gaithersblog.net

From the City’s website. The artist’s homepage is here.

Olde Towne Mural Artist Selected
Posted 8/20/2007
Concept to be Unveiled at Celebrate Gaithersburg Festival

Olde Towne Gaithersburg will soon be graced with a mural created by well-known artist William Cochran. In June 2007, the Mayor and City Council approved the Art in Public Places Committee’s selection of Cochran as the artist for the mural project on the historic Belt Building, located at 227 East Diamond Avenue.

The mural will be in the trompe d’oeil or “fool the eye” style, looking so true to life that viewers may momentarily believe the painting to be real. Cochran is currently researching the history and people of Gaithersburg for inspiration and content, and will unveil his initial design concept at the Celebrate Gaithersburg in Olde Towne street festival on September 16, 2007.

The Art in Public Places Committee selected Cochran for his outstanding technical, aesthetic and professional standards; the compatibility of his style with the site; and his established record of extensive community involvement in the public art process.

Employing both traditional and contemporary techniques, William Cochran creates public works of art that explore local history and the meaning of place. His artworks are carefully woven into their social and architectural environments, yet they are timeless, detailed and multi-layered. He was the first American to be invited to Keim Mineral Paints in Augsburg, Germany for in-depth training in the legendary 120-year-old mural technique of Purkristalat, which creates murals that last for many decades and are impervious to everything from fire to acid rain.

Cochran’s well-known Community Bridge mural project transformed a plain concrete bridge in Frederick, Maryland into a potent catalyst for revitalization and renewal. Mr. Cochran’s work is in great demand and he is currently working on a range of projects for sites in and around Washington D.C. and New York. He teaches painting and is a popular speaker at universities, museums and conferences.

For more information please contact Gaithersburg Cultural Arts Director Denise Kayser at 301-258-6394 or dkayser@gaithersburgmd.gov.

From the City’s website:

Agenda - Mayor and City Council Meeting, 6/18/2007

Posted 6/14/2007

City of Gaithersburg
AGENDA FOR A REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING

MONDAY, JUNE 18, 2007, 7:30 P.M.

I. CALL TO ORDER

II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Jameka Watts, 4th Grade Student, Gaithersburg Elementary School

III. INVOCATION

IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Minutes of a Special Budget Public Hearing Meeting of the Mayor and City Council Held May 14, 2007

TBA - Background Material (pdf format)

Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Mayor and City Council Held May 21, 2007

TBA - Background Material (pdf format)

V. 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 Enter into a Contract for Stormwater Management Facility Maintenance and Repair ($29,025)

   Background Material (pdf format)

2. Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Authorizing the City Manager to Enter into an Agreement with Home Care Partners, Inc. Using Unexpended Community Development Block Grant Funds ($5,000)

   Background Material (pdf format)

VI. APPOINTMENTS

Resolution of the City Council Confirming Appointments and Reappointments by the Mayor to the Education Committee, Gaithersburg Senior Council, Multicultural Affairs Committee, and Olde Towne Advisory Committee

Background Material (pdf format)

VII. OATH OF OFFICE TO CHIEF OF POLICE JOHN A. KING

• Introduction of New Chief of Police

VIII. PRESENTATIONS

1. Presentation of the City’s Local Winner of the Maryland Municipal League’s “If I Were Mayor, I Would….” Essay Contest (Jameka Watts)
2. Proclamation from the Mayor and City Council Designating June 2007, as "Homeownership Month" in the City of Gaithersburg
3. Presentation by Local Governments Insurance Trusts (LGIT), Awarding a Grant in Support of an Aquatic Risk Seminar
4. Presentation from the City’s Compensation 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 HEARING

JOINT - SDP-07-001, Application Requests Approval of an Amendment to Schematic Development Plan, SDP-05-003, Known as Casey East (Parcels 360, 563 and N455) in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The Approved Plan is a Mix of Uses, Including 382 Residential Units, Office, Restaurant, Retail, Service Station, and Public Uses on Approximately 40.10 Acres of Land. The Current Application (SDP-07-001) Requests Approval to Redistribute the Number and Type of Dwelling Units Among the Three Residential Buildings, Reduce the Height of Building C From Seven to Five Stories, Reduce the Mixed Use Retail by 1,700 Square Feet, Increase the Senior Center From 10,000 to 29,500 Square Feet, and Amend the Phasing Plan. The Subject Property is Located Northwest of the Intersection of Maryland Route 355 (North Frederick Avenue) and Watkins Mills Road, Gaithersburg, Maryland

Background Material (pdf format - 4.9M)

XIII. RECESS MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEETING

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HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION

1. Call to Order

2. Approval of Minutes

Minutes of a Historic District Commission Meeting Held May 21, 2007

TBA - Background Material (pdf format)

3. Certificate of Approval

HAWP-108 Ollie Mumpower, Engineer Services Director for the City of Gaithersburg, Request to Install Entry Markers on Brookes and Walker Avenues

Background Material (pdf format 4.7M)

4. Adjournment

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XIV. RECONVENE MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEETING

XV. 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 Enter into a Contract for the Kentlands Mansion Roof Replacement and Brick Tuckpointing Project ($384,100)

   Background Material (pdf format)

2. Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Authorizing the City Manager to Enter into a Contract for Construction of Storm Water Management Water Quality Structures at the Public Works Facility ($410,000)

   Background Material (pdf format)

3. Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Approving a Waiver of the Environmental Standards for Development Regulation to Permit, at a Maximum, 1.12 Acres of Disturbance Within the Stream Valley Buffer at the Crown Property

   Background Material (pdf format - 3.8M)

4. Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Authorizing the City Manager to Negotiate and Execute a Contract for the Design, Fabrication and Installation of a Mural in Olde Towne, an Art in Public Places Project ($35,000)

   Background Material (pdf format)

5. Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Authorizing the City Manager to Negotiate and Execute a Memorandum of Understanding for the Installation and Maintenance of a City Owned Mural on the Building at 227 East Diamond Avenue, Gaithersburg, Maryland

   Background Material (pdf format)

6. Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Authorizing the City Manager to Negotiate and Execute an Easement for the Installation and Maintenance of a City Owned Mural on the Building at 227 East Diamond Avenue, Gaithersburg, Maryland

   Background Material (pdf format)

7. An Emergency Ordinance to Amend Section 15-9, Subsection (f) of the City Code, Entitled “Solicitation in Roadways,” so as to Amend the Effective Date of Ordinance O-4-07 Adopting Section 15-9(f), and Providing for Future Changes to the Effective Date by Resolution (Ready for Final Action)

   Background Material (pdf format)

8. 8. An Ordinance to Adopt the City Budget for the Fiscal Year July 1, 2007, Through June 30, 2008, and Levying an Ad Valorem Tax on all Assessable Property Within the City of Gaithersburg, Maryland (Ready for Final Action)

   Background Material Part I (pdf format)

   Background Material Part II

9. Establishing a Constant Yield Tax Rate for the City of Gaithersburg for the Fiscal Year July 1, 2007 Through June 30, 2008 (Ready for Final Action)

   Background Material (pdf format)

10. Resolution Codifying and Updating a Schedule of Fees, Charges, Fines and Expenses as Provided for in the Ordinances of the City of Gaithersburg

    Background Material (pdf format)

11. Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Authorizing the Use of the Diebold AccuVote Optical Scan System and the AutoMark System as Voting Equipment for the November 6, 2007 City Election and any Run Off Election that may be Required by the City Charter

    Background Material (pdf format)

XVI. POLICY DISCUSSION AND STAFF GUIDANCE

(discussion by the Mayor and Council about previous public hearing topics and other policy matters)

1. An Ordinance to Repeal and Reenact Chapter 11 of the City Code (Fire Safety) to Adopt With Amendments the Montgomery County Fire Safety Code and Various Related National Codes and Standards (Ready for Final Action)

   Background Material (pdf format)

2. Resolution of the Mayor and City Council of Gaithersburg Granting Approval of Schematic Development Plan SDP-04-001, Quince Orchard Park, Parcel A, The Vistas, Winter Walk Drive and Quince Orchard Road, Gaithersburg, Maryland (A Draft Resolution of Approval is Available if the Mayor and City Council Would Like to Take Final Action.)

   Background Material Part I (pdf format - 3.7M)

   Background Material Part II (pdf format - 5.3M)

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

Staff Recommendation to Close the Record on Z-304 as of 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 28, 2007 (Application to Rezone 14.157 Acres of Land, the Broadstone Apartments, Located at the Intersection of MD 355 and West Deer Park Road)

Staff Recommendation to Close the Record on SDP-06-004 as of 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 28, 2007 (Applicant Requests the Redevelopment of 14.157 Acres of Land, , the Broadstone Apartments, Located at the Intersection of MD 355 and West Deer Park Road)

Background Material Part I (pdf format)

Background Material Part II

XVIII. ADJOURNMENT

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ANNOUNCEMENT

Notice to the general public is hereby given that the Mayor and City Council of the City of Gaithersburg:

• will conduct a joint work session with the Planning Commission on Thursday, June 21, 2007, to introduce the HOK Planning Group and Receive an Overview of the Kentlands Boulevard Commercial District Community Outreach Activities Charrette Schedule and to discuss the Concept Plan for the New Youth Center in Olde Towne
• will not conduct a work session on Monday, June 25, 2007
• will not conduct a regular meeting on Monday, July 2, 2007, but will conduct a regular meeting on Monday, July 9, 2007
• will conduct a work session on Monday, July 16, 2007 and a regular meeting on Monday, July 23, 2007

Update: The City has posted the video of this meeting.

The City will hold a work session tonight, a major topic of which is the Crown Farm development. Note that there are sixteen new documents posted on the Crown Farm/SDP-06-005 page. One major concern is that the the Crown Farm plans could get ahead of the historic preservation review process. As part of the annexation agreement (section 10 (b), pages 18 and 19 of the agreement, pages 46 and 47 of the pdf), the historic structures on the Crown Farm property are to go through the City’s normal historic preservation process, but with some language that says that this review will not delay various other parts of the planning process. However, to my knowledge, HPAC has yet to be asked to review any properties. And as the agreement states that the City will bear all the costs associated with historic preservation, I would think it would be the City that needs to get a move on here. I’d encourage anyone concerned with the impending loss of historic structures in Crown Farm to make your concerns known to the City, possibly by coming to the work session tonight.

Another concern I have heard has to do with the planned density in some parts of Crown Farm; many people believe that some of the proposed densities are too high. However, I would generally be supportive of having some pockets of very high density, especially near the planned transit stop. In order to have a successful pedestrian center in a development like this, you need there to be a large number of people within a short walking distance, and you need to make it easier to walk and take public transportation than to drive. I believe that this is one thing that has not worked well in, for example, Kentlands. While they built a large number of properties within a reasonable walking distance of a retail center, they kept the overall density of Kentlands low, and designed everything around the the automobile according to the classic suburban pattern — retail may be only a five minute walk away, but it also a two-minute drive. The retail center itself is dominated by large, sprawlish parking lots which are daunting to cross on foot, and the most pedestrian-friendly parts — notably Market Square near the movie theater — face away from these parking lots and as a result many people don’t even have any idea what stores are in there. I would hope that Crown Farm would not repeat this mistake, and that they are able to build a vibrant, high-density, modern urban core, near high-quality public transportation.

City of Gaithersburg
JOINT WORK SESSION
Mayor and City Council
Planning Commission
Monday, December 11, 2006

7:30 p.m.

• Presentation of the Cultural Arts Advisory Committee’s "Cultural Arts Programs, Facilities, and Initiatives Plan," Followed by Selected Cultural Arts Update
  Background Material (pdf file)

• Joint - SDP-06-005 - Crown Farm (Proposed Plan Includes a Mix of Uses, Including 2,250 Residential Units and 320,000 Square Feet of Future Commercial Uses on approximately 180 Acres of Land)
  Background Material - Part 1 (pdf file)
  Background Material - Part 2