Temperature of Rockville Council Election Just Went Up
With Scott Ullery’s recent announcement that he’ll retire as City Manager in December, the temperature of the upcoming City Council elections just went up several degrees. Hiring a City Manager is one of the most important decisions they can make and has both long-term and short-term implications. We’ve been fortunate to have such a skilled administrator as Scott Ullery, who has been a calm and consistent force at the City despite the continual challenges that come into his office from all corners. I’ve always found him to be ethical and fair, and while I know some people sought his removal, it’s usually because they’re trying to do something that doesn’t align with our city’s strategic plan, violates city codes, or requires Council approval. It’s a thankless job because you are always subject to public criticism and you get a new set of bosses every two years (and the best city managers, like the best editors, are often invisible and let others get the credit).
Selecting the next City Manager will be a crucial responsibility for the next Council–and it’s not an easy job. In my former hometown of Upland, California, we had a terrible series Continue reading →
The Latest Rumors about the City Council Elections 2011
It’s June but the City Council race for Rockville is incredibly quiet compared to a couple years ago. Every seat on the City Council (terms are two years) are up for grabs in November 2011 election. The latest rumors I’ve heard are:
Incumbent Candidates
- Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio: will run for another term, and if she wins, will again attempt to fire the City Manager (which will probably prompt a half dozen other senior staff to leave), continue to use city taxes to support Red Gate Golf Course, and work to cut city property tax rate (and along with it, cut city services). She will most likely move to revise the city charter to make the Mayor the Chief Executive of the City (or just act like she’s the Chief Executive).
- Councilmember John Britton: regretfully, won’t run for another term.
- Councilmember Piotr Gajewski: will run for Mayor as the only opponent to incumbent Mayor Marcuccio. He frequently advocates for transparency in governance and data-driven decision-making, which run counter to the approach used by some of his colleagues on the Council. On the other hand, he has advocated for a revised charter to move from a City Manager form of government to a Strong Mayor, which is a bad idea for Rockville.
- Councilmember Bridget Newton: heir to the seat held by Anne Robbins, and thankfully, won’t run for another term.
- Councilmember Mark Pierzchala: thankfully, will run for another term.
New Candidates
- John Hall: former councilmember hoping to return to council. Supported by former councilmember Anne Robbins, former mayors Susan Hoffman and Larry Giammo, and current Mayor Marcuccio (once again, politics makes strange bedfellows). Pleasant, funny guy but conflict averse.
- Dion Trahan: new Planning Commissioner. He’s the one who wears bowties and asks lots of questions.
- Joe Jordan: he’s not running, but is developing a slate of candidates to give Phyllis Marcuccio a majority on the Council to ensure that Red Gate Golf Course survives and to remove his nemesis City Manager Scott Ullery. With Councilmember Newton’s departure (she often votes with Marcuccio), this will be very difficult (and if he succeeds, it will be devastating to the City’s leadership and governance).
If you’ve been counting, that means that there will be very little choice on the ballot this year and that puts our City at risk. A special interest group might be able to take over City Council if they can muster the candidates and money in the next few months (it’s happened here in the past!). Again, this is just word on the street and I haven’t been able to verify much of this information. Candidates have to submit their petitions in early September, so we’ll have to wait a bit longer to know who will really be on the ballot in November.
Historic Designation Process Confounds Council Once Again
The City of Rockville’s process for designating historic landmarks has confused the city leaders and staff once again. For many years, the process has vexed property owners, preservationists, neighbors, staff, and city officials, despite continual calls for reform from the Historic District Commission. It’s frustrating and costs time and money, and yet, here was another discussion about it at the March 14, 2011 meeting. It borders on the surreal, so I’m providing a transcript so you can see it for yourself:
Councilmember Pierzchala: On next week’s tentative agenda, Item Number 11…this is Glenview Mansion, it’s listed as 45 minutes and I’m not sure why. I am planning to vote to Authorize to File and get a Public Hearing going, and I’d rather have staff presentations and whoever is for, whoever is against, all at one point, and where we can ask questions, and so I’m just wondering why we need 45 minutes for next week.
City Manager Ullery: I would agree with you. I don’t think that item requires 45 minutes.
Mayor Marcuccio: Well, is there someone who requested 45 minutes?
City Manager Ullery: It probably came in through the agenda from Rec and Parks department. I think we can probably do it in 20 minutes. Continue reading →
Rockville’s Year 2010 in Review
Usually this type of post goes up on January 1, but I always prefer a bit of distance to identify the biggest stories of past year. Although this is admittedly from my limited personal perspective and is bound to generate controversy (but hey, that’s what these lists are supposed to do), here’s my list for Rockville in 2010:
1. Red Gate Golf Course. This is continued to be a thorny issue and made have seen its thorniest moment when the City Council used $2.4 million in “surplus” money to pay off past debt and the anticipated shortfalls for 2011, and also (once again) punted the decision to another time. Despite countless meetings and studies, for years the Council has been astonishingly agonized about making a decision on whether to commit to an annual subsidy, integrate it into the recreation program, levy a tax to support it, or to close it down. Meanwhile, the golf course continues to bleed money and participation rates continue to slide. Perhaps we need to start over: if we were offered 130 acres today (Red Gate is the second largest park in Rockville), what would most benefit the community? I don’t think most people would say golf course.
Welcome to (snowy) Twinbrook
2. Snowpocalypse. Who can forget this snowstorm? There was so much snow it closed the federal government for a week. The adventurous walked and explored the city in a new quiet way and neighbors found a new reason to talk and help each other. There was a lot of frustration with snow clearing and the City wasn’t prepared, but remember, the city worked around the clock and conscripted employees into snowshoveling duties to deal with this record snowfall. We also improved our abilities to monitor and respond to these situations so when this happens again (and it may not be for another fifty years), we’re prepared. And someone at the City gets two stars for Continue reading →
New Blog for Rockville: Patch
Rockville Patch
In addition to Rockville Central and Rockville Living, Rockville Patch provides another online source of news and information about our fair city. Patch is based in New York City and operates throughout the country, working in communities of 15-100K population that are “underserved by media and would benefit by having access to local news and information about government, schools and business”. Each “Patch” is run by professional editors, writers, photographers, and videographers who live in or near the communities they serve and for the Rockville version includes nearly two dozen editors and contributors, including Sean Sedam, Lauren Sausser, Jillian Badanes, and Nathan Carrick (in case you run into them at an event). They’ve been operating in Rockville since October 2010 and recent posts include a review of Zio’s Restaurant, a video on the Comptroller’s visit to Best Buy to promote Maryland’s tax-free weekend, and images from around town. It seems to have already attracted the attention of the usual online community activists, including Temperance Blalock, Theresa Defino, and Joe Jordan (on Red Gate Golf Course, no surprise), so you’ll see some familiar faces.
City Council Punts on Red Gate When It Should Have Tackled
On Monday, September 20, the Mayor and Council concluded (for now) the situation with Red Gate Golf Course, an issue that’s been vexing them for the last year (and longer). Unfortunately, they didn’t resolve the issue, they just kicked the can further down the road to let the next city council deal with this tar baby. By eliminating past debt and next year’s anticipated deficit, they were able to put off the hard decision about the golf course until 2012.
Rosy predictions about the golf course’s future (“we’re giving them a clean slate,” “I just know they’ll succeed as soon as the economy improves”) are either condescending or naïve. The golf course has run deficits for years and has had declining participation for nearly two decades–this isn’t related to the economic downturn. Without a serious change in management or increased investment, Continue reading →
Is Rockville’s Mayor the Chief Executive?
At Mayor and Council meeting of June 7, 2010, the Gazette claimed that Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio stated she was “the city leader and de facto chief executive” of the City of Rockville. I didn’t hear that on the broadcast, but confusion over the roles of board and staff isn’t unusual. I’ve served on boards, for boards, and with boards and one of the most common areas of friction and frustration is the role of the board and staff in an organization. It’s made even more confusing because of the various interchangeable titles used by those at the top (e.g., president, chair, chief executive, mayor). Rockville’s Mayor was initially called a President.
Firstly, every organization is different so it’s crucial to understand the rules under which they operate. For the City of Rockville, it’s the City Charter and the City Code. You can’t assume that what happens in New York or Baltimore or Kensington is the same as Rockville. In Rockville, the primary powers of the Council are to Continue reading →
A Great Day at the Homes and Hospitality Tour
City Council Now Accepts Comments Online
Long overdue but much appreciated is the City of Rockville’s recent introduction of eComment, an online comment system in which the public can support, question, or object to items on the Mayor and Council agenda prior to a meeting.
According to the City, “the pilot program began with the Monday, April 12, Mayor and Council meeting. Agendas are typically published on the Thursday prior to the Monday meeting. The comment page can be found on the City’s Web site, www.rockvillemd.gov, and will close at 4 p.m. each Monday that there is a Mayor and Council meeting. Comments will be delivered directly to the Mayor and Council through the City Clerk’s Office. All comments are considered public information.”
The City launched eComment as “an opportunity for citizens to make their voices heard; help focus citizen comments to items already on the agenda; let citizens give input when they are unable to attend meetings; and provide the Mayor and Council with an organized report of comments prior to meetings.” I applaud their efforts to increase the ways that citizens can speak to the City (usually it’s the other way round), especially in Continue reading →
Rockville Celebrates 150th Anniversary
Last night, the City of Rockville celebrated its 150th anniversary of its incorporation in the Town Square. Even though the community existed in the 18th century, it wasn’t until March 10, 1860, that it took the big step to pull together and distinguish itself legally from the county. That move towards independence would continue, most significantly in the 1950s when the State granted “home rule.”
About 100 people gathered in the Town Square last night in the swirl of people passing to the library, heading into stores, or choosing a restaurant for dinner. The event opened with an invocation and the singing of the National Anthem (thankfully by someone with talent), then about a dozen speeches and presentations came one after the other by various political leaders from the county, state, and federal governments, with a finale performance by The Finest! and the serving of cake and hot chocolate. It’s hard to make an anniversary exciting except with a concert, parade, or fireworks, but in this tight economy, we’re left with speeches and cake as public spectacles. Thank goodness the weather cooperated and it wasn’t too cold and it didn’t rain as predicted. It’ll be broadcast on Rockville’s Channel 11 but in the meantime, here are some pics in case you missed it:
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- 150th celebration in Town Square
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- City officials on stage.
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- Mayor and Council cutting the cake.
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- Serving the cake.
This Sunday night is the next 150th event, with an illustrated lecture on the history of Rockville by Eileen McGuckian at the Fitzgerald Theater (Glenview Park) at 7 pm.
