Councilmen Say 6D Station Should Wait

The two County Councilmen whose jurisdictions overlap into the 6th police district are supporting last week's cost-cutting measure to drop a proposed $22 million police station from Montgomery County’s long-term construction budget—which leaves officers to operate out of a temporary space west of Interstate 270 and puts the project in limbo for at least two more years.

Last week, County Executive Isiah Leggett nixed the proposal for building the Montgomery Village-Gaithersburg district's first permanent station from his fiscal 2013-2018 update to the Capital Improvements Program, citing his conviction to keep capital spending within $295 million per year.

The move blindsided community leaders in Montgomery Village. Amid the uproar, state representatives and the Montgomery Village Foundation are trying to mount campaigns to pressure the County Council to restore the project when it approves the CIP budget in May.

But Councilmen Craig Rice and Phil Andrews say they will not push to restore the police station's funding because they are convinced that the temporary site is sufficient in light of other capital projects that have no viable alternatives.

Craig Rice, Montgomery Village’s representative on the council, was told of the move during talks with police brass in the weeks leading up to Leggett's decision. Police Chief J. Thomas Manger and 6th District commander Capt. Willie Parker-Loan assured Rice that the $416,000-per-year leased space is "much more economical," he said.

"I’m in full support. Any money that we can save and put back toward other things is a good thing," said Rice (D-Dist. 2) of Germantown. "… Inevitably at some point, we’re going to build one. But without having the money, this is one that made sense for us to not push forward."

On Feb. 16, the CIP goes to the council’s Public Safety committee, of which Phil Andrews is chairman.

"Based on my own knowledge of how the 6th District station is operating now, it’s a sensible decision," said Andrews (D-Dist. 3) of Gaithersburg. "First, the response that is provided is not from the station; it’s from patrol cars that are on the road. So it’s not the case that having the station where it is now results in a diminished response time to portions of the 6th District."