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The Gazette BETHESDA | CHEVY CHASE | KENSINGTON

DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

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Colton Rupp of Bethesda’s Landon School carries the ball as Brian Latham Jr. of Potomac’s Bullis School gives chase during Saturday’s game in Bethesda. Bullis won, 24-0. See high school football coverage, Page B-3. GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE

State: Purple Line plan would save taxpayer dollars Public-private partnership cuts costs by 90 percent

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BY AGNES BLUM STAFF WRITER

Partnering with private companies to build and operate the Purple Line will save taxpayers about 20 percent of the cost of the whole project, a state transportation official told a County Council committee Monday. “They’re going to get the work done with fewer people,” said Henry Kay of future contractors, known as concessionaires. Kay was one of several representatives from the Maryland Transit Authority and the Department of Transportation who spoke at the county Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment committee meeting, detailing the process behind the public/private partnership also known as P3. The $2.2 billion Purple Line is proposed to run 16.2 miles east-west across Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. Construction is slated to begin in 2015 and the state says it will be operational in 2020.

Lisa Alexander, the Audubon Naturalist Society’s new executive director, in the organization’s Woodend Sanctuary in Chevy Chase.

DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE

From bog to woods:

AUDUBON’S NEW DIRECTOR DIGS IN

Alexander follows natural path to lead conservation nonprofit

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BY AGNES BLUM STAFF WRITER

Growing up in the Chicago suburbs, Lisa Alexander would follow her mother into nearby bogs to hunt for pitcher plants. It was there in those peatlands, hunting the carnivorous Sarracenia purpurea at her mother’s side, that she developed a love of

nature that has guided her career. “My mom was my first naturalist,” Alexander said. “Everything was a nature hike with my mom.” Throughout her career, Alexander has honored her mother’s tradition of teaching about nature, culminating on Oct. 21 in her appointment as executive director of the Audubon Naturalist Society, one of the area’s leading environmental educational nonprofits. Founded in 1897, the Audubon Naturalist Society in Chevy Chase is a mem-

bership-based nonprofit that provides environmental education for all ages and advocates on behalf of clean water, rural lands and smart transportation in the Washington, D.C., area. In September, Neal Fitzpatrick, who had served as executive director since 1991, retired, and Alexander beat out about 40 other candidates for the job. In her new position, Alexander will oversee 53 employees and more than 575 volunteers.

See AUDUBON, Page A-16

Council OKs bill to help low-income families n

Will increase county supplement for poorer households BY

RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER

Montgomery County is restoring a tax break for low-income working families. The Montgomery County Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a bill requiring an increase in the county’s Working Families Income Supplement,

which provides money to taxpayers working at or near the poverty level. The increase could help people make a car payment they otherwise might have missed, which could have jeopardized their ability to get to work and put their job at risk, said Councilman Hans Riemer (D-At Large) of Silver Spring, who sponsored the bill. Many community groups in the county strongly supported the bill, Riemer said. A county memorandum on the issue reported that representatives of Catholic

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Charities, the Justice and Advocacy Council of Montgomery County, Progressive Maryland and Maryland Hunger Solutions, among other groups, supported the bill at a July public hearing. Councilwoman Nancy Floreen (D-At Large) of Garrett Park said she’s always voted for a full match by the county, and she hopes the county will be able to do more in the future in other areas. “I’m fine with this solution, but I’m

See COUNCIL, Page A-11

The project has generated controversy for the many properties that will be demolished or affected along the way, and the clear-cutting of 3 miles of the Capital Crescent Trail to make room for the tracks. Unlike other public/private ventures, such as Beltway HOT lanes in Virginia, the concessionaire constructing and running the Purple Line would not have any control over fares nor would it make a profit from them. Instead, a 30-year contract would outline exactly what the concessionaire would be paid in exchange for specific services rendered. These payouts are called “availability payments” because they depend on the availability of the services outlined in the contract. Any problems or issues with the Purple Line would be handled by the MTA and not the private company, Kay said. Glenn Orlin, deputy staff director for the County Council, asked what recourse the state would have if the company stopped running trains as often as it had agreed to.

See PURPLE, Page A-16

Starr seeks $1.6 billion for new classrooms and school projects n

Superintendent: Growing enrollment fuels need BY

LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER

Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Joshua P. Starr said he prioritized adding classroom space in his newly proposed $1.55 billion Capital Improvements Program for fiscal years 2015 to 2020. “We are bursting at the seams,” he said Monday at Highland Elementary School in Silver Spring, which is at maximum capacity. Starr said the school system needs $2.2 billion to cover all of its capital improvement needs for the six-year period. He is proposing a $1.55 billion program, he said, because the county is currently facing “fiscal restraints” and the school system is not getting the funding it deserves from the state. The proposed program is about $184 million higher than

the current program, which covers fiscal years 2013 to 2018. Starr said the program addresses the school system’s ongoing, significant enrollment growth with a recommendation for 14 new classroom addition projects. The plan also maintains schedules for other, previously approved capacity projects, including five new schools. Since 2007, he said, the school system has grown by 14,000 students; another 11,000 are expected over the next six years. Even if the program were fully funded, Starr said, 13 school clusters are expected to be over capacity in fiscal 2020. Fifteen school clusters in the system are over capacity this fiscal year. Most of the school system’s growth has occurred in elementary schools, he said. Of the 14 classroom addition projects, 12 are proposed for el-

See BUDGET, Page A-11

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