The group of business, government, and residential representatives appointed to monitor the implementation of the Great Seneca Science Corridor Master Plan met for the first time on Monday evening.

The meeting mostly consisted of introductions and discussion of how the implementation advisory committee would function.

"This is more of a getting to know you meeting tonight," said Vanessa Francis, Senior Planner for the Great Seneca Science Corridor Master Plan.

The Great Seneca Science Corridor Master Plan, which was approved by the County Council in May, required that the Planning Board establish an advisory committee responsible for "monitoring the Plan recommendations, monitoring the CIP [Capital Improvement Program] and Growth Policy, and recommending action by the Planning Board and County Council to address issues that may arise."

On Monday the committee elected two committee co-chairs, representing both residential and business interests: Phil Usatine of the Washingtonian Woods Homeowners Association, and Marilyn Balcombe of the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce.

Sue Edwards, the Planning Board team leader for the North Central Transit Corridor, said the committee's work will depend on the speed of development.

"Sometimes the advisory committee is quite busy because there is development activity that might be under your purview," Edwards told the group. "But it might also be that there isn't much development activity, or it's delayed into the future, and therefore we won't hold as many meetings."

In Monday's meeting, members discussed what topics they should focus on in future meetings.

Among the focuses, Bacombe suggested the status of the Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT).

"It's critical to the implementation of the plan the way the staging has been laid out," she said. "So much of the plan is predicated on the CCT being built."

She said the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the CCT will come out in the "next couple of weeks" and public hearings could begin as soon as December.

The advisory committee will meet next on Tuesday, Nov. 16.

Members asked that at the next meeting include an update on transportation and an overview of the master plan.