"Pro business" Governor Hogan is purposely KILLING $$$$BILLIONs$$$$ in economic development in MARYLAND!!! (Baltimore: 2015, attorney)

[BBC99]

https://watkinsmillinterchange.wordp...l-interchange/

[BBC99]

"As of late 2015, the project had completed design and was out for bid. However, in November the bid was cancelled without consultation with or notification to local partners such as the City of Gaithersburg, Montgomery County and local development and business partners.

Further inquiries revealed that the interchange project had come under review and changes were proposed to reduce the overall cost of the project.

Unfortunately, these changes threaten to eliminate key elements of the project, such as on-ramps onto I-270, reduce the width of the bridge by eliminating sidewalks, median and two lanes of traffic. These changes raise significant safety concerns for nearby residential communities, as well as threatens the economic viability of the commercial and business development planned for the area.

This page will help keep the community informed of the efforts to advocate for an important part of Montgomery County’s transportation infrastructure. This interchange has been carefully planned over the past 15 years to not only address congestion, but also serve as an economic development engine along 355/Watkins Mill Road area, directly affecting parcels of land valued at $840 million and 4.6 million square feet of office space."

[BBC99]

Gaithersburg mayor warns delay on interchange could cost hundreds of jobs

The State Highway Administration is threatening economic development, including 200 jobs at a new FedEx facility, by postponing the Watkins Mill Road interchange, Mayor Jud Ashman said in a Feb. 19 statement.

"There are several other projects in the pipeline that were predicated on a full interchange. These include a FedEx distribution center on the former IBM campus," Ashman said.

Ashman also said the distribution center could possibly bring 200 new jobs to Gaithersburg.

According to Gaithersburg Planning Commission member Kirk Eby, FedEx submitted a concept plan for the distribution center that was approved by the planning commission in September.

FedEx is looking at taking over the former IBM site at North Frederick Avenue.

The property owners for the proposed facility hope the Watkins Mill interchange will help with related traffic.

“The current proposal is just kind of a reminder of that. (In) the last meeting the commission had some concerns about the design of the proposal, so the commission decided to continue the meeting,” Eby said.

Eby said some of the concerns from the commission included the design of the site. He said nearby property owners were concerned about the “appearance of the building,” how close the building would be to their property and the parking of the trucks.

Eby also said FedEx is currently working to redesign the site plan. He also said the proposal was for another FedEx ground facility, which would focus on local deliveries.

“They’ll be doing the local deliveries with the smaller vans, and then there will be a few larger trucks that come in that make the deliveries of the bulk of the packages,” Eby said.

Eby said the commission decided on March 2 for the next meeting. However, because of recent uncertainty regarding the completion of the redesigning, the commission will likely postpone the date.

FedEx’s attorney, Erica Leatham, said although FedEx’s property owner would like to see the interchange, the project does not completely rely on whether or not the interchange is built.

According to Leatham, statements about how FedEx plans to navigate traffic with or without the interchange have already been submitted to the city of Gaithersburg.

“The planning commission encouraged everyone with business in Gaithersburg to talk to the governor about funding the interchange, but the project is not dependent on the interchange,” Leatham said.

Marilyn Balcombe, president of the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce, said the interchange is vital for several reasons other than helping with the truck traffic that could result from the new distribution center.

“There’s a lot of things about the project that are critical. It connects the east and west. There’s a lot of development on both sides of I-270 right at that interchange. There’s a lot of commercial development there. There’s a lot of residential development there, retail, restaurants, et cetera,” said Balcombe.

According to Balcombe, the project was fully planned and funded for several years and the sudden postponement could hurt the economic development of the area.

Balcombe also said Gov. Larry Hogan has not responded to inquiries into the postponement.

“I haven’t received any response directly from the secretary or the governor, so I’m just going on hearsay. My feeling is that they’ve studied this project enough, so I don’t know why they’re doing this,” Balcombe said.

Hogan did not respond to an interview request before the deadline of this edition.

[seanlax]

You have been hammering this sub-forum with a barrage of annoying sound bites, click-bait articles, and, frankly, borderline propaganda-style rhetoric. It's easy to ignore, yes, but still irritating.

I don't like most things Hogan has done (or, more accurately, HASN'T done), but seriously, you have to be more annoying than any other user in the Maryland forum group at the moment.

Chill out with the rhetoric, and people will join the conversation.

[BBC99]

Originally Posted by seanlax

You have been hammering this sub-forum with a barrage of annoying sound bites, click-bait articles, and, frankly, borderline propaganda-style rhetoric. It's easy to ignore, yes, but still irritating.

I don't like most things Hogan has done (or, more accurately, HASN'T done), but seriously, you have to be more annoying than any other user in the Maryland forum group at the moment.

Chill out with the rhetoric, and people will join the conversation.

Why so angry???

[North Beach Person]

Governor visiting local winery, announcing funding for sustainable agriculture and alternative crops:



Governor announcing major infusion of funding for education, law enforcement and substance abuse:

Governor announcing small business initiative grants:

Governor announcing major upgrade for MD RTE 5 in both St. Mary's and Charles Counties:

Governor announcing major upgrades for MD RTE 4 in Prince Frederick:



The above is a sampling from this past weekend.

[jchughes05]

And he came to two fallen Harford County Deputies' funerals, and spoke.

[Infinite_heights77]

So, you fascists have deleted my comments??!!

[BBC99]

He's abandon his Republicans in Montgomery County, THE ECONOMIC CENTER OF THE STATE OF MARYLAND.

HE KILLED THE WATKINS MILL TOWNCENTER.
Watkins Mill Town Center

The project was shovel ready! He killed it and potentially billions in economic development. (Jobs, tax revenue, etc)

For what? To build roads in Prince Frederick???

Have fun in 2019! I ain't voting for you again!!!

[MidValleyDad]

Originally Posted by BBC99

He's abandon his Republicans in Montgomery County, THE ECONOMIC CENTER OF THE STATE OF MARYLAND.

There are Republicans in MoCo??

Maybe he did it to counter balance what he took from the Democrats in Baltimore (The Red Line) At least you got the purple Line