After Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced a new measure empowering local health departments to take action against construction crews not following social distancing guidance, Montgomery County officials say they are developing a plan to vet potential complaints.
Montgomery County Health Officer Dr. Travis Gayles said the county’s health department “will take appropriate actions” if workers on any site are found to be violating orders that prohibit gatherings of people.
Hogan’s executive order, issued Tuesday, allows local health departments to act if construction sites and work by other “essential businesses” are not following social distancing guidelines and anti-crowding prohibitions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Local health departments can force any business “unable or unwilling to comply” to modify what it is doing or limit access to or from the facility, or they can take a more drastic step of closing down an operation, Hogan said.
Montgomery County officials this week said they haven’t been notified of problems in the county, but are developing a plan to vet potential complaints.
“We mean business when we talk about the policies we’ve put into place to enact change and alleviate the curve or flatten it,” Gayles said during a virtual media briefing on Wednesday afternoon. “We don’t want to have to halt work that has been deemed essential, but we have to be mindful … and will take necessary actions to make sure everyone adheres to the governor’s orders.”
Gayles said Montgomery County police were instructed on Wednesday to forward any complaints they receive about construction sites to the health department, where a staff member will be dedicated to vetting claims of non-compliance.
Montgomery County Council Member Andrew Friedson, who represents the Bethesda area, said his office has received many calls from residents questioning why construction sites are considered operations of an essential business. All concerns have been forwarded to local or state agencies to follow up, he said.
Bethesda journalist Marc Gunther wrote about seeing evidence of overcrowding on a commercial job site in downtown Bethesda. In a column he wrote for Medium, Gunther posted photos showing workers clustered at the Marriott International headquarters construction site, as recently as March 31.
“The image above — taken with a iPhone from my apartment across the street — is all the evidence you need in order to know that the industry is failing to protect its workers,” he wrote.
Work was suspended at the Marriott headquarters site more than a week ago after two employees of a subcontractor tested positive for the coronavirus. Construction was halted so the site could be deep cleaned. The site is expected to reopen on Tuesday.
Kris Warner of Maier & Warner, speaking on behalf of Marriott and contractor Hensel Phelps, said Gunther’s photos were before a state order recommending workers wear face masks was issued, and that everyone in the photos wore protective equipment required at the time.
When work continues, construction workers will be advised to wear cloth face masks and comply with social distancing guidelines, Warner wrote. There is no state order requiring masks be worn.
Additionally, nine plumbed sinks have been installed on site to promote more frequent hand washing and a specialized health care team will be on site to screen all workers’ temperatures and check for potential COVID-19 symptoms before entering the site.
The team will monitor and ensure crews are “distancing as much as possible,” Warner wrote in an email.
Approximately 300 people work on the 2-acre site each day, Warner wrote. She emphasized that workers are spread out because the building has seven levels above ground and five levels below ground.
Marriott is scheduled to move its headquarters in 2022 from Fernwood Road in Bethesda to the new downtown site between Wisconsin and Woodmont Avenues. Marriott will manage the 244-room hotel being constructed adjacent to the headquarters.
County Executive Marc Elrich on Wednesday said he has on multiple occasions seen Purple Line construction workers standing shoulder to shoulder, talking while not engaged in work.
He said he understands that there are times during construction that “proximity is necessary,” but workers are congregating unnecessarily.
A spokesperson for the Purple Line project could not be reached for comment this week.
Elrich said he believes everyone, including construction workers, should wear face masks while in public where they could be near other people.
“If anybody ought to be wearing masks, these people ought to be near the top of the list,” Elrich said. “… I support folks taking down these complaints and enforcing the rules.”
A spokeswoman for Carr Properties, developer of The Wilson and The Elm at 7272 Wisconsin Ave. in Bethesda, declined to comment on measures the company is taking to follow the law and protect construction workers.
Spokespeople for JBG Smith did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday. JBG is the developer of a 17-story mixed-use building at 7900 Wisconsin Ave. in Bethesda.
On March 30, Hogan issued a statewide stay-at-home order, shuttering all businesses deemed “non-essential.” An “interpretive guidance” document issued by the state’s legal counsel says residential and commercial development were allowed to continue.
On Tuesday, Hogan said there have been reports that “a few businesses” allowed to remain open have been “failing to comply” with social distancing guidelines that outlaw groups of people to congregate.
The executive order he issued Tuesday says any local health departments that find any business or construction site in violation may “severely limit the movement to and from the facility” or “shut them down altogether,” Hogan said. Failure to comply carries a maximum sentence of up to one year in jail and a $5,000 fine.
During a press conference on Wednesday, a Bethesda Beat reporter asked Gayles and Elrich why construction is considered an essential business and whether county officials are rethinking its merit. Each responded to the question, but neither addressed those points.
Asked for an explanation via email this week about construction as essential, Mike Ricci, a spokesman for the governor, did not respond.
Federal guidance says residential construction is necessary to meet continuing housing demand. A rationale for commercial construction does not appear to be mentioned in the guidelines.
Some cities and states across the country have halted construction work during the pandemic.
Boston, for example, shut down most construction projects, only allowing emergency repairs and small residential projects, such as bathroom remodeling, to continue.
New York state initially considered construction to be an essential business, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo in late March ordered all non-essential construction to stop. Emergency repairs and work on roads, bridges and health care facilities can continue.
Caitlynn Peetz can be reached at caitlynn.peetz@moco360.media
