report of the Montgomery County Planning Board. As is typical of semi-annual reports at the end of a Council term, the report does not propose any significant change in work program.
The Council staff report of the semi-annual report can be found here.
The Council meeting 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 Council meeting also will be available live via streaming through the Council web site at: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/ondemand/index.html.
# # # Release ID: 18-264