Our Community Needs
Your Help.
WSSC has closed the Equestrian Center and has the right to build an advanced wastewater treatment plant that would affect Potomac, Bethesda, and beyond.
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What You Need To Know
Avenel Community - Click Map for Large PDF
Background
WSSC purchased approximately 170 acres of land in the middle of Avenel in the mid-1980’s - before the residential community we know was built:
• The existing Avenel farm was identified as the site for a potential wastewater treatment plant in the late 1970’s.
• A Master Plan was developed and finalized in 1984 with four parties to the agreement: the developer, Rock Run Limited partners (now Natelli Communities), Montgomery County, WSSC, and the PGA.
MASTER AGREEMENT
• This was a carefully negotiated agreement where each party to the agreement gave something and each party to the agreement got something.
• What WSSC got was the ability to buy less land for the potential future development of a wastewater treatment plant. Instead of buying roughly 500 acres that would include required buffer areas, land was given to the PGA for the TPC which met the buffer area requirements. This saved WSSC about $20 million dollars. In return, WSSC agreed to maintain the existing equestrian use on the site, including maintaining the existing Equestrian Center and barn.
• The Master Agreement states, “It is the intent of Montgomery County, WSSC and Rock Run to maintain the availability of equestrian activities in the Avenel Farm area to the extent that such activities are consistent with the operation of an AWT plant. Such activities are in the public interest and serve the specific needs of the Potomac Community" - MASTER AGREEMENT
• Further, an amendment to the Master agreement states that the Equestrian Center is “an integral element of the golf course concept” - Agreement of Sale
• A separate 1988 agreement between the developer, WSSC, the TPC and the Avenel Community Association (ACA) states that WSSC will “consult with and consider in good faith the views of ACA and TPC before making any changes to the physical appearance of the structures comprising the equestrian center on the land in the Avenel Development . . .” - WSSC Rock Run Partnership 1988
Initially, and for some time thereafter, things went well. Both the developer and WSSC made financial contributions and improvements to the facility.
There was a committee that oversaw the Equestrian Center called the Avenel Equestrian Center Council (AECC). After several years, in the early 1990’s, WSSC approached the Chair of the AECC, Neal Gillen (who spoke at the December 2023 WSSC meeting; he is the gentleman with the box full of WSSC communication). WSSC essentially said that things were going well and that WSSC wanted to lease and interact with the Equestrian Center operator directly. WSSC committed to maintain the barn to “high standards” and the AECC became inactive.
Over the past 40 or so years, Nancy Evans, the Equestrian Center operator, continued to run her business. She did so without a lease for many of those years, although she continued to pay rent to WSSC. Operating without a lease put Nancy in a bad position with WSSC; Nancy felt constant uncertainty because she had nothing to rely on. Anytime WSSC showed interest or performed even minor maintenance, Nancy felt a momentary sense of relief. Meanwhile, the barn and surrounding infrastructure slowly deteriorated.
WSSC seemed to do less and less with each successive change in management and seemed to lack an appreciation or understanding of their obligations.
In May of 2023, WSSC gave notice to Nancy that they were evicting her and provided her with six months to cease operations and vacate her on- site home, remove all horses, and remove her equipment and property from the premises. We learned about this development from an Avenel resident whose child took riding lessons.
Upon learning of the eviction, the ACA General Manager, Lucy Wilson and Tom Natelli, whose company has successor rights under the Master Agreement and Agreement for Sale, requested to meet with WSSC. In part, they were told that WSSC doesn’t want to be in the horse business and that WSSC planned to close down the barn, including perhaps boarding it up. Despite pointing to the various legal and recorded documents and agreements, WSSC did not acknowledge their obligations, and demonstrated little interest in working with the various parties towards a positive path forward. In an earlier phone conversation with Lucy, WSSC staff indicated that they might demolish the barn.
A subsequent meeting with WSSC’s General Manager and management team yielded the same results.
The ACA hosted a meeting with WSSC in December 2023 and WSSC hosted a meeting this past February 2024 at the Carderock Springs Elementary School. Our impression is that WSSC only agreed to meet with the community after our elected officials reminded them of their agreement to consult with us.
In October of 2022, about 6 months before Nancy was served her eviction notice, WSSC hired an engineering firm which described the barn as “salvageable.” Their report mentioned that the barn could be repaired for future use.
After that preliminary report, WSSC decided to hire a different firm - their regular engineering firm, Gannett Fleming - for a much larger study including a geotechnical review of geology and soil conditions. While this firm may have experience with subsurface conditions, their project lead admitted that they do not have experience with wood post-and-beam barns.
Drone picture from March 2020 on site preparation work of the Piscataway Bioenergy Project. © 2024 Hazen and Sawyer.
• Despite the word “Advanced,” we have learned that these types of facilities emit a terrible odor for many, many miles. Should an Advanced Wastewater Treatment plant be built, half of District 1 in Montgomery County would smell it and so would our neighbors across the river in Virginia on days we have any kind of wind from the north. There would be a region-wide impact.
• So what once may have been an acceptable concept in the 1970’s, is a terrible idea today.
• That said, there are no indications from WSSC that WSSC has plans to build one.
• It is not in any of their plans.
• They haven’t budgeted money to study it.
• They don’t currently need it; the facility that processes wastewater for WSSC has excess capacity. Montgomery County helped to pay for that capacity.
• However, we all should care and pay attention to the THRIVE 2050 proposal and any other proposals which would allow significantly greater residential density in Montgomery County.
• It is estimated that it would cost WSSC between $3 to $5 billion to build a wastewater treatment plant and the attendant infrastructure in Avenel.
• Relying on WSSC’s statements, our takeaway is that a wastewater treatment plant isn’t the reason why WSSC closed the Equestrian Center - a lack of awareness of agreements, a misconception about the public nature of the facility, and budgetary pressures are the most likely reasons.
• However, all of us should keep an eye on WSSC and their planning and budgeting for the foreseeable future.
Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant
Many people are concerned that WSSC may want to build a Wastewater Treatment plant in Avenel. People wonder if closing the barn is WSSC’s way to begin a process to build a plant.
Our Potomac Region Preservation Committee has been looking into this and the Avenel Community Association has posed this question to WSSC in many different ways. Here is what we know:
• WSSC reserves the right to build an Advanced Wastewater Treatment plant on the site.
WSSC Water General Manager Kishia Powell shared a presentation with the Avenel community on December 4, 2023. Credit: Courtney Cohn.
Actions
We have been seeking information from WSSC since learning of Nancy’s eviction and here is some of what we’ve learned:
• WSSC has collected close to $1 million in rent from Nancy - this is an estimate based on our understanding of Nancy’s annual rent and how long she has operated there
• WSSC disclosed that they have collected over $3 million from a cellular monopole on the site
• WSSC does not have a separate account to be able to tell us how much they have spent in repairs and maintenance on the barn, but it is plain for any reasonable observer to see that WSSC has neglected it. There are vines growing in and over the gutters onto the walls, there is peeling paint, there is deterioration.
• The Avenel property is valuable - perhaps the most valuable parcel of land in WSSC’s portfolio. This investment helps WSSC get favorable bond rates for their infrastructure projects.
• A November 2023 letter from WSSC mistakenly characterized the barn as a “private equestrian enterprise” when it is in fact a public amenity. The WSSC GM wrote that “the Avenel community has enjoyed Ms. Evan’s services for a significant period of time.” It’s unfortunate that WSSC doesn’t understand that it is not just Avenel residents who use the Equestrian Center; residents from across Montgomery County use the facility. People from all over Montgomery County took riding lessons there.
• In fact, at the time Nancy’s boarders were forced to move their horses, none of the boarders lived in Avenel.
• It’s unfortunate that WSSC hasn’t treated the facility as the public amenity it is. If they had, they might have maintained it and promoted it on their website along with other land that WSSC makes available for public recreational use.
The Avenel Board formed the Potomac Region Preservation Committee with resident volunteers with different areas of expertise such as government relations, law, environmental protection, equestrian matters, marketing and community engagement. The committee has met several times and would like your support at the next meeting, please see UPCOMING MEETINGS for the next scheduled date.
Community members (people living within and outside of Avenel) have testified at several WSSC Water Commissioner’s meetings.
The ACA has engaged a structural engineer with experience evaluating barns so that we will have an independent, 3rd party opinion about how much it is going to cost to restore the barn.
Tom Natelli, Lucy Wilson, Neal Gillen and ACA Board President Janelle Wright I have been meeting with our elected and appointed officials including our three Maryland State Delegates - Marc Korman, Sara Love and Sarah Wolek, Montgomery County Council President Andrew Friedson, Montgomery County Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Ken Hartman, and Montgomery County Regional Director Pete Fosselman.
Ken seemed to indicate that WSSC may be reevaluating their approach to the barn, perhaps moving from one of boarding it up or tearing it down to one of repairing it for future use.
We’re really not sure. This is a very early indication. Things could stall, move sideways or regress backwards.
This is why your engagement is so critically important.
The Latest
About a month ago, we received a letter that WSSC had deemed the barn unsafe. They erected a fence and put up numerous “No Trespassing” signs.
Our engagement with State and County officials may be moving us in a positive direction, but it’s too early to be sure.
Just last week, we were delighted to learn that the County Executive cares about this issue!
Ken Hartman relayed that WSSC seems to have had a sort of realization about their obligations under the Master Agreement to which Montgomery County is a party.
We Can Not Let This Happen
What Could Happen If
We Don’t Act?
What You Can Do And Why
There is a lot of uncertainty about the future of this large parcel of land in Avenel.
We need everyone in Avenel and beyond, horse people and people who don’t give much thought to horses, to email or call our elected officials and THANK THEM for their engagement on this issue.
Thank them for caring about the equestrian community . . .
Thank them for caring about a public amenity - an amenity that could be so much more with an improved facility . . .
Thank them for caring about the TPC which is economically important to the County . . .
Thank them for caring about the critical necessity of a public agency meeting its contractual obligations . . .
Thank them for caring about the environment . . .
Thank them for caring about the residents of Potomac and Bethesda . . .
Thank them for caring about the quality of life of the people of Montgomery County.
We Need Your Help
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We Need Your Help -
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