Kemp Mill Civic Association
11617 Gilsan St.
Silver Spring, MD 20902
President: Rebekah Rasooly
Vice President: Jay Marcus
Treasurer: Marilyn Lawlor
Secretary: Cynthia Brandt Campagna
Directors: Adrian Black, Marci Lavine Bloch, Adam Falader, Jim Priestley, Selena Snow
November 6, 2010
Gabriel Albornoz, Director, Dept. of Recreation, gabriel.albornoz@
Mary Bradford, Director, Dept. of Parks, mary.bradford@mncppc-mc.org
David Dise, Director, Dept. of General Services, david.dise@montgomerycountymd.
Parker Hamilton, Director, Dept. of Public Libraries, parker.hamilton@
Dear Directors:
Re: Proposed construction of Wheaton recreation center/library
The Kemp Mill Civic Association was delighted to hear of the new plans to create a new combined recreation center and library at the corner of Arcola and Georgia. As you explained so clearly at the recent meeting, a rec center is long overdue and the library building is in serious need of renovation. We could not agree more and are already impatiently awaiting this terrific new community resource.
Nevertheless, the KMCA has a few concerns about the proposed project that we hope will be addressed satisfactorily. First, our members are somewhat skeptical that the plan will go forward in a timely manner. As you outlined at the meeting, plans for this rec center have come and gone several times over the past 10 years. We hope that you keep up the momentum to move this new plan forward. Second, several members have already expressed concerns about access to library services during the 2-3 years that the Wheaton library will be closed. We look forward to hearing plans for providing a mobile library or other alternatives so that our neighbors with limited transport will be able to utilize Montgomery County's amazing library resources. Third, since we anticipate that this new complex will be heavily utilized, it is very important that there continue to be adequate and free parking available at the library/rec center. This has become an issue at the new Silver Spring library and we are not eager to see the same problems here. Finally, the KMCA and Kemp Mill community are eager to work with the County in the planning and design of the new rec center/library complex. Our diverse neighborhood, with its mixture of incomes, ages, religious and ethnic backgrounds, and interests is eager to offer suggestions and input to help make the new center serve as many needs as possible and practical.
Please accept our congratulations on finding such an elegant solution to meet the needs of Kemp Mill and our neighboring Wheaton communities.
Sincerely,
Rebekah Rasooly
President, KMCA
cc: Isiah Leggett, Montgomery County Executive, ike.leggett@
Marc Elrich, County Council, councilmember.elrich@
Nancy Floreen, County Council, councilmember.floreen@
Nancy Navarro, County Council, councilmember.navarro@
George Leventhal, County Council, councilmember.leventhal@
Natalie Cantor, Director, Mid-County Reg. Services Ctr., Natalie.Cantor@