voices of the reserve
Still Fighting for a Better Life in the Ag Reserve
By Link Hoewing Chairperson , Fair Access Committee of Western Montgomery County
Montgomery County ’ s Agricultural Reserve was created by a farsighted and unique policy decision to limit major development and investment in the Western and Upper County . It is a wonderful economic , environmental and recreational asset . Its creation , however , has created a conundrum for the 15,000 or so who live here and for the politicians of the county . A rural oasis , the Reserve is far from most county services available to suburban and urban Montgomery County residents . It can also be far from the minds of most leaders in the county . Its unique problem — related mostly to its distance from the busier areas of the county — means that it does not fit the conventional policy mold that is dominated by dense population and ready access to services and programs for the rest of the county .
The Fair Access Committee was created by the Town of Poolesville to shine a spotlight on the inequities in county policies , investments and programs that have plagued our area for decades . We have made progress in getting the attention of county leaders who have been more willing to make changes that will help . Even so , it still seems the county is not yet “ all in ” when it comes to a sustained and complete commitment to meeting the needs of the population in the Ag Reserve .
A case in point is Poolesville High School . Parts of the school are nearly 100 years old and it has repeatedly been placed on and removed from the “ modernization ” list for rebuilding by the county . Even as late as 2018 , the school was again cut from the list . That year , we launched the Fair Access Committee of Western Montgomery County , and after a sustained campaign with lots of community support , the county approved a new project to rebuild the high school .
Unfortunately , the entire budget for the program is not much larger than those approved for many middle schools , and the county has so far refused to build a new gym , despite the fact that our school has by far the smallest gym in the county and more student athletes than many larger schools . Without the practice space they need , our student athletes are being unfairly shortchanged .
The same lack of commitment applies to other programs and services . The Ag Reserve is a “ services desert ” when it comes to senior centers , clinics , and student wellness centers . In places like Germantown and Gaithersburg , senior centers often include wellness centers to help address health issues , community centers , and sometimes clinics for lower-income residents . Some of their high schools have youth wellness centers that provide basic access to health care , including mental-health services for young people .
Poolesville is 15 miles from the nearest community center and 30 miles from the nearest senior center . Places like Dickerson and Barnesville in the Ag Reserve are even farther away . Poolesville has done its best on its own to create programs for seniors and youth , but without facilities , we can only do so much .
The county health department recently found that of all the 36 zip codes studied within the county , the Poolesville zip code ranked last in overall health outcomes . It also ranked last on several specific health outcomes , including emergency room and mentalhealth hospitalization rates . There are only two primary care doctors in the western part of the Reserve , a ratio of one per 7,500 people , versus one doctor per 740 people in the rest of the county . Travis Gayles , the county ’ s most recent health officer and chief of public health services , acknowledged the lack of nearby and convenient medical services could be a contributing factor in some of the poor health outcomes .
Recently , Casey Anderson of the county ’ s planning department said the county should be “ delivering community services that are as complete as possible and making 15-minute living possible for as many people as possible … we think it is important to have these centers of activity ... in places like Poolesville . If we can have a more complete set of services and activities and infrastructure available ... it reduces the need to drive , the need for vast areas of parking , and makes these areas more viable and socioeconomically diverse .” He is absolutely right , and it is good to hear a county official speak so directly to the problem . We know we can ’ t take even this for granted , and we will continue to fight for equity in county services .
46 plenty I autumn harvest 2021