School board hears outline for new special ed test

History was made in the Frederick area, though many residents may not have appreciated it, when temperatures dipped below previous record lows for two days in a row.

According to the National Weather Service for the Baltimore and Washington region's statistics, temperatures at Dulles International Airport plummeted to 18 degrees late Tuesday, breaking the previous record of 20 degrees set Nov. 18, 1991. Early Wednesday, the temperature dropped even further, down to a low of 13 degrees, which also broke the record for Nov. 19 set at 20 degrees in 1990, meteorologist Kevin Witt said.

“It's going to moderate a little over the next couple of days, the warmest is probably going to be Monday, but tonight, it looks like it won't be as cold,” Witt said Wednesday. "We're forecasting 25 (degrees) for Dulles. So it'll be a gradual warm-up starting late this week, probably Friday.”

John Bateman, a senior meteorologist with WeatherBug, said if residents can hold on through Friday, temperatures may climb back up to normal averages for this time of the year — somewhere in the mid-50s — by Sunday.

"At least (today) we expect it to be a little warmer — highs will possibly reach the 40s, so, hey, that's a heat wave," Bateman said with a laugh. "We probably will not get close to average temperatures until about Sunday, then a pretty decent warm-up. By Monday, could be highs in Frederick around the 60s."

The frigid temperatures Tuesday and Wednesday led to only minor problems in the region, namely two losses of power in the last two days in nearby Washington and Montgomery counties, according to FirstEnergy spokesman Todd Meyers.

About 160 customers in Barnesville briefly lost power Tuesday afternoon, and 219 customers were in the dark for a few hours Wednesday morning in the Big Pool area.

“Typically in the winter, there's more power being used due to heating, and that can cause some overloading on the lines, which was the issue in both of those outages,” Meyers said.

In anticipation of increased winter energy demands, FirstEnergy checked its substations with thermal cameras before the end of the summer to pinpoint lines where overheating may become a problem, he said.

“Unfortunately, outages will happen, but we do take steps to prevent them whenever possible.”

No cold-related injuries were reported overnight into Wednesday at Meritus Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Joelle Butler said. A representative of Frederick Memorial Hospital could not confirm any cold weather-related injuries there.

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County scraps waste-to-energy project

Plans for a regional waste-to-energy incinerator were struck down by the Board of County Commissioners in a 3-2 vote Thursday evening.

Commissioners President Blaine Young and Commissioners Kirby Delauter and David Gray voted to kill the $376 million construction project's contract and permits, while Commissioners Paul Smith and Billy Shreve cast dissenting votes to keep the plan on the table.

“It is absolutely no cost to the county to keep these options open,” Smith said. “To do away with these options is crazy.”

County executive-elect Jan Gardner spoke before the board and about 100 people at the public hearing about her plans to terminate any incinerator plans after taking office Dec. 1.

Commissioners will now discuss which vendor should haul away the county's trash.

— Paige Jones
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Detailed Monrovia Town Center plans pass commission

After another marathon hearing on the Monrovia Town Center, county officials Wednesday signed off on detailed plans for the 1,250-house project.

The controversial project has come before county officials during more than 10 hearings where hundreds of residents have lodged their objections to locating a dense community in an area of open fields and country roads.

County officials in April rezoned the property near Md. 75 and Md. 80 and passed preliminary project plans. Developers returned to the planning commission Wednesday for approval of a proposal detailing how houses would be arranged.

But many of the roughly 50 residents who attended the roughly 10-hour hearing seemed to have little confidence that their testimony would sway public officials.

"We have spent since 9:30 this morning being here. That says something, if you would listen to what we're trying to tell you," said Michelle Monaghan, of Monrovia.

Steve McKay, president of a local citizens group called Residents Against Landsdale Expansion, told planning commissioners that Wednesday's discussion was premature because developers haven't met the necessary criteria. McKay ascribed political motivations to the hearing's timing, saying Commissioners President Blaine Young wants to pass the Town Center plans before he leaves office in less than two weeks.

"This Phase 2 plan should not have been brought before you," McKay said. "It is being driven by factors that have nothing to do with proper planning."

Rand Weinberg, an attorney for the developer, said county officials are not rushing the project through the process. The Town Center review has not gotten accelerated, and developers and county staff have spent an extended period of time refining the project plan.

"It's here because it's supposed to be here," Weinberg said.

The planning commission unanimously approved the subdivision and site development plan for the Town Center neighborhood and the site plan for 14 commercial buildings totaling 154,722 square feet.

Planning Commissioner Anthony Bruscia was absent for both votes.

Wednesday's hearing was likely the final time the project will need approval from the planning commission. County staff handle the decision-making beyond this point in the planning process.

According to the designs presented Wednesday, the project will break down into three different neighborhoods: two areas restricted to residents 55 and older will form the outer wings of the project, while the middle section will be available to all ages. The age-restricted portion will include 475 single-family houses and 150 town houses, and the all-age area will have 98 town houses and 527 single-family houses.

The residents who attended the hearing spent hours interrogating county staff and developer representatives about a range of issues, such as whether a proposed route connecting Ed McClain Road and Md. 75 would be too circuitous to attract drivers and ease the burden on larger roads. Others asked about a school site the developer has offered to donate and whether roads through the project would feature bike lanes.

Responses to the questions occasionally elicited mocking laughter and scoffing from the crowd, and tempers wore thin as the hearing pushed into the afternoon hours. Planning Commissioner Dwaine Robbins voiced frustration that speakers weren't following cross-examination rules to stay on topic and avoid making lengthy statements before asking questions. Speakers grew upset when they felt the hearing's formality and rules of procedure were preventing them from getting clear answers.

At one point, Robbins said if speakers kept breaking the guidelines, he would ask them to leave. A man in the audience called out that he was on his way out anyway.

"Well, leave, then. Bye," Robbins fired back.

In public testimony later in the afternoon, speakers objected to the way the Town Center would affect their communities and the dangers of putting more cars on Md. 75. They also took issue with the timing of Wednesday's hearing.

Monrovia residents had pressed the planning commission to reschedule the hearing for the evening hours so more people would be free to participate. However, the planning commission denied the request out of concern about setting a precedent for moving decisions from daytime to evening meetings.

Follow Bethany Rodgers on Twitter: @BethRodgersFNP.
Source: Npost