Dear Friends,
As many of you know, crime and safety concerns have been increasing locally and nationally. Last year I met with business leaders, community members and other elected leaders to discuss concerns in Downtown Silver Spring over crime and safety. Since then, my administration and the Montgomery County Police Department have developed new methods and strategies to help strengthen safety efforts and address concerns.
On Monday I announced a new proposal that would establish business safety plans for late-night businesses in areas of Montgomery County that draw crowds after midnight. This bill would be another tool to help keep the community safe by engaging our businesses that cater to a late-night crowd to be part of the solution. We’ve appreciated the efforts of some business owners who have already implemented a safety plan, and the results have been good. These proposed changes include improving lighting, adding security and requiring handheld metal detectors and security cameras for some businesses. We have also been adding better lighting and security cameras for Silver Spring as well as additional mental health support to assist our police officers when they answer calls for service.
I appreciate the efforts of our community and business leaders working with our police officers, and one key issue that I recognized several years ago was pay for police. Nationwide every department is dealing with attrition and burnout impacting recruiting and retention numbers but for too long Montgomery County was also at a disadvantage due to low starting pay that were not in line with what our competitors were offering. That has changed now, and I believe the raise in pay will help us fill the officer shortages we are experiencing.
President Biden Commends Montgomery County’s Environmental Work
Earlier this week, I joined county leaders from across the country to hear President Joe Biden speak, and I was delighted to hear him highlight Montgomery County and how we’ve created a model to be followed when it comes to our efforts to electrify our public transit buses.
Last fall when we opened the Brookville Smart Energy Bus Depot, we received national attention. So far, the microgrid electric bus charging infrastructure has allowed us to operate 4 electric Ride On Buses with 10 more to be delivered soon. We will also be purchasing an additional 100 electric buses for Ride On. And we have been working with the school system to support their efforts to electrify their school bus fleet. The schools plan to replace 326 diesel buses with electric buses by 2025 and they will have an entirely electric fleet within the next 10 years.
The President amplified our message that action at the local level can make a difference –counties can figure out the financing and partners and move forward on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. He recognizes that local actions can be an important environmental win for the nation.
Electrifying our bus fleet is only one of many actions we are taking to achieve our Climate Action Plan goals of 80% carbon emission reduction by 2027 and 100% by 2035. We have plenty of reasons to be proud of our environmental record in Montgomery County.
Other accomplishments include work done by the Montgomery County Green Bank on a 2.1-megawatt solar project at Seneca Village apartments in Gaithersburg. This project will serve more than 680 units and is located in an equity emphasis area. A 6-megawatt solar panel project at the Oaks Landfill is nearly complete. There is another microgrid project at the Animal Shelter, and MCPS is working to add 8 solar panel projects on its properties. The newly formed Building Performance Improvement Board is working on new recommendations for carbon reduction and there are also efforts underway to plant thousands of trees and improve water quality in our area. Progress on all of our projects can be found here in the County’s progress report for FY2023 Q2.
I want to thank our Climate Change Officer Adriana Hochberg for her work this week at the National Association of Counties Conference. She was on a panel that focused on energy and climate changes measures that could be tied into the President’s Inflation Reduction Act. I’m very proud of how our County has become an example of how to incorporate action on climate change as part of our core values and policies.
Safety Change Following Apartment Explosion
It’s been nearly one year since a human error caused an explosion at the Friendly Garden apartments in Silver Spring. The blast injured 14 people but more than 150 were impacted. Nearly $500,000 in donations was given by our community and others to help the victims.
The explosion was ultimately found to be accidental, caused by a contractor mistakenly cutting a gas pipe instead of a water pipe. Once that was discovered, I instructed my staff to work with our colleagues at WSSC Water to see what could be done to prevent a similar tragedy.
This week WSSC Water leaders adopted new gas code language that mandates the marking of any new gas pipe to prevent incidents like this in the future. I want to thank the WSSC for their collaboration and urgency to adopt this new code.
I am glad this change is being made because while we cannot enact laws to eliminate accidents, I am committed to doing everything we can to prevent dangerous situations that threaten lives and destroy homes.
Intellectual Developmental Disabilities Commission
I am pleased to have partnered with Councilmember Gabe Albornoz to improve the lives of the developmentally disabled and their families. This new bill would establish the Intellectual Developmental Disabilities or IDD Commission in Montgomery County.
This Commission proposal would help identify the unique needs of people with IDD, foster dialogue and improve information sharing with parents and caregivers, and help state and county government understand and meet the needs of this special population.
As the parent of an adult foster child with IDD I know how difficult it can be to find and access services. It is a frustration that many other families share too. Establishing this commission will help meet the needs of this special population and support their caregivers.
Friday is National Caregivers Day and I want to acknowledge all the people who are assisting a family member or friend. Caregiving is hard work, but those of us who assume this role do it with love.
There are many adults living with disorders like Autism that rely on both family and the support they get from groups like the Madison House Autism Foundation and the Jubilee Association of Maryland. In the County we launched the Leap 4 MCG program to help those with disabilities find the right kind of job for them. We are proud of these efforts and the community groups that play such integral roles for so many in our community.
Teenage Girls Survey Reveals Disturbing Information
This week we celebrated Valentine’s Day and were crushed by a new report from the CDC about the state of teenage girls in our nation. It clearly shows that we need to do a lot more to address the violence and abuse that far too many young women, as well as adult women, experience in our communities – here and across the country. We need a zero-tolerance approach to righting this injustice. Here are some of the statistics from the survey:
- Nearly 1 in 3 high school girls reported in 2021 that they seriously considered suicide.
- That’s up 60 percent from a similar survey 10 years ago.
- 3 in 5 teenage girls reported feeling sad so often that it impacted everyday life.
- There are also twice as many girls feeling that way compared to boys.
- 15 percent of teen girls said they were forced to have sex. This is the first time the CDC has seen a rise in girls reporting forced sex since they began tracking it.
- 1 in 10 girls report being raped, which is also the highest level the CDC has ever recorded.
These findings are disturbing, and the numbers are alarming. Our teenage girls as well as boys and those who do not gender identify are impacted by these stresses and traumas, which can lead to alcohol and drug abuse or self-harm.
February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month. This week I joined the County Council along with MCPS, the Family Justice Center, County Commission for Women, the Domestic Violence and Coordinating Council, and the Maryland Department of Parole and Probation for a proclamation ceremony and to talk about these issues. We are also raising awareness about teen dating violence throughout the end of February by lighting Veterans Plaza orange each night.
The Domestic Violence Coordinating Council also sponsors the “Choose Respect Montgomery” Initiative, which teaches teens, parents, and others about healthy and unhealthy relationships, warning signs, how to help a friend and more.
They also created events like “RespectFEST” and organized the Choose Respect Video Contest to reach thousands of teens and families in Montgomery County. This prevention initiative offers awareness and education programs for teens through videos and public service campaigns. Virtual “RespectFEST” is April 10-14, and the in-person event is April 16 from 1-4 p.m. at the Wheaton Community Recreation Center. The deadline to enter a video for year’s event is March 13. Students can earn 10 SSL hours for entering and following the rules.
Last year, 346 entries were turned in and more than 500 students had a hand in putting those videos together. We know that the most influential communicators to teens are other teens. I hope these peer-to-peer messages help to highlight warning signs and deliver messages so that students recognize they are never alone and there are people who are here to help.
As a government, we must continue to support, expand and routinely communicate about the resources we provide as the government, such as the Family Justice Center and our non-profit partners.
Every family in the County should know the number to our Crisis Center. It is 240-777-4000. The Crisis Center provides free crisis services 24 hours a day/ 365 days a year. They also provide services in person at their location in Rockville with no appointment needed. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available nationwide 24 hours a day.
Our Mobile Crisis Team provides emergency crisis evaluations for individuals who are experiencing a mental health crisis. Crisis assessments and treatment referrals are provided, and we offer temporary crisis beds as an alternative to hospitalization for those who are uninsured or are insured within the public mental health system.
As a parent and grandparent, myself, I understand how tough these subjects are to talk about with kids but even worse is doing nothing. Teenage girls must hear loudly and clearly that they are not alone, and they have our support.
We need to remember that the impact of abuse on a young person, can last a lifetime. We need to do whatever we can to prevent that.
Community Health Update
There are good signs this week when looking over case rates and hospital beds devoted to Covid-19 patients. Both are lower than last week’s metrics and our community level status remains ‘low’.
The only demographic that remains a concern is older residents. They account for most of the 122 people hospitalized and fighting Covid according to this week’s DHHS Pulse Report.
The best way to stay out of the hospital is to be up to date on your vaccines and bivalent booster, but we continue to see fewer people each week getting their shots. We’re down to less than 3,000 booster shots distributed per week across Montgomery County. In October the County averaged 25,000 per week.
Within the next few months our County is likely to lose the Covid-19 overflow hospital opened in response to the pandemic. It allowed us to manage the quick rise in RSV and flu cases a few months ago and keep bed spaces open for the rise in Covid cases this past December. We still saw a strain on our resources. Our hospitals are just not equipped to deal with massive amounts of people who have had to be hospitalized. It’s up to us to help protect ourselves, our families and our communities by spreading the word that boosters and vaccines are effective and remain necessary.
Moving to other health concerns, two fentanyl awareness forums have been set up to close February. The first, exclusively for Spanish speakers, will be Tuesday, February 21. It will be virtual and start at 7 p.m. I encourage everyone to sign up early through our Montgomery County en Espanol Facebook page.
The second community forum is being held by Montgomery County Public Schools and the group Montgomery Goes Purple. It will be a hybrid event on Saturday, February 25. The in-person portion of that meeting will be at Northwood High School starting at 9:30 a.m. You can follow this link to RSVP or learn more information.
As always, my appreciation for all of you,
Marc Elrich
County Executive