Difficulties setting up working phones are putting a crimp in plans to open a Gaithersburg-area day labor center one week from today, officials told The Examiner late last week.
CASA of Maryland, the immigrant advocacy group contracted to run the hotly debated center, had established April 9 as the date when the facility would open.
But Montgomery County Regional Services Center Community Outreach Manager Nancy Hislop said Friday that it will take at least two weeks to fix problems hooking up phone lines, meaning the true opening likely won’t be until the end of April.
“The furniture’s there and everything’s ready,” she said. “The only thing left is the phones. As soon as that happens, they’ll be in business.”
The exact nature of the problem remains unclear and the center’s manager could not be reached Friday.
In terms of the facility itself, county officials opted to use 1,440-square-foot, double-wide trailer, which is ample enough for four offices and a center reception area.
CASA has endured criticism from anti-immigration groups for not requiring workers to be in the United States legally and actually pledging to help illegal immigrants gain citizenship.
At least initially, the services in Crabb Branch Way will remain rather basic — aligning day workers with to-be-determined employers — and handled by three full-time and two part-time employees enlisted by CASA.
The agency was not required to estimate how many day laborers the center will aid. City and county leaders have estimated that between 40 and 60 such workers consistently convene at a nearby shopping center looking for work in the early morning hours.
“Whether they’ll transfer over to the center or not, we’re not sure, but it’s a baseline,” Hislop said.
Once the day labor center opens, a new Gaithersburg ordinance takes effect that bans anyone from soliciting for work in public areas.
Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney Katz has told The Examiner that despite claims the ordinance is discriminatory, he sees it as necessary to ensure the county-funded day labor center is a success.
