Few construction projects in East Montgomery County were outlined in County Executive Isiah Leggett’s $4.21 billion capital improvements program (CIP) proposal last week.

“This is a slightly smaller capital budget than the previous one,” said Miti Figueredo, director of the Eastern Montgomery Regional Services Center. “I don't think that there were a lot of new projects in this capital budget for anyone, for any part of the county.”

Among the projects funded in East County were a new 3^rd District police station in White Oak, the White Oak recreation center and continued redevelopment of Burtonsville’s central business district. 

“For East County, I was really relieved and pleased to see that the projects we had in there were still in there and they're going to proceed,” said Figueredo. 

East County Citizens Advisory Board member Tom Alyward told the Gazette that he would have wanted a pedestrian crosswalk at Fairland Road and Route 29, south of the Intercounty Connector, to improve safety.

“Frankly, there’s no money for anybody, but we need to look at it and we need to say these are priorities and we need to say these things are a higher priority.”

Figueredo said the projects aren’t a done deal for East County, which will likely require more development once the White Oak Science Gateway Master Plan is completed. 

“We know the planners are probably going to recommend some new roads over there,” she said. “I think the important thing was that we didn't really lose ground; the county executive, I think, did a good job of prioritizing things.”