"We believe it's an excellent site," said Fred Felton, Gaithersburg assistant city manager. "It's going to take about $20,000 and probably a good 30 days of work to get the building in condition to have the center."

Because the negotiations by the city, county and property owner are ongoing, the committee did not specify the location or how much it would cost.

"We feel positive -- as positive as we can be," said Catherine E. Matthews, director of the county's Upcounty Regional Services Center.

In the meantime, the city has agreed to pay to supervise the 20 to 25 day laborers who gather in a parking lot next to Grace United Methodist Church on Route 355 in Gaithersburg every morning.

The city's $1,000 will match what Grace United has already paid Carlos Mesa, assistant pastor at Camino de Vida, securing another five weeks of supervision as plans for the center come together.

While a handful of the regular laborers have managed to land steady work as the weather has improved, Mesa said, the overwhelming majority of the "hornaleros" compete all morning for the scant opportunities in manual labor.

Organizers have been working to ease concerns raised by the owner of a neighboring shopping center, who has had to deal with some of the workers loitering, urinating, drinking alcohol and intimidating customers since they started gathering there several years ago.

To Officer Diane Quinn of the county police's Sixth District, the situation is hardly what it had been, but she said she still had one real concern. She went to the lot last week and saw that nine day laborers were there past the 9 a.m. deadline she helped negotiate with the owner the shopping center.

Mesa and the Rev. Lou Piel, head pastor at Grace United and head of the committee, stressed the problems have improved dramatically, which the committee agreed was a significant victory.

"We can be sure that the workers have experienced the changes, the sympathy, and they feel now like they're actual people, even if their needs haven't changed," Mesa told the committee, in his native Spanish, at a meeting last week.

The meeting also touched on some the issues that reach beyond the short-term goal of getting the center up and running, including what it would take to combat the inherent fear and uneasiness held by parts of the community -- even somewhat by committee members themselves.

In 14 years of bringing employers and laborers together, said Gustavo Torres, executive director of Casa de Maryland, the nonprofit that will run the center, there has not been one dangerous or violent situation at a Casa center.

And by carefully tracking the workers' behavior and performance on the job, he said, employers that come to the center can be sure of what they're getting -- just as the workers can be sure they'll be paid and treated fairly.

While recognizing the committee's progress, Hugh Bailey, a program manager in the county's Department of Economic Development, raised a more lasting question.

"From a workforce development perspective, I am concerned about how we are looking at this issue for long-term success in the workforce that leads to a career ladder, jobs, etc... The ultimate question becomes, 'Is the day laborer approach the best for creating long-term employment, for creating the best wages for these families?'"

Bailey wanted the committee to be sure that the center provides access to the county's long-term services, similar to what is available at the recently completed day laborer center in Wheaton, which Casa de Maryland operates.

"We're working towards that, but we're just not there yet," answered Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney A. Katz, hopeful that once the short-term goals are met, focus can shift to the broader issues.

Mesa, for his part, had no hesitation in staying on to help the day laborers in the meantime.

"For me, this has been a very special learning experience," he told the committee in Spanish. "And more than giving them a hot chocolate or a sandwich, it's being able to know them, to listen and try to help them with their needs. Because they aren't always monetary, but rather spiritual and psychological -- and well, to be some who actually listens to them."