Capital Improvement Program Overview

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich provided his $5.05 billion Recommended FY 23 Capital Budget and FY23-28 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) to the Montgomery County Council on January 18, 2022. The County Council held public hearings in early February and Council Committees continue to hold worksessions on the proposed long-term investments in facilities and infrastructure such as schools, affordable housing, parks, and roads.

Environmental Resiliency to Address Neighborhood Flooding

A sewer drain decorated with turtles and a notice that the sewer "Drains to Rock Creek"

This week, the Council's Transportation & Environment Committee approved the County Executive’s recommendation for the Storm Drain General Capital Improvements Program (CIP) budget for storm drain retrofit projects. This recommendation fulfills the request I’ve made in the last two budget cycles to double funding to address capacity and flooding in our neighborhoods through the County’s drainage assistance programs.

Residents continue to experience the effects of the climate crisis with more frequent, severe rainstorms, and the needs of our community have grown substantially as drainage assistance requests have increased 273% from 2017 to 2021. Data shows the volume of requests directly correlates with more frequent, more intense rainstorms. The capacity of our public infrastructure must be sufficient to meet our growing needs. I hope and will continue to advocate so this level of funding represents the floor of our annual commitment, not the ceiling.

MCPS Capital Budget:

How it Impacts Key Projects

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) color logo

While the recommended Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) CIP budget is more than $1.822 billion, which, if approved, will be the largest MCPS CIP ever, the proposed increase is directed towards future placeholder projects and does not fully meet the funding requirements for existing projects. The County Executive’s proposal includes undesignated reductions of $65.5 million over six years with deferrals totaling $235 million in fiscal years 2023 through 2025. This presents challenges as MCPS aligns expenditures with the County Executive’s affordability and revenue assumptions which trigger significant reductions in the early years of the CIP when projects are in or moving towards construction and as the system faces significant inflation, supply chain disruptions, and staffing shortages.

As is the standard process, MCPS submitted a list of “non-recommended reductions” to meet the County Executive’s affordability assumptions which includes a one-year construction delay for Woodward High School based on supply-chain challenges.

On March 1^st, I submitted a letter to Superintendent Monifa McKnight requesting her partnership to ensure that we explore all avenues before delaying the critical Woodward High School project which is essential to addressing serious school overcrowding issues in District 1 and well beyond. As the Council considers options and works to reconcile the full CIP, I am interested in reviewing the data in the hopes that we can avoid this highly disruptive delays that impact several thousand students and families.

That’s the tough news, but there is good news, too! I am thrilled to report that the long-anticipated Poolesville High School Major Capital Project is on track. MCPS recommends, and the Council’s Education and Culture Committee concurs, that the project be considered for Built To Learn funding with $67,724,000 from the CE’s recommended placeholder dollars reallocated to Phase II of the Poolesville HS project.

A New Economic

Development Strategic Plan

Zoom panel from March 2, 2021 when Councilmember Friedson introduced Bill 10-21.

Growing and maintaining a robust economy is critical to our county’s future and the quality of life of county residents. It continues to be a top priority for me.

In 2021, I sponsored Bill 10-21 (cosponsored by Councilmembers Riemer, Navarro, Albornoz, and Katz) which established a new Economic Development Strategic Plan, to be drafted by professionals in the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) and formally reviewed and approved by the County Council and Executive. The goal is to professionalize our economic development plans and ensure that Montgomery County’s political leadership and MCEDC are working off the same strategy with the shared goals and measurable outcomes so we can coordinate our execution to grow the local economy.

We received the Draft Economic Development Strategic Plan from MCEDC in December, received feedback from the County Executive in January, and held a Public Hearing in February. The Draft is now being reviewed by the Planning, Housing, & Economic Development (PHED) Committee which will hold its next work session on March 14. Like all Council committee work sessions, this session will be available for viewing on the Council’s website and on County Cable Television (Comcast 6/Verizon 30). The PHED Committee will make its recommendations to the full Council which must approve the plan by April 15.

Partnering for a More Sustainable Future

An example of an electric vehicle (EV) charger

A connected, accessible network of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations is essential to existing and future demand for electric vehicles as a climate-friendly alternative to carbon-emitting vehicles. As the Council’s Lead for Parks, I am pleased to share that Montgomery Parks, Prince George’s County Department of Parks and Recreation, and Pepco have joined together to provide more charging opportunities for EV drivers in our region. As part of the partnership, Pepco will install 94 new EV chargers in 26 parks across the two Maryland counties over the next two years. The installation of these chargers will help further Montgomery County’s climate goals.

Construction of the first EV charging spaces in Montgomery Parks will begin in March and is expected to take about eight weeks to complete. Initial locations include Argyle Local Park, Olney Manor Recreational Park, Wheaton Forest Local Park, and South Germantown Adventure Playground. Pepco’s sister utility, BGE, is also installing four charging stations at Fairland Park.

The charging stations will be available to the public at the following rates:

• Level 2 chargers - $0.18 per Kilowatt-hour (kWh)

• DC Fast Chargers - $0.34 per kWh (includes tax)

Use of these charging stations will be monitored by the counties to determine the possibility of adding more charging stations in the future.

North Bethesda “Flash” Bus Rapid Transit Corridor Advisory Committee

Thrive Montgomery 2050 logo

The full Council held its first two work sessions on the Draft Thrive 2050 Plan on February 15^th and March 1^st. These work sessions provided a brief overview of the Plan and a framework for a racial equity and social justice review of the document. 

At the March 1^st work session, the Council directed staff to hire a consultant to help obtain recommendations and input from communities of color and low-income residents on each of the policies and practices put forth in the PHED Committee Draft of Thrive Montgomery 2050. The consultant will work with stakeholders to conduct a chapter-by-chapter, in-depth review of the policies and practices recommended in the Committee Draft using best practices for developing racially and socially equitable policies and submit a report to the Council outlining possible revisions to the draft by July 1. The consultant will also assist with drafting a new chapter that describes the historical and current drivers of racial and social inequities in land use, housing, and transportation.

The Council also discussed the possibility of adding additional chapters on the environment and economic development to the current draft and requested further guidance and recommendations from Council Staff. The Council will reconvene on April 5 to revisit this issue and determine how we will proceed.

As a member of the Planning, Housing, and Economic Development Committee that held nine work session on the Planning Board Draft Plan, I am proud of the improvements we made to the plan; however, I realize opportunities for further refinement remain. To that end, I made several recommendations for further changes to my colleagues and look forward to further discussion on these and other topics.

The New Face of Seniors Today:

50+ in Montgomery County

Click here to watch the March edition of 50+ in Montgomery County

The Seniors Today show has gone through a new rebrand as 50+ in Montgomery County. Katie Smith, Commission on Aging Commissioner, is the terrific new host. This month's show features information regarding the Villages, featuring Pazit Aviv, Montgomery County’s Villages Coordinator. The February program honored Black History Month with a segment on the Josiah Henson House and a segment on Woodlawn Manor. Catch all the episodes of 50+ in Montgomery County here.  

Important Announcement!

Montgomery County Council meetings will be in-person for Tuesday sessions starting on March 15^th. That’s the same day that the County Executive will submit the recommended Fiscal Year 2023 Operating Budget to the Council. If you are interested in following the Council’s budget deliberations, you can find the legislative analyst’s information and public hearings here, and data on the overall budget here.

If you would like to weigh in: you can contact our office or all members of the Council depending on your preference. If you were hoping to participate in the public hearings through testimony, you can find that information here: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/about/procedures.html.

If you were interested in seeing the public hearing schedule and signing up, that is available here: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/calendar.html.

You can watch all Council sessions and public hearings here on our Youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj3Lj5xqJk9JeqsQtat-Ybw

April 6^th Community Conversation

at the BCC Regional Center

Join Councilmember Friedson for an in-person community conversation on April 6 at the Bethesda Regional Center.

Join us for an opportunity for you to share your concerns with us as we discuss important District 1 issues. For parking and public transportation direction, please click here or click the poster above. If you require ADA or translation accommodation to participate in this conversation, do not hesitate to contact angela.mccarthy@montgomerycountymd.gov.

REMINDER: This Week’s

Friday with Friedson

Virtual Friday with Friedson on Friday, March 11 at 11:00am on Zoom - Click Here to Register

Constituent Services

I encourage residents to continue to engage with my office on issues of importance to our community. We appreciate your patience and understanding as our small but mighty team works to respond to your inquiries. Please continue to engage with us by email, visiting our website, Facebook, and Twitter pages, and subscribing to our newsletter.