Wheaton Library & Community Recreation Center on Agenda

The Wheaton Library and Community Recreation Center are on the agenda of two County Council committees on Feb. 27.

At 2 p.m. in the Seventh Floor Hearing Room, the Health and Human Services Committee, which is chaired by George Leventhal and includes Councilmembers  Craig Rice and Nancy Navarro, and the Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee, which is chaired by Nancy Floreen and includes Councilmembers Leventhal and Marc Elrich, will meet jointly to review the County Executive’s recommendation for the Wheaton Library and Community Recreation Center.

The library was opened in 1960 and was renovated in 1985. Problems with building conditions have continued for a number of years, and a project providing for the complete renovation of the Wheaton Library was approved initially as part of the FY05-10 CIP. However, the Council deleted the project from the FY09-14 CIP because of uncertainty regarding the scope of the project and the possibility of relocation to a site in the Central Business District. The current Wheaton Library site is located on County property.

The Wheaton Community Center was opened in 1963 by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) and is located on park land. The Recreation Department programs the facility. The Recreation Strategic Facility Plan 1997-2010 called for replacing the existing facility with a larger full service center to serve the Wheaton/Kemp Mill communities. The Wheaton Community Center-Rafferty project was proposed in the FY09-14 CIP to renovate and expand a portion of the former Good Counsel High School, which was designated for a public purpose as a part of a site development rezoning decision. The Rafferty Center, along with a renovated Wheaton Recreation Center, was intended to provide the equivalent of a full service community recreation center. Space limitations and other challenges with the site made the project undesirable, and it was eliminated from the CIP when this project was adopted.

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