PARKING WOES East Deer Park residents want restrictions. A-4
NEWS: Ashman ready to take the helm as Gaithersburg’s new mayor. A-3
The Gazette GAITHERSBURG | MONTGOMERY VILLAGE DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
25 cents
A learning experience
Pipe leak creates mold and other damage at Montgomery Village condo BY
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Up close and personal n
VIRGINIA TERHUNE STAFF WRITER
hen tenant Tawanna King discovered mold in a corner at the top of her hall closet and beneath the kitchen sink in the condo she rents in the Center Court complex on Stedwick Road in Montgomery Village, she knew she had to do something. King had developed breathing problems because of mold in a previous apartment in Burtonsville, and she didn’t want to risk a return of the condition. “I fought too hard to get [better],” she said. “I don’t need a setback.” But like many renters, she wasn’t sure how serious the situation was or what to do about it. She said she hopes that talking publicly about her experience will help others. “I feel in my heart that a lot of people don’t know about it, or who to call about it,” she said. “It needs to be brought to light.” Mold grows where there is moisture and functions like a fuzzy dandelion — when disturbed, it releases invisible spores that spread in every direction. If left to grow, which it quickly does in wet conditions, it can cause breathing problems, especially for people with asthma, according to
SPORTS: Senior running back leads Quince Orchard’s football team into Sherwood game. B-1
Gaithersburg school’s new open house addition allows parents, teachers to form relationships BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
Like most schools, Fields Road Elementary hosts an open house each fall to invite families of their students to observe in the classroom, but this year the Gaithersburg school took the event one step further. For the first time ever, the school’s open house featured Meet and Mingle, a new addition that gave parents and teachers the opportunity to informally chat and get to know each other on a more personal level. The idea for Meet and Mingle stemmed from feedback that came out of a recent school study circle. The group, which comprised school staff members and parents, met for several weeks last spring to discuss how the school could be made better for all children. “What we heard from [parents] was that if they could have an opportunity to know their child’s DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
See OPEN HOUSE, Page A-14
Workers from ServPro wearing hazmat suits prepare to remove the black mold in a closet and under a sink in the kitchen of an apartment in Montgomery Village. the Maryland Department of the Environment. King, who does not have renter’s insurance, called her landlord, Karim Atarzada of Montgomery Village, who owns two units in the 132-unit Center Court complex.
As a unit owner, Atarzada said this was his first time dealing with a mold problem. He quickly called in the services of ServPro, a mold remediation company based in Gaithersburg, King moved out of the unit tem-
porarily, and on Oct. 6, technicians started work over three days to remove the mold and filter any spores out of the air. After covering the carpets with
See MOLD, Page A-14
Gaithersburg woman’s nonprofit helps with loss Co-founder: There weren’t many existing resources to assist widows, widowers
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BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
Regaining independence and stability after losing a spouse can seem impossible for someone who has limited family and community support, but a newly launched local nonprofit is working to help smooth the transition. Gaithersburg resident Kristin Hoover is the co-founder of Widow Care, a volunteer-based organization that provides support and tangible help to widows and widowers of all ages throughout Montgomery County.
The Rockville-based organization, which launched earlier this fall, is linking up with individuals, businesses, nonprofits and houses of worship to help reach out to those in need. Widow Care is currently working with four widows, most of whom have lost their spouses within the last year, Hoover said. “As a society, we typically don’t talk about our needs. We typically aren’t comfortable asking for help,” Hoover said. “Part of what we do is bridge that gap. We meet with a widow or widower and we find out from them what their needs are.” Once a care plan is created for the client, they are assigned to a volunteer care driver who serves as the primary point of contact for all of their
See NONPROFIT, Page A-14
City wraps up budget year with near $6M surplus n
Many projects progressing in Gaithersburg’s Capital Improvements Program BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE
Gaithersburg resident Kristin Hoover, executive director of Widow Care, a nonprofit that provides a support network for widows and widowers, stands along a trail in Rock Creek Regional Park in Derwood on Oct. 9.
With fiscal year 2014 now in the past, the city of Gaithersburg has ended another budget year in the black after it spent less and earned more than expected. City Manager Tony Tomasello reported that the city’s expenses came in $5.8 million under budget and revenue climbed $500,000 higher than originally projected during fiscal year 2014, which began July 1, 2013 and ended on June 30, 2014. At a city work session on Monday, Tomasello presented a review of the fiscal 2014 budget, the status of the fiscal 2015 budget and a preliminary outlook for fiscal 2016. Property taxes, income taxes and licenses/
See BUDGET, Page A-14
Montgomery school officials say smaller reserves could hurt next budget Rice: Other financial pockets available besides fund balance
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BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
After maintaining larger fund balances in recent years, Montgomery County Public Schools currently has about $1.1 million in savings, a significantly smaller amount that some school officials say could present a
INDEX Automotive Calendar Classified Entertainment Opinion Sports
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challenge when the next budget season comes around. At the end of fiscal 2014 over the summer, the school system had $17.04 million left over, creating a total fund balance of $39.34 million, according to the school system. The Montgomery County Council used about $38.2 million to help fund the system’s $2.28 billion budget this fiscal year. That figure is “significantly more” than the amount moved last year from the reserves to the budget, said Thomas
Klausing, director of the school system’s department of management, budget and planning. At the end of fiscal 2013, the school system held a balance of $49.2 million — about $27 million of which was put toward fiscal 2014. A Sept. 11 memo to the Montgomery County Council’s education committee said the school system’s “large cumulative year-to-year fund balances of recent years were unusual and were largely the result of savings plans and other atypical budget experiences dur-
ENTERTAINMENT B-14 A-2 B-10 B-5 A-16 B-1
OH, DANNY BOY!
ing the recession.” School officials had hoped the council would stretch out the money in the reserves “over time,” Klausing said. The smaller balance, he said, “puts pressure” on officials to find means other than the fund balance to help cover the school system’s needs as its enrollment continues to grow. Montgomery County Council President Craig Rice said, however, he thinks there are “a number of different pockets” that can be used to fund the school
Volume 55, No. 42 Two sections, 36 Pages Copyright © 2014 The Gazette
Play delves into the big life of a little person. B-5
Please
RECYCLE
system budget. “The fund balance is just one piece of that,” he said. It would also be a good sign should the school system generate smaller surpluses, Rice said. “From my eyes, that actually means that we’re budgeting and they’re spending exactly what they have projected,” he said. Less savings would mean “not
See SCHOOLS, Page A-13