gaithersblog.net

From the City’s website:

Agenda - Mayor and City Council Meeting, 10/1/2007
Posted 9/28/2007

City of Gaithersburg
AGENDA FOR A REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING

MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2007, 7:30 P.M.

I. CALL TO ORDER

II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

III. INVOCATION

Pastor Sarah Lewis, St. Luke’s Lutheran Church

IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Mayor and City Council Held September 10, 2007 

Background Material (pdf format)

V. PRESENTATIONS

1. Presentation of the Banner City Award from the Maryland Municipal League
2. First Quarter Employee Recognition Awards

VI. OATH OF OFFICE TO BOARD OF APPEALS MEMBER – Victor Macdonald

VII. CONSENT ITEMS
(resolutions for approval by the City Council that do not need discussion)

1. Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Authorizing the City Manager to Negotiate and Execute a Contract for the Installation of Concrete Curb on the Still Creek Lane Median ($28,553)
   Background Material (pdf format)

2. Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Authorizing the City Manager to Enter Into a Contract to Repave Sections of Path at Kentlands Lakes ($73,100)

   Background Material (pdf format)

3. Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Authorizing the City Manager to Enter Into a Contract to Purchase and Install Playground Equipment for Diamond Farms Park ($58,000)
   Background Material (pdf format)

4. Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Authorizing the City Manager to Enter Into a Contract to Purchase Playground Equipment for the Water Park at Bohrer Park at Summit Hall Farm ($51,790)
   Background Material (pdf format)

5. Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Authorizing the City Manager to Purchase Radio Equipment/Hardware for the City Police Department ($56,580)

   Background Material (pdf format)

VIII. APPOINTMENTS

Resolution of the City Council Confirming Appointments by the Mayor to the Multicultural Affairs Committee, Olde Towne Advisory Committee, and Ad Hoc Skate Park Committee
Background Material (pdf format)

IX. 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)

X. FROM THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL/ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Board/Commission/Committee Vacancy Update
• Upcoming City Events

XI. FROM THE CITY MANAGER

XII. PUBLIC HEARINGS

1. An Ordinance to Amend and Adopt the City Budget for the Fiscal Year July 1, 2006, through June 30, 2007, to Comply With GASB 45 Funding
   Background Material (pdf format)

2. An Ordinance to Amend Chapter 5 of the City Code Entitled “Buildings,” to Include in Article II, Entitled “The International Residential Code (2003),” a New Section R326 “Gaithersburg Green Residential Criteria”
   Background Material (pdf format)

XIII. RECESS MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEETING

---

HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION

1. Call to Order

2. Approval of Minutes

• Minutes of a Historic District Commission Meeting Held September 17, 2007
  Background Material (pdf format)

3.Certificate of Approval

• HAWP-78F Applicants: Warren & Elizabeth Johnson and Daniel Washburn & Mary K Pedigo, 102/104 Chestnut Street, Tree Removal
  Background Material (pdf format)

4. Policy Discussion

• Applicant: Archstone-Smith, 320, 324, 328, 330, 402 and 408 East Diamond Avenue, Demolition Permit
  Background Material (pdf format - 6.7M)

• HAWP-95A (Retroactive) - Applicant: Irfan Khan, 112 Meem Avenue, Request for Amendment to HAWP-95 (Retroactive), for a Change of Materials/Window Style/Roof
  Background Material (pdf format)

5. Adjournment

---

XIV. RECONVENE MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEETING

XII. ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS, AND REGULATIONS
(ordinances, resolutions, and regulations to be introduced or adopted following appropriate procedures required by the City Code, or resolutions that may require discussion by the Mayor and Council prior to approval)

1. Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Authorizing the City Manager to Negotiate and Execute a Contract for Construction Quality Management Services and LEEDS Commissioning for the Gaithersburg Indoor Aquatic and Recreation Center ($302,000 annually)
   Background Material (pdf format)

2. MP-1-07 – Historic Preservation Element, an Amendment to the 2003 Master Plan (Ready for Final Action)
   Background Material (pdf format)

3. CSP-07-005 – Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Granting the Approval of a Height Wavier for the Archstone at Olde Towne Concept Site Plan Redevelopment Project
   Background Material (pdf format)

4. Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Awarding a Matching Grant to Gateway Park Homeowners Association ($5,000)
   Background Material (pdf format)

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

XVIII. ADJOURNMENT

---

ANNOUNCEMENT

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, October 8, 2007.

---

THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
WILL BE HELD MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2007, 7:30 P.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 31 SOUTH SUMMIT AVENUE

---

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.

Oct. 15 Meeting:

Public Hearings

AB-57, Abandon 6,509 Square Feet of Existing Land Area Adjacent to Parcel P-936, East of North Summit Avenue

JOINT – Z-307, Rezoning Request for Summit Shopping Center

From the County’s website. Once again these updates were released over a week after the closing date.

• An attempted car jacking occurred in the parking lot of the Macaroni Grill, 211 Rio Boulevard in Gaithersburg, on Sunday 9/16 at 11:20 AM. The suspect, armed with a knife, approached the victim who was just exiting his vehicle and demanded his keys. The suspect fled.

  Suspect: B/M 20-30 years, 6’1”-6’3”, dreadlocks, tan vest, long sleeve tan shirt, blue jeans

• A sex assault occurred at the Exxon, 971 Quince Orchard Boulevard in Germantown, on Monday 9/17 at 11:30 PM. Known suspect.

• A strong-armed robbery occurred Sunday 9/16 around 5:45 PM in the pedestrian tunnel under Midcounty Highway in Montgomery Village. The victim was assaulted, property taken.

  Suspect: B/M 15-20 years, 5’10”-6’2”, red shirt, blue jeans, white sneakers
  Suspect: B/M 15-20 years, 5’5”-5’7”, blue jeans
  Suspect: B/F 13-17 years, 5’5”-5’8”, corn rowed hair, white pants
  Suspect: B/F 13-17 years, 5’2”-5’6”, short hair, black tee shirt, red backpack

• A Peeping Tom occurred twice in a 30 minute span on Tuesday 9/11 between 10:30 PM and 11:00 PM, the female resident in the 420 block of North Frederick Ave in Gaithersburg saw a man standing outside her windows.

  Suspect: unknown race male, 20-25 years, no further description

• The larcenies from a vehicle occurred in the 100 block of Water Street in Gaithersburg; the victim had his van broken into twice in three days, on the mornings of Thursday 9/13 and Saturday 9/15. Both times property was taken.

  Water Street is near Muddy Branch & E Diamond.

• A smash and grab burglary occurred at the Rent-A-Center located at 367 Muddy Branch Road in Gaithersburg on Monday 9/17 at 2:56 AM. Entry was gained and property taken.

• Five of the seven vehicle -related thefts were centered in the Quince Orchard/Clopper Road area in Germantown. A possible suspect was seen in one event:

  • Tue-Wed 9/11-12 880 blk Clopper Road Property taken
  • Fri-Sat 9/14-15 860 blk Quince Orchard Blv No property taken
  • Sat-Sun 9/15-16 900 blk Clopper Road Property taken
  • Fri-Mon 9/14-17 780 blk Quince Orchard Blv Property taken

    Suspect: B/M 16-18 years, 5’10” to 6’0”, black ball cap, light blue jersey, blue jeans

• Two larcenies from vehicles occurred between Thursday 9/13 and Friday 9/14 from a Jeep and Volkswagen in the 20100 block of Rothbury Lane in Montgomery Village. A GPS unit and other property was taken.

  Rothbury Drive (I couldn’t find a Rothbury Lane) is between Goshen & Montgomery Village Ave, south of Snouffers School.

• Two larcenies from vehicles occurred between Friday 9/14 and Saturday 9/15, in the 9400 block of Chadburn Place in Montgomery Village. Forced entry, property taken.

  Chadburn Place is near Wightman & Montgomery Village Ave.

• A larceny from vehicle occurred on Friday 9/14 around 2:00 AM at Montgomery Village and Centerway. A suspect was located nearby and arrested.

  Arrested: H/M 5’8”, 185, DOB/3-7-84,

• Two larcenies from vehicles occurred when airbags were stolen from two Hondas in the 400 block of Girard Street in Gaithersburg between Tuesday 9/11 and Wednesday 9/12.

• Two stolen autos occurred when two blue Plymouth Neons were targeted in Gaithersburg:

  • Wed-Thu 9/12-13 100 blk Park Avenue 1999 4-door MD/tags
  • Fri-Sat 9/14-15 300 blk N. Summit Ave 1997 4-door MD/tags

  Park & N. Summit are both in Olde Towne.

• An attempted burglary occurred Monday 9/11 between 8:30 AM and 6:30 PM in the 230 block of Bristol Downs Drive in Gaithersburg. No entry was made.

  Bristol Downs Drive is near Midcounty Hwy & Saybrooke Oaks.

• A residential burglary occurred in the 18400 block of Hallmark Court in Montgomery Village on Saturday 9/15 between 7:45 PM and 11:00 PM. Entry gained, property taken.

  Suspect: H/M 5’6”, 180, DOB/3-7-84,

  Hallmark Court is off Flower Hill Way, near Woodfield.

• A larceny from a vehicle occurred on Thursday 9/13 at 11:25 PM at Mountain Ash Way and Mallory Place in Montgomery Village. A suspect was located and arrested.

  Arrested: H/M 5’7”, 150, DOB/1-17-88, homeless

  These addresses are south of Snouffer’s School Road, near the Airpark.

• There were three auto thefts in Montgomery Village.

  • Tues 9/11 3 AM-530 AM 19940 blk Drexel Hill Cir 2004 Honda
  • Sun 9/16 5:30 AM-12:20 PM 8800 blk Rustburg Cir 2001 Mazda
  • Sun 9/16 10PM-Mon 9/17 4:30 AM 19910 blk Sugar Notch Cir 1998 Honda

  These three streets are all in a neighborhood between Snouffer’s School and East Village Ave, east of Goshen Road.

Michael Dresser writes,

A plan to transform the MARC commuter rail service into a fully functional, seven-days-a-week urban transit system would cost an estimated $3.9 billion over the next three decades, according to an outline released yesterday by the Maryland Transit Administration.

The plan, first reported by The Sun on Monday, would extend the service from Delaware to Virginia while more than tripling the current capacity of the overcrowded train system.

I just noticed this release on the City’s Website, which echoes the information in today’s Gazette.

Seven Candidates File for City of Gaithersburg Election
Posted 9/25/2007

Last night the Board of Supervisors of Elections certified seven candidates to run for three vacant City Council seats in the City of Gaithersburg municipal election on November 6, 2007. The terms of Stanley Alster, Geri Edens and John Schlichting expire this year. None of the incumbents will be running for re-election.

The seven candidates are Ahmed Ali, Shawn Ali, Jud Ashman, Cathy C. Drzyzgula, Wilson Lee Faris, Carlos Solis, and Ryan Spiegel.

City residents who are registered to vote in Montgomery County are automatically registered to vote in the City election. To confirm registration, contact the Montgomery County Board of Elections at 240-777-VOTE. The last day to register to vote is Monday, October 8, 2007.

This year Gaithersburg will permit “no excuse” absentee voting. In previous elections, absentee ballots were only issued to those individuals who would not be in the City when polls were open or who were physically unable to travel to a polling place. This year voters will not be required to give a reason for requesting an absentee ballot.

Applications for absentee ballots may be picked up in person at City Hall during normal business hours (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday), requested via telephone at 301-258-6310 or downloaded below between September 10 and November 6, 2007. Completed applications can be mailed or dropped off at City Hall, 31 South Summit Avenue. Ballots will be mailed to qualified applicants after October 8, 2007.

For complete election information please contact Sarah Paxton in the City’s Manager’s office at 301-258-6310 or visit the City’s website at www.gaithersburgmd.gov/election.

• Absentee Ballot Application

Update:

From WJLA:

The mother of a child who was found wandering on Jarrett Court in Gaithersburg about 8 a.m. Wednesday has been located.

The mother say her daughter apparently wandered off while the she was in the shower. The child’s sibling somehow opened the gate to the courtyard fence, allowing the little girl to wander away. About 10:30 a.m., the mom realized the child was missing, she called police. She also went out into the neighborhood to search and learned about what happened.

The child is in the custody of Child Protective Services for now. Once her husband gets home from work, the mother and he plan to go down to Child Protective Services, explain what happened, and get the child back.

The child was not hurt.

These are two separate reports; both came out this morning. The first is a search for the parents of a child found wandering on Jarrett Court; from the WJLA report:

Montgomery County Police are searching for the parents of a child who was found wandering on Jarrett Court in Gaithersburg about 8 a.m. Wednesday. Police describe the girl as two to three years old with curly blond hair. She was wearing a T-shirt, a diaper, no shoes and had an off-white blanket.

The girl is reportedly in good health.

Child protective services has taken custody of the girl in the interim

Jarrett Court is northeast of the intersection of Wightman Road & Montgomery Village Ave.

The Second is for a woman missing from her apartment on N. Summit Drive, which is off N. Summit Ave opposite Lee St:

Woman Missing from Gaithersburg

Detectives from the Montgomery County Police 5th District Investigative Section are searching for Mrs. Maola Hodge, age 68, who is missing from her Gaithersburg apartment in the unit block of North Summit Drive. She was last seen yesterday afternoon. Mrs. Hodge suffers from serious medical ailments—including dementia. She does not have her medication with her.

Mrs. Hodge has been entered into a national computer database which is available to all law enforcement authorities. She is described as an African-American female, 5’ 02” tall, weighing 135 pounds. She was wearing a burgundy tee-shirt and blue jeans, and has very short “salt & pepper” hair. She may have taken a Ride On bus within Montgomery County to either Germantown or Rockville. The Metro Transit Police Department and the Rockville Police Department have both be notified about Mrs. Hodge’s disappearance.

Anyone who has information about Mrs. Hodge’s whereabouts is asked to call the Montgomery County non-emergency number at 301-279-8000.

# # #

Contact: Media Services Division Phone: 240.773.5030

• Chris Robinson writes, Incumbents bow out of city politics:
  

  In a year marked by shifts in city government, some Gaithersburg civic leaders say the direction of the city will change after three veteran City Council members announced they will not seek re-election in November.

  The new additions to the race include Ryan Spiegel, an attorney who ran unsuccessfully last year for the District 17 House of Delegates seat; Carlos Solis, a business owner and member of the Police Chief’s Advisory Council; and Ahmed Ali, a Navy veteran and president of a defense contracting company.

  Spiegel, Solis and Ali said they are not running on a slate, but are colleagues who will support each other.

  ‘‘I do think these guys share a lot of my values and a lot of the vision we’d like to bring to the city as we tackle some important issues,” said Spiegel, who listed crime and the environment as his top issues.

  The other candidates include Jud Ashman and Cathy Drzyzgula, who are running on a slate; Wilson Faris and Shawn Ali, who is not related to Ahmed Ali.

  Shawn Ali said he is the cousin of Del. Saqib Ali (D-Dist. 39) of Gaithersburg.

• Janel Davis writes, County 911 system is online again:
  

  By 9 a.m. Tuesday, the county’s 911 call system had been rerouted from a secondary emergency center in Rockville to the county’s primary center in Gaithersburg after an outage on Saturday that left phone lines down.

• Patricia M. Murret writes, Lyme disease prevalent in Montgomery:
  

  In early July, 12-year-old Amalia Rivera-Oven of Germantown got stabbing pains in her legs. For the next month, acute pain spread through her joints. She suffered sensitivity to sound and light.

• Chris Robinson writes, Raccoon is third rabid animal found in city this year:
  

  A raccoon found in the 100 block of Sunny Brook Terrace in Gaithersburg at 1:30 p.m. Thursday tested positive for rabies.

• Sebastian Montes writes, Driver pleads guilty to killing Village woman and Marine:
  

  A driver who killed two Maryland residents in Columbia Thanksgiving night pleaded guilty in Howard County Circuit Court last week to two counts of negligent manslaughter.

  Howard County police said Morales-Soriano had a blood alcohol level that was four times the legal limit. And within days, federal immigration agents determined that they had no record that he entered the country legally, immigration officials have said.

• Keith L. Martin writes, Teen arrested in 2005 murder:
  

  A Gaithersburg teen has been charged with murder in the 2005 shooting death of David Wayne Lee of Frederick.

  Cpl. Jason West of the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office said following a two-year investigation with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, police have arrested Eric L. Campbell, 18, and charged him with first-degree murder.

  One thing that the Gazette article doesn’t mention is that Eric L. Campbell is a Gaithersburg resident, with an address on Girard Street. According to Court Records as of this morning, he continues to be held without bond.

• Sebastian Montes writes, Gaithersburg man sentenced in 2006 Fox Chapel shooting:
  

  Although questions remain as to who pulled the trigger in a brutal Germantown shooting last year, a 22-year-old Gaithersburg man has been sentenced to life in prison with all but 24 years suspended.

• Sebastian Montes writes, Three pit bull attacks come in one morning:
  

  In the fourth known dog attack involving pit bulls in the Gaithersburg area in the last two months, a vicious dog-on-human attack last week sent a pregnant woman to the hospital and left two dogs dead.

• Patricia M. Murret and Chris Robinson write, Vandalism strikes Muslims and Jews:
  

  On the morning of Sept. 11, Samira Hussein of Gaithersburg heard the words “two flat tires” and she jumped.

• Chris Robinson writes, Airbag thefts are ballooning:
  

  While global positioning systems and stereo equipment in vehicles are familiar targets for thieves, police say airbag thefts are inflating.

• Kristina Gawrgy writes, Solutions to silence trains still not on the right track:
  

  Joe Rosenberg, a Kensington resident who lives less than a mile from the CSX railroad tracks at Forest Glen Road and Linden Lane in Silver Spring, has been behind the effort to silence the horns since he moved into his house on La Duke Drive seven years ago.

• Patricia M. Murret writes, Mounted police converge on fairgrounds:
  

  Horses whinnied and brayed on Saturday and Sunday while they waited to compete in the 24th annual North American Police Equestrian Championships at the Montgomery County fairgrounds in Gaithersburg.

Jeremy Redmon writes in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Hiring off the curb? Not in Marietta:

Marietta police busted Lee Chalfant as soon as the day laborer climbed into his pickup truck.

Chalfant, a home remodeler, said he was hiring the man to help him clean up construction debris from a work site. He picked him up last year just off Powder Springs Street, in an area bustling with young Hispanic men looking for work.

But for eight years, Marietta has been quietly enforcing the same law, targeting the people who hire day laborers. City police have handed out tickets to builders, landscapers and even homeowners seeking help with lawn work. Their reasons for hiring the day laborers vary, but their actions continue to fuel debate on the issue of illegal immigration. That’s because, correctly or not, many presume the majority of day laborers are illegal immigrants.

Jose Luis Jiménez writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune, Day-labor registry will stay secret, judge rules:

The city of Vista was barred yesterday from releasing the identities of employers registered under the city’s day-laborer law, after a judge decided their right to privacy trumps the public’s right to know.

“The information requested . . . has little to do with how the city of Vista is enforcing the ordinance,” the judge said. “The public interest level in this case . . . is quantitatively less than all the other public interest cases I have been asked to review.”

Eunice Moscoso writes for Cox News Service, U.S. Courts Strike Down Immigration Ordinances:

Cities and groups trying to crack down on illegal immigration are finding an obstacle to their efforts — U.S. courts.

A string of recent judicial decisions have invalidated many tough ordinances, including those trying to crackdown on landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and employers who hire them.

A federal ruling that struck down an immigration ordinance in Hazleton, Pa., has created a ripple effect, stopping other cities from approving or enacting similar measures until the case makes its way up the judicial chain.

Similar laws in Escondido, Calif., Farmers Branch, Texas, and a few other cities have also been invalidated or put on hold by federal courts.

In Herndon, Va., an anti-solicitation ordinance that targeted illegal immigrant day laborers was struck down by a circuit court judge who ruled that it violated the First Amendment.

Earlier this month, a federal court in San Francisco put on hold a Department of Homeland Security effort to crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants, angering groups who seek tougher enforcement. The government was planning to deliver thousands of letters to companies warning of workers with potentially false Social Security numbers. Businesses that ignore the letters could be fined up to $10,000 per employee or face criminal prosecution.

From the City’s website:

Monday, September 24, 2007
Burglary
On 09/24/07, at approximately 3:45 a.m., officers responded to 401 S. Frederick Avenue for a commercial burglary alarm. Upon arrival, the officers found a side door to the business smashed out. It is unknown at this time what was taken from the store. An investigation is ongoing.

On 09/24/07, at approximately 7:40 p.m., officers responded to 1100 block of West Side Drive. Investigation revealed unknown suspects entered an unlocked door and removed property.

On 09/24/07, between the hours of 5:00 and 8:00 p.m., a known suspect forcibly entered an apartment in the 800 block of Quince Orchard Boulevard and removed property. Investigation to continue.

---

Sunday, September 23, 2007
Strong Arm Robbery
On 09/23/07, at 1:30 p.m., police responded to the 500 block of Coral Reef Drive for the strong armed robbery of a pizza delivery driver. A male suspect punched the driver in the head while a female suspect took three large pizzas from the driver. The suspects fled on foot.

Suspect #1: Black male, 17-18 yrs old, 5′11″, skinny, wearing all black clothes.
Suspect #2: Black female, 17-18 yrs old, 5′04″, 180-200 lbs, wearing a red t-shirt and blue jeans.

Coral Reef Drive is near Muddy Branch Road, south of West Side Drive.

Saturday, September 22, 2007
Significant Events
On 09/22/07, at approximately 1:13 p.m., the victim suffered fatal injuries after being struck by a train near the intersection of Chestnut Street and East Diamond Avenue.