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Worksession MinutesFebruary 21, 2006
The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. Present were Mayor Calvo, CMs Dennison, Gourley, Laughlin and McNulty. Also present were Town Administrator Murphy, Director of Public Works Joe Coleman, Director of Code Enforcement, Sonjia Solomon, Clerk Harper, President of the Boys & Girls Club Tom Reynolds and citizens. 1. MayorAgenda changes: CM Dennison asked to add discussion of legislation regarding a gas storage facility to the agenda. Announcements: Congressman Ben Cardin is holding an opening event for his Senate campaign office on March 4 in Largo. Tom Hendershot, Glenn Ivey and Melvin High will host a Town Hall meeting on March 8 in New Carrollton. The February 11 Washington Post featured Berwyn Heights in its “Where We Live” section. A link will be posted on the Welcome page of the Berwyn Heights Web site. Calendar: The Council reviewed the calendar. The following absences are to be added: Mayor Calvo, March 6 worksession; CM McNulty, March 27; and CM Gourley, April 3 and 10. Minutes: The Council reviewed the February 6 worksession minutes. CM McNulty moved to approve the minutes. CM Gourley seconded. The minutes were approved 5 to 0 with corrections. Department reports: CM Dennison reported that she is working with the Recreation Council on Berwyn Heights Day preparations and on organizing a mock council meeting event for Municipal Government Works Month. CM Gourley reported that the Public Works crew cleaned up the walking path connecting Pontiac Street and the 60th Avenue cul-de-sac and praised the crew for doing a great job removing snow after a recent storm. TA Murphy gave an update on the 58th Avenue walkway project. The ground is currently too soft to dig a trench for a swale. The installation of a drainage system will have to be postponed to the summer. However, the Eagle Scout walkway project is going forward as planned. Director Coleman commented that a drainage system using two in-ground pipes rather than an open swale would be a better solution. Mayor Calvo reported on the Mayors Association Conference he attended. Hot topics included legislation promoted by the Maryland Association of Counties (MACO) to limit municipalities ability to annex and highway user funds. He also had discussions with delegates about joining the Maryland pension system, the Board of Education bill and the Berwyn Heights public safety taxing district. Budget presentation – Code Enforcement: Director Solomon began with a briefing on current code issues. She said that communication with the growing Spanish-speaking population is one of the main challenges. Their knowledge of code issues and ordinances is limited and leads to misunderstandings. She proposed an outreach program that would include a code enforcement booth on Berwyn Heights Day, Spanish translations of key documents and ordinances and code enforcement slides in Spanish on Channel 71. She further reported that new rental properties continue to be identified. The total stands at 142 as of now. The budget request is based on cost of operations plus inflation and providing for the needs of staff assisting the Code Department. There are no requests for new equipment. Highlights of changes include:
In response to Councilmembers questions, Ms. Solomon said: Uniform items are paid from the supplies budget. The Blackberry is helping her to keep appointments organized and should enable the administrative assistant to stay in close touch with her and take care of code paper work. She plans to train the administrative assistant in the use of MS Outlook for that purpose. Salaries for code officers in most neighboring municipalities are higher. Outstanding fines amounting to $19,000 are largely due to lengthy processing of tax liens. Ms. Solomon, for the most part, gets training at local workshops and on line as there are insufficient funds to attend conferences. The increase in communications costs is due to additional cell phone calls with the new Code Assistant when she is in the field. Training for the administrative assistant currently focuses on familiarizing her with the Town's code processes and routines. In conclusion, Ms. Solomon, with TA Murphy's help, was asked to come up with an updated cost estimate for rental inspections. At 8:08 pm., the Council took a 5 minute break. Budget presentation – Public Works: Director Joe Coleman focused his budget request on the line items that changed. Public Works Building:
Streets and Sanitation:
Capital equipment:
Road repair:
CM Gourley commented that he would like to hire 2 new employees: 1 full timer with an expertise in green space maintenance and 1 part time CDL driver. Mr. Coleman elaborated that the full time employee would be hired in the 8th full time crewman III position already funded in the current budget. The position has been advertised as a park maintenance technician. He is also advertising for a part time CDL driver to fill in for the current part time CDL driver when he is unavailable. Temporary help is still needed for grass cutting, leaf collection and snow removal work. In response to Councilmembers questions, Mr. Coleman said that an air conditioning system for the Public Works building crew area, leaf bags and temporary labor funding are his top priorities. Among the capital items, a new trash truck, dump truck and road repairs are important. The 1993 dump truck has been designated for use by the Neighborhood Watch/Emergency Preparedness (NW/EP) to pull the emergency trailer. Trailer and truck are taking up scarce space at the Public Works yard. The Weygandt parking lot might be considered as an alternate location. The school flasher needs to be repaired. Temporary help is preferable to a 9th full time employee because it allows more flexibility completing labor intensive jobs. Other Public Works employees, such as the foreman, would benefit from attending out-of-town conferences and training. When soliciting bids for a new trash truck, the Town will piggy-back onto bids of a larger agency or business. The posting of notices for leaf collection would not be cost-effective for Berwyn Heights. Due to its small size, the entire Town can be covered in a week, barring equipment breakdown or bad weather. The current leaf machine can be expected to last another year. In conclusion, Mr. Coleman was requested to provide the Council with a list of Public Works vehicles, maintenance and repair costs for each Public Works vehicle so far this year, the cost of CM Gourley's cell phone, and to begin e-mailing the Council updates on a weekly basis. Budget presentation – Parks and Recreation: CM Dennison highlighted the changes to her budget which has gone up by approximately 50% due to equipment purchases and field maintenance.
In response to Councilmembers' questions, CM Dennison said that a cleaned up Town Center attic will probably not mitigate the need for a storage shed. Her funding priorities are 1) Special Events, 2) museum display case, 3) playground equipment and 4) refrigerator. Ball field maintenance was attributed to her budget by TA Murphy. Sports Park will be playable after re-seeding in the spring. Citizens comments: Boys and Girls Club (BGC) President Tom Reynolds addressed the Council on the budget. He thanked the Town and Public Works crew for helping the Club to repair and maintain the ball fields. The Club hopes to keep the focus on maintaining the ball fields. The Sports Park field needs to be prepped for the upcoming season as it will be shared by 4 teams this spring. As president, he hopes to establish better lines of communication between the Club and the Council and keep the Council apprised of the Club's needs and priorities. Mayor Calvo received a complaint about inflexible code enforcement practices, which will be appealed to the Council in the near future. PG 401-06: Board of Education: Mayor Calvo explained that CM Dennison has requested that this legislation be put on the agenda for the Council to take a position. It would re-establish a 9-member elected school board, elected from 9 single member districts. The Prince Georges County House Delegation has endorsed the legislation. Mayor Calvo has talked to the Chair of the County Delegation, Carolyn Howard, and informed her of the Council's support for a 9-member elected board. CM Dennison said that the current version of the bill has new amendments not yet discussed by the Education Advisory Committee (EAC) pertaining to districts and powers of the board's CEO. The Council may need to take a closer look. Mayor Calvo said that the Council has taken a position in favor of a 9-member elected school board and communicated it to its legislative delegation. There is no need to take a stand on a specific bill still under discussion. However, the Council will consider any specific recommendation from the EAC. CM Dennison said that she will research to bill in greater detail before bringing it back. Edmonston Town Council economic development standards: Mayor Calvo said that the Town of Edmonston requested neighboring municipalities to support 9 criteria for the re-development of the Capitol Plaza Mall by Wal-Mart including: 1) the prohibition of guns and ammunition sales; 2) the prohibition of alcoholic beverages sales; 3) provision of parking lot security; 4) not to open a 24-hour store; 5) working with community leaders on congestion and security; 6) attractive facade and landscaping; 7) designing an energy-efficient and environmentally innovative site; 8) recruitment of local labor and engaging workforce in development efforts; and 9) engaging in ongoing dialogue with elected officials and community leaders. Bladensburg and Port Towns have expressed their support. Mayor Calvo commented that he has reservations about some of the criteria, such as the provision not to operate a 24-hour store. CM Gourley said he believes this rule to be reasonable in a neighborhood concerned about crime because most thefts and other problems occur during the night if a store stays open 24 hours. CM Dennison said that one reason to keep a store open at night is for pharmacy service, which Wal-Mart offers. The Council agreed to postpone a decision on the standards to get clarification on some issues. The matter will be taken up again before a March 15 deadline for input. PG 409-06: Signing Bonus for Police Officers: Mayor Calvo explained that this bill, sponsored by Delegate Ross, would implement a $10,000 signing bonus for Prince George's police officers to be financed from a reduction in the homestead property tax credit. The result would be that the County's property tax rate cap set by TRIM would be raised from 3% to 4%. CM Laughlin and McNulty opposed the measure because it would lure police officers away from municipalities where municipalities do a better job at law enforcement than the County. Mayor Calvo and CM Dennison were also opposed. CM McNulty moved for the Council to oppose the bill. CM Dennison seconded. The motion carried 5 to 0. Washington Gas storage facility: CM Dennison said that Mayor Miles of Mt. Rainier has forwarded an action request regarding a bill that would permit Washington Gas to build an underground gas storage facility in Chillum. While CM Dennison opposes the bill, she has no detailed information yet. The Council declined to take a stand. 2. Parks and RecreationMunicipal Government Works month: CM Dennison proposed to hold a student mock council meeting during the April 24 worksession. She has been in touch with the Berwyn Heights Elementary School Principal, Dr. Singer, who would select 5 students and prepare them. Students, accompanied by their parents, would come to the meeting, sit as a mock council and discuss an issue of interest for some 20 minutes. Mayor Calvo suggested meeting on a different day and holding a special Town meeting for this purpose. It could be taped and broadcasted just like a council meeting. CM Dennison preferred to hold the event at the regularly scheduled worksession as it may be difficult for all Councilmembers to attend an additional meeting during the budget season. It was agreed that the event needed to be planned in more detail before a date is set, including selection of a topic for discussion, age group and meeting format. There were no items under Public Safety and Public Works. 5. AdministrationBulletin cover: The Council chose the following items for the March Bulletin cover: spring theme, election information and notices for Berwyn Heights planning, tax returns filing, community service hours. The meeting was adjourned at 10:50 p.m. Kerstin Harper, Town Clerk |
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