Contributor Opinion by Frank Anastasi: Not Over Yet
Jan 22, 2008 9:29 - 1 Comment
The following contributor opinion is by >Rockville Central team member Frank Anastasi:
That letter from the MC Bar President Mary Ellen Flynn to Mr. Leggett inflamed me so that I wrote to her and copied Mr. Leggett. My letter follows.
This isn’t over yet. The community is rallying — look for “Move the Courthouse” signs coming to lawns near you soon. Also, I hear that the State’s submittal of the current plan to the City in 2005 may not have met the requirement to submit a plan “to the City Planning Commission”. If you wish, register your feelings on the matter with Mr. Leggett or Ms. Flynn. Feel free to use anything in my letter.
January 18, 2008
Mary Ellen Flynn, President
Montgomery County Bar AssociationDear Ms. Flynn:
In response to your recent statements in the paper and your January 17 letter to Mr. Leggett, I wish to point out a few things.
1) You say our opposition to building a courthouse on the former library site is “classic NIMBY”. What an insult to Rockville residents and elected officials alike - this just shows how disconnected you are from the community. But the NIMBY card is always raised when one side can’t be bothered by the basic facts, which in this case are clear. A courthouse, without parking, is a totally inappropriate use of the former library site. Especially when a far superior site exists a couple of blocks away where adequate facilities, and parking, could be built.
2) If it is so impossible to build a courthouse in Rockville unless it is on the old library site, as you say, then why has the Governor bent over backwards to get you to agree to building it at the Giant site? Why does he think the Giant site is a superior site? Why has he said he thinks putting it on the library site would be the worst case of urban design malfeasance ever? Why has he put extra money into the budget to enable redesign of it? Why has he pledged to do whatever it takes if you and the opposition would just agree to work together and build it at the Giant site?
3) Do you just not care that a courthouse at the library site does not meet our city zoning code? Do you not care that the vast majority of people who will have business at the courthouse will have to find a way to get there without any nearby parking, and cross four lanes of very heavy traffic to get to it? Do you really not care that the surrounding residential neighborhood streets will be gridlocked all day long with people driving round and round and round looking for courthouse parking that doesn’t exist? How can you think that these issues are not valid and relevant?
Why do you think a government of the people for the people should be able to just trash a community against its wishes? I thought the court system was supposed to be about justice.
Opposition to building a courthouse at the library site runs very deep, is genuine, and I assure you is not a classic case of NIMBY. Any unbiased person would realize this when acquainted with the facts — if this dispute were to go to an arbitrator, who do you think would win? Your reasons for wanting it there essentially boil down to convenience for lawyers and judges. Should this take precedent over the common good of the community?
Frank S. Anastasi
Rockville
Rockville Central runs occasional, edited opinion pieces by contributors. Their views are not necessarily those of Rockville Central. To submit your opinion for consideration, contact us.
January 24, 2008>
Dear Mr. Anastasi,
I respect that you, your friends and colleagues have a different viewpoint from the one shared by me, the entire Montgomery County Delegation of Legislators, the County Executive, all of the Courthouse Elected officials, and many public officials and County residents on the subject of the location of the new Rockville District Courthouse at the old Library site. We who support the construction at the old Library site remain steadfast in our position, as it is firmly based on facts relating to location, cost, and positive benefits to be gained for the entire County and State.
The old Library site is directly across the street from the current District Courthouse building, so infrastructure already exists for the placement of the Courthouse at that location. The site’s proximity to the Circuit Court, State’s Attorney’s Office, Public Defender’s Office and other County agencies associated with the everyday legal business conducted in our County Seat would facilitate efficiency, not only for lawyers, judges and other public officials, but for the County’s citizens who conduct business in this judicial quadrant on a daily basis. With public parking already located nearby (some even on the same side of the street as the old Library site) and easy access to both Circuit Court and many court-related agencies within a convenient two-block area, efficiency would result. It is anticipated that shorter, less confusing travel among the courthouses and other judicial agencies would occur if the Circuit and District Courts were located within a centralized area rather than being separated and on opposite sides of the expansive Town Center.
As is well-documented, a great deal of taxpayer money has been authorized and already spent on purchasing and designating the old Library site as the location for the new District Courthouse. Additionally, architectural designs specific to that site have been ordered, prepared and paid for. These plans are now only waiting for State funding. At a time when fiscal prudence is on the minds of all County and State taxpayers and no overabundance of funds exists in any of the governmental coffers, the scrapping of completed architectural plans on which significant money has already been spent, the incurring of millions of dollars solely due to construction delays, and the risk of diverting $71 Million of State funding away from this much-needed courthouse are unacceptable to most County residents.
Although it is understood that at the outset any new construction will not be without concerns and opinions on both sides, the concerns and opinions on construction at the old Library site have been voiced and addressed as completely as is practicable. Now, with the positive benefits of the old Library site far outweighing the few negatives, it is time for the new District Courthouse to be built at the old Library site, so that the judicial, commercial and residential sectors of our County Seat can once-again operate as effectively and efficiently as possible and thrive.
Very truly yours,
Mary Ellen Flynn, President,Bar Association of Montgomery County, MD