Letter to The Editor: An Open Letter to Roger Berliner

Edward J. Guss sent Patch this letter addressed to Montgomery County Council President Roger Berliner. The letter addressed the Brickyard Road controversy:

Roger Berliner, Montgomery Council President,  

I appreciate your meeting with the at which the matter of the Brickyard Road parcel of land became the main topic. Despite your efforts to explain the County Executive’s decision last year to secure school property off Brickyard Road in order to add four soccer fields (As described in your letter to the editor, “This property, nestled in a quiet residential neighborhood, has been leased to an organic farmer for many years”), there was a clear perception that the future use of the parcel of land controlled by the Board of Education, and leased to an organic farmer for the last 31 years, had been decided without community input.

It was clear that the decision process was flawed and the policy of transparency by elected officials was not followed. I think the most egregious violation was your implicit support of County Executive Ike Leggett's "commitment". The question begs what commitment and to whom? and when? and why? We now know the obvious.

to be constructed by a private, for profit organization, presumably MSI, which is well financed and influential. Those circumstances raise some serious questions concerning good, honest and open government. Notwithstanding the unique quality of the land which could be preserved for agricultural educational purposes consistent with the Montgomery County's agricultural and environmental preservation, it is even more puzzling why the County Executive and County Council support building soccer fields there. Is there no where else that this can be accomplished without destroying a unique asset?

Also in your letter to the editor, you stated, “I understand the outrage of citizens who feel that their lives are being negatively impacted by county government…” I think the working assumption about the opposition to soccer fields falls into the NIMBY rational. While that is probably true to some, and no doubt the traffic that will be generated on inadequate roads is sure to be a problem, my view is comes from an assault on my sensibilities about the forsaking of a unique parcel of land and forgoing an opportunity to advance the knowledge of future generations to the essential need to preserve our environment and agricultural science.

In the interest of good government and the preservation of Montgomery County's reputation for the same I respectfully request that, from your position of Council President and future political office, you champion the cause of good, transparent and visionary government. A good start would be to see that the proper and legal processes be applied to the future use of the Brickyard site. It is the right thing to do.

Sincerely,

Edward J. Guss

Have an opinion about the development on Brickyard Road in Potomac or government transparency? Send a letter to the editor to katie.griffith@patch.com to have it featured on the site.