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Fire officials at Monday's Clarksburg Civic Association meeting were met by familiar faces and one unfamiliar issue – the question of a mega-church being built on the border of Frederick and Montgomery counties.

"We'd heard rumors, but nothing official," Assistant Fire Chief Mike Donahue said of traffic and safety issues raised about the proposed 137,000-square-foot building Global Mission Church of Greater Washington, a congregation based in Silver Spring, hopes to build on land straddling the Montgomery/Frederick county line.

While the buildings connected to the project would be in Frederick, the sole access road is proposed to be rural Old Hundred Road (Route 109), leaving Montgomery County the likely source for fire and rescue services. Residents of Hyattstown are also fearful of additional traffic.

Frederick planners are slated to resume discussion of the project Oct. 14.

"You should be aware of this," said Lou Sousa of Clarksburg, who said the lack of access roads was dangerous.

Association president Kathie Hulley said Hyattstown was part of the Clarksburg planning area and the proposed church, which she compared to a convention center, could impact well water for residents.

"I appreciate you bringing it up," Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service Chief Richard Bowers said. "We honestly had no idea."

Bowers promised to discuss the matter with his Frederick counterparts.

Clarksburg ombudsman Kathleen Mitchell said although county officials initially expressed support for the project and granted permits, possible venues for a public hearing are now being discussed.

"None of this information was understood when they said, ‘Oh, it's a church, it's in Frederick' [and approved]," Mitchell said.

Other issues brought up at Monday's "meet and greet" for Bowers were more familiar. The approximately 15 people who attended, including two Scouts working on a merit badge, asked questions about the status of new ‘no parking' restrictions on Clarksburg roads as well as the construction of a permanent fire station for the area.

Donahue said residents of Clarksburg Town Center and Arora Hills are about three weeks away from having signs posted that will prohibit parking on one or both sides of various streets to provide access for emergency vehicles.

The vehicles, along with other large vehicles like school buses and trash trucks, have had difficulty maneuvering the narrow streets, but residents have expressed concerns about alternative places to park.

"We have to balance the impact on your day-to-day lives with our responsibility to get to you," Bowers said.

Those at Monday's meeting, however, seemed more interested in suggesting more streets Donahue might consider limiting parking than contesting the changes. Potential problems were described in the Woodcrest and Gateway Commons subdivision as well as area condominiums.

As for a permanent station to replace the temporary one operating from a warehouse on Gateway Center Drive, Bowers said efforts were continuing to acquire needed land at the desired site near the intersection of Frederick and Clarksburg roads, as was initially announced in April.

"So it may be awhile," association vice president Barry Fantle said.

"In the interim we do have a functional station at the current location," Bowers said.

The lease on that site will not expire for several years, he said.