Council committee OKs lease for soccerplex
by JoAnn Grbach
An agreement about how to maintain and operate a 24-field soccer complex at South Germantown Recreational Park for the next 40 years gained approval Tuesday from a County Council committee.
The Planning, Housing and Economic Development committee will recommend approval to the council for a lease agreement between the county and the Maryland Soccer Foundation for a large-scale soccer complex as long as more detail is included.
"I think we are creating a balance between community interests and a recreational park with a soccer complex in it," said Councilman Steven Silverman (D-At large) of Silver Spring, lead council member for parks and recreation.
The County Council is expected to approve the lease for the $19.8 million public-private venture July 27.
The foundation, a nonprofit organization formed to represent youth soccer interests in the county and that has promised to raise $11 million to build the complex, plans to begin construction immediately after council action next week.
The complex will house 24 soccer fields including a championship field with seating for up to 3,200 people plus an indoor arena.
The committee required the foundation to clarify certain points of contention in the lease that neighbors of the park raised during a public hearing last Thursday. Many of their concerns about the lease echoed those brought to light before the council approved the complex in March.
Traffic, groundwater, signs, lighting and whether soccer will dominate the recreational park came to the forefront again.
"My personal goal is to address all these issues now ... because it's an up or down vote on the lease," Silverman. "We don't have the ability to make changes at full council."
Neighbors of the 655-acre South Germantown park urged council members during the public hearing to postpone a decision until fall, arguing that the lengthy document deserves more attention.
For residents living near the large-scale soccer complex, the lease provided inconsistencies from what the council laid out when it approved the complex in the spring.
"This is a very good lease for soccerplex," said Robert Skelton, who testified last week for the Manchester Farms Community Association. "But it is not a public-private partnership and it's not a good lease for the public."
Nearby residents questioned the lack of details in the lease, noting ambiguity about what types of signs will be allowed at the park, why the lease did not stipulate the prevention of groundwater use and a condition that certain roads must be built before the complex can open.
"I notice there are no restrictions on the use of groundwater, which was a major issue over the past several months," Skelton said. "If it's not in the lease, it's not prohibited."
They also wanted to know what the contingency plan for neighboring wells would be in case groundwater is contaminated that residents lined up to testify about.
But Marlene Michaelson, senior legislative analyst for the council, put many fears to rest Tuesday when she explained that while some things may not appear in the lease, they will be adhered to because they are outlined in the project description form -- a document that specifies how a county project will be built -- or in permits the foundation will have to obtain to build the complex.
"I think this has been assumed by all parties, but I think it would be helpful to have that in here," she said.
Resident testimony was aimed at ensuring promises the council made about items that proved contentious during the 15 months officials worked to allay neighbor fears and still allow the foundation to build the complex were spelled out in the lease.
"Traffic problems are one of the single biggest concerns," Skelton said. "The soccerplex gets to do its own traffic counts. That's rather like having the fox watch the henhouse."
At the same time, soccer advocates applauded the lease, saying the foundation had stuck to all its promises by setting forth plans to perform traffic counts, monitor nearby wells and schedule events to accommodate the neighborhood.
"I have studied the lease as a soccer advocate, taxpayer, parent and business leader who believes in the value of public-private partnerships for the development of a greatly needed park," said Kevin Beverly, vice president for Montgomery Soccer Inc. (MSI), a youth soccer organization.
And while the council will ultimately have to decide whether details of the lease are specific enough to ensure the community is protected by it, Councilwoman Nancy H. Dacek at least made her position clear last week that soccer will not take over the public park.
"I want it clearly understood ... that tournaments would not impact on public uses, so if it has to be written into the lease, it will be," said Dacek (R-Dist. 2) of Darnestown, who represents the Germantown area and was present at Thursday's public hearing and Tuesday's committee meeting.
Meanwhile, the foundation is continuing its fundraising efforts to pay for soccer complex.
Jim Clark, owner of Bethesda-based Clark Construction, and Abe Pollin, owner of three Washington sports teams, have pledged $600,000 jointly in support of the soccer complex at South Germantown Recreational Park.
The announcement came from Ken Solomon, president of the Maryland Soccer Foundation, during the public hearing. Clark will give $500,000 and Pollin plans to give $100,000.
John Hendricks, president and chief executive officer of Bethesda-based Discovery Communications, pledged $1 million of his own money to get the project started. Discovery Communications announced it would give $1 million to the project as well.
Staff Writer