For Immediate Release: Tuesday, July 30, 2019
The following committee meetings are scheduled for the week of July 29. Individuals interested in attending a committee meeting should confirm the information on the day of the meeting by visiting the Council’s web page at tinyurl.com/CountyCouncilMeetings or by calling the Council’s Communications Office at 240-777-7931.
Meeting: Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee
Date/Time: July 29 at 9:30 a.m.
Location: Seventh floor hearing room
PHED Committee: Councilmembers Hans Riemer (Chair), Andrew Friedson (Lead for Parks) and Will Jawando
Topics:
Executive Regulation 3-19, Position Description: Deputy Director of DHCA
The PHED Committee is scheduled to review Executive Regulation 3-19. This regulation establishes the position description for the deputy director of the Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA), which is a non-merit position. Fariba Kassiri, deputy chief administrative officer; and Tim Goetzinger, acting director of DHCA, are expected to attend.
The Council staff report can be viewed here.
Report on housing, population, and employment trends since 1990
The PHED Committee will continue its review of the Montgomery County Planning Board’s recent report Montgomery County Trends: A Look at People, Housing, and Jobs Since 1990, which identifies changes in population characteristics, housing stock and employment in Montgomery County since 1990. The Planning Board will use this data to inform the update beginning later this year of the County’s General Plan, its long-range, guiding vision for growth policies and planning initiatives. Some key data points include the following:
Those expected to attend the Committee meeting include Casey Anderson, chair of the Planning Board; Gwen Wright, director; Tanya Stern, deputy director; Caroline McCarthy, research chief; Pamela Zorich, demographer; and Lisa Govoni, housing specialist.
The Council staff report can be viewed here.
Economic development functions
The PHED Committee will review the economic development functions of different County departments and agencies. Likely discussion topics include the possible consolidation of some functions in one department or office to improve efficiency; the interdepartmental communication and coordination process for economic development strategies; and making it easier to undertake a comprehensive review of the impact of the County’s efforts during the budget process. Jerome Fletcher, assistant chief administrative officer for the Office of the County Executive, is expected to attend.
The Council staff report can be viewed here.
Meeting: Joint Public Safety (PS) and Education and Culture (E&C) Committees
Date/Time: July 29 at 2 p.m.
Location: Seventh floor hearing room
PS Committee: Council Vice President Sidney Katz (Chair), Councilmembers Gabe Albornoz and Tom Hucker
E&C Committee: Councilmembers Craig Rice (Chair), Will Jawando (Lead for Libraries) and Council President Nancy Navarro
Topic:
School Bus Safety
The PS and E&C Committees will meet jointly to review school bus safety. The County has multiple initiatives that focus on pedestrian safety, which are embodied in the Vision Zero Initiative, which sets a goal of zero traffic and pedestrian fatalities in the County by 2030. Several of these cross-departmental approaches focus on prevention through education and enforcement. This meeting will focus on one of those initiatives: school bus cameras used to enhance student safety as children travel to and from school each day.
Taking advantage of state legislation that permits local jurisdictions to implement school bus camera programs, the Council passed legislation in 2012 to implement its own County program. School bus cameras are attached to buses and can photograph and videotape vehicles that pass a stopped bus when it has its red lights flashing and stop sign/arm extended.
Assistant Chief David Anderson, Field Services Bureau, Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD); Captain Tom Didone, Traffic Division, MCPD; Richard Hetherington, manager of Automated Traffic Enforcement Unit, MCPD; and Todd Watkins, transportation director for Montgomery County Public Schools, are expected to attend.
The Council staff report can be viewed here.
Meeting: Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee
Date/Time: July 31 at 8:30 a.m.
Location: MCEDC Headquarters
PHED Committee: Councilmembers Hans Riemer (Chair), Andrew Friedson (Lead for Parks) and Will Jawando
Topic:
Business Advisory Roundtable
The PHED Committee requested that MCEDC work with the business community to create a roundtable discussion with local business leaders about the opportunities and challenges for businesses in the County. The Committee will discuss Opportunity Zones (OZs), which are select census tracts in which businesses, equipment and real property can receive investment through Opportunity Funds (OFs). OFs provide investors the chance to use needed capital to rebuild select census tract areas. A broad array of investors can work together to pool resources, encourage new development and help re-energize underserved communities. David Petr, president and chief executive officer of MCEDC; Bill Tompkins, chief operating officer of MCEDC; and members of the local business community will attend the roundtable.
The Council staff report can be viewed here.
The Council committee meetings 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 meetings also will be available live via streaming through the Council web site at: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/ondemand/index.html.
# # #
Release ID: 19-263