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Gaithersburg’s Hometown Newspaper | Serving Kentlands, Lakelands, Quince Orchard Park and More

Vol. 8, No. 20 Daily news updates at www.towncourier.com October 21, 2011

CourierTheToWN

Cougars Host Area RunnersSee page 16

n ELECTION Continued on page 9

ELECTION 2011 - CANDIDATE Q AND A ON PAGES 10 & 11

Oktoberfest Sets Attendance RecordBy Victoria Pierce

O n a beautiful fall day, over 16,000 residents from all over Montgomery

County flocked to the annu-al Gaithersburg Oktoberfest in Kentlands on Oct. 9 to enjoy its noted seasonal activities.

The big crowd set an all-time record for attendance, and there were other headlines.

“The number of shuttle riders increased significantly this year; the beer distributor said we went through more beer than ever be-fore; the [Kentlands Citizens’ Assembly] KCA went through all of their plastic beer steins (which has never happened before); the ATMs did 19,000 in transactions in two-and-a-half hours; lines for food were non-stop; the Village Green was packed all day; and the

streets were full,” said Carolyn Crosby, Gaithersburg’s program supervisor.

She added, “The wine tasting was very popular, and the com-munity stage area was completely packed during performances.”

The Oktoberfest is a tradition-al German event held as a gather-ing for the community, complete

City Election Set for Nov. 8

By Sonya Burke

O n Nov. 8, Gaithersburg residents go to the polls to elect three City Council

members to each serve a term of four years.

Five residents are running for the three open Council spots, and two of the hot issues in this elec-tion are economic development and the city’s Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO).

The race features three in-cumbents — Jud Ashman, Cathy Drzyzgula and Ryan Spiegel —trying to retain their seats against newcomers Paula Ross and Tom Rowse.

Ashman and Drzyzgula are running as a slate as they suc-cessfully did four years ago. According to the latest campaign finance reports, Spiegel has raised the most money of any candidate, over $7,596, to fund his bid for reelection.

Rowse, who lives in Deer Park, ran for Council unsuccess-fully in the 2009 election (receiv-ing 1,400 votes) and is an active city volunteer. This is the first city campaign for Ross, who has also been an active volunteer for the Kentlands downtown as the

City Releases Salary Stats

By Sonya Burke

There are 26 Gaithersburg employees making base sala-ries of over $100,000 in fiscal year 2012, according to data released by the city’s Human Resources Department. That’s more than 10 percent of the city’s full-time work force of 245 employees.

The highest paid employ-ee on the city staff is City Manager Angel Jones, who currently brings home a take-home salary of $167,639.94. In addition, Jones also re-ceives an annual stipend of $7,200 ($600 per month) for a vehicle.

Jones, who celebrat-ed her third anniversary as Gaithersburg City Manager

Congressional Redistricting Plan Moves City to 6th District

By Karen O’Keefe

I f the Congressional redistrict-ing plan to be submitted to the Maryland General Assembly

by Governor Martin O’Malley is approved in the Special Session to start Oct. 17, Gaithersburg will move out of the current 8th Congressional District, now rep-resented by Chris Van Hollen (D), and into the 6th Congressional District, now represented by Roscoe Bartlett (R).

“Every 10 years we create elec-toral districts from which our congressional representatives are to be elected based on census data,” said O’Malley in a news release.

The Special Session is neces-sary to pass legislation establish-ing Maryland’s congressional dis-

n REDISTRICTING Continued on page 5

n CITY SALARIES Continued on page 7

The Phipps and Cassels families of Quince Orchard Park were all smiles at the annual fall event.Photos | Sonya Burke

n OKTOBERFEST Continued on page 12

Ride Allegheny: “A Life-Changing Experience”FIRST PERSON

The beauty of autumn was on dis-play for 50 dedicated Ride Allegheny cyclists (many from our neighborhoods) who pedaled four days over 320 miles from Pittsburgh to Gaithersburg to raise money for Operation Second Chance. Their goal was $150,000 and so far they have raised $136,000 to help soldiers wounded in the war.

By Phil Fabrizio

I cycled 320 miles for four con-secutive days through the Columbus Day weekend be-

tween the two “burghs” of Pitts and Gaither.

I kept telling myself that fact

during a week of recovery. I am reminded maybe by the two sou-venir saddle sores on my posteri-or, but truthfully I think it is the result of a life-changing experi-ence, courtesy of Ride Allegheny

and Operation Second Chance. I discovered parts of America that Columbus would never have imagined and discovered within myself a profound appreciation for its spirit.

Ride Allegheny was founded in 2001 by Kentlands resident Clark Wagner, who was joined by five neighborhood friends completing a chilly mid-October bicycling adventure from Pittsburgh to Gaithersburg. In 2005 the group met and joined forces with Cindy McGrew, founder of a 501c3 or-ganization called Operation Second Chance. Her organi-

n RIDE ALLEGHENY Continued on page 15

These riders reach the Chesapeake side of the Eastern Continental Divide and look forward to 23 miles downhill.

Photos | Phil Fabrizio

The Town Courier October 21, 2011

October 21, 2011 The Town Courier

Compiled by Sonya Burke

Halloween RocksThe annual Halloween Rocks festival is set for

Oct. 31 from 3 – 7 p.m. in the Kentlands Marking Square parking lot of Potomac Pizza.

There will be live music, a dance troupe contest, a battle of the bands and more.

For more information, visit www.halloweenrocks.net.

Photo | Sonya Burke

Firehouse ImprovementsContractors were spotted on site of the Kentlands

Firehouse in early October repainting the green garage doors of the city building and putting in a new gutter system on the side of the building. The Historic District Commission (HDC) is scheduled to discuss the historic significance of the building at an upcoming meeting.

Save the Date for Music: Oct. 22The Main Street Fall Music Festival in partnership

with Main Street Café is scheduled for Oct. 22 from 3 to 9 p.m. at the Main Street Pavilion and Park in Kentlands. Several musical acts are scheduled to per-form at the fundraiser for Children’s National Medical Center.

Tree ProblemsCity officials have scheduled a work session for

Oct. 24 to give the city’s elected leaders a briefing on resolving tree and infrastructure conflicts and commu-nications for tree removal and replacement.

“The work session is intended to inform the Council about the types of problems we are encountering with trees in areas such as the Kentlands, Quince Orchard Park and along Quince Orchard Boulevard, as well as methods to deal with the issues,” said Public Works Director Jim Arnoult. “As trees grow, conflicts occur between the trees and neighboring houses and infra-structure elements such as signs, street lights, utilities, storm drains, sidewalks and pavements.”

The Oct. 24 meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. at Gaithersburg City Hall.

Murder MysteryIf you love a good mystery, then the Kentlands

Mansion may be the perfect place for night out next month. In “One of the Gang,” an Italian crime family and an Irish crime family meet to make peace between them for the holidays. All goes well until someone gets “whacked.” You are invited to join the investigation and help solve the crime.

ArounDTown

n AROuND TOwN Continued on page 12

Lakelands Fee Increase ProposedBy Sonya Burke

and Maureen Stiles

L akelands homeowners are be-ing asked to review the draft budget, which includes a pro-

posed $3 fee hike to $90 per month. The proposed operating budget was mailed out to homeowners earlier this month and is now posted on the com-munity’s website.

According to an Oct. 7 memo sent out by Gary Simon of Comsource Management, the fee increase is

recommended by the Budget and Finance Committee “to make certain that the service requirements of the community continue to be met.”

“One of these needs is the proper funding of the association’s reserve accounts,” he said. Another reason for the proposed increase is “to meet the current cost of inflation.”

At press time, a meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee (B&FC) was scheduled for Oct. 19. Residents were encouraged to attend the meeting and to ask questions.

They were also told to post questions or concerns on the community’s web-site so the B&FC can address any is-sues at the upcoming meeting.

The Lakelands Community Association (LCA) board of directors is scheduled to adopt the 2012 operat-ing budget in some form at its Nov. 16 annual meeting.

The LCA consists of 1,408 units: 483 single-family homes, 447 town-houses, 253 apartments, 206 condo-miniums and 16 live/work units.

Correction

The date of the Main Street Café’s fall music festival was incorrectly reported on page 3 of the Oct. 7 issue. The correct date is Oct. 22.

Synagogues Cancel Merger Deal

By Brooke Thaler

Shaare Torah and Kehilat Shalom will not be merging after all.

The two Upper Montgomery County conservative congrega-tions announced this spring that they were in discussions to merge and create a new combined com-munity in Lakelands.

Kehilat Shalom has been in Montgomery Village for 40 years, and Shaare Torah has been in ex-istence for about 15 years, with the last four on Main Street. However, after a recent vote by members of both congregations, the deal was called off.

“While our congregation was in favor of the merger, Kehilat Shalom was not ready to move from its Montgomery Village lo-cation,” said Shaare Torah Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal. “For now both congregations will stay indepen-dent, though we have a good re-lationship and cooperate on many programs.”

KCA Board Chair Ready for New Challenges By Karen O’Keefe

There is something very likable about Alex Kleinman.

Prior to The Town Courier interview, I’d seen him in action in his role as one of the five-member Kentlands Citizens’ Assembly (KCA) board of trustees — and the board chair. Knowledgeable, yet low-key, in the two meetings I at-tended, Kleinman seemed interested in finding ways to develop community awareness, consensus and involvement on many community issues including the future of the Kentlands Firehouse.

Kleinman is a husband, father of two tots and a corporate executive. He speaks glowingly of his family life and with enthusiasm and real interest of his professional life.

But it was his candor that set the tone for The Town Courier interview at Chloe’s Coffee and Gallery on Main Street when he texted a few minutes

ahead of time to say he would be a bit late because of the unusu-ally long car-pool line at his daughter’s preschool.

In his p ro fe s s ion-al life, Alex Kleinman is vice presi-

dent of marketing and business devel-opment for Bioscan, a small, dynamic, D.C.-based biotech-related firm. The company develops advanced instru-mentation for the detection, synthe-sis and imaging of radiolabeled com-pounds with applications in life science research, molecular imaging, phar-maceutical development and nuclear medicine.

His wife, Masha Naydich, is a phy-sician at Frederick Memorial Hospital specializing in nuclear medicine and radiology. The couple have a 3-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son.

They moved to the area nearly four years ago from New York City. Both Alex and Masha are from this region — Alex grew up in Chevy Chase. The primary reason for coming to Maryland was to be closer to extended family.

When the Alex and Masha made the decision to return to the D.C. area, Kleinman’s mother suggested they look at Kentlands. Unsure what to expect — there was no Kentlands when Alex Kleinman was a student at Bethesda Chevy-Chase High School in the late 1980s — they visited. And found they were home.

After living in New York City, Kleinman said there was no way they

Where’s the Water?

n KCA BOARD CHAIR Continued on page 14

By Sonya Burke

T he Art in Public Places foun-tain sits cracked and crumbled and empty of water in front

of the Lakelands Office Building at 506 Main Street.

Gaithersburg City Council mem-ber Ryan Spiegel said he learned of the issue last month from some ad-jacent homeowners who were con-cerned about the state of disrepair.

Gaithersburg’s Neighborhood Services Director Kevin Roman said the city issued a corrective ac-tion notice, and he said staff would continue to follow up with the prop-erty owner to ensure compliance.

“[The] citation has not been paid and is in the process [of being] sent to court for adjudication,” said Roman.

The art was designed by Artist Kent Bloomer and is known as the “Market Square Colonnade.”

According to the city’s website, “the basin of the fountain, enclosed by the peristyle, provides an inviting place for community residents to sit and linger.”

The Art in Public Places fountain on Main Street has not been operational for months. It also appears to have been vandalized.

Photo | Sonya Burke

Alex KleinmanPhoto | Karen O'Keefe


CiTY newSCompiled by Sonya Burke

Gaithersburg Community Chorus Fundraiser

The Gaithersburg Community Chorus fundraiser night at Cheeburger Cheeburger is scheduled for Oct. 24 from 5 – 9 p.m. at the Shady Grove Road location. Cheeburger will donate 20 percent of all in-house and takeout orders. Please ask the restaurant staff for a promotional flyer to ensure that your purchase counts.

County Cross Country Championships

On Oct. 22 the Montgomery County Cross Country Championships, hosted by Gaithersburg High School, will be held at Bohrer Park at Summit Hall Farm. Twenty-five schools are expected to participate be-ginning at 8 a.m. Immediately following the awards, the city of Gaithersburg youth cross country program will conduct the fi-nal meet of the 2011 season beginning at 12:30 p.m.

World Record Jumping JacksMembers of the Gaithersburg Upcounty

Senior Center were doing jumping jacks on Oct. 12 along with others around the country. The event, to break the Guinness World Record of most people doing jump-ing jacks simultaneously, is a part of First Lady Michelle Obama›s fight against obe-sity. Seniors were able to perform modified seated jumping jacks, according to Michele

Potter, Gaithersburg›s director of parks, recreation and culture.

City Youth & Teen Sports Registration

Registration is now open for winter youth and teen sports programs in the city of Gaithersburg. Winter programs are of-fered in basketball and volleyball, with most leagues having just one practice and one game per week. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis, and some programs have limited space. The registration dead-line is Nov. 17. Fees for the youth programs are $50 per city resident and $65 for non-residents. Fees for the teen programs are $55 per city resident and $70 for nonresidents. On Nov. 10 from 4 – 9 p.m., in partner-ship with Dick›s Sporting Goods, the city of Gaithersburg will conduct an in-store regis-tration for winter youth and teen basketball and volleyball.

City House For SaleThe city is selling the house it owns at

300 Dogwood Drive. According to a note in the Oct. 10 - 16

Gaithersburg employee newsletter: “The city is offering employees an opportunity to purchase the residential property.”

The three-bedroom rambler was recently renovated after it was damaged in a summer storm last year.

The asking price for the house is $215,000.

tricts. Maryland must pass a congressional redistricting plan prior to the beginning of the 2012 legislative session in order to con-duct the Presidential Primary on April 13, 2012.

O’Malley issued the following statement on the release of the proposed Congressional redistricting map: “After serious consider-ation and a review of all input from citi-zens across the state and discussions with members of our Congressional delegation and the General Assembly, I will be sub-

mitting a proposed map, substantially simi-lar to the map developed by the Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Committee, (GRAC) for consideration during the start of Special Session on [Oct. 17].”

The map that will be introduced on Oct. 17 is expected to contain minor changes from GRAC recommendations involving the unification of communities, the reten-tion of federal facilities, and marginally ad-justing the percentage of people retained in certain districts were made to the gover-nor’s map.

To view the governor’s map, visit the Maryland Department of Planning’s web site.

n REDISTRICTING from page 1

•NEW HOMES •CUSTOM BUILDS •REMODELS •ADDITIONS

Michael R. Wilson301.591.3722 Office 240.338.1161 [email protected]

From concept to finished project, attention to detail is something you can count on. Every aspect of each build is the

highest quality, designed to provide total client satisfaction.


Festive Fall Savings

309 Main StreetGaithersburg, MD 20878

For Advertising: 301.279.2304Also on the Web at www.towncourier.com.©2011 Courier CommunicationsThe Town Courier is an independent monthly newspa-per providing news and information for the commu-nities of Kentlands, Lakelands and Quince Orchard Park in Gaithersburg, Md. The paper is published by Courier Communications, which is responsible for the form, content and policies of the newspaper. The Town Courier does not espouse any political belief or endorse any product or service in its news coverage. Articles and letters submitted for publication must be signed and may be edited for length or content. The Town Courier is not responsible for any claims made by ad-vertisers Letters to the Editor and Commentary do not necessarily ref lect the views of the staff, management or advertisers of The Town Courier.

Diane Dorney Publisher

301.330.0132 [email protected]

Matt Danielson President


Sonya Burke Managing News Editor news@towncourier.

com

Debi Rosen Advertising Director


Claire Fleischer Copy Editor

Staff Photographers Clark Day

Phil Fabrizio

Staff Writers Patsy Beckman Nora Caplan

Mike Cuthbert Betty Hafner

Sheilah Kaufman, Karen O’Keefe Brooke Thaler

PoLiCe BeAT Compiled by Sonya burke

Crime Stats Are Up and DownThe Gaithersburg Police Department re-

leased crime stats for the second quarter of 2011 on Oct. 6, showing an increase in ho-micides, aggravated assaults, burglaries and auto thefts but a decrease in rapes, robber-ies and larcenies.

According to the data, there has been a 4.6 percent overall decrease in crime in the city limits during the second quarter of 2011 when compared to the second quar-ter of 2010.• Homicide: not calculable (from 0 to 1)

• Rape: 50 percent decrease (from 2 to 1)

• Robbery: 7.7 percent decrease (from 13 to 12)

• Aggravated Assault: 14.3 percent in-crease (from 14 to 16)

• Burglary: 6.5 percent increase (from 46 to 49)

• Larceny: 8.3 percent decrease (from 385 to 353)

• Auto Theft: 27.8 percent increase (from 18 to 23)

But police said an analysis of data from the first quarter of 2011 and the second quarter indicates that crime is up 19.8 per-cent this year.

Officer Dan Lane said it is not unusual to see an increase in crime in the second quar-ter of a year because the weather is warmer and more people are out and about.

For more information about the crime

stats analysis, visit the city’s website at www.gaithersburgmd.gov.

POLICE BLOTTER

Theft

On 10/05 at 9:11 p.m., a theft of vehicle tags was reported in the 700 block of Kent Oaks Way.

Vandalism

On 10/05 at 9:45 a.m., a vandalism was reported in the 100 block of Hart Road. The window of a garage was broken.

Construction AccidentMontgomery County firefighters res-

cued a worker who fell 10 feet below grade into a storm water management area at a construction site at the Gaithersburg Station Apartments, 300 East Diamond Avenue, on Oct. 7 around 9:30 a.m.

The worker, described to be in his 30s, suffered serious but not life threatening in-juries in the fall.

A special fire-rescue response crew was called to the scene because there were some initial concerns about the amount of oxygen available to the injured worker underground, according to Montgomery County Fire Capt. Oscar Garcia.

Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) is investigating the incident.

Gaithersburg Police Pay WellBy Sonya Burke

The starting salary may be $50,800, but one in seven Gaithersburg city po-lice officers currently makes over six fig-ures, according to information obtained by The Town Courier from the city’s Human Resources Department.

That may change when the city hires more officers, but currently there are 49 sworn officers at the Gaithersburg Police Department (GPD) and seven of them are making a base salary of over $100,000.

“Our Police Department is one of the city’s largest departments and has seven employees, the chief, two lieutenants and four sergeants that fall into this category,” said Gaithersburg City Manager Angel Jones. “The number of positions and the salaries of these officers are comparable to other jurisdictions.”

Gaithersburg Police Chief Mark Sroka tops the list with a salary of 148,236.92. He also has a take-home vehicle.

Other police officers making over six figures include: Lt. Curtis Pettaway and Lt. Robert Wilkes and Sergeants Teresa Quinlan, Randall Rude, Scott Scarff and Tom Stanton.

Human Resources Director Margaret Daily noted that the leap to six figures for half of these officers occurred when the city’s recent cost of living increase was approved.

A few other city officers brought home

more than six figures with overtime in fis-cal year 2011, but their base salaries are list-ed below the $100,000 mark in fiscal year 2012.

The city’s sworn police force is 54 of-ficers, meaning there are currently five vacancies.

“Chief Sroka has made the filling of all vacancies with well qualified personnel an utmost priority,” said Officer Dan Lane.

Rockville Chief Terry Treschuk said his

Top Salaries & Hire Date at Gaithersburg Police DepartmentChief Mark Sroka $148,236.92 (7/11/10)

Lt. Curtis Pettaway $108,916.08 (1/2/1992)

Lt. Robert Wilkes $108,916.08 (9/13/1989)

Sgt. Teresa Quinlan: $100,540.96 (8/31/1993)

Sgt. Randall Rude $100,540.96 (1/4/1988)

Sgt. Scott Scarff $100,540.96 (12/31/1992)

Sgt. Tom Stanton $100,540.96 (11/2/1987)

n POLICE PAY Continued on page 7


last month, is expected to have her annual review by the Mayor and Council some-time this fall, and Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney Katz said her salary would be part of that review.

Public Works Director James Arnoult, Finance Director Harold Belton and Gaithersburg Police Chief Mark Sroka are the second highest wage earners at City Hall, each earning a base salary of $148,236.92 annually. Sroka also receives a take-home police car in addition to his salary.

All city employees are eligible for oth-er benefits, such as GFIT reimbursements (for gym memberships or exercise class-es) and services awards (for the number of years working at City Hall), on top of their base salary. Belton received a $150 service award in fiscal year 2011. Arnoult received a $500 service award in fiscal year 2011 and

$420 from GFIT.Seven of the top six-figure wage earners

in fiscal year 2012 are Gaithersburg Police officers, the highest number of any sole city department.

The city is expected to advertise an open director job for the Planning and Code Administration soon, and the salary range could also stretch into the six figures de-pending on the selected candidate’s qualifi-cations and previous experience, etc.

“The salary range for the new director of planning and code administration will be $93,785 – $148,237,” Jones said.

Some of the top wage earners have worked for City Hall for over 20 years and in one instance for over 30 years.

There were several other employees in the Public Works and Police depart-ments who made over six figures in fiscal year 2011 because of overtime earnings. However, since their base salaries are be-low the $100,000 mark, they are not in-cluded on the top salary list.

Gaithersburg's Six-Figure Club*Name Salary Department Hire Date

Angel Jones $167,639.94 City Manager 9/29/08

Jim Arnoult $148,236.92 Public Works Director 2/18/86

Harold Belton $148,236.92 Finance Director 3/25/96

Mark Sroka $148,236.92 Police Chief 7/21/10

Lynn Board $147,319.90 City Attorney 4/28/08

Tony Tomasello $143,370.24 Deputy City Manager 12/30/96

Michele Potter $133,129.36 Parks and Recreation and Culture

Director

1/4/00

Wally DeBord $124,329.66 Operations Director Public Works 12/17/84

Wes Burnette $121,843.80 Permits Director in Planning and Code 11/29/82

Pete Cottrell $118,370.98 Information Technology Director 8/8/05

Ollie Mumpower $114,947.04 Engineering Services Director 9/16/91

Margaret Daily $113,140.30 Human Resources Director 8/19/85

Britta Monaco $110,767.54 Community and Public Relations

Director

12/15/04

Pete Geiling $110,603.48 Public Works Department 3/20/99

Curtis Pettaway $108,916.08 Lt. in Police Department 1/2/92

Robert Wilkes $108,916.08 Lt. in Police Department 9/13/89

Lauren Pruss $106,789.28 Planning Director 4/16/07

Tina Smith $103,823.98 Finance Department 10/27/01

Ivan Humberson $102,912.42 Fire Marshal in Planning and Code 11/21/96

Janet Limmer $102,912.42 Parks and Recreation and Culture

Department

6/15/77

James McGuire $102,912.42 Parks and Recreation and Culture

Department

6/1/87

Teresa Quinlan $100,540.96 Police Department 8/31/93

Randall Rude $100,540.96 Police Department 11/4/88

Scott Scarff $100,540.96 Police Department 12/31/92

Tom Stanton $100,540.96 Police Department 11/2/87

Tom Lonergan $100,000.16 Economic Development Director 9/30/11

n CITY SALARIES from page 1

sworn police force is 57 officers, and he has no openings at his department. He said some of his officers have worked for over 20 and 30 years on the Rockville force.

Over the past year, the city of Gaithersburg has lost some long-serving

officers who left the department or retired. Still, more than half of the officers earn-ing six figures have been with the GPD for nearly or over 20 years.

For more information about applying or a Gaithersburg Police position, visit the city’s website at www.gaithersburgmd.gov and click on the left queue marked “employment.”

n POLICE PAY from page 6

*Information provided by the city of Gaithersburg


Halloween Party Set for Oct. 31The annual QOP Halloween Party is

now scheduled for 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. on Halloween at the corner of Tannery Drive and Summer Walk Drive. There will be free pizza for residents at the block party along with other fun stuff.

Budget Feedback Needed by Nov. 7The board approved the draft bud-

get for distribution at its Sept. 13 meet-ing. The budget proposes a $2/month as-

sessment increase, meaning fees may rise from $80 per month to $82. The main reason for the change in assessments is to increase funding to reserves, according to Community Manager Ruchita Patel. A copy of the proposed budget has been sent to all homeowners for review and com-ment. Comments should be submitted by Nov. 7 so that the budget can be approved at the Nov. 8 board meeting.

Board ResignationV. Ashok Rangnath

announced at the October board meeting he would be stepping down from the board and the Architectural Control Committee in January.

Vistas Pocket Park and PlaygroundCity officials report that park benches are

on order for The Vistas pocket park at the corner of Winter Walk Drive and Orchard Ridge Drive. They are expected to arrive within the next month. The new children’s playground towards the back of Phase 1 of The Vistas has already been installed.

The Vistas Annexation Edges CloserCommunity Manager Dante Jofferion

reports the QOP Association had received 224 consents to annexation of the new Vistas community. An additional 28 are required to proceed. Send in your forms.

Fall Leaf CollectionFall leaf collection begins this month and

pickup is made every five to seven work-ing days, usually on regular recycling days. During the pickup, leaves raked to the curb next to green bin recyclables will be col-lected and disposed of by city recycling crews. The city’s website includes these guidelines:

• Don’t drive across leaf piles, as pets and kids may be playing in them.

• Do rake your leaves to the curb. • Don’t allow your children to play in

leaves along the street.• Do remove any limb, rocks, or other

heavy objects from leaf piles. • Don’t park over a leaf pile, as the vehi-

cle’s exhaust may start a fire.• Do avoid putting out leaves when snow

is forecast. • Don’t use plastic bags

The ParkPagesThe ParkPagesManageMent Mentions

Dog Duty

Don’t forget to clean up after your pets when walking in the communi-ty. It is the law and you can be fined $100 for not doing so. Also, dogs must remain on leashes when walking or running on community property. For more information about these laws, call the city’s animal control depart-ment at 301.258.6343.

Website and E-mail Addresses

Agendas for meetings and many other important documents (minutes and meeting summaries) can be found on the QOP website. Find out what your neighbors are talking about too. Check it out at www.quinceorchard-park.com. Neighbors should also update their email addresses on the QOP website’s address book queue to ensure they are receiving updates from the community’s web master. For more information, contact Community Manager Dante Jofferion at [email protected].

Trash, Recycling and Bulk Pickup

Trash is collected on Tuesdays and Friday in QOP. Residents should store their garbage cans out of sight on non-pickup days. Recycling is picked up on Fridays. Need a new green bin? Call the city’s Public Works Department at 301.258.6370. The next bulk pickup in QOP is scheduled for Nov. 4.

Welcome New Neighbors:

• David and Claire DiPippo, 454 Highland Ridge Avenue, 9/23 settled

• Adam and Stephanie Ostrow, 730 Summer Walk Drive, 9/27 settled

QOP Management Contact Information:

Quince Orchard Park Community Managers Ruchita Patel/Dante Jofferionc/o The Management Group Associates, Inc.20440 Century Boulevard, Suite 100Germantown, MD 20874Phone: 301.948.6666Fax: 301.963.3856E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]

social scene

Volunteers are always needed for the QOP social scene. Here’s a look at the social cal-endar for the remainder of the year:

Oct. 31: QO Halloween Spooktacular at Summer Walk Drive and Tannery Drive, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 18: Christmas decoration con-test and visit to the neighborhood by Santa Claus — Clubhouse

Contact QOP board member Charles Crisostomo if you can help: [email protected].

news and current events for Quince orchard Park n e-mail your contributions to: [email protected] n octoBeR 2011

Meeting calendar

10/24, Condo I, 7 p.m.10/26, Condo II, 7 p.m.11/8, Board and HOA, 7 p.m.

Sponsor this page!Contact Community Manager Ruchita Patel at [email protected] to find out how.

Photo | Phil Fabrizio

QoP HeaDlines

FROM LEFT TO RIGHTPuppy Love – Grace May, 14 months, is delighted to discover some friendly canine neighbors from QOP on the lawn of the Kentlands Mansion at Oktoberfest; A Family-Fun Festival – The May family, who recently moved to Quince Orchard Park, attended Oktoberfest at Kentlands on Oct. 9; The city’s shuttle buses for the popular event ran from two nearby office parking lots, owned by MedImmune, along Orchard Ridge Drive in QOP.

Photos | Sonya Burke

oKtoBeRFest


founder and the former president of the Kentlands Downtown Partnership (KDP).

At press time, the Kentlands Citizens’ Assembly was scheduled to host a meet and greet for the five candidates at the Kentlands Clubhouse on Oct. 19.

The candidates have been out and about in the community knocking on vot-ers’ doors and talking to residents at local events such as Oktoberfest.

“I had a great day at Oktoberfest meet-ing residents and had a huge number of hits on my website, which is extremely posi-tive,” said Rowse.

“Our primary focus is still on door-knocking,” said Drzyzgula. “We will be in full gear in the next four weeks now that the festivals and religious holidays have passed. We also continue to have neigh-borhood level meetings and enjoy the one-on-one conversations with supporters and people we haven’t met before.”

Residents have until Oct. 24 to regis-ter to vote in the city election. For more information about registering, contact the Montgomery County Board of Elections at 240.777.VOTE.

Kentlands, Lakelands and Quince Orchard Park voters will cast their ballots at the Kentlands Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, 16 Kent Gardens Circle. There are six polling places locat-ed throughout the city of Gaithersburg in-cluding City Hall, Izaak Walton League,

Villa Ridge Community Room, Potomac Oaks Clubhouse, and Asbury Methodist Village. The polls are open from 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.

If you are unable to get to a polling place on Nov. 8, Gaithersburg allows for “no ex-cuse” absentee voting. All mailed absentee ballots must be returned to City Hall by 8 p.m. on Nov. 8. For more information, e-mail [email protected].

Election judges are needed for the up-coming city election. If you are interest-ed in becoming an election judge, contact

Lauren Klingler at 301.258.6310.Once the votes are tabulated on election

night, the chair of the Board of Supervisors of Elections will read the unofficial results in the City Hall Gallery. This is expect-ed to take place around 9 p.m. on Nov. 8. The results will also be posted on the city’s website and cable channel. The winning candidates will be sworn in at the Nov. 14 Mayor and Council meeting.

For more information about the 2011 election or the candidates, visit www.gaithersburgmd.gov.

n ELECTION from page 1 Kentlands Polling Place

(7 a.m. – 8 p.m.)Kentlands Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints16 Kent Gardens CircleGaithersburg, MD 20878


ELECTION 2011 There are five candidates running for three open seats on the Gaithersburg City Council election on Nov. 8. The Town Courier asked the candidates six questions ranging from why they are running to what their thoughts are on economic development and volunteerism in the city. The candidates were asked to keep their responses to fewer than 150 words.

why are you running for City Council? what is the one issue that you believe will define this election and what is your stand on it?

what are your thoughts on economic development for the city?

Should the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) be amended? why or why not?

what are your thoughts on volunteer help in the city? Are you comfortable with the current tax rate in Gaithersburg? Please explain.

Council CandidateJud Ashman

I’m running for reelection because I love serving this community and, more importantly, because I’ve been effective at it.

Involved in city matters for more than a decade, I bring a valuable perspective to the table. At heart, I’ve always been an advocate for our Quality of Life. That, to me, translates into a broad spectrum of issues, including: our schools, our roads, public safety, our neighborhoods, our environment, our finances, and our cultural life.

I’ve worked with my colleagues on the Council to get substantial things done on all of these fronts and, over the next four years, we can take it even further. (Read my full platform and more at www.votejud.com.)

The honor of serving you and this city has never worn off on me; I wake up every morning grateful for your trust. So I’m asking for your support for a second term.

I don’t believe there is a single issue that will define this election. Instead, I see this election as a referendum on how well the current City Council has balanced priorities and served the city as a whole. I can make a strong argument that this Council has done a great job.

Redevelopment is underway in Olde Towne. Violent crime is down 33 percent over the last four years; overall crime is down 16 percent. We’ve made it through a couple of the toughest budgets on record, and implemented a five-year plan to keep Gaithersburg on a good foot-ing. We’ve passed meaningful, cutting-edge environmental legisla-tion and programs. We’re promoting some outstanding cultural oppor-tunities, including the fabulous Gaithersburg Book Festival!

As I see it, this Council has been extremely effective. What will define this election is whether or not the residents agree. ( I’m hop-ing they do!)

Given the circumstances, both locally and nationally, Gaithersburg has done spectacularly well! It’s largely because, for the last three years, this City Council has recognized economic development as be-ing our top strategic priority. At times, we’ve invested more in it than the whole of Montgomery County. And these efforts have borne fruit.

Our economic development initiatives have attracted and retained numerous businesses and thousands of jobs in our city.

Even with the collapse of capital markets and commercial real es-tate, city policies and actions have helped lay the groundwork for nu-merous projects to move forward, including: Crown Farm, Residences at Hidden Creek, Archstone in Olde Towne, the upcoming Watkins Mill Town Center, and several others.

We just hired a new economic development director, who has a track record of success and will help us continue the momentum.

So, I am quite optimistic about the economy here in Gaithersburg!

Here’s the problem in a nutshell: On the one hand, people like new, attractive homes, nice office space, restaurants and retail; on the oth-er hand, they don’t want to see their roads in gridlock and schools overwhelmed by growth that goes beyond the capacity of the infra-structure to handle it.

Gaithersburg’s APFO is a mechanism meant to help strike that bal-ance between the need for healthy growth and redevelopment and the need to protect your quality of life. It sets standards for our roads, schools, utilities and emergency services, and if those standards aren’t met, it puts a halt to growth. For example, the Kentlands/Lakelands area is currently in residential development moratorium because of significant overcrowding at Rachel Carson Elementary.

I’ve always supported our APFO; it serves an important purpose and should continue. If we identify ways it can be tweaked to better serve our needs, I’d consider them.

During this first term, I’ve had the pleasure to work with some of the most effective, dedicated, and wonderful volunteers anyone could ever ask for!

I simply have to lead off with a mention of the 20 or so volunteers on my Gaithersburg Book Festival Committee. These are people who’ve taken ownership of their roles and worked tirelessly alongside staff all year round to make the Book Festival what it has become. They’ve been absolutely essential to our success and I’m thankful every day to have the chance to work with them.

The Gaithersburg Police Foundation is another terrific group I’ve worked with, as are the city’s Police Advisory and Cultural Arts Advisory Committees. Each of these volunteers embodies what I love so much about Gaithersburg; the strong fabric of this community, and our shared desire to make our world a better place.

Yes. When economies go south — as they did, and the real estate market tanks — as it did, government revenues shrink. We’ve seen decreases in property tax assessments, revenues from permits and fees, and grants and shared revenues we traditionally receive from the state and the county.

In the face of all of that, the Council took a responsible approach; looking at both revenues and spending. We went through the entire budget, cutting it down to the bone, trimming about $4.1 million in spending — roughly 10 percent of the previous year’s budget. We then voted, reluctantly, to raise the property tax rate by 5 cents, which was the rate we projected would take us through the next five years, even in a stagnant economy.

I’m proud that we’re debt-free and still have the lowest tax rate of any of Maryland’s large cities — while maintaining our always high level of service.

Council CandidateCathy Drzyzgula

I have greatly enjoyed my first four years on the Council and would like to use the experience I have gained to continue to serve the city. It is important to have Council members who can work together, even when they disagree, to make decisions that benefit the city as a whole. I have demonstrated this capability in office.

I really don’t see this as a one-issue election, and I don’t hear that in my door-knocking throughout the city. What I do hear is:

Q: Will you raise property taxes again? A: No (see question 6).Q: Are you concerned about employees leaving? A: Anytime an employee leaves there is some loss to the city, but

the number of departures reflects the somewhat better economic con-ditions, where employees can find openings to advance their careers, and feel comfortable enough to retire. We are a small jurisdiction, and some employees will always want to move to a bigger jurisdiction.

We have made great progress during the recession, and are ready to take that to a higher level. All of the construction projects approved before the recession are underway or completed, which is not some-thing most cities can say. We used our $292,000 in grants from the toolbox fund to leverage over $7 million dollars in investment in the city, resulting in new businesses, improved facilities and hundreds of new jobs. Our new economic development director, Tom Lonergan, is here and ready to work. We have a five-year economic plan that makes it clear our city finances are stable and there will not be uncer-tainty for businesses considering whether to move or invest here. We have money available to provide incentives for business development in the city, but we should not directly subsidize failing businesses or ones that only generate low-paying jobs.

The APFO should be a tool to match resources with infrastructure needs. After Gaithersburg adopted the APFO, the county APFO was changed to use an improved capacity standard. In the past four years, more Gaithersburg schools have become overcrowded, not due to development — the number of housing units in the city has not in-creased — but due to changes in housing patterns. At this point the APFO may stop development, without preventing school overcrowding, which is not desirable. The city may be better served by a standard that allows for exceptions in cases where the benefit of a development project outweighs the costs in terms of infrastructure needs. Rachel Carson serves as a great example of how a school can be overcrowded but still be an outstanding school with appropriate support. In an ideal world no school would be overcrowded, but the alternatives, such as a boundary study, also have major consequences.

Having volunteered in many ways in my life, I truly appreciate all those who volunteer for the city, whether they serve on boards or com-mittees, help with Holiday Giving activities or volunteer for a specific event such as the Book Festival. I believe the city gets much more than free help from volunteers, as they all have personal experience that contributes to whatever they work on and their involvement pro-vides valuable perspectives to the city officials and staff. I do not think that the city should try to substitute volunteers for paid staff for per-forming regular city operations.

Gaithersburg raised its property tax rate from 21.5 to 26.5 cents per $100 assessed value two years ago. We still have the lowest rate of the 20 largest municipalities in Maryland. I see no need to raise the rate in the foreseeable future. The city has lost many previous sources of revenue such as state funds for roads and public safety; state grants for storm water projects; the county contribution for se-nior center operating expenses; and a cost-based reimbursement from the county for services the city provides that the county provides else-where. Property tax revenues have stabilized but not rebounded to previous levels. The city will also have significant new costs associ-ated with storm water retrofits required by state law between now and 2020. I do not believe it would be prudent to lower the tax rate given these facts.

Council CandidatePaula Ross

I’m running for City Council for two reasons: 1) because I know I can make a difference, and 2) because I don’t see our incumbents making a difference. The important issues right now in Gaithersburg – economic development, outreach, school overcrowding, quality of life, and public safety – are all issues that I care deeply about and have volunteered to work hard, as a private citizen, to improve. I have an excellent track record of bringing business and community together for the betterment of the city and will continue that as Council member. I wouldn’t be running if I felt our city was being managed properly or if I thought our policies were headed in the right direction. We need to support local business owners more meaningfully to improve job op-portunities, engage our citizens with more successful outreach, and engage the county more effectively to work smarter for our families and schools.

Creating jobs through improved Economic Development is the lead-ing issue. Our neighbors don’t want to see any additional property tax increases and are upset about the 24 percent increase in prop-erty taxes last year. But, other than the developments currently under construction, which were initiated well before the current council took office, nothing notable has been planned in the past four years. In this tough economy, we need new development to bring jobs and support for our businesses to keep the jobs that are here. In particular, the council opposed the Life Science Center, which fortunately is being built on county property instead; however, the LSC could have been a huge source of tax revenues for Gaithersburg and could have provided worldwide exposure for the city.

Gaithersburg’s economic development efforts, including the prom-ised $2 million budget, have been stalled for one-and-a-half years. However, I’m optimistic the new economic development director, Tom Lonergan, is the necessary leader.

While taking so long to recruit Mr. Lonergan, Council made a ter-rible interim decision to pay County Councilman Mike Knapp $90,000 to “consult” for six months. Knapp said nothing our volunteer econ-imic development committee hadn’t already said, and Council hasn’t implemented any of his “recommendations.” In this tough economy, Gaithersburg must enact a marketing plan that attracts new business-es and provides support, including signage and strategic assistance, for existing business owners, to produce local jobs. Meanwhile, I have personally helped by forming the Kentlands Downtown Partnership, creating great events like Kentlands Day, Halloween Rocks, and OneVoice Rocks here to spotlight our local business owners while en-tertaining our families. I am excited to work with Mr. Lonergan to make more impact.

Gaithersburg restricts residential development in areas where schools are above 110 percent of capacity (versus 120 percent under the county APFO). From 50,000 feet, this is a good idea to improve school overcapacity. In Gaithersburg, however, it's flawed because we lack school control. MCPS controls schools and focuses school building dollars in areas where development is occurring, versus in Gaithersburg. Meanwhile, MCPS also sends children from new de-velopments in adjacent cities to our schools when they see fit. Those towns get more tax revenue, but Gaithersburg schools become more overcrowded. Bad and bad! I recommend following MCPS’s sugges-tion to eliminate our APFO, use the county APFO and then lobby MCPS to improve our school overcrowding.

While the incumbents campaigned for the APFO in 2007, they now are changing their positions. It’s a shame they waited four years until another campaign and pressure from me to even talk with MCPS and learn that the policy failed.

I’ve been speaking with hundreds of citizens on the campaign trail, many of whom volunteer for our city. We are lucky to have many great volunteers serving on committees, planning festivals, and providing support on projects. The overwhelming trend in discussions with vol-unteers is that our city could do a much better job of asking for vol-unteer help, giving guidance on deliverables, and of saying thank you more often. It all comes back to outreach and building relationships with our volunteers. In this tough economy, people are stretched in more directions and we need to be more proactive in soliciting help and thanking people for it. The city has virtually no outreach effort currently for any news, relying too heavily on social media and e-mail, which current only include less than 5 percent of our adult population. As a communications consultant, I have many great ideas to improve outreach.

Gaithersburg should not have raised taxes so much (24 percent) last year. Our taxes aren’t high compared to other cities, but our huge tax increase was the function of poor budget planning by our coun-cil and was needlessly harmful to our residents suffering through this recession. A main reason for the tax increase is that our lead-ers put a moratorium on development during the biggest boom years for construction, and therefore didn’t increase revenue as necessary to sustain city services and staff. Meanwhile, while other cities were furloughing staff and making cuts as declining property values hurt city revenues, our city has raised compensation every year for city staff and has many employees making over $100,000 per year (which should have retained staff, but we have had mass defections of quality staff this year anyway). So, to answer the question, no I’m not com-fortable with the current tax rate.

Council CandidateTom Rowse

If I were satisfied with what is happening in the city, I would not be running in this election. I believe Gaithersburg deserves better. Leadership, business sense and relationship skills are lacking on the current Council. As a resident, business-owner, city volunteer and committee member, I have experienced first hand the lack of listening and comprehension shown by the current Council. I feel Gaithersburg will benefit from my leadership, as well as my business and coaching experience when partnered with my desire to listen, care and work with residents and business owners.

The deterioration of Gaithersburg will define this election. The in-cumbents will talk about how the city is better off now than it was four years ago. However, the perception that Gaithersburg is not as great a place to live as it once was is our reality.

The council’s many mistakes have lead to this deterioration—in the past 16 months, they have allowed nearly 15 percent of city staff to leave, losing institutional knowledge in the process; blew the branding opportunity to call the nation’s biggest bioscience initiative Gaithersburg West; stood by as countless small businesses closed; al-lowed pockets of poverty and crime to deepen in several areas; let the APFO remain unchanged; harassed the city’s oldest church; expanded government by creating the HDC; and grew expenditures as revenues dropped by 20 percent.

We need to return to our citizens a way of life for which Gaithersburg was once known and admired.

Economic development can take on many forms but activities should focus on maintaining and creating jobs while increasing the flow of money into the city and raising property values. While at-tracting new businesses is important, retention and support programs for the businesses currently in Gaithersburg are the best uses of our economic development fund. We should continue partnering with lo-cal business organizations to ensure we are meeting the needs of our economic base businesses and developing a city culture that supports businesses. While large businesses, including biotechnology firms are important to the city’s growth, funds should also be allocated to help-ing small businesses.

The 16-month search for a new economic development director has finally resulted in the position being filled. His challenge is to improve the economic well-being of residents. He will have to address the sus-tainability needs of existing businesses while creating a culture that attracts new businesses.

The current Council is full of conflicting agendas and this is the most glaring one. I believe that the APFO should be amended to be consistent with the county. Affordable housing cannot be addressed as currently nearly two-thirds of the city is under a residential building moratorium. Furthermore, the APFO has allowed the county to put our overcrowded schools on its back burner. Four years ago the incum-bents proudly included support of the APFO as part of their platforms; this short-sightedness has led to a ticking time bomb that must im-mediately be defused.

Volunteerism is a necessary component of government. Gaithersburg volunteers and committee members do their work in a professional manner and should be applauded for their efforts. The key to effective volunteer committees is communication. However, poor communication has created an ever-widening gap between gov-ernment, business owners, citizens and volunteers. The city reduced print and mailers and now has focused primarily on social media, the Internet and list servs for information sharing. This reduction has led to apathy, dwindling committee membership and worse, suspicion among residents. Fewer citizens are attending Council meetings and even less are testifying on issues of concern.

Multiple forms of media, including print and mailers should be uti-lized by the city to communicate with residents and promote volunteer opportunities. And most important, the Council should listen to and value volunteers’ input and time.

No, I am not. During the last election cycle, the incumbents prom-ised not to raise taxes. Yet, the rate was raised by a staggering 24 percent. This increase is unfair and too high during a time when our property values are dropping and county and state taxes are on the rise. When city’s increase was implemented 18 months ago, most of it ($2 million) was earmarked for economic development and only 15 percent was used – nearly $90,000 was spent on an outside consul-tant, Mike Knapp, whose report has since been shelved. During the most recent budget cycle which began in July 2011, the funds were replenished and partly used for staff pay raises and stipends with little effect on turnover.

Council CandidateRyan Spiegel

I am running for reelection to continue my focus on creating jobs, revitalizing our town centers, and supporting our local businesses — while also protecting the quality of our neighborhoods, our city ser-vices and our environment. Additionally, I want to ensure that critical safety-net services continue to assist those who are struggling. We have proven that we can maintain fiscal responsibility without cut-ting the cultural, recreational, and educational programs that make Gaithersburg a wonderful place. National magazines including Forbes, Business Week, and CNN/Money have recently ranked Gaithersburg among the best places to live and raise a family. I’m proud of that record. Despite our challenges, I believe in making a positive differ-ence through public service. I hope that I have earned your vote with the hard work, the responsiveness, and the thoughtful and balanced approach to tough issues that I have provided over the last four years.

The key issue in this election is how to balance the need for eco-nomic development and job creation against the need to protect the quality of existing neighborhoods, roads and schools.

Against the backdrop of the recession, the city has taken bold steps to encourage investment. Leveraging innovative programs like our Toolbox fund and the Gaithersburg Accelerator, we have brought hun-dreds of high quality, science-based jobs to Gaithersburg and jump-started several stalled Smart Growth projects.

At the same time, I have consistently fought to ensure that our quality of life is not sacrificed in the name of economic development. Overcrowded schools and roads affect public safety, home values and the environment.

My record over the last four years reflects my belief that we need to strike a balance that ensures the quality of our existing neighbor-hoods while allowing for targeted, thoughtful economic development that creates jobs and strengthens Gaithersburg.

Despite the recession, we had the foresight to prioritize economic development to ensure that Gaithersburg would be ahead of the curve in helping the local economy to recover and grow. We created an economic development fund to create jobs and fill empty buildings. While other cities are still reeling from job losses, we are delivering positive results.

Our flexible fund helps both large and small businesses. We helped keep hundreds of jobs in the city and created hundreds more by at-tracting companies like MDA. But we also helped small businesses upgrade their buildings. Our innovative Gaithersburg Accelerator has nurtured emerging biotechs like Zyngenia and IBT. We need to explore more ways to help our small businesses.

We also jump-started stalled construction projects around the city, creating even more jobs and transforming Olde Towne. My signature initiative, Bank on Gaithersburg, helps families achieve financial stabil-ity, further sparking economic growth.

Reasonable amendments to the APFO make sense, to give us the flexibility to permit economic development and Smart Growth. I have voted to exempt certain projects from the APFO on a case-by-case basis. But simply adopting the county’s formula as the lowest com-mon denominator, and sacrificing some of the city’s oversight over new development, is the wrong approach. It will lead to even more overcrowded schools. With the revitalization occurring in Olde Towne right now, and the hundreds of jobs we have brought to Gaithersburg, there is not much evidence that the APFO is stifling the economy. Indeed, several already-approved projects are still in the pipeline. Our goal should not be to simply mirror the county; we should have stan-dards that are better than the county’s. The current proposal under consideration by the Council would strike a balance between allowing sensible growth and retaining our power to prevent overdevelopment.

From our Book Festival volunteers to our NJROTC students who present the colors at city events, from our youth sports coaches to our PTA and HOA leaders, volunteers are an essential ingredient to the success of Gaithersburg, providing critical input on how to improve our operations and helping to ensure that our programs are successful. I started out as a volunteer on the Education Committee, seeing first-hand how volunteerism improves the lives of those who are struggling. On the Market Square Advisory Committee, I worked with volunteers to enhance a vibrant public square for the benefit of residents and businesses. And I try to lead by example by continuing to volunteer for various causes and events throughout the year. Gaithersburg strives to always recognize and thank our volunteers, build partnerships, and recruit new faces to include voices from throughout the community. We should continue, and expand upon, those efforts.

Gaithersburg’s tax rate is still the lowest among the 20 largest cities in Maryland. Amending the rate was probably the toughest decision faced in recent years. But the recession caused revenues to plum-met, and the federal, state and county governments slashed their aid to cities. Faced with the prospect of Draconian cuts to the services that residents care about, the city assembled a plan including a 10 percent budget cut and a 5-cent rate increase to keep us on a reli-able fiscal track for several years while remaining debt-free. We held multiple public forums and received minimal objection, reflecting what I believe is the value that residents place on city services. Given the evolution and population growth of Gaithersburg over 45 years, I think changing the rate only once during that time was a reasonable, albeit tough, decision. I have no intention of supporting any tax increase for the foreseeable future.

Page 10 The Town Courier • October 21, 2011 Page 11


ELECTION 2011 There are five candidates running for three open seats on the Gaithersburg City Council election on Nov. 8. The Town Courier asked the candidates six questions ranging from why they are running to what their thoughts are on economic development and volunteerism in the city. The candidates were asked to keep their responses to fewer than 150 words. CourierThe

ToWN

why are you running for City Council? what is the one issue that you believe will define this election and what is your stand on it?

what are your thoughts on economic development for the city?

Should the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) be amended? why or why not?

what are your thoughts on volunteer help in the city? Are you comfortable with the current tax rate in Gaithersburg? Please explain.

Council CandidateJud Ashman

I’m running for reelection because I love serving this community and, more importantly, because I’ve been effective at it.

Involved in city matters for more than a decade, I bring a valuable perspective to the table. At heart, I’ve always been an advocate for our Quality of Life. That, to me, translates into a broad spectrum of issues, including: our schools, our roads, public safety, our neighborhoods, our environment, our finances, and our cultural life.

I’ve worked with my colleagues on the Council to get substantial things done on all of these fronts and, over the next four years, we can take it even further. (Read my full platform and more at www.votejud.com.)

The honor of serving you and this city has never worn off on me; I wake up every morning grateful for your trust. So I’m asking for your support for a second term.

I don’t believe there is a single issue that will define this election. Instead, I see this election as a referendum on how well the current City Council has balanced priorities and served the city as a whole. I can make a strong argument that this Council has done a great job.

Redevelopment is underway in Olde Towne. Violent crime is down 33 percent over the last four years; overall crime is down 16 percent. We’ve made it through a couple of the toughest budgets on record, and implemented a five-year plan to keep Gaithersburg on a good foot-ing. We’ve passed meaningful, cutting-edge environmental legisla-tion and programs. We’re promoting some outstanding cultural oppor-tunities, including the fabulous Gaithersburg Book Festival!

As I see it, this Council has been extremely effective. What will define this election is whether or not the residents agree. ( I’m hop-ing they do!)

Given the circumstances, both locally and nationally, Gaithersburg has done spectacularly well! It’s largely because, for the last three years, this City Council has recognized economic development as be-ing our top strategic priority. At times, we’ve invested more in it than the whole of Montgomery County. And these efforts have borne fruit.

Our economic development initiatives have attracted and retained numerous businesses and thousands of jobs in our city.

Even with the collapse of capital markets and commercial real es-tate, city policies and actions have helped lay the groundwork for nu-merous projects to move forward, including: Crown Farm, Residences at Hidden Creek, Archstone in Olde Towne, the upcoming Watkins Mill Town Center, and several others.

We just hired a new economic development director, who has a track record of success and will help us continue the momentum.

So, I am quite optimistic about the economy here in Gaithersburg!

Here’s the problem in a nutshell: On the one hand, people like new, attractive homes, nice office space, restaurants and retail; on the oth-er hand, they don’t want to see their roads in gridlock and schools overwhelmed by growth that goes beyond the capacity of the infra-structure to handle it.

Gaithersburg’s APFO is a mechanism meant to help strike that bal-ance between the need for healthy growth and redevelopment and the need to protect your quality of life. It sets standards for our roads, schools, utilities and emergency services, and if those standards aren’t met, it puts a halt to growth. For example, the Kentlands/Lakelands area is currently in residential development moratorium because of significant overcrowding at Rachel Carson Elementary.

I’ve always supported our APFO; it serves an important purpose and should continue. If we identify ways it can be tweaked to better serve our needs, I’d consider them.

During this first term, I’ve had the pleasure to work with some of the most effective, dedicated, and wonderful volunteers anyone could ever ask for!

I simply have to lead off with a mention of the 20 or so volunteers on my Gaithersburg Book Festival Committee. These are people who’ve taken ownership of their roles and worked tirelessly alongside staff all year round to make the Book Festival what it has become. They’ve been absolutely essential to our success and I’m thankful every day to have the chance to work with them.

The Gaithersburg Police Foundation is another terrific group I’ve worked with, as are the city’s Police Advisory and Cultural Arts Advisory Committees. Each of these volunteers embodies what I love so much about Gaithersburg; the strong fabric of this community, and our shared desire to make our world a better place.

Yes. When economies go south — as they did, and the real estate market tanks — as it did, government revenues shrink. We’ve seen decreases in property tax assessments, revenues from permits and fees, and grants and shared revenues we traditionally receive from the state and the county.

In the face of all of that, the Council took a responsible approach; looking at both revenues and spending. We went through the entire budget, cutting it down to the bone, trimming about $4.1 million in spending — roughly 10 percent of the previous year’s budget. We then voted, reluctantly, to raise the property tax rate by 5 cents, which was the rate we projected would take us through the next five years, even in a stagnant economy.

I’m proud that we’re debt-free and still have the lowest tax rate of any of Maryland’s large cities — while maintaining our always high level of service.

Council CandidateCathy Drzyzgula

I have greatly enjoyed my first four years on the Council and would like to use the experience I have gained to continue to serve the city. It is important to have Council members who can work together, even when they disagree, to make decisions that benefit the city as a whole. I have demonstrated this capability in office.

I really don’t see this as a one-issue election, and I don’t hear that in my door-knocking throughout the city. What I do hear is:

Q: Will you raise property taxes again? A: No (see question 6).Q: Are you concerned about employees leaving? A: Anytime an employee leaves there is some loss to the city, but

the number of departures reflects the somewhat better economic con-ditions, where employees can find openings to advance their careers, and feel comfortable enough to retire. We are a small jurisdiction, and some employees will always want to move to a bigger jurisdiction.

We have made great progress during the recession, and are ready to take that to a higher level. All of the construction projects approved before the recession are underway or completed, which is not some-thing most cities can say. We used our $292,000 in grants from the toolbox fund to leverage over $7 million dollars in investment in the city, resulting in new businesses, improved facilities and hundreds of new jobs. Our new economic development director, Tom Lonergan, is here and ready to work. We have a five-year economic plan that makes it clear our city finances are stable and there will not be uncer-tainty for businesses considering whether to move or invest here. We have money available to provide incentives for business development in the city, but we should not directly subsidize failing businesses or ones that only generate low-paying jobs.

The APFO should be a tool to match resources with infrastructure needs. After Gaithersburg adopted the APFO, the county APFO was changed to use an improved capacity standard. In the past four years, more Gaithersburg schools have become overcrowded, not due to development — the number of housing units in the city has not in-creased — but due to changes in housing patterns. At this point the APFO may stop development, without preventing school overcrowding, which is not desirable. The city may be better served by a standard that allows for exceptions in cases where the benefit of a development project outweighs the costs in terms of infrastructure needs. Rachel Carson serves as a great example of how a school can be overcrowded but still be an outstanding school with appropriate support. In an ideal world no school would be overcrowded, but the alternatives, such as a boundary study, also have major consequences.

Having volunteered in many ways in my life, I truly appreciate all those who volunteer for the city, whether they serve on boards or com-mittees, help with Holiday Giving activities or volunteer for a specific event such as the Book Festival. I believe the city gets much more than free help from volunteers, as they all have personal experience that contributes to whatever they work on and their involvement pro-vides valuable perspectives to the city officials and staff. I do not think that the city should try to substitute volunteers for paid staff for per-forming regular city operations.

Gaithersburg raised its property tax rate from 21.5 to 26.5 cents per $100 assessed value two years ago. We still have the lowest rate of the 20 largest municipalities in Maryland. I see no need to raise the rate in the foreseeable future. The city has lost many previous sources of revenue such as state funds for roads and public safety; state grants for storm water projects; the county contribution for se-nior center operating expenses; and a cost-based reimbursement from the county for services the city provides that the county provides else-where. Property tax revenues have stabilized but not rebounded to previous levels. The city will also have significant new costs associ-ated with storm water retrofits required by state law between now and 2020. I do not believe it would be prudent to lower the tax rate given these facts.

Council CandidatePaula Ross

I’m running for City Council for two reasons: 1) because I know I can make a difference, and 2) because I don’t see our incumbents making a difference. The important issues right now in Gaithersburg – economic development, outreach, school overcrowding, quality of life, and public safety – are all issues that I care deeply about and have volunteered to work hard, as a private citizen, to improve. I have an excellent track record of bringing business and community together for the betterment of the city and will continue that as Council member. I wouldn’t be running if I felt our city was being managed properly or if I thought our policies were headed in the right direction. We need to support local business owners more meaningfully to improve job op-portunities, engage our citizens with more successful outreach, and engage the county more effectively to work smarter for our families and schools.

Creating jobs through improved Economic Development is the lead-ing issue. Our neighbors don’t want to see any additional property tax increases and are upset about the 24 percent increase in prop-erty taxes last year. But, other than the developments currently under construction, which were initiated well before the current council took office, nothing notable has been planned in the past four years. In this tough economy, we need new development to bring jobs and support for our businesses to keep the jobs that are here. In particular, the council opposed the Life Science Center, which fortunately is being built on county property instead; however, the LSC could have been a huge source of tax revenues for Gaithersburg and could have provided worldwide exposure for the city.

Gaithersburg’s economic development efforts, including the prom-ised $2 million budget, have been stalled for one-and-a-half years. However, I’m optimistic the new economic development director, Tom Lonergan, is the necessary leader.

While taking so long to recruit Mr. Lonergan, Council made a ter-rible interim decision to pay County Councilman Mike Knapp $90,000 to “consult” for six months. Knapp said nothing our volunteer econ-imic development committee hadn’t already said, and Council hasn’t implemented any of his “recommendations.” In this tough economy, Gaithersburg must enact a marketing plan that attracts new business-es and provides support, including signage and strategic assistance, for existing business owners, to produce local jobs. Meanwhile, I have personally helped by forming the Kentlands Downtown Partnership, creating great events like Kentlands Day, Halloween Rocks, and OneVoice Rocks here to spotlight our local business owners while en-tertaining our families. I am excited to work with Mr. Lonergan to make more impact.

Gaithersburg restricts residential development in areas where schools are above 110 percent of capacity (versus 120 percent under the county APFO). From 50,000 feet, this is a good idea to improve school overcapacity. In Gaithersburg, however, it's flawed because we lack school control. MCPS controls schools and focuses school building dollars in areas where development is occurring, versus in Gaithersburg. Meanwhile, MCPS also sends children from new de-velopments in adjacent cities to our schools when they see fit. Those towns get more tax revenue, but Gaithersburg schools become more overcrowded. Bad and bad! I recommend following MCPS’s sugges-tion to eliminate our APFO, use the county APFO and then lobby MCPS to improve our school overcrowding.

While the incumbents campaigned for the APFO in 2007, they now are changing their positions. It’s a shame they waited four years until another campaign and pressure from me to even talk with MCPS and learn that the policy failed.

I’ve been speaking with hundreds of citizens on the campaign trail, many of whom volunteer for our city. We are lucky to have many great volunteers serving on committees, planning festivals, and providing support on projects. The overwhelming trend in discussions with vol-unteers is that our city could do a much better job of asking for vol-unteer help, giving guidance on deliverables, and of saying thank you more often. It all comes back to outreach and building relationships with our volunteers. In this tough economy, people are stretched in more directions and we need to be more proactive in soliciting help and thanking people for it. The city has virtually no outreach effort currently for any news, relying too heavily on social media and e-mail, which current only include less than 5 percent of our adult population. As a communications consultant, I have many great ideas to improve outreach.

Gaithersburg should not have raised taxes so much (24 percent) last year. Our taxes aren’t high compared to other cities, but our huge tax increase was the function of poor budget planning by our coun-cil and was needlessly harmful to our residents suffering through this recession. A main reason for the tax increase is that our lead-ers put a moratorium on development during the biggest boom years for construction, and therefore didn’t increase revenue as necessary to sustain city services and staff. Meanwhile, while other cities were furloughing staff and making cuts as declining property values hurt city revenues, our city has raised compensation every year for city staff and has many employees making over $100,000 per year (which should have retained staff, but we have had mass defections of quality staff this year anyway). So, to answer the question, no I’m not com-fortable with the current tax rate.

Council CandidateTom Rowse

If I were satisfied with what is happening in the city, I would not be running in this election. I believe Gaithersburg deserves better. Leadership, business sense and relationship skills are lacking on the current Council. As a resident, business-owner, city volunteer and committee member, I have experienced first hand the lack of listening and comprehension shown by the current Council. I feel Gaithersburg will benefit from my leadership, as well as my business and coaching experience when partnered with my desire to listen, care and work with residents and business owners.

The deterioration of Gaithersburg will define this election. The in-cumbents will talk about how the city is better off now than it was four years ago. However, the perception that Gaithersburg is not as great a place to live as it once was is our reality.

The council’s many mistakes have lead to this deterioration—in the past 16 months, they have allowed nearly 15 percent of city staff to leave, losing institutional knowledge in the process; blew the branding opportunity to call the nation’s biggest bioscience initiative Gaithersburg West; stood by as countless small businesses closed; al-lowed pockets of poverty and crime to deepen in several areas; let the APFO remain unchanged; harassed the city’s oldest church; expanded government by creating the HDC; and grew expenditures as revenues dropped by 20 percent.

We need to return to our citizens a way of life for which Gaithersburg was once known and admired.

Economic development can take on many forms but activities should focus on maintaining and creating jobs while increasing the flow of money into the city and raising property values. While at-tracting new businesses is important, retention and support programs for the businesses currently in Gaithersburg are the best uses of our economic development fund. We should continue partnering with lo-cal business organizations to ensure we are meeting the needs of our economic base businesses and developing a city culture that supports businesses. While large businesses, including biotechnology firms are important to the city’s growth, funds should also be allocated to help-ing small businesses.

The 16-month search for a new economic development director has finally resulted in the position being filled. His challenge is to improve the economic well-being of residents. He will have to address the sus-tainability needs of existing businesses while creating a culture that attracts new businesses.

The current Council is full of conflicting agendas and this is the most glaring one. I believe that the APFO should be amended to be consistent with the county. Affordable housing cannot be addressed as currently nearly two-thirds of the city is under a residential building moratorium. Furthermore, the APFO has allowed the county to put our overcrowded schools on its back burner. Four years ago the incum-bents proudly included support of the APFO as part of their platforms; this short-sightedness has led to a ticking time bomb that must im-mediately be defused.

Volunteerism is a necessary component of government. Gaithersburg volunteers and committee members do their work in a professional manner and should be applauded for their efforts. The key to effective volunteer committees is communication. However, poor communication has created an ever-widening gap between gov-ernment, business owners, citizens and volunteers. The city reduced print and mailers and now has focused primarily on social media, the Internet and list servs for information sharing. This reduction has led to apathy, dwindling committee membership and worse, suspicion among residents. Fewer citizens are attending Council meetings and even less are testifying on issues of concern.

Multiple forms of media, including print and mailers should be uti-lized by the city to communicate with residents and promote volunteer opportunities. And most important, the Council should listen to and value volunteers’ input and time.

No, I am not. During the last election cycle, the incumbents prom-ised not to raise taxes. Yet, the rate was raised by a staggering 24 percent. This increase is unfair and too high during a time when our property values are dropping and county and state taxes are on the rise. When city’s increase was implemented 18 months ago, most of it ($2 million) was earmarked for economic development and only 15 percent was used – nearly $90,000 was spent on an outside consul-tant, Mike Knapp, whose report has since been shelved. During the most recent budget cycle which began in July 2011, the funds were replenished and partly used for staff pay raises and stipends with little effect on turnover.

Council CandidateRyan Spiegel

I am running for reelection to continue my focus on creating jobs, revitalizing our town centers, and supporting our local businesses — while also protecting the quality of our neighborhoods, our city ser-vices and our environment. Additionally, I want to ensure that critical safety-net services continue to assist those who are struggling. We have proven that we can maintain fiscal responsibility without cut-ting the cultural, recreational, and educational programs that make Gaithersburg a wonderful place. National magazines including Forbes, Business Week, and CNN/Money have recently ranked Gaithersburg among the best places to live and raise a family. I’m proud of that record. Despite our challenges, I believe in making a positive differ-ence through public service. I hope that I have earned your vote with the hard work, the responsiveness, and the thoughtful and balanced approach to tough issues that I have provided over the last four years.

The key issue in this election is how to balance the need for eco-nomic development and job creation against the need to protect the quality of existing neighborhoods, roads and schools.

Against the backdrop of the recession, the city has taken bold steps to encourage investment. Leveraging innovative programs like our Toolbox fund and the Gaithersburg Accelerator, we have brought hun-dreds of high quality, science-based jobs to Gaithersburg and jump-started several stalled Smart Growth projects.

At the same time, I have consistently fought to ensure that our quality of life is not sacrificed in the name of economic development. Overcrowded schools and roads affect public safety, home values and the environment.

My record over the last four years reflects my belief that we need to strike a balance that ensures the quality of our existing neighbor-hoods while allowing for targeted, thoughtful economic development that creates jobs and strengthens Gaithersburg.

Despite the recession, we had the foresight to prioritize economic development to ensure that Gaithersburg would be ahead of the curve in helping the local economy to recover and grow. We created an economic development fund to create jobs and fill empty buildings. While other cities are still reeling from job losses, we are delivering positive results.

Our flexible fund helps both large and small businesses. We helped keep hundreds of jobs in the city and created hundreds more by at-tracting companies like MDA. But we also helped small businesses upgrade their buildings. Our innovative Gaithersburg Accelerator has nurtured emerging biotechs like Zyngenia and IBT. We need to explore more ways to help our small businesses.

We also jump-started stalled construction projects around the city, creating even more jobs and transforming Olde Towne. My signature initiative, Bank on Gaithersburg, helps families achieve financial stabil-ity, further sparking economic growth.

Reasonable amendments to the APFO make sense, to give us the flexibility to permit economic development and Smart Growth. I have voted to exempt certain projects from the APFO on a case-by-case basis. But simply adopting the county’s formula as the lowest com-mon denominator, and sacrificing some of the city’s oversight over new development, is the wrong approach. It will lead to even more overcrowded schools. With the revitalization occurring in Olde Towne right now, and the hundreds of jobs we have brought to Gaithersburg, there is not much evidence that the APFO is stifling the economy. Indeed, several already-approved projects are still in the pipeline. Our goal should not be to simply mirror the county; we should have stan-dards that are better than the county’s. The current proposal under consideration by the Council would strike a balance between allowing sensible growth and retaining our power to prevent overdevelopment.

From our Book Festival volunteers to our NJROTC students who present the colors at city events, from our youth sports coaches to our PTA and HOA leaders, volunteers are an essential ingredient to the success of Gaithersburg, providing critical input on how to improve our operations and helping to ensure that our programs are successful. I started out as a volunteer on the Education Committee, seeing first-hand how volunteerism improves the lives of those who are struggling. On the Market Square Advisory Committee, I worked with volunteers to enhance a vibrant public square for the benefit of residents and businesses. And I try to lead by example by continuing to volunteer for various causes and events throughout the year. Gaithersburg strives to always recognize and thank our volunteers, build partnerships, and recruit new faces to include voices from throughout the community. We should continue, and expand upon, those efforts.

Gaithersburg’s tax rate is still the lowest among the 20 largest cities in Maryland. Amending the rate was probably the toughest decision faced in recent years. But the recession caused revenues to plum-met, and the federal, state and county governments slashed their aid to cities. Faced with the prospect of Draconian cuts to the services that residents care about, the city assembled a plan including a 10 percent budget cut and a 5-cent rate increase to keep us on a reli-able fiscal track for several years while remaining debt-free. We held multiple public forums and received minimal objection, reflecting what I believe is the value that residents place on city services. Given the evolution and population growth of Gaithersburg over 45 years, I think changing the rate only once during that time was a reasonable, albeit tough, decision. I have no intention of supporting any tax increase for the foreseeable future.

Page 10 The Town Courier • October 21, 2011 Page 11


with festive food and beer. The city of Gaithersburg and the KCA

are the hosts of the annual event, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year.

Crowded with strollers and small chil-dren clutching balloons, Oktoberfest was the place to be for families. Many activities targeted the involvement of children.

In classic autumn style, children were seen climbing aboard horse-drawn hay rides and pony rides touring through the colorful trees around Inspiration Lake. Kids were drawn to the moon bounce for some jumping and to pumpkin painting on the lawn of the Kentlands Mansion.

A row of booths was set up with crafts such as sand art and ceramic paintings. Inside the Gaithersburg Arts Barn, art teacher Jaree Donnelly helped children with fall-themed art, such as a beaded Indian corn project.

“We took a hay ride and got some lunch. [My daughter] is really enjoying herself,” said Rockville resident Meghan Gormliey.

Outside the Gaithersburg Arts Barn, a stage was set up. Dancers of all ages from the Duffy School of Irish Dance, Dawn Crafton Dance Company and Halo danc-ers showed off their moves to an audience seated on authentic hay bales.

Inside the Kentlands Mansion, children were entertained by a magical-themed puppet show, and then participated in making their very own puppets.

Water stations were set up for festivalgo-

ers to stay refreshed in the warm fall sun.Booths were set up along the blocked-

off streets of the Kentlands Village Green. Realtors, vendors, prospective City Council and U.S. Senate members, as well as dance and karate studios, used the event to spread the message of their business or campaign.

“We go every year since we moved to Gaithersburg. It is a lot of fun, but it also helps to find out about the area,” Gaithersburg local Julie Tanen said.

Surrounded by food and beer vendors and carts was the main stage at the epi-center of the festival. Oompah band mu-sicians from the Alte Kameraden German Band and the Alt-Washingtonia Bavarian dancers completed the event with an au-thentic Bavarian feel. Sporting traditional

Bavarian costume, the dancers and band members encouraged locals to join in on the dancing. The long tables allowed for a more traditional Oktoberfest feeling as diners raised their glasses and joined in on the customary beer cheers and toasts.

Gaithersburg Director of Parks, Recreation and Culture Michelle Potter described the crowd as “busting at the seams.” Many attendees rode shuttles from a designated parking area in Quince Orchard Park while others from the adja-cent neighborhoods walked over. Handicap parking spots close to the venue quickly ran out.

A Lakelands resident suggested on The Town Courier’s Facebook page that the or-ganizers spread out the event over more space next year, noting, “It was soooo [sic] packed.”

Crosby said the attendance was “up about 4,000 from last year,” and she attributed the increase to several factors: the lack of a Redskins or Ravens football game, perfect weather, the 20th anniversary celebration and a rainy Oktoberfest in Germantown the previous weekend.

With the attendance and activities grow-ing at the event each year, residents are al-ready looking forward to next year’s 21st Oktoberfest in Kentlands.

Meanwhile, the accolades for this year’s event keep pouring in.

“This was a great event, and the city did an outstanding job,” said Kentlands resi-dent Clyde Horton on The Town Courier’s Facebook page.

— Sonya Burke contributed to this article.

n OKTOBERFEST from page 1

There were long lines to purchase tickets and to buy food and drinks at Oktoberfest.

Photo | Sonya Burke

The mystery unfolds on Nov. 5 and 6. Doors open at 7 p.m., dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $50, $45 for city of Gaithersburg residents, and includes dinner and show. Beer and wine will be available at a cash bar. Seating is limited, and early reser-vation is suggested.

Music at the Mansion on Nov. 26The Music

at the Mansion concert se-ries returns on Nov. 26 with Silver Roots at the Kentlands Mansion.

S h a w n Wyckoff (flute) and Maria Millar (violin) perform

a rich blend of classical and world music. Julliard-trained musicians, Wyckoff and Millar, perform a program almost entirely of original compo-sitions and arrangements created specifically for this dynamic ensemble.

Ticket prices are $25 ($23 city of Gaithersburg residents) and may be pur-chased over the phone at 301.258.6394, on-line at www.gaithersburgmd.gov/kentlands-mansion, or at the Arts Barn Box Office at 311 Kent Square Road. Seating is limited so advance purchase is recommended.

n AROUND TOWN from page 3

Photo| Michael Millar


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could live in a traditional suburban setting. Kentlands had the amenities and the atmo-sphere they were seeking.

“It was the only place we could find where we could roll out of bed and into the restau-rant,” he said.

Further, Kentlands proved to be an ideal geographic location for Naydich’s commute to Frederick and Kleinman’s trip to his office in northwest Washington.

They had lived in Kentlands less than two years when Alex, with a history of volunteer work on nonprofit boards of various kinds and a desire to contribute to the Kentlands community, found a way to do just that. He applied to fill a vacancy on the five-member KCA board. The position was open because no one ran to fill it. He was appointed to the board in December 2009 and later named chair by his fellow trustees.

Today Kleinman is running, unopposed, for another term.

Kleinman has an undergraduate degree in English and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. In talking about his work on the KCA, his per-spective seems to stem from a blend of sourc-es — business, human and the sorts of things that cannot be measured that contribute to a meaningful life in a meaningful place.

Topics he touched on included encourag-ing a higher level of community participa-tion in the KCA, building consensus in the community in many areas, maintenance of

the value of Kentlands including property values, cautious and conservative policies on assessments, prudent resource management, dealing with a 20-year-old physical plant and other issues.

Since he is running unopposed for the KCA board, there will be more contributions in the future from the calm, collegial, con-sensus- building acumen of Alex Kleinman. Stay tuned.

KCA Elections UpdateElections to the KCA board are held every

two years, and this year, three of five board member positions are up for grabs. (Next year at this time, Kentlands residents will elect two board members and the president, who is not a voting board member but has other im-portant responsibilities in the community.)

Each position carries a two-year term.The five trustees self-select the board’s or-

ganizational structure, choosing their own chair — currently Kleinman; a secretary — currently Sigrid McCutcheon; treasurer — currently Robert Randolph; and a vice-chair — Paul Zeineddin. One trustee is unassigned — currently Joyce Whitman.

The upcoming Kentlands election opens three slots on the board: those held by Kleinman, Randolph and Whitman.

Three candidates have filed to fill the three trustee posts. In addition to Kleinman, Joyce Whitman is running for reelection. Also running is Kentlands resident Tim Clark.

Robert Randolph has opted not to run keep his seat.

Election Day is Friday, Nov. 4, and citizens can vote at the Clubhouse on that day or be-fore. Citizens can also vote by mail.

n KCA BOARD CHAIR from page 3


zation supports wounded service mem-bers at Walter Reed. I met all of them at a recruiting event held this past summer at O’Donnells.

This year, the 11th ride, a combina-tion of 34 alumni and first-time riders left the Pittsburgh neighborhood of West Homestead, Pa., on a cool Thursday, Oct. 6 morn. We rode 74 miles uphill on the Great Allegheny Passage Trail along the Yougheny River to our first overnight stop in Ohiopyle, Pa., known best on the East Coast for whitewater rafting.

Friday, we continued on the Allegheny Passage paralleling the Casselman River southeast towards Cumberland, Md. Our challenge was to cross over the Eastern Continental Divide, altitude 2,400 feet. We reached the divide by climbing some 1,300 feet by pedaling 52 miles from Ohiopyle, then we rode downhill 23 miles to our evening’s rest stop in Cumberland, it’s a drop of 1,800 feet.

On Saturday, Oct. 8, we were joined by 16 new riders for a 90-mile ride to Hagerstown, Md., along the historic C&O Canal. The highlights were going through the 3/4-mile Paw Paw canal tunnel and the motorcycle parade to our evening’s rest stop in Hagerstown.

Additional riders met us in Hagerstown on Sunday, pushing the total riders above 50 for the last 80 miles to Darnestown’s Smokey Glen Farm. We rode out of Hagerstown on Md. Route 65 to intersect the C&O canal at Antietam Creek. The group was solemn as we passed through a “Forest Gump-like” sunrise tableau at the Antietam National Battlefield, the final resting place for over 5,000 Union Civil War soldiers who died here and the re-mains of USN Fireman Patrick Howard Roy, who was killed in the attack on the USS Cole.

We rode hard and fast on the mud-dy and wet C&O canal to Seneca Creek, then again followed a Rolling Thunder-type motorcycle escort from River Road home down Route 28 as provided by Nam Knights of America. As we turned into Smokey Glen, we were given a red, white and blue flag-waving homecoming wel-come by friends, family, American Legion veterans and recovering soldiers from Walter Reed.

I joined the ride because I had broken my

foot at the start of a marathon-training pro-gram. The doctor forbid running for eight weeks but gave me the green light to cycle. Coincidentally, I had recently attended the recruitment event at O’Donnell’s, and the rest is history.

Little did I know that I would have my epiphany, day two on a mountain-side in Rockwood, Pa. The reason Ride Allegheny does this became crystal clear at the American Legion Post 279 support stop as I chatted with a twice-wounded Iraq vet named Dirk Tressler. It was wheeled power that brought us all here to listen to him, as well as others like Dirk at eight American Legion rest stops along the way. That rea-son is to give thanks. To bring the spirit of gratitude and perseverance to those who face pain seen, and unseen — transmitted by 50 riders’ human power showing we care.

Did I really need to ride 320 miles and have an epiphany that I could possibly get by sitting in the bleachers chatting up a vet at Gaithersburg’s Post 295 Legion baseball game? Probably not. I only know that for me there is something to be said about rid-ing a bike to clear ones’ mind, be receptive to a message, and then be able to deliver it to others.

Would I do it again? Yes, in a heartbeat.Ride Allegheny and Operation Second

Chance have raised over $400,000 to sup-port wounded soldiers since 2005. This year they raised $130,000 towards a year-end goal of $150,000. Visit www.opera-tionsecondchance.org for information or to make a donation. Operation Second Chance participates in the Combined Federal Campaign CFC #93327.

Read Phil’s photoblog of the ride at www.pho-toloaf.com/blog.

n RIDE ALLEGHENY from page 1

Kimberly warpinski of world T.E.A.M. Sports stretches with joy after a long ride uphill.

Photo | Phil Fabrizio

Ron Canova and Noble Diller prepare to enter the Paw Paw tunnel.Photo | Dave Parrish

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GIRLS’ SOCCERThe Cougars played bad hosts to a

home game for Gaithersburg to open this part of their schedule. The odd “home-as-visitor” designation came from Gaithersburg’s renovation of their playing fields that started last spring.

On a Cougar Dome field left torn up and slippery by the recent rains and football, it took QO 12 minutes to ne-gotiate the slop before freshman Sam Sullenger opened up the scoring, fol-lowing that goal with another a minute later. The assists were by Lauren and Chandler Holdsworth. After that it was the Jessica Konecke Show as she used her speed to burn the Trojans’ keeper three times, at 17, 37 and 74 minutes.

Other goals in the amazingly one-sided game were by Stephi Shin, Morgan Dorset, Lauren Holdsworth and Vida Bronco. The shot chart showed the dominance of the Cougars: shots 34 to 3, shots on goal 21-3 and corners 5-0.

As expected, QO quickly dominated the Clarksburg Coyotes. QO fired shot after shot until one eventually went in. Vida Branco sent a cross over to Sullenger, who scored the first goal of the game. Konecke was having a great game offensively, but she was unable to finish. Alongside her was Lauren Holdsworth, who brought the score to 2-0, in the Cougars’ favor at the half.

Only three minutes into the sec-ond, Konecke scored her first goal of the night. QO had a few more shots as its offense continued to dominate the field. Konecke took a few more drives towards the net and scored an un-stoppable goal straight up the middle. Lauren Holdsworth then scored her second goal of the night, bringing the score to 4-0.

Kelly Whiteis scored the last goal of the shutout. The final score of the game was 5-0, as the Cougars won their third straight, moving to 7-4 on the season.

Rain washed out the scheduled Kennedy game.

BOYS’ SOCCERBoys’ soccer played a competi-

tive game against the Coyotes of Clarksburg. Clarksburg’s offense dom-inated early. With the help of defenders Jordan Singer and Gianluca Capraro, keeper Christian Ross blocked six shots. Shortly after, Singer was forced to sit out the rest of the game with a sprained ankle.

Luis Zagarra nearly scored with about 20 minutes left in the half. By this time,

QoBrieFS

n QO BRIEFS Continued on page 17

By Mike Cuthbert and Gillian Erdrich SPorTShigh

School

Cougar Football Wins Keep ComingT hank heaven that Homecoming

features a dance. There was some fun ahead after a very boring foot-

ball game. Winning 44-0 is fine for Homecoming except when it’s such a one-sided game that yawns are easier to pro-duce than cheers.

How can a 44-0 ballgame result when the losers have more plays than the win-ners? Let me count the ways: a safety three minutes into the game; a QO score on the second play after the RM kickoff after the safety; a 56-yard punt return by D’Andre Johnson; a blocked punt and TD two plays later from 16 yards out; a bad pass out of the end zone on another Rocket punt; a short punt and a Cougar TD on two plays after the kickoff that went out of bounds following the safety.

You get the idea. Not until the last se-ries in the game did QO surpass RM’s play total. QO only threw the ball five times, and of five runners, the leader had only 61 yards.

“We needed to get out early,” a pleased

Coach Dave Mencarini said. “We didn’t need to let this linger.”

He also played down to his third QB, Mikey Murtaugh, who handled himself well in his first extended action.

The week before, the Cougars won 31-10 over Whitman. A slow start included an interception at the Whitman 5, but QO got back on track with a seven-play, 62-yard drive capped by Lucas Bogart’s one-yard TD to end the first quarter.

A fumble by Whitman and two runs by Mark Green made it 14-0, and a fumble on the first play after the ensuing kickoff al-lowed Chris McPherson to move the score to 17-0. A 31-yard Viking field goal and a stunning 63-yard tiptoe job down the left sideline by Val Djidotor after a Viking interception made it 17-10 at half, and a worried bunch of Cougars recouped.

“We had to adjust. We have great coach-es. They did a few things we hadn’t seen before, but the kids did what the coaches told them to do,” said Mencarini.

As it turned out, a poor Whitman punt

after their opening series of the second half sealed the deal. On the first Cougar play following the punt, Mark Green started left, weaved his way through the center of the field and numerous helpless Vikings and scored from 36 yards out and the game changed complexion from there on.

The Cougar defense, stout the entire game, took over, shut down the Viking quarterback, Michael Flack, and harassed him mercilessly as he tried to pass his team back into the game. Mark Leslie, Kieran Gregory and Carlos St. Regis never gave him a chance to establish anything, and he ended up only 7-for-22 for the game.

Green broke the century mark again with 133 yards, Bogart was an efficient 12-18 with one INT, and the defense got stronger as the game went on. Green end-ed his night with 11.4 seconds left in the third quarter with his final TD from six yards out, and the Cougars finished up winners.

Next up, a road game at Clarksburg.

First Annual Cougar Invitational Cross Country MeetBy Gillian Erdrich

R unners from Clarksburg, Magruder, Einstein, Bethesda Chevy-Chase and Northwest high schools joined

Coach Seann Pelkey and the Cougar cross country team Oct. 11 at Smokey Glen Farm for QO’s first invitational.

“We’ve hosted plenty of meets before but never a real ‘invitational,’” said Pelkey.

Having it at Smokey Glen worked out in QO’s favor on all fronts, he said. “We wanted to have a home meet this year to help keep transportation costs down,” said Pelkey. He was also pleased to “give a local opportunity for some of the other teams to be able to compete.”

Pelkey is a coach who always wants to place his athletes in the most optimal situ-ations. This year, QO’s homecoming fell in the middle of October, on the 15th. To avoid “homecoming headaches,” he want-ed to avoid the conflicts that would have arisen by participating in a meet held that day.

On Oct. 11, the girls of all teams ran first, followed by each school’s top 20 boys. The rest of the boys ran in a third race. Though no awards were granted, invita-tional and dual meet scores were posted.

In the girls 5K race, QO had six girls place in the top 25 out of over 100. Overall, Isabelle Latour came in second with a time of 21:21, and Catherine Panasenkov came in 14th with a time of 22:58. Not far behind were fellow teammates Cierra Wells, Keegan Van Wert, Julia Shapiro and Samantha Griffith. The girls placed second

in the invitational right behind Bethesda Chevy-Chase.

Eight QO boys finished in the top 25 overall. Evan Laratta came in first in the varsity boys’ race with a time of 17:34, and Evan Burnham came in fourth with a time

of 17:52. Following these Cougars close-ly were Joseph Sonken, Michael Borten, Alborz Fakhari, Elija Dejejus, Kevin Mejia-Saba and James Ryan. The Cougar boys placed first in their race with the Titans of Einstein close behind.

QO cross country runner Evan Larratta took an early lead and never looked back in the Homecoming Invitational at Smokey Glen Farm on Oct. 11. Larratta won the boys’ varsity race with a time of 17:34.

Photo | Claire Fleischer


QO’s offense was beginning to play more aggressively. Jake Salzman made a whole-hearted attempt at the goal with 16 minutes left in the first. However, the Cougars still had trouble finishing off their great midfield play, a problem they have faced all season.

Both teams had near misses to leave the score 0-0 when half time rolled around. Clarksburg got in a few good shots at the top of the second, but Ross had some great saves. Jonny Drazan as well as Salzman ran some good drives to the goal, but none of their shots found the net. Juan Llaja finally scored the first goal of the game.

The Cougars seemed to let up after their goal and Clarksburg took advantage of it. The Coyotes scored with only 1:53 left in game. With the score tied at 1, the boys moved to overtime. Ross was able to block a shot; however, QO’s defense had difficulty keeping up. Clarksburg scored the winning goal three-and-a-half minutes into over-time, making the final 2-1, Coyotes.

The Kennedy game was postponed due to rain on Homecoming weekend.

VOLLEYBALL After thumping Clarksburg, 3-0 in their

Dig Pink Match for Breast Cancer, the net-ters lost to Magruder in a tough match, 3-0. Hailey Kessler, continuing to improve her game, had five kills in the match.

Against Damascus, it was a one-plot story: no service return. The statistical evidence is overwhelming: Damascus had 20 service aces to only three for QO. A secondary stat tells the story of the effectiveness of the serves: Damascus had 37 points on attack, 20 of them kills while QO only mustered 13, 10 of them kills.

But the strong serves often left QO scram-bling just to get the ball back, let alone at-tack. The result was a 25-13, 25-23, 25-19 loss to the Hornets.

Kessler had a fine game, both attacking and blocking — she had six blocks, on one play having two in a row during the same point. Juliana Segura also looked strong.

“She’s always been a captain, a leader on the court. She decided to turn it up a notch,”

said Coach Sarah Watson.Segura’s serves were penetrating and her

play around the net subtle and effective. Still, QO was not able to overcome the ser-vice advantage or numbers of attackers that Damascus had.

FIELD HOCKEYAn uneven season continued with a romp

against the Clarksburg Coyotes. This fol-lowed a tight game with Gaithersburg, a 2-0 win.

The Clarksburg game featured two Alexes: Alexa Ritchie and Alexandra Jamison as they alternated goals to open the game and take it out of reach. The capper, by Lily Milwit, was particularly satisfying to Coach Laura Williams.

“She was a JV superstar last year. She was very intimidated, coming up, so we’ve been working all season on her motivation and to find her voice. She played her best game ever today,” said Williams.

As a team, the Cougar defense was out-standing all afternoon with poised and con-trolled takeaways of every opportunity Clarksburg had to score.

n QO BRIEFS from page 16

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Thaler Inducted into Dickinson College Sports Hall of Fame

Gaithersburg resident and Town Courier staff writ-er Brooke Doherty Thaler, a star field hockey and la-crosse player during her years at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., was inducted into the college’s Sports Hall of Fame on Sept. 24 during Homecoming and Family Weekend.

Doherty Thaler, who graduated in 1996 with a degree in American studies, was first in points scored and tied for first in goals in a single season of field hockey. She was named to the first-team All-Centennial Conference (CC) in 1994 and 1995 and All-CC in 1993. Her field hockey team was ranked 20th in the nation at the Eastern College Athletics Conference (ECAC) in 1992 and 1994.

Doherty Thaler and her husband, Russ, who worked as a sportscaster for CSN Washington for 10 years and was recently hired by NBC Sports in Stamford, Conn., have three chil-dren: Max, 8; Nate, 6; and Will, 5.

Brooke Doherty Thaler

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Halloween Madness

By Maureen Stiles

When I met my husband, Mark, he was single and living in Kentlands. I took it as a very good sign that he wanted to live in a family neighborhood before he had the requisite family. My admiration grew the first Halloween we spent together. Mark came home from work early — a rarity in those days — and I had stopped to buy a few bags of candy in anticipation of trick-or-treaters. As I emptied the candy into a huge, orange bowl, I envisioned many years of costumes, candy and children in our future.

Whatever I may have anticipated, it was nothing like the reality of Halloween in Kentlands. One hour after we answered the first door chime, we were completely out of candy. I was sweating, and my mouth was dry from greeting hordes of children.

Mark ran into the house (we had given up on keeping up with the door bell and just camped outside) and grabbed a huge container of Atomic Fireballs. We then proceeded to hand them out one by one until we had exhausted our supply. Now that I am a parent, I can only imagine the number of fireballs that were discarded that night because they were a choking hazard

and really live up to their “atomic” billing.Flash forward nearly 20 years. We have

since moved to the Lakelands, which has its own brand of Halloween insanity. Despite two decades of practical experience, I am still having problems with my candy sup-ply. It is not an issue of preparedness; how-ever, it is an issue of will power. You see, I eat a tremendous amount of candy that is meant to be given away.

Over the years, through much experi-mentation, we have learned that it takes no less than a dozen bags of candy to ac-

commodate all of the Lakelands ghosts and goblins. That means I need to buy at least 14 bags of candy so I will have enough for the masses and satisfy my sweet tooth as well.

I have tried every trick in the book to stop this gluttony, all to no avail. If I hide the candy, one Friday night home with Bravo is enough to entice me to rip open a bag and dig in. I am never going to be as thin as those Housewives or be able to afford their plastic surgery, so I might as well eat 40 Snickers bars. Correction: that

would be 20 Snickers bars because they are mini-sized.

I have tried buying candy I don’t like. This just led me to the conclusion that I have a cast iron stomach, and I like almost everything. I have waited until the last minute to buy candy, but then I shame-lessly pilfer treats from the black bowl with the glow-in-the-dark witch embla-zoned on the side just as the first kids come knocking.

Then for weeks after Halloween, I lit-erally pray for the strength not to rifle through my children’s stash of goodies. Much like my sister and I did as kids, my boys carefully track their treats and have them counted and categorized. My sis-ter and I tried to make our candy last un-til Thanksgiving each year — a contest my sister won easily within a week. I was so predictable.

So, this year, I am trying a new tactic. Changing things up as it were. I purchased all the Halloween candy and promptly sent it to work with my husband. He will stash it there until Halloween night, bring it home and fill the bowls himself just before dark. When, presumably, I will not tackle him and begin grabbing candy and run-ning with it.

How well this plan will work remains to be seen, but you have to marvel at a hus-band sweet enough to retool Halloween just to save me from myself.

FirST PerSon


Marching Cougars Take Second at Maryland High School Band Competition

By Deborah Sze

The Marching Cougars of Quince Orchard High School (QOHS) competed in the Maryland High School Band Competition at Towson State University on Oct. 15. QOHS placed second over all in the Group IV Open category with

the award for Best Music. The band was also awarded the Espirit de Corps Award, presented by The United States Marine Corps, for the band that best represented the spirit that embodies the Marine Corps. Principal Carole Working was among the supporters in the crowd. Congratulations Cougars!

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Photo | Deborah Sze

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