Town of Berwyn Heights

Worksession Minutes

March 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 56^th Avenue. Resident Mike Attick of 62^nd 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 Councilmembers' 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 8^th 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 8^th 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