Honorable Isiah Leggett County Executive ‘Montgomery County Executive Office Building 101 Monroe Street, 2" FL Rockville, Maryland 20850 March 7, 2011 REFERENCE: Brickyard Road Property Lease Dear Mr. Leggett: Iam writing on behalf of the Montgomery County Civic Federation regarding the lack of transparency and misuse of public trust in what appears to be a secret behind-the-scenes deal to end the 31-year lease for the above-referenced public property, and instead lease the substantial down-county school acreage to an undisclosed sports group. The lease before the Board of Education (BOE) on Tuesday has no educational benefit. Further, it appears that the Board does not know the use to which this publicly-owned land will be put. As such, your office and the BOE appear to be breaching the trust that has been conferred upon them by the legislature. ‘The land is currently leased to Mr. Nick Maravell. Mr. Maravell is an organic farmer and neighbor in the county. As you may know, this past September 2010, Mr. Maravell was appointed to a five-year term on the National Organic Standards Board by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. His term began this past January 2011. We understand that Mr. Maravell only found out about this deal recently, and that he must vacate within a few weeks. We understand this land deal has been in the works for over one year, yet the first the public heard about it was late last week, with a hearing and vote before the BOE to occur this Tuesday, March 8, This timeline gives less than a week for public notice and discussion. In addition, given the short notice and lack of information, it is also impossible to tell how the contemplated use would impact parks and recreation issues.‘The Board of Education was given this land in trust to be used for the benefit of the public school children of Montgomery County. ‘The Montgomery County Civic Federation urges the County Government, including the Executive Office and the Board of Education, to pull back on this action and act in a transparent manner regarding this and similar land deals. We urge you to provide details of the ‘public-private’ partnership being considered; and documentation as to whether it is supported by local residents. The secrecy and lack of transparency in government dealings is a matter of great concern to the members of the Civic Fed. Sincerely, feolad he Paula Bienenfeld Education Committee Chair, Montgomery County Civie Federation cc: Roger Berliner, Montgomery County Councilmember District 1 Valerie Ervin, President, Montgomery County Council Christopher Barclay, President, Montgomery County Board of Education