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HHS committee endorses Montgomery County'recommended CIP package, advances affordable living quarters and diversion center
Summary
The Health and Human Services committee reviewed the county executive's FY27'to'FY32 CIP for HHS, concurred with funding and schedule changes for the affordable living quarters and diversion center, canceled a non'congregate shelter project and placed three projects in pending closeout. Officials said monitoring and an MOU with Rockville remain outstanding items.
Montgomery County's Health and Human Services committee on Wednesday reviewed the county executive's recommended FY27'to'FY32 capital improvement program and agreed to concur with proposed changes to three projects, including moving the affordable living quarters forward and increasing funding for a diversion center in Rockville.
The county executive recommended a six'year total of $74,200,000 for the Department of Health and Human Services, a $2.4 million reduction from the previous CIP. Staff told the committee the affordable living quarters project now has a selected site and that the executive recommends a $7.3 million total project cost (a six'year total of $6.9 million). The project would deliver 18 furnished private units for one' or two'person households, with construction expected to finish in FY2029; council staff asked for additional details about building remediation and resident health protections as the project proceeds.
'We attempted to provide the council with the exhaustive list of test results that we had done back in 2019, 2020 when this issue first arose,'' Director of the Department of General Services David Dice said, adding that DGS has repaired the initial cause of the reported discomfort and performed sound, vibration and air'quality monitoring.
Staff also told the committee that the previously proposed non'congregate shelter project is now canceled because funds and a site have been allocated to the affordable living quarters; the executive has requested that $150,000 be reallocated to the ALQ project and council staff recommended concurring. Council Member Luedtke voiced support for continued work on non'congregate shelter options in the future and the committee recorded concurrence without objection.
The diversion center project, focused on a facility at 7 Locks Road in Rockville and an offsite walk'in location at Picard Drive, drew detailed discussion. Staff said design completion for the 7 Locks site is expected in 2026 and construction in 2028. The executive'recommended six'year total for the diversion center is $25.3 million, an increase from the previous CIP; staff attributed cost increases to extra time needed for design and unanticipated utility and site conditions.
Committee members pressed staff on the status of a memorandum of understanding with the city of Rockville and other permitting steps. Staff said the city conditioned the building permit on executing an MOU prior to occupancy and that the county's assistant chief administrative officer is leading negotiations; the MOU must be executed before occupancy.
'I think there's been an acknowledgment of that by the executive branch that the communication just wasn't there with municipal partners in Rockville,' Council Member Friedson said, and he thanked staff for improved engagement.
DGS staff reported that interior demolition at the 7 Locks site has taken place and construction documents are in final stages; DGS will post progress updates on its neighborhood projects page and noted a recorded community meeting is linked in the committee packet for stakeholders who want more detail.
On administrative items, staff listed three projects now in pending closeout because of no expenditures in the six'year CIP window: the Avery Road treatment center, the emergency homeless shelter and phase 2 of the Neville Street shelter. Separately, Chair Sales had requested staff explore maternal health capital concepts; staff identified two future concepts for study: allocating housing units for at'risk mothers and establishing a birthing center in Montgomery County, and recommended coordination among DHHS, DGS and OMB to assess feasibility and costs.
The chair moved forward on the committee'level approvals by concurrence and the packet items were advanced without recorded objection. The committee adjourned after the review with staff directed to continue providing updates and to return requested remediation and monitoring information as those items develop.
