JANUARY
The City of Rockville moved forward with citywide projects focused on making all forms of mobility safer for all users as part of the city’s Vision Zero initiative. Adopted in 2020 by the Mayor and Council, the plan seeks to eliminate traffic-related deaths and serious injuries and was discussed with the Mayor and Council in a report by the city’s Vision Zero coordinator.
The first phase of a project to rewrite and update Rockville’s zoning ordinance was completed, resulting in a zoning diagnostic report that served as a roadmap for the next phase, known as “Calibrate.”
The Compliance Engine continued to improve fire safety in Rockville, achieving a 30% reduction in unwanted fire alarm and sprinkler activations citywide. The service allows oversight by Rockville’s fire marshal and Inspection Services Division of fire alarm, sprinkler, smoke control and commercial cooking extinguisher systems installed within commercial and multifamily dwellings in the City of Rockville.
More than 100 people volunteered and 147 individuals and organizations that donated delivered a brighter Thanksgiving and Christmas for those in need in Rockville through the 2023 Holiday Drive. Thirty-one organizations and individuals were recognized with certificates and plaques based on their level of donations.
Rockville volunteers carried on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. A week of activities coinciding with the city’s 52nd annual celebration of King’s life saw 175 volunteers participate in several service projects. Volunteers partnered with Project Linus to make 150 blankets for sick children, donated about 80 backpacks filled with items for children entering the foster care system for distribution by Comfort Cases, created 50 survival kits for unsheltered veterans and pulled invasive plants from a city park. Learn more about volunteering in Rockville at www.rockvillemd.gov/volunteer.
The search continued for a new city manager following Rob DiSpirito’s resignation in August 2023. A survey gathered community feedback about the traits, qualities and characteristics they wished to see in a city manager, and the priorities the new city manager should address.
FEBRUARY
In an ongoing effort to reduce the number of speeding vehicles in Rockville neighborhoods, the Rockville City Police Department deployed a new speed monitoring system in the 2500 block of Wootton Parkway, near its intersection with Fairwood Court.
The RCPD’s commitment to community policing resulted in reduced crime rates for 2023, Chief Victor V. Brito told the Mayor and Council while presenting a crime report with data that contrasts with that of other municipalities across the country. While criminality has risen locally, regionally and nationally since 2020, “Virtually all of our data and all of our crime has been down in the last year,” Brito said. “And that’s not through happenstance or reverse osmosis. That’s through the hard work and selfless dedication of the men and women of the Rockville City Police Department.”
MARCH
Rockville turned out the lights to observe Earth Hour, an international effort in support of climate change action.
Community members learned about ongoing transportation safety improvement projects across Rockville when the city hosted public meetings. The projects are part of the city’s Vision Zero Action Plan to eliminate traffic-related deaths and serious injuries.
A federal grant announced this month will help Rockville with feasibility planning and design for a proposed bridge to connect Twinbrook with Rockville Pike. Rockville was awarded $568,000 through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods Grant Program.
The State Highway Administration approved Rockville’s request for a speed limit reduction on a busy stretch of Veirs Mill Road in Twinbrook. The speed limit is now 35 mph, down from 40 mph, between Edmonston Drive and Twinbrook Parkway. The change made the speed limit consistent with that of other sections of the road, which is also known as MD 586.
Rockville’s Mayor and Council, city leadership, and leadership from Rockville Economic Development, Inc., attended Government Alliance on Race and Equity training at VisArts in Rockville Town Square. The GARE training introduced roles, responsibilities and opportunities for government to advance racial equity.
In a move to protect renters, the Mayor and Council adopted 2.6% as the Voluntary Rent Guideline for 2024.
APRIL
Earth Day was celebrated with stream cleanups, non-native plant removal workdays and plogging (committing to cleaning up litter during walks, jogging or running through Rockville).
The Rockville Civic Ballet celebrated its 50th anniversary, receiving a certificate of recognition from the Mayor and Council. The certificate was presented to Rockville Civic Ballet directors Eleanor Simpson and Erin Kwong, who grew up in the ballet company under the leadership of founder and artistic director Claudia Mangan.
Using a survey, the city solicited the community’s input on how best to integrate artistic elements into a broader roadway improvement project for Beall Avenue to improve traffic and pedestrian safety in the area. The project aims to improve safety and make the street more attractive for residents, visitors and businesses.
Rockville is making progress on many of the 42 initiatives in the city’s first Climate Action Plan, with several action items completed and other efforts well underway, a progress report made to the Mayor and Council stated. Rockville adopted the plan in January 2022 with the goal of equitably reducing greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change and improving community resilience to extreme weather.
The City of Rockville received more than $3.9 million in federal earmark funding for a new emergency operations center, police radios, water main and sewer line rehabilitation, and storm drain improvements in the Potomac Woods neighborhood. Earmarks allow members of Congress to request a portion of federal spending to be directed to specific projects or programs.
State aid for improvements to David Scull Park and legislation supporting the city’s affordable housing, climate action and Vision Zero efforts were among wins for Rockville during the Maryland General Assembly session.
The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ Transportation Land-Use Connections Program awarded Rockville $80,000 for a Complete Streets feasibility study of Congressional Lane. The Complete Streets approach can reduce speeding vehicles by identifying potential improvements to help people drive, walk, roll, bike and use transit more safely. The study will examine the full length of Congressional Lane, from Rollins Avenue to Rockville Pike (MD 355), assessing roadway conditions and evaluating the impact of potential improvements on multiple modes of transportation.
Pepco officials joined members of Rockville’s Mayor and Council and city staff, mid-April, for a ribbon-cutting of two electric vehicle chargers on Vinson Street, adjacent to City Hall.
MAY
After more than a decade at the helm of Rockville’s Department of Recreation and Parks as director, Tim Chesnutt retired. During his service, Chesnutt oversaw the first dedicated pickleball-only courts in Montgomery County at Mattie J.T. Stepanek Park, as well as a new concrete skate park at the Rockville Swim and Fitness Center, the splash pad at Maryvale Park, locker room improvements at the Rockville Swim and Fitness Center, and Americans with Disability Act improvements at the Rockville Senior Center, F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre and Glenview Mansion.
The two-day Hometown Holidays Music Fest, featuring local flavor, two stages of entertainment by local acts, the Taste of Rockville and activities for kids, returned to RedGate Park with headliners, alt-rockers Everclear.
The annual Equipment Show at Mattie J. T. Stepanek Park let attendees see what it was like to sit in the cabs of some of the big trucks used by Rockville’s Department of Public Works.
The Mayor and Council emerged from discussions with guiding principles that informed the development and adoption of the city’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget. They include three focus areas: public safety, economic development and housing; and two guiding principles: effective and efficient service delivery and stewardship of the environment and infrastructure.
The Mayor and Council and the city’s Environment Commission honored Terry Pinkston, Jyoti Bisbey and Westmore Commercial Condominium Association, Inc., with Environmental Excellence Awards recognizing their contributions to Rockville’s environmental health and sustainability.
A monthlong national celebration of the benefits of protecting historic buildings and structures concluded with the Rockville Historic District Commission’s seminar, “ABCs of Historic Preservation.” The hybrid event, which gave members of the community an overview of historic preservation practices in Rockville, is available on Rockville 11’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/cityofrockville. Search for “ABCs.”
JUNE
Jeff Mihelich, who has more than three decades of experience in city management, became Rockville’s new city manager. The Mayor and Council unanimously voted to appoint Mihelich, who started this July.
A new web-based platform that automates public records requests enhanced Rockville’s ability to respond to the public efficiently and effectively. The public has a legal right to access records the city creates in the transaction of public business, unless the record is protected by law. Visit www.rockvillemd.gov/mpia for more information.
The city launched a new community enhancement code enforcement webpage that provides comprehensive information on maintaining property standards, addressing common violations and ensuring neighborhood aesthetics, including how to report a code violation. The webpage offers guidelines for preventing overcrowded dwellings and maintaining safe, visually appealing communities. For more information, visit www.rockvillemd.gov/codeenforcement.
The 35th Annual Rockville Public Safety Awards, held at Lakewood Country Club, honored several RCPD officers and mental health specialist Beth Loftus.
A new online resource from the city’s Environmental Management Division features incentive programs to help community members play their part in Rockville reaching its Climate Action Plan goals. The resource, at www.rockvillemd.gov/climate/incentives, highlights the variety of energy, solar, electric vehicle and flood protection incentive programs available from government jurisdictions, local to federal.
Rockville community members, the Mayor and Council, and city staff joined Montgomery County for a Juneteenth celebration on June 15 at BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown.
Rockville celebrated the intersection of Juneteenth and Pride with a conversation at Rockville Memorial Library that explored the intersection of the LGBTQIA+ and Black communities. The discussion featured author Andre Bradley and representatives of local nonprofit SMYAL and the city’s Human Rights Commission.
JULY
Campers in Croydon Creek Nature Center’s Conservation Service Learning program designed and painted an environmentally friendly message on a snowplow blade used by Department of Public Works trucks. The “Don’t Be Salty, Save Our Streams” message seeks to spread the word about protecting our wildlife and environment by using less salt to treat icy driveways and sidewalks.
AUGUST
After a season of summer fun, a complete renovation and reconfiguration of the outdoor recreation pool areas began at the Rockville Swim and Fitness Center, including improvements to accessibility, modernized amenities and infrastructure that will provide new recreational features and pools for swimmers of all ages and abilities.
In a continuing effort to reduce the number of speeding vehicles in Rockville neighborhoods, the RCPD deployed a speed-monitoring system in late August near the intersection of southbound Wootton Parkway and Wootton Oats Court.
The city’s safety and risk, public works, and recreation and parks teams took part in a ceremony to recognize Safe + Sound Week, a nationwide event held each August that recognizes the successes of workplace health and safety programs and offers information and ideas on how to keep America’s workers safe.
During the ceremony, the city recognized Rockville employees for their contributions to promoting safety in city operations. Awardees were Alexander Morales, a maintenance worker with the Department of Recreation and Parks; Jason Burdette, a crew supervisor; and William Moore, Jr., a maintenance worker with the Department of Public Works.
Rockville celebrated National Night Out. RCPD officers, city elected officials and city staff joined neighbors at gatherings across the city. In its 41st year, National Night Out is a nationwide effort to raise awareness about crime and drug prevention, generate support for anti-crime programs, and strengthen community spirit and community policing partnerships.
SEPTEMBER
In their ongoing effort to bring awareness to the national impact of opioid addiction and signal hope for recovery, Rockville’s Mayor and Council proclaimed September as National Recovery Month. Rockville Goes Purple is a campaign, alongside the city’s county and state partners, that seeks to shine a spotlight on the national impact of opioid addiction and create awareness about the epidemic’s impact on our community.
Following a pandemic-driven hiatus, Rockville’s biennial survey returned. The community survey — which provides an opportunity for residents to rate their satisfaction with the quality of life in the city, the community’s amenities and local government services — last took place in 2018. Previous survey solicitations were conducted every two years.
The 28th annual F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Festival honored author and two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward with the F. Scott Fitzgerald Award for Outstanding Achievement in American Literature.
As part of the city’s Vision Zero Action plan to eliminate traffic-related deaths and serious injuries, the city launched a new tool for helping pedestrians cross city streets safely, with new guidelines for evaluating requests for crosswalk installation and related pedestrian safety improvements.
The new Marked Crossing Guidelines help city staff determine when a marked crosswalk can be considered at an intersection or midblock. By Maryland law, pedestrians may cross the street midblock only when using a marked crosswalk. Intersections are considered legal crosswalks whether marked or unmarked. The city’s new guidelines better account for the area immediately surrounding a crosswalk and update the thresholds for considering whether a marked crosswalk should be installed.
The city’s Department of Finance earned the Government Finance Officers Association’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for Rockville’s FY 2025 Adopted Budget. This was the 34th time the city has received the award. It included special recognition in three categories: Budget Process, Capital Program and Financial Policies.
The Rockville Planning Commission approved a draft of the Town Center Master Plan to forward to the Mayor and Council for their final approval. This advancement marked a major milestone in the process and moved the plan along to its final phase.
A new sign of peace and hope was unveiled in Mattie J.T. Stepanek Park’s Peace Garden with the Mayor and Council, and guests, cutting the ribbon on a labyrinth that encourages park visitors to walk its path, meditate and reflect.
OCTOBER
Rockville’s Mayor and Council were out and about on a walking tour of the Lincoln Park neighborhood. The tour focused on observing the look and feel of homes in this historic neighborhood in relation to design guidelines proposed for the community.
The Rockville Antique and Classic Car Show, a city tradition for more than six decades, once again rolled into Rockville Civic Center Park.
Two public workshops were held so community members could learn more about the ongoing update to the city’s zoning ordinance. The comprehensive rewrite of the city’s zoning ordinance — Chapter 25 of the city code — aims to enhance the code’s usability and accessibility, as well as modernize land-use laws to meet the changing living, working and recreation trends of Rockville’s residents in the 21st century. Visit engagerockville.com/zoningrewrite for more information about the project.
Two rating agencies reaffirmed the city’s triple-A bond rating and expressed confidence in Rockville’s financial outlook. Triple-A is the highest possible rating and saves Rockville taxpayers money by allowing the city to borrow at the lowest possible interest rates. In awarding the rating, the agencies showed confidence in Rockville’s ability to meet its financial obligations, cited the city’s conservative fiscal management, strong policies and practices, ample reserve levels, and stable tax base.
NOVEMBER
Rockville’s Procurement Division hosted “Rockville Means Business,” an informational session to offer vendors the opportunity to learn more about doing business with city government.
City Manager Jeff Mihelich accepted the resignation of Rockville City Police Chief Victor V. Brito. Brito submitted his resignation after six years of committed service to the Rockville community. His last day was Friday, Nov. 22.
See December’s highlights in this month’s edition of Rockville Reports.