The County Council will hear from WMATA officials on safety issues related to January’s deadly Metro tunnel incident in D.C. and consider recommended delays to a series of bicycle lane projects.
Tuesday at 2 p.m., the Council’s Transportation Committee is set to get a briefing from Kevin Gaddis, deputy chief of Metro Transit Police, about the Jan. 12 incident near the L’Enfant Plaza station in which a woman died as a result of smoke from an arcing insulator.
It will be a follow-up to the committee’s discussion in January with MCFRS Acting Chief Scott Goldstein, who tried to assure Council members that a similar incident is unlikely to happen in Montgomery County by outlining how emergency services operate in Metro tunnels and stations.
Also on Tuesday, the full Council will hear a resolution from Councilmember Roger Berliner on the proposed merger between Pepco and Exelon.
If passed, the resolution would provide the Council’s opinion on a recent settlement between Montgomery County and Exelon. Berliner said last week the settlement doesn’t do enough to ensure the Chicago-based company won’t favor its nuclear power plants “at the expense of renewable and distributed energy resources.”
The resolution has four co-sponsors.
Also before the full Council will be worksessions on off-year changes to the county’s six-year capital budget. The full capital budget is approved every two years and the FY 15-20 capital budget was approved last year.
Tuesday’s review will go through some of County Executive Isiah Leggett’s proposed changes, which include cutting funding of the county’s Bicycle-Pedestrian Area Improvements and delaying the second phase of new shared use paths for bicyclists using MacArthur Boulevard.
The Transportation Committee recommended keeping the funding and schedules for both projects.
On Thursday, the Council’s Health and Public Safety Committees will hold a worksession on a bill to curb prostitution in so-called “bodyworks establishments” and spas.
On Friday, the Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Liquor Control will hold another meeting to discuss follow-up items and hear from public health and public safety officials about if the county’s unique control alcohol model is working as intended.
