Evening star., 1950-06-01
Council Passes
Bond Issue Bill
ForS9,454,000
Schools. Roods, County
Building Provided; Act
For Porkine Lot OKd
ByJ. B. Zotmon

orlzaIlon Tor SCHOOLS, roads and {
new county Office building, and q
bill calling for an additional $780,.
900 bond issue for public parking
lots in Bethesda were on the
Montgomery County law books TO-
day.
Also enacted into law last night
at the County Councils final
meeting of its one-month legisla-
tive session was a measure setting
up a Commission for Medical
Care with power to accept funds
from any source for construction
Of additional hospital facilities in
the county.
In adopting the latter measure
after four hours of debate
and parliamentary maneuver, the
council killed a bill which would
have authorized the county to
borrow up to 81 million to build a
medical center in Silver Spring.
In all last night, the council
passed eight bills and rejected one.
Defeated. S to 2, was a proposal
to impose a uniform 10-cent per
500 fire tax in the Gaithersburg-
Washington Grove fire area. The
present tax is 5 cents in Gathers
burg and 10 cents in the outlying
sections Of the area. Only Coun-
Gil President Frederic P. Lee and
Councilman P. G. Lyon supported
the measure.
Authorization Sets Record.
The $9.4 million bond authorize
tion-the largest in the country's
history-earmarks $7,395,O00 for
school construction, the largest
sum ever provided for such a pur-
pose: 81 100000 for a county office
building in Rockville and 1929 900
for roads and storm water drain
age.
Before acting on the measure
the council rescinded an amend
ment adopted Tuesday which
would have set $4.563 900 ceiling
on the amount allocated for
schools, unless the Board of Edu-
cation certified it had contracted
for more than that figure during
the coming fiscal year.
Mr.. Lee said the bill does no,
specify whether the county shall
borrow the total amount fol
schools from the State or from
private lending agencies. It de.
pends on which method is more
economical. he explained.
At the same time, he, an
nounced the council had decided
against inserting referendum
provision in the bond bill on the
advice Of its bond attorneys, He
quoted them as saying they had
grave doubts" as to the validity
Of any bonds issued under the bill
II 1t contained a mandatory ref
erendum clause.
Petition Right Unaffected.
Mr.. Lee emphasized, however,
that "the right of petition for a
referendum still remains with the
citizens of the county"
Amendments to the Bethesda
parking lot bill reduced the origi-
nal 100000 bond issue provision
to $500.000. permitted additional
exemptions from the special tax
on commercial and industrial
properties for merchants provid-
Ing their own public parking ia
cilities and redrew the boundaries
Of the Bethesda business district
to exclude land in residential de-
velopments.
The bonds will be paid off by
q Accent tax on developed COM
mercial and industrial land in the
business district and a 20-cent
levy on undeveloped land zoned
Tor such purposes, as well as from
parking meter proceeds.
Most Of last nights meetins
was taken up by wrangling over
the hospital bill. sponsored b,
Councilman Harold F. Hammond
Many Amendments Offered.
Parliamentary moves reached
such a stage that at one point
council members were voting or
amendments to amendments to 8
substitute to a substitute for thu
original measure.
Mr.. Hammond started the legis.
lative battle by submitting a sub.
stitute for his bill. Like the origi.
nal draft. it provided for a s.
million bond issue to build hos.
pital on a 25-acre site owned b,
the Silver Spring Hospital Asso.
citation at Sligo Greek parkway anc
Forest Glen road.
Mrs. Dorothy Himstead. who ha,
consistently opposed the Silver
Spring location, obtained council
approval Of an amendment elimi.
mating the clause relating to thu
silver Spring site.
Mr.. Hammond countered with
an amendment, also approved
which provided that the proposed
hospital should be built "as neal
the center of population in thu
county as practicable"
Private Hospitals Urged.
During the debate, both Mrs
Himstead and Councilman A. r
Selby insisted that hospital
should be operated by private in
terests and not by the county"
Finally. Mr.. Lee succeeded i,
inserting an amendment enablin
the commission to accept money
with the councils consent, fror
any source for construction of
hospital. The measure then wa
adopted by q 5-to-2 vote.
Other bills passed prohibit oc
cupancy of any building found un
safe or unfit for human habita
ton, repeal 1945 law authorizin
appointemnt of park policemen b
NIo ~oyif%