At its Monday, August 7, 2023 meeting, the Rockville Mayor and Council will discuss the 2023 Compensation Commission Report. On the Consent Calendar (items approved without discussion) are contracts for lighting and water supply maintenance and repairs, tree planting at RedGate Park, among others. The Mayor and Council will also receive reports on the Rockville Villages Program, Rockville Housing Enterprises, and 2023 State Legislative Wrap-up by Delegate Joe Vogel.

The Villages Program in Rockville was established in December 2016 in King Farm based on a Boston-based program whose mission is “to provide information and services, sponsor recreational and educational activities and foster a strong sense of community so that older adults in central Boston neighborhoods can live their lives to the fullest independently in their own homes.”  In Rockville, Villages in various stages of development in East Rockville, Town Center, West Rockville, Wootton’s Mill, Orchard Falls (working title), New Mark Commons, Lincoln Park, and Twinbrook. The Villages Facilitator produces a monthly newsletter that is distributed electronically to nearly 600 recipients (subscribe for free!).

The City of Rockville established Rockville Housing Enterprises (RHE) in 1955 to as an independent agency to address affordable housing in the City. It currently owns and operates 80 apartments (“housing units”) and 450 housing units participate in its Housing Choice Voucher program (allows households to rent in the private market with rental assistance). RHE also partners with employers and service providers in the community to help participants obtain jobs and services, such as childcare, transportation, job training and employment counseling, and financial coaching. They have just launched the RHE Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit subsidiary dedicated to resident-oriented initiatives such as down payment assistance, disaster relief, and energy conservation. More details starting on page 10.

The Mayor and Council are conducting hybrid meetings. If you wish to submit comments in writing for Community Forum or Public Hearings, please email the comments to MayorAndCouncil@RockvilleMD.gov by no later than 10:00 a.m. on the date of the meeting.

More details in the 261-page agenda packet are available at https://www.rockvillemd.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08072023-6979.

Next meeting on September 11 (Council will be taking a break). On the agenda is a report on the community policing advisory board and a public hearing on increasing the number of Councilmembers need to request a public hearing. Expect the election season to begin in earnest by the time this meeting happens.