• Advisory ID: 10-030
• Advisory Date: 3/3/2010
• Contact: Neil H. Greenberger  240-777-7939 or Jean Arthur240-777-7934
• From: Council Office

Montgomery Council Committees to Discuss Montgomery Cares, Judicial Center Annex
Also on Thursday, March 4: Revenue Authority,
Alternatives for Future of County Detention Center

ROCKVILLE, Md., March 3, 2010—The Montgomery County Council’s Public Safety Committee on Thursday, March 4, will hold worksessions on the planned Judicial Center Annex for the County’s Circuit Court and alternatives for the future of the County Detention Center in Rockville. The worksessions continue the work of the Council to review County Executive Isiah Leggett’s recommended Fiscal Years 2011-16 Capital Improvements Program (CIP).

The Public Safety Committee, which is chaired by Phil Andrews and includes Councilmembers Roger Berliner and Marc Elrich, will meet 9:30 a.m. in the Seventh Floor Council Hearing Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville.

Planning for Judicial Center Annex in downtown Rockville has been discussed since 1998. It is estimated that the cost of the project is about $140 million.

A decision on whether to renovate the County’s Detention Center on Seven Locks Road in Rockville or to replace it has been debated previously. The County Executive recommends replacing the facility with a new $57.5 million Criminal Justice Complex that can take advantage of improved design and energy efficiency. Proposed renovations to the center, portions of which are more than 40 years old, are estimated to cost about $55 million.

At 9:30 a.m. in the Third Floor Conference Room, the Health and Human Services Committee, which is chaired by George Leventhal and includes Councilmembers Nancy Navarro and Duchy Trachtenberg, will receive an update on the Montgomery Cares program that provides health services to residents who are unable to afford services through traditional means. The County’s original Fiscal Year 2010 Operating Budget provided funding to serve 23,000 patients, but the Montgomery Cares Advisory Board projects that as many as 28,000 may need to be served. Its report shows the economic downturn has led to an increase in the need for Montgomery Cares services.

The meeting of the Health and Human Services Committee will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM—Cable Channel 6 on Comcast and RCN, Channel 30 on Verizon). The live broadcast also will be available via streaming through the County Web site at www.montgomerycountymd.gov.

At 2 p.m. in the Seventh Floor Hearing Room, the Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee, which is chaired by Mike Knapp and includes Councilmembers Elrich and Nancy Floreen, will review the CIP request of the Montgomery County Revenue Authority for funds improvements to the Falls Road, Needwood, Northwest Park, Poolesville and Rattlewood golf courses; the Germantown Indoor Swim Center; and the Montgomery County Airpark.

The PHED Committee also will review the CIP request of the County’s Department of Recreation for three projects that will be ready for construction in Fiscal Year 2011. Those are the community recreation centers for White Oak, Scotland and Plum Gar. The department also is requesting funding for planning and design modernization projects for community and recreations centers at Good Hope, North Bethesda, North Potomac, Ross Boddy and Wheaton-Rafferty.

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