MoCo Council to be briefed on Purple Line by state and PLTP officials on September 28

From the Montgomery County Council:

Montgomery Council Committee 
to Receive Update from 
Purple Line Transit Partners 
and Maryland Transit Administration
Also on Sept. 28: Domestic partner survivor benefits, 
CIP spending affordability guidelines, and
Audit Committee updates

ROCKVILLE, Md., September 27, 2017—The Montgomery County Council’s Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment (T&E) Committee will meet at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, September 28 to receive an update from Purple Line Transit Partners (PLTP) and the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA). PLTP and MTA will answer questions gathered by Council staff from civic groups and residents who live along the Purple Line right-of-way.

The T&E Committee, which is chaired by Council President Berliner and includes Councilmembers Floreen and Hucker, will meet in the Third Floor Council Hearing Room.

The main purpose of the meeting is to enable MTA and PLTP, the consortium responsible for designing, building, operating and maintaining the Purple Line, to respond to the many questions raised by community organizations, the Planning Board, and Council staff, as well as any brought up by Councilmembers.

Council President Berliner, who also chairs the T&E Committee, asked the MTA and PLTP to introduce the key individuals who will direct the implementation of the Purple Line and related projects including the Capital Crescent Trail, the Silver Spring Green Trail, and the Bethesda Metro Station Southern Entrance. The T&E Committee also invited individuals with whom the public can be in direct communication during the construction period.

The Purple Line is a 16-mile light rail line that will extend from Bethesda to New Carrollton. It will provide a direct connection to the Metrorail Red, Green and Orange Lines at Bethesda, Silver Spring, College Park and New Carrollton. Twenty-one Purple Line stations are planned. The Purple Line will also connect to MARC, Amtrak and local bus services.

The staff report can be viewed at:
http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=169&event_id=7419&meta_id=143545

The Audit Committee will meet at 2 p.m. in the Seventh Floor Council Hearing Room to receive a status update on the FY 16 Montgomery County Union Employee Deferred Compensation Plan Audit and briefings from the Office of the Inspector General and the Office of Internal Audit about their ongoing activities and reports. The Audit Committee includes the Government Operations (GO) Committee, which is chaired by Councilmember Navarro and includes Councilmember Katz and Council Vice President Riemer. The Council President and Vice President are ex-officio voting members of the Committee.

The staff report can be viewed at:
http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=169&event_id=7420&meta_id=143537

The GO Committee will meet at 2:30 p.m. in the Seventh Floor Council Hearing Room to review Expedited Bill 29-17, Domestic Partner Survivor Benefits – LOSAP – Employees’ Retirement System – Eligibility would, among other things, clarify the definition of a domestic partner for receiving County survivor benefits.

The staff report can be viewed at:
http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=169&event_id=7420&meta_id=143543

The GO Committee also will review spending affordability guidelines for the fiscal year (FY) 2019 Capital Budget and FY19-24 Capital Improvements Program. The Committee will discuss the General Obligation bond debt of the County and how best to set new guidelines.

The staff report can be viewed at:
http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=169&event_id=7420&meta_id=143549

The Committee meetings will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM). The channel can be viewed on Cable Channels 996 (high definition) and 6 (standard definition) on Comcast; Channels 1056 (HD) and 6 (SD) on RCN; and Channel 30 on Verizon. The meetings also will be available live via streaming through the Council website at http://tinyurl.com/z9982v8 .

• montgomeryCommitteeAdvisoryfor+9-28-17.doc