City keeps seeking swim center dollars

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

City keeps seeking swim center dollars

Mayor appoints councilmembers to COG committees

Of Note Around Gaithersburg | Patricia M. Murret

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City leaders, who have said that a new upcounty senior center is a top priority, are looking for cash to fund the project. Mayor Sidney A. Katz has asked U.S. Rep. Christopher Van Hollen Jr. (D-Dist. 8) of Kensington to help secure federal money.

The city has committed to building a new 25,000 square foot state-of-the art center on land donated by a developer of the future Casey West town center at the future Watkins Mill interchange, Katz wrote in a Feb. 20 letter to Van Hollen. Nearly 70 percent of members of today’s 7,000 square foot center in a converted hotel on Bureau Drive are from outside Gaithersburg. The city is looking for county and state funds to help defray an estimated $10 million in construction costs.

The city plans to begin construction in July 2009 with $1 million in federal funds, Katz wrote.

On Saturday, the city brought a busload of about 20 seniors to Annapolis in support of a bond bill that could bring state funds, said Assistant City Manager Fred Felton.

State Sen. Nancy J. King (D-Dist. 39) of Montgomery Village and state Del. Kumar P. Barve (D-Dist. 17) of Gaithersburg introduced the bill to the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee.

Katz and former Councilwoman Blanche Keller, who serves on the Gaithersburg Senior Council, testified.

Enterprise zone update

The Montgomery County Council considered the city’s interest in applying for enterprise zone status Tuesday. They agreed to introduce legislation that would have the county endorse the city’s application to the state to become a Maryland enterprise zone.

‘‘An introduction just gets it into their process and we hope that it will come to a full vote of the County Council within the next week or two,” said Assistant City Manager Tony Tomasello. The application is due to the state April 15 and Gaithersburg hopes to submit its package with council approval the first week of April. Five councilmembers expressed support in meetings, Tomasello said. The city is still trying to contact two councilmembers and County Councilman Marc Elrich (D-At large) of Takoma Park said he opposed Olde Towne designation and the resolution.

Committee appointments

Mayor Sidney A. Katz recently wrote to the executive director of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments suggesting councilmembers who should serve on MCOG’s boards and committees. Katz will serve on the Board of Directors, with longtime Councilman Henry F. Marraffa acting as his alternate. Marraffa will serve on the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board and Aviation Policy Committee. Councilman Michael A. Sesma will serve on the Metropolitan Development Policy Committee.

Councilman Jud Ashman will serve on the Public Safety Policy Committee. Councilwoman Cathy Drzyzgula will serve on the Metropolitan Washington Air Quality Committee and Chesapeake Bay and Water Resources Policy Committee. Councilman Ryan Spiegel will work on the Human Services Policy Committee.

City likes to strut its stuff

The American Podiatric Medical Association and Prevention magazine recently named Gaithersburg as one of the 100 Best Walking Cities in America. In a survey of 400 cities nationwide, Gaithersburg placed 63rd on the list.

Criteria for determining walkability included the percentage of adults who walk to work, the number of parks per square mile, safety, mass transit use and the percentage of adults who walk for fitness.

The survey evaluated the 10 most populous cities in each state. Gaithersburg’s high number of residents who walk for exercise, number of parks per square mile and its relatively low crime rate compared to other large cities in Maryland put the city in the nation’s top 20 safest cities for walkers, according to Prevention magazine.

Other area cities that made the top 100 Best Walking Cities list include Washington, D.C., which ranked fifth, Silver Spring, Bethesda, Dundalk and Baltimore, which came in 17th, 62nd, 91st and 92nd, respectively.