Amended and Adopted February 10, 2004  

HUMAN SERVICES ADVISORY COMMISSION
MEETING MINUTES
January 13, 2004
 7:30 – 9:40 PM
32 Courthouse Square

Members Present:  

Members Absent: Agnes Saenz   Charlotte Zuckman
           
Staff Present:  Sarah Gicale  Mary Lou Jacobs

Guests: Terry Treschuk, Chief of Police, City of Rockville                      
Jan Seilhamer, Community Services Officer, City of Rockville

Re: Call Meeting to Order/Introductions

Bill Goodwin called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. and introduced the guests.  He explained that the Human Services Advisory Commission had recently learned that there was a new Community Services Officer and would like to establish a working relationship with the Police Department in order to share information.

Re: Dialogue with Rockville City Police on Human Service Needs

Chief Treschuk said that he was delighted to be back to speak with the Commission.  He used to work in the Department of Neighborhood and Community Services.  He explained that Jan’s job as Community Services Officer is to be a liaison between the Police Department and the community.  She is also in charge of the many Neighborhood Watch programs, the Senior Citizen Police Academy and Police Reaching Out to Students (PROS).  She both shares and receives information in an effort to keep the community informed.  He said that PROS is currently in seven of the eleven elementary schools in Rockville.  The program has been certified by the Montgomery County Board of Education; it is similar to the DARE Program, which was discontinued.

Chief Treschuk continued that there are many human service issues of concern to the Police Department.  One is the lack of services for teens, especially nights and on weekends.  Specifically, he said that the area around Courthouse Square has 300-400 kids wandering around, hanging out on an average Saturday night which moviegoers in the area find intimidating.  There is nowhere for these youth to go.  A few years ago he worked with Christ Episcopal Church to open a coffee house.  He is not certain whose responsibility this is but feels strongly something should be done to meet this need.

Another concern for the Police Department relates to diversity.  There has been an influx of ethnic gangs, especially MS-13 which is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia.  Occasionally, evidence of their presence in the form of graffiti can be seen in Rockville.  Gangs are a growing problem throughout Montgomery County.

He also sees a lack of understanding of changing ethnicity in the city on the part of residents.  About sixty percent of the community is white; fourteen percent is Asian and eight to ten percent are African American.  There is a lack of community outreach to these groups.  As a result there are not enough representatives of these communities involved in government.

Domestic violence is another issue for the police that relates to increasing diversity.  There is a lack of understanding of the law with respect to domestic violence, especially within the Hispanic culture.  The Police Department held a citizen academy in Spanish a few years ago and those attending almost came to blows when this topic was discussed. 

Other issues are the presence of extended families living in homes designed for one family.  Neighbors don’t understand why there are seven or eight cars parked on the street for one house.  Also, the police still see issues with alcohol abuse with kids less than twenty-one years of age.  The County handles problems with seniors quickly so he doesn’t see many instances of elderly abuse except those committed by staff in residences for seniors.

Asked about the King Farm, Chief Treschuk said that, generally in police work, the higher the density, the greater the need for police presence.  The most significant concerns in that neighborhood are theft and people who live outside King Farm wanting to use the park.  He said King Farm residents have a strong neighborhood watch so that concerns are communicated quickly.  He meets with them quarterly.

Chief Treschuk also said that he thinks the homeless population has increased dramatically in the last few years.  Many are the same people he saw fifteen years ago.  There are also new folks however; his sense is that many homeless people come to Rockville because they are treated well here.  In winter the shelters are filled to the brim.  For the most part the police never have issues with people who are homeless because the shelters do a good job.

Bill asked if the Chief could draw any conclusions about problems in the city being exacerbated by lack of health care.  Chief Treschuk said that crime is usually caused by need and greed; nevertheless he doesn’t think lack of health care has impacted criminal behavior in Rockville.  Bringing Mobile Med into the city was one of the best things ever done.

David L’Heureux asked the Chief about any changes he has seen in the schools.  David thinks they are overcrowded and that some should be condemned; for example, the renovations at Richard Montgomery High School are long overdue.  Chief Treschuk agreed but said that sometimes the demands placed on the school system by parents are unrealistic.  Generally, he thinks the schools do a good job although he doesn’t like the system of sharing nurses and thinks there should be more after-school activities for youth.

Generally, Chief Treschuk said that Rockville has a wonderful community with a low crime rate. He thinks the City has done a good job for seniors; it provides few services for people with disabilities; but it does as much as it can for youth.

Ann Reiss asked how much coordination there is between the City and County police departments.  Chief Treschuk said that each tends to get caught up in its own world.  The police departments work together but mainly on the reactive, not proactive, level.  He thinks Montgomery County is too large.  In Rockville alone there are twenty-two or three schools, eleven of which are elementary.  A phenomenal number of children come into this city every day.  Rockville doesn’t have big crimes with youth but there are some warning signs; for example, the gang activity in Rockville.

Bill asked if Chief Trechuk had any ideas on how the Commission could work with the Police Department.  The Chief said that he would be pleased to be a resource for the Commission; that he is always willing to share any statistics.  He also suggested that the Commission speak with the code inspectors who could shed some light on some of the problems in the community, e.g., sharing of homes, illegal renting, rooms in basements.

Mary Lou Jacobs said that she had received several telephone calls recently concerning single aging women having a difficult time living alone.  She wondered if officers come across this situation often.  She believes that many older people are reluctant to sell their homes and move into a better situation.  Also the income of many elderly people keeps them from qualifying for social service programs.  Chief Treschuk said that his department seldom gets those calls; sometimes they are asked to check on someone.   

Re: Approve December 9, 2003 Meeting Minutes

Bill requested that the minutes be changed to eliminate the use of the word “disabled” as an adjective and to, instead, use the phrase “individuals with disabilities”.    Deborah Hopson moved that the minutes be approved with this change.  Tom Lawrey seconded the motion.  The motion was approved unanimously.

Re: Follow-up Discussion re:  Presentation on Developmental Disability Issues

Bill said that the one of the issue raised at the last meeting concerning parking for people with disabilities was a serious charge and seems to be a major area that needs improvement.  The issue could be brought before the Mayor and Council but more information is needed.  Mary Lou said that she had brought this information to the attention of Guerdon Stuckey, Director of Neighborhood and Community Services.  However, she was not certain that Betsy Luecking understood who was responsible in all instances, e.g., the library is a County, not a City building.  However, the City does have a transportation planner who could be contacted for more information. 

David said that, as an example of the relevance of this issue, there are no disabled spaces in front of 32 Courthouse Square.  Bill said that a related problem mentioned at the last meeting is the need for curb cuts at the Metro Station in Rockville.  He thinks this topic area is something the Commission can look into.

Re: Outline for Annual Report

Bill explained that the Commission is now doing two annual reports:  one report summarizes the Commission’s activities over the last year; the other, currently being prepared, presents the Commission’s recommendations to the Mayor and Council.  His goal is to have a draft of this report by the next meeting.  His draft will first be given to Tom Lawrey for editing and then to Allison Bunge for word processing.  He asked Commission members to contact him with any comments on the report.

Bill then asked Mary Lou to discuss the City’s strategic planning process as he would like the Commission to know more about it.  Mary Lou said that when the current Mayor and Council were elected, three of the Council members were new and were interested in developing a vision with the Senior Staff as to how the City should function.  A facilitator was brought in to go through a goal planning process.  Five goal areas resulted:  Vibrant Town Center, Better Mobility, Superior City Services, Strengthened Neighborhoods and Rockville Community Identity and Pride.  After developing a final draft, they scheduled a Citizen Summit where they asked for feedback on their goals.

Since that time, the Mayor and Council have used these five goal areas as their reference point.  At every Mayor and Council meeting, they request that staff report on progress with Town Center.  Immediately following the last election, the Mayor started a goal updating session, i.e., a discussion as to what the goals should be for the next two years.  Again the Senior Staff was involved.  The Mayor wanted them to identify the financial impact of the goals.

Mary Lou said that the Human Services Advisory Commission might want to recommend that someone representing them be involved in the upcoming Summit.  They could communicate with Ann Robbins that they would like to be included.  Or, perhaps, Bill could contact the Mayor directly.  David agreed and said that he thought every Board and Commission should be represented in the process.  For example, the City’s Annual Report had no mention of any volunteers.  He wrote to the City Manager concerning this omission and was told that the next Annual Report would include this topic.  Bill said that at least he would like the Commission to know what the final goals are.  Eric Wang said that he thinks improving education in Rockville should be a goal.  Test scores are lower in Rockville schools than in other areas of the county.  As a result, he sees many people moving to Potomac for better schools.  Community resources could be used to address this problem.  Bill said that he thinks this could be a good opportunity if the Commission wants to see something done.  Mary Lou said that her sense of the Summit was to respond to goals that had already been set by the mayor and Council.  Bill said that if anyone was interested they should let him know.

  
Re: Debriefing on Latino Outreach Program Site Visit

Mary Lou said that one issue that emerged from the Latino Outreach Program site visit was inadequacy of space.  Allison Bunge, who participated in the site visit, said that her impression was that more space alone would not help; the program also needs additional teachers.  Mary Lou explained that the site visit was held on a Thursday night at a church that donates space to the program.  The site visit team was taken on a tour of all the classes.  Every room had a class meeting in it.  This included the programs provided for children while their parents are attending class.  There seemed to be a lot of children with few adults providing supervision.  Transportation for parents is also an issue in that the bus that brings adults to the program is no longer running when it is time to go home.

Re: Promoting Volunteerism through Presidential Service Awards

Bill explained that this is an award that is managed by the Points of Lights Foundation.  Darrell Green, the former Washington Redskin, is the current head of the President’s Commission.  Basically, this is a recognition program.  Bill thinks the Commission and many other groups in Rockville would qualify for an award.  This year’s priority areas include youth achievement, parks and open space, and healthy communities.  The local certifying organization purchases the award.  Mary Lou said that she thinks students would be very interested in putting this on their resumes.  It could be a wonderful thing for the city to do.  Bill said he would look into the process of certification.  Mary Lou said that if the Commission were to decide that this would be a good thing to do, implementation would require money; this item could be included in the Commission’s Annual Report.  Ann Reiss commented that there could be thousand of people nominated which would cost a lot of money.  She will look into whether the Volunteer Center is doing it.  Bill said more information is needed.

Re: Plan Agenda for Next Commission Meeting

• Plan the social event, scheduled for the March meeting.
  
• Discuss the draft of the Annual Report.
  
• Reports from subcommittees.
  
• Try to get a copy of TRC’s video on diversity; Mary Lou said that editing is scheduled to start next week and she expects it to be ready in February.
  
• Nomination of a new chairperson.

Re: Adjourn

Tom Lawrey moved to adjourn the meeting.  Deborah seconded the motion.  The motion passed unanimously and the meeting was adjourned at 9:30 PM.

The next regular meeting of the Human Services Advisory Commission will be held Tuesday, February 10, 2004, from 7:30 - 9:30 p.m., at the Glenview Mansion Cottage.