The massive overhaul of Montgomery County offices announced by County Executive Ike Leggett in December continues to languish, slowed by residents who don’t want busy county offices in their backyards.
The latest variation of the plan put forward this week would have the largest stand-alone piece, the Public Safety Training Academy, moved to 29 acres of a 130-acre plot on the border of Montgomery Village, dropping the possibility of using land in Poolesville where public uproar and the off-center location turned the tide against it.
The plan for the Poolesville property would have brought increased traffic and infringed on the agricultural preserve set up in the 1980s to protect the area’s rural character, said Paul Kuhlman, president of the town’s commission.
“This would affect our way of life and upsets the lives of people down county who come up in the spring and summer for bucolic scenery rides,” Kuhlmansaid, adding that he’ll continue to monitor the county’s plans for the property.
The land was purchased by the county in November for $2.3 million in order to protect land rights for the shooting range that’s already there, county officials said.
Meanwhile, obtaining the 130-acre plot called the Webb Tract may come with its own battle.
In the past, plans for storing county school buses and other light industrial uses have been defeated by residents who didn’t want their residential roads clogged with traffic, said Sharon Levine, director of government relations for the Montgomery Village Foundation.
And depending on the county’s pitch to residents next week, the latest plans may also be met with resistance, she said, although, “county officials say everybody is going to have to take something.”
And County Council members aren’t on board yet either. They’re waiting to see the price tag, although Leggett has said the cost will balance with long-term savings.
“How do we pay for this, especially in light of our current fiscal challenges?” Councilwoman Nancy Floreen asked. The move is “something we need to do, but the question is how we get to the revenue neutrality they are proposing.”
Staff Writer Kathleen Miller contributed to this report.
