gaithersblog.net

According to an article by Ann Marimow and Lori Aratani in today’s Washington Post:

Some community leaders are working overtime, helping Franchot and serving on County Executive-elect Isiah ” Ike” Leggett’s transition team. Double-hitters include: Barbara Krumsiek, president of the Calvert Group; Judge Chung Pak, a leader in the Asian American community; and CASA of Maryland Executive Director Gustavo Torres.

With a slot on Governor-Elect O’Malley’s team, that actually makes three incoming elected officials who have hired Mr. Torres.

Chief Montgomery County Administrative Officer Bruce Romer, he of the disputes with Gaithersburg over day laborer centers, is to be fired by incoming County Executive Ike Legget. Ann E. Marimow has the details in the Washington Post:

Romer also declined to comment. He has served by Duncan’s side throughout his 12-year tenure. He is known as the low-key, behind-the-scenes balance to Duncan’s high-profile public persona. Duncan first recruited Romer in 1998 from Davenport, Iowa, to serve as city manager in Rockville.

Council member Nancy Floreen (D-At Large) consoled Romer at a gathering of Duncan aides last night.

“Bruce has been a tremendous resource and a beacon of consistency,” she said. But “it is Ike’s right to put his own imprint on the county.”

Leggett has also asked three of Duncan’s four special assistants — Jerry Pasternak, Saralee Todd and Deborah Goodwin — to step down.

Among the other political appointees who received dismissal notifications were Health and Human Services Director Carolyn W. Colvin, her chief operating officer, Kenneth Rumsey, and the chief of behavioral health and crisis services, Daryl Plevy.

Mocoprogressive also notes this development….

In my post about the stabbing at JC Penny a few weeks ago, I asked if anyone had set up a fund to help the victim’s children. Now, it appears that one is available, organized by the Montgomery County Latino Lions Club and administered by BB&T Bank. Chris Robinson reports the details in the Gazette:

A fund has been set up to benefit the children of the 35-year-old Germantown woman stabbed to death at Lakeforest mall earlier this month.

Donations can be made at BB&T banks under the name Domingo Mejia for the three children of Ana Elisa Mejia Avila. She was mother to two daughters and one son, ages 15, 10 and 2-and-a-half, respectively.

Mejia was pronounced dead at an area hospital shortly after the stabbing. Dupree was arrested after being treated for his injuries.

His motive and relationship with Mejia remains under investigation, but an assistant state’s attorney has suggested the crime might have been a random act.

‘‘This appears to be a crime with no reason,” Assistant State’s Attorney Damon Bell said during Dupree’s Nov. 9 bond hearing.

[Lions Club chapter president Grace] Rivera-Oven also said the incident was the result of a ‘‘person not in his total senses.”

I do not see in the online version of the story the contact information on how to donate that was provided in the print edition:

TO CONTRIBUTEFor more information about making a donation to the fund for Ana Elisa Mejia Avila’s children, contact BB&T Multicultural Market Coordinator Angela Franco at 202-835-9338.

I mentioned this a few days ago in my report of last week’s Council meeting, and Chris Robinson has a story about it in this week’s Gazette:

After 27 years of service in Gaithersburg that broke gender barriers locally and worldwide, city Police Chief Mary Ann Viverette is retiring.

The city’s top law enforcement officer for two decades, Viverette, 51, joined the Gaithersburg Police Department in 1979 and has been an influential part of the program ever since, city officials say.

‘‘We understand she’s moving on and that becomes a part of life,” said Mayor Sidney A. Katz. ‘‘We’re sorry to see her move on because she is such an integral part of Gaithersburg.”

‘‘My first thought was the people and citizens and leadership of Gaithersburg have been lucky for all these years because they’ve had an excellent leader,” said Dan Rosenblatt, executive director of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

As association president, Viverette led more than 20,000 members from 100 countries in a continuing dialogue of research and professional development. Viverette worked to improve identity theft policing, Web-based officer training and anti-terrorism efforts.

‘‘I think she’s an extraordinary human being, one of the hardest working people I’ve ever met in my whole life,” Rosenblatt said. ‘‘I don’t say this about every one of our past presidents, but Mary Ann is really, really special.”

Her last days on the job are in May, after which she will move with her husband to a home near Myrtle Beach, S.C.

‘‘I’m still young enough to have energy to try something new and also still do the physical things I enjoy doing, like running, golfing, bicycling and those types of things,” Viverette said.

Volunteer work, continuing involvement with the chiefs association and possibly consulting work are also on her future itinerary.

The search for her replacement won’t begin until January, Humpton said.

Update: The City has posted an announcement of this retirement:

Mary Ann Viverette has announced her retirement after 27 years in the City of Gaithersburg Police Department, 20 of those as Chief of Police. Her retirement will take effect May 18, 2007.

“I am proud that I have played at least a small part in developing Gaithersburg and our policing programs to the accredited status we enjoy today,” said Chief Viverette in her letter of announcement to City Manager David Humpton.

“Working with a team of dedicated officers over the past two decades, Chief Viverette has developed and implemented creative and effective programs to better serve the citizens of Gaithersburg,” said Mayor Sidney Katz. “A commitment to excellence will be her legacy.”

Mary Ann Viverette joined the Gaithersburg Police Department in 1979, holding all ranks until her appointment as Chief of Police in 1986. Gaithersburg has seen its force grow from a complement of three sworn officers and one civilian clerk when it was formed in the early 1970’s to a staff of over 50 today.

An FBI Academy graduate, Chief Viverette became the first female elected to the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) board of directors in 1999. In October of 2006 she completed her term as president of IACP, serving as an international ambassador for the oldest and largest law enforcement leadership organization with over 20,000 members worldwide.

Under Chief Viverette’s leadership, the Gaithersburg Police Department has been nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) since 1993, meeting or exceeding an internationally-embraced body of more than 400 individual standards covering everything from agency management to personnel issues to the delivery of law enforcement.

Among Chief Viverette’s many accomplishments are her commitment to outfitting the Gaithersburg Police Department with the most advanced tools and equipment and her insistence that the Gaithersburg Police Department be a partner in all aspects of community outreach. Today Gaithersburg Police are actively involved in such programs as National Night Out Against Crime, Adopt-a-School, Neighborhood Watch, child fingerprinting and safety seat inspections, Operation Lifesaver rail safety, and PROS (Police Reaching Out to Students).

“A strong sense of commitment to the community in which she lives and works has paved the way for our Police Department to become an integral partner in creative outreach programs,” said City Manager Dave Humpton. “She has focused much of her energy on building bridges between the Police Department and local businesses, organizations, individuals and neighborhoods, helping to make Gaithersburg a great place to live.”

City Manager Humpton stated that he will begin working with other staff shortly in the search for a new Chief of Police. For additional information please contact the City Manager’s Office at 301-258-6310 or cityhall@gaithersburgmd.gov.

The City’s annual Winter Lights Festival opened for the season yesterday. This is a popular event, although personally I don’t usually get inspired to go until we get a blanket of snow to give the lights a white background. The event is held at Seneca Creek State Park, on Clopper Road west of Quince Orchard Road. Open from 6:00 to 9:00 pm Sunday through Thursday and 6:00 to 10:00 pm on Friday and Saturday, admission is by the vehicle: $10 per car Sunday through Thursday and $12 per car on Friday and Saturday. Large vans and Buses cost more. $2 discount coupons — good only Sunday through Thursday — are available at Lakeforest Mall, and all proceeds go to the charities listed on the City’s website.

This year there will be six opportunities — twice on each of three dates — to ride the City’s open-air “trolley” through the display. The first chance at this is this coming Monday, November 27, at 6:30 and 7:30. Tickets to the trolley rides are $5 each. The trolley is also scheduled to run December 4 and December 11. Obviously you’ll need to dress to be outside for an hour in whatever weather those dates bring. According to the City, “Seating is limited, and is available on a first come, first served basis.”

Today, the Washington Post printed an editorial headlined “Score One for NIMBYs“:

CHALK UP a victory for the xenophobes and the not-in-my-back-yard crowd in the city of Gaithersburg, and a setback for tolerance and decency.

What an opening sentence. They have no — and tellingly do not provide any — basis for calling this the work of xenophobes, and yet there it is, the seventh word in the editorial. Of course the remainder of the editorial makes no mention of any of the myriad legitimate reasons why the citizens of Gaithersburg might be concerned about a day laborer center, much less attempt to refute them. Since disclosing the truth would make it difficult to argue their position, they make up a fiction and criticize that. I suppose that the Post would counter that they’ve seen a couple of xenophobes in Gaithersburg, and this is of course a victory for them. Nowhere in the remainder of the editorial do they connect xenophobes to the decision reached by the City — to do so would be highly insulting to a city government that has bent over backward to be fair to people of all nationalities. They only suggest, in this first sentence, that this is something a xenophobe would appreciate. Well, a communist might appreciate the Post’s editorial, but I honestly don’t see how that’s relevant, either.

As far as the NIMBY thing is concerned, one could argue that the Post is the biggest NIMBY of all here, as they insist that the day laborer center should be in Olde Towne Gaithersburg rather than in their neighborhoods. Everyone is a NIMBY when it comes to disruptions to the peace of their home. This is a silly argument, but it appears to be the only one they can make when the facts are against them.

Regarding tolerance and decency, they simply don’t know what they are talking about. Olde Towne is one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in Gaithersburg. By and large, this diverse collection of residents gets along — and tolerates each other — remarkably well. And by and large, most of the day laborers are decent people just trying to find some work. However there are serious downsides to a day laborer center — large numbers of construction and landscaping vehicles during the morning hours, for example — that make them entirely inappropriate for a residential neighborhood, and these have nothing to do with the color of anyone’s skin or the language that they speak.

There are of course problems resulting from the behavior of some of the laborers and others who are drawn to a place where it is OK to hang around with nothing to do. Some of these behaviors, such as drinking and peeing in public, or harassment of women, are sometimes claimed to be rooted in Hispanic culture, and people who complain about these things are often painted as xenophobes. But again this is silly — one does not typically see these behaviors from most Hispanics. These are unacceptable behaviors from anyone of any culture and it is perfectly legitimate to object to anything that would bring more of it to one’s neighborhood. If the post wishes to discuss “decency”, perhaps they could first discuss the decency of those who engage in these disruptive activities.

After a fruitless yearlong search for a site to place a day-laborer center, city officials have declared defeat, turned tail and thrown themselves — and dozens of immigrant day laborers — on the mercy of Montgomery County.

My goodness. Where on Earth do they get this “thrown themselves on the mercy of Montgomery County” business? The City has simply said that they can’t find another place within the City that a landlord is willing to lease for this purpose. Remember that the City did find a place for a center — the Festival shopping center — but the County, who had agreed ahead of time to handle the lease negotiations, failed to follow through with a lease. Owing to the irregular perimeter of the City, there are plenty of places that are not in the City but which are just as close to Olde Towne as was Festival; for jurisdictional reasons, the City has been precluded from investigating these locations. What, exactly, is magical about the City boundary when it comes to day laborers?

Now, to add insult to injury, the officials are weighing a prohibition on workers soliciting jobs at curbside, a measure that would impede the city’s own residents from seeking gainful employment.

One imagines that the Post’s editorial writers have never attempted to drive into a parking lot that has been taken over by day laborers. One imagines that the Post editorial writers never even go to the parts of town where this sort of thing happens.

It’s a sad story and a shameful one. Just over a year ago, Gaithersburg was well on its way to doing what other immigrant-heavy localities in this area and elsewhere have done — make some accommodation for a group of local workers whose muscle and services are clearly in demand. But the site chosen for the employment center, a disused water treatment facility across the street from a parking lot where the workers had gathered each morning for months, did not pass muster with some neighbors — or with the activists who have made harassment of day laborers their stock in trade. And neither, to shorten a sorry saga, did the dozens of other sites considered by the city.

The Post is beating a dead horse here. The 17 North Frederick site that they are referring to was a bad choice. There were many things wrong with it — not just for the neighborhood but for the laborers as well. The site on East Diamond had only three parking spaces in a congested and busy location; it wasn’t at all clear how the employers would be able to use the site to hire workers. There were other sites, such as the City Hall parking lot and the King of Nations church, which the advocates themselves had rejected, for reasons that are still not disclosed. Most other locations were rejected not by the City or the advocates, but by the owners of the properties themselves. Does the Post suggest here that a property must be taken from an owner in order to make this happen?

At that point, city officials could have shown some backbone. After all, Gaithersburg’s day laborers live, shop, pay rent and often do jobs in the city, and they have been seeking work at impromptu and shifting locations in the city for years. And the county was offering to foot the bill for the employment center. But instead of dealing with a problem, city officials folded. Rather than choosing a site, minimizing the impact on the surrounding area and providing whatever staff support, policing and political leadership would make it work, the city slunk away.

This is just so wrong. Again, where is this site they should have chosen? Does the Post really believe that the City should take some sort of jack-booted police action to take over a property so that the laborers have somewhere to stand?

“After an exhaustive search,” city manager David B. Humpton wrote, “it does not appear possible” to place an employment center within the city’s 10 square miles that would not offend someone. He urged the county, which has maintained smooth-running day-labor centers in Silver Spring and Wheaton for some time, to deal with the problem.

“Smooth-running” is a bit of an exaggeration. There may not be much strife at these centers, but there isn’t much efficacy, either. Day laborers still congregate at ad hoc hiring sites near them, and less than a quarter of the laborers who go to the center — on many days less than ten percent — ever get hired. Cost per placement is steadily rising. The County continues to dump money into these centers, and into the activist organization that runs them, CASA de Maryand. But the laborers, and their communities, get relatively little benefit for all that effort. It likely would be more cost-effective to just give the money directly to the laborers.

The trouble is, governing is about making choices, and not every choice will be universally favored. In this instance, Gaithersburg’s leaders — Mayor Sidney A. Katz and the five members of the City Council — have simply shirked their responsibility to govern.

No, they have listened to the citizens of Gaithersburg and have done what they were elected to do. The wrong choice would have been to go against their electorate and continued to waste their time and money looking for a location that was never going to be found.

There is something shameful here, and that thing is the Post’s editorial.

Update 3: Sebastian Montes’ story from last Wednesday has been fleshed out a little for the Friday edition of the Gazette; it now includes a report of the dust-up between Mike Stumborg & David Rocha:

As Olde Towne resident Lauren Husted thanked the city for ‘‘taking this bold step,” the Rev. David Rocha of Camino de Vida, a day-laborer advocate, stood behind her in line holding a sign that read ‘‘To Work is Not a Crime.”

He held it high and close behind her as she spoke.

Sitting nearby, Stumborg rose and ripped the sign away from Rocha, who turned and smiled his response: ‘‘I forgive you.”

Stumborg then called Rocha a derogatory name.

Mayor Sidney A. Katz urged calm, and the tension passed, but speaking a few moments later, the Rev. Simon Bautista, who is assigned to Episcopal Church of the Ascension, said he worried that the exchange could be a harbinger of things to come if the city were to pass the law.

‘‘We have just seen here a piece of what is going to happen … the hate getting into our hearts as we lose control of our emotions,” he said.

But Bob Drzyzgula, another Olde Towne resident, saw it differently.

‘‘We just saw a demonstration of an inability to wait one’s turn, an inability to demonstrate respect for other peoples’ opinion,” he said. By holding up the sign, he said Rocha ‘‘was demonstrating his arrogance and his impatience.”

Drzyzgula added, ‘‘What I see in the anti-solicitation ordinance is an effort to ask people to not try to take over property that doesn’t belong to them. … I don’t see that this has anything to do with racism or hatred. I think it has to do with wanting to see public order restored.”

For what it’s worth, I do not recall, in all my years of watching and attending Gaithersburg Mayor and Council meetings, anything like what happened on Monday. While I’ve seen others bring various sorts of visual aids, holding up a placard to distract attention from another speaker is just not done. I think that it was another example of how some parts of our immigrant population appear to have great difficulty understanding and living by local customs and societal norms.

First, note that the City has posted the video of this meeting, as well as the outcomes document, which I’ll paste in below.

Once again, the meeting was dominated by the issues of day laborers and the anti-solicitation ordinance. CASA de Maryland was out in full force: Gustavo Torres, Kim Propeack and Melissa Crow were there, as well as other advocates including several members of the clergy: Rev. Simon Bautista, Msgr. Mark Brennan and David Rocha. CASA had brought several ostensible members of the day laborer community, many of whom could receive legal services from CASA de Maryland in exchange for this attendance.

During the public hearing on the anti-solicitation ordinance, a long line of advocates and interested individuals spoke against the proposed ordinance. Many of those speaking against the ordinance asserted, typically, that it was a racist or anti-immigrant law. Repeatedly we heard how the day laborers were just hard-working souls who were only trying to put bread on their family’s tables.

At one point, David Rocha found it necessary to wave a sign saying “to work is not a crime” behind an individual who was speaking in favor of the ordinance. Checking the TV monitor and seeing that not much of his sign was making it on to TV, he held it up higher and to the side. Another member of the audience, apparently frustrated with this demonstration of disrespect and impatience, came forward to yank the sign out of Mr. Rocha’s hand, throwing it onto the floor. This brought a strong rebuke from the Mayor, and pleased assurances of “forgiveness” from Mr. Rocha. Following this, Mr. Rocha and Rev. Bautista characterized the act as a demonstration of the sort of intolerance they are forced to deal with on a daily basis, but a later speaker characterized it as a demonstration of the unwillingness of the advocates and the laborers to wait their turn or show respect for the opinions of others.

In the end, the Council voted to hold the record open for thirty days, as would be usual following a public hearing such as this one. Anyone with thoughts regarding this ordinance is encouraged to communicate them to the City.

Other things to note in last night’s meeting include the bizarre appearance of former Mayoral candidate Austin Decker, who spoke at length about the dangers of “remote neural monitoring”. Decker, who was in fact not wearing a tinfoil hat, told of a patent held by Aris Mardirossian, developer of Crown Farm, and sometime inventor. The patent, #6011991, describes:

A system and method for enabling human beings to communicate by way of their monitored brain activity. The brain activity of an individual is monitored and transmitted to a remote location (e.g. by satellite). At the remote location, the monitored brain activity is compared with pre-recorded normalized brain activity curves, waveforms, or patterns to determine if a match or substantial match is found. If such a match is found, then the computer at the remote location determines that the individual was attempting to communicate the word, phrase, or thought corresponding to the matched stored normalized signal.

Mr. Decker, who seemed not to feel bound by the normal three minute time limit for public appearances, was warned repeatedly by the Mayor that his time was up and that he needed to step away from the podium. This went on for long enough that I was beginning to think that the police (and this would have been Chief Viverette, as she was pulling Council meeting duty last night) were going to have to forcibly remove Mr. Decker from the room. Luckily (or not, depending on how you like your entertainment) Mr. Decker finally relented.

Speaking of Chief Viverette, City Manager David Humpton announced that she would be retiring as of May of 2007. Mr. Humpton read a statement of tribute to Ms. Viverette, who received a standing ovation from the audience.

Update: As noted by MoCoProgressive, one other thing of note was something that appeared not to happen. Gustavo Torres, Executive Director of CASA de Maryland, seems to have declined to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. This reticence was first noted, to my knowledge, by speaker Susan Payne. You can draw your own conclusion on this by taking a close look at the video, although I don’t think that this is as conclusive as one might like. The Pledge is, of course, the first thing that happens in the meeting. It starts about one minute into the video. As you see the camera shot from behind the audience, Torres is sitting immediately to the right of the podium, in a brown jacket and with brown hair. While he does stand during the ceremony, it looks as if he does not participate.

Susan Payne’s time at the podium during public appearances begins at 43:00; the accusation is at 45:00.

While you’re watching, Austin Decker’s performance begins at about 30:20 into the video.

While finding these timings, I noted one other thing I neglected to mention: Dr. Jorge Ribas, a Gaithersburg businessman, founder and past president of the Maryland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and current president of the Western Maryland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, spoke forcefully in opposition to the anti-solicitation ordinance. Personally, I found this somewhat disappointing.

Update 2: The Gazette has posted Sebastian Montes’ report of the meeting on their website:

A revised version of the law included slight changes that repositioned the measure as public safety issue.

On Monday, it was described in a number of other ways, including un-American, a bold step, a pretext for discrimination, a hard choice city leaders must be willing to make, a disappointing legislative maneuver and ‘‘a stab in the back of multiculturalism.”

‘‘I see no character at all in this measure. I see bigotry,” said city resident Joe Schuler, who lives near the North Frederick Avenue parking lot where the day laborers gather.

Supporters of the law — six of the 32 who spoke — argued that it is simply a way to bring order to the chaos they say has become the norm.

‘‘Please pass this worthy and just law and end the nightmare that my neighborhood has endured for over a year now,” said Mike Stumborg, who also lives near the current gathering site in the Olde Towne historic district. ‘‘Because no one else was willing to sign up to let their neighborhood be destroyed by this activity doesn’t mean it’s fair to continue let our neighborhood bear the brunt of this problem.”

The following is taken from the City’s outcomes document:

City of Gaithersburg
AGENDA FOR A REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2006, 7:30 P.M.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Mayor and City Council Held October 16, 2006
Background Material (pdf format)
Approved 3-0

Minutes of a Special Meeting of the Mayor and City

Council Held November 6, 2006

Background Material (pdf format)
Approved 3-0 (with revision on page 13)

APPOINTMENTS

Resolution

of the City Council Confirming Appointments and Reappointments to the Greater Historic District Committee, Environmental Affairs Committee, and Multicultural Affairs Committee

Background Material (pdf format)
Approved 3-0

PRESENTATIONS

City Manager’s Day Laborer Report

City Manager Humpton read the following statement:

“I don’t have a lot to report this evening. As you all know, we have asked Montgomery County to immediately begin a search for a location for an employment center in a heavy commercial or industrial location outside the City. County staff has indicated that they would be taking the next few weeks to review this issue before taking any action. I expect to hear back from them after that time.

I have also asked for an update on the County’s progress in terminating the lease at 17 North Frederick Avenue . In an email I received today, it does not appear that this has moved forward very much. I’m concerned that, with the transition to a new administration at the County, this could get lost in the shuffle. We will be asking County staff for regular updates and reporting back to you as we get more information.

PUBLIC HEARING

An Ordinance to Repeal and Reenact With Amendments Section 15-4 of the City Code, Entitled “Loitering,” so as to Clarify Existing Language With Regard To Prohibited Conduct, and Section 15-9, Entitled “Solicitation in Roadways,” so as to Expand the Applicability of the City’s Prohibition on Solicitation Specific to this Chapter
Background Material (pdf format)

Vote 3-0 to hold the Mayor and City Council record open for 30 days, December 20, 2006 , 5 p.m.

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HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION

Approval of Minutes

• Minutes of a Historic District Commission Meeting Held October 9, 2006
• Minutes of a Historic District Commission Meeting Held November 6, 2006
  Background Material (pdf format)

  City Manager Humpton made the following statement:

  “The HDC agenda for this evening includes the approval of minutes of the HDC meeting on October 9, 2006 . That meeting included a public hearing on HAWP - 37E . That public hearing was very detailed, including the history of the project and testimony regarding financial information. You received the minutes of the meeting very close to tonight’s meeting, and, given the detail, I wanted to be sure that the HDC members had ample opportunity to review the minutes prior to approving them. In addition, I have not had a chance to review the minutes and believe it is important to do so. Therefore, I am suggesting that the HDC defer action on the minutes of the October 9, 2006 meeting to the next meeting on December 4. Also, to try and approve the minutes in meeting order, I recommend that the HDC defer the minutes of November 6, 2006 .”

Certificate of Approval

• HAWP-48D – Applicant: Joseph LaVoie, 5 Walker Avenue, Tree Removal

  Background Material (pdf format)
  Approved 4-0

• HAWP-13B – Applicant: Glen Todd, 7 Brookes Avenue

  Background Material (pdf format)
  Approved 4-0

• HAWP-78E – Applicant: Warren and Liz Johnson, 104 Chestnut Street, Driveway Removal/Replacement

  Background Material (pdf format)
  Approved 4-0

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FROM THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGERS, CITY ATTORNEY AND OTHER STAFF

• Guidance on Drafting Ordinance Concerning the Installation of Automated Sprinkler Systems in Vacant Multi-Family Residential Dwellings
  Background Material (pdf format)
  Directed staff to introduce proposed ordinance.

• Guidance on Reopening the Mayor and City Council Record on T-377 – Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance

  Background Material (pdf format)
  Vote 3-0 to reopen record to receive Planning Commission recommendation and any additional comments from the public, until Nov. 22, 2006 , 5 p.m.

• Guidance on Proposed Text Amendment - Indoor Aquatic Facility at the GE Tech Park Site
  Background Material (pdf format)

  Directed staff to introduce proposed ordinance.

The City has posted the agenda for the Monday, November 20, 2006 regular meeting of the Mayor and Council. The big item on this agenda is the public hearing on the proposed anti-solicitation ordinance. Note also the CouncilHDC has yet again put off the decision on the destruction of the Talbott house/Hair Bar. I presume that the closed executive session of the HDC scheduled for December 4 will be held for the purpose of deciding what they can and can’t legally decide in this regard.

City of Gaithersburg
AGENDA FOR A REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2006, 7:30 P.M.

I. CALL TO ORDER

II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

III. INVOCATION

Weslie Ellison, Baha’i Faith

IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Mayor and City Council Held October 16, 2006

Background Material (pdf format)

Minutes of a Special Meeting of the Mayor and City

Council Held November 6, 2006
TBA - Background Material (pdf format)

V. APPOINTMENTS

Resolution

of the City Council Confirming Appointments and Reappointments to the Greater Historic District Committee, Environmental Affairs Committee, and Multicultural Affairs Committee
Background Material (pdf format)

VI. PRESENTATIONS
(certificates from the City and to the City, as well as staff or citizen presentations on topics - 10 minutes)

1. Presentation of GREAT (Gaithersburg Recognizing Educational Achievement Today) Award to Diamond Elementary School and Gaithersburg Elementary School
2. Proclamation of the Mayor and City Council Designating November 2006, as “National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month” in the City of Gaithersburg
3. Certificate of Appreciation Presented to Carol Tussey, Member of the Beautification Committee
4. Presentation of the City of Gaithersburg’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) - June 30, 2006
5. City Manager’s Day Laborer Report

VII. PUBLIC APPEARANCES
(public is invited to speak on any subject that is not a public hearing topic on tonight’s agenda - each speaker three minutes)

VIII. FROM THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL/ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Upcoming City Events

IX. FROM THE CITY MANAGER

XI. PUBLIC HEARING

An Ordinance to Repeal and Reenact With Amendments Section 15-4 of the City Code, Entitled “Loitering,” so as to Clarify Existing Language With Regard To Prohibited Conduct, and Section 15-9, Entitled “Solicitation in Roadways,” so as to Expand the Applicability of the City’s Prohibition on Solicitation Specific to this Chapter
Background Material (pdf format)

XI. RECESS MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEETING

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HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION

1. Call to Order

2. Approval of Minutes

• Minutes of a Historic District Commission Meeting Held October 9, 2006
  TBA - Background Material (pdf format)

• Minutes of a Historic District Commission Meeting Held November 6, 2006
  Background Material (pdf format)

3. Certificate of Approval

• HAWP-48D – Applicant: Joseph LaVoie, 5 Walker Avenue, Tree Removal
  Background Material (pdf format)

• HAWP-13B – Applicant: Glen Todd, 7 Brookes Avenue
  Background Material (pdf format)

• HAWP-78E – Applicant: Warren and Liz Johnson, 104 Chestnut Street, Driveway Removal/Replacement
  Background Material (pdf format)

4. Adjournment

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XII. RECONVENE MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEETING

XIII. FROM THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGERS, CITY ATTORNEY AND OTHER STAFF

• Guidance on Drafting Ordinance Concerning the Installation of Automated Sprinkler Systems in Vacant Multi-Family Residential Dwellings
  Background Material (pdf format)

• Guidance on Reopening the Mayor and City Council Record on T-377 – Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance
  Background Material (pdf format)

• Guidance on Proposed Text Amendment - Indoor Aquatic Facility at the GE Tech Park Site
  Background Material (pdf format)

XIV. ADJOURNMENT

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EXECUTIVE SESSION ANNOUNCEMENT

Notice to the general public is hereby given that the Historic District Commission of the City of Gaithersburg plans to conduct a closed executive session on Monday, December 4, 2006, immediately following the scheduled regular meeting of the Mayor and City Council, pursuant to Section 10-508(a)(7), State Government Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, to consult with counsel to obtain legal advice. The topic to be discussed is the standard of review and evidentiary consideration required under Maryland law as related to decisions of administrative agencies. The closed executive session will be held pursuant to a motion properly adopted at the regular meeting of the Historic District Commission scheduled for Monday, December 4, 2006.

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Notice to the general public is hereby given that the
Mayor and City Council of the City of Gaithersburg
will not conduct a work session on
Monday, November 27, 2006.

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THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
WILL BE HELD MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2006, 7:30 P.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 31 SOUTH SUMMIT AVENUE

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UPCOMING COUNCIL MEETING AND WORK SESSION ITEMS

This list is not all-inclusive, and does not reflect priorities or scheduling
But is intended to provide a glance at future items to come before the City Council.

Dec. 4 Meeting

Presentation

Presentation from the 2006 Kentlands/Lakelands 5K Race Committee

Public Hearing

Ordinance to Make the Montgomery County Defibrillator Code Applicable in the City of Gaithersburg

Policy Discussion
Regulation Establishing a Traffic Impact Study

T-377 - Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance for the City of Gaithersburg

SDP-06-003, Amendment of the Previously Approved Schematic Development Plan, SDP-L5, Lakelands Lane in the Woods