Photos from 40 in 40 on the Web

The photos from the 40 Environmentalists in 40 Years are now on the County Council Web site. Check them out.

40 Environmentalists Honored Today

Today we recognized 40 environmentalists who represent the significant work toward better climate policies, energy efficiency, renewable energy or other environmental goals in Montgomery County in the past 40 years. They include current and historical policy makers, community activists, farmers, scientists and others with a passion for the environment. We are grateful to these awardees and the numerous other people who have advanced environmental causes in the county.

The awardees (in alphabetical order):

The Abramson Family has been constructing green buildings since the 1960’s beginning with a mixed-use development called The Blairs. The family continued its green practices with The Tower Building, the first green office building in the County, and Blair Towns, the first LEED certified rental apartments in the United States. In 2008, the family co-developed 2000 Tower Oaks Boulevard, the first and largest multi-tenant commercial office property to achieve LEED Platinum designation in the metropolitan region. Their business is 100 percent carbon-neutral and has been recognized nationally by the EPA and DOE for its achievements in Green Power purchasing.

Anne Ambler is a long-time County environmental advocate and former chair of the Montgomery County Sierra Club. She has served on a County task force aimed at improving implementation of the Forest Conservation Law and as president of the Neighbors of the Northwest Branch of the Anacostia River, an organization which protects, promotes and restores the water quality of the Northwest Branch Watershed.

Ron Balon was Montgomery County Public Schools’ energy manager and led key initiatives such as creating and expanding the School Energy Response Teams, dramatically improving the efficiency of schools and overseeing purchases of clean energy and deployment of on-site photovoltaic solar arrays on a number of schools. His projects embedded an environmental ethos into the youth of Montgomery County.

Ginny Barnes has led grassroots water quality and stormwater management efforts for 20 years. She has served on the Legacy Open Space Program, the C & O Canal Stewardship Task Force, the Forest Conservation Task Force and the Forest Conservation Advisory Group to bring about good environmental policies Countywide. She is known for spearheading efforts to maintain the “green wedge” within the County.

Arlene Bruhn championed revisions in Maryland’s Roadside Tree Law that protects trees during development or redevelopment of property. She has advocated for legislation to conserve street trees in Montgomery County to ensure that neighborhoods are pleasant and walkable, and she has called attention to the interface between tree health and stormwater runoff.

Diane Cameron is a leader of the Storm Water Partners Network, which is devoted to protecting and restoring the waters in the County. She currently works on implementing the County stormwater permit, one of the most progressive such permits in the country, and training citizens to restore the Anacostia River to vibrant health. She is currently the Director of the Audubon Naturalist Society Conservation Program.

Rachel Carson is considered the mother of the modern environmental movement. She authored the controversial book, Silent Spring, which denounced the indiscriminate use of chemicals and pesticides in agriculture and the environment as a whole. After Silent Spring, she received many honors for her contributions to the scientific and literary communities. Although Ms. Carson died in 1964, her legacy has continued to inspire leaders throughout the decades.

Carol Carter has been the primary leader of the County’s landscape beautification awards program for 23 years. As a member of the Keep Montgomery County Beautiful Task Force, she helped create in 1986 the concept for recognizing landscaping efforts by residents, community associations and commercial operations. She has kept the entranceway to her own community beautiful since 1974.

Jimmy Clifford founded the Building Lot Termination Program, building on the success of the Transfer Development Rights Program, which focuses development in designated areas while preserving farmland. A no-till farmer, he has championed numerous agricultural preservation initiatives.

Margaret and Morrill “Don” Donnald oversaw numerous nature programs at Adventure, a nature and research facility administered by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. The Donnalds and a host of volunteers carried out a bird banding program that investigated bird migration from 1972 to 1995 and banded more than 98,000 birds of 154 species.

David Feldman is the executive director of Bethesda Green, an initiative to make Bethesda more environmentally friendly. He also is CEO of the Livability Project, a firm dedicated to helping communities develop sustainability initiatives. He combines his previous economic development and business experience to innovatively further environmental and community development.

Neal Fitzpatrick serves as executive director of the Audubon Naturalist Society of the Central Atlantic States. He has served on the Maryland State Water Conservation Committee and the Attorney General’s Environmental Advisory Committee. Through his work with Audubon, he has championed stormwater runoff regulations, habitat and greenspace preservation, and fisheries protections.

Sally Gagné is a founding member and first president of the Friends of Sligo Creek, a local non-profit dedicated to the protection of the Sligo Creek Watershed. The original “weed warrior,” she began her advocacy after noticing the large numbers of invasive plants surrounding the creek. She also authored North Hills of Sligo Creek - History, People and Surroundings.

Seth Goldman is president and TeaEO of Honest Tea, an organic, fair trade beverage company that has been a leader in promoting green business practices in Montgomery County. He co-founded Bethesda Green, a sustainability initiative that promotes eco-friendly practices and incubates emerging green businesses.

Gilbert Gude, a former Republican congressman from Montgomery County, championed environmental causes and introduced a bill to preserve the 185-mile Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and make it the Country’s narrowest national park. He introduced many environmental bills in his tenure, including one to protect the Potomac River valley. In his later years, he wrote two books about the Potomac River.

Frederick Gutheim was known as the sage of Sugarloaf for his advocacy on behalf of the Agricultural Reserve and the historic preservation ordinance. He authored several books including The Potomac, which is a history of the river and its region.

Royce Hanson is the current and a former chair of the Montgomery County Planning Board. He has dedicated his professional life to land use planning and has been the face of smart growth in Montgomery County. He is most recognized as the architect of the Agricultural Reserve, 93,000 acres of protected agricultural land that plays a vital role in Countywide environmental conservation and has been emulated by jurisdictions nationwide.

Robert Harrigan spent decades as a scientist and conservation advocate who led efforts to preserve open space and waterways in Montgomery County. A national champion whitewater racer, he was a founder of the Potomac River Whitewater Race and, through the race, called attention to the need to preserve the Potomac River shoreline.

David Hauck is the current chair of the Montgomery County Sierra Club and has worked on the innovative Cool Cities/Cool Counties campaign that seeks to address climate change by encouraging local governments to commit to substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and document reductions through annual greenhouse gas inventories.

Jack Hewitt invested his career in acquiring and operating park lands for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. During his tenure, he was centrally involved in increasing the park system from fewer than 2,000 acres to over 20,000 acres. His innovative purchasing plan, which was a win-win for the park system and the land owners, made the program a tremendous success.

Joe Howard, as the longtime manager of the Lathrop E. Smith Center, has provided hands-on environmental experiences to thousands of school children, inspiring a generation of new environmental leaders. He also founded the county’s Champion Tree Program, which recognizes trees that are the largest of their species.

Malcolm King was instrumental in the creation of Great Seneca State Park and Lois Green Conservation Park. Through his work with the Isaac Walton League, he was responsible for the formation and implementation of the Save Our Streams Program. He also played a pivotal role in bringing the National Headquarters of the Isaac Walton League of America to Montgomery County.

Barbara Knapp is a founding member and Secretary of the Maryland Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation, which is working to restore this important tree, to the Appalachian forest. The chestnut tree had been decimated by blight. The chapter now has 15 orchards in Maryland, including several in Montgomery County.

E. Brooke Lee founded the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission to plan for orderly development and protection of the natural resources in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. He laid the foundation for one of the nation’s most successful park systems and made Montgomery County almost flood-proof by putting the floodplains into the park system.

Lonnie Luther manages L & M Farm, a family-owned beef operation that also produces poultry and sheep. He and his family have done an outstanding job of conserving the natural resources on their farm, and Dr. Luther has served as an example to other farmers and new residents in the Agricultural Reserve in the areas of land conservation and land management practices.

Sally McGarry has pioneered grassroots environmental activism in Montgomery County. A former board member of the Maryland League of Women Voters and the Montgomery County Conservation Corps, she has championed protection of the Chesapeake Bay, recycling, beautification of our roadways and public spaces and environmental education.

Caren Madsen, a Silver Spring resident and chair of the Montgomery County Forest Conservation Advisory Committee, has been a long-time advocate of preserving trees in the County and developing new legislative solutions to preserve the tree canopy. She works on national environmental issues in her position with NOAA, one of the County's federal partners.

Adrienne Mandel has spent the past quarter of a century serving as a legislative lobbyist for Montgomery County as a three-term State delegate representing District 19, and now as a Commissioner of the WSSC. Her career has been marked by strong advocacy for a clean and healthy environment. As a delegate, she sponsored more than 35 pieces of environmental-related legislation.

John Menke served as a member of the Montgomery County Council and head of the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection. Major accomplishments include legislation for the first County energy conservation requirements, support for Metro and establishment of the integrated solid waste system including recycling and advanced waste to energy conversion.

Steven Morrison personally assumed the mission of protecting and preserving the Matthew Henson Trail in Silver Spring. Recently, he and his team of volunteers removed more than two tons of trash from the trail including a toilet bowl, more than 100 tires, a refrigerator, auto parts and hundreds of beverage containers.

Jane Nishida serves as co-chair of the Montgomery County Sustainability Working Group that coordinates the County’s sustainability practices and presented the County’s first Climate Protection Plan. She is the former secretary of the Maryland Department of the Environment and former executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

John Parrish is a botanist/ecologist, specializing in botanical research and environmental education. He recently published a compilation of the native woody plants of Montgomery County in the botanical journal, Marilandica, as well as a compilation of the native flora of the Sligo Creek Watershed for the Friends of Sligo Creek. He continues to speak out for the protection of the county’s last remaining natural areas.

Neal Potter was the Montgomery County Executive from 1990-94 and a long-time member of the County Council. While on the Council, he sponsored bills to establish the Montgomery County Conservation Corps. He authored Council-sponsored State legislation on taxation, farmland preservation and farmland assessment. He also served as co-chair of the Metropolitan Washington Coalition for Clean Air and received of the Audubon Naturalist Society's Legislator of the Year Award.

Mike Rubin orchestrated a joint land protection effort that included the State of Maryland, the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Montgomery County, the Trust for Public Land and himself. At 800 acres, the resulting Hoyles Mill Conservation Park represents the largest single land preservation acquisition in the County.

Robert Schueler was one of the first generation of wildlife biologists in the country and an active member of Trout Unlimited. He had a passion for restoring the brown trout population to the Paint Branch Watershed. Through several decades of testimony at public meetings, technical comments and continuous advocacy with County and state agencies, he left an enduring legacy that trout and streams matter in Montgomery.

Kevin Selock is a leader in WSSC’s efforts to improve the effluent quality of water leaving the utility’s plants. He is currently involved in a feasibility study that is looking into the possible use of an anaerobic digestion process that could allow WSSC to lower its dependence on carbon-based fuels. He is also working with the Maryland MDE to develop water reuse regulations.

Lathrop Smith was a member of the Montgomery County Council, the Upper County Planning Commission and the Board of Education. Throughout his career, he was a staunch advocate for conservation. The Lathrop E Smith Center for outdoor education in Rock Creek Regional Park, which is named for him, provides on-site, hands-on environmental education to the County’s total sixth grade population.

Robert Taylor spearheaded WSSC’s effort to become the first local government agency in the region to directly purchase renewable energy. For the past 15 years, he has overseen the innovative wind power program that is both economically and environmentally friendly for WSSC, Montgomery County and the region.

Mike Tidwell is the founder and director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, a non-profit organization that raises awareness about global warming in the region. He has fought the trash incinerator in Dickerson and promoted alternatives to sprawl development. He lives in a green home that is often open to the public for educational purposes.

Sammie Young has served since 1984 on the Keep Montgomery County Beautiful Task Force that has developed the Adopt-a-Road anti-litter campaign, the Storm Drain Marking program, a beautification grant program and an annual landscaping and photography competition.

40 Environmentalists to Be Recognized on Tuesday

We will recognize 40 environmentalists that have made a difference in Montgomery County over the past 40 years as the County celebrates the 40th anniversary of Earth Day next Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. I have asked residents and a wide variety of organizations across the County for nominations.

Starting with Silver Spring resident Rachel Carson, who is widely considered the mother of the modern environmental movement, Montgomery County has a rich history of environmental advancement. We will pay homage to that history and to the individuals who shaped it.

Recipients of the award will be selected based on significant impacts they have made on climate policies, energy efficiency, renewable energy or other environmental goals in Montgomery County in the last 40 years. The winners will represent a wide range of issues and accomplishments spanning four decades. The names and biographies of the awardees will be released at the ceremony.

More Cuts in the Works

At yesterday morning’s scheduled overview of the FY11 Operating Budget, we received some daunting news. According to a memo from the County Executive, our first-quarter income tax distributions (that we get in May) will be significantly lower than we expected. This actual reduction in revenue, combined with projected decreases, means we have to cut an additional $168 million between the current FY10 budget and the FY11 budget that begins on July 1.

The County Executive will send specific measures to the Council early next week to address these unanticipated losses in revenue.

As I’ve said many times before, we’re facing some extremely difficult decisions. We are aware of the real and personal impacts our decisions have on residents and employees. Everyone must work together share the pain throughout the County.

One option for sharing the pain, according to the Council’s staff director, may be to institute 1.5 days of furloughs for employees in all County agencies, including public safety and MCPS, instead of the proposed 10 days of furloughs recommended for only one segment of the County workforce. This idea has not been proposed formally, but under the circumstances, we have to look at all options.

I thank the County Executive for his proactive and collaborative approach to this newest problem. I am especially grateful to the heads of County agencies, including M-NCPPC, MCPS and Montgomery College, along with representatives from our employee unions, for attending the briefing. Having the stakeholders together at the briefing ensures we all are working from the most up-to-date information.

Condolences for Officer Killed in the Line of Duty

My heart goes out to the family of Montgomery County Police Officer Hector Ayala who was killed in a car crash while on duty for the 4th District Station. Office Alaya left a wife who is pregnant with triplets and another young child who undoubtedly will miss him terribly. The loss of Officer Ayala also comes as a tough blow to our hard-working and close-knit police department. I am proud of our police force and all of our public safety officers who put their lives on the line every day to keep Montgomery County safe. I’m keeping Officer Alaya’s family and friends in my prayers.

Poverty Statistics in the County

Interfaith Works Executive Director Becky Wagner recently addressed the organization’s corporate sponsors and discussed some startling statistics. Interfaith Works, formerly Community Ministries, offers a wide range of services to meet the needs of the poor in Montgomery County. Given this perspective, I consider Becky to be an expert on the subject of poverty in the county. Here are some of the statistics she shared:

• Food stamps requests increased 34% to 15,700
• Medicaid recipients increased by 17% to 35,900
• MANNA gave groceries to 35,400 households, a 43% increase over last year
• Interfaith's clothing centers clients shopping trips have increase by 48% (more than half of the 6,000 households are new to the Center)
• Holiday baskets were provided to 14,600 families, a 20% increase
• 17,000 households are on the waiting list for section 8 vouchers (an average 300 are available every year)
• Our 70 bed women's shelter is full; more than 50% are first time homeless
• We are seeing utility bills three times higher than historically
• We received 4,500 calls for assistance and information, a 48% increase
• 43,000 children in Montgomery County qualify for and receive breakfast and lunch at school (during the recent blizzards, these students went without this food benefit for 9 days)

40 Environmentalists in 40 Years Awards

In honor of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, we at the County Council will recognize 40 individuals that have made a green imprint in Montgomery County in the past 40 years.

Starting with Silver Spring resident Rachel Carson, who is widely considered the mother of the modern environmental movement, Montgomery County has a rich history of environmental advancement. The “40 Environmentalists in 40 Years” awards will pay homage to that history and to the individuals who shaped it.

To be eligible for the award, a nominee must have made a significant impact on climate policies, energy efficiency, renewable energy or other environmental goals in Montgomery County in the last 40 years. Individuals may be living or deceased and must be nominated by someone who lives or works in Montgomery County. Individuals may not nominate themselves.

Nominations must include contact information for both the nominator and the nominee and must include a description of the nominee’s contribution to the environment. The “40 Environmentalists in 40 Years” tribute will be held on April 20.

Nominations should be submitted by April 9 to councilmember.floreen@montgomerycountymd.gov with the subject line “40 in 40.” Nominations also can be sent to the Montgomery County Council/40 in 40 Award, 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20850. For more information about the 40 in 40 awards, call 240-777-7959.

White Flint Sector Plan Passes Unanimously

Today we unanimously approved the White Flint Sector Plan that will transform the North Bethesda area around Rockville Pike into a denser, more urban community strongly supported by public transit and designed to make residents and workers less dependent on automobiles.

The plan targets future growth along the Pike with development clustered around about 430 acres near the White Flint Metro Station. It will allow replacement of aging low-rise commercial properties in the area with mixed-use buildings as tall as 30 stories. The revitalized new urban neighborhood would include residences, offices, service-oriented businesses, restaurants and entertainment venues. The neighborhood would evolve through creation of a grid of streets to promote walkability for residents and employees.

This is a very ambitious and complex plan that will transform the White Flint area along Rockville Pike into an exciting destination. Property owners in White Flint have committed to a financing plan to speed up creation of infrastructure that would support growth. With everyone working together, as they have throughout the planning process, this will remake the strip shopping malls along the Pike into a new, urban community that will make Montgomery County proud.

A key element of the plan will be the way it incorporates the Bethesda North Conference Center and Hotel into the transformed neighborhood. The plan provides for public gathering space and local parks. The long-term vision suggests civic or entertainment uses, such as a community playhouse or theater.

White Flint was proposed as an urban, mixed-use community as the center of North Bethesda more than 30 years ago as the influence of Metro’s Red Line was starting to take hold. The sector plan covers an area bounded by the CSX train tracks and White Flint Mall to the east, the merge point of Montrose Parkway and Old Georgetown Road to the north, Old Georgetown Road to the west and an area just below Edson Lane to the south. The Georgetown Prep school and the Strathmore Performing Arts Center are south of the plan. All of the plan is within a walkable three-quarters of a mile from the White Flint Metro Station.

It is expected that as the plan is implemented over a period of about two decades, approximately 9,800 new residences will be added (there are approximately 2,300 residences currently within the plan area). There will be approximately 2,600 affordable housing units.

This plan was truly collaborative. We heard from a lot of stakeholders and saw cordial work among those involved. I think that gave us a good product in the end, and I am pleased we were able to reach a resolution that works for everyone. It would be great to see this type of collaboration in future plans.

Town Hall Meeting for Kensington/Garrett Park

Join us for a Town Hall Meeting for the Kensington/Garrett Park area on Wednesday, March 24. Voice your opinions on specific issues and ask questions of the Councilmembers in an organized, but informal, setting. The meeting at the Housing Opportunities Commission Office Building will start at 8 p.m. A pre-meeting reception will begin at 7:30 p.m.

As the County approaches the Fiscal Year 2011 budget, we are facing an unprecedented $779 million shortfall due to decreasing revenues. We must all work together to produce a balanced budget, but it is clear that we will be making very difficult decisions that will impact every resident of this County. The timing of this meeting allows us to hear from residents about their priorities and their concerns. It also gives us the opportunity to explain some of the issues that are before us.

This Council has made a priority of having better direct communication with residents, and Town Hall Meetings have proven to be an excellent way to do just that. For the citizens, these meetings provide a forum where they can see their elected officials in a different format than a televised meeting or through a news release.

The meeting will be taped for later broadcast on County Cable Montgomery (CCM—cable Channel 6 on Comcast and RCN, Channel 30 on Verizon). For more information about the Town Hall Meeting or about the broadcast times, call 240-777-7931.

The Housing Opportunities Commission Office Building is located at 10400 Detrick Avenue in Kensington.

Addressing our Structural Deficit

I’m asking my fellow Councilmembers to initiate a legislative branch assessment of the structural deficit that has created large annual operating budget gaps in recent years—gaps that are projected to persist in future years.

The County Executive’s recommended FY11 budget includes significant service reductions, no pay increases for County government employees, elimination of more than 450 positions including more than 230 that are currently filled, 10 days of furloughs for many employees and a withdrawal of about $102 million from the County’s “Rainy Day Fund.” This was necessary to close a $779 million gap to achieve a balanced budget.

That’s just next year. Budget gaps projected for FY12-16, respectively, are currently estimated to exceed $212, $303, $417, $464 and $514 million. I, along with other Councilmembers, believe we need to address the County’s structural budget deficit.

Besides resolving the acute FY11 budget challenge that is now before us we need to address the chronic budget challenges that lie ahead. I believe that we must address at least three central questions.
What are the assumptions behind the Executive’s future year gap projections?
What are the cost drivers associated with the structural deficit in future years?
What policy and budget options are available going forward to address the structural deficit?”

I want to start the process by asking the County’s Office of Legislative Oversight to develop a recommended scope of work to address those questions with a completion date of early December. I believe that this project has the potential to produce not only useful information but real results.

My Thoughts on the Proposed Operating Budget

This morning, the County Executive transmitted his Proposed FY11 Operating Budget to the County Council. Next year's operating budget presents the County’s greatest fiscal challenge in decades. I commend the County Executive and his team for their hard work in developing his budget proposal.

State and local governments across the nation, like the American people, have felt the severe impact of the Great Recession. Although the County’s economy is stronger than in many other jurisdictions, we are not immune. Revenues are down, and demands for services are up. To balance the FY11 budget we must close a $779 million gap between projected expenditures and resources – by far the largest gap in our history. But for the $100 million in spending cuts the Council has made in the current year’s budget – which itself was the leanest in 18 years – the gap would have been that much larger.

The facts are inescapable, and we must now deal with them. All of us must contribute to the solution. The Executive has given us his best judgment on how to proceed. The Council must now determine the right balance among difficult options.

I am committed to fully engaging the community in these hard decisions. The Council welcomes input from all County residents – through our public hearings on April 5-8 (sign up to speak at 240-777-7803), email (at county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov), regular mail (at 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, MD 20850), or our budget hotline (call 240-777-7802). Residents can also follow the Council’s daily work on the budget by going to our Web site (www.montgomerycountymd/council) and clicking on ‘budget update.’ With the community’s help we will make the best decisions we can in this challenging year.

Census Forms Next Week

Census forms arrive next week. Please remember to fill yours out and return it by April 1.
Why is it so important? Census data are used to distribute Congressional seats to states; to make decisions about what community services to provide; to distribute $400 billion in federal funds to local, state and tribal governments each year; and to allocate state legislative districts and draw County Council districts. Did I mention the $400 billion in federal funds? If that’s not motivation enough, completing the form on time helps you avoid visits from Census enumerators.

Blizzard Recap Answers Questions

“During the course of snow removal activities, the County removed 45 million cubic yards of snow. If this snow had been concentrated on a single football field, the snow would have risen to 40,000 feet.” This is according to a report presented at Tuesday’s Blizzard of 2010 Recap attended by the State Highway Administration, PEPCO, Comcast, Verizon and County Departments of Transportation, Police, Fire and Rescue Services, and Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.

We compiled a list of questions gleaned directly from the calls and e-mail we received from residents across the county. This was our chance to discuss both best practices and lessons learned from the unprecedented storms.

By all accounts, collaboration among departments and agencies accounted for much of the success throughout the storms. For example, DOT worked with PEPCO in the effort to access downed wires. Humvees borrowed from the State of Maryland helped County employees reach residents with critical needs.

Mostly the system for snow removal worked well, although DOT discovered a few missing streets from its GIS program and is making corrections. Several residents asked if plowing could begin on neighborhoods streets once primary roads are passable (as opposed to completely cleared, as is the policy). Officials said they remain confident that the current system is better for residents because providing access to inadequately plowed arterial roads would present significant safety hazards. On the plus side, Ride On was running sooner and for longer hours than bus systems in neighboring jurisdictions.

About 25 percent of residents experienced power outages, making this the worst weather event for PEPCO since Hurricane Isabel in 2003. Workers walked through unplowed snow and worked in the extreme cold and wind in order to restore power. The first priority for PEPCO workers was to address downed wires. Then workers moved to main artery lines and lines that serve critical facilities. PEPCO is in the process of converting to “smart meters” which will be a significant diagnostic tool in future storms.

These are only a few of the highlights of yesterday’s session. To learn more, read the report, or check out the entire briefing which will be available on the Council’s Web site shortly.

Blizzard of 2010 Recap on Tuesday

Tune in to the County Council meeting on Tuesday for the Blizzard of 2010 Recap. Representatives from the State Highway Administration, PEPCO, Comcast, Verizon, County Departments of Transportation, Police, Fire and Rescue Services, and Offices of Emergency Management and Homeland Security will discuss best practices and lessons learned from the unprecedented storms.

I received numerous calls and e-mails about snow removal, utility outages and communication—both critical and complimentary. I expect that many residents’ questions will be answered on Tuesday and that all of the agencies involved will use the best practices and lessons learned for future planning.

The briefing is scheduled for 1:30, and the meeting will be broadcast live on CCM channels Comcast 6, RCN 6 and Verizon 30. It will be repeated on March 12 at 9 p.m.

Council Takes Bioscience 101

At the end of a session full of our usual business, like land use and budgeting, we had the rare treat of a science lesson. Our professor, Dr. Scott Zeger, Vice Provost for Research at Johns Hopkins University, taught us about the scientific and research vision Johns Hopkins has for Montgomery County. He gave us a basic overview of bioscience and how research in the field makes its way to patient care and ultimately into public health. I learned that scientists have discovered that my telomeres are shortening, and that’s not good news for me, so I really am grateful for the important work going on at Johns Hopkins.

Today’s briefing provided a context for much of the conversations we’ve been having about Johns Hopkins lately. The university announced recently they will build two connecting buildings on their Montgomery County Campus to house the National Cancer Institute Headquarters. This project will initially result in 2,100 jobs, which is fantastic news for Montgomery County.

Johns Hopkins also plans a state-of-the art research campus for its 138-acre Belward Farm property. This project plays an important role in the county’s broader economic strategy and served as an impetus for a memorandum of understanding that was signed last week between Johns Hopkins and the County spelling out a shared vision for decades to come. We in Montgomery County have long been committed to the advancement of biosciences and higher education as evidenced by the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center and our biotech incubators. The MOU is just one more step in developing the synergies we need for a really exciting future.

We will discuss all of this much more as we work through the Gaithersburg West Master Plan, which encompasses the Belward property, so stay tuned.