Mayor and Council Seeks to Fill BOS Position
The Mayor and City Council is seeking to fill one vacancy on the Board of Supervisors of Elections for one full member position. The Board oversees the registration of voters and petitions for elected office and officiates over all city elections, regular or special.
Eligible candidates must reside within the city limits of Gaithersburg and be qualified voters. The position will be open until filled. Email questions or a resume to cityhall@gaithersburgmd.gov.
For additional questions, contact Lynn Board at 301.258.06310.
Maryland State Champion Tree in Bohrer Park
Gaithersburg’s Bohrer Park at Summit Hall Farm is home to a large Royal Paulownia tree that has been named the largest tree of its species in the state of Maryland. The last measurement for the tree came in with a circumference of 16 feet 3 inches, a height of 62 feet, and an average crown width of 68 feet.
The designation now puts the tree into the Maryland Big Tree Register, which is coordinated by the Maryland Forest Service.
Trees designated as state champions are automatically considered for nomination into the National Register for Big Trees, a program of the American Forests conservation program.
Annexation of Great Indoors Property Continues
Linowes and Blocher, on behalf of Sears and Roebuck Co., have petitioned the city of Gaithersburg to annex approximately 27.89 acres of land from Montgomery County.
The petition has been ongoing for the last few months. On May 21, the City Council recommended that the record be held open for 45 days until 5 p.m. on July 5, with anticipated policy discussion on August 6.
Sears is seeking flexibility as it looks to repurpose the property that has been known as the Great Indoors. As part of the annexation, Sears is requesting that the city agree to rebate municipal taxes payable from the Sears Property for a period of five years. This amounts to approximately $37,500 a year for a total of $187,500.
Diamond Elementary School Receives GREAT Award
The Mayor and Council recognized Diamond Elementary School’s Student Government (SGA) and PTA on May 21 with a GREAT award. The award, which stands for “Gaithersburg Recognizing Educational Achievement Today,” promotes and celebrates higher achievement and successes in Gaithersburg area schools.
The Diamond SGA supports many community service projects with recycling, breast cancer awareness and Trick or Treat for UNICEF being some of the larger recent programs. For the UNICEF effort, the SGA raised $500.
The PTA increased PTA membership by 10 percent and, on the fundraising side, brought in over $7,000, which allowed the school to purchase technology equipment for the classrooms.
Gaithersburg Police Go High Tech to Search for Missing Children
Gaithersburg Police will now work in conjunction with the A Child Is Missing Alert (ACIM) Program using a high tech method to search locally for missing children, missing elderly (often with Alzheimer’s), college students, and missing persons who may be mentally or physically challenged or disabled.
Effective May 24, upon receipt of missing persons calls, the Gaithersburg Police Department will make its first phone call to a toll-free number that rings in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the national headquarters of the ACIM Program. The call, answered 24/7/365 by an information and mapping technician, initiates a rapid process of information gathering and use of sophisticated mapping systems. ACIM then launches potentially thousands of calls within minutes with an alert message detailing the missing person’s description, last known whereabouts, and pertinent information.
This alert message will also include a Gaithersburg Police Department phone number for use by anyone with information relating to the missing person.
This program is a free service to law enforcement. Gaithersburg Police officials will evaluate each potential activation of the ACIM Program to ensure the application is appropriate to the case and to ensure the system is optimally used. Policies, procedures and employee training will also guide the most efficient and effective use.
Phone numbers called by this program include listed numbers and mobile numbers available to ACIM in the selected area. To add your cell phone, unlisted, broadband/voice-over IP or TDD/TTY device number, visit www.achildismissing.org and click on “add your name” to enter your name, number and address. This information will only be used for emergency message alerts.
To date, the efforts of ACIM, a nationwide nonprofit organization, have been credited with more than 920 safe assisted recoveries.