150 skilled manufacturing jobs are now going to leapfrog Montgomery County, and land at a shuttered General Motors plant in Fredericksburg. Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe approved a $400,000 grant, and idX will invest $7.2 million. McAuliffe took a victory lap on Tuesday, celebrating as "we welcome another impressive international manufacturing company to our corporate roster.”
Rubbing extra salt in the wound, is that the factory is located next door to a hip craft brewery, ritzy Fredericksburg Country Club, and a vibrant residential neighborhood. Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett laments that we are becoming a "bedroom community," forcing our residents to commute to job centers elsewhere. At the same moment, Spotsylvania County Administrator Mark B. Taylor is praising the arrival of "150 skilled jobs. Good local jobs like these are opportunities for some of our talented Spotsylvania workforce to reduce their commutes – and that’s good for their families, and good for our community.”
Ouch.
Just to dwell on the complete humiliation of our impotent Montgomery County Council for a moment longer, think about what a bomb Councilmember Hans Riemer's failed "nighttime economy" initiative was, with 9 night clubs shuttering after just a few years of his "leadership." One of the only two 24-hour restaurants closed, and businesses cut back late-night hours. Attempts to attract a craft brewery to downtown Bethesda stalled, and Riemer and his political-operative-turned-$150K-County-employee ran 96% of food trucks out of the county or out-of-business altogether.
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| New neighbors - 150 skilled jobs are moving from MD to 11032 Tidewater Trail, which is next to a hip craft brewery |
Now look next door to this Fredericksburg factory, at what Maltese Brewing Company is doing there. Their brewery and beer garden are open to the public, and there are events like comedy shows, Ugly Sweater Christmas parties and breakfasts. And...a regular roster of food trucks. Yesterday, you could have been enjoying their new Coffee Brown and English IPA on a warm afternoon in the beer garden. You can be sure idX employees will appreciate this nearby amenity, as skilled workers pump spending money into local businesses.
The Council could have come up with a bold vision for the future of the River Road industrial area during the rewrite of the Westbard sector plan, to maximize corporate office space, research facilities and skilled manufacturing for aerospace and tech firms. They didn't, instead voting unanimously for a series of boxes filled with over 3000 new residents, whose cars will hit River Road each morning to reach their jobs elsewhere.
In addition to a superior business climate, with lower taxes and fewer regulations, the Spotsylvania County site is also located near major highways, including I-95. The seller touted "excellent interstate highway connectivity in all directions." Meanwhile, the Montgomery County Council defiantly refuses to finish our master plan highway system, and is trying to reduce speed limits to jam traffic even more.
The 77.10 acre Frederickburg site also has its own rail spur that connects to the CSX railroad for shipping purposes. This is something we could offer to private space and aerospace manufacturers at the current Montgomery County Fairgrounds site, but you can bet our current elected officials will try to make that land residential instead when it is sold in the future. In fact, the only use the Council has made of land along the CSX mainline to Chicago so far is a plant that turns trash into energy. Which was on fire for about a month recently, as I recall. Nice. But, hey, pretty appropriate when you have a County Council that's the equivalent of a dumpster fire.
Montgomery County was the only DC-area jurisdiction to suffer a net loss of private sector jobs since 2000, including the loss of over 2000 retail jobs. While our elected officials continue a super-low-energy style of "leadership," lurching from one reactionary and tardy response to failure (like our 911 system and Flower Branch apartments explosion, government failures that directly caused 9 of their constitutents to die) to another, jurisdictions around us are moving forward.
“Spotsylvania County is an ideal location for a growing business, which idX’s decision reaffirms,” VA Senator Ryan T. McDougle said Tuesday. Why isn't Montgomery County? Throw the bums out.
67 comments:
The Montgomery County Council only gets excited when the local developers arrive at their campaign rallies to eat crab balls and spiced shrimp, washing it down with fine wine. They are bottlenecking our roads that we pay for several times over while rubber stamping every massive apt/condo building that comes across their desks...
DRAIN THE MOCO SWAMP MAKE MOCO GREAT AGAIN!
Maybe you're thinking of trash plant fire, Dyer.
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/3-Stories-Worth-of-Trash-Still-Smoldering-at-Garbage-Disposal-Plant-in-Virginia-412935593.html
How is this a loss for MoCo County any more than for PG, Frederick, Carroll, Loudoun, Fairfax, Arlington, or Prince William Counties?
6:06: No, the fire burned for weeks at the trash Resource Recovery Facility right here in Dickerson, MD, not Virginia.
6:13: For one thing, all of the counties you mentioned had net gains in jobs since 2000. Montgomery County was the only one to suffer a net loss in jobs. So missing out on 150 skilled jobs is definitely a much bigger loss for MoCo.
6:02: Now you remind me of the night when Hans Riemer blew off 100 constituents who were waiting for him in Olney to attend a wine-and-cheese reception at a Potomac mansion.
You know moribound means dying right? You'd think Montgomery County is some sort of soviet socialist republic verging on collapse, rather than one of the fastest growing, safest, lowest unemployment, most affluent areas in the country, not to mention the world.
It's ok to point out of of these things, but please stop overreacting over every little thing like it's a matter of life and death!
6:20: Careful, because you might remind everyone that all of the Council's recent "economic development" trips have been to Communist countries. No wonder our economy is moribund!
But don't take it from me - Bill Turque in the Post, and Hans Riemer's own former Chief of Staff have both described the County's private sector as "moribund" within the last year. Seems like I'm in credible company.
Unemployment rate IN NO WAY reflects the number of jobs in a jurisdiction. It simply means you have to make a lot to live here, and that a lot of people who live here are employed in other jurisdictions. Totally irrelevant stat.
"Affluent" people living here, but working elsewhere.
"It's ok to point out these things," for sure!
Looks like a rural, remote location, right on the fringe of the metro area. If that's what the company was looking for, then none of the inner counties were even in the competition for it.
Hope the employees enjoy the brew pub, because that's the only activity around for miles. Could get a little monotonous after a while. Hope they aren't tempted to drink and drive, because there is zero transit or walkability.
Why don't you leave for green pastures then? Are you just living off of MoCo's more generous social safety net or something?
"Unemployment rate IN NO WAY reflects the number of jobs in a jurisdiction. It simply means you have to make a lot to live here, and that a lot of people who live here are employed in other jurisdictions. Totally irrelevant stat."
Alternative facts!
Does anyone else suspect that Dyer's "you're a miserable failure, MoCo" essays are preceded by "you're a miserable failure, Robbie" lectures from Mom?
6:28: Wrong. It's only 7 minutes from the Fredericksburg train station downtown.
6:29: I've never lived off of any government benefits of any kind. Why would I leave, when I can stay and fight to replace our incompetent and corrupt elected officials?
6:29 #2: Explain how I'm wrong about the unemployment rate not indicating the number of jobs within a jurisdiction.
6:38: If I was a failure, the MoCo political cartel wouldn't be funding all these websites to steer away readers from mine. And they wouldn't be paying you to troll here. Failed websites are ignored, and then maybe sold to small, slightly failing magazines for $1.
Getting 20 times as many readers as you is "slightly failing"? Then you must be "totally failing". Note that YOU were the first one to mention them, not any "trolls".
@6:38 AM is always deflecting and trying to change the topic back to his fantasies about the journalist reporting the story, rather than the story itself.
Dyer is firmly in his head.
@6:48 AM The worse the other Bethesda blogs do, readers have noticed that the trolling increases here.
When BethesdaNow was in a final death spiral and bleeding money, the mean spirited comments here peaked. He transferred his frustrations into negative attacks on Dyer here.
Hope the Magazine doesn't make the same mistake. It did not end well for the NOW guy!
@6:48 AM Phony numbers. Borderstan claimed to have a huge readership, but had two comments when they announced they had run out of money and closed.
The Sockpuppets have arrived. LOL
Saith Dyer @ 6:42 AM: "Wrong. It's only 7 minutes from the Fredericksburg train station downtown."
That's BY CAR, you lying SOS. On foot that distance is 53 minutes.
7:12: It's only 3 miles. But who working a skilled job in Spotsylvania County wouldn't have a car? Let's try to stay in the real world here.
6:59: I enjoyed the comment recently on the other website where their sockpuppet "josfitz" was weighing in on something with the MoCo cartel company line again, and someone replied, "You comment on everything. You're like Charlie Brown's teacher. WAA WAA WAA WAWAA."
"LOL"
Hans Riemer would be nothing without his wife and "politically correct" pet family of the Left. They need to go back to California, or maybe they are even too Left for them! MoCo will soon be more illegals than the people can afford. Anyone who is anyone is crossing the Potomac River to McLean and Great Falls VA. Great strategy, drive the millionaires away and import illegals that drain resources.. great plan.
iDx's current facilities are just 13 miles from a major international airport, with no bridges in between. The Fredericksburg site is much farther from any major international airport.
"Yesterday you could have been enjoying a warm afternoon...in their beer garden."
Did you actually go outside on Thursday, Dyer?
8:40: Your comment indicates you've lost the debate. Bye bye.
"The factory is located next to...a vibrant residential neighborhood."
C'mon, Dyer. Even the satellite photos you included, show that your claim is a pile of rubbish.
9:09: Wrong again! The photo is zoomed in to show the factory and brewery. Zoom out on Google Maps, and you'll see the residential neighborhood immediately adjacent to the factory and country club. Facts.
It was barely above freezing Thursday afternoon, and very windy. Not exactly "beer garden weather".
Dyer @ 9:28 - You didn't zoom in close enough. If you had, you would have seen that it was a trailer park.
LOL
9:35: Drop down to street view, my friend. Those aren't trailers for miles around. Many, many SFHs.
Dyer: "the MoCo political cartel wouldn't be funding all these websites to steer away readers from mine"
Really? You know this for a fact? or are you just making things up again?
I sincerely doubt that IF they are funding, their REASON is because of you.
But, since you are proclaiming it...
Please substantiate. Both the funding and intent.
I don't think this company would have even looked at MoCo. The issue is labor costs in the DC area are simply too high for this. Can't blame MoCo for that -- same in Fairfax and DC. That's why they had to go so far out -- 60 miles from Bethesda -- to find a place with a cheaper labor pool.
Now who we should be going after is Hagerstown, MD. That's also about an hour away, has lower labor costs, and decent logistics. FedEx has a hub there, and BWI Airport (freight hub for DHL and probably others is accessible all via interstate.
There's a reason that any Amreican-made physical products I buy are never made around here -- too expensive.
Since Maryland lost this business to Virginia, shouldn't the blame fall on Hogan's shoulders?
#ThanksHogan
Dyer @ 10:11 - the neighborhood directly north of the small airport next to the brewery is most definitely a trailer park.
10:17am bravo! Now bring that same fact finding scrutiny to the insane insults about Dyer.
10:51: That's half a mile up the road or more. ADJACENT to factory is a SFH residential neighborhood.
Where is the nearest trailer park in MoCo? I think there is one in the entire county (19515 Frederick Road, Germantown) and there are less than 10 trailers there.
My god, you are paranoid, Dyer. Do you know how you sound to anyone remotely in this echo chamber of yours? Municipal politicians are funding your enemies to silence you? Really?
Dyer just admitted that the factory is closer to a trailer park than it is to a rail station.
Reimer has been taking advantage of fake news for awhile now. He can always point to a blog that will slavishly praise him so he has something to tweet.
Meanwhile, respected news sources like the Washington Post are reporting that Reimer has no accomplishments.
Type absolutely anything here, and #Dyer'sLoneReader's response will be "Hans Reimer!"
This bot fails the Turing Test.
Interesting that the only MoCo news site that covers local government with skepticism is the only one that gets so many trolls and hateful comments. And the journalist reporting all this receives daily personal attacks and threats.
coincidence?
And the bot automatically responds again.
Funny how #Dyer'sLoneReader never, ever comments on the actual subject of any of Dyer's articles.
4:00: The factory has its own rail spur in the back that connects to the CSX main line - it basically is its own rail station.
Similar reaction on Dyer's EastMoCo blog:
"Wow, you're going to drive yourself nuts, Robert. What does some manufacturing plant in Spotsylvania have to do with MoCo or food trucks?"
And on RockvilleNutz:
"Hey right wing whackjob, still hurting from your failed bid to run for the council in 2014? Pretty laughable. Jealous much? By the way, anyone ever tell you that you have the personality of a potted plant? Better luck next time. Not."
"Trying to compare Montgomery County to Spottsylvania County is laughable at best. If that's the best they can do, and pass over Fairfax, Prince William and Stafford on the way, then I don't think MoCo was ever even on their radar. You seem to love VA so much, so why don't you live there?"
6:34: Paid troll posts comments on my other news sites, and then quotes himself here! How many schizophrenic personalities do you have in total? The number is likely higher than your IQ.
"A blog that will slavishly praise [Riemer]"
I would love to see you cite even one example of this. Direct quotes only.
Go ahead, the ball is in yoir court.
**Crickets**
From, 10:17AM
5:05: What a coincidence - that's what it would sound like if you read the list of major corporations to relocate to Montgomery County in the last two decades.
" "
"crickets"
" "
(hint: zero)
From the comments at Dyer's EastMoCo blog:
"They pay an average of $11.16/hour, according to Glassdoor. So you want MoCo to shell out a subsidy (Spotsylvania is spending over $1.5M - way to leave that factor out of your post) in order to attract jobs that'll in turn attract low wage employees who then would likely need additional govt assistance to make ends meet? That'd be a smart financial move by the county, in your head? 'Vote Dyer! He'll turn MoCo into rural Virginia or Alabama in no time!'"
iDx will regret this move when their minimum-wage employees spend their days drinking beer next door. Absenteeism will skyrocket and quality control will plummet.
9:09 PM You & I both know that we could fill up this little box with stories praising Reimer from blogs, including those that have long since been shuttered and deleted from the web :)
Remember, Reimer is still very uninformed about the County- he wasn't aware you cannot walk to two Metro stations from Westbard Avenue in Bethesda :(
Where are the tweets saying that was untrue? That's just one example. No one is willing to fact check him. I get it- it's hard to put the work in.
The Washington Post and Robert Dyer have been more skeptical about Reimer, as the press should be.
The archives of Bethesda Now are on Bethesda Magazine's site.
The ball is still in your court.
Dyer @ 5:15 pm - Do you not understand the difference between freight rail and passenger rail?
11:20: Yes, it joins many obituaries online.
The really great thing about the term limit is that it actually increases Hans Riemer's chances of being reelected in 2018.
7:02: No, it actually hurts his chances. There's a deep bench of Democrats who will running at-large, so he might not even get out of the primary.
2:46: Yes, I do. What does passenger rail have to do with people working at a factory?
11:20: Just scroll for hours through the social media feeds of Hans Riemer and George Leventhal; they link to the stories that praise them (which is all of them), and then give attaboys to the reporters who wrote the propaganda, er, articles.
Dyer @ 2:46 - What!? The whole discussion regarding proximity to a rail station was about transit for employees. Go back and read your own comment at 6:42. You can't ship people to work via freight.
5:22: Most employed people in Fredericksburg own a car. I'm not sure how it's relevant to the topic of this article, which is the County Council passing on 150 skilled jobs.
$11/hour does not seem particularly "skilled". Which is probably why Fairfax and Loudoun passed on this supposed opportunity as well.
Sidestepping again?
You haven't replied to this
"Dyer: "the MoCo political cartel wouldn't be funding all these websites to steer away readers from mine"
Really? You know this for a fact? or are you just making things up again?
I sincerely doubt that IF they are funding, their REASON is because of you.
But, since you are proclaiming it...
****Please substantiate. Both the funding and intent.****
Dyer, have you ever considered the possibility that area residents just don't care for your "journalism", or for you in general?
8:13: Bethesda Magazine was asked to reveal who its angel investors were by a Post reporter, and the publisher declined to do so. Much like the weird little patchwork of part-time "Our Town is Great but it Could Be Greater with more development!" hobby blogs the cartel is funding, it's a private enterprise and can't be compelled to identify its donors.
Substantiate you are not on the payroll yourself. The ball is in your court.
9:36: Considering my websites are the leading source of community news in Montgomery County, and everyone else is copying my lead, no, your assessment doesn't sound very credible.
You've become more detached from reality than Donald Trump.
"My websites are the leading source of community news in Montgomery County"
I am curious as to how you arrived at this conclusion. All the data that I have seen, indicates that you have approximately one-twentieth the readership of the major local news sites.
"Everyone else is copying my lead"
Again, what is the basis for this conclusion?
3:06PM I've offered numerous times to privately email you my identity. At one point, you acquiesced. Another lie?
I'm a long-term county resident who is appalled at the accusations you make freely without substance. I have seen first-hand your misrepresentation and false assertions.
And again, your reply was nothing more than distraction and accusation.
As I've said before:
Attack me all you want. Insult me all you want. I'm just asking you to prove a
statement you made. I ask, you insult or accuse.
The only person looking bad here is you.
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