A little more than $7 million in the bank could give the Town of Chevy Chase room to continue its lobbying fight against the Purple Line and some flexibility when it comes to the future of a public parking lot on the Town’s border.
The Town will hold its annual meeting on May 5, which could provide an answer to whether it will pay for another year of lobbying against the 16-mile light rail.
The Town expects to spend $350,000 in FY 2015 for its contract with the K Street firm of Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney, which as part of the deal has hired a subcontractor to lobby against the Purple Line on the state level in Annapolis.
Some on the Town Council questioned the need to continue the lobbying effort in February. Despite their concerns, the Council voted to continue the $29,000-a-month contract until at least the end of June in what Vice Mayor Pat Burda called “a critical time” for the project’s future.
Gov. Larry Hogan, who has expressed reluctance to go forward with major transit projects, will decide whether to proceed with the estimated $2.45 billion light rail in mid-May.
The Town is officially opposed to the Purple Line, which would run behind some homes in the Town along the Georgetown Branch extension of the Capital Crescent Trail.
The $350,000 lobbying contract was one of the half-square mile town’s biggest expenditures in FY 2015.
The Town of Chevy Chase, like all incorporated towns and municipalities, draws revenues from income taxes and reimbursements from the state and county. The Town has no property tax and no property tax is proposed for next fiscal year.
The $7.2 million expected in the Town’s general fund for FY 2016 could also come into play for Lots 10 and 24, a pair of public parking lots that sit on the Town’s edge.
Fearing private development, the Town hired a planner and land use lawyer to make its case that the county-owned parking lots should be converted to parks.
The Town put out renderings and cost estimates for a “Bethesda Commons Park” on the lots that residents will be able to comment on at the May 5 meeting.
While county officials have said they’re reluctant to give up the parking spots unless the spots are replaced, the Town’s report brings up the possibility of the Town spending some of its money to make the project happen. The Town also has the ability to issue its own bonds.
The concept and implementation plan estimates the park would cost $3.6 million to construct and roughly $35,000 a year to operate, depending on how much programming goes into the site.
It also provides an initial appraisal of the land at $13.7 million, though it recognizes the value of the two lots will likely go up if approved for more density in the Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan.
Rendering via Town of Chevy Chase
