Full Council Unofficially Supports Wheaton Library, Recreation Center

With a unanimous recommendation from two Montgomery County Council committees, the full council voted unofficially on Tuesday to expedite funding for the and renovation project in the CIP.

At a March 5 worksession, the Health and Human Services and the Planning, Housing, and Economic Development committees both $2.43 million for FY13, $3.062 million for FY14, and $30.3 million for FY15. This funding schedule moves construction from FY18 to FY15--a three-year advance on County Executive Isiah Leggett's recommendations.

Although the council deferred its originally scheduled discussion of Wheaton Redevelopment, the program remained part of the conversational backdrop.

Council Vice President Nancy Navarro called the library renovation part of "an amazing comprehensive approach" to Wheaton, and Councilmember Hans Riemer said that library is a part of overall revitalization in Wheaton. 

"If there is a way to fund the high school, the rec center and the library, public safety, --there are many tools in our toolbox, and I think it's a great opportunity to begin thinking more comprehensively," Riemer said.