Gaithersburg to open day-laborer center

• Article
• Comments ()
• Click-2-Listen
• Videos

By

The Gaithersburg City Council has agreed to open a permanent day-laborer center by winter, after more than a year of trying to fix the problem of 50 to 100 immigrants and illegal aliens loitering outside a downtown church while looking for work.

"We've got to deal with the problems in Gaithersburg," council member Stanley J. Alster said Thursday, minutes before casting his vote to approve the center. "I think it's time we take action."

The 3-1 vote capped a three-hour meeting that included a presentation by the Gaithersburg Police Department, a public-comment session filled with accusations of racism against Hispanics and a heated debate among council members.

Several council members acknowledged the tentative site -- a storefront in the Festival Shopping Center off Interstate 270 -- is not a "perfect solution" to complaints of crime, public urination and other problems associated with day laborers, who are mostly Hispanic and illegal aliens.

However, they said a bus stop near the site and a fence that separates it from nearby homes is a "good first step."

City Manager David Humpton now will submit the council's resolution to Montgomery County officials, who will pursue a lease with Nellis Corp., which manages the strip mall.

"We still have many steps to go," he said. "We'll see what happens."

Nellis executives said they attended the meeting Thursday but have not decided whether to lease the space.

They said last week they would talk with tenants before agreeing to a deal.

"All of the presentations were impressive and gave us a lot to think about," the company said yesterday. "We hope answers will be forthcoming within the next few weeks."