May 21, 2018
Make the Most of your Chamber Membership

Are you new to GSSCC?  Do you have a new team member at your organization?  Join us for a free breakfast from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Wedesday, June 6, at  Eggspectation  (923 Ellsworth Drive).  Learn how GSSCC works to promote and advocate for member businesses.  Click  here  to register.
* International Rescue Committee (IRC)  will hold its 9th biannual job fair, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 24, at the Silver Spring Civic Building (1 Veterans Plaza). The job fair will provide local businesses and community partners access to more than 100 IRC job seekers. This free event requires advance registration, email Marta.Tewolde@rescue.org .

Montgomery Housing Partnership will host a County Executive Candidate Forum from 6 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. on Thursday, June 7, at Housing Opportunities Commission (10400 Detrick Avenue, Kensington, MD).  County executive candidates will discuss their views on affordable housing and how they plan to tackle the housing crisis.  Click here to register.

* Kudos to Revere Bank on being honored at the 13th Annual Johnny Holliday Scholarship Classic as the 2018 Community Champion Award Recipient.  To see the full press release, click here.

See your company's news here! GSSCC is pleased to highlight news from our member companies in this section of the weekly e-news. Please submit items via email to info@gsscc.org before close of business each Friday. Include a pdf of news releases or other flyers.
Purple Line Update, Decisions Made about Lyttonsville Bridge

Downtown Silver Spring Section : The Silver Spring Community Advisory Team met earlier this month for an update on construction work between 16th Street and Manchester Place. Completed construction work includes: geotechnical investigations and preparation of the 16th Street shopping center (formerly Spring Center) for demolition. The Spring Street Post Office is expected to move in July to its temporary quarters in the Silver Spring Library. 

Work anticipated in the next six months includes: overhead and underground utility work along the route including Bonifant Street and Wayne Avenue; closure of Bonifant Street west of Colesville Road this fall; establishing a work area on the grassy area next to the Silver Spring Transit Center; beginning the foundations for the bridges over Colesville Road; and work at Silver Spring International Middle School. Click here to see a copy of the full presentation from the meeting, which includes contact information for concerns. 

Lyttonsville/Brookville Road SectionAt a community meeting last week, Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) and Purple Line Transit Partners (PLTP) representatives announced that the Lyttonsville Place Bridge will close for reconstruction in 30 days. They described a new detour and other plans to accommodate traffic that will be diverted once the bridge is closed. During the meeting, PLTP staff noted that they had listened to the community at the last meeting and had taken a new look at whether phasing of the bridge construction would be possible. They also looked at the original proposed detours. 

Because the footprint of the new bridge overlaps 50 percent of the current bridge, because the new bridge must be much higher than the current bridge, and because there is no space to build the new bridge alongside the current one, they concluded that phased construction is not possible. See details here.

MTA described a new official detour that they believe will minimize traffic on small residential streets. Click here to see the new detour.  In addition, MTA and Montgomery County officials announced that an alternative connection will be created between the Lyttonsville community and Brookville Road by opening Stewart Avenue to Kansas Avenue while the bridge is closed. GSSCC and member businesses have expressed concerns about the restrictions placed on access to this road and are working with County and State officials to make this more accommodating for businesses and their customers. Click here to see the full presentation, which shows the current Stewart Avenue plan.
Update on Pepco Work in Downtown Silver Spring

Pepco crews continue to work southbound on Colesville Road and are expected to reach Fenton Street by October. As of May 1, a second Pepco crew began work on Fenton Street at Colesville Road and is headed eastward toward Montgomery College.  The plan is to be at Ellsworth Drive around July 1. A third crew that started in Takoma Park should reach Fenton Street and turn west past Montgomery College around June 1.  Questions should be directed to Tami Watkins, Pepco Senior External Affairs Specialist, at (240)354-6020 or twatkins@pepco.com.
Missed the Business Candidate Forums?
Candidates Responses are on YouTube

If you missed GSSCC's County Executive Candidate Forum, or the one hosted by the Montgomery County Business Coalition, you can still find out how the candidates responded to business-related questions on a YouTube channel created by the Coalition. Click here to access the channel that includes individual videos of candidate responses to each question. And, don't forget to register and vote in the Primary on June 26. GSSCC provides election and registration information here
Upcoming GSSCC Committee/Group Meetings

Membership Committee Meeting - 9 a.m. on Tuesday, May 22

* Young Professionals Network Committe Meeting - 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 3
About GSSCC Committee/Team Meetings:  All GSSCC members are welcome to participate in Chamber committees. Members are welcome to attend committee meetings to assess interest in joining a committee. Meetings are typically held in the GSSCC Conference Room. Advance RSVP is required and priority will be given to existing committee members when speakers are scheduled.
  Thank you to our 2017-2018 GSSCC Partners
 
Corporate Partners - Downtown Silver Spring; Lee Development Group; Montgomery College; Statland & Katz Insurance, Inc.; Washington Adventist Hospital

 
Business Partners - AFI Silver Theatre; Apex Home Loans; Atlantech Online; Bud Miller Associates, Inc.; Digital Industry; Discovery Communications; EagleBank; Eggspectation; 
The Fillmore Silver Spring; Lerch, Early & Brewer Chtd.; Linowes and Blocher, LLP; M&T Bank; Revere Bank; The Tower Companies (The Blairs); United Therapeutics Corporation; Washington Property Company.

 
Partners - Adam Lowe Creative; Bell Flowers; Carlton Creative; EBA Ernest Bland Associates; IBI - Innovative Business Interiors; 
My Office Products; Signs By Tomorrow.
 
To reach the Chamber staff, call 301-565-3777.
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