Talks on Day-Labor Site Halted

The manager of a Gaithersburg shopping center that county officials had hoped would house an employment center for day laborers pulled out of lease negotiations yesterday after its tenants and city residents raised objections.

Nellis Corp.'s decision throws into uncertainty the county's plan to open a center in Gaithersburg where laborers, many of them Latino immigrants, could gather to wait for work while learning English and computer skills. It is the latest of many setbacks in the city's effort to find an appropriate site for the center, and it leaves the city with few options.

"I, at this point, do not believe there is a spot within the city of Gaithersburg which is not going to be in some form or fashion a lightning rod for opposition," said City Manager David B. Humpton.

The City Council had been optimistic about the Festival at Muddy Branch shopping center, on Muddy Branch Road near Interstate 270. But in a meeting with tenants yesterday, officials from Nellis said all but one tenant objected to the plan. In recent weeks, opponents had passed out fliers to tenants and called and e-mailed Nellis, said the company's president, Randall J. Levitt.

Levitt said many tenants expressed concern that they would lose customers.

"Most of our tenants are not national chains," Levitt said. "They're people who have one business and it's located at the Festival, and their livelihood is dependent on that business. That's how they put food on their table and pay for things they want to provide for their families, and we're very cognizant of that."

Humpton said city representatives will meet with the county to explore other options. "Unfortunately, we're in some ways back to square one," he said.

Although many residents say they would agree to a center as long as it was not near their homes or schools, others oppose it because they believe public funds should not be used to provide services to illegal immigrants. Similar debates are occurring in communities across the country, including in Herndon. The Maryland chapter of the national anti-illegal immigration group known as the Minuteman Project opposed the Gaithersburg center.

The county has agreed to fund the center but has asked the city to find a location for it. County leaders yesterday urged the city to step up its efforts.

"At some point, they need to make a decision and understand that 100 percent of people are never going to be satisfied," said County Council President George L. Leventhal (D-At Large).

For years, workers have congregated each morning at a parking lot next to a church on North Frederick Avenue. Last year, the county leased a building a few blocks away, but residents said that was an unsuitable spot for a center. Since then, city officials have considered 30 other sites, only to have the owners turn them down in many cases.