Regarding the November 4th letter: MCPS based a conclusion on one letter taken from a stream of communications between citizens and government officials. However, both the recipients and the author of the letter acknowledge that the letter was followed by other communications, that substantive issues still exist and are pending, and that the author of the letter committed to responding to the substantive issues. The core issue is that parks developed with LWCF and/or POS funds are protected by strict conversion restrictions, and arbitrary limits on enforcement of these restrictions have no basis in law.

Rock Creek Hills Park is much smaller than the old KJH site: After the former Kensington Junior HIgh was razed, our county decided to devote the former school site to co-location of an elder housing facility with a small (two-field) soccer & neighborhood park. So, about one-third of the land was deeded to the Housing Opportunities Council, who financed with tax-exempt bonds the construction of 200 units of elder housing on much of the footprint of the old school. This took from the remainder of the site – today's Rock Creek Hills Park – much of the buildable land, road access to the North, and a through North-South roadway. Indeed, Rock Creek Hills Park fails to meet the overwhelming majority of the official middle school site selection criteria.

Regarding the age of the trees, the fact is that specimen trees in Rock Creek Hills Park include sawtooth oaks that are among the first planted in the State of Maryland, shortly after the Civil War.

Frank-The tree issue involves compliance with the law, as Park and Planning said the other night.  Also, when they divided the site, two Council Resolutions and an Executive Order were issued setting out specific land use concerns, including restricting building on the slopes; limiting traffic; and satisfying compatible uses.  None of those concerns are being addressed in these discussions, even though they are specifically referenced in the transfer agreement that MCPS points to for the reclaim right.

Had the school official not ended discussion at the meeting the other night (after two comments), he would have learned that he had only one letter in a stream of communication; no documentation of funding sources has been provided after five months and multiple inquiries; in other situations, where the funding source is unclear, there is deference to the federal funding source; in cases of state funding, a limitation on conversion is contrary to the express terms of the statute; and the citizen and government recipients of the letter still are waiting for the DNR Secretary's response.

I don't see how we can heal the strained trust between the MCPS and the community if all sides are not open to accepting facts.-Tom

Yes, we are fortunate to have a Parks and Planning Commission that is a good steward of parkland.

The Sawtooth Oaks of Rock Creek Hills Park were among the first planted in the State of Maryland, after the introduction of the tree into this country in the late nineteenth century.

Ed-There are provisions for tree replacement, but these issue are somewhat compounding.  You add the fact that the site size was reduced by > 1/3; the loss of a separate access road; the county Planning memos describing the limited opportunity for building and the inadequate infrastructure; and the concerns for site use in 2 Council Resolutions and an Executive Order, and you come to the conclusion that the site is unworkable. 

As for the soccer fields, they were developed with specific federal and/or state funds (DNR, after over 5 months, can't or refuses to document the actual funding source), which carry legal restrictions on converting the land from park use (to its detriment, MCPS appears to be choosing to ignore these restrictions at this time).  If the county and state didn't want these restrictions to attach to the land, they shouldn't have used these specific federal and/or state funds to develop the park.-Tom

The value of 'Education' is not questioned. I would hope county residents value 'Parks' as places that everyone uses- those with older kids, those with no kids - throughout life. School organizations tend to assume 'it's for our children' is an argument that trumps all others. I resent that line of thinking when it replaces real long-term planning, fiscal responsibility and respect for all county residents. The more I've looked at the sites under consideration, the more it seems like the old Lynnbrook elementary school building makes sense. MCPS would be using its own resources, and parks could provide the playing field next to it. That kind of inter-agency cooperation would should be respected by everyone- those with and without kids. We all count. And we're all funding these important decisions.