An interview with a candidate for chief of Montgomery County’s Behavioral Health and Crisis Services is among the items on the County Council’s agenda this week.
The council will meet at 1 p.m. Tuesday in the Stella Werner Council Office Building in Rockville for its regular weekly business meeting. Here’s what to expect:
Behavioral Health and Crisis Services
The council will interview Mónica Martín, County Executive Marc Elrich’s nominee for chief of Behavioral Health and Crisis Services in the county’s Department of Health and Human Services.
This position, with an annual salary of $208,000, oversees the county’s mental health services. The county is facing a shortage of mental health workers at its facilities, particularly for mobile crisis response units. According to officials, the Montgomery County Crisis Center in Rockville has received more crisis calls, especially for children and adolescents, since the pandemic began in 2020.
Martín serves as senior administrator for child/adolescent school and community-based services for the county’s Department of Health & Human Services, according to her resume. She is a licensed clinical social worker.
Juul settlement money
As part of the consent agenda, the council will vote on a resolution to transmit $2 million in Juul settlement money to Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) to purchase vape detection devices.
The funding comes from a state grant created after the Juul vape company was ordered to pay $7.5 million to the state for marketing its products to minors. According to MCPS officials, the school system plans to use the funds to install vape detectors in high school bathrooms.
A public hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Oct. 8.
Potential 2,000-unit Silver Spring apartment complex
The council will hear oral arguments and potentially vote on whether to allow a new development, the Americana Glenmont Apartments, to be built at the intersection of Randolph Road and Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring. The proposed complex would redevelop an existing property as a mixed-use residential development and would contain up to 2,275 residential dwelling units and up to 5,000 square feet for commercial use.
If the council approves the application, it will also be approving the creation of a “through street” at Erskine Avenue. Officials have raised concerns about stormwater management and accessibility to the Metro system.
