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WORKSESSION MINUTES
April 4, 2005
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m.
Present were Mayor Calvo, CMs Dennison, Gourley,
Laughlin and McNulty. Also present were Director
of Public Works Coleman, Clerk Harper and resident
Richard Cissel.
1. Mayor
Announcements: The early bird registration
deadline for the Maryland Municipal League (MML)
convention is April 15. Councilmembers were requested
to submit their applications.
Agenda changes: Discussion of citizen
of the year 2005 was moved to executive session
at the end of the meeting.
Calendar: The Council reviewed the calendar.
In April, CM Gourley will be absent from the Town
meeting and the April 18 worksession. The Prince
George's County Municipal Association (PGCMA) will
meet April 21 in Seat Pleasant. Nominations for
board members will be accepted. The rain garden
dedication ceremony is on April 27, 10 a.m. The
Police Department annual awards banquet is on April
13. In May, there will worksessions on the 2, 9
and 16th. The Town meeting is on the 11th.
CM Laughlin will be absent for the May 2 meeting
and CM McNulty for the Town meeting. Berwyn Heights
Day is on May 7. Town offices are closed on Memorial
Day, May 30.
Citizen comments: CM Dennison received
comments from the Seniors' Club regarding the new
carpet and the van program.
Minutes: The Council reviewed the minutes
for the March 16 worksession and the March 9 Town
meeting. CM Gourley moved to adopt the March 16
minutes. CM Dennison seconded. The motion passed
5 to 0. The Town meeting minutes will be presented
for approval at the April Town meeting.
Commercial vehicle parking waiver: Mayor Calvo
explained that the Council received a letter from
Mr. Cissel requesting a waiver for parking a commercial
vehicle on the street, as per Ordinance 119, Traffic
and Parking. The Council can grant waivers of up
to one year. Mr. Cissel said that he received 10
parking tickets since the beginning of March, while
he did not receive any prior to that. He is appealing
the tickets in the District Court on the basis that
the definition of commercial vehicle in Ordinance
119 does not appear to apply to his vehicle, in
particular, Section 3.B(1) which defines a commercial
vehicle as a vehicle that is designed, used or
maintained to carry freight, property, merchandise
or passengers for a fee, in furtherance of a commercial
enterprise. Mayor Calvo said that Mr. Cissel has
raised a valid point and that the Council would
be required to revise the definition should the
District Court rule in his favor. Therefore he proposed
to issue a waiver until 2 weeks after the Court
has heard the case and made a determination. CM
Gourley moved to issue the waiver. CM Dennison seconded.
The Council further considered whether a waiver
might be issued on the basis of the Rental Housing
Ordinance which provides that a landlord must provide
at least 2 off-street parking spaces for his tenants.
The commercial vehicle in question is operated by
Mr. Cissel's employee who rents an apartment in
Berwyn Heights. Mayor Calvo thought this provision
does not constitute a special circumstance under
which a waiver can be issued. CM Laughlin thought
it did, insofar as a resident may be granted a waiver
for up to 1 year to install a driveway to accommodate
a commercial vehicle.
CM Laughlin offered a substitute motion to extend
the waiver to August 1, 2005, the date requested
by Mr. Cissel. CM Dennison seconded. The motion
passed 4 to 1 with Mayor Calvo opposed. CM McNulty
explained that the waiver can be obtained at the
Police Department. Mr. Cissel commented that the
issuing of 10 tickets over a short time seems punitive.
It is his impression that aggressive ticketing is
a way to generate revenue for the Town and is an
additional tax on citizens. Mayor Calvo said that
the Council will review the Ordinance and consider
the points made tonight. He expects to see more
requests for waivers, which he said will be given
a full hearing by the Council.
2. Administration
Bulletin advertising rates: Mayor Calvo
said that he is concerned about the increase in
advertising pages in the Bulletin which recently
has gone up to 7 - 8 pages per issue. The Town looses
money on full page advertisements, especially if
they are bought with discounts for a longer term.
He moved to double advertising rates. CM Dennison
seconded. She said that ads are normally used to
subsidize papers or periodicals at much higher rates.
The Town should not lose money on ads. Mayor Calvo
said he expects the higher rates will encourage
advertisers to purchase smaller ads thus making
the Bulletin shorter.
The Council discussed changes to the discount
rates for long-term ads. Mayor Calvo offered a substitute
motion to double the advertising rates and raise
the 6 month advertising discount to 10%. CM Dennison
seconded. CM Gourley moved to substitute a 15% discount
rate for the 10% discount rate on 6 months ads.
The motion failed for lack of a second. The motion
to double the ad rates and raise the 6 months discount
rate to 10% passed 5 to 0.
Business license fees: Mayor Calvo explained
that business license fees have not been raised
since 1995. Last summer, TA Murphy conducted a thorough
analysis of business licenses and has been able
to bring a number of businesses into compliance.
As a result, revenues from the licensing fees are
up this year. He believes that some license fees,
such as those for vending machines and peddlers
are not worth pursuing because of their administrative
cost. CM Laughlin and Gourley said they would like
to have TA Murphy's input before adjusting these
rates. The item was tabled.
3. Parks
and Recreation, Education and Civic Affairs
Historical Committee appointments: CM
Dennison explained that 2 Committee members have
recently resigned. She asked the Council to replace
them with current associate members Sharmila Bhatia
and Ann Harris Davidson. Mayor Calvo so moved. CM
Dennison seconded. The motion passed 5 to 0. The
appointment will be announced at the next Town meeting.
Rain garden dedication: CM Dennison requested
approval to have the annual Arbor Day proclamation
read in conjunction with the dedication ceremony.
There were no objections. TA Murphy was tasked with
preparing the proclamation. CM Dennison will invite
the Park Ranger to bestow Tree City USA status.
Records disposition schedule: CM Dennison
explained that the Historical Committee is working
on a records disposition schedule that schedules
how long Town records must be kept. The Committee
needs authorization to review the Police and Public
Works department records to complete the schedule.
There were no objections for them to inventory these
records.
4. Public
Health and Safety
Employee recognition: CM McNulty asked
the Council to extend backward to the current fiscal
year the employee recognition program that was approved
for the next fiscal year. The program awards $200
to Employee of the Year in the categories of Police,
Public Works and Administration. The award is to
be added to the employee's base pay. CM McNulty
further proposed additional monetary compensation
for employees that have received recognitions at
the County or State level. Mayor Calvo said he is
opposed to that, but supports making the employee
recognition program effective for the current year.
CM McNulty so moved. CM Dennison seconded. Director
of Public Works expressed reservations about implementing
this program in his Department because different
employees excel in different areas. Mayor Calvo
said that it is up to the Departments to decide
the particulars of implementing the program. The
motion passed 5 to 0.
5. Public
Works
Status of street repairs: CM Gourley explained
that he has asked Director Coleman to put together
a packet that shows the condition of the Town's
infrastructure including roads, curbs and gutters,
and under drains going back to 1984. Using a map
of Town streets, he showed which streets were renovated
in which years. Director Coleman said that he does
not have documentation for all road repairs made
in Town over the last 50 years. However, all roads
have been renovated in since the 1950s. Then he
highlighted locations where serious problems could
arise due to deteriorating under drains and sub
bases. In response to Mayor Calvo, Director Coleman
said that he can draw up a 20 year street renovation
plan but cautioned that such a plan may have to
be adjusted after each yearly survey. Public Works
already has a program that inventories the condition
of each street which is in the process of being
updated. Mayor requested a copy of this document
for the Council.
Director Coleman continued that one of the problems
the Town is going to have to face is the deterioration
of storm water under drains and catch basins. The
County manages the storm water sewer line system
and has money to undertake repairs but generally
does not deal with lines smaller than 8. CM Laughlin
said that County officials have told her that the
Town can request their assistance if a storm water
problem arises.
CM Gourley introduced a proposal for a special,
one-time tax of 6 cents per $100 of assessed property
value that would be dedicated to street repairs.
At the current real property tax rate of 48.6 cents
per $100 assessed value this would generate approximately
$118,800 in revenues. For a property assessed at
$200,000 this would mean additional property taxes
of $120 per year or $10 per month. He believes that
this tax is necessary to fund impending street repairs
in the absence of Community Development Block Grants
and limited revenues. He asked that his proposal
be presented at the next Town meeting which he will
not be able to attend.
The Council appreciated CM Gourley's frank discussion
of the street repair problem and his proposal to
address it. However, the Council agreed that there
is no emergency and that other sources of funding
are available. The establishment of an Infrastructure
Reserve Fund puts the Town well on the way to addressing
the need for road repairs. Highway user fees, debt
service savings and personal property taxes as well
as money cut from departmental budgets have been
earmarked for this fund. Further, the creation of
a special public safety taxing district may give
the Town more flexibility in other areas of the
budget.
Mayor Calvo said that he is opposed to an additional
6 cent tax rate increase because residents are already
facing a 12.5% increase in property taxes due to
rising assessments. As similar increases can be
expected for the next couple of years, he believes
that the Town can make up the budget shortfalls
over time.
6. Code Enforcement
Rental license fees: Mayor Calvo said
that he would consider a proposal to increase in
the rental license fee by $5 to $200 per year to
reflect rising costs in the Code Enforcement Department.
CM Laughlin said that she would like TA Murphy to
be present for this discussion because he had a
particular reason for setting the fee at $195.
CM McNulty suggested that fee increases might
be tied to increases in the cost of living index
and go up automatically. This would save the Council
the time to deliberate on each fee separately. Mayor
Calvo said he preferred to look at a procedure for
setting fees in conjunction with a review of fiscal
policy.
Clean Lot Ordinance amendments: CM Laughlin
explained that the proposed amendments to the Clean
Lot Ordinance were first submitted by the Code Enforcement
Director in fall 2004 but not discussed because
the Council was working on the Rental Housing Ordinance.
Recently, CM Gourley has urged moving forward with
the changes. The proposed changes are primarily
concerned with changing grass-cutting standards,
e.g. requiring that grass be cut at 7 rather than
10. In addition, exterior maintenance standards
are proposed for windows and window screens, fences,
gutters, down spouts, fallen trees and tree stumps,
as well as related definitions. CM Laughlin
proposed that Councilmembers review the changes
and discuss them at the next worksession.
CM Gourley said he would support shortening the
time given a homeowner to comply with a notice of
a high grass violation to 3 days. With a compliance
period of 7 days, the grass might grow to well over
10 before it is cut. He also supports a higher
fine for repeat offenders. CM McNulty said that
he would like a separate fee schedule. Mayor Calvo
said that he supports addressing the grass cutting
issue now as grass is growing at its fastest in
spring. A 7 or 8 limit would be appropriate. He
also supports a shorter compliance period, for which
no changes have been proposed, and a separate fee
schedule. However, he believes that the new maintenance
standards for windows, fences, gutters and trees
are too intrusive and need to be discussed in greater
detail at a later time. He questioned whether the
Town wants to go in the direction of enforcing property
standards, typical for homeowner associations, as
opposed to community standards.
CM Dennison agreed that some of the standards
are too strict. CM Gourley favored the stricter
standards, in particular with regard to fences.
There are a number of properties in Town which have
had tumble down fences for a long time, which reflect
badly on the appearance of the property and the
community. CM McNulty agreed with stricter fence
standards but not with stricter house maintenance
standards. CM Laughlin said that the wording may
need to be adjusted but that the Council should
consider the intent of the proposed provisions.
She agreed that more discussion is needed. Further
discussion was postponed to the next worksession.
7. Executive
Session ( 10:15 p.m. - 10:30)
CM Dennison moved to go into executive session
for Protection of Personal Privacy in accordance
with Maryland Open Public Meetings Act. CM Gourley
seconded. The motion passed 5 to 0. With matters
discussed. CM Gourley moved to end the executive
session. CM Dennison seconded. The motion passed
5 to 0.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:32 p.m.
Kerstin Harper, Town Clerk
Copyright © Town of Berwyn Heights.
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