Meeting Round-Up: WUDAC January

The Wheaton Urban District Advisory Committee met Jan. 10 at the , as it does every second Tuesday of the month.

The WUDAC meeting started off slowly, not reaching the six-person quorum necessary to vote on anything until 20 minutes after the scheduled start of the meeting.

Here are some brief highlights:

• Ana Lopez van Balen, director of the Mid-County Regional Services Center, noted that classes at Ana Mendez University in Wheaton begin this month. Van Balen also told WUDAC that she is collaborating on a new logo for Wheaton.

• Adam Fogel, chief of staff for Montgomery County Council Vice President Nancy Navarro, gave WUDAC an overview of Bill 32-11. The bill, which passed the county council Nov. 8, will set up a Committee Evaluation and Review Board that will ultimately decide which advisory boards Montgomery County should continue funding.

• After hearing an explanation of a county review process that could eventually question WUDAC’s existence, the committee members reflected on the way things are run in WUDAC. The chair of the advocacy subcommittee, Devala Janardan, spoke about the lack of written procedures for subcommittees and confusion over whether their role tended more toward recommendation or action. Other WUDAC members added their voices to the discussion, particularly focusing on the question of whether WUDAC members could advocate on topics as individuals. Can WUDAC members publicly declare their individual opinions apart from their official positions? This seems to be a dilemma for further discussion.

• Janet Yu, chair of the business development subcommittee, said she plans to meet with representatives from Local First, LEDC and Ana Mendez University--groups with substantial interests in local business development. Her goal? “Bringing together all these groups to act as one.” Yu is planning a meeting in Panera in the Wheaton Mall on February 1, at 9:30 a.m.

• The communication subcommittee is planning to launch a quarterly electronic newsletter in April, just before the Taste of Wheaton. This will be distinct from the biweekly newsletter distributed by the Mid-County Regional Services Center.

• Matt Barry of Westfield did not attend, so there was no report from Westfield. There was also no report from the Fourth District police.

• A written report from the Wheaton Redevelopment Program stated that the Alliance residential project at the corner of Georgia and Blueridge avenues is on hold, and that its architect, Chris Todd, has left Alliance.