New Rockville Pike bank recalls Rockville history (Photos)

Rockville history buffs may want to attend the Grand Opening of a TD Bank on Rockville Pike this weekend. This new branch is in the Pike District, south of the city boundary. It opens this Saturday in the Montrose Crossing shopping center at 12003 Rockville Pike. Between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM Saturday, they'll be providing food, giveaways, "fun and games", and - of course - banking offers.

Green features at the bank include solar panels, modern-design bike parking, LEED certification, and native plants growing in the landscaped area outside.

The bank also has an interesting easter egg inside that hints at the future of this site, which is currently labeled many things - Rockville by the USPS, North Bethesda by many, White Flint by many others, but newly branded as the Pike District. All of that nomenclature may be irrelevant in the not-so-distant future.

That's because there is real potential that the City of Rockville may eventually extend southward to Montrose Parkway, as more unincorporated territory is annexed by the city. The possibility is such that it frequently comes up in discussions of the city's Planning Commission regarding long-range annexation plans.

Tour the bank, and you'll find a premonition of that future on display. A display recalls a historic drugstore in Rockville's now-demolished and redeveloped downtown. That drugstore was built in the 1880s, and is known to many as Vinson's Drugstore, after it was bought in 1911 by Robert William "Doc" Vinson. But a previous owner of the store was D.F. Owens. 

A document on the Rockville website says the drugstore was also a popular gathering place for city politicians, and that President Woodrow Wilson once personally traveled there to buy Wolfhound tablets (they don't say what Wolfhound tablets were, though...). The building was torn down in 1962, and replaced with an office building during Rockville's "urban renewal" craze. According to Joanna Church of the Montgomery County Historical Society, artifacts from the drugstore can be found today in the Stonestreet Museum and Rockville Memorial Library (which has the store's soda fountain in one of its meeting rooms).

Here in this mural inside the bank is Owens Drug Store, as it looked at some point between the 1880s and 1911.

It's particularly interesting because the bank is not near the site of the former drugstore. But the bank will now be perfectly positioned if it finds itself annexed into the City of Rockville one day - the historic mural already on the wall in anticipation.

JBG pursuing Gold LEED for Homes certification for The Terano in Rockville

The JBG Companies announced it is pursuing a Gold LEED for Homes certification for its Terano development at 5720 Fishers Lane in Rockville. A 214-unit apartment building near the Twinbrook Metro station, The Terano has several features designed to meet the indoor air quality and health standards required for the certification under the LEED for Homes program.

These include a no-smoking policy, a mechanically ventilated HVAC system that delivers a constant flow of fresh air, high-efficiency HVAC filters that reduce airborne dust and particles, energy-saving low-emittance windows, low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint, adhesives, and Green Label Plus-rated carpet.

Light-colored roofing cools the "heat island" effect of urban buildings, and Energy Star appliances and built-in Smart Meters add to energy efficiency.

This is the first project JBG has applied to the U.S. Green Building Council LEED for Homes pilot program for certification.

Photo courtesy The JBG Companies

Rockville Mayor and Council 2015 debates scheduled

With about 40 days until Rockville elects its next Mayor and Council, and the first time it will elect them to a 4-year term, the candidate debate schedule is starting to fill up.

Here are the forums scheduled so far:

October 7 (Televised on Channel 11)

Rockville Chamber of Commerce Debate - 7:00 PM
Thomas Farm Community Center, 700 Fallsgrove Drive.

October 14

Senior Citizens Commission Debate - 1:00 PM
Rockville Senior Center, 1150 Carnation Drive.

October 20

College Gardens and Woodley Gardens Civic Associations Debate - 7:30 PM
Rockville Senior Center, 1150 Carnation Drive.

October 22 (Televised)

League of Women Voters Debate - 7:00 PM
F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre, 603 Edmonston Drive.

October 27 (Televised)

King Farm Citizen's Assembly Debate - 7:00 PM
King Farm Community Center, 300 Saddle Ridge Circle.

Mayoral candidates are incumbent Bridget Donnell Newton, and challenger Sima Osdoby.

Council candidates are Beryl Feinberg, Rich Gottfried, David Hill, Brigitta Mullican, Virginia D. Onley, Julie Palakovich Carr, Mark Pierzchala, Clark Reed, and Patrick Schoof.

There are 4 council seats.

Rockville Mayor and Council want more comprehensive proposal on outdoor smoking before voting

Banning smoking in outdoor areas in Rockville was discussed at last night's Mayor and Council meeting, but ultimately city leaders decided they want the final measure to be more uniform and comprehensive.

Councilmember Beryl Feinberg initiated the discussion by asking whether the measure should extend to off-leash dog parks, vaping or e-cigarettes, and asked for more detail on how much signage would cost for the city.

There was also a sense that the city should do more than just regulate smoking in and near parks and playgrounds, or just in Rockville Town Square.

When the topic of whether or not the ban could or would apply to RedGate Golf Course was raised, Assistant City Manager Jenny Kimball noted that Montgomery County has not banned smoking at its golf courses. Councilmember Tom Moore felt Rockville should take a bolder approach.

"Just the fact that Montgomery County hasn't banned smoking at golf courses does not speak to the health or safety of it," Moore argued. "This is a product that kills people." With a broader measure, Moore said, "Rockville could have a leadership role on this issue."

Councilmember Julie Palakovich Carr asked city staff if Rockville's contract with RedGate's management, Billy Casper Golf, would have to be renegotiated. Timothy Chesnutt, Director of Recreation and Parks, suggested such a negotiation would "have to wait until the next lease." Moore strongly disagreed with that, saying that municipal rules can and do change all the time, and that the city would be under no obligation to negotiate with Billy Casper before implementation of any smoking ban.

Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton said she also would favor a ban at RedGate, and a citywide ban on smoking in outdoor dining areas, rather than one just in part of the Town Center. Federal Realty, which developed and owns Rockville Town Square, objected to the proposed ban, saying that its restaurant and bar tenants would be at a disadvantage. Other restaurants a few blocks away would have been exempt, and there would be confusion over boundaries and enforcement, the developer argued.

Moore pointed to the experience of Bowie, where the municipality reported no negative impact on restaurants from a similar smoking ban. Palakovich Carr also said she would support a citywide smoking ban in outdoor dining areas.

While there is a clear majority and consensus among the Mayor and Council for taking a bolder approach, Newton suggested holding a public hearing on a final draft ordinance before taking a vote. "To be inclusive, we need to bring the public in," she said, as well as the businesses that would be affected by the change.

Staff was instructed to draft an ordinance that would ban smoking in outdoor dining areas citywide, in all city parks, and on the outdoor plaza at Rockville Town Square. Comments regarding enforcement should be solicited from the police chief, and the cost of signage should be tabulated, as well, before this is brought back for further discussion, the Mayor and Council agreed.

World of Beer posts Coming Soon signage in Rockville Town Center (Photos)

It's not news anymore that World of Beer is coming to The Upton luxury apartments in Rockville Town Center. But the restaurant has put up its first official Coming Soon signage on its future space across from the Regal Cinemas.

The sign is still promising 500 beers, and it will be very interesting to see if that is possible under Montgomery County's outdated liquor laws.

D.C. Council punks MoCo's Transit Task Force with 10 hour public hearing

Bus Rapid Transit - are you
ready to pay 5 new taxes for
...this?

Yesterday I reported on the Montgomery County Task Force shutting off sign-ups for its September 30 public hearing after only a few hours Wednesday. Apparently, some on the task force are incapable of sitting and listening to more than 50 speakers.

A supporter of the task force posted a comment on my article, saying the task force shouldn't be expected to listen to citizens until 3:00 AM. But Wednesday night, the D.C. Council did just that.

BRT will have its own lane,
and take a car lane away
from you on some of
MoCo's most-congested
roads, reducing automobile
capacity by 33% on those
routes

District of Columbia elected officials held a public hearing from 5:00 PM Wednesday until 3:00 AM Thursday morning, listening to 70 speakers and additional city officials beyond that number.

Now, of course, the sensible thing to do in either jurisdiction would be to hold a second hearing, to accommodate the number of residents who wish to comment.

But what a great contrast. On the same day the task force shut off the phone lines, and shut out citizens to ensure a short evening for themselves (and let's be realistic, to limit the number of negative citizen comments, and make the opposition to the Independent Transit Authority and Bus Rapid Transit appear to be smaller than it is), the D.C. Council put in an all-nighter.

Embarrassing.

Rockville Historic District Commission unanimously approves County request to move Confederate statue

The Rockville Historic District Commission voted unanimously last night to grant Montgomery County permission to relocate the Confederate soldier memorial statue from the grounds of the historic Red Brick Courthouse. Commissioner Jessica Reynolds made the motion, and it was seconded by Commissioner Anita Neal Powell.

As part of her motion, Reynolds included a request that the new site of the statue be within the City of Rockville, and on public property where it can remain accessible to residents or historical walking tours and other educational opportunities.

"We would be fine with that language," Greg Ossont, representing the County's Department of General Services said prior to the vote. The request is not legally binding on the County.

Each commissioner made a brief statement, with all supporting moving the statue.

Commissioner Craig Maloney noted the statue is "an important piece of our history." Rockville was indeed a city divided during the Civil War, with a number of prominent residents supporting or even fighting on behalf of the Confederacy. Several notable Confederate figures passed through Rockville during the war.

But, Maloney said, "150 years have given us a different perspective." He recalled how the statue had been "defaced with the words, 'Black lives matter.' I would go a step further, and say black values matter. The value of a Confederate statue does not make the [Confederate] cause right or just."

Powell concurred. "I cannot support keeping the statue where it is," she said. "When I think of history, I think of that place across from the statue. I can tell you that until the murders took place in South Carolina, many people did not know the statue was there. It just doesn't fit into the history that I know," Powell concluded.

Reynolds said that in her personal view, "I would find it hard to support leaving the statue where it is, based on the information we have. However, the statue does have a lot of value in its own right." One positive result of moving the statue, she said, is that it would be better protected from vandalism.

Chair Rob Actmeyer said, "Our historic resource is the Red Brick Courthouse" itself. "I don't see how the statue contributes to the Red Brick Courthouse. I agree with Jessica in the sense that the statue has been in Rockville for over a hundred years, [yet] it has not been declared historic."

Achtmeyer's assessment did bring a disagreement among several commissioners on whether or not the statue itself was indeed a contributing resource to the site, and whether it therefore deserved historic protection.

Maloney, while being quite clear that he did not favor keeping the statue there, said it nevertheless did have some standing within the context of its current location. [As an editorial note, I will also add that it is one of the few remaining vestiges of Rockville's historic downtown, most of which was demolished in the "urban renewal" of the 1960s and 70s.]

"It is not directly related to the Courthouse per se," Maloney conceded. But "it is typical of the statues" erected during that time period by Confederate heritage groups. "It is part of that legacy. We have one. It's in the context of the Courthouse, whether we like it or not. Does it deserve some protection as part of that historic site? I don't know. Maybe it does."

Perhaps sensing a potential legal argument that could be made, supporters of keeping the statue where it is attempted to share more information with commissioners, but were told they were out of order, as the public comment portion of the meeting had closed. One person made a motion from the floor to reopen it. Achtmeyer could find no support on the dais for doing so, and rejected the motion.

With the vote in its favor, the County now has one year to move the statue, and two six-month extensions. If it does not move it before that time, it will have to return to the commission again for permission.

Reynolds told statue supporters that this vote wasn't the final word. She urged them to contact the County Executive and County Council and make their opinions known to those who do have the final say on the statue's ultimate fate.