(Warning: This is a long post. And it contains a lot of my own opinion. I am open to others though...respond in the comments!)
Many in Rockville know that the current state District Court building is old, overcrowded, and in need of -- well, it needs to move. Back when the new Town Square was a gleam in the eye of a few civic leaders, it seemed like there was a perfect solution: use the old public library building! (The red pushpin on this map.) Approval has recently been given for the state to go ahead on its plans to build on this site.
But, what might have been a viable option five years ago isn't anymore, and there are far better options available. For years now, many have been working to try to stop the state from placing its new District Court building at the old library site (which is next door to City Hall and hard by Christ Episcopal School). This week's Gazette reports that outgoing Rockville mayor Larry Giammo has proposed what sounds like a reasonable solution: swapping the old library site for the old Giant Supermarket building (next to The Pink Bank -- the green pushpin on this map).
Trouble is, it seems there is just too much bureaucratic inertia behind the library site for anyone to want to move. State officials have made plans and made funding decisions based on the new District Court building being at the "old library" site.
What's worse, some in the state legislative delegation from Montgomery County say they want it at the library, too. According to the Gazette article:
"I’m very much in support of having it at the library site," State Sen. Jennie M. Forehand (D-Dist. 17) of Rockville said. "The entire delegation is. There’s a letter going to the governor in support of the library site. It was the right thing to do."
And, Chief Judge of the District Court of Maryland,
Ben C. Clyburn said, "They [the City] weren’t ignored," Clyburn said. "It was their bright idea to come up with this site."
Why the fuss? No one I talked to can say. I have a message in to Senator Forehand that was not returned yet (in her defense, it
is in the middle of Special Session -- if she does respond I will relay it to
Rockville Central's readers).
Mayor Giammo, referring to Judge Clyburn's comment said, "We never suggested nor supported building the new district court on the library site. I can't imagine what he's referring to." In fact, he pointed out that his 2001 campaign included a promise to work
against such a move. "Had [Clyburn] bothered to pay any attention over the last six plus years, he'd know we never wanted the district court built on the library site."
Indeed, according to a
January 26, 2007 letter from the City to Governor O'Malley and County Executive Ike Leggett (and a follow-up to Governor O'Malley in April), the City raised issues with the "old library" site numerous times:
On November 18, 2002, in a letter asking the state to take into consideration the inappropriateness of the location (backing as it does onto an historic district and a school), the lack of adequate parking, and pedestrian danger as they cross MD-28 on the way to court. Response: the state went ahead and bought the site from the County and started planning.
- On April 28, 2005, people from the Maryland Department of General Services held a meeting for proposed residents on the proposed design for the new District Court. Rockville residents loudly complained.
- On May 9, 2005, MDGS folks presented the plan to the Mayor and Council at a City Council meeting. "We strongly expressed these same concerns," says the letter.
Later, in the April letter (at
the same link; scroll down), the City says it would be willing to help out and "make the State whole" if moving to a different site resulted in new costs.
Now, it appears there is a bona fide new idea on the table. Using the Giant site would represent a great use of a parcel of land whose disposition otherwise is . . . well, it's in doubt. And it would free up the old library for better uses, like better police quarters.
I admit, the reasons that have been expressed in opposition to using the Giant site are mystifying to me. I asked incoming Mayor
Susan Hoffmann if she could imagine any real objection, and she put it this way:
The push back we are getting . . . is a concern that we might lose our place in line for a new and badly needed courthouse, that a new site will require a new design which could take up to 7 years, and that it will cost millions more to go to a new site. The State Department of General Services has done a preliminary analysis and indicates that the delay will be more like 6 months to a year for redesign and cost up to about $1 million more. In the statewide scheme of things, that is not a lot of money...and, in my estimation, certainly worth it to do the very best thing for our residents and our Town Center.
And there's a new development. There is a recent
letter from Department of Budget and Land Secretary T. Eloise Foster to some members of the state legislative delegation on the subject. She writes:
"[S]hould the legislative delegation and the local leadership come to a consensus agreement that an alternative site should be pursued, the Governor would certainly be supportive of that decision." She goes on to say that regardless of what site is chosen the state will "work with local stakeholders to ensure that the project continues to move forward."
In other words, the location of the District Court, and the fate of the old library, is in the hands of our representatives to the Maryland State Legislature.
A local group of citizens called the Town Center Action Team has been working on this issue for two years now. With the recent news that approval for the old library site has been given, resident
Bridget Newton is spreading word of a meeting coming up at City Hall to discuss the issue. City Manager
Scott Ullery will be on hand:
- WHEN: Tuesday, November 20, 2007
- WHERE: City Hall Red Maple Room (downstairs next to Public Works)
- TIME: 7:00pm
My opinion, if it is not yet obvious, is that the old Giant site is perfect and that a one-year startup delay is a small price to pay for a building that will need to last.
What about you?
What do you think? Where should the new District Court go? Why?
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