Monday, April 16, 2012
Stigile: 'Reasonable people can disagree' on Pumphrey parking.
Is it impossible in this city to have a rational discussion about public policy issues without having someone launch an attack on the messenger? In a March 22 posting on Patch, Councilmember Moore encouraged residents to speak out at a public hearing on the Pumphrey parking lot. It was a serious article about a serious issue—whether the current Mayor and Council would honor the approval given by the previous council or would pull the rug out from under Pumphrey Funeral Home, after it had incurred more than $100,000 in planning and legal costs based on the previous approval. Reasonable people can disagree about whether a parking lot should be constructed in an historic district. There are good arguments on both sides of the issue. But …
Ethics complaint over parking controversy rejected; Budget work and a closed session also scheduled.
A vote on a mixed-use development near the Twinbrook Metro station, a discussion of whether to allow Robert A. Pumphrey Funeral Home to build a parking lot in the historic West End and budget work are on the Rockville City Council’s agenda for Monday. The council meets at 7 p.m. at City Hall. The meeting will be broadcast live on Rockville 11. Twinbrook Metro Place The council is scheduled to vote on plans for Twinbrook Metro Place. Twinbrook Partners LLC is proposing three 14-story residential buildings, a 10-story office building and a 10-story hotel on 6.73 acres at 1592 Rockville Pike, just north of Halpine Road. The site is home to a one-story strip mall that includes Fuddruckers. Residents expressed concerns about parking and …
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
After nearly two hours of testimony, Rockville residents are still debating whether the funeral home should be allowed to build a parking lot in the historic district.
Monday night's Rockville City Council hearing on Robert A. Pumphrey Funeral Home’s proposal to build a parking lot in the city's historic West End included nearly two hours of testimony from 40 people. Rockville Patch live tweeted the hearing @RockvillePatch. Click here to read our tweets from the hearing. In January, a newly elected council moved to reverse the previous council’s 2010 decision to grant Pumphrey the right to build the parking lot. On Friday, Councilman Tom Moore used Rockville Patch and the Rockville Chamber of Commerce’s email listserv to call on residents to testify in favor of upholding the decision allowing the lot. Among those testifying on Monday was Rockville resident Jacques Gelin, who opposes the parking lot. The …
Friday, March 23, 2012
Councilman: 'Remind us that Pumphrey's is a valued neighbor.'
Rockville's Mayor and Council are holding a public hearing this Monday night, March 26, on whether to reverse the City's approval of the Pumphrey Funeral Home parking lot. This battle is not lost. Your Mayor and Council deeply value the input we receive from citizens at our public hearings. You would be amazed by the effect an outpouring of public opinion can have. I encourage you to sign up for the hearing and make your voice heard. It's polite to send an e-mail to clerk@rockvillemd.gov, call 240-314-8280, or send a fax to 240-314-8289 to sign up to speak, but even if you don't sign up, you can still show up Monday night and you will be heard. You can even make your voice heard before Monday: Post this article on Facebook, tweet it, or …
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
The commission meets at 7 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
City manager selection, the budget, redevelopment and election issues are priorities for the new council.
Rockville voters sent two incumbents, a former councilman and the chairman of the city’s Compensation Commission to victory in Tuesday’s election. It’s a mix of experience and what council members-elect said they hope will be a working relationship that allows officials to tackle several big issues. Candidates and voters throughout the 2011 election season said that they would like to see more civility in their City Council after a term marked by disagreements and division that sometimes devolved into bickering at council meetings. The question is “How can we be nicer to each other, discuss our differences civilly without things getting personal? That’s one thing I think I can definitely do,” said Tom Moore, the compensation board chairman…
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Newton says she feels exonerated by the decision.
A “typographical error” in the city code that became fodder for an allegation of campaign finance violations against a sitting councilwoman should be corrected, the chairman of the city’s Board of Supervisors of Elections said. In a letter sent to the Rockville City Council on Friday, board Chairman David Celeste Jr. asked the council to correct the typo by amending the city code. Last week, Tom Moore, a candidate for City Council, wrote a letter to Celeste pointing out the typo and saying that City Councilwoman Bridget Donnell Newton violated campaign finance law during the 2009 election cycle by accepting a contribution from her husband in excess of the $1,000 contribution limit. Newton said Monday that she feels exonerated. “Laws are …
Friday, October 7, 2011
Moore: 'Transparency is still at issue.'
At its meeting last night, the Rockville Board of Supervisors of Elections discussed the issues raised by my Oct. 3 letter, and voted to recommend the change to Rockville's Code I had suggested. I thank the Board for its prompt attention to my letter and I am satisfied that the appropriate steps are being taken to fix Rockville's elections law. My concern in raising this issue was the certainty of our laws and the transparency of our elections. Transparency is still at issue here. Once this fix is made, unlimited contributions will be allowed from candidates' spouses during the 2011 election without any corresponding disclosure of their financial conflicts. Changes are in the pipeline to require more extensive disclosure, but not in time …
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Moore wants the city's election board to look at a law limiting campaign contributions from spouses, says Newton violated the law in 2009.
A candidate for Rockville City Council says that a city law limiting campaign contributions by candidates’ spouses is not being followed and that a sitting council member and political opponent violated the law during the 2009 election cycle. “It is generally believed that candidates’ spouses are exempt from Rockville’s $1,000-per-camapaign limit,” Tom Moore wrote in a letter sent Monday to David Celeste, chairman of the city’s Board of Supervisors of Elections. “The City Clerk’s office has given such guidance in the past. A close reading of the Code, however, reveals that this is simply not the case [emphasis Moore’s]. Under current Rockville law, any contribution exceeding $1,000 from a candidate’s spouse to his or her campaign is …
Jim Coyle
5:06 pm on Saturday, May 19, 2012
in addition to the vitriolic rhetoric, I have been surprised that families that have used Phumpreys over the years would turn on a wonderful company and neighbor. Is there so little loyalty left? The other part of this that I find strange is the argument that, by granting expanding parking, the M&C would be altering a non- conforming use. In my mind, it would simply be extending a current use … more ›