Construction begins at Mellow Mushroom in Rockville (Photos)

After months of no activity, temporary wood walls have been erected in front of the future Mellow Mushroom at Rockville Town Square. That's an obvious sign that construction inside, and on the outside facade, are now underway. Mellow Mushroom bills itself as a Southern-style pizza parlor.

As you can see in the photo below, they have their construction permit from the City of Rockville.

Rockville HDC approves County request to move statue to Beall Dawson House

The Rockville Historic District Commission voted 3-1 last night to approve the Montgomery County Department of General Services request to move the Confederate statue from the historic courthouse to the Beall Dawson House. There was actually some drama at last night's meeting.

Commissioner Emily Correll once again recused herself, due to having testified against moving the statue at a public hearing, prior to being appointed to the HDC. That left a quorum of 4. But things got briefly tense when a 2-1-1-1 split emerged among the four commissioners voting.

Commissioner Jessica Reynolds said she favored the recommended spot at the Beall Dawson property. Chair Rob Achtmeyer countered that that site seemed too much like a rededication, and said the alternate location would be less formal. Commissioner Craig Moloney was not pleased about placing the statue in such a prominent place. He said he personally was offended by the statue, and that it is "defiant", not merely a fallen soldier surrounded by angels. Commissioner Anita Neal Powell concurred, saying that placing the statue at Beall Dawson was actually giving it greater prominence and visibility than the current site, where it is hidden.

Reynolds repeatedly made her displeasure with the County Executive known during the hearing, asking city staff what conditions the HDC could place on the approval to require the County to pick up the potentially hefty tab for moving, siting and posting of signage and other materials. She argued city residents shouldn't have to pay when it was the Executive who demanded it be moved.

The motion to approve was made by Reynolds and seconded by Powell. At the last moment, Moloney and Powell joined Reynolds for a 3-vote majority; Achtmeyer cast the lone dissenting vote.

What made for some drama was that earlier split - 2 people in favor (but each preferring different alternative spot), and 2 opposed. Reynolds ultimately sided with Achtmeyer on the alternate spot, setting up a 2-2 tie. A tie would have counted as a rejection of the County's request, potentially delaying the statue's move further.

Now the Mayor and Council will vote to accept or reject the statue at their February 8 meeting.

Head of MoCo Economic Development Corp. backs new Potomac River crossing

Buchanan says MoCo

businesses are "solidly

behind" a new bridge

The newly-formed Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation may have a chance of actually accomplishing something after all. Its chair, Bob Buchanan, has already bucked the County's political machine, which has failed to attract a single major corporation to Montgomery in over a decade. Speaking to the Virginia Commonwealth Transportation Board on December 9, Buchanan strongly urged them to open dialogue with Maryland on a new Potomac River crossing west of the congested American Legion Bridge.

Buchanan, a Montgomery County resident, has long been an advocate for completing this missing piece of our region's transportation infrastructure. But he told the CTB that Montgomery's business community is squarely behind a new bridge, as well. It is refreshing that Buchanan was willing to openly divert from the party line of the County Council, which has strongly condemned even talking about the needed bridge, much less building it. A truly independent MCEDC, able to talk sense as Buchanan did, will be in a position to address the factors which have crippled our County's economic growth since the turn of the century. (County Council term limits wouldn't hurt, either)

Calling for greater regional cooperation, a theme stressed at recent business events in Tysons and in MoCo's newly-branded Pike District, Buchanan asked the CTB to "open negotiations with Maryland regarding another river crossing." A new river crossing "will be a game changer," Buchanan predicted, citing our current "broken transportation system." 

Our congested roads have not only scared away businesses, but raised costs for those already here. They even made your online holiday shopping more expensive, with shipping rates calculated using congestion and travel delay data. Equally troubling: the lack of a direct highway connection between Montgomery County and Dulles Airport has been a deal breaker for international firms considering moving here. All of this, along with MoCo's tax and regulation scheme, have led to a moribund County economy.

"The business community - I speak for Montgomery - is solidly behind another river crossing to alleviate the congestion," Buchanan told the CTB. He recalled that a survey of local businesses found the number one project universally responded to was a new bridge connecting Montgomery with Northern Virginia. Buchanan said businesspeople told him that they are afraid to be too vocal about their support for the bridge because "the politics are so great" on the issue. "Let's not let politics stop what we know needs to be done," Buchanan said.

This is truly a sea change from the usual boilerplate of our County government. It's clear the tide is slowly beginning to turn. No councilmember has stated support for a new bridge, and the long-delayed M-83 Highway has been tabled again. But councilmembers who were claiming Bus Rapid Transit was the solution for the American Legion Bridge just a few years ago, are now advocating extending Virginia's Express Lanes into Maryland. Instead of the bus-and-carpool-only lanes they promoted in 2012, they're now endorsing toll lanes that solo drivers could use.

That change comes at a time when Virginia's transportation secretary has thrown out a 2012 Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments study which showed around 25% of traffic on the Legion Bridge to be headed to, or from, the Dulles area. Replacing it, is a fake study with totally different numbers, that claims a fake average speed on the Inner Loop crossing the bridge during evening rush, and cooks the books to make it seem no one is going to or from Dulles. 

Fortunately, heavier political weights like Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Sen. Mark Warner are solidly behind a new Potomac crossing. Now is the time to address this critical transportation project, while Maryland also has a governor who wants to improve highway capacity, and now has a bridge advocate such as Buchanan in a position of power in the County.

As Buchanan advised the CTB, "We should never be afraid of talking." 

The CTB later approved a resolution directing Virginia Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne to initiate discussions with Maryland on existing and potential new river crossings, including a new bridge west of the Legion crossing, and a replacement Gov. Harry W. Nice Bridge in Southern Maryland.

Our phone is ringing. Will our leaders finally answer?

Rockville's Confederate statue could stay put at least through February 2016

Rockville Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton and the City Council will have the final say over whether or not the Confederate statue outside the Red Brick Courthouse ends up on the grounds of the Beall Dawson House, City Manager Barbara Matthews confirmed during Monday night's Mayor and Council meeting. 

The Rockville Historic District Commission is scheduled to take up Montgomery County's request to move the statue, which the County owns, to the City-owned Beall Dawson property on Thursday night. That decision was postponed when the recusal of one commissioner prevented a quorum on that agenda item at last month's meeting of the HDC.

Matthews said that, even if the HDC approves the move, the Mayor and Council can accept or reject the statue. She recommended scheduling Mayor and Council action on the matter for February, so that the highly-controversial issue would not overwhelm budget discussions already on meeting agendas in January.

That would mean the statue will remain in place at least through February of next year.

Rockville councilman: Stop funding tackle football

Rockville Councilmember Mark Pierzchala advised his colleagues at last night's Mayor and Council meeting that he wants the City to stop funding contact football for youth in its budget. The Mayor and Council have allotted $342,510 for youth sports in FY-2016. However, the amount of that which funds tackle football is not broken out in the budget document.

The Recreation and Parks Department offers a Rockville Football League for youth on its list of sports. A representative for the City, Jen Liberto, sits on the Board of Directors of this league entity. But it's unclear how much control or say Rockville has in its budget and operations, or how much the City contributes financially to the league. If Rockville were to cease funding tackle football, the impact on this or other programs is also unclear.

Pierzchala said that, as a former football player in his own youth, he knows football is inherently a "helmet-to-helmet" game. With recent concerns over concussions and long-term brain injuries in football players at all levels, Pierzchala argued that this is discussion the City must have. He said he wanted to give advance notice of his position, so that no one would be taken by surprise when the new budget deliberations are underway.

Lincoln Park resident dies from injuries in Rockville collision

A resident of Rockville's Lincoln Park neighborhood died at 6:50 PM last night, from injuries he suffered in a bicycle-automobile collision 24 hours earlier on E. Gude Drive at Southlawn Lane. Samuel Vigil, 37, of the 700 block of Lenmore Avenue, was riding his bike southward across the westbound lanes of E. Gude Drive when police say he struck a black 2004 Lexus RX330 traveling west in those lanes.

Montgomery County Police say their early investigation suggests Vigil was facing a red light, and entered the westbound lanes of E. Gude against the pedestrian signal.

Vigil was transported to Suburban Hospital, where he passed away last night. The driver of the Lexus, 23-year-old Monica Min of Gaithersburg, was taken to Shady Grove Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police continue to investigate the incident. Anyone with information regarding this collision is asked to contact the Collision Reconstruction Unit at 240-773-6620.

Rockville construction update: Ourisman Rockmont Chevrolet dealership (Photos)

Work continues on the future Ourisman Rockmont Chevrolet dealership at Wintergreen Plaza on Rockville Pike. As you can see, the structure is beginning to take the shape of the latest Chevrolet dealership design template (bottom photo). You may have seen this showroom design elsewhere in the DC region.