May 24, 2012

On Record Before Today’s Final Vote

On Tuesday, members of the Coalition delivered copies of the Small Business Pledge to Montgomery County Councilmembers in advance of today’s final vote on the FY13 Capital Improvements Program Budget for the Wheaton redevelopment project.

Council members have unanimously voted in support of investing $66 million of public taxpayer money to jump start Phase 1 of the Wheaton redevelopment project. Coalition small business leaders, including Filippo Leo, Raymond Rose, Luis Bonilla, and Kofi Sillah, met with District representative Councilmember Nancy Navarro on Tuesday to thank the Council for its support as well as indicate the Coalition’s continued commitment to the fair redevelopment of the area. The Coalition also presented more than 100 petition signatures in support of the Small Business Pledge from Sunday’s Taste of Wheaton festival.

Kofi Sillah, owner of Wheaton small business Global Cafe African Grill, shared his enthusiasm for the Coalition’s work to activate new voices in the Wheaton community to become more involved in the significant decisions that affect his community. He reinforced his hope that the redevelopment project slated to begin in 2014 will ultimately benefit the existing community, including small businesses.

“I want to be able to say that I was there when all of this began,” Sillah said.

Councilmember Navarro stressed to members the importance of a holistic approach to revitalizing Wheaton, citing the downtown redevelopment project in addition to scheduled renovations to the Wheaton library and the modernization of the Wheaton/Edison high schools.

In response to members’ priorities including an adequate transition plan for parking and financial support during construction, Navarro mentioned the importance of funding the new Small Business Assistance Program and getting community feedback regarding how to help Wheaton shoppers, including those with disabilities, more easily access small businesses. The Coalition has requested timely, written responses to the Small Business Pledge from all nine Council members.

The Coalition will continue to work with stakeholders in the Wheaton community to ensure the redevelopment process is both transparent and accountable moving forward.

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May 18, 2012

Support the Small Business Pledge on Sunday at the Taste of Wheaton Festival!

“I think we can get to a place where the County is able to offer assurances in writing – which is what the community and the Coalition for the Fair Redevelopment [of Wheaton] is asking for – are written assurances that we will really work hand in hand … with affected businesses in order to make sure that the diversity we say we value actually still exists at the end of the process and that all boats rise together. If increased jobs and investment are coming into a community, the people who live in that community should benefit from that. And I’m optimistic that they can … I’m optimistic that we can really issue a written pledge to these various redevelopment communities about the kind of assistance that we can offer.”

– Montgomery County Councilmember George Leventhal
January 30, 2012
Joint Government Operations/Planning Housing and Economic Development Committee Meeting

Councilmember Leventhal, during a discussion exploring small businesses and redevelopment, couldn’t have been more spot on.

Next Thursday, May 24th, the Montgomery County Council will take a final vote on committing millions of dollars of public taxpayer money to jump start the redevelopment of Wheaton.

More than a month ago, the Council took important steps to ensure the fair redevelopment of Wheaton. The Council called for critical planning studies to prepare for redevelopment, including a comprehensive parking study to understand how to mitigate the impact of parking loss during construction on small businesses as well as studies on the best way to create local jobs through the project. In addition, the Council insisted that the County Executive brief the Council on the results of the studies and any planning or negotiations regarding job opportunities and training and small business protections before Montgomery County can finalize a General Development Agreement with a third party. The Coalition salutes the Council for these important steps forward.

Yet as the final vote nears, there are a number of critically important issues that remain pending and questions that remain unanswered.

Reflecting the spirit of Councilmember Leventhal’s sentiment, the small business membership of the Coalition has crafted a “Small Business Pledge” document that outlines a collection of outstanding issues that have yet to be addressed in writing and highlights opportunities for future participation that are especially important to members of the small business community in Wheaton.

Do you want small businesses to survive construction and be a part of Wheaton’s future? Join us this Sunday from 11-5 pm at the Taste of Wheaton festival and sign in support of the Small Business Pledge! Look for our booth on Grandview Avenue.

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April 4, 2012

Our Response to the Updated Draft Council Staff Plan

Last night, members of the Coalition for the Fair Redevelopment of Wheaton met with community groups and citizens of Wheaton to share our collective feedback to the latest draft Council Staff Plan for the Wheaton redevelopment project.

Since March 12th, the Wheaton community has scrambled to respond to significant proposed changes to the project. The Coalition has participated in two meetings of concerned community groups and citizens, and while there is still much work to be done, the experience has galvanized members of the Wheaton community to work together to make sure that our public officials and elected representatives understand and are responsive to the feedback of the Wheaton community.

The updated draft Council staff plan, which has the support of Councilmember Nancy Navarro, recommends the appropriation of $58 million in public taxpayer money to support construction on Parking Lot 13 and feasibility studies on the Bus Bays platform redevelopment. Read below the Coalition’s response to this plan.
Continue reading →

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March 1, 2012

Another Great Night in Rockville

 

Here’s a picture of Coalition small business members and supporters who attended and testified on Tuesday in front of the Montgomery County Council in support of Bill 6-12.  The legislation, introduced by Councilmember Nancy Navarro and co-sponsored by Councilmembers Ervin, Floreen, Leventhal, Riemer, and Council President Berliner, would create a new Small Business Assistance Program to help small businesses adversely impacted by County redevelopment projects. The Coalition said the bill should be one piece of a comprehensive approach to help small businesses benefit from the Wheaton redevelopment project.

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February 28, 2012

A Critical Step in the Right Direction

In Rockville tonight, the Coalition for the Fair Redevelopment of Wheaton will testify in support of Bill 6-12. The legislation – introduced by Councilmember Nancy  Navarro and co-sponsored by Council members Ervin, Floreen, Leventhal, and Council President Berliner – would create a new Small Business Assistance Program to support financially healthy small businesses in Montgomery County with the financial resources and technical assistance they need to help weather the challenging transition period of County redevelopment projects.

For more than three decades, Bob Schilke, owner of Wheaton’s beloved The Little Bitts Shop, has taught people how to make and decorate cakes and different types of candy using basic and advanced techniques. Tonight, Bob has to do what he knows best – teaching another class – but here’s a preview of his testimony in support of Bill 6-12.

Good Evening. My name is Robert Schilke and my wife and I own the Little Bitts Shop on Triangle Lane in Wheaton. I am here tonight as a member of the Coalition for the Fair Redevelopment of Wheaton to express my support for Bill 6-12 as an encouraging step to help small businesses benefit from the proposed redevelopment of Wheaton.

Our shop sells cake decorating and candy making supplies. We have been in business at this location since 1976 – 36 years. We are the only business like this in Montgomery County. Many people consider us a destination business for Wheaton, and we are very proud of this since the small business community is such an important part of what Wheaton is all about.

I have talked to many of the small business owners in the Wheaton Triangle Area. Our greatest concern is the construction proposed for Parking Lot 13 and the partial loss of parking that will take place during the construction of the bus bays area. There are approximately 55 small businesses in this area that will be adversely affected by these phases of the redevelopment, and our livelihoods are at stake. All we want to do is to continue to operate our businesses as we have been doing for many years and be part of a revitalized Wheaton.

Given these concerns, I am encouraged by the introduction of Bill 6-12 that creates a new Small Business Assistance Program. We know how many small businesses struggled and went out of business in Silver Spring, and we know the County Executive has said that adequate resources were not invested to help small businesses survive redevelopment. If adequately funded and accessible, this new program could play an important role in helping small business owners tackle the challenging transition of redevelopment. We want to thank Council Vice President Nancy Navarro for introducing this bill and Council members Ervin, Floreen, Leventhal, Reimer, and Council President Berliner for co-sponsoring this bill. We applaud you.

I would like to invite you to come to Wheaton to see what this small business community means to Montgomery County. The residential and business communities are important and essential to the make-up of the County, and we hope to continue working with this Council to make sure small businesses have adequate protections during the proposed redevelopment of Wheaton.

Thank you.

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February 17, 2012

Seizing Wheaton’s Moment

There’s been a lot of discussion over the last few days about the prospects for Wheaton’s redevelopment given competing projects under consideration for funding in Montgomery County.

This is a key piece of our Coalition’s testimony to the Montgomery County Council from February 7th that indicates our strong support for shared prosperity and redevelopment in Wheaton.

We all need to work together – now, more than ever.  It’s time to stand up for Wheaton.

“We believe there is more to gain by moving forward together than taking a step back and watching Wheaton’s moment fade into thin air. When a large number of community members said they wanted to see Wheaton keep its distinct character, they didn’t envision accomplishing this by in the end seeing this project fall apart. They wanted a different approach to redevelopment, and they indicated their belief that shared prosperity and redevelopment do not have to be mutually exclusive. We believe the Montgomery County Council has the ability to bridge a vision for Wheaton’s future with its present-day strengths. Recognizing the value of the public subsidy to our interests and the County’s goals, we implore the Council to stand up for Wheaton and use this opportunity to leverage and reward the significant public enthusiasm and participation among Wheaton’s diverse constituencies that serves Wheaton well – now, and into the future.”

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February 8, 2012

Standing Up For Wheaton

Coalition members celebrate their testimonies and participation at the Montgomery County Council public hearing.

Last night, the Coalition for the Fair Redevelopment of Wheaton presented testimony at the Montgomery County Council’s first public hearing on County Executive Ike Leggett’s proposed FY13-18 Capital Improvements Program Budget, which includes a $40 million public subsidy to support the Wheaton redevelopment project and BF Saul. There was a strong turnout and members presenting testimony included small business owner Luis Bonilla, co-owner of Choice Electronics; Filippo Leo, owner of Marchone’s Italian Deli; Ash Kosiewicz, lead organizer; and Zorayda Moreira, staff attorney at CASA de Maryland.

Below, read the Coalition’s official testimony.

Good evening.

My name is Ash Kosiewicz, lead organizer of the Coalition for the Fair Redevelopment of Wheaton. The Coalition is made up of County residents, Wheaton small businesses, and nonprofits that want the existing community to benefit from the Wheaton redevelopment project. We strongly urge the Council to pass the County Executive’s proposed public subsidy for the project with strings attached so we can move forward together and make Wheaton redevelopment a reality.

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