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At the suggestion of City Manager Scott Ullery Monday night, the City Council cut a capital improvement project from its 2010 budget that it had planned to delay in an effort to mitigate further anticipated cuts in funding from the state.

But instead of cutting renovations to the Pump House in East Rockville, as Ullery first proposed, the council substituted plans to renovate the Rockville Municipal Swim Center after hearing the urgent pleas of more than a dozen community members.

Ullery said that after attending a meeting of the Maryland Municipal League in Cumberland last week, he came back with "very sobering" views on future state funds.

"It's no secret there's real concern that this latest cut is not the end of it for this year," he said, referring to $2.4 million the city has expected to get from the state in highway user revenues and police aid funds, but did not.

An additional $500 million is expected to be cut this year at the state level, with some of that being extracted from funding promised to municipalities, he said.

"I recommend freezing those CIP [Capital Improvement Program] projects and urge you to cut them from the budget at least for this year," he said. "Let's get through a couple of quarters and see what the lay of the land is."

But the Pump House, a historic building that has been used as an East Rockville gathering place for years, is in disrepair and has been vacant awaiting renovations since this summer.

The project to renovate carries a price tag of $427,000.

Marilyn Al Mansoor, president of the East Rockville Civic Association, made a plea to the council to not cut renovation funding for the Pump House.

"It's in need of more than just a face-lift," she said. "It's in desperate need of renovation to bring it up to code."

Councilwoman Phyllis R. Marcuccio, a resident of East Rockville, was heavily in favor of funding the Pump House renovations.

"Think [East Rockville has] been neglected endlessly," she said. "They have no amenities. One little park they did themselves. I don't think this [cut] is appropriate."

The council passed the budget amendment unanimously.

City agrees to free parking in Town Square

for the holidays

The City Council on Monday voted 4-1 to allow free parking in the three Town Square garages during the holidays.

The city tried a similar plan last year, but because of poor advertising, it had little effect in bringing more customers to downtown Rockville, city staff said.

Councilman Piotr Gajewski cast the dissenting vote, saying he could not vote for a measure that would cost the city tens of thousands of dollars in revenue without making up that money somewhere else.

Parking will be free from Dec. 14 to Jan. 3 and is estimated to cost the city $31,000 in lost revenue.

The city is also asking the Town Square merchants and Federal Realty Investment Trust, the Town Center development company, to help in marketing the free parking.

The city recently implemented a new pay schedule after compromising with a coalition of Town Square merchants that makes garage parking free on Saturdays and $1 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays.

This is estimated to cost the Rockville about $180,000 in revenue for fiscal 2010.

Lincoln Park house

earns historic designation

The single-story house at 224 Elizabeth Ave. in Lincoln Park got a reprieve from the wrecking ball from the City Council Monday night when the body unanimously voted to designate the structure as historic.

Although the building has been vacant for several months and property owner Iglesia de Dios Church wants to demolish the building, the council was swayed that it represented a significant period in the Lincoln Park neighborhood's history and development, and therefore deserved historic treatment.

No one spoke on behalf of the church at Monday's meeting and church officials could not be reached for comment by press time Tuesday.

Built in the 1940s, the structure was physically moved to its current location by members of the community with one of the original owners seated inside.

Council abandons

Mount Vernon right of way

The City Council Monday unanimously passed an ordinance to abandon an unimproved right of way known as Mount Vernon Place connecting Maryland Avenue and Monroe Street.

Half of the right of way was given to the Courthouse Walk Homeowners Association and half was given to the county, which owns the adjacent property where it plans to develop affordable senior housing.

Storm drain and forest conservation easements were left in place.