Town of Berwyn Heights

Town Meeting Minutes

June 14, 2006

The meeting was called to order at 8:00 p.m. Present were Mayor Calvo, CMs Dennison, Gourley, Jewitt and Lofgren. Also present were Town Administrator Murphy, Chief of Police Murphy, Treasurer Lape, Clerk Harper, as well as Chair of the Education Advisory Committee Ann Davidson, Neighborhood Watch/Emergency Preparedness Ron Shane, Gazette reporter Michael Zimmerman and citizens.

2. Minutes (taken up out of order)

Clerk Harper read a summary of the May 10 Town meeting minutes. CM Dennison moved to approve the minutes. CM Jewitt seconded. The minutes were adopted 5 to 0 with corrections.

1. Presentation

Mayor Calvo announced that Officer Chapman has been chosen as this year's Officer of the Year by the Town of Berwyn Heights as well as the Prince George's Police Chiefs Association. He presented him with an award. Mayor Calvo and Chief Murphy commended Officer Chapman, who began his service with the Town two years ago, for his professionalism, hard work and enthusiasm. He has recently taken on some special projects, one of which is the sorely needed cleanup of Branchville Road.

3. Treasurer's Report

Treasurer Lape gave the Treasurer's report for the month of May.

4. Mayor's Report

Mayor Calvo reported that the Council spent its first month after the elections getting organized and comfortable with each other. The new Council also had the opportunity to engage with its neighbors at a Four Cities Coalition meeting. An agreement was reached on the use of a new street sweeper, which will have a dedicated employee to operate it. The cost of the employee and of the maintenance will be shared equally between the Four Cities, as will the periods of usage. Another topic of discussion was the planned widening of Kenilworth Avenue into a 6-lane divided highway. The widened highway will accommodate increased traffic due to the M-Square development at the College Park Metro station. A presentation on the project for residents will be scheduled for an upcoming Town meeting. Further, a proposed agreement with Verizon Telecommunications to provide alternate cable service was discussed. Negotiations, led by College Park, are conducted apart from the County negotiations with Verizon so as to be able to reach an agreement before enactment of a Federal communications bill this fall that would pre-empt municipal franchise authority. College Park has invited Four Cities members and other surrounding municipalities to join in the negotiations. Towns use franchise fees collected from cable providers to operate municipal access television.

In other news, former long-time principal of Berwyn Heights Elementary School Miriam Farwell passed away on May 28. The Education Advisory and Historical Committees have been asked to come up with ideas to memorialize her. The Town is in discussions with Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) regarding the tennis and basketball courts, which are owned by PGCPS but are poorly maintained. The Town took on responsibility for maintaining the field but not the courts when it deeded the school grounds back to the school system to re-open the school. With the winding down of the water main replacement project on Seminole Street, WSSC has begun restorations. However, permanent patches will likely not be applied until next year. WSSC is planning to undertake another water main replacement project on Osage Street between Edmonston Road and Cunningham Drive.

PEPCO electricity rates are scheduled to go up by 38% on July 1, barring any legislation by the Maryland State Assembly to cap rates. Finally, Mayor Calvo thanked Ann Davidson and Heather Iliff of the Berwyn Heights and College Park Education Advisory Committees for arranging a very successful visit of the new CEO of the PGCPS John Deasy to Berwyn Heights. Dr. Deasy was impressive and gave hope that the school system could be reformed. On behalf of the Town, Mayor Calvo offered to support his efforts to move the school system forward to the fullest extent.

5. Department Reports

Administration: CM Gourley noted that he was fortunate to have been taught by Miriam Farwell, the recently deceased former principal of Berwyn Heights Elementary. She was a wonderful person and great teacher. He reported that Town services will be closed on July 4, that business operating licenses for fiscal year 2007 will be mailed out by the end of the month and that customers can report power outages by calling 977 PEPCO-62. Lastly, CM Gourley announced that the Town needs help with a carpentry project. Residents able and willing to help should call the Town Office.

Code Enforcement: CM Jewitt announced that Director Solomon will be away to attend the Maryland Municipal League (MML) convention at the end of June. She will have the opportunity to take classes and interact with other Maryland code officials to learn about code issues and best practices. CM Jewitt continued with a report of code violations and concluded with reminders not to let grass grow taller than 10”, not to park any cars on grassy areas and to check with the Code Department about permit requirements before undertaking a home improvement projects.

Parks and Recreation: CM Dennison reported that a visit to Berwyn Heights by the new CEO of Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) John Deasy was very informative and inspiring. The many attendees learned about Dr. Deasy's vision for Prince George's County schools and had the opportunity to ask questions about pressing concerns. CM Dennison invited all Berwyn Heights volunteers to attend a cookout this coming Thursday in appreciation of the many hours of service they provide throughout the year. Plans for the beginning of next year include a Welcome Back picnic at Berwyn Heights Elementary School, an Ice Cream Social and a Berwyn Heights History tour, organized by Historical Committee Vice Chair Cheryl Jewitt. Residents are encouraged to work with the Recreation Council to plan next year's social events.

Public Safety: Mayor Calvo announced that the Council approved the purchase of two new Crown Victoria police cruisers for which Chief Murphy was able to secure an outstanding price. One car will be bought with Public Safety Taxing District funds and the other with a lease. Chief Murphy also followed up on a concern raised by a resident at the last Town meeting about children playing in the street unsupervised. These tips from residents are very welcome and help the Town be proactive about safety. Last month, however, was not a good month for stolen cars. On a recent Thursday night, 4 cars were reported stolen, and 2 attempted thefts, despite 2 officers being on patrol. Residents are advised to consider purchasing the club, park in their driveways and leave their porch lights on to discourage car thefts.

Chief Murphy gave the police activities report for the previous month. There were 11 Part I offenses, which is lowers than the 5-year average for June of 12.5. However, Part I offenses for the year to date stand at 60, which is higher than the 5-year average of 54. He continued with highlights of last month's incidents, ending with an account of the theft of 4 cars and a recommendation to citizens to get a steering wheel lock, which are sold at the Town Office and Police Department for $10.

Public Works: CM Lofgren reported that Public Works employees have expressed concerns about aggressive driving when they are collecting trash. They ask drivers to be more patient when they are getting stuck behind a trash truck. The Public Works crew last month also performed maintenance of the ball fields and other green spaces around Town, put up a trash can at the BHES tennis court and performed repairs on the water supply lines for the Sports Park concession stand. Director Coleman has been in touch with WSSC regarding patchwork at the Seminole Street project and around Town and has researched vendors and prices for the purchase a new trash truck and pickup truck.

6. Committee Reports

Education Advisory Committee: Chair Ann Davidson reported that all the feedback from last night's public forum with PGCPS CEO John Deasy has been positive. She thanked TA Murphy, Darlene Ericson, Clerk Harper and Public Works for setting up the Town Center. The EAC remains concerned about the elementary school boundaries, which will remain unchanged in the next academic year. The Committee plans to send parents to the boundary hearings to be held in the fall to request changes. July 1 is the deadline for declaring oneself candidate for the Prince George's County Board of Education, which will return from an appointed to an elected board this year. Everyone is requested to pay close attention to this election so as to get the best possible board to support Dr. Deasy. Ms. Davidson said she thinks that Farwell Park is a good name for the BHES school grounds and asked for clarification as to who owns the tennis and basketball fields.

In response to Mayor Calvo, she said enrollment at BHES will probably be higher next year, with three sixth grade classes as opposed to two this year. Mayor Calvo noted that Senator John Giannetti, who grew up in Berwyn Heights and attended Parkdale high school, told him after last night's forum that he is very interested in working with all stakeholders on improving the schools. A new principal of Parkdale High School was appointed recently.

Historical Committee: CM Dennison reported that the Committee is working mainly on planning a Historic Tour of Berwyn Heights and is exploring the feasibility of posting the historic street names on street signs.

Neighborhood Watch/Emergency Preparedness: Chair Ron Shane reported that the Committee, at its last meeting, made plans for National Night Out, scheduled for the first Tuesday in August. An updated emergency operations manual has been made available for the new Town Council with a checklist for easy reference. Also available from the Emergency Preparedness Committee is a DVD of the disaster drill held in April at Sports Park that explains the capabilities of the emergency trailer. A copy of the DVD is available for public viewing at the Media Center. The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) has recruited 3 new members who plan to enroll in formal training in the near future.

In response to Mayor Calvo, Mr. Shane said he not sure if the DVD can be run on Channel 71 but can make it available for that purpose. In response to CM Gourley, he said that shelves for the trailer have not been ordered because it is not certain yet how much money is available for the project.

Recreation Council: CM Dennison reported that the Recreation Council is finalizing the Berwyn Heights Day accounts. No events are planned for the summer.

7. Unfinished Business

Ordinance No. 137 – Second Reading of FY 2006 Budget Amendment: Mayor Calvo explained that this year-end budget amendment declares additional revenues of $30,100, mostly from grants, fines and forfeitures and Bulletin advertising fees, as well as additional expenditures of $30,100 for a Public Works garage air conditioning system, upgrade of police weapon systems and other items. CM Gourley moved to adopt the budget amendment. CM Jewitt seconded. With no comments, the Council approved the amendment in a 5 to 0 roll call vote.

8. New Business

Resolution 08-06 Authorizing Verizon Cable Franchise Negotiations: Mayor Calvo explained that this Resolution authorizes negotiations with Verizon Maryland for a cable franchise. The negotiations are conducted by a consortium of municipalities, including Berwyn Heights, College Park, New Carrollton and University Park, that want to conclude an agreement prior to the implementation of a Federal communications bill that would pre-empt municipal franchising authority. The City of Bowie and Laurel already have reached such agreements on very favorable terms. Clerk Harper read the Resolution. CM Dennison moved to adopt the resolution. CM Jewitt seconded. The resolution was approved in a 5 to 0 roll call vote.

9. Citizens Discussion

Ann Davidson of 58^th Avenue asked the Council to revisit the issue of two large and apparently unregulated bill boards located in the Town of Berwyn Heights at the Greenbelt Road railroad overpass.

She also asked that the Council follow up on the recent case of multiple car thefts and obtain a transcript of the 911 call made by a resident witnessing one of the attempted thefts at 2:00 a.m. The resident was told by the County dispatcher to go across the street and warn the neighbor. Her husband prevented her from doing so but, if followed, this advice would have put the resident in a dangerous situation. Prince George's County police never responded to this call nor relayed the information to the Berwyn Heights police. Mayor Calvo agreed that the County dispatch system remains a problem and that Berwyn Heights police is looking into this case.

Sealani Weiner of Villanova Street asked how she should proceed with a complaint about a hound dog on Edmonston Road that disturbs the neighborhood with loud fits of barking at all hours. The owners have been contacted but remain unresponsive. Mayor Calvo recommended to apprise the Code and Police Departments of the situation and have them talk to the resident. If need be, that can be followed up with noise violation citations.

Ms. Weiner also asked what is the best way to contact Berwyn Heights police after hours. Mayor Calvo said that 911 should be called in case of emergencies. In case of non-emergencies, the County dispatcher can be reached at 301-333-4000 with a request for a Berwyn Heights officer to respond.

CM Gourley asked if Ms. Weiner had a copy of the County's animal control ordinance. She said she did and has shared it with the owners of the disruptive dog.

Joan Hayden of Seminole Street stated that there is a lot of littering on 56^th Avenue from users of the basketball court and other park facilities and that children continue to ride their bikes in the street. She also asked about the possibility of putting a telephone in the Council chamber so that residents can call in during a meeting. Mayor Calvo said a phone is a good idea and would be looked into.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:32 p.m.

Kerstin Harper, Town Clerk