The last day to apply for funding from the City of Takoma Park Direct Cash Assistance Program is Tuesday, October 31, by 11:59 pm!

Program Description

The City of Takoma Park will use State and Local Recovery Funds (SLRF) received under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to assist residents economically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic by distributing Direct Cash Assistance. A majority of low- to moderate-income households in the City experience a housing cost burden and may have experienced the inability to pay rent, monthly mortgage payments, or lost employment during this unprecedented period. Learn more about the Direct Cash Assistance program.

The City of Takoma Park Direct Cash Assistance Program will provide a one-time, lump-sum payment per eligible household in the amount of $1,000. This is NOT a new program but a last chance to get those families who have not applied.

Events

Library In-Person Event:

Date: Thursday, October 26
Time: 4-8pm
Location: Interim Library Location
7505 New Hampshire Avenue
Suites 201-208
Takoma Park, MD 20912

Volunteers will be in person to assist with completing an application.

Apply to the Takoma Park Direct Cash Assistance program online.

There are also physical applications available to be completed in person at:

Takoma Park Community Center
7500 Maple Ave
Takoma Park, MD 20912

Stay tuned for more Direct Cash Assistance events throughout October.

The Washington Adventist Hospital campus in Takoma Park is now vacant as the property transitions ownership and purpose. The empty hospital buildings will be secured and fenced off.

Starting this Friday, September 29, Ride On Routes 17 & 18 will no longer be able to access the Adventist Hospital property in Takoma Park. Both routes will detour using Flower Avenue to Maplewood to return to their normal route on Maple Avenue. Stops 26950, 26952, 26954, and 26956 will be discontinued. Riders should use alternate stops 22332, 22274, 23854, and 23856. This will become a permanent change with our next service change in January.

For the most up-to-date service information, riders should follow @RideOnMCT on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. In addition, information is available at RideOnBus.com, by subscribing to receive email alerts at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/govdelivery, or texting MONTGOMERY RIDEON to 468311 to receive text alerts.

For information on MCDOT programs and services visit montgomerycountymd.gov/mcdot, follow @MCDOTNow on  Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to MCDOT’s “Go Montgomery!” newsletter.

Planning Division staff invite members of the public to test out the functionality of the Project Evaluation Scorecard by joining an in-person exploration session:

• Additional dates to be determined

To download the Project Evaluation Scorecard Exploration Kit, visit the City’s Public Space Management Plan website: https://bit.ly/publicspacemanagementplan.

A key component of the Public Space Management Plan is a new tool to help with decision-making. City staff and the project consulting team identified that often decision-makers are pressed to advance a new project or initiative without data to compare the project under consideration with other priorities. The Project Evaluation Scorecard attempts to fill that gap.

The scorecard uses a set of eight benefit categories, each with several criteria listed below. New projects or initiatives would be scored by city staff. Three benefit categories receive an added weight to their score to reflect recent City policies that prioritize Racial Equity, Environmental Sustainability, and Safety. The completed scorecard would be shared publicly as an attachment to council cover memos. The scoring becomes a tool for city staff and the City Council to begin comparing different projects against each other.

The scorecard is not meant to be a judgment upon the merit of a project. Instead, it evaluates how a project stacks up against existing city priorities, and then that score can be compared to the scores of other projects. The scorecard would not be prescriptive or determine whether or not a project advances, but it would be one of the considerations, publicly shared, for how to advance new projects.

The tool may be used to compare two or more projects under consideration at a given time. It may also be used over the longer term to test potential projects against a benchmarked level of benefit. Over time, certain scores may emerge as minimum thresholds for project consideration. The tool, itself, is also meant to be public-facing so that community members and City Council members could take on the task of generating their own project scores, or use it as a tool for planning new initiatives.

The Recreation Department offices will be moving to the temporary Library location, 7505 New Hampshire Ave Takoma Park, MD 20912 this coming Monday, September 25th.

In preparation for the move, the Recreation Department offices will be closed:

• Thursday, September 21- Wednesday, September 27

PLEASE NOTE: No programs will be impacted by these changes. Classes and Events will continue as scheduled!

The Recreation Department’s normal office hours will resume on Thursday, September 28. Part-time staff will answer department phone lines and attend to patrons at the front desk of the Community Center.

Please use the below cell phone list to call staff directly for urgent matters. Staff will respond to emails periodically throughout the move.

Construction on the Takoma Park Library and Community Center Redevelopment Project is beginning in the next few weeks. After years of conversations and planning, we have information to share that will affect Library, Computer Center, and Community Center patrons.

The Library and Computer Center have relocated to ensure that access to our books, media, and computers will be available throughout this project. We will also continue to offer Books to Go curbside pickup at the new location and Books to You deliveries to Takoma Park residents.

Temporary Address:
Takoma Park Maryland Library
7505 New Hampshire Avenue, Suite 205
Takoma Park, MD 20912

Contact information:
newlibrary@takomaparkmd.gov
301-891-7259

Important dates:

• Mid-September 2023 (anticipated): The full Notice to Proceed will be issued, and exterior construction
  will begin.
• Beginning Monday, September 18, 2023, the Community Center back parking lot parking spaces will be severely limited, with a handful of short-term parking spaces for patrons using City services
• Spring 2025 (anticipated): The Library and Computer Center will open the new facilities and welcome everyone back to our original site at the intersection of Maple and Philadelphia Avenues.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. Where can I go for updates? Please sign up for the City’s Insider or check the City’s website

2. Will books and computers still be available? Yes, please visit, call, or email the Library and Computer Center. We are also still ordering new books. If you would like to search our catalog, visit:
www.takomapark.info/

3. Where will Library programs be held? Library programs will primarily be held at the temporary location on New Hampshire Avenue, but please call or visit our website to verify. Other departments may relocate programs and activities as necessary; please contact those departments for more information.

4. Will Recreation programs and facilities reservations be available? A portion of Recreation programs have been temporarily moved to the Takoma Park Recreation Center (7315 New Hampshire Ave.) and we plan to keep a portion on site during the renovation. Most rentals at the Takoma Park Community Center have been discontinued due to limited parking. Please contact the Recreation Department at 301- 891-7290 for availability.

5. Will the Takoma Park Police Department be impacted? The Takoma Park Police Department will remain open throughout this process. They are open 24/7 for emergency services. If you have an emergency, please call 911 for the fastest response.

6. Will residents be able to access other Community Center services throughout construction? Passports, the Finance office, Housing and Community Development, and other City offices will remain open and accessible to residents for the majority of construction. Occasionally, there may be brief periods of closures for utility work. Please consider calling or visiting the City’s website to ensure that the office you intend to visit is open or to make an appointment.

7. Will parking be impacted? Parking at the Community Center will be limited. Please consider walking or taking public transportation to the Community Center when possible. See the site map below:

Print out a larger PDF version of the map here.

8. Will the City be communicating with the schools? Yes, we will be communicating regularly with nearby schools, and we will work with them to minimize the impact on dropping off and picking up students. More information will be available through the schools and on our website.

9. What changes can we expect to see in the near future? Construction equipment will be mobilized to the back parking lot of the Community Center starting on Monday, September 18, 2023. When work begins, four trees must be removed; we will attempt to repurpose these trees as furniture in the new building if the wood is found to be in suitable condition. Three trees are maple oaks, and one is a spruce. Once construction is completed, the plaque commemorating the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial tree will be preserved and reinstalled on the grounds. Once the trees have been removed, the Library building will be razed and rebuilt. Other work will be taking place inside the facilities.

10. What work has already been completed? Several tasks have already been completed, including: the removal and storage of solar panels, disconnection of gas and water utilities at the construction site, hazardous material abatement, and interior demolition. The mosaic has been carefully removed and stored to ensure its preservation until it can be reinstalled on the new building’s façade.

We are excited to offer you new and improved facilities when we reopen in 2025. Thank you for being so patient while we transition to serve you better.

From WSSC Water

As a result of an increase in sewer backups and Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs) in Montgomery County, we wanted to provide some information pertaining to the impacts of grease and wipes on your pipes.

See the below tips for further information on how you can avoid backups and overflows in your home and around the County!

• Keep The Wipes Out of The Pipes! | WSSC Water
• Fats, Oils, & Grease | WSSC Water

The Maple Avenue Connectivity Project is restarting, and we need your input to  make sure that this project is headed in the right direction. The purpose of the project is to redesign Maple Avenue, from the DC border to Sligo Creek, to re-prioritize the safety, comfort, and ease of pedestrians, bike riders, and transit users. 

Maple Avenue is used every day by thousands of residents, visitors, school students, seniors, worshippers, shoppers, and recreationalists. So, it’s important that the everyday perspectives of these community members is reflected in the design of this project. 

Over the next few months, the Planning Division will be conducting a series of activities around the community to gather input. This input will be used to revise the previously crafted preliminary designs and present a new version with a fuller range of perspectives represented. 

Here’s the planned schedule of events coming up:

9/28 @ 4:30-6:00pm: Takoma Park Child Development Center (310 Tulip Ave)

9/30 @ 7:00-8:30pm: TPES Welcome Back Night (7511 Holly Ave)

10/5 @ TBD: Youth Pop-Up (II) @ Teen Center (7500 Maple Ave)

10/6 @ 8:30-9:30am: Walk to School Day @ PBES (7510 Maple Ave)

More dates are being scheduled

Please check the project page regularly to confirm the details for these and any new events added to the schedule: https://bit.ly/MapleAvenueConnectivity

Additional rounds of feedback will be collected in the following (semifinal) stage of the design process, which will further refine the project. The project will also include feedback gathered during previous planning efforts, including for the first iteration of this project–the Maple Avenue Complete Street project–and the Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment.

Request for Qualifications

RFQ #HCD-2023-08-23
City of Takoma Park Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Program

Purpose:

The City of Takoma Park is seeking responses from qualified non-profit housing organizations with strong, affordable housing track records and demonstrated experience in providing technical assistance and coordination for tenant purchases of rental buildings who are interested in serving in a pool of qualified parties to serve as assignees or designees (the “Roster of Responders”) as part of the City’s Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Law.

Deadline:

Submissions will be accepted on a rolling basis through December 31, 2023.

Contacts:

Devin McNally
Housing Manager, Housing & Community Development
City of Takoma Park
Email: devinm@takomaparkmd.gov

Web Portal:

 https://seam.ly/RYKpdAKg