At its Monday, October 3, 2022 meeting, the Rockville Mayor and Council will discuss priorities for federal funding; a $7.5 M renovation for 6 Taft Court (a new facility for Public Works and Recreation and Parks departments); a Town Center “Road Diet” project (narrowing lanes on Washington Street and Middle Lane); FY 2024 budget; and an amendment to the Twinbrook Commons development on Chapman Avenue (adding parking spaces for electric vehicles). On the Consent Calendar (items approved without discussion) are approval of easements for King Buick and King Farm Farmstead Parking Lot; authorizing the City Manager to begin electricity supply agreements; awarding a $1.4 M contract for Storm Water Management (SWM) Facilities improvements; closing of an unnamed road adjacent to Twinbrook Quarter, and approving a charter for the zoning ordinance rewrite, among others. The Mayor and Council will also receive reports on performance measurement, make appointments to boards and commissions, and declare October 10 as Indigenous Peoples’ Day to recognize the “conquest, enslavement, displacement, and disease” which decimated the native people in the area.

On October 18, the City will present its priorities to Rockville’s representatives in the US Congress, which include Senator Benjamin Cardin, Senator Christopher Van Hollen, and Congressman Jaimie Raskin. At the October 3 meeting, the City Council will discuss its three high-priority items for policy and funding, as follows:

• Mitigation of Environmental, Social Justice, and Other Impacts to Rockville from the I-270 & I495 Managed Lanes Study. Rockville is opposed to this project and the alternative selected by MDOT/SHA, as it will result in more significant impacts on the Rockville community. Further, the project does not make adequate use of concrete public transit options that support equity and environmental sustainability. One of the project’s key elements is the planned construction of a new American Legion Bridge, which is critical to the safety and security of the Delmarva region. With the enactment of the historic Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act (IIJA), Rockville supports the use of Federal funding to build the American Legion Bridge.
• Twinbrook Pedestrian/Bicycle Bridge Project Funding. Construction of a new
  pedestrian/bicycle bridge over the WMATA and CSX railroad tracks to reconnect the Twinbrook >community to the Rockville Pike (MD-355) corridor and provide access to the mixed-use Twinbrook Quarter development. This connection promotes the City’s Vision Zero initiative by enhancing pedestrian and bicycle mobility and safety
• Advocate for Stronger Gun Control Reform Legislation. The City Council continues to strongly advocate for additional gun-safety legislation that is urgently needed to address the gun violence epidemic that is plaguing our nation. Specifically, the Mayor and Council requested that Congress quickly pass legislation that would ban the use of ghost guns, include no-loophole background checks, and an assault weapons ban.

More details in the 393-page agenda packet are available at https://www.rockvillemd.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10032022-6709.