Daily Journal (Silver Spring Transit Center, County Debt Limit, Small Business)
January 30, 2012
Today’s T&E committee started with a briefing on a new agreement to govern the Blue Plains Waste Water treatment facility, where most of our sewage is treated.
Then we moved on to discuss the terrible news about problems with the construction at the
Then the full council met to discuss legislation that is pending in
In the afternoon, at a joint meeting of the GO committee with the Planning, Housing and Economic Development Committee we discussed concerns about small businesses and redevelopment. I was pleased to hear that the
I was also pleased to learn that the
These are promising developments—we can and must do better to grow our own job creator right here in
The day continued with a final committee meeting to set our assumptions for the capital budget. We set our annual borrowing for that budget at $295 million and addressed some technical issues that will likely result in reducing the funds available for the $4 billion capital budget by another few tens of millions.
To polish off the day, or evening, I met with a group of activists in the
Which reminds me that today I got a call from former Governor Parris Glendening, who is inviting me to join a select group of local officials from around the country in a program hosted by Smart Growth America, the non-profit policy organization that he founded. I was thrilled to get the Governor’s call and I’m looking forward to getting involved with this effort to support and build smart growth champions around the country.
Meanwhile tomorrow at full council session I am introducing a new bill that I drafted on big box retailing issues and considering recommendations I want to make for our county cable plan operations. And tomorrow our T&E committee will return, and possibly conclude, the issue of take home vehicles for county employees that I have been working on for some time.
Lots going on!