Contributor Opinion From Christ Episcopal Church: Library Site For The New Court House Is Unfair

>The following contributor opinion about the new District Court House is by Bob McCartin, speaking on behalf of Christ Church of Rockville as its Senior Warden:

As many citizens are aware, the State of Maryland has been considering building a new District Courthouse on the property that the old Rockville library currently occupies. The construction funds are in the recently proposed State budget and many assume that it is a done deal. But as with so many things in politics, it is not over until it is over. If enough citizens speak up, our elected officials will find another location.

The old Rockville library location is less than 100 feet from our church and school. If this project proceeds, it will impact our church and school adversely. We have huge concerns about traffic, parking, and safety.

1. Traffic along narrow South Washington Street, right in front of our church and school, will increase significantly. Not to mention traffic throughout the neighborhood.
2. Courthouse users will be trying to use our parking lot and will be hurrying in and out of our 3 entrances/exits. Our students need to cross these driveways frequently throughout the school day to get from class to class. To protect our 250 students and our property, we will need to fence in our property, establish a control system for using the parking lot, and add a security guard for school hours. Just the capital costs for this work are roughly $400,000.

It is our position that the State of Maryland should find another location.

• It is unfair for the State to compromise the mission and work of our church and school by putting the new courthouse in this location.
• It is unfair for the State to put us in a position where we must spend $400,000 and introduce a full time security guard into our staffing just to continue running our church and school with the same level of safety and security as we have for years.

We encourage all of those who care about Christ Church and Christ Episcopal School, as well as those who care about the character of the West End of Rockville, to let your elected officials, from the governor on down, know that they must find another location for the new courthouse.

Sincerely,

The Rev. John McDuffie, Rector, Christ Church
Bob McCartin, Senior Warden, Christ Church
Jane Pontius, Headmistress, Christ Episcopal School
Bill Goetzenberger, Chair, Board of Governors, Christ Episcopal School

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