• Remembering Officer Luke Hoffman
• Preserving Affordable Housing
• Additional Focus on Affordable Housing
• Funding Progress for Seniors
• Effects of Future Realignment at Bethesda Naval Hospital
• New Appointments
• Off the Roads and onto the Rails
• Preparing Our Residents for Emergencies
• Next Town Hall Meeting

Remembering Officer Luke Hoffman

Like you, I was extremely saddened by the death of Officer Luke T. Hoffman. I had the privilege of spending time with Officer Hoffman's parents, siblings and closest friends, and I know they will miss him dearly. I also know that the death of this 24-year-old officer is a tremendous loss not only to them, but to Officer Hoffman's comrades in our Police Department and to all of Montgomery County.

Luke Hoffman was the top graduate in our July 2006 Police Academy class, and his life was full of promise. In his short career as a police officer, he managed to become an exceptional officer who -- like so many others -- put his own life at risk in order to protect others from harm. As the heartbreaking accident that took his life demonstrates, the risk to our police officers is real, and their willingness to sacrifice personal safety is extraordinary.

The thoughts and prayers of a sad Montgomery County go out to Officer Hoffman's family, co-workers, and friends. May God reach out to comfort them all during the difficult days ahead.

Donations may be sent to:
Little Sisters of the Poor, St. Martins Home, 601 Maiden Choice Lane, Baltimore, MD 21228-3698.

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Preserving Affordable Housing

As part of my initiative to preserve and expand affordable housing in our local communities, I have proposed changing County law to give the County the "right of first refusal" to purchase multifamily rental properties that are for sale.

Under current law, the County government, the County's Housing Opportunities Commission and certified tenant associations can match the sales offer on all rental facilities of more than four units built before February 5, 1981. The new law would extend the right to purchase rental units constructed since that date.

While we're working to increase the supply of affordable housing for County families, we have to redouble our efforts to preserve affordable rental housing that already exists. The change in the law will give us additional options.

With my recommended $10 million increase for the Montgomery Housing Initiative fund, we'll be able to take advantage of more opportunities to preserve affordable housing. Even if we don't buy a given property, having the right to buy it can give us leverage to preserve some affordable units or come to an agreement with the new ownership to ensure that some affordable units are available.

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Additional Focus on Affordable Housing

In order to focus on ways to increase the availability of affordable housing in the county, I have appointed an Affordable Housing Task Force that will be co-chaired by Richard Nelson, director of the Department of Housing and Community Affairs and Barbara Goldberg Goldman, founder of the Affordable Housing Conference.

Montgomery County is a national leader on the issue of affordable housing, but the current economy and surge in property values require that we put extra emphasis on finding safe, decent and affordable housing for those who want to live here. I feel that this task force has the talent and experience to help us move forward more effectively in this area.

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Funding Progress for Seniors

Last month, we hosted a Town Meeting at Holiday Park Senior Center devoted to the interests of our senior population and attended by more than 250 County residents. I appreciated the opportunity to hear your concerns and priorities first-hand.

Among those are:

• Replacing a terminated federal grant with County funding to cover the meal subsidy program for seniors, thus preventing the loss of more than 20,000 meals;
• Enhancing services for vulnerable adults with an added unit to provide protective, social and evaluation review to more than 100 seniors;
• Adding to funding for the Personal Care Program that provides assistance to frail elderly and individuals with disabilities;
• Adding funds for short bus trips that will expand senior travel opportunities;
• Introducing free Ride On and Metrobus rides for seniors and people with disabilities during all hours of operations, seven days a week; and
• Expanding the Call 'N Ride program to allow more seniors and low-income disabled residents to participate.

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Effects of Future Realignment at Bethesda Naval Hospital

We in Montgomery County are proud to have 19 federal departments/agencies located here -- such as NIH, FDA, NIST and DOE -- and we appreciate the direct economic impact they bring to our community, including employing nearly 65,000 people and paying more than $3.5 billion in wages to federal workers in the county.

Given the pending expansion of the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) and realignment of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, I have appointed a Montgomery County Base Realignment and Closure Implementation Committee to address issues related to the project. I look to the group to provide a forum to ensure that the Bethesda project proceeds with minimal impact on the surrounding community and maximum impact on the services provided to the military personnel who work at and receive care at NNMC.

However, I have been concerned by the recommendation of the Independent Review Group (IRG) to accelerate construction at NNMC by waiving the Environmental Impact Study process. The expansion of the Bethesda installation, especially when combined with other growth and development projects in the area, will have a major impact on the surrounding area that will be felt by local residents, as well as the personnel and patients within the installation.

Therefore, I have recently written and expressed my concern to Department of Defense officials and the co-chairs of the IRG.

There needs to be a thorough analysis of the infrastructure needs, especially the transportation system. We want to work with the Department of Defense to create an environmentally friendly facility surrounded by a transportation infrastructure that will efficiently move vehicles, respect cyclists and pedestrians, encourage increased use of transit and enhance the quality of life for all those who live, work, learn and play near the new facility.

This is precisely why a thorough Environmental Impact Study needs to be completed.

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New Appointments

Recently, I was pleased to announce that I have selected appointees to head three departments and offices within County Government: Leon Rodriguez to serve as County Attorney; E. Steven Emanuel to head the Department of Technology Services; and Joe Beach to move from Acting Director to Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Each of these appointees brings their own unique experiences to these positions, and I know they will use their diverse backgrounds to keep the delivery of services to our employees and residents at a consistently high level.

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Off the Roads and onto the Rails

In an effort to encourage more of our residents to use public transit for their workday commutes, I'm pleased that Montgomery County Commuter Services, in partnership with the Maryland Transit Administration, is offering a free, one-week pass to new commuters using the MARC train from the Boyds, Barnesville or Dickerson stations. Commuter Services has published a new brochure that lists the MARC train schedules for the three stations, plus fare information and where to purchase tickets.

To receive the free, one-week pass or to request a brochure, call Commuter Services at 301-565-5870 or email commuter.services@montgomerycountymd.gov.

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Preparing Our Residents for Emergencies

As we all know, emergencies can disrupt our daily routines and lifestyles in many ways, but the bottom line is -- we need to be prepared and there are some easy ways to do so.

One way is to sign up for the County's automated warning system called Alert Montgomery.

Here's how it works: in an emergency, our Homeland Security Department staff can send text messages to email accounts, cell phones, pagers, Blackberrys and wireless PDAs. You can choose to have the alerts, notifications and updates sent to one or more of your electronic communications devices.

The service is free, although you may be charged by your wireless carrier to receive the text messages.

You can also sign up to receive information on major traffic delays and severe weather.

Rockville, Gaithersburg and Takoma Park residents can also sign up for their respective municipal alert systems from the County's website. If you have already signed up for a municipal alert, you will automatically receive the County messages.

To sign up, just go to the County's homepage at www.montgomerycountymd.gov and click on "Alert."

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Next Town Hall Meeting

Residents in and around Silver Spring are invited to attend our next Town Hall Meeting to be held on Thursday, July 19 at Woodside United Methodist Church, 8900 Georgia Ave., beginning at 7:30 p.m.

After that, we'll be in Potomac on September 27 at a location to be announced.

I look forward to seeing you there.

As always, don't hesitate to contact my office either by phone, 240-777-2500, by email at ocemail@montgomerycountymd.gov or by mail at 101 Monroe St., Rockville, MD 20850.

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