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Joint committee approves about $10.5 million to relocate MCPS bus depot to leased warehouse
Summary
On May 1 the Montgomery County joint committee unanimously approved moving forward with funding to relocate Montgomery County Public Schools bus operations into an available 65,000-square-foot warehouse as an interim leased solution, citing faster delivery and lower near-term cost compared with building a new facility at Jeremiah Park.
A Montgomery County joint committee on May 1 voted unanimously to support funding to relocate Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) bus operations into an available warehouse as an interim leased facility.
The committee, led by the chair, approved support for a supplemental appropriation request reported in committee materials at roughly $10.5 million to cover the build‑out and related work needed to move buses from the existing Crabb's Branch site into the leased space and to begin demolition and beautification work at Jeremiah Park. The project funding discussed in the packet was described as recordation tax premium money and included $2.0 million already programmed in the CIP.
Why it matters: DGS told the committee the county has pursued a long-running community process to develop a zero‑emissions depot at Jeremiah Park but that a newly available, roughly 65,000‑square‑foot former distribution warehouse could house about 250 buses across two adjoining parcels far sooner and at a fraction of the near‑term cost of building a new facility. The team said a new build at Jeremiah Park could cost in the hundreds of millions, while the lease option would place MCPS into a new facility several years earlier.
Details of the discussion: Greg Assent of the Department of General Services told the committee the county ran an extended series of local charrettes, pop‑ups and virtual outreach (the ‘Jeremiah Park Project’), produced multiple concept plans and then pivoted when the warehouse site became available. He said the warehouse had been used previously as a distribution facility and was being negotiated for lease. “We will know in a matter of weeks whether we are a go or a no go,” Assent said.
Committee members praised the outreach and urged swift movement. A committee member summarizing procedural history said the executive branch had previously revised the request and at one point withdrew an appropriation in favor of handling an amendment first; the committee proceeded to register support for the appropriation in committee today and recorded the approval as unanimous by show of hands.
What the vote does and next steps: The committee’s action signals committee support for the supplemental appropriation and associated CIP amendment so DGS can continue negotiations and, if lease terms finalize, begin build‑out and transition planning. The transcript records a unanimous committee voice/show‑of‑hands approval; the committee did not record a roll‑call tally in the public transcript. DGS said staff expect to know the final lease outcome within weeks and would return with any finalized appropriation or contract terms for further committee or council action as required.
Limitations and outstanding items: The precise street name for the leased warehouse appears inconsistently in the transcript; the DGS presentation emphasized square footage and capacity rather than the finalized address. Cost figures in the transcript included some transcription errors; the committee packet cited a $10.5 million appropriation request (with $2 million previously programmed) and DGS compared that to an estimated $260–$270 million price for a new build at Jeremiah Park. The lease terms described in committee remain under negotiation and will determine the final schedule and costs.
The committee adjourned after the Green Bank discussion concluded later in the meeting.
