Eastgate Pavilion Draws Protest

Controversy over a proposed pavilion at Martin P. Roy Park in Eastgate continues to drag out as the issue heads to the Montgomery Village Foundation's board of directors amid protest from neighbors.

Approved more than a year ago, the $60,000 project would add a 24-foot by 40-foot pavilion, eight picnic tables, a trashcan and several trees to the baseball field, basketball court and tot lot off East Village Avenue and Cinnabar Drive. Half the money comes via the Maryland legislature’s 2010 bond bill; the Montgomery Village Foundation will cover the other $30,000.

The foundation’s recreation committee took up the issue Wednesday night in order, where neighbors made an emotional show of opposition. Their issue: the pavilion will be a magnet for crime, a concern echoed by Montgomery County Police.

The committee ended in a 2-2 deadlock, unable to make a recommendation to the MVF board. The board is set to take up the issue at its Oct. 27 meeting.

“We will listen. We will weigh their comments,” said board president Bob Hydorn. “But it’s not just for Eastgate. It’s a pavilion on Foundation property for the 40,000 residents of Montgomery Village.”

The project originated when the Eastgate board approached state Sen. Nancy King (D-Dist. 39) and Hydorn about sprucing up the park, which has no covered shelter. King was able to get the project into the legislature's 2010 bond bill. Eastgate elections this spring ushered in new board members, and the reconstituted board voted last month to withdraw its support.

The pavilion was among the most desirable projects in Montgomery Village’s Long-Range Facility Planning Report, which laid out a wish list last year for amenities and programs that would help make the Village more attractive. Out of 36 suggestions, the pavilion ranked ninth overall.

Not following through on the project could have broader political implications, Hydorn said. Montgomery Village has previously balked on state bond money, which he said damages lawmakers’ credibility when they pursue bond money for other projects.

In 2007, controversy surfaced over the renovation of Lake Whetstone’s south dock and boathouse, which would be paid for via a matching grant with state bond money. The grant was withdrawn and reallocated to the Boys & Girls Club in Germantown. Once Montgomery Village settled on a new design for the boathouse a year later, representatives in Annapolis had to go through the bond process anew.

Last year, state bond money was approved for the addition of a bathroom and concession stand at South Valley Park. That project has since drawn opposition from a vocal few.

In that light, Hydorn recently heard from a top lawmaker in Annapolis who told him, “if we don’t use this money, don’t expect bond money anymore.”

“You want it, and then you back out—I’m sorry, but you don’t operate that way,” Hydorn said. “You don’t ask, they work for it, then you change your mind. You don’t embarrass people. If that board didn’t vet it in their own community, it’s their board’s decision, that’s not our decision.”