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Worksession MinutesFebruary 6, 2006
The meeting was
called to order at 7:08 pm Present were Mayor Pro Tem McNulty, presiding, CMs
Dennison, Laughlin and Gourley. Mayor Calvo had an excused absence. Also
present were Town Administrator Murphy, Clerk Harper, representatives of Greenbelt Metropark and Fairfield Builders
and citizens. 1.
Mayor Announcements: The environmental impact study on the Inter-County Connector (ICC) is
available on line at www.iccstudy.org or by calling toll free 1-866-462-0020.
Public comment can be submitted until March 23, 2006. The State Highway
Administration (SHA) informed municipalities that highway user revenues are
being redirected into the General Fund. Calendar: The Council reviewed the calendar. A hearing on the Constant Yield Tax rate was added to the April 12 Town meeting, 8 p.m. and is to be announced in the April Bulletin. A student mock council event was added for April 24, 6:30 pm Minutes: The Council reviewed the minutes. The February 8 Town meeting were corrected for adoption at the next Town meeting. CM Gourley moved to adopt the February 21 worksession minutes. CM Dennison seconded. The minutes were adopted 4 to 0 with corrections. Department
reports: CM Dennison
reported that she is working on plans for a student mock council event and
Berwyn Heights Day. The Seniors have expressed desire to remodel the bathrooms
in the Senior Center. CM Gourley reported that the Town Office received an
anonymous call that falsely accused 3 Public Works employees of napping in a
truck parked at Beltway Plaza. Citizen
comments: CM Laughlin
received an e-mail in which the Council was requested to review the fire code
for basement exits. The resident is concerned about the lack of a second exit
from a basement apartment in her rental home. The Council may need to review
the relevant section in the Rental Housing Ordinance. CM Dennison received a
comment regarding the proposed Washington Gas storage facility in Chillum. CM
McNulty received a complaint about lack of drainage at the former site of mulch
piles on Ruatan Street and 56th Avenue. Resident Mike Attick of 62nd
Avenue, who was present, commented that the Council should have heeded
citizens' advice on fire code for basement apartments during the hearings for
Rental Housing Ordinance amendments. HB 659 –
letter of support: TA
Murphy explained that College Park is requesting a letter of support for
legislation requiring that no further funds be expended for the U.M. Connector
to the Beltway until the University completes a comprehensive analysis of
alternative transportation strategies. It is hoped that a way can be found to
reduce automobile trips to the campus, the need for new parking facilities and
the impact on nearby communities.CM Dennison moved to support the request. CM
Gourley seconded. The motion passed 4 to 0. Metroland
Detailed Site Plan:
Project Manager for Greenbelt Metropark, Sandy Gallagher, introduced her team
and representatives of Fairfield Homes, builder of an apartment complex in the
south core of the development. Ms. Gallagher reported that there were two
significant changes to the south core since the Town's approval of the
conceptual site plan (CSP) in January: the central recreational space was
enlarged to include a small section east of the town house loop road and the
addition of a live/work building adjacent to the prospective civic center. The
first DSP is for the town house section and for rough grading the entire south
core. It includes the hiker/biker trail along Indian Creek, a tot lot, the
Branchville Road bridge and connector road. The connector will be a one-lane
road in each direction with on-street parking and bike trail as well as raised
intersections. In response to
Council members' questions, Ms. Gallagher said that the live/work building
was required by the County and will
bring commercial establishments to the previously solely residential side of
the south core. The bridge over Branchville Road will have 2 lanes in each
direction, one of which for turning on and off Greenbelt Road, and a 17'
clearance. The storm water management ponds will drain into the Creek through
underground pipes. The total number of residential units is 1022, 340 of which
will be town houses, 302 apartments, and the rest condominiums. The hiker/biker
trail will begin at Branchville Road and run along the creek with connections
into the development as well as to Cherry Lane and Hollywood via a pedestrian
bridge over the tracks. There is no direct connection to the path in Berwyn Heights Jay Johnson of
Fairfield Homes reviewed the plans for the apartment complex. The Texas Doughnut
style complex will have 50% 1-bedroom apartments, 45% 2-bedroom apartments and
5% 3-bedroom apartments. The building will be handicap-accessible with elevators
to the upper floors and special handicap-adaptable units. It will also include
a swimming pool and fitness center. The first floor of the complex will have
retail establishments including one boutique grocery store of approximately
15,000 square feet. The parking garage for the complex has been redesigned to
make it look more aesthetically pleasing. It backs up against the railroad
tracks, has 5 open decks and holds approximately 600 cars. Fairfield's DSP is
expected to go before the Planning Board for approval on April 20. The Council asked
Ms. Gallagher to return to the March 8 Town meeting for a public presentation
of the DSP and possible approval by the Council. Ms. Gallagher requested a
letter of support to be available the following day for a Prince George's Tax
Increment Financing District (TIF) to help finance public facilities in the
project. It was agreed to draft the letter and seek approval from the Mayor
Calvo the next morning. At 9:00 pm, the
Council took a 10 minute break. FY 2007 proposed
budget: TA Murphy prefaced his budget presentation
with a review of budget goals that have been put forth. These include: · Additional funds for the infrastructure
improvement fund; · Creation of a vehicle replacement fund; · Creation of a position classification pay
plan; · Set aside for pay raises and COLAs; · Pension plan proposal; · Budget for the Public Safety Taxing District; · Purchase of Public Works vehicle. He noted that the
budget is based on the assumption that there will be no real property tax
increases. It also makes no provision for pay raises or COLAs. TA Murphy proceeded
to review the revenue side of the budget. Revenues have gone up and are
healthy. The main sources of revenue are real property, personal property and
income taxes which account for $1,6 million of the $2 million total revenues,
or 76%. On the expenditure
side, no increases were proposed for Mayor & Council budget and
Administration budget, except those items driven by inflation, such as postage,
Bulletin production, Dues & Conventions and Utilities. The Public Health
& Safety budget increases were reduced from the 25% requested by the
Department Director to 9%. An 8th police officer would be funded
from public safety taxes and would be hired later in the fiscal year. A new
police vehicle would be funded from the capital budget. Cuts were made to
Maintenance & Repairs, Gas & Oil, Capital Outlay above $500, Capital
Outlay below $500 and uniforms. The Emergency Preparedness budget was cut from
$5,100 requested to $3,500, eliminating ½ of the funding for trailer shelving.
Minor increases were made to the Code Enforcement budget. The Public Works
budget a requested $9,000 for an air conditioning unit was cut as well as some
funds for Temporary Labor and Maintenance & Repairs. A new trash truck and
dump truck would be funded from the capital budget. The Parks and Recreation
budget was increased by 40% mainly due to the proposed renovation of the ball
fields and a new piece of equipment for Pop's Park. Expenditures for insurance
and employee benefits are still uncertain as fee increases are not yet
available. TA Murphy said that
the budget leaves approximately $128,000 for the Council to play with. But some
trade-offs have to be made between different goals, as between road repairs,
starting a vehicle replacement fund, pay raises and COLAs. He further pointed
out that the cost of hiring an 8th officer is $96,000, including the
cost of his car and other equipment, or annual cost of approximately $69,000.
The special public safety taxes are not sufficient at present to pay for the
entire cost of an officer. Another option might be funding a part-time police
officer or additional overtime to patrol the Special Taxing District as well as
a 5% increase in the personal property tax. TA Murphy was asked to produce a
plan of sequence for considering the different options. He noted that will not
be present at the next worksession. 2.
Public
Safety Employee
education fund: CM McNulty introduced a proposal to
establish an employee education reimbursement fund. The intent is to facilitate
the professional development of Town employees. However, the details are open
to negotiation. The fund would be set up in the same manner as the various
capital funds; i.e. money appropriated or not used in one year would roll over
to the next years. While CM McNulty
expressed hesitation to put the proposal forth as another budget goal amongst
the many already on the table, he believes that education is a critical element
of the employee benefit package. As opposed to straight forward pay raises,
which would likely become disposable income, education funds encourage
employees to invest in personal development. An education fund could also help
in the recruitment and retention of employees. In the ensuing discussion, it was suggested to survey all Town employees as to whether they support the idea and to make provision for employees to sell back unused leave in exchange for education funds. Doubts were expressed, however, as to whether the Town can afford it at this point and whether the Town should take on such an obligation. CM McNulty did not seek formal approval of his plan but asked Councilmembers to keep it in mind when going through the budget. There were no agenda
items for Public Works, Administration or Code Enforcement. 6.
Parks
and Recreation Municipal
Government Works Resolution: CM Dennison moved to have the Resolution on the observance of a
Municipal Government Works Month in April read at the upcoming Town meeting. CM
Gourley seconded. The motion passed 4 to 0. The meeting was
adjourned at 11:20 p.m. Kerstin Harper, Town Clerk |
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