OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Rockville City Council Meeting - February 23, 2026

Meeting Portal — Monday, February 23, 2026
BodyRockville, Maryland
SessionMeeting Portal
DateMonday, February 23, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:48:18

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Good evening, Rockville.

0:01

Today is February 23rd, 2026, and we are convening meeting 5-26.

0:06

Please join me as you're able in the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:30

Thank you, Miss Judy Penny.

0:32

Do we have any changes to the agenda?

0:35

There are no changes to the agenda this evening.

0:38

Thank you.

0:38

We now have the city manager's report, Mr.

0:40

Mahalek.

0:42

Mayor Ashton, members of city council, ladies and gentlemen, good evening.

0:45

I'm gonna do something a little different sign if it's okay.

0:48

I want to um talk a little bit about this past month.

0:51

So there's some really wonderful things that happened over this past month.

0:54

It was Black History Month, and we had a number of events that were really very well received in the community.

1:00

And then yesterday, this weekend we had our lunar new year celebrations, a couple of them partnering with um community organizations, extremely well attended, literally standing room only and people waiting outside the door.

1:12

So they're all wonderful opportunities for us to um create community and hang out in the in the uh committee with uh family and friends and enjoy.

1:22

Flip side, we've also had some really challenging times in the city over the past month too.

1:26

We had a pretty interesting, unique winter storm.

1:30

We had some very stressful calls into our police dispatch center, and we also obviously had an active shooter event.

1:38

One thing that I'm very proud of, though, even though those are all you know very difficult, stressful events for all of us, is that our staff responded very, very well in all three of those circumstances.

1:49

I do want to give some praise to um mayor and council.

1:52

You guys provide us with the resources to provide training, and that training really does matter.

1:58

And our staff not only attends training, receives certifications, but we do tabletop exercises, we do scenario-based training, and we really have plans in place, very specific plans in place for these types of incidences to make sure that when they're happen, we're prepared, and the men and women of our staff can go into those scenes and respond really well, and not only um protect the people that they're accessing those situations with, their co-workers, but more importantly, provide a much safer environment for our residents.

2:32

So I'm just really proud of the team.

2:34

I appreciate your support.

2:36

Hopefully, we won't have these instances again, especially three big events in the course of a month.

2:41

But just know we are prepared.

2:43

Thank you, Mayor.

2:44

Thank you, Ms.

2:45

Mihelik.

2:46

I want to thank staff for responding.

2:47

And I know uh we were we met on the day of the Wooten shooting and really thanked the full Rockville City Police Department as well as staff because they were staff from both Wooton as well as Frost who stepped in to help and make sure that families were secure and that families were united.

3:04

Uh so I just want to commend the team and thank thank you to all the parents.

3:07

It was a hard night.

3:08

Uh people are still dealing with it.

3:11

And I think we have some questions about you know, how do ghost guns make it into Maryland and how can we prevent uh situations like that in the future?

3:21

Um, I did want to also uh note that um staff did a fantastic job on the Luna New Year uh and also uh Dr.

3:28

King celebration.

3:30

Um interestingly, a key aid to Dr.

3:34

King uh unfortunately passed this month, and I wanted to acknowledge uh um Reverend Jesse Jackson, who also uh formed the uh the Rainbow Push Coalition as well, was a tremendous advocate for social justice, and uh I think has made our world a better place.

3:54

Many doors are open because he was here.

3:56

And uh Dr.

3:57

Miles and I also attended another key civil rights leader.

4:01

Uh our funeral today was Reverend Dr.

4:03

Ruby Reese Moon.

4:04

Dr.

4:05

Miles, I know you want to say a few words as well.

4:08

I don't think there are enough words, Madam Mayor, to express the loss that our community will feel from the passing of Reverend Dr.

4:17

Ruby Moon.

4:18

Um, like me, she's from Georgia.

4:21

She went to Clark, Atlanta.

4:23

I subsequently went there to Atlanta University many uh decades later, but started off as a social worker.

4:31

I'm not um a guidance counselor, actually in Poolsville, uh and worked at Gaitersborough High, and then has a local clinic connection in uh serving at Wooton High School among the MCPS schools she worked at.

4:45

Um she went on to serve as chaplain for the University of Maryland, among other accolades, but the the main thing I want to point out in the loss of this living legend, uh now recently deceased, is her commitment both you know, in the classroom.

5:02

She, you know, was on the Edmund Edmund Pettus Bridge in marching with folks on Bloody Sunday.

5:08

Help to organize folks to attend the March on Washington with Dr.

5:12

King when she first moved down to here to or up here to Maryland.

5:17

Um, but the the best accolade I can would want to share is in part how friendly how representative of this community she was.

5:26

When I moved here about 10 years ago, she welcomed me in, just like any other student or or grandkid, depending on how you looked at it.

5:32

Um and was always praying for folks.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Affordable Housing█████████████████████████████████████████████60%
Public Safety██████████13%
Public Engagement████████11%
Community Engagement███4%
Homelessness██3%
Rental Housing██3%
Procedural██2%
Zoning And Land Use█1%
Transportation Safety█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Rockville City Council Meeting - February 23, 2026

The Rockville City Council convened on February 23, 2026, for Meeting 5-26. Key agenda items included a city manager's report on recent events and staff response, a community forum where residents spoke on housing and tenant issues, a consent calendar of routine approvals, and a work session on updating Chapter 18 of the city code governing landlord-tenant relations. Council discussed proposals for background check restrictions, relocation assistance, penalties, future code amendments, and programmatic support.

Consent Calendar

  • Authorized a contract with Kittleson Associates for planning and engineering services for Vision Zero intersection safety audits (not to exceed approx. $398,000).
  • Authorized a rider agreement with IPS Group Inc. for parking enforcement management and citation processing.
  • Authorized execution of a project agreement with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources for a $1.5 million grant for Phase 2 of Redgate Park and Arboretum improvements.
  • Authorized electricity supply agreements with WGL Energy Services for December 2025 through September 2026.
  • Approved minutes from February 2, 9 (closed session), and Meeting 4-26.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Jamie N. (Rockville renter) criticized the council for not pursuing rent stabilization, arguing that decisions protect landlords and wealthy donors at the expense of working tenants. He noted a 70% decrease in new housing units developed in 2025 despite promises that avoiding rent stabilization would attract development.
  • Kathleen Kelly (Rockville resident) shared her background in social work and nursing, and urged the city to repurpose the Marlowe building as a rehabilitation facility for the homeless and elderly, citing biblical inspiration.
  • Grant Sams (Rockville resident) supported several proposed landlord-tenant code changes (ban on pricing algorithms, tenant association support, eviction assistance) but criticized the council for voting down and censoring rent stabilization, calling it unprecedented. He also cited a 70% drop in new units in 2025.
  • Christine Gerba (Rockville renter) encouraged the council to explore fee restrictions with an open mind, supported banning algorithmic pricing to prevent price-fixing, and urged improved data collection on rent increases and fees.
  • Terrence Taylor (property manager and renter) urged caution on proposed changes, arguing that banning algorithmic pricing could reduce price competition and that heavy penalties could shift resources away from resident services. He noted his employer, Comstock, is investing in affordable housing.

Discussion Items

  • City Manager's Report: Mr. Mahalek reported on successful community events (Black History Month, Lunar New Year) and praised staff for their response to a winter storm, stressful police calls, and an active shooter incident at Wooten High School. Council members echoed appreciation for law enforcement and city staff, and expressed condolences for the loss of civil rights leader Reverend Dr. Ruby Reese Moon and noted the legacy of Reverend Jesse Jackson.
  • Work Session on Chapter 18 Landlord-Tenant Code Update: Housing staff presented findings from public input (tenants sought rent stabilization, fee transparency, relocation assistance; landlords cited costs and complexity). Staff recommended:
    • Background Check Restrictions: Align with Montgomery County's Housing Justice Act (ban the box, prohibit asking about eviction history, exclude serious felonies and sexual offenses). Council broadly supported but requested details on the county bill and data on equity impacts.
    • Relocation Assistance: Temporary (for uninhabitable units due to landlord fault) and permanent (for license suspension, demolition, etc.), with payments covering security deposit interest, three months' median market rent, moving costs, and extra for seniors/disabled. Council debated fault determination, comparable housing, and impact on small landlords. Some members expressed concerns about tenants paying rent while displaced; staff noted rent escrow as an option.
    • Penalties: Increase the maximum fine from $100 to $5,000 with varying amounts per violation, aligning with recent state law. Council supported in concept but requested specific fee schedules and consideration of corporate vs. non-corporate landlords.
    • Programmatic Actions and Future Code Amendments: Staff proposed increasing landlord-tenant education, supporting tenant outreach/organizing, expanding eviction prevention (including pre-eviction assistance), and exploring tenant right to purchase (TOPA), cooling requirements, commercial tenant protections, and senior living facility protections. Council generally supported, with priorities including cooling requirements, commercial tenant protections, and early intervention for evictions. Some members asked for more detail on TOPA and senior living.
  • Algorithmic Pricing: Council discussed a proposed ban; some members favored moving forward without waiting for state legislation, while others noted the need to align with state action. Staff indicated they will monitor the legislative session before finalizing code language.
  • Two-Year Lease Terms: Staff recommended requiring landlords to offer a two-year lease option (with reasonable-cause exceptions). Council discussed potential for balloon rent increases after the term and requested data from Montgomery County's experience.

Key Outcomes

  • The consent agenda was approved unanimously.
  • Staff will draft updated Chapter 18 code language based on council feedback and conduct additional stakeholder outreach. The draft is expected to be presented on May 18, 2026, with potential further work sessions before adoption.
  • Council directed staff to provide additional details on:
    • Fee schedules for penalties, considering corporate vs. small landlords.
    • Model county legislation on background checks and algorithmic pricing.
    • Best practices on relocation assistance fault determination and comparable housing.
    • Data on the impact of two-year lease terms in Montgomery County.
  • The meeting adjourned without further business.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, Rockville. Today is February 23rd, 2026, and we are convening meeting 5-26. Please join me as you're able in the Pledge of Allegiance. Thank you, Miss Judy Penny. Do we have any changes to the agenda? There are no changes to the agenda this evening. Thank you. We now have the city manager's report, Mr. Mahalek. Mayor Ashton, members of city council, ladies and gentlemen, good evening. I'm gonna do something a little different sign if it's okay. I want to um talk a little bit about this past month. So there's some really wonderful things that happened over this past month. It was Black History Month, and we had a number of events that were really very well received in the community. And then yesterday, this weekend we had our lunar new year celebrations, a couple of them partnering with um community organizations, extremely well attended, literally standing room only and people waiting outside the door. So they're all wonderful opportunities for us to um create community and hang out in the in the uh committee with uh family and friends and enjoy. Flip side, we've also had some really challenging times in the city over the past month too. We had a pretty interesting, unique winter storm. We had some very stressful calls into our police dispatch center, and we also obviously had an active shooter event. One thing that I'm very proud of, though, even though those are all you know very difficult, stressful events for all of us, is that our staff responded very, very well in all three of those circumstances. I do want to give some praise to um mayor and council. You guys provide us with the resources to provide training, and that training really does matter. And our staff not only attends training, receives certifications, but we do tabletop exercises, we do scenario-based training, and we really have plans in place, very specific plans in place for these types of incidences to make sure that when they're happen, we're prepared, and the men and women of our staff can go into those scenes and respond really well, and not only um protect the people that they're accessing those situations with, their co-workers, but more importantly, provide a much safer environment for our residents. So I'm just really proud of the team. I appreciate your support. Hopefully, we won't have these instances again, especially three big events in the course of a month. But just know we are prepared. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Ms. Mihelik. I want to thank staff for responding. And I know uh we were we met on the day of the Wooten shooting and really thanked the full Rockville City Police Department as well as staff because they were staff from both Wooton as well as Frost who stepped in to help and make sure that families were secure and that families were united. Uh so I just want to commend the team and thank thank you to all the parents. It was a hard night. Uh people are still dealing with it. And I think we have some questions about you know, how do ghost guns make it into Maryland and how can we prevent uh situations like that in the future? Um, I did want to also uh note that um staff did a fantastic job on the Luna New Year uh and also uh Dr. King celebration. Um interestingly, a key aid to Dr. King uh unfortunately passed this month, and I wanted to acknowledge uh um Reverend Jesse Jackson, who also uh formed the uh the Rainbow Push Coalition as well, was a tremendous advocate for social justice, and uh I think has made our world a better place. Many doors are open because he was here. And uh Dr. Miles and I also attended another key civil rights leader. Uh our funeral today was Reverend Dr. Ruby Reese Moon. Dr. Miles, I know you want to say a few words as well. I don't think there are enough words, Madam Mayor, to express the loss that our community will feel from the passing of Reverend Dr. Ruby Moon. Um, like me, she's from Georgia.

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