County Council to Hold Town Hall Meeting with Students

Following is the press release from the County Council.

Montgomery County Council to Host Its First Town Hall Meeting for Students on Wednesday, Feb. 3, in Rockville

High School and Middle School Students From Across the County Will Be Able to Express Views on Issues, Ask Questions of Councilmembers in First Meeting of Its Kind

ROCKVILLE, Md., January 11, 2010—The Montgomery County Council, which for the past several years has held Town Hall Meetings throughout the County in its efforts to find out what issues most concern residents, will learn what is on the mind of younger residents when it hosts its first-ever Town Hall Meeting for Students at the Council Office Building in Rockville. The meeting, in the Council’s Third Floor Hearing Room, will start at 7 p.m. A pre-meeting reception will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the building’s second-floor cafeteria.

The Council Office Building is located at 100 Maryland Ave. in downtown Rockville. It is about a three-block walk from the Rockville Metrorail station, which also is a main stopping point for many RideOn bus lines. For students traveling to the meeting by car, free parking will be available by entering the Council parking garage from the Fleet Street entrance.

This will be the first Town Hall Meeting hosted by the Council in 2010. The Council is composed of President Nancy Floreen, Vice President Valerie Ervin and Councilmembers Phil Andrews, Roger Berliner, Marc Elrich, Mike Knapp, George Leventhal, Nancy Navarro and Duchy Trachtenberg.

The meeting is open to high school and middle school students from around the County. The meeting will allow the participants to let Councilmembers know how they feel about specific issues and also will provide the opportunity to ask questions of the Councilmembers in an organized, but informal, setting.

“When it comes to decisions affecting young people—whether in regard to schools, libraries, recreation, parks or the community in general—the practice too often is to have one set of adults talk to another set adults,” said Council President Nancy Floreen. “This Council will have many important decisions to make in the coming months—and many of these decisions could have significant impact on people 18 and under. We think the best way to find out what this generation of Montgomery County residents need and want is to hear directly from them.”

The meeting will be broadcast live on County Cable Montgomery (CCM—cable Channel 6 on Comcast and RCN, Channel 30 on Verizon) and rebroadcast at various times in the following weeks. Susan Kenedy, a producer for the county station, will moderate the meeting.

Students who wish to attend the meeting are asked to RSVP by calling 240-777-7931.

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