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.â€
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.â€
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.
The costs comparison in the county press release doesn’t make sense. The lease for 17 N. Frederick was for $29,575 for the first year, with 3% increases for each of the next 5 years, totaling close to the $155,000 figure. Utilities would add to this, but clearly not enough to make an annual cost of $155,000. I think they are comparing the new one year cost to the old five year cost. The operating cost is separate, the CASA contract was for $125,000 per year.
I’d also like to know how Mr. Leggett measures achievement regarding day labor centers. Do labor centers “work” when they end loitering (doesn’t seem to have happened in other Montgomery County locations) or when they provide jobs (the figures I’ve seen on CASA’s work appear dismal, hardly what I’d call successful) or when they simply contain a community nuisance?
[…] County Press Release on Day Laborer Center 2 Eydie Searles, Cathy Drzyzgula […]
[…] County Press Release on Day Laborer Center […]
[…] The anti-solicitation ordinance. Several Olde Towne residents spoke with growing frustration regarding the lack of progress on the anti-solicitation ordinance. In the last meeting where this came up, on January 2, the Council punted on a version of the ordinance which did not require a laborer center to be in place. At that time, the Council expressed overwhelming support for passing an ordinance once a laborer center was in place. Now that such a center appears to be on its way with implementation expected sometime in February, many who have been waiting for a year and a half for this situation to be resolved thought that the Council should have been doing something about the ordinance last night. […]