Council debates labor center

Repair costs soar, legal concerns aired

Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2005

by Jaime Ciavarra

Staff Writer

In their first public discussion about plans for a center for day laborers, most Gaithersburg City Council members say the city has a responsibility to take care of its residents.

‘‘We’re not the first [city] to have to think this through,” said Councilwoman Geri Edens. ‘‘It’s clearly a part of our community, and we have to figure out the best way to accommodate them and the people that are affected.”

For nearly a year, the city, county and a nonprofit group have been organizing the Gaithersburg Upcounty Employment Center, a building off North Frederick Avenue where 20 to 40 workers could wait to be picked up daily for construction or other jobs.

The opening of the center, scheduled for early this month, has been delayed indefinitely because of renovation problems, and has been largely insulated from an often-times heated debate over immigration issues.

As Gaithersburg prepares to pay for renovations of the vacant building, Vice President Henry F. Marraffa Jr., said he is wary of putting city money toward a place that is ‘‘not fair for everybody.”

‘‘Somebody’s going to get sued...and we need to be very cognizant of it from a legal standpoint and a liability standpoint,” Marraffa said. ‘‘If the county wants to do that, we can be good friends with the county, and we can be good friends with these people. But we need to look out after Gaithersburg.”

The town council in Herndon, Va., voted earlier this month to set up a similar center.

Herndon residents who oppose it have threatened to sue Herndon if workers are loud, and an advocacy group, Judicial Watch, filed a lawsuit earlier this month that could stall or stop the building of the site.

Montgomery County, which has set up two similar centers in Wheaton and Silver Spring, is footing the bill to lease the Gaithersburg building, where Casa de Maryland, a nonprofit group, is expected to run English classes, issue identification cards and supervise employment opportunities.

For years, day labor workers have congregated informally in the parking lot of Grace United Methodist Church, a few hundred yards across the street from the proposed center.

Some businesses near the church have complained of problems with the group, including public drinking, urination, or ‘‘cat calling” women.

In a city-county partnership, the city has agreed to pay for the renovation of the 1,300 square-foot building, which is quickly escalating to $70,000 to $100,000 due to roof complications, City Manager David B. Humpton said during a presentation at Monday’s council meeting.

The city originally estimated that renovations would cost $20,000.

Gaithersburg, which has had a representative at 10 meetings with county officials and Casa workers, will continue talking with the county over the renovation situation, which city officials say should be resolved by the property owner.

‘‘Nobody thought it would be this high to get it going,” Humpton said after the meeting. ‘‘We believe that’s the property owner’s responsibility under the lease.”

Resident Demos Chrissos said he would rather see better police enforcement stop ‘‘illegal” workers from congregating at all.

‘‘If you couldn’t enforce it before the center was built, how will you enforce it after?” he asked the council.

The discussion Monday night will be one of several in the next few months about how large of a role the city will play in the first day laborer center in the upcounty, Humpton said. He has asked the city attorney to further look into liability issues, as well.

Mayor Sidney A. Katz has said that the center is an opportunity to better supervise and monitor these workers, and will likely cut down on complaints and problems.

In a past meeting he related it to a recent problem with homelessness in Olde Towne.

In 1988, Gaithersburg opened the Wells⁄Robertson House, a transitional house for the homeless and addicted, and those problems decreased, Katz said.

‘‘The city of Gaithersburg has a record of supporting its citizens, no matter how those citizens find themselves in the community,” said the Rev. Lou Piel of Grace United, who has been involved with the process. ‘‘I think we need to deal with this issue.”