Montgomery News

Town of Chevy Chase Town Council met April 23.

Here is the minutes provided by the Council:

Council:

Mary Flynn, Mayor

Barney Rush, Vice Mayor

Cecily Baskir, Secretary

Scott Fosler, Treasurer

Joel Rubin, Community Liaison

Residents and Guests:

Rich Brancato, 4304 Leland Street

John Fitzgerald, 4502 Elm Street

Christine Real de Azua, 4502 Elm Street

Fred Cecere, 4503 Leland Street

Deborah Vollmer, 7202 44th Street

Wicca Davidson, 7600 Connecticut Avenue

Kirk Renaud, 3906 Woodbine Street

Bridget Hartman, 7214 Ridgewood Avenue

Kathy Strom, 7212 Ridgewood Avenue

I. General Business

A. Call to Order

B. Pledge of Allegiance

C. Approval of Minutes

Councilmember Rush moved to approve the minutes of the March 19, 2018 Council work session and meeting. Councilmember Fosler seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

D. Acceptance of March 2018 Financial Report

Councilmember Fosler presented the March 2018 financial report. The Council accepted the report.

E. Town Manager’s Report

Mayor Flynn read the Town Manager’s report into the record.

F. Public Comments

Rich Brancato, 4304 Leland Street, thanked Councilmembers for their hard work and dedication to the Town.

John Fitzgerald, 4502 Elm Street, commented on the use of Town reserve funds to retain legal counsel and experts to review permits related to the Purple Line.

Fred Cecere, 4503 Leland Street, thanked Mayor Flynn and Councilmember Fosler for their service.

Deborah Vollmer, 7202 44th Street, thanked the Council for hosting the candidates “Meet and Greet” and for their hard work. She also commented on the need to address the impacts of the Purple Line on the Town.

II. Council Discussions & Presentations

A. Capital Crescent Trail Tunnel, Surface Trail and Interim Trail

Montgomery County Department of Transportation officials and consultants presented plans for the proposed Capital Crescent Trail tunnel, surface route and interim route. The Council asked questions and made comments. Councilmember Rush moved to hold a work session on the proposals followed by a public hearing at a separate meeting. Mayor Flynn seconded the motion. Councilmember Baskir moved to amend the motion to hold the public hearing prior to the work session. The amendment failed for lack of a second. Councilmember Baskir revised her amendment to allow an opportunity for public comments at the work session, which will precede the public hearing. The amended motion was called and passed unanimously.

B. Purple Line Mitigation

The Council discussed issues and efforts related to Purple Line mitigation, including requesting change order estimates for higher noise walls and opaque fencing; hiring a noise expert to review the effect of the change orders on noise mitigation; establishing a resident complaint process during construction of the light rail project; and collaborating with neighboring communities on mitigation efforts. Councilmember Rubin moved to direct the Town Manager to identify potential expert advisors and consultants to assist the Town in reviewing and responding to technical documents related to the Purple Line project. Mayor Flynn seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

C. Bethesda Downtown Plan Implementation

The Council discussed issues and efforts related to implementation of the Bethesda Downtown Plan, including a new development tracking system developed by the Montgomery Planning Department; the ongoing work of the Coalition of Bethesda Area Residents (CBAR); and Town membership in CBAR.

D. Teaching Garden Project (Climate and Environment)

Town resident Irene Lane presented a proposal to create the Lee Dennison Sustainable Teaching Garden in Town. Council discussed the proposal and asked questions. Councilmember Fosler moved to approve the concept presented by the Climate and Environment Committee (CEC), to express gratitude to the CEC members for their work, and to encourage them to move forward to develop a specific proposal to be presented to the Council on actual implementation of the concept. Mayor Flynn seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

Council agreed that the CEC should contact the Mayor and Town Manager if modest funding is needed to fully develop the proposal.

III. Adjournment

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:05 p.m.

https://www.townofchevychase.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_04232018-628