The City an Honorable Mention Award from the Maryland Sustainable Growth Commission during a ceremony on Dec. 16.
The City received a 2021 Honorable Mention Award from the Maryland Sustainable Growth Commission during a virtual ceremony on December 16, 2021 for Discovery Park. The Sustainable Growth Awards celebrate significant achievement by individuals, businesses, organizations, and local governments to realize the “12 Planning Visions” adopted by the Maryland General Assembly. The awards promote exemplary work that represents or inspires collaboration, innovation, conservation, community impact, and quality of life.
“Our Discovery Park project exemplifies the power of partnerships between businesses, residents and the City for sustainable growth,” said Mayor Jud Ashman. “We appreciate the Maryland Sustainable Growth Commission’s recognition of this local initiative that demonstrates our City’s commitment to responsible growth and development.”
Discovery Park opened in the fall of 2020 as a partnership between the City & AstraZeneca. It is a 15-acre parkland with walking trails, picnic structures, playgrounds, a secret butterfly garden, and other unique recreational features. Nearly three acres were developed to support the health of the protected sensitive areas on the property, including the forest conservation easements related to the stream valley buffer and the wetlands. The park was designed to be a passive park with low maintenance designs that celebrate open space and preserve natural habitat in accordance with the City’s environmental initiatives.
“The design and development of Discovery Park signifies another milestone in the City’s goal to have every resident live within a quarter mile of a park,” said Carolyn Muller, Director of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Culture. “This once abandoned area is now a thriving ecosystem filled with enriching opportunities for our community to play, explore, learn, and simply be.”
“Innovation and creativity are all part of what makes Maryland a leader in revitalizing communities and environmental stewardship,” said Robert McCord, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Planning. “I congratulate the City of Gaithersburg for receiving Honorable Mention for their 15-acre Discovery Park, which exemplifies the power of partnerships between businesses, residents, and the City for sustainable growth.”
The Maryland Sustainable Growth Commission makes recommendations on growth and development issues and celebrates those achievements with an annual awards program. Commission members, who represent local and state government, business and nonprofit organization sectors, promote coordination and cooperation regarding innovative and responsible growth and development throughout Maryland. For a complete list of 2021 Maryland Sustainable Growth Award winners and to learn more about the Commission, click here. For a complete list of City parks & amenities, click here.
The City has received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2021 from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of the United States & Canada.
Gaithersburg is receiving this award, the highest form of recognition in governmental budgeting, for the 20thconsecutive time. The award is officially presented to the Department of Finance & Administration.
The City had to satisfy nationally-recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. These guidelines are designed to assess how well a municipality’s budget serves as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide, and a communications device.
“We are extremely proud to receive this recognition,” said Kim Francisco, Director of the Department of Finance & Administration. “Despite the ongoing uncertainties brought on by the pandemic and the vacancy of the Finance Director position for most of the budget development timeframe, this award affirms the dedication & commitment to excellence of the City staff who worked diligently to prepare a budget that is not only accurate but easily understandable by all of the City’s stakeholders.”
The GFOA is a nonprofit professional association that represents 21,000 government finance professionals throughout North America. For more information contact the Department of Finance & Administration
