Okay, so this is what is going on at Congressional Plaza (Photos)

The mystery digging and construction work at Congressional Plaza makes a bit more sense, now that the shopping center has posted a rendering of what the result is supposed to be when the project is finished. Also, the work is not purely cosmetic. A new restaurant tenant, Modern Market, is joining the lineup.

Modern Market will open its first D.C. area location at Bethesda Row, another Federal Realty property, in mid-August. This Rockville location will open later this year. The chain emphasizes healthy eating, and serves those on a variety of specialty diets, including vegan, paleo, low carb/high carb, celiac, South Beach, and low-GCI.

Their ingredients are farm-sourced, and will offer coffee, bread and beer from Washington, D.C. Modern Market serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.

MoCo employees, labor officials denounce County Council's Koch Brothers-inspired bill

Montgomery County public employees and their union leaders packed the County Council hearing room last night, to testify against an anti-labor bill that finds some on the Council in an unholy alliance with the far-right Koch Brothers. The bill, introduced by Council President Nancy Floreen, would gut collective bargaining rights of County employees, and replace neutral arbitrators who have expertise in labor negotiations with retired judges.

Many expressed shock that a bill with language inspired by the Koch Brothers' American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) would even be entertained by the County Council. The move by the Council has gotten the attention of labor officials at the highest level in the country; Tefere Gebre, Executive Vice-President of the national AFL-CIO, testified in person. He carried with him a letter from AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. Gebre said it was unusual for Trumka to weigh in on a local issue like this, but that the Council's bill is "so egregious," the statement was necessary.

"I shouldn't be here tonight," Gebre said. "There is no need for me to be at the Montgomery County Council" to oppose anti-labor legislation, he said. A Silver Spring resident himself, Gebre noted that even the title of Floreen's bill is worded like ALEC's model Public Employee Bargaining Transparency Act. The text of the bill itself is a "cut-and-paste" job from the Koch Brothers organization, he said.

"The entire labor movement is keeping an eye on what you are doing," Gebre warned. "It breaks my heart that this Council is entertaining this."

Such a high-level emissary having to chide the Council was almost overshadowed by typical antics from Councilmember George Leventhal. At the hearing's outset, Leventhal requested the floor before anyone could testify. Knowing the auditorium and television audience was at its peak, Leventhal proceeded to hijack the hearing, to unleash an attack on public employee unions for a recent robocall. His monologue, read off of a prepared script, went on for nearly ten minutes.

When Gino Renne, President of the main County employee union UFCW Local 1994 MCGEO, was called up to testify later, he asked if he could have additional time to rebut Leventhal's attack. Floreen denied the request, saying Renne could use his allotted three minutes however he wished, but could not have a separate rebuttal. "So he can make gratuitous statement with no response?" Renne asked.

Renne made a point that was heard not only from many speakers, but from those in the crowd, as well - that most County employees are also taxpaying residents. "70% of our membership resides in Montgomery County," Renne said. "Let's stop demonizing them for not doing their fair share."

County resident Richard Kirschner, a longtime labor law practitioner, charged the bill was "extracted from ALEC," and would be "Draconian in its consequences." The idea of conducting collective bargaining in public, one aim of the bill, is "absolutely, completely absurd," Kirschner said. He said Floreen had failed to provide "a single piece of empirical evidence" to justify her bill.

Judges, Kirschner added, do not have the expertise in labor agreements that the current neutral arbitrators possess. To some judges with no labor background, he said, "factory is a compound word, preceded by 'Cheesecake,'" which drew laughter from the crowd. Justin Vest of Progressive Maryland said having retired judges rather than neutral arbitrators would "call that neutrality into question."

Jeffrey Buddle, President of the Montgomery County Career Firefighters Association IAFF Local 1664, said the bill would do "meaningful harm to County employees," and that "all of the trump cards would be dealt to the County" in future bargaining. IAFF 1664 has only arbitrated twice, Michael Rund of the Professional Firefighters of Maryland pointed out. In his experience, none of the jurisdictions he has participated in negotiations in has the three-person arbitration panel proposed under this bill. And taxpayers would now have to pay for three people to do the job currently performed by one, he said.

Two firefighters provided emotional testimony against the bill. Brock Cline, currently working out of Station 26 on Democracy Boulevard in Bethesda, mentioned his two small children were in the audience. Cline said he and his wife "work alternating shifts to take care of them." He said they live in a modest house, and he drives a model year 2000 car. "It is all we can do to keep living in Montgomery County," Cline said. The crowd rose to give Cline a standing ovation.

Robert Ford, a career firefighter since 1992, said that given the dangerous work firefighters do and the impacts on their health, he is very concerned that the bill would "hamper...health and safety negotiations."

William Mitchell, speaking on behalf of MCGEO, disputed the frequent criticism that County employees are receiving pay packages that are overly generous. He said that County Ride On bus drivers will actually earn $200,000 less than their Metrobus counterparts over their careers, even though they drive the same roads. Also challenging the assertion that County employees are living large was Darrell Carrington, representing
ASCME Council 67. Most expenditures by public employees are for food and medicine, Carrington said, "not even thinking about vacations or fancy things like that."

A 30-year County employee, Dianne Betsy, has worked in the Department of Libraries since 1990. She called the Council bill "a slap in the face to all County employees." Noting that many County workers had to give up pay increases they were entitled to in FY-2017, she said "the Council decided we didn't deserve the raise. Rather than reward our hard work and loyalty, we are again being attacked" by the Council.

Her colleague Patricia Buck took time off from her library job to testify, and said it was the first time she had ever spoken before the Council on a matter. Referring to terms used in the County code regarding labor relations, Buck suggested the bill "does not feel at all 'harmonious' or 'cooperative.'"

"I don't think Ms. Floreen understands the process of collective bargaining," County employee Leon Walters said. He asked why the Council would be "helping the likes of [Wisconsin Governor] Scott Walker, rather than helping our County employees."

Al Vincent, Jr., representing UFCW Region 2, called the bill a "horrible attack on the rights of UFCW workers." He ripped the Council for allying with the Koch Brothers and their ALEC organization. "Will you follow, and ride on the backs of ALEC?" Vincent asked them.

The fact that the Council has to defend its adoption of ALEC model legislation "is in itself damning," said Stuart Applebaum, representing both the UFCW and the Democratic National Committee. "We can't understand why our elected leaders would associate with ALEC and their ideas," said Carlos Jimenez of the Metropolitan Washington Council of the AFL-CIO.

Maryland State Fraternal Order of Police President Vince Canales confessed he was in disbelief that the Council would consider the bill. "I'm puzzled and amazed," he said. "We're in Montgomery County - this is Montgomery County," he repeated incredulously.

"I'm surprised that this legislation is in Montgomery County," said an equally perplexed Mark Federici, President of UFCW Local 400. "This legislation is unjust, and is beneath the citizens of Montgomery County and this County Council." For the all-Democratic Council to walk away from that party's core value of supporting labor, Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principals President James Koutsos said, they are demonstrating "a desire to distance yourselves from the very people who have supported you."

Kevin Heenan, an employee with the County Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said the Council's actions are "not necessarily shady, but must be seen as suspect." He encouraged people to consider the term limits question that's likely to be on the ballot this November. Jimenez also predicted political storm clouds on the horizon for the Council, arguing there is no room for a councilmember who would support ALEC.

A former five-term VP with MCGEO (and a founding member), resident Larry Dickter said that "hateful us vs. them" rhetoric "may be worthy of the Trumps of the world, but should be beneath" the Council. Personalizing the debate, Dickter asked councilmembers who support the bill to "find the unarmed security officer who came here tonight to protect, and God forbid, even take a bullet for you...And tell him you need to cripple his union to keep him from getting ahead."

It seems unlikely that this bill will find the support to pass, but it is another clear indicator of the rise of a new kind of Wall Street Democrat both locally and nationally. First Councilmember Hans Riemer got elected with financial backing from Mitt Romney's Bain Capital and Danaher Corporation, two pioneers in outsourcing American jobs to China (among many other Wall Street firms and lobbyists who filled the Riemer campaign fund).

Now several councilmembers, incredibly, are teaming up with the Koch Brothers on this initiative. The bill and discussion last night from the dais also reminds one that Floreen and Leventhal are currrently jockeying for the endorsement of the anti-labor Washington Post editorial board, in the 2018 County Executive race.

Mayor and Council grant road code waiver to EYA Tower Oaks project

The Mayor and Council voted 4-1 last night to grant a road code waiver to the new EYA development at Tower Oaks. Street widths would be narrowed, and some additional street parking and a 1' buffer between the sidewalk and residents' properties would both be eliminated.

Councilmember Beryl Feinberg expressed concern that there would be insufficient guest parking available on the site. Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton and Councilmember Mark Pierzchala both said they thought the EYA plan was well-balanced between parking needs, green space and walkability. Councilmember Julie Palakovich Carr, who has advocated for the City to adopt Vision Zero goals for pedestrian fatalities, said that the trade-off for better pedestrian safety was worth the compromise on parking.

The development on Preserve Parkway will include up to 375 residential units, including single-family homes, townhomes, and multi-family buildings. City staff calculated that a maximum of 41 street parking spaces would be lost under the exemption from the road code.

Aakash Thakkar, SVP of Development at EYA, said there is currently some street parking just outside the site, as well as paid garage parking at the adjacent office development, that guests could utilize. Thakkar also said that EYA is currently exploring partnerships with nearby businesses to help fund the shuttle service that is expected to take residents to Metro from the development.

Photo courtesy City of Rockville

Twinbrook man dies during MoCo 911 service outage

Screen capture of
Montgomery County press release
regarding 911 outage shows
headline with "Outrage"
Freudian slip

"Outrage" was certainly an appropriate Freudian slip in the official Montgomery County press release regarding the two-hour 911 system outage that occurred overnight between Sunday and Monday. The statement attempted to mask the failure of the County to use its Alert Montgomery system to notify residents of the catastrophic outage during the actual outage period.

"During the two hours of interrupted service, alternative plans to receive and dispatch emergency plans were put into operation. Notification to the public was made through public safety social media and through the County’s Alert Montgomery emergency alert system."

But that claim is simply not true.

According to the County's own account, the outage lasted from 11:10 PM Sunday night to 1:09 AM Monday morning.

The first Alert Montgomery notifications were not sent out until 1:25 AM and 1:26 AM, according to timestamps of two Alert Montgomery subscribers. By that time, the outage was over. The reality was, the only notification during the outage period was coming from police and fire officials' social media accounts.

In contrast to apologists for County elected officials, County Executive Ike Leggett has correctly called for a full investigation of the failure. "County residents must be able to count on a prompt response to emergencies,” Leggett said in a later statement Monday.

Two people for whom fire and rescue services were sought during the outage died, the County has confirmed. One was a 40-year-old resident of the Twinbrook community in Rockville, and the second was a 91-year-old resident of Olney.

The point here is that there was a secondary communication failure Sunday night, and Alert Montgomery failed to notify the public of this dangerous 911 outage. That should be investigated alongside the main 911 failure.

MoCo 911 outage another sign of growth outpacing infrastructure

The failure of Montgomery County's 911 emergency system last night and early this morning is another indication that infrastructure is not keeping pace with residential growth. It also underlined how our elected officials continue to fail in providing the most basic services - removing snow from sidewalks, plowing County roads, properly displaying the American flag on County property, delivering adequate school and road capacity for the development they approve, and now, answering 911 calls.

Most stunning was that the County failed to alert the public, leaving police and fire officials to have to report the outage to citizens. Police and fire accounts tweeted throughout the night. But the official Montgomery County executive branch social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter were silent through the night. Only around 6:00 AM, nearly five hours after basic 911 service was restored, did the @MontgomeryCoMD account retweet a Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services tweet regarding the outage, which reportedly began around 11:15 PM.

Some on social media reported having problems with the 911 system as early as last Friday. No reason for the outage has been released as of this writing.

Given that official announcements from the police and fire social media accounts came more than an hour after callers were reportedly first receiving busy signals, it suggests that the current 911 system does not alert operators when it fails. Whatever the cause, the outage was a deadly threat to the public. When every second counts, in a heart attack or stroke, or in a burglary or a house fire, the extra time to look up the number of the nearest police or fire station could be fatal.

This is the latest example of County infrastructure not keeping up with rapid residential development countywide.

Four years after Councilmember Hans Riemer took office promising to make Montgomery County the cybersecurity capital of the world, it was discovered the County government was still operating on Windows 2000, one of the most vulnerable platforms in the world.

And a damning 2016 State of Maryland audit of Montgomery County Public Schools uncovered a staggering number of cybersecurity weaknesses, leaving student information easily accessible to hackers. Cyber intruders, the audit revealed, could access "any destination on the MCPS network." Eighty-six business partners of the school system improperly have "network-level access to the entire MCPS network." And the installed version of the database holding student information hasn't been supported by its developer since January 2012. Oh, and did I mention that 75% of the workstations tested by auditors didn't have the current security updates downloaded?

While the County clearly needs to get back to basics, what's needed even more urgently are elected officials who can deliver those basic services and functions we elect them to provide.

Montgomery County 911 service is down

Montgomery County's 911 emergency line, and non-emergency police lines are temporarily down, according to the Montgomery County Police Department. They are advising citizens seeking police help to call their district station directly, which can be found online. 240-773-6070 is the number for the 1st District station in Rockville.

For fire and rescue, call your closest station directly, using this site.

No cause for the outage has been reported yet.

Rockville construction update: Congressional Plaza (Photos)

 

There's some mystery work going on at Congressional Plaza in Rockville, possibly related to utilities. All shops are open during the construction.

Applicant seeks delay for new Rockville Pike car rental business

Enteprise Rent-a-Car is asking the Rockville Planning Commission to grant it an extension from its approved site plan for 702 Rockville Pike. The company plans to convert the former Century Ford commercial truck sales property to a car rental facility, and add a 1-story car wash to the rear.

When the commission gave Enterprise its site plan approval on July 23, 2014, it had two years to begin construction. Applicants can request two extensions, which together cannot exceed 18 months.

In this case, when the commission approved the site plan, the plan was configured to comply with a demand by the Maryland State Highway Administration that the existing curb cut on the Pike side of the property be permanently closed. Through negotiations with Enterprise since, the SHA has withdrawn its objection to Pike access for the rental business.

The delay is required to now reconfigure the plan for access from the Pike. To do that, Enterprise must first get approval from City zoning chief Jim Wasilak on a minor plan amendment it has filed. While Enterprise expects to receive approval, attorney Stuart Barr says, it cannot get it if the site plan period expires later this month prior to Wasilak's decision.

The commission will take up the request at its July 13 meeting, scheduled for 7:00 PM at City Hall. Commissioners will also issue a recommendation on a controversial small cell tower zoning text amendment that evening.

Ourisman Rockmont Chevrolet expected to move to Wintergreen Plaza by November

Construction on the future Ourisman Rockmont Chevrolet dealership at Wintergreen Plaza in Rockville continues, and it's now larger than the renderings suggested. The moving schedule is starting to firm up, as well. A source at the dealership says they will likely have completed their move by this November.

Here's the interesting twist: One might expect the land the dealership currently sits on at 15301 N. Frederick Road to go up for sale, potentially opening up a prime redevelopment opportunity at a major crossroads. Instead, the land is now for lease by Avison Young.

Will the landmark giant U.S. flag make the move south, as well? Stay tuned.

Limitless Garage takes over Fleming's building on Rockville Pike

A new tenant has taken over the recently-vacated Fleming's Ultimate Garage building at 1400 Rockville Pike. Limitless Garage, Inc. will custom-build, buy, sell, and consign vehicles, according to its new Facebook page. They should be opening soon.

Fleming's has moved north to Lofstrand Lane.

Senior housing proposed for former site of IBM building in Rockville

Developer IDI 50 Monroe, LLC, is proposing to build an apartment building for independent seniors at 50 Monroe Place in Rockville. This is the former site of the IBM Building, which was demolished in 2006, right behind the Americana Center. The site has sat vacant since.

A 13-story, 120' tall building with 175 seniors-only apartment units is proposed, along with 47 garage parking spaces, a 15' sidewalk area along Monroe Place, and new public-use space adjacent to James Monroe Park, which is directly behind the property. No retail space is mentioned.

A public meeting is being held by the applicant on Monday, July 18, 2016, at 7:00 PM, in the 1st Floor meeting room at the Rockville Memorial Library at 21 Maryland Avenue. The applicant hopes to receive approval from the City by the end of next year, break ground in early 2018, and anticipates delivery in the summer of 2019.

In addition to the July meeting, a Development Review Committee meeting has already been tentatively scheduled for August 18 at 10:00 AM at City Hall.

The IDI Companies is not new to senior housing developments in Montgomery County. The Arlington-based firm has developed 7 multifamily senior housing projects at Leisure World in Silver Spring.

La Limeña Grill is taking over Potomac Grill space in Rockville

La Limeña Grill is the new tenant in the former Potomac Grill restaurant space in the Talbott Center on Rockville Pike, I confirmed last evening. If the name sounds familiar, it is - La Limeña is located a few blocks north in the Ritchie Center. The Peruvian-Cuban restaurant isn't moving, though. This is a spinoff of the original, hence the "Grill" branding, which will also provide some continuity from the previous establishment's name.

The new restaurant is expected to open sometime between late summer and early fall. Even notoriously Montgomery County-averse critic Tom Sietsema has praised the original spot, writing that, "If there’s one restaurant in Rockville that I wish were closer to Washington, this is it." La Limeña has also landed on Washingtonian magazine's 100 Very Best Restaurants List.

La Limeña

1093 Rockville Pike

Rockville zoning chief announces how review of Chestnut Lodge project will proceed

Rockville zoning chief Jim Wasilak has announced his plan for proceeding on the review of a revised plan amendment for the Chestnut Lodge project. Applicant JNP Chestnut Lodge, LLC filed the revised amendment with the City early this month.

In an email sent yesterday to parties of record in the controversial matter, Wasilak said he considered the feedback given last week by the Mayor and Council before deciding on the following process and tentative schedule:

• Written and electronic notification of all parties of record, property owners, nearby residents and civic associations

• Area meeting to be held by JNP Chestnut Lodge LLC on July 26

• Staff/Development Review Committee review prior to staff report and recommendation on September 8
• Planning Commission briefing by staff on September 14
• Mayor and Council briefing on September 19
• Historic District Commission courtesy review and recommendation on October 20
• Planning Commission review and recommendation on November 9
• Mayor and Council public hearing on December 5
• Mayor and Council discussion and instructions to staff on January 9, 2017
• Mayor and Council final decision on January 30, 2017

Wasilak notes that the HDC is being asked to give a recommendation, beyond just the courtesy review it gave the earlier plan amendment. I've highlighted in bold the meetings above where the public will likely or certainly have the chance to speak.

While the new plan amendment reduces the horizontal width and footprint of the project, it still does not meet the requirements of the Planned Residential Unit (PRU) agreement previously negotiated by the City for the Chestnut Lodge site. Opponents of the project have argued that PRU remains legally binding, and would not permit a townhome development on this site, which is within a historic district.

Rendering courtesy City of Rockville

Beefsteak opens today at Westfield Montgomery Mall; is it worth a trip? (Video+photos)

 Beefsteak opens today in the Dining Terrace at Westfield Montgomery Mall. Is it worth a trip?

Watch my review and find out. Check out the menu on the Beefsteak website.

I created my own bowl with
broccoli, edamame, rice,
spicy tomato sauce, cherry tomatoes,
mozzarella cheese and
lemon honey dressing

The plastic spoon is heavier
than the typical disposable cutlery

Along with the bowl, I got potato chips,
house-made gazpacho and
Honest Tea
Honey Green Tea

Made from the finest
potatoes in Spain

Gazpacho

Floreen's Koch Brothers bill would gut MoCo employees' bargaining rights, union says

An expedited bill introduced by Montgomery County Council President Nancy Floreen would make collective bargaining with County employees more "transparent," she says. Its language evokes anti-labor initiatives by the Koch Brothers, a curious choice of inspiration in a blue jurisdiction like Montgomery.

"Council President Nancy Floreen is introducing a bill that would gut collective bargaining rights in Montgomery County," said Amy Millar, who is the lead negotiator for the UFCW Local 1994 MCGEO union. "The attacks [on public employees] never let up," Millar added.

According to Millar, the bill would reduce bargaining rights over working conditions, and allow the County Executive to ordain a "permanent umpire without union input." That refers to a provision in Floreen's bill that would strip all union power to determine who the County Executive and Council appoint as the Labor Relations Administrator. The LRA is a powerful position, because he or she has the authority to declare that either the executive or the union has violated the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. If only the County can choose the LRA...well, you can guess who would be favored.

Floreen's bill would also allow retired judges, as opposed to only those with neutral history in labor disputes, to be LRAs. That could introduce a bias, as judges are appointed by the same government officials who bargain with public employee unions.

On page 5 of the bill, number 17 would allow the County government to "create, alter, combine, contract out (italics and underlining added by me), or abolish any job classification, department, operation, unit, or other division or service, provided that no contracting of work which will displace employees may be undertaken by the employer unless ninety (90) days prior to signing the contract, or such other date of notice as agreed by parties. written notice has been given to the certified representative."

Millar says the bill's language "comes right out of ALEC model legislation," referring to the Koch Industries-backed American Legislative Exchange Council.

Floreen's support of Koch Brothers initiatives is only the latest Council link to Wall Street. Councilmember Hans Riemer's campaigns have been funded by numerous Wall Street firms and their lobbyists, including Mitt Romney's Bain Capital and Danaher Corporation, both pioneers in outsourcing American jobs to China and Mexico.

Mystery artwork in pedestrian walkway on N. Washington Street (Photos)

You may have noticed the covered walkway that has been up for awhile now at the Kettler project on N. Washington Street. There was also an unplanned addition a graffiti artist made, a portrait of a mystery man.

Leggett removes Carver and Westmore from bus depot list - who's next?

Residents in Lincoln Park and around the Carver Educational Services Center in Rockville are celebrating the success of their efforts to stop Montgomery County from relocating the Shady Grove school bus depot to their neighborhoods. County Executive Ike Leggett sent a memo to County Council President Nancy Floreen yesterday announcing he is withdrawing the current Declaration of No Further Need for the existing depot on Crabbs Branch Way, and is removing Carver and 1000 Westmore Avenue from the list of potential depot sites.

While neighbors of 1000 Westmore won't likely complain, the County did end up blowing $12,000,000 on its purchase of the Westmore site in what it claimed was a budget time so tight that taxes were raised to the highest level in County history last month.

The Crabbs Branch depot was to be vacated in 2017, and sold to a developer who would build townhomes and apartments on the site near Shady Grove Metro station.

But the letter makes clear that this so-called "Smart Growth Initiative" is not over. Leggett states that he is having his staff find more suitable locations than Carver or Westmore.

The problem, of course, is that every potential depot site also has residents nearby.

You'll notice that, despite fierce community opposition, Leggett pointedly did not remove the Blair Ewing Center from the potential depot sites in his memo.

And another bad choice, the Oaks Landfill at 6001 Olney-Laytonsville Road, is one councilmembers like Hans Riemer explicitly stated they want to have a public discussion about. There are several residential subdvisions right around the site, and homes directly across the road from it. 410 buses would honk their horns and test their backup beepers each morning at 6:00 AM.

The only other site given serious public consideration last year was a property near the intersection of Woodfield Road and Snouffer School Road, also near homes.

Houses directly across
from 6001 Olney Laytonsville Road

Much of Rockville is now off the hook in this crazy, developer-fueled crusade - but the battle is just starting at these, and potentially other, poor choices for the depot site around the County. Residents near those locations are waking up to find the MoCo political cartel is headed their way.

New renderings of funeral home converting to retail center in Rockville (Photos)

I found a couple of new renderings of the retail center being created out of the shell of a longtime funeral home at 1170 Rockville Pike. The former entrance to the funeral home on the south side of the building is now shown as an office space entrance. There's also a floor plan.

Businesspeople on MoCo Council's quest for $15 minimum wage: "That's a lot of extra Slurpees to sell"

Small business owners already struggling to profit in the moribund Montgomery County economy told the County Council last night that things will go from bad to worse if the minimum wage is hiked to $15. A bill to do just that, and tie future increases to inflation, is now on the table. Surrounding counties and Virginia do not have a minimum wage that steep.

$15? "That's a lot of extra Slurpees to sell," said Peter Gragnano of the Suburban Washington Franchise Owners Association. The hike could make a bad labor market for African-American youth in the County even worse, warned small business owner Stacey Brown. A 2015 survey I reported on showed that in Montgomery County, only 8.7% of black high school students surveyed are employed, and only 30.7% of black high school dropouts have been able to obtain employment.

Montgomery County's young black high school graduates are also being hard hit, with only 39.7% of those surveyed currently employed.

Attaching the minimum wage to inflation - which the bill would do beginning in 2021 - would also be a bad idea, another businessman testified. If inflation spiked as it did in the late 1970s and early 1980s, he predicted, "there won't be a way to wash a dish in a restaurant." Since the last minimum wage hike, touchscreen ordering kiosks have appeared in some County fast food restaurants, replacing cashiers.

Last night's testimony was enlightening in providing some more hard numbers on Montgomery County's floundering private sector economy. According to Maddy Voytek of the Maryland Retailers Association, Montgomery County has lost 2141 retail jobs since the turn of the century (around the same time the core members of this current Council were first elected). She said adoption of the $15 wage would "devastate our economy."

Montgomery County's restaurant sector has "slowed since 2012, and remains flat," reported Melvin Thompson of the Restaurant Association of Maryland. But things are tough all over, as County Council apologists like to tell us, right?

Wrong! Frederick County's dining sector grew by 5.4% in 2015 alone, Thompson said. How about our arch-rival Fairfax County, where Councilmember George Leventhal says he has to go to find a really good restaurant, because there aren't any in MoCo? The dining sector in Fairfax grew by 6% during that same year.

As wages go up, one person familiar with industry statistics testified, Montgomery County residents are being shut out of jobs here as Frederick and Carroll County workers seek our higher wages. They then take that money back to those jurisdictions, where they enjoy a far-lower cost of living, he said. Those counties then enjoy the tax and spending money benefits of Montgomery County retail and restaurant jobs, while putting more cars on our roads during rush hour.

Ilaya Hopkins, VP of public affairs for the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, said there are several problems with the proposed increase. First, it provides a "one-size-fits-all" solution to a diverse economy and labor market. Second, the potential impacts haven't been fully studied. And third, it further handicaps Montgomery County in its competition with other local jurisdictions where it is cheaper to start and operate a business.

The failure of the County's Nighttime Economy Initiative, after which there are fewer nightclubs in Bethesda than before it was implemented, is only one challenge for restaurant and bar owners. A previous wage hike, multiple new regulations and fee hikes, and a costly County liquor sales monopoly already make doing business in the hospitality sector here more challenging than in Northern Virginia.

Montgomery County Council all talk, no action on Rockville bus depot controversy (Photos)

"Talked to death in Rockville" is a good summary of yesterday's Montgomery County Council worksession on the controversial attempts to relocate the Montgomery County Public Schools bus depot in Shady Grove. That site is supposed to be cleared by next year, so that a developer can build hundreds of townhomes and apartments there. By the end of the meeting, no votes were taken and no plan of action was determined.

While Council President Nancy Floreen did not allow a resolution to deny the Declaration of No Further Need for the Shady Grove site, by the end of the meeting she agreed to bring one forward, likely next week. The County Department of General Services was directed by Floreen to bring back a cost-benefits study for the scenario of simply leaving the depot where it is, and to provide a list of temporary and permanent sites where the buses could be moved.

But none of this officially rules out the use of Carver Educational Services Center, 1000 Westmore Avenue or the Blair Ewing Center on Avery Road, all of which have been rejected soundly by residents who would be impacted. Depending which councilmember you listen to, there are all kinds of potential outcomes, and all but one (keeping the depot at Shady Grove) would place a school bus depot in someone's neighborhood.

Only two councilmembers, Sid Katz (who represents Rockville) and Marc Elrich (an at-large member), explicitly said Carver, Westmore and Avery should be removed from the list of sites under consideration. Save Blair Ewing, a resident organization fighting a bus depot on that site, is now leading a letter/email-writing campaign to sway three more councilmembers to join Katz and Elrich in placing language eliminating those sites from the list.

So next week, the Council may unanimously vote to say that the Shady Grove depot is, in fact, still needed by the County. Does that kill the Carver/Westmore/Avery plans? Not unless that language is included in the resolution, and even then, the legal ramifications of leaving the buses in place after a developer has spent millions on its plans remain to be determined. The Council also assumes that County Executive Ike Leggett could indeed reopen talks with the developer to give the County more time to relocate the depot. There's no guarantee of that, either.

The Council did talk a lot, though. To their credit, at least a few councilmembers somewhat accepted the blame for their role in allowing this depot debacle to happen. Councilmembers George Leventhal, Roger Berliner, and Hans Riemer were particularly candid in acknowledging the Council blew it with the Shady Grove plan.

"In hindsight, that plan was unwise," Leventhal conceded to his constituents in the audience.

Interestingly, while many on the Council have vehemently argued that residential development will provide large amounts of tax revenue to the County, Leventhal and a few of his colleagues are now coming around to acknowledge what I've been saying for a decade - new residential growth does not pay for itself, and in fact, costs more in services than it brings in in new revenue. The County's structural budget deficit is proof of that.

Leventhal estimated the County has spent $407 million on the Shady Grove "Smart Growth Initiative" so far. When will that expenditure "pay for itself" as Leggett promised years ago, Leventhal asked David Dise, Director of DGS. He also suggested they add the cost of County services and schools to the cost-benefit analysis.

"If I'm in a hole, do I need to keep digging," asked Elrich of the Council's predicament. He too questioned if the potential revenue would cover the cost of relocating the depot, which he said may be "the best location we'll ever have" for it.

"We shouldn't be doing this," Elrich said. "I'm just not willing to do that to people." He counseled Dise to make sure that any site suggestion is accompanied with an explanation of how it would be "better than what you have now."

Councilmember Craig Rice, who represents the Upcounty area, misfired with the audience when he launched into a strident defense of the Shady Grove plan. He noted that some of his Clarksburg constituents live right next to a bus depot. Rice then attacked many of his own constituents, saying that "they want to keep those great things that we have in Montgomery County just to themselves."

That set off a round of booing and retorts from the audience. Floreen attempted to bring the meeting to order, as Rice hastened to add that he was not referring to the Carver Coaltion. Rice said he wants "to provide housing for everyone," although he didn't explain how that would be possible, or why it is the burden of County residents to accede to overpopulation of already-developed communities.

"What we really have here is a mess," observed Katz. "There is further need for [the Shady Grove depot]. There is no question. We need to do things in a more transparent way," he added to applause. A new depot "shouldn't be next to anybody's house," or route buses through residential streets, Katz said.

Katz argued that the City of Rockville "needs to be brought into the conversation." In explicitly calling for Carver, Westmore and Blair Ewing to be removed from consideration, Katz received another round of applause. "I usually don't get applause when I say, 'No,'" he joked. Summing up the situatiion, Katz concluded 'this does not make any sense. It doesn't make any common sense, and it doesn't make any dollars and sense."

Councilmember Nancy Navarro noted she was president of the Board of Education when the Shady Grove sector plan was passed. The plan "seemed to make a lot of sense back in the day," but not in 2016, she said. "It has not yielded the revenues promised by the County."

"I'm trying to understand where some votes are," Riemer began, speaking for many in the room. In any case, he said, he would vote against the Declaration of No Further Need the Council must pass to sell the land to the developer.

"It's not right to disadvantage current residents to clear a nuisance for future residents," Riemer said. "We played a role in this mess," he acknowledged. But at the same time, Riemer added that "I don't think we can just throw up our hands and walk away."

"We all bear some responsibility," Riemer went on, but promised that the Council has finally "taken ownership of the problem."

Councilmember Roger Berliner exhorted Floreen to allow a vote on the Declaration of No Further Need during yesterday's session, a request she failed to grant.

"The notion that this will be resolved by the end of the year seems pretty far-fetched," Berliner said. He congratulated the Council staff member who prepared the report for her prediction a decade ago that the Shady Grove plan would not pay for itself. "You were right," acknowledged Berliner, before asking Dise to provide "an honest assessment" of the situation.

Berliner commended Rockville Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton, who was in attendance, for her work on behalf of her constituents against the Rockville depot proposals. "You've served your community well," Berliner told her.

"I think the Carver people can go home happy," Floreen said at the end of the session, despite it having produced no concrete results. When Floreen asked Dise for a list of potential sites, she completely ignored the fact that Council staff had done just that in its report for yesterday's session. The County DGS itself has reviewed 200 properties. Let's face it, if there was a good site, the County would have acquired it long ago.

MyMCMedia's Sonya Burke
interviews a member of the
Carver Coalition before the
worksession 

Residents in the Carver Coalition
trademark yellow shirts

City Councilmember
Mark Pierzchala
(L in white shirt) was
one of several Rockville
elected officials on hand 

"Like the buses, we will
not go quietly" was among
the creative signs held
by residents

Mayor and Council on Chestnut Lodge: "We are starting the process over"

A discussion of how to proceed on a revised project plan submitted early this month for the Chestnut Lodge site ended with a new beginning last night. The Mayor and Council advised Rockville's zoning chief, Jim Wasilak, to essentially consider the revision as a new project being submitted. That was not the preference of developer JNP Chestnut Lodge, LLC, whose representative told the Mayor and Council that this was merely a minor revision that actually reduces the size of the project.

But the controversy over the plan is so great, and so many questions remain unanswered, that officials are seeking the maximum public input and discussion. The original Planned Residential Unit (PRU) agreement required a multi-family condo development, and a restoration of the historic Chestnut Lodge psychiatric facility main building. Despite the Lodge burning down in a suspicious fire in 2009, opponents of the new townhome proposal argue the PRU remains in effect, and requires the development to build a structure similar to the one lost. It also was predicated on the requirement for condos, as opposed to the more horizontal townhome design with only a handful of units.

Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton said she would like staff to explain how the existing PRU can be modified when the circumstances have changed. "I would like to see an explanation...how is this respective of the PRU that is on the property?" she asked. Councilmember Mark Pierzchala said he also has not received satisfactory answers to his questions regarding whether or not the proposed project meets the Secretary of the Interior requirements.

Councilmember Beryl Feinberg said she would like to have a public hearing. Pierzchala said his proposed process included one before the Mayor and Council, but that he didn't want to tell the Planning Commission how to conduct its process.

"We need to be very clear that we are starting the process over," Newton told staff. Wasilak said he would consider taking all of the steps proposed by the Mayor and Council - area meeting, mail notification to parties of interest, Historic District Commission review, Planning Commission review, and Mayor and Council public hearing and review - and add a staff review of the revised plan.

Pierzchala said it is important that the HDC know it has the authority to go beyond a courtesy review in this case, and give its opinions on the merits of the project, and its impact on the surrounding historic site and district. "I second it, and think it needs to come in the form of a memo from the HDC to the Mayor and Council," Newton said.

Wasilak promised to formally outline his plan for how to proceed by the end of the week.

Photo courtesy City of Rockville

County Council staff recommends using Carver, Westmore as bus depots

The Montgomery County Council will take up the controversial school bus depot issue this morning, but the Council staff report makes an equally controversial set of recommendations. It recommends parking Montgomery County Public School buses at the Carver Educational Services Center, and at 1000 Westmore Avenue, a property already purchased by the County for that purpose. Or, to use their convoluted language, they are "not recommending against" using them for bus parking.

It is hard to believe that staff could recommend this, after the ghastly litany of County abuses of the Lincoln Park neighborhood that was recited during a public hearing before the County Planning Board last week. That hearing concluded with the board recommending against acquisition of the Westmore site by the County - an irrelevant vote, as the County had already secretly purchased the site.

Council staff has also put the Blair Ewing Center on Avery Road back on the table, sure to be highly controversial in both Rockville and Aspen Hill. Use of the Blair Ewing Center site would create a domino effect, requiring moving the alternative education facilities there elsewhere. "Elsewhere" was English Manor Elementary School in Aspen Hill when this last came up. Avery Road was ultimately dismissed as a bus site after a well-organized opposition effort by Aspen Hill residents.

I am shocked - shocked - that Avery Road has risen from the dead. Of course, I'm joking, as I've been predicting this would happen for several months. The other site proposed for a permanent depot is the Oaks Landfill at 6001 Olney-Laytonsville Road. Both sites, particularly Olney-Laytonsville Road, are still within 6:00 AM-bus-honking earshot of nearby houses.

Residential neighborhoods lie
directly adjacent to a proposed
bus depot site at
6001 Olney-Laytonsville Road
(red pin at right)

We won't know the Council's reaction to the recommendations until later this morning. But the Council staff's intent seems to be the same as the County and MCPS: Pit neighborhoods against each other, and ultimately drop the depots where they conclude political power is weakest. Residents are simply gladiators in the arena for the Emperors-with-no-clothes' entertainment. The interesting twist here is that the residents affected by the Carver, Westmore and Avery Road sites have all been politically strong in their response so far.

The report suggests removing the Public Safety Academy and Gude Drive Landfill sites from consideration. And it recommends the Council not approve the Declaration of No Further Need for the existing Shady Grove bus depot on Crabbs Branch Way. In doing so, it assumes the County Executive can change the terms to not require the depot to be vacated and turned over to the developer in 2017. The County (a.ka. you, the taxpayer) could ultimately face legal action from that developer, which already has approval for 345 townhomes and 344 apartments on that property, known as Jeremiah Park.