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Update 2: The suspect has been arrested. Silent Rider has the details.

Update: There is more on this story in an article by Chris Robinson in the Gazette, as well as a story on Channel 4 News. Channel 4 also has a rather sensational video up.

From the City’s website:

Detectives from the Gaithersburg Police Department are asking the public for help in identifying a suspect responsible for several robberies and sex assaults that occurred in Gaithersburg between May 9 and June 16, 2007.

There have been at least nine separate incidents in which a man has approached a female and sexually assaulted and robbed her. These incidents have occurred at various times throughout the day in the area of West Deer Park Road and West Diamond Avenue in Gaithersburg.

The suspect in each of these incidents was described as a black male, approximately 16 to 21 years of age, between 5’05” and 6’01” tall, with a thin build, dark complexion, short close-cropped black hair, and clean shaven. A composite picture was developed with the assistance of witnesses and victims, and is attached with this release.

Anyone who has information about the suspect or any of the incidents is asked to call the Gaithersburg Police Investigative Section at 301-258-6400.

No, the Gazette isn’t referring to Gaithersburg’s plan to spend $25,000,000 of public funds ^* on a swimming pool. They are referring to an initiative in Sykesville to carve space out of a public park to allow a developer to build and operate a pool. Interesting that they didn’t have similar advice for Gaithersburg, despite the fact that the City is proposing to spend an amount equal to half of the entire annual budget of the City to build a pool — and to take on an annual million-dollar operating loss to run it.

In an editorial in this week’s Carroll County edition of the Gazette, the paper opines:

The Town of Sykesville is considering again building a swimming pool, but this time without public money.

Little says summer more than a day at the pool, so we encourage the analysis, but we caution our elected officials to temper their zeal for the project with resident interest.

We question if enough residents care about the matter for the government to involve itself in it.

If residents have their own pool, why would they pay to go to a public pool? If they belong to one of the clubs in the area, why would they choose to pay to go to Sykeville’s?

Many questions remain over this project, and we do see merit in it. But the town should first ask residents if they have any interest in another swimming pool before spending too much effort on it.

All good advice, I think.

* The $25 million includes City tax revenues, County funds, State funds, Crown Farm developer funds, and land value. The Crown Farm funds were part of the deal with the City to annex the Crown Farm land and approve the development project, but the City is not obligated to spend the funds on a pool. (return)

• C. Benjamin Ford writes, Immigration debate leaves chief torn:
  

  County Police Chief J. Thomas Manger held up his hands for silence after a meeting last week with Latino advocates became heated with people shouting at each other over immigration enforcement.

  [Casa of Maryland spokeswoman Kim] Propeack and others said Manger’s experience in Fairfax made him a good candidate for the Montgomery post.

  ‘‘The department hired him because he had experience working with a diverse community like Montgomery County,” she said.

  ‘Breaks my heart’

  Manger says the immigration issue should be dealt with at the federal level. The department’s policy is to not ask for immigration status of people officers come in contact with unless they are stopped for a traffic offense or are arrested on a criminal charge.

  ‘‘It breaks my heart,” Manger said of the immigration arrests. ‘‘I get accused of breaking up families and all sorts of stuff. But you’ve got to do the right thing.”

• Sebastian Montes writes, Emotions high over police, immigrants:
  

  Immigration issues appear to be moving to a full boil, fueled by the county police policy of arresting people with federal immigration warrants and others’ belief that the deportation flags should be ignored.

  Like many police chiefs, Manger wants the federal government to take the warrants out of the NCIC database. The warrants began to be added in 2002.

  Since then, county officers have not had an explicit, written set of directives to follow. The police manual has not been updated since 1998.

  Police do not have to charge someone with a crime in order to run their name through the NCIC. And while police are not required to check the database to issue minor criminal citations such as jaywalking and speeding, ‘‘95 percent of the time we do,” Hurtado said.

  In the absence of specific guidelines, police follow what Hurtado called the ‘‘unwritten rule” of automatically taking people with immigration warrants to the county’s detention center on Seven Locks Road, where the Department of Corrections calls to see if federal agents want to deport the detainee.

  ‘‘Until that gets clarified, officers are going to keep doing it,” Hurtado said.

  The police manual will be updated this year, Manger said at the Gaithersburg meeting last week.

  I certainly hope that this doesn’t mean it will be updated to allow officers to pick and choose which warrants to enforce.

• Chris Robinson writes, Broadstone Apartments decision rescheduled:

  There were a number of short items in this article:

  • The last step before mayor and City Council approval of a plan to redevelop the Broadstone Apartments was delayed until tonight.

    A commission recommendation to the mayor and council of the Broadstone redesign plan was rescheduled for 7:30 p.m. tonight at City Hall, 31 S. Summit Ave.

  • Also delayed was commission action on a forest conservation and wildlife management plan for Aventiene, also known as the Crown Farm development. The topic was rescheduled to July 11.

  • RST Development filed an appeal in Montgomery County Circuit Court after the Gaithersburg Board of Appeals last month denied the company the option to re-rent the West Deer Park Apartments, at 70 W. Deer Park Road.

  • New youth center to feature recording studio

  • Input sought on Kentlands Boulevard

  • Buyout won’t affect Olde Towne

    A $22 billion buyout of Archstone-Smith Trust, a real estate investment trust, late last month is not expected to impact a major housing deal in Olde Towne, said Gaithersburg Assistant City Manager Fred Felton.

• Chris Robinson writes, Overcrowding fines among City fee increases:
  

  Most raise fees by $10 or $15 increments, while the largest is a $3,560 increase raising the maximum fee per acre for stormwater management waiver fees to $43,560.

  The overcrowding violations, $200 for the first infraction and $1,000 for recurring incidents, previously were issued as $100 property maintenance fines. A $500 penalty also was added for not having an emergency exit.

  Neighborhood Services Director Kevin Roman proposed the more severe penalties last winter after two separate house fires revealed that multiple families were living together in each house.

  Gaithersburg has had 43 overcrowding reports so far this year, while there were 70 in 2002, Ossont said.

  One of the 43 cases this year received a citation. Most violators resolve the issues soon after the first warning, Roman said.

• Chris Robinson writes, City averts shutdown with deal on budget:
  

  Though the dispute about a $250,000 line item representing only about half a percent of the $50.6 million budget nearly brought the city to a halt, Schlichting and other city leaders said the root problem was not a personality conflict.

  Council members and the mayor have focused less on listening than talking than in the past, and that will have to change, Edens said after the meeting.

  ‘‘We will just have to figure out a way to better understand our views,” she said. ‘‘I feel much better going home tonight. Now we can kiss and make up.”

• Chris Robinson writes, Teens suspected in Lakeforest Mall burglaries:
  

  Police suspect a group of teens are responsible for a series of burglaries inside Lakeforest mall early Sunday. Five males age 14 to 18 entered Lakeforest Shopping Center, 701 Russell Ave. in Gaithersburg, between 9:04 a.m. and 10:20 a.m., when no stores were open and the building was mostly in use by people who take walks there, according to a statement from Gaithersburg police.

From the County’s website. It was a violent week. Note that some of these are also reported by the City police.

• There were two robberies this week continuing the recent pattern; each involved a teen B/M carrying a backpack.

  • 6/13 WED 1400 hrs. Water Street The victim operates a vending truck and was unloading it when the suspect walked up and took food from the vehicle. The victim asked for payment and the suspect displayed a knife and demanded money. A second unseen suspect came from behind and took cash from the victim’s pockets. Both suspects fled towards Spring Street.

    Suspect: B/M, 15-17 yrs. old, 5’5”-5’7”/140-160 lbs., carrying a backpack

  • 6/15 FRI 1420 hrs. W. Diamond Avenue The victim was in the laundry room when the suspect entered and asked the time, and then for money. The victim told him she had none and the suspect then took off his shirt, pulled his pants down and exposed his penis. He put a knife to the victim’s neck and demanded a sex act – which she refused. He reached down her shirt, searched her bra for money, then fled towards Water Street.

    Suspect: B/M, 17-18 yrs. old, 5’7”-5’9”/150-160 lbs., blue hat, white T-shirt, black shorts, carrying a backpack

  Water Street is near W Diamond & Muddy Branch.

• A juvenile female had an attempted rape in the area of Flower Hill Way and Honey Locust Circle on Thursday 6/14, at 2330 hours. The victim got off the bus and the suspect came from behind and attempted to take her purse. She fought back and the suspect displayed a butterfly knife and grabbed money and the victim’s necklace. He threw her down, pulled off her pants and attempted to have intercourse. A vehicle passing by possibly scared off the suspect, who fled on foot. The victim went to the hospital before reporting the incident.

  Suspect: H/M, 20 yrs. old, 5’5”-5’6”, black hoodie with gold writing, bell bottom jeans
  

  Flower Hill Way & Honeylocust Circle are near Woodfield (MD124) and Snouffer’s School

• The attempted robbery in the 600 block of Summit Hall Road on Saturday 6/16 at 1850 hours likely is related to the other robberies/sexual assaults in the area and to two noted in P1. The victim got off the bus and the suspect (who was already standing at the bus stop) asked for the time. He followed the victim and put a knife to her stomach and demanded money. She told him she had no money and he put his hand down her shirt and reached into her bra, possibly looking for money. He apologized and told the victim his daughter was sick. He fled towards W. Deer Park Road and was possibly seen on Duvall Lane.

  Suspect: B/M, 19-24 yrs. old, 6’, black baseball cap, white T-shirt, black sweatpants, carrying a black backpack
  

  Summit Hall Road is north of W Deer Park, between Summit Hall Park & I-270.

• An armed robbery occurred at the ball field at Gaithersburg Middle School on Saturday 6/16 at 1450 hours. The victim, who was intoxicated, was confronted by the suspect, who displayed a .22 gun with white grips, and demanded money. The two got into a fight and the victim chased the suspect to an apartment complex on N. Summit Avenue. A witness saw them fighting and called the police. The suspect obtained the victim’s wallet with cash. Four H/M’s were seen running from the school to Girard Street but it is unknown if they were involved. MCP K9 tracked to the area of Fallbrook and Mandolin Court.

  Suspect: H/M, 5’8”, white T-shirt, jeans, carrying a multi-colored backpack, NFD
  

• Another robbery occurred on Wednesday 6/16 [stet; 6/16 wasn’t a Wednesday] at 1627 hours in the 400 block of West Side Drive. The suspects surrounded and beat the victim. The first suspect pointed a gun at the victim and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. The victim attempted to fight back and the gun discharged (not striking anyone). The second suspect hit the victim with a rock and then took his property. A witness yelled at the suspects, causing them to flee on foot. Officers did recover a 9mm Luger bullet in the area.

  Suspect: H/M, 26 yrs. old, 5’6”/175 lbs., tattoos on his right arm, blue short-sleeved T-shirt, blue shorts

  Suspect: H/M, 26 yrs. old, 6’/140 lbs., black T-shirt with a design of the world on the front, tan cargo pants

  Suspect: H6/M, 26 yrs. old, 6’/150-160 lbs., NFD

  Suspects: two H/M’s, both 26 yrs. old, white T-shirts, NFD

• An aggravated assault occurred on Autumn Flower Lane on Sunday 6/17 at 2110 hours. The victim and her mother were walking and saw the suspects standing on the street. The victim recognized the suspects from Fields Road Elementary School. The second suspect threw a rock at the victim and barely missed her. The victims fled home and called the police. The suspects threw a rock through at least two other residence windows.
  
  Suspect: B/M, 11-12 yrs. old, 5’8”-5’10”, 100-120 lbs.

  Suspect: B/M, 11-12 yrs. old, 4’8”-5’/100-120 lbs., white baseball cap

  Suspect: B/M, 11-12 yrs. old, 4’8”-5’/100-120 lbs.

  Autumn Flower Lane is near Muddy Branch & Great Seneca.

• An aggravated assault occurred at Sweet Autumn Drive & Snouffer School Road on Thursday 6/14 at 1636 hours. The victim was a passenger in a vehicle when the suspect threw a rock through the window. The victim was cut in several places and the suspect was arrested nearby.

  Defendant: Juvenile, W/M, 15 yrs. old, 5’9”/145 lbs., of Hedge Apple Way

  Sweet Autumn Drive is also close to Woodfield & Snouffer’s School.

• The aggravated assault in the 800 block of Quince Orchard Boulevard on Saturday 6/16 at 0100 hours was between a mother and daughter. A large knife was involved and the daughter was arrested on the scene.

• Officers received information that a subject was approaching young girls at the bus stop and asking them to get in his vehicle in the area of Pheasant Run Road and Rabbit Road. Officers stopped the subject in the area on Wednesday 6/13 at 0700 hours. The subject claimed he drops off his step-son and then talks to him through the vehicle window. He claimed the girls must have thought that he was talking to them.

  Subject: H/M, 33 yrs. old, 5’8”-5’9”/190-200 lbs., mustache,

  Vehicle: black Ford truck, MD/tags

  Pheasant Run Road and Rabbit Road are south of Clopper, just west of Quince Orchard.

• A burglary of a vacant apartment in the 400 block of N. Frederick Avenue occurred sometime after 0100 hours on Tuesday 6/12. The property manager found the suspects in the apartment on Wednesday 6/13 at 1530 hours; the suspects are homeless and said they were let in the apartment by other subjects (NFI).

  Defendant: Saisha Rhone, W/F, 25 yrs. old, 5’5”/190 lbs, priors for robbery & theft

  Defendant: Jason Thomas, B/M, 27 yrs. old, 6’1”/210 lbs., priors for armed robbery, burglary, theft, stolen vehicle & CDS
  

• There were three attempted thefts from vehicles on Walkers Choice Road between Thursday 6/14 and Friday 6/15. All of the vehicles had a window broken and they were searched, but nothing was taken from any of the vehicles.

  • 2130-0645 hrs. 18800 Walkers Choice Road
  • 2130-0645 hrs. 18800 Walkers Choice Road
  • 1900-0730 hrs. 18800 Walkers Choice Road

  Walker’s Choice Road is near Montgomery Village Ave & Great Seneca.

• Another attempted theft from a vehicle occurred on Friday 6/15 between 1330 and 1420 hours at 8999 Centerway Road. A witness saw the suspects cut the convertible top and attempt to enter the vehicle, but the suspects fled when the they realized they had been seen.

  Suspect: B/M, 18-21 yrs. old, 5’10”-6’/160-180 lbs., corn rowed hair, black T-shirt, blue jeans

  Suspect: B/M, 18-21 yrs. old, 5’6”-6’/150-170 lbs., black T-shirt, blue jeans

  Suspect: B/M, 18-21 yrs. old, 5’8”-6’/190-210 lbs., grey T-shirt, blue jeans

• Commercial burglaries along Montgomery Village Avenue may be starting up again. The last burglary was on 4/24 but there were two this week; both were discovered on Tuesday 6/19. 6/19 unknown time

  • 19400 Montgomery Village Avenue Custom Wireless A maintenance worker found a window broken and several phones missing. The report has not been turned in yet; information is via the CAD.
  • 6/18-6/19 2000-1100 hrs. 19218 Montgomery Village Avenue Floor Tile & Carpet Inc. Cut the deadbolt off of a rear door, searched the desks. At the time of the report it was unknown what/if anything was missing.

• There was a theft from a vehicle in the 10100 block of Little Pond Place between 1730 hours on Thursday 6/14, and 0540 hours on Friday 6/15. A rear vent window was broken and a laptop computer was taken.

  Little Pond Place is off Watkins Mill, just south of Stedwick.

• A ’94 Honda Accord was taken from Welbeck Court between 2030 hours on Saturday 6/16 and 1000 hours on Sunday 6/17. On 6/17, a 2D officer saw the suspects driving the vehicle but by the time the NCIC return was received the vehicle was gone. It was found abandoned on East West Highway with no one around. Suspects: three B/M’s, all 16-25 lbs., one with long corn rowed hair, & a black doo-rag

  Welbeck Court is near Goshen & Snouffer’s School.

• Two of the burglaries in the beat were committed on 6/14 during the daytime, and although they were in close proximity to each other, the method of entry was different.

  • 1200-1600 hrs. Sternwheeler Court Broke the basement sliding glass door with a ten pound weight (unknown where it came from) and then kicked the basement door to the rest of the house and the upstairs bedroom doors. Nothing was taken.
  • 1300-1400 hrs. N. Summit Drive The victim left the front door unlocked and came back to find the bedroom doors open (all had been previously closed). She did not realize until later that jewelry, $200 and a pair of sunglasses were taken.

  Sternwheeler Court is near Gaitherburg Middle School, close to Victory Farm & Girard; it’s also near Sunburst Ct, which was mentioned in the recent City Police crime summary.

• Possible gang-related vandalism was drawn at Montgomery Kitchen and Baths, 15906 Luanne Drive, sometime during the weekend of 6/15 to 6/18. Teal colored paint was used to write “MAB” (or possibly could be “MOB”) on two vehicles.

  Luanne Drive is off Gaither Road, a bit west of Shady Grove; it’s also near the shopping center with the Best Buy, Nordstrom’s Rack and Office Depot.

• A theft from a vehicle occurred at 8100 Beechcraft Avenue between 1800 hours on Thursday 6/14 and 0930 hours on Friday 6/15. Entry was made through an unlocked gate and then a padlock was cut on a trailer door. Four wheels, a jack and an impact wrench were taken. The victim there called the 6th District station on 6/08, asking for extra patrol due to ‘numerous’ thefts. In checking the crime analysis database, seven vehicle-related incidents were found at this particular address since 1/31/07 and there have only been four vehicle-related events in the entire Airpark since 5/26.

From the City’s website:

Monday, June 25, 2007
Burglary
On 06/25/07, at 3:25 a. m., police responded to the unit block of Redding Ridge Dr. for a report of a burglary.The victim stated between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on 06/24/07, the suspect(s) possibly entered the home through an opened window and took a purse and a wallet belonging to the homeowners.

Redding Ridge Drive is near Muddy Branch & Rt. 28.

Sunday, June 24, 2007
Burglary
On 06/24/2007 between the hours of 09:04 a.m. and approximately 10:20 a.m., five suspects entered Lakeforest Mall located at 701 Russell Avenue, which was only open to mall walkers (no stores were open). Four of the suspects served as lookouts while one of the suspects broke into seven kiosks stealing assorted U.S. currency from the cash registers. An investigation is ongoing. The following kiosks are: Roller Shoes / Hollywood Style / Realty USA / Rainbow Fashion / Best Fashion / First Choice / Silver King

Suspect Info:

• Suspect #1: Black Male Approximately 14-18 years old. Wearing an orange shirt, shorts, and long black hair
• Suspect #2: Black Male Approximately 14-18 years old. Wearing a blue shirt with two horizontal yellow stripes, blue jeans, and a black hat.
• Suspect #3: Black Male Approximately 14-18 years old. Wearing a white t-shirt, khaki shorts, and he had medium length dread locks.
• Suspect #4: Black Male Approximately 14-18 years old. Wearing a green shirt, blue jeans, and black dew rag.
• Suspect #5: Black Male Approximately 14-18 years old. Wearing a blue collared shirt, blue jeans, and he was carrying a plastic bag.

---

Saturday, June 23, 2007
Armed Robbery
Suspects were walking in 300 block of West Side Drive when they were approached by suspects, who demanded cash. Suspects began to strike the victims who fought back. Victims were maced and suspects obtained 3 bags of merchandise then fled on foot. Investigation to continue.

Suspects: 7 - 8 black males, 17 years old, wearing black baseball hats, black or blue t-shirts and wearing blue jeans or blue jean shorts.

---

Thursday, June 21, 2007
Burglary
On 06/21/2007 sometime between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., an unknown person(s) gained entry into a residence in the 400 block of Sunburst Court. The unknown person(s) disabled the locking mechanism on the rear sliding glass door to gain entry and kicked open several locked bedroom doors within the residence. Several items of jewelry were taken from the residence. The suspect(s) are unknown at this time and an investigation is ongoing.

Sunburst Court is near Gaithersburg Middle School, close to Victory Farm & Girard.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Burglary
On 06/19/07, at approximately 8:30 p.m., police responded to the unit block of East Deer Park Drive for a burglary that had occurred earlier. Victim reports that between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., her residence was entered and property removed.

On 06/19/07, at approximately 11:38 p.m., a burglary was reported in the 700 block of Clopper Road. There were no signs of forced entry, however property was stolen from the residence. The burglary is believed to have been committed sometime within the last three weeks.

---

Monday, June 18, 2007
Burglary
On 06/18/07, sometime between midnight and 1:30 p.m. an unknown individual(s) broke into a storage room in the 400 block of Christopher Avenue and attempted to gain access into several storage units.

In an article in the June Mid-Month edition (4MB PDF) of the Town Courier, Sonya Burke writes about long-standing code violations in City-owned buildings:

In the weeks since the Courier made its formal document request on May 17, several sources say there has been a flurry of repairs relating to some of these outstanding issues, including exit signs being moved, shrubbery being trimmed, and locks being changed. One of the fire code reports released on June 15 was updated when compared to an earlier version also provided by the city and dated 2004. Some of the code issues detailed in the 2004 report had not been addressed at the time of the Courier’s original public records request on May 17. Both documents were officially released by the city just one day before the 30-day public records deadline.

Meanwhile, city inspectors say they have never completed a comprehensive review of all the city’s buildings, a process that was scheduled to begin several years ago. One document obtained by The Town Courier, but not released as part of the public records request, outlines a complete schedule with dates for more fire code inspections of city’s buildings. City officials say it was never completed because inspectors got “real busy” with other construction work. “It fell by the wayside,” said Wes Burnette, Gaithersburg’s permits and inspections director.

Really, read the rest of this article. The Town Courier is available for free at several locations (e.g. in racks at supermarkets) on the west side of Gaithersburg, especially Kentlands and Quince Orchard Park, or you can now download complete issues as PDFs from their website.

Last week’s Planning Commission meeting was canceled due to a quorum problem. They’ve scheduled a special meeting this week to handle the Broadstone site plan & rezoning application that got delayed as a result. From the City’s website:

Agenda - Special Planning Commission Meeting, 6/27/2007
Posted 6/22/2007

City of Gaithersburg
31 South Summit Avenue
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20877

Telephone: 301-258-6330

PLANNING COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA*
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
7:30 P.M.
City Hall Council Chambers

RECOMMENDATIONS TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL

Z-304 – Fairfield Broadstone, LP
Request to rezone 14.157 acres of land, currently known as Parcel A, Lots N-943, N-994, N-888, and N-939, the Broadstone Apartments, located at the Md. Rte. 355/West Deer Park Road intersection, Gaithersburg, Maryland, from the existing R-20 (Medium Density Residential) Zone to the CD (Corridor Development) Zone, in accordance with § 24-196 (map amendments) and § 24-160G.6 (procedure for application and approval) of the City of Gaithersburg Code
Note: no additional testimony will be taken at this time.

and
SDP-06-004 – Fairfield Broadstone, LP
Request for approval of the schematic development plan (SDP) known as Parcel A, Lots N-943, N-994, N-888, and N-939, the Broadstone Apartments, located at the Md. Rte. 355/West Deer Park Road intersection, Gaithersburg, Maryland. The proposed plan includes 334 multi-family units, 53 townhouses, and 28 two-over-two units.
Note: no additional testimony will be taken at this time.
Background Material Part I (pdf format)

Background Material Part II

ADJOURNMENT

PLEASE NOTE:

* THE ITEMS AND PERTINENT INFORMATION ON THIS AGENDA ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY TIME.

From the City’s website:

Request for Qualifications - Development of two building sites
Posted 6/20/2007

The City of Gaithersburg, MD invites and welcomes your participation in a process designed to identify qualified development team(s) capable of developing two building sites in the City of Gaithersburg. This Request for Qualifications is the first step in the process to select a development team. Prospective developers may bid on one or both of the sites. The sites are located in close proximity to each other and are described as:

1. The “Y” Site which is bounded by Olde Towne Avenue (south side), and the CSX Railroad right of way (north side) and
2. The 315 East Diamond Avenue Site, part of a larger City-owned property, which is collectively bounded by Summit Avenue (west side), CSX Railroad right of way (south side), and East Diamond Avenue (north side).

The Staubach Company (“TSC”) has been retained by the City to be its exclusive agent and consultant in assisting the City in the procurement of a development team and the negotiation of the sale. It is the intent of TSC to follow this RFQ with more focused and detailed RFPs (one for each site) that will be circulated to a select group of short-listed candidates.

The developer(s) of the two sites should use the Gaithersburg Olde Towne District Master Plan (pdf file link) as a guide in considering the project, however, initiative and innovation from the development team is encouraged. The City’s efforts to date in preparing for future private sector development are an indicator of the City’s desire to proceed with this development expeditiously.

The City’s primary goal is to sell the two sites to development teams who wish to work with the City to further the development of Olde Towne Gaithersburg. The City and the selection team intend to use the RFQ process as a decision tool in determining the degree to which vertical development and/or open space concepts will be most appropriate for the sites. The City intends to cooperate with the successful development team(s) to facilitate rapid development of a project(s) that will be in the best interest of the developer and the residents of the City.

Ultimately, the City plans to enter into a purchase and sale agreement with a development team(s) for the sites. The agreement will include (but is not limited to) the following provisions:

• Integration of the clock tower/plaza (planned for on an adjacent property) into the development of 315 East Diamond Avenue as indicated on the Master Plan;
• Sustainable development techniques; and
• An agreement governing the operations, maintenance and control of open or public space that may be included in the development of the sites.

Elements of the transaction will be discussed in more detail in the RFQ.

• Request for Qualifications Document (pdf file)
  NOTE: These documents are provided in PDF format and can be viewed with the Adobe Acrobat Reader. This format will enable you to view the documents as they appear in print. If you do not already have the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed follow the link above to Adobe’s free download area.

Update 2: The video of this meeting is now available. Also, the City Manager has released a statement:

The Mayor called a special meeting of the Mayor and City Council on Thursday, June 21, 2007 to continue discussions on the FY 2008 budget. At issue was the amount of funding set aside in a line item for a homeownership assistance program. The original budget, approved by a 3 to 2 vote on June 18, included $397,000 for the program. The Mayor took no action on the budget prior to the special meeting.

At the June 21 meeting, Council Member Geri Edens proposed a compromise budget amendment which would set aside a total of $220,000 for the assistance program. This amount is equal to the amount allocated for a pilot homeownership assistance program specifically for the residents of West Deer Park Apartments, established in 2006.

Council Member Sesma recommended modifying Council Member Edens’ amendment, suggesting $300,000 for the program and noting that there are several redevelopment projects pending.

The Council unanimously approved the compromise amendment, allocating $300,000 for the homeownership assistance program, and adopted the revised FY 08 budget accordingly. The Mayor agreed to sign the revised budget.

A work session on the proposed homeownership assistance program has been scheduled for July 16, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers, 31 South Summit Avenue. For more information contact the City Manager’s Office at 301-258-6310.

Update: The Washington Post has a story on this, by Mariana Minaya: City Pledges Aid to Displaced Tenants

It took them around an hour of talking about it, but in the end the Council wound up finding a compromise. Council Member Edens led off with a motion to restore the homeownership assistance program to the $220,000 figure (which would include the $147,000 left from last year plus an additional $73,000; Mr. Sesma had asked for the $147,000 plus an additional $250,000, while Ms. Edens had not previously been willing to move past the $147,000 level) at which it had started out when they first enacted it for the West Deer Park redevelopment. She also asked that the others on the Council recognize her main point that — I’m paraphrasing here — the Council shouldn’t be wily-nilly funding programs without due consideration. Council Member Sesma acknowledged and accepted Ms. Edens’ point, and welcomed her offer of compromise. Mr. Sesma further made a counter-proposal of $300,000 in total funding. This resulted in much additional discussion, but ultimately they all accepted the $300,000 figure, Ms. Edens restated her motion with this new amount, and this motion carried 5-0. The budget, thus amended, passed on a 5-0 vote, and the Mayor — who, after this vote, took the opportunity to state that he had decided not to veto the budget even without the amendment — promised to sign it as amended. There was much additional discussion about the entire process and how it could be made better, and they generally agreed to have work sessions on this issue. I’ll put up a link to the video when it available tomorrow.