ROCKVILLE – Education, the arts and economic development in Silver Spring each score a slice of the county’s $4.1 billion operating budget in the coming fiscal year, the county council announced Thursday.
Two elementary schools in the Downcounty Consortium split nearly $28 million for more classrooms. East Silver Spring Elementary School gets an eight-room addition, while Takoma Park Elementary gets 16 extra rooms.
The Silver Spring International Middle School transfers four classrooms to the adjacent Sligo Creek Elementary School. Despite the additional rooms, Sligo Creek remains above capacity, council staff admits.
Further up the educational food chain, Montgomery College scores $1.5 million for the new Cafritz Foundation Art Center. The South Silver Spring building will house the college’s school of art and design.
Off campus, the American Film Institute gets a cool half-million bucks to cover the tab for operating shortfalls.
Almost $2 million goes toward bringing the Birchmere nightclub to the old JC Penney site in downtown Silver Spring. The state has already tossed in a matching $2 million to cover construction costs of the concert hall.
The county also throws $700,000 at Washington Adventist Hospital, which will spend it on a 52,000 square-foot medical office on Flower Avenue in Long Branch. The $700,000 is the first installment of a three-year, $2.1 million subsidy to the hospital.
For $400,000, Metro riders get to walk through the south entrance of the Silver Spring Metro station. The entrance, adjacent to offices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is currently blocked by a gate and concrete curb.
Oh yeah, and there are no new taxes.
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I’m sorry, but what does it mean to be able to walk through the south entrance of the Metro Station?
Thanks,
Refael Hileman
If you exit from the Metro train on the eastern escalator (the one closest to downtown DC, you normally exit to the right, which is the northern exit. However, if you look to your left you will see a fence, which when it is transformed into the southern exit, will allow you to walk to NOAA and Giant without having to exit then walk under the bridge at Colesville Rd.
[...] new entrance comes courtesy of Montgomery County, which tossed $400,000 at the [...]
Okay, I’m really trying not to be *too* curmudgeonly here. But if the county put $400k into this, we can assume that Metro put some bucks into it also. And for what? Just to create a new path about 15 yards away from the existing path on Colesville Road? What a ridiculous waste!
I say, let’s take the 400k and give it to the panhandler in the wheelchair who sits at that entrance. I bet he could use it more.
(Strangely enough, the Metro announcement indicates the purpose is “improved customer access southwest of the station.” A little frightening to know that my daily commute is managed by people who can’t tell east from west.)
Note: This comment was edited for hyperlink coding.
[...] have to question whether a company of your size and deep pockets needs $4 million in public [county] money,” board member Fran Rothstein said during the board’s meeting in Long [...]