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Update 3:

Natasha Altamirano writes in The Washington Times: County land eyed to set up Gaithersburg day-labor site:

The county’s other day-labor centers in Silver Spring and Wheaton, operated through the immigrant-advocacy group CASA of Maryland, provide some vocational training, health care and other services.

CASA spokeswoman Kim Propeack said operation details of the new center haven’t been worked out. Mr. Lacefield said county officials plan to discuss those details with CASA.

The county estimates one-time setup costs of $45,000 for the center and annual facility costs of $24,000 for trailer rental and electricity. The County Council has approved $114,730 for operational costs.

Update 2: Sebastian Montes writes in the Gazette, Crabbs Branch is county pick for day-laborer center:

The county hopes to have the center running by mid-February, Leggett spokesman Patrick Lacefield said in an interview Thursday.

‘‘It is not going to go up before we have a chance to get comments from the public,” he said.

Some residents in the Shady Grove Sector planning area are not happy with the county announcement. They say the area is already burdened with enough.

‘‘You name it, we’ve got it. Don’t just dump this in our area,” said Derwood resident Brad Botwin.”

He listed the county’s trash transfer station, a bus maintenance yard and other industrial facilities in addition to the end-point of the future Intercounty Connector.

‘‘And now to have this plopped in … it’s exhausting. Enough. I’ve just had it,” Botwin added.

On Monday Botwin, a 22-year Derwood resident, resigned his position as co-president of the Greater Shady Grove Civic Alliance to form a new group — Help Save Maryland.

That group will work to prevent the day-laborer center from opening, he said.

Update: Ann E. Marimow writes in The Washington Post: Leggett Announces Plans for Day-Laborer Site:

Leggett’s pick, which is not subject to approval by the County Council, will be reviewed by the county Planning Board at a public hearing next month.

Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney Katz, who is scheduled to meet with Leggett tomorrow, said he would withhold judgment until after their conversation.

“Until I actually speak to Ike, I don’t know for sure what they are suggesting and what they are doing,” Katz said, adding that “the fact that I’m meeting with him is a very good step.”

The new center would be modeled on the county’s existing facilities in Silver Spring and Wheaton, and would cost taxpayers an estimated $24,000 a year to operate, in addition to $45,000 in start-up costs.

As of Thursday morning, there isn’t much coverage in the press concering the labor center announcment yet, but I’ll add more as I find it. If you find more please feel free to leave links in the comments or send me an email. Thanks.

Today’s Washington Times had an editorial on the subject:

If at first you don’t succeed, try 29 more times. That was Gaithersburg’s failed approach to the issue of day-labor centers catering to illegal aliens, which city officials proposed for 30 different locations in 2006, each time facing an angry phalanx of local opposition. They finally gave up the ghost in November. Newly installed Montgomery County Executive Isiah “Ike” Leggett seems to have learned nothing from that experience.

Or, more to the point, Mr. Leggett’s lesson is to build the thing just past city limits, where those nettlesome Gaithersburgers and their NIMBYism cannot stop it. As has been reported in recent weeks, Mr. Leggett is determined to get a center built. His deputies have identified locations near Shady Grove Road and Route 355 just over the border from Gaithersburg on the presumption that this time, the locals won’t object to a day-labor center.

Channel 9 had a story on last night’s 11:00 news (video available on their website):

Brad Botwin, a member of the Greater Shady Grove Civic Alliance claims the site is near the intersection of Shady Grove Road and Crabbs Branch Way. He said he learned of the Leggett’s decision from staffers from the Montgomery County Department of Park and Planning. Botwin and others, like Susan Payne, a Gaithersburg resident and co-founder of “Citizens Above Party” are furious that the decision appears to have been made without any public hearings

The release below leaves open a variety of questions. For example, is the County continuing to pay for the lease on 17 N Frederick? And what does Mr. Leggett mean when he says that the existing centers “work”? Certainly by the standard of getting day laborers off the street they are a dismal failure. Will we have a day laborer center and day laborers continuing to assemble at 17 N Frederick?

From the County’s website:

For Immediate Release: 1/18/2007

County Announces Day Labor Site Near Gaithersburg, Recommendations to go to Planning Board for Public Hearing, Advice

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett today announced his recommendation to establish a site on County-owned land south of the intersection of Shady Grove Road and Crabbs Branch Way for day laborers seeking work.

The site is located just north of 16640 Crabbs Branch Way, about 50 yards south of the intersection of Shady Grove Road. It is about a mile and a half south of the current day laborer gathering place at 17 N. Frederick Avenue.

The location, with an area of approximately one-half acre, lies in the County Services Park, an industrial area bordered by other County storage facilities. It is ringed by I-370 and the CX railroad tracks and is near a Metro bus stop. It is more than half a mile from the nearest house in the nearest residential neighborhood in any direction. The site was previously used for storage of construction materials and has been cleared for possible use.

“We are reaching out to solve a practical problem,“ said Leggett. “Day labor centers benefit both those seeking to sell their labor and the surrounding neighborhoods by regulating an already existing condition. These centers are helping individuals who want to work and support themselves and their families. They provide a structured program in a managed setting.

“That’s why the County has already established such centers in Silver Spring and Wheaton. They are working. This one can, too.

“If we do nothing, this situation doesn’t just go away. I believe we should address this challenge now.”

Leggett did signal, however, that he saw the centers as a temporary expedient.

“No one wants to be a day laborer forever. That’s why it’s critical to engage these folks and help them move from the informal economy into the formal economy – using our already existing County job training and development resources.”

As part of the Mandatory Referral process, the County is forwarding the site recommendation to the County Planning Board, which has an advisory role. The Planning Board has scheduled a public hearing on the mandatory referral at its Silver Spring offices for 4 PM on Thursday, February 8.

When operational, a temporary double-wide trailer will be placed on the site. One-time set-up costs are estimated to be $45,000.

Monthly facility costs (including trailer rental and electricity) are estimated to be $2000 per month. These annual costs of $24,000 will be significantly less than the $155,500 projected for facility costs at the previous 17 N. Frederick Avenue site.

The County Council has already approved $114,730 for operational costs of the program.