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The City has published it’s Legislative Priorities for the 2007 session of the Maryland General Assembly. These are the things that, given their druthers, the City would have the legislature pass in the upcoming session. Key issues in here are:

• Yet more money for the Lakelands aquatic center
• More funding for the City police
• Funding for major transportation projects, specifically the CCT and the Watkins Mill Interchange
• Taxing authority issues: Exemption from the Metropolitan District Tax, authority to levy additional Hotel/Motel and Development Excise taxes
• Authority for a municipalities to be opt-out electrical aggregators. On the Takoma Park website, I found a PDF document from 2005 discussing this issue in detail. A couple of quotes from this document will go a long way toward explaining what they want to do:
  

  What is electricity deregulation?
  Generally, electricity deregulation refers to a state deciding that customers should be allowed to choose an electricity supplier by letting competition enter a market where only a regulated utility monopoly existed before. It is felt that the market forces of supply, demand, and competition will help to keep electricity costs low, and stimulate innovative new products and services that didn’t exist under regulation. Maryland began this process in 1999.

  So if there is supposed to be a choice of suppliers, why can’t we find any besides our existing utility?
  What has been found in every state where restructuring has been tried, including Maryland, is that competition only appears for large industrial customers. This is because electricity suppliers who try to recruit individual homeowners and small businesses quickly learn that the marketing expense is much too high per customer to make it worth their while, and they abandon the effort.

  What exactly is municipal aggregation?
  Aggregation in general refers to many customers joining together to form a buying group. Municipal aggregation refers specifically to the situation where a municipality organizes the pooling of its citizens to become the buying group. The municipality (or a group of them) then seeks out offers on behalf of its constituents to get a better price, terms and services than would be available to an individual.

  What is the “opt-out” part?
  If a municipality has to go out and recruit citizens to join the buying group (i.e. getting them to “opt-in” to the program), then just like when a business tries to do it, it is prohibitively expensive in time and money. Where aggregation can be successful is when it is allowed to be done another way using the so-called “opt-out” approach. This allows the city to publicly declare its intention to become an aggregating entity for its citizens through hearings and mailings, and all citizens are then included in the buying group unless they respond to the mailings or otherwise tell the municipality they wish to “opt-out” of the program.

  There’s a lot more detail in that document, but I think that this gives a pretty good idea of what’s going on. The document explains that forming such a buying group, where people would belong unless they explicitly bother to request exclusion, is not currently legal in Maryland; the proposed legislation is the thing that would make it legal to do this. It also asserts that the electrical utilities — PEPCO in particular — are opposed to this because it would force them to be more competitive.

Anyway, what follows is the complete text of the City’s 2007 legislative agenda, as posted on their website:

City of Gaithersburg State Legislative Priorities for 2007
Posted 12/27/2006

FUNDING

Regional Aquatic/Recreation Center - Bond Bill Needed for Construction

• Additional funding is needed to move forward with this project on Route 28 and Edison Park Drive that will serve both City and County residents.
• The project is now in design phase.
• Gaithersburg has committed $9.5 million.
• Montgomery County has committed $6 million.
• Crown Farm project developers have committed $5 million.
• $1 million bond bill is requested in the 2007 legislative session so we can move to the construction phase.

Police - State Aid Requested to Improve Public Safety

• Maryland provides $1,800 in state aid for each sworn municipal police officer. This figure has not increased since 1999.
• Additional state assistance is necessary for Gaithersburg to expand its force, which currently stands at 49 sworn officers.
• The Maryland Municipal League has made increasing this aid a key component of its legislative agenda.

TRANSPORTATION

Watkins Mill Road Interchange - Engineering Funds Need to be Increased

• The Watkins Mill Road Interchange at I-270 is critical.
• It will aid economic development and reduce congestion at one of the busiest intersections in Montgomery County
• The City and County are working with developers on the Watkins Mill Road extension.
• Gaithersburg recently approved a Road Participation Agreement that would provide for build-out in two years.
• Gaithersburg has secured 65% of the Interchange right-of-way at no cost to the state. Efforts are underway to secure the rest.
• The Interchange is in the engineering phase, but there are not adequate engineering funds earmarked for this project in FY 2008.
• The proposed Consolidated Transportation Plan only calls for $800,000 and the Department of Transportation notes that an additional $7.8 million is needed for engineering.

Corridor Cities Transitway - Make a Top Funding Priority

• Congestion on I-270 has reached intolerable levels.
• The Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT), which is supported by municipalities along the route, provides an effective light rail alternative to commuters.
• The entire right-of-way throughout the City of Gaithersburg is available for construction, and the land for the transit stations has been set aside.
• This project needs to be the next major transportation initiative in Maryland.

LEGISLATION

Metropolitan District Tax - Exempt Gaithersburg and Rockville

• Gaithersburg requests a Bi-County bill establishing that properties annexed into the City of Gaithersburg or City of Rockville since 1965 not be subject to the Metropolitan District Tax.
• This tax is used to support parks operated by the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
• It has never been assessed on properties located within Gaithersburg or Rockville, but a recent County Attorney’s opinion has determined that properties annexed in either City should be subject to the tax.
• Both Gaithersburg and Rockville have their own extensive parks systems and recreational programs that are funded by the respective City’s property tax revenues.

Hotel/Motel Tax- Allow Municipalities to Assess

• The City of Gaithersburg currently has 14 hotels operating within City limits.
• They require additional public services such as police protection.
• Gaithersburg requests that enabling legislation be approved allowing municipalities to assess a 3% hotel/motel tax.
  
• Most counties and the City of Baltimore currently charge a hotel/motel tax, but other municipalities do not have the authority to assess a tax of this nature

Municipal Opt-Out Electrical Aggregation- Approve

• Deregulation has not produced meaningful competition in Maryland, and our residents’ electric utility rates continue to increase.
• Like municipalities across this State, the City of Gaithersburg would like to seek competitive bids from electric providers on behalf of our residents.
• We are requesting that the General Assembly approve municipal opt-out electrical aggregation this year.

Development Excise Taxes- Enact Enabling Legislation

• The City of Gaithersburg is supportive of Rockville’s request for enabling legislation that would permit municipalities to charge development excise taxes to assist in providing the infrastructure necessary to support new development

From an MCPD press release:

12/27/2006

Gaithersburg Officers Arrest Armed Robber

Montgomery County Police 6th District officers have arrested Edward Rodriguez for an armed robbery that occurred on December 24, near Frederick Avenue and Brookes Avenue in Gaithersburg.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the victim, a 26-year-old man from Gaithersburg, was walking in the area of Frederick Avenue and Brookes Avenue. The victim was approached from behind and grabbed by a Hispanic male. The suspect put a knife to the victim’s throat and demanded money. The suspect obtained the victim’s wallet and fled. The victim followed the suspect to his residence and called police.

Edward Rodriguez, age 23, of the 17200 block of King James Way in Gaithersburg, was arrested and charged with armed robbery, first-degree assault, second-degree assault, theft under $500, false statements to a police officer, and obstruction and hindering. Rodriguez is being held at Montgomery County Detention Center on $20,000.00 bond.

Photograph provided by the Gaithersburg Police to a Gaithersblog reader; click on the picture for a larger image.

In today’s Washington Post, Nick Miroff writes Immigrants’ Jobs Vanish With Housing Slowdown:

So [1999 Salvadoran immigrant] Guzman got a plane ticket. On Jan. 20, he is taking his family back to El Salvador, with plans to open an auto repair shop with the money he has saved. “There’s no work here anymore,” he said, having spent the past month unemployed. “And when there’s no work, it’s time for Latinos to go back to the countries where they came from.”

“The Hispanic population in Virginia has grown too much,” said Guzman, echoing the sentiments of those who support tough immigration policies, “and that’s closed off a lot of job opportunities.”

Demographers who track migration patterns and embassy staff members say it’s too soon to tell exactly how the housing construction decline has affected the region’s Hispanic population. But stories of departing workers abound. Some workers say they’re headed home; others, spurred by rumors of construction jobs, try their fortunes in the Carolinas, Georgia, New Orleans.

“It’s a little better here, but not much,” said Raul Amayas, 21, a Salvadoran immigrant reached by phone in Charlotte. Amayas left Manassas last month after losing his $400-a-week landscaping job. Now he’s making $300 a week as a busboy at a Mexican restaurant. “It’s hard here. Ugly,” Amayas said.

All this is really odd, because just yesterday in an editorial, the Washington Post suggested just the opposite:

Herndon’s Hispanic-free leadership is pushing its agenda despite deep divisions there over the immigration issue, despite a Hispanic community that accounts for a quarter to a third of the town’s population of 23,000, and despite the local economy’s evident demand for immigrant labor, legal and illegal. And to what end? Mr. DeBenedittis seems to think that if he turns the heat up sufficiently, the immigrants will simply disappear. More likely, they’ll just play cat-and-mouse with the police or move one town over.

Further, Mr. Miroff finds yet another person who disagrees with his employer’s opinion:

Tracking the departure of immigrants from the Washington area is difficult. “In terms of actual data, it’s too soon to say,” said Steven A. Camarota, research director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which supports limiting immigration. “If the economy turns down and we were to ratchet up enforcement, there would be a multiplier effect. But that isn’t likely to happen. The most likely scenario is movement into other sectors of the economy and greater geographic dispersion.”

It isn’t clear which part of his first scenario Mr. Camarota thinks is not likely to happen, but I suspect from the context that it is that same increased enforcement that just yesterday the Post insisted would do little to drive illegal immigrants away, given the “evident demand for immigrant labor”.

Again from Mr. Miroff’s article:

“A slowdown in the construction industry hits illegals much harder than the rest of the general population,” Camarota said.

Gustavo Torres, executive director of CASA of Maryland, said he’s concerned that tensions over immigration will spread and intensify if large numbers of idle construction workers are not quickly absorbed by other services and industries. “We’ve seen workers leaving for other states for jobs in construction or agriculture,” he said.

Torres argued for the need for job training programs to help workers make the transition into other sectors, saying he feared that “confrontation will accelerate further” if the slowdown worsens.

So the Central Americans come here illegally to take advantage of a job surplus, and when the surplus evaporates, or even, as we have seen previously, when more come than there ever were jobs for, it becomes the responsibility of the local taxpayers to provide welfare and training for these excess workers who aren’t even supposed to be here in the first place. And if this support isn’t provided, we need to prepare for “confrontation”. Given Mr. Torres’ history of confrontational tactics, it isn’t clear if this is as much a genuine concern as a threat. Would a frustrated illegal immigrant be more likely to hear Mr. Torres’ words as an appeal for calm, or a rallying call? And if the illegal immigrants leave the Washington area in droves, what happens to Mr. Torres’ line of work? Could he, at least in part, be concerned about his own future here?

“That’s one of the dangers of importing lots of workers,” said Ira Mehlmen, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which seeks to curb illegal immigration. “After their services are no longer required, you end up with them and with their families. “There isn’t much reason for them to return home when services and other benefits are available.”

And, I would add, there isn’t much reason for the “services and other benefits” if they all leave anyway.

Apropos of nothing, I enjoyed Bill Thompson’s “Editorial Notebook” entry in today’s Baltimore Sun. Mistletoe, a parasitic plant that grows high in trees, is declining in popularity as a holiday decoration:

Here’s what’s wrong with the world today: Not enough people are kissing underneath the mistletoe.

The festive use of the humble mistletoe dates to old European beliefs. Some ancient cultures vested the plant’s dark green leaves and waxy, cream-hued berries with mystical powers of good fortune and fertility, which probably ushered in the custom of couples bussing beneath a small sprig dangling from a doorway. The tradition used to be as much a part of Christmas celebrations in America as socks hung from the fireplace mantle or cookies and milk left out for the arrival of the jolly fat man.

When he was younger, Mr. Molock says, he’d scramble up a tree to fetch mistletoe. He doesn’t climb much anymore and relies on friends or a long pole to knock the boughs loose. It’s not hard to spot mistletoe. After the tree leaves fall in cold weather, it stands out against the background of the sky. Most of the clumps growing in Dorchester are about the size of a softball, but there are many so big that they could easily fill a bushel basket. The one method Mr. Molock never used to harvest mistletoe is by shooting it down with a shotgun. That’s still the preference for most folks around Dorchester. Mistletoe is a parasite and often grows high in trees - easily 30 or 40 feet above the ground - because that’s where birds deposit the seeds. A practical man, Mr. Molock says with authority that blasting away at mistletoe can knock off the berries. And you can’t sell mistletoe if it doesn’t have the berries.

Read the rest of Mr. Thompson’s essay here.

Jon Hurdle reports for Reuters:

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Santa isn’t welcome in Hazleton because he’s an illegal immigrant just like all the others the Pennsylvania town is trying to get rid of — or so someone would have you believe.

A new Web site, http://www.nosantaforhazleton.com, says the town intends to keep Santa out this Christmas because he represents the illegal immigration the town council believes increases crime and burdens local services.

But the site is a hoax, created by someone in a bid to satirize a local law passed in July that has attracted national attention by imposing penalties on businesses and landlords to deter them from hiring or renting rooms to illegal immigrants.

Of course this is a hoax, because Santa is not an illegal immigrant — he is fully documented and has the proper visa, which he clearly cannot overstay as there are some other nations such as Samoa which are closer to the east side of the International Date Line, and he would thus need to deliver there after finishing with the US. In any event, NORAD keeps a close eye on his movements, and NORAD is known to keep in close contact with the Department of Homeland Security, which I’m certain would take immediate action if Santa tried any such shenanigans.

Although Santa’s elves are (hopefully) mostly unrelated and undoubtedly live in close quarters, my understanding is that Santa has the proper dormitory permits from the North Pole authorities. There is the whole soliciting-from-the-roadside issue that may be a concern, however, but it is unclear that this is related to his legal status. There are also no known flying-reindeer-drawn-sleigh collisions, fatal or otherwise.

Earlier, I mentioned the collision that closed down MD 355 for several hours yesterday. After checking the Maryland Court records (thanks to mocoprogressive for a tip on this), I note that the driver of one of the vehicles, 26-year-old Mouloukou Toure, (assuming it is the same 26-year-old Mouloukou Toure, and that I am reading the records correctly) has a bit of a record, including several traffic charges, as well as a charge for uttering forged currency (trial scheduled for next April), a charge for first-degree attempted murder and possession of a handgun, (forwarded to Circuit Court in March of 2005; MC & PG Circuit Court records aren’t searchable), and possession of marijuana (nolle prosequi, he seems to have spent a couple of months in jail), possession of drug paraphernalia (pled guilty, suspended $500 fine). The County’s description of the incident makes clear that they have not yet decided which of the two drivers is likely to have been at fault.

12/19/2006

Serious Personal Injury Collision - Gaithersburg

Detectives from the Montgomery County Police Collision Reconstruction Unit (CRU) are investigating a serious personal injury collision that occurred this afternoon in Gaithersburg.

Sixth District officers and Gaithersburg City Police officers responded to the intersection of Route 355 and N. Westland Drive at approximately 3:30 today for the report of a serious personal injury collision.

The preliminary investigation reveals that a 2000 blue Chevrolet Malibu driven by John Cator, age 79, of the 15000 block of Maple Ridge Court in Rockville, was turning left from southbound 355 onto N. Westland Drive. The Malibu collided with a 2004 black Mitsubishi Lancer, driven by Mouloukou Toure, age 26, of the 2300 block of Jones Lane in Silver Spring, which was traveling northbound on route 355.

Mr. Toure was transported to Shady Grove Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. Mr. Cator was transported to Suburban Hospital with life-threatening injuries. He remains in critical condition.

Anyone who witnessed this collision is asked to call CRU detectives at 301-840-2435. Anyone who wishes to remain anonymous should call Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477). No charges have been filed and the investigation is continuing.

• Medical examiner rules toddler’s death a homicide, by Jaime Ciavarra.
  I mentioned this incident at the time.

  The determination answers questions in the case of Jacob Matthew Dunn, a 23-month-old who was found unresponsive in his father’s bed on Oct. 8 with no apparent physical trauma or sign of struggle, according to police.

  His father — Gerald Robert Wells, 39, of the 18300 block of Streamside Drive — had shot and killed himself, police said. Jacob was pronounced dead at an area hospital.

• Serious crash stalls rush hour in Gaithersburg, by Chris Robinson.

  I was lucky in that I didn’t have to travel on MD355 yesterday, but I did get the Alert Gaithersburg notice on my cell phone at 4:08 p.m. The notice that the road had been reopened didn’t come until 10:00 p.m. — it must have been a mess.

  A two-vehicle wreck halted rush-hour traffic on northbound Route 355 in the Walnut Hill area of Gaithersburg Tuesday as police investigated the serious collision.

  One driver involved in the collision at North Westland Drive, John Cator, 79, of Rockville, sustained life-threatening injuries, according to county police. He remains in critical condition at Suburban Hospital, they said.

• Traffic concerns jam Crown Farm Village discussion, by Chris Robinson.

  Representatives from these neighborhoods have been at the last two Council meetings. Fearing the foot traffic between the new Crown Farm development and Rio, these residents appear to want either the City or the Crown Farm developers to, in effect, pay to turn their neighborhoods into gated communities. They want fences built so that no one who doesn’t live there can use their private streets to walk through their community, and they want the CIty to promise that it will never take their property to build a footpath. In fact, as their neighborhoods are not in the City, it is difficult to imagine how the City would go about doing this; the decision to grant the easement is pretty much up to Avalon Bay, the owner of Winners Drive.

  They also seem to want the CCT station moved, since it will be right across the street from their homes. Apparently it never occured to them that there might be some people in their neighborhoods who would want to use the CCT, that the close proximity to mass transit would cause their property values to go up, or that shutting down foot traffic from Crown Farm to Rio is going to cause vehicular traffic to get worse. In any event, at this point, I think that the only thing that would keep that station from being built across from their homes would be if the CCT didn’t get built at all.

  Rosalind MacLennan, a representative of the Courtyards at Rio, told Gaithersburg leaders about the community’s concerns at a meeting last week.

  She said the community was even hit with vandalism last weekend, where criminals cracked several flower pots and overturned a fountain. Neighbors handled the cleanup effort, she said, and reiterated that ‘‘good fences make good neighbors.”

  There is concern that the incident could be related to development at Crown Farm, she said.

  During a joint work session Dec. 11 with the City Council and Planning Commission, Courtyards at Rio homeowners called for erecting a fence around their community and shifting the entrance to the proposed CCT station from Fields Road to Rio Boulevard.

• Arrest made in Olde Towne rape, robbery, by Chris Robinson.

  This is, of course, the subject of my previous post.

  Flores-Montalban, of the unit block of North Summit Drive, was charged with one count of first-degree rape, first-degree sexual assault and robbery. He is currently being held without bond at the Montgomery County Detention Center.

  Gaithersburg Police spokesman Cpl. Rudy Wagner said this sort of crime is generally uncommon, especially in Olde Towne.

  ‘‘When you’re going to your car, always have your keys ready. Be aware of your surroundings,” Wagner said. ‘‘Park in well-lit areas and walk with confidence. Go as quickly as you can from wherever you are leaving to your car.”

• U-Haul stops renting truck used to shelter laborers, by Sebastian Montes.

  The “Internet Blog” the Gazette refers to but declines to identify is MoCo Progressive.

  For one week earlier this month, day laborers in Gaithersburg used a U-Haul moving truck rented by area churches as shelter from winter weather as they waited for work.

  Now it is gone.

  A neighbor of the parking lot at 17 North Frederick Ave. where laborers gather took a photograph of the truck in use that ended up on an Internet blog site, and complaints reached U-Haul’s corporate office.

  The company has decided to stop renting the truck, citing safety and scheduling issues, a company official said.

• 9⁄11 argument ends in probation for teacher, by Sebastian Montes.

  I’d mentioned this incident following the initial reports, here’s a follow-up:

  Judge Stephen P. Johnson entered a ruling of probation before judgment and suspended a $1,000 fine for resisting arrest and ordered McVey to complete 50 hours of community service.

  The charges carried a maximum of 47 months in jail and $8,500 in fines.

  McVey is no longer on for Montgomery County Public Schools’ list of substitute teachers, according to spokeswoman Kate Harrison.

  McVey’s lawyer Robin Ficker said she was previously a full-time English teacher in the county school system. McVey could not be reached for comment, but Ficker said the case resolved as he expected.

From the Gaithersburg summary; the 100 block of East Diamond Ave is between Russell & Park Avenues; the unit block of North Summit Drive is a loop off of North Summit Ave, just north of Gaithersburg Elementary School.

Arrest

On 12/17/06, at approximately 7:00 p.m., a woman was approached by a man as she was entering her car in the 100 block of East Diamond Avenue. The man produced a knife and demanded money. The man robbed the woman and then raped her. Relatives of the woman came upon them and interrupted the crime in progress. The relatives chased the man. The police were called and apprehended the man as he was fleeing the scene on foot. He was charged with First Degree Rape, First Degree Sexual Assault, and Robbery. The victim was transported and treated at a local area hospital. The man is being held without bond.

Defendant - Walter Flores-Montalban, Hispanic male, age 27, of the unit block of N. Summit Drive.

As mentioned in my previous post, the City has published notice of the annual strategic planning retreat. This year, the retreat will be held in Annapolis, at the Loews Annapolis Hotel. The public is invited to the Saturday session, although last year was the first time any members of the public attended.

The Mayor and City Council will hold an annual retreat for the purpose of reviewing the city’s Strategic Plan and enhancing the working relationship among and between the Mayor, members of the City Council, and management staff. This year’s event is scheduled for Friday, January 19 through Saturday, January 20, 2006 at the Loews Annapolis Hotel located at 126 West Street , Annapolis, Maryland .

In keeping with the policy we have followed regarding our retreats each year, we are publicly announcing the date and location. This will provide our citizens and other interested parties notice in the event they would like to attend the portion of the proceedings that are open to the public. This information is posted at City hall, and on the City’s website.

The City Council and I believe that holding a retreat is important and productive because it allows us the opportunity to come together, away from the day-to-day responsibilities of the City government, our jobs and our homes, to work together and focus on important City issues in an informal setting.

We will begin on Friday evening, January 19, with dinner for the Mayor and City Council members and staff. This is purely a social occasion and is not open to the public.

On Saturday, January 20, the retreat will be held from approximately 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. The entire event will be open to the public. Staff will make presentations on various topics and the Mayor and City Council will review the Strategic Plan in its entirety. The formal agenda will be posted on the City website as soon as it is finalized by City staff.

Minutes will be kept of all public portions of the retreat and will be available for review. Staff will provide an overview of what was discussed and accomplished during the regular Mayor and City Council meeting on Monday, February 5, 2007. Additional discussion will be held on the Strategic Plan during our upcoming FY 2008 budget process.

Anyone who would like more information about the retreat may call Assistant City Manager Felton at 301-258-6310.