Town of Berwyn Heights

Worksession Minutes

April 17, 2006

The meeting was called to order 7:05 p.m. Present were Mayor Calvo, CMs Dennison, Gourley, Laughlin and McNulty. Also present were Town Administrator Murphy, Clerk Harper and citizens.

1. Mayor

Agenda: Student mock council meeting was added to the Parks and Recreation agenda.

Announcements: Earth Day cleanup of the Berwyn Heights Elementary School grounds will take place on April 22. The student mock council meeting will take place on April 24 at 6:30 p.m. An emergency preparedness exercise will be held on April 29 at Sports Park. On April 20, a Prince George's Public Works and Transportation hearing (DPT) on bus transit will be held. The Town may want to ascertain whether Berwyn Heights is slated for continued service by The Bus and send someone to the hearings. On May 5, the District Council will review the detailed site plan for Greenbelt Metro Station in Upper Marlboro.

Calendar: The date for the next Four Cities Coalition meeting was changed to May 25.

Minutes: The Council reviewed minutes. CM Dennison moved to adopt the March 13 budget worksession minutes. CM McNulty seconded. The minutes were adopted 5 to 0 with corrections. CM Gourley moved to adopt the March 27 budget worksession minutes. CM Laughlin seconded. The minutes were adopted 5 to 0 with corrections.

Department reports: CM Laughlin reported that the Code Department will have a booth on Berwyn Heights Day and make available a new flyer on clean lot regulations in Spanish. Mayor Calvo recommended that a paragraph on rental license requirements be added. CM Dennison reported that the Berwyn Heights Day preparations have been going smoothly but that volunteers are still needed. Councilmembers are encouraged to help. In response to CM Dennison, CM Gourley said that Seminole Street will be restored to its previous condition or better. Mayor Calvo reported that service was disrupted yesterday when power and telephone lines were ripped down by WSSC workers on Seminole Street. After the outage was reported, PEPCO sent out workers to fix the power line. Verizon still has to follow suit. Mayor Calvo noted that TA Murphy will send letters to WSSC and Washington Gas regarding their inadequate temporary street patches. He plans to follow up with direct phone calls. He will also ask that Seminole Street be restored to prior condition, including damaged curbs. However, the street will not be refinished until sufficient infrastructure funds have been saved. TA Murphy reported that he received returns from a Berwyn Heights business owner for 3 years of outstanding personal property taxes. CM McNulty reported that a dead tree limb is hanging in the power line on Charlton Avenue.

Citizen comments: CM Dennison received comments regarding holes in the fence surrounding the school along the 60^th Avenue cul-de-sac; about too little and too much code enforcement; about election signs in the Town right-of-way; about overhanging trees on Edmonston Road; and about planting fir trees along Berwyn Road. CM Gourley remarked that the taking of election signs from the candidate's own yard is unconscionable. Mayor Calvo received comments about street lights not working on Kenilworth Avenue; about sunken and deteriorated curbs on Ruatan Street; about the proper level of code enforcement; and about the deteriorating SECU fence.

2. Public Works

No items were discussed.

3. Administration

Bulletin cover: the following items were approved for the May Bulletin cover: Berwyn Heights Day, Town-wide yard sale, reception for new Council.

At 7:50 p.m., the Council took a 5 minute break.

Business Licenses Ordinance amendments: TA Murphy proposed to add a new authority under Section 6 of the Ordinance, i.e. the authority to collect fines by attaching a lien to property tax bills of owner-occupied businesses that fail to pay the licensing fee. Businesses that rent their premises are issued a municipal infraction. There were no objections to this change. CM McNulty suggested that the businesses be given a right to appeal to the Council. TA Murphy said that the municipal infraction process already provides for appeals.

Mayor Calvo noted that the most important change proposed to the licensing fee structure is charging professional associations on the basis of gross receipts rather than the number of professionals forming the association. He asked the Council to decide 1) whether to strike the change, 2) whether to make the change all at once or, 3) whether to phase it in over several years. The Council agreed to implement the change at once. CM Laughlin asked to ensure that businesses are adequately notified of the proposed changes. TA Murphy will make sure a Bulletin is sent to every business. He also is to consult with the Town Attorney as to whether the fee schedule can by approved separately by resolution. CM Gourley moved to raise the licensing fee for the $500,000 – $750,000 gross receipts category from $185 to $200. The motion failed for lack of a second.

5. Parks and Recreation (discussed out of order)

Student Town meeting: CM Dennison said that School Counselor Mary Wade is coordinating the mock council preparations and asked for input on the choice of topic to be discussed. It was proposed that the students discuss whether the Pontiac Street ball field should be 1) re-seeded with use of the field postponed for another year, or 2) left in the current sub-standard condition and used now. It was further proposed that the students discuss funding implications of their decision, e.g. expenditures for material and manpower as well for a barrier to prevent unauthorized access to the field. The Council agreed to propose the students discuss whether or not to reseed the field.

4. Code Enforcement (discussed out of order)

Code appeal: CM Laughlin explained that the owner of a rental home on 60^th Avenue requested a refund for the $200 rental license fee. The owner complied with the code Department's mandate that the home be inspected and was told that it was unfit for habitation. The tenants have been asked to move out by April 15. CM Laughlin recommended that the owner be given a 2/3 refund as he has already rented the home for 4 months out of the year. Mayor Calvo said that he is inclined to refund the entire $200 fee, as the owner will have to invest a substantial sum to rehabilitate the home while at the same time forgoing rental income. CM McNulty so moved. CM Dennison seconded. CM Gourley proposed that the owner be refunded ľ of the license fee as the owner more nearly rented the home for 3 months of the year. He also believed that homeowners' insurance would pay for the repairs. CM Laughlin said that she is flexible and could support a full refund. Mayor Calvo said that the code process worked as intended and that rental licenses are not meant to be a money maker. A full refund would show good faith. The Council voted 5 to 0 to give a full refund.

Fire code: CM Laughlin explained that Councilmembers had received an e-mail from a resident, who is a tenant of a rental home. She is concerned that the home does not comply with the fire code. CM Laughlin said that the Berwyn Heights rental ordinance requires that basement apartments have at least one window or door that opens to the outside. The apartment in question has a door that opens to the outside and is in compliance. She initially assumed that the Berwyn Heights rental ordinance did not accord with the fire code because the College Park Gazette had reported that rental homes without an exterior door and window are in violation of the fire code. However, the article turned out to be incorrect. She recommended that the Town send a formal reply to the resident. Mike Attick commented that an exterior basement window has to be a certain size. He was told that the Rental Ordinance specifies that “the window or door has to be an approved emergency egress or rescue.” Mayor Calvo will send a letter to the resident.

6. Public Safety

No items were discussed.

7. Budget Discussion

Mayor Calvo reported that the Town's workers' compensation insurance rate will go up by 90%, or $30,000, as a result of a $126,000 claim that was filed by the Town this year. This expense came as a bit of a shock as the FY 2007 budget projected only a 10% increase. Mayor Calvo will contact the insurance carrier tomorrow to appeal the raise. He believes a 90% increase is too drastic for one claim in a year, especially in light of Berwyn Heights' previous excellent insurance risk rating.

CM McNulty asked if the Town should consider using a different insurer. Mayor Calvo said that he and TA Murphy will look into that. However, with a recent large claim on the books, it would be difficulty to find an insurer offering a better rate. CM Gourley asked if there is a board that oversees insurance companies to which the Town could appeal. Mayor Calvo said that the insurer in question is a State governmental entity and is not subject to the same regulations as private insurers.

Mayor Calvo said that, while he and TA Murphy will make an effort to negotiate both a lower insurance and electricity rate, the Council must come up with a plan to close funding gap resulting from the projected increases. He said that there are 4 areas in the budget where cuts can be made:

1. $26,000 set aside for employee salaries and benefits

2. $26,500 for a new police car and accessories; could lease-purchase instead

3. $60,000 from budget surplus

4. $35,000 for vacant public works position

CM Gourley commented that he is opposed to cutting the unfilled Public Works position. Another full time employee is sorely needed. He suggested taking the needed money from the $192,000 in undesignated reserves. Mayor Calvo said that the surplus has already been cut in half and that it is not good policy to fund operating expenses from the surplus. CM Gourley said that the money that might be taken from surplus would not need to cover the entire funding gap and cautioned against making any decision before the Town has heard from the insurer. Mayor Calvo agreed that no decision should be made tonight but, likewise, no decision to hire an 8^th Public Works employee should be made at this point. The Council agreed.

CM Dennison commented that she would look first at leasing a police car, cutting employee salaries and benefits and/or the 8^th Public Works employee and lastly at taking money from surplus to close the funding gap. No final decision should be made, however, until the electricity and insurance rate increases are known. Mayor Calvo said that his preference for saving money would be leasing the police car, cutting funding for the 8^th Public Works employee and taking money from the surplus not exceeding $60,000.

8. Executive Session (9:48 – 10:00 p.m.)

Mayor Calvo explained that this and other executive sessions held recently have dealt with designing a comprehensive employee salary plan. As it is difficult to compare salaries without identifying individual employees, discussions were held in private session. He believes the proposal should be prepared for public input soon. This Council's term will end in May and any decision will necessarily be revisited by the next Council. Thus the proposal should be more of a recommendation. CM Gourley noted that he, in any case, is not ready to finalize the proposal and will need to seek input from his Department's employees.

On a motion by CM Dennison seconded by CM Gourley, the Council voted to go into executive session regarding another personnel matter. With matter discussed, CM Gourley moved to end the executive session. CM McNulty seconded.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:01 p.m.

Kerstin Harper, Town Clerk