Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the Public Safety Committee work session of Monday, June 15, 2026.

Today we have three topics on the agenda.

The first is a resolution to approve supplemental appropriation number 2668 to the FY26 operating budget, Montgomery County Department of Police, fourth district police station, Wheaton station move and space modification for $994,000.

The source of funds is the general fund undesignated reserves.

The second item will be the expedited bill 2326, restrictions on ghost guns near minors in carrying of firearms in or near places of public assembly.

And the third is the Office of Legislative Oversight, also known as OLO, Report of 2026-2020, successful strategies from other jurisdictions to increase police officer recruitment.

As we begin, I'd like to thank Ms.

Vrog, Ms.

Whelans, and Ms.

Monzon Monzon Reynolds for preparing the staff reports for the topics today and for once again and always assembling most informative packets for us.

Unless the other committee members have any opening comments, I'm going to ask the first panel to please introduce themselves and ask if they have any opening comments, and then ask Ms.

Farag to lead us through the packet.

Chief.

Mark Amata, Chief of the Police Department.

Captain David Smith, Commander of the Fourth District.

Assistant Chief Nicholas Ogden, Chief of Management Services Bureau.

Darren Frank, Chief of Patrol.

Good afternoon.

Captain Kathy Estrada, Director of the Police Personnel Division.

Now we did see Captain Commander Assistant Chief Frank the other day when he was trying to dunk both both of us.

She got me.

So today we'll be an day for you.

Yeah, yeah.

Anyhow, and with that, Ms.

Farrag, could you lead us through, please?

Good afternoon.

As you've already stated, this is a supplemental appropriation in the operating budget for $994,000, which will fund, if approved, the move of all staff functions from the Fourth District police station in Wheaton over to the REDE Drive location.

There was public hearing on May 12th for this.

There was one speaker from the police union who did testify in favor of it.

You've been briefed and updated multiple times on the current conditions of the dilapidated station of 4D.

So this is the first step that is needed so that they can vacate the building and then proceed with a capital improvement plan project, which was also new this year to create a new fourth district station.

The police department advises that the staffing move to REDE Drive will involve approximately 150 employees, and there is a draft MOU currently with the Office of County Attorney for review, and it will then be shared with Park and Planning Park Police for coordination and final approval.

They've indicated that the REDI Drive, the new REDI Drive location will house all 4D sworn administrative operations and that evidence and prisoner processing will be conducted at the Park Police headquarters on Lay Hill Road.

The information that they gave me, which I'd like to confirm is still up to date because I got these answers several weeks ago.

They anticipate moving between September and November of 2026, pending approval of this supplemental appropriation.

In preparation for this move to see how it might have a community impact, the department worked to ensure minimal service disruption, if at all, and it advised that it conducted a two-month assessment of a walk-in activity at current fourth district station, which did not identify excessive community member volume.

They advised the only substation continues to provide a community footprint within the fourth district boundaries.

And then if necessary, the third district station is five and a half minutes, five and a half miles or fifteen minutes away under normal driving conditions, and that will ensure nearby front-facing resources remain available to fourth district residents as well.

The park police headquarters offers a secure law enforcement facility for processing individuals under arrest and managing evidence functions without imposing those operations on the REDE Drive space.

The fiscal impact, as I mentioned before, is 994,000 from the General Reserve.

What is unique to me about this or unusual is that it has been funded with the liquidation of a prior year purchase order that had been valued at about 1.7 million dollars.

So this function has actually increased the general fund by about $680,000.

There's a breakdown of the different costs for you on page three.

And the racial equity and impact assessment indicated that this does have the potential to advance racial equity and social justice in the county.

Relocating staff from the current district police station is a necessary component of the larger project to construct a new police station at the current site, which is described as an obsolete building that does not meet modern police needs.

Council staff recommends approval as submitted.

Thank you very much.

And I know I'm going to turn immediately to Councilmember Luke, who is certainly someone who has an opinion about this.

But can we have we have we gotten the uh MOU from the park police on that we can share uh their facility?

Wasn't that part of the problem here?

Councilmember first, thank you again for uh the great cause.

Yeah, and I hear all that nice.

Yeah, it was a good evening.

Uh yes, the uh the MOU is being reviewed by our uh Office of the County Attorney just to make sure it it meets the needs of of both Park Police and us, and it's gonna go back to them.

So it's it's uh with us for the moment, uh about ready to go back over to them.

And these take several back and forth.

But we're in a good space there.

Really, the big thing that is on the uh horizon that it's gonna dictate the timeline on this is the ordering of uh the furniture uh ordering of any kind of uh work that we need done in the space.

So uh we're ready to do that uh pending today, and and that'll get us in that window of September to November.

But the uh MOU should be fine.