Driving past the TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm golf course, it’s not uncommon to see a quaint horse barn in a grassy meadow. Soon, that could become a vision of the past.
The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) has terminated the lease of the Avenel Equestrian Center, a horse stable and riding facility in Potomac. The center’s lease will end on Dec. 1, leaving Avenel community members with unanswered questions.
The Avenel Community Association, a representative group for the nearby neighborhood, said WSSC violated multiple 1980’s agreements to consider the opinions of the community before making changes to the equestrian facility. Avenel advocates also said WSSC did not maintain their contractual obligations to maintain the barn, which is now “deteriorating”.
The signed agreements came after WSSC purchased the property – including the Equestrian Center and the surrounding area – for a wastewater treatment plant. WSSC decided not to build the treatment plant shortly after the purchase.
The WSSC agreed to “consult with and consider in good faith,” the views of the Avenel Community Association and the Tournament Players Club if the commission were to make any changes to the equestrian center land, according to a 1988 letter confirming the agreement.
In an earlier 1985 agreement, the WSSC agreed to allow the operation of the riding trails and equestrian facilities as long as the operation of the facility did not conflict with the construction of a future treatment plant, according to a letter from the Natelli Communities Limited Partnership. The understanding at the time was that if a treatment plant were developed in the Avenel community, that the center and horses would likely remain and if not, the community would be contacted to find a solution according to Avenel resident Stephanie McGovern.
The Avenel Community Association and Natelli Communities did not receive any notice of the lease being terminated. After the owner was notified, the community associations initiated correspondence with WSSC to push for the retention of the barn.
The sanitary commission said that rehabilitating the “deteriorating” existing barn would be an inappropriate use of their customer’s money and that WSSC cannot afford the necessary renovations, in a statement emailed to Montgomery Community Media.
WSSC said the equestrian facility is “exhibiting signs of serious deterioration and poses a safety risk beyond simple repairs,” which the commission would be liable for is any injury or accident were to occur. The sanitary commission also said in the statement that they would continue to permit certain recreational activities on the land, including the use of the trails.
Neal Gillen, the former president of the West Montgomery County Citizens Association, said the WSSC has “consciously neglected its contractual obligations to maintain and repair the facility.”
Gillen was the chairman for the Avenel Equestrian Center Council in 1992, the group previously responsible for the preservation of the facility, when he said the WSSC agreed to take direct responsibility for all maintenance and repairs of the facility. Gillen said the WSSC has fallen back on this responsibility in recent years, just to terminate the lease for a problem he believes WSSC was obligated to prevent.
“I put a lot of work into this 35 years ago, to save a part of the heritage of this community,” Gillen said in an interview with MCM.
To some in Potomac, this issue is more than one barn, it’s about history.
When Gillen first moved to Potomac in 1971, it was a horse community. Everyone had one or two horses in the homes surrounding Gillen, and the Avenel Equestrian Center was a center open to anyone who wanted to board a horse.
McGovern shares this vision of Potomac. She rode horses at Avenel as a child, along with many of her friends.
“It was a very integral part of Potomac, which was always known and was a horse equestrian community,” McGovern said in an MCM interview.
McGovern and Lisa Kaiser started a Change.org petition in October pushing for WSSC to keep the historic barn. The petition has garnered over 1,300 signatures.
The facility was given six months of notice to prepare for the move, according to WSSC.
McGovern and Gillen both said they have written to local politicians and are hoping to place this issue on a future Montgomery County Council agenda.
