For Immediate Release: Wednesday, November 3, 2021
Committees will review transportation fees based on a fare equity study, a crowd-sourcing system for Ride On and receive briefings on climate resilience in the County and the impact of COVID-19 on school health services
The Transportation and Environment (T&E) will meet on Thursday, Nov. 4 at 9:30 a.m. to review a resolution to amend FY22 transportation fees, charges and fares based on a fare equity study, a supplemental appropriation to develop a crowd-sourcing system for Ride On and Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) Report 2021-5, Measuring Climate Resilience - A Review of Select Critical Infrastructure Sectors in Montgomery County.
The members of the T&E Committee include Chair and Council President Tom Hucker and Councilmembers Evan Glass and Hans Riemer.
The joint Education and Culture (E&C) and Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. to receive a briefing on the impact of COVID-19 on school health services and coordination between the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS).
The members of the E&C Committee include Chair Craig Rice and Councilmembers Will Jawando (Lead for Libraries) and Nancy Navarro.
The members of the HHS Committee include Chair and Council Vice President Gabe Albornoz and Councilmembers Evan Glass (Lead for Homelessness & Vulnerable Communities) and Craig Rice.
More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
Resolution to amend FY22 Transportation Fees, Charges, and Fares based on Fare Equity Study
Review: The T&E Committee will review a resolution to amend FY22 transportation fees, charges and fares based on a fare equity study conducted by the Department of Transportation for Ride On. Based on information from the study, the County Executive is recommending reducing the basic Ride On fare from $2 to $1. Express routes that charged $4.25 before the fare holiday would also have their fares reduced to $1. The monthly pass cost would be reduced from $45 to $22.50.
The new fare structure would not go into effect until Jan. 2, 2022, when the fare holiday that was unanimously passed by the Council is set to expire.
Those expected to attend and provide information include Christopher Conklin, director, Department of Transportation (DOT); Hannah Henn, deputy director for transportation policy, DOT; Dan Hibbert, chief, Division of Transit Services (DTS), DOT; Phil McLaughlin, chief, Planning and Implementation, DOT/DTS; Deanna Archey, senior planning specialist, DOT/DTS; Brady Goldsmith, chief, Management Services, DOT; Gary Nalven, Office of Management and Budget (OMB); and Nicholas Hart, associate, IBI Group.
Supplemental appropriation to develop a crowd-sourcing system for Ride-On, $720,300
Review: The T&E Committee will review a $720,300 supplemental appropriation which would fund a contractor to develop Ride On crowd sourcing system software and a smartphone mobile application. The crowd sourcing software would be deployed to a subset of transit routes and would receive passenger loading information from automatic passenger counters.
The lead sponsor is Council President Hucker, at the request of the County Executive.
Those expected to attend and provide information include Christopher Conklin, director, Department of Transportation (DOT); Dan Hibbert, chief, Division of Transit Services (DTS), DOT; Brady Goldsmith, chief, Management Services, DOT; and Gary Nalven, Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Review: The T&E Committee will receive a briefing on OLO Report 2021-5, which responds to Council’s request to better understand how well Montgomery County’s critical infrastructure are designed to handle extreme weather conditions. Critical infrastructure describes systems and assets so vital that their incapacity or destruction would have a debilitating impact on physical and economic security, public health or safety.
Those expected to attend and provide information include Adriana Hochberg, assistant chief administrative officer and climate change officer, Montgomery County Government (MCG); Bill Musico, permitting services specialist, Department of Permitting Services (DPS); Marche Taylor-Templeton, external affairs manager, Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE); Robert Taylor, energy manager, WSSC Water; and Tami Watkins, external affairs manager, Pepco.
Impact of COVID on School Health Services
Briefing: The joint HHS and E&C Committee will receive a briefing on the coordinated COVID-19 pandemic response and planning efforts of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). DHHS and MCPS currently partner to provide health services in public schools through multiple programs including, school health rooms, school-based health centers and high school wellness centers.
HHS Committee Chair Albornoz and E&C Committee Chair Rice scheduled the joint meeting to provide a more in-depth review and discussion on the impact that additional COVID-19 related duties has had on school health professionals and receive an overview of the coordination between DHHS and MCPS in areas such as COVID testing, vaccination and contact tracing.
Those expected to attend and provide information include Dr. Raymond Crowel, director, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS); Dr. James Bridgers, acting public health officer, DHHS; James D’Andrea, chief of staff, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS); Dana Edwards, chief, Districtwide Services and Supports, MCPS; and Heather Dublinske, coordinator, Student Welfare and Compliance, MCPS.
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 Council and committees are meeting via Zoom this fall because of ongoing construction and technology upgrades in the Council's Hearing Room and the inability to conduct meetings in a socially distant way in other areas of the Council Office Building with television broadcast capacity. Councilmembers will continue to hold meetings in their offices by appointment.
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: 21-444