Town of Berwyn Heights

Worksession Minutes

July 10, 2006

The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. Present were Mayor Calvo, CMs Dennison, Gourley and Lofgren. CM Jewitt had an excused absence. Also present were Town Administrator Murphy, Clerk Harper and citizens.

1. Mayor

Announcements: The Council has been invited to attend the Eagle Scout ceremony of Kevin Schwarz on Sunday, July 16. The Council supported his installation of a walkway between Nevada Street and Goucher Drive that earned him the Eagle Scout award. A proclamation honoring Kevin Schwarz will be read at the next Town meeting. Delegate Anne Healey's office announced the recipients of the District 22 Delegation scholarships. They include Berwyn Heights students Sarah Loutsch, Jonathan Loutsch, and Mark Gonzales.

Calendar: Mayor Calvo will not be able to attend the July 20 Four Cities Coalition meeting. The meeting will feature a presentation on the widening of Kenilworth Avenue and will be open to the public. The presentation will be taped. An August 2 meeting of the Neighborhood Watch/Emergency Preparedness Committee (NW/EP) and an August 3 meeting of the Recreation Council were taken off the calendar. A presentation on the Commerce Bank project is scheduled for the August 21 worksession.

Agenda changes: Discussion of the Four Cities Coalition meeting agenda was added.

Minutes: CM Gourley moved to adopt the June 5 worksession minutes. CM Dennison seconded. The minutes were approved with corrections. The June 14 Town meeting minutes were reviewed for approval at the July 14 Town meeting.

Department reports: TA Murphy reported that the Administration Department is performing a detailed audit of personal property tax accounts for the last 5 years to determine which businesses are not paid up. The last public safety taxing district payment for FY 2006 was received on Friday, July 7. Also recently received was a $51,900 payment of income tax revenue. Mayor Calvo reported for CM Jewitt that the Code Department received a payment of $3,400 in FY 2006 tax liens from the County. Total fines from code violations in FY 2006 have gone up substantially compared to FY 2005. CM Dennison said that she will meet with the Seniors Club to set the date for an Ice Cream Social. CM Lofgren reported that Director Coleman and TA Murphy met with WSSC representatives to discuss responsibilities for the restoration of Seminole Street. Mayor Calvo reported that the 2 new police cruisers recently approved for purchase have been picked up from the dealer. Chief Murphy and 4 officers supported the Park Police in providing security during the Fourth of July celebrations. Due to heavy rains and thunderstorms, the crowds were evacuated from fields for a period of time.

Citizen comments: Mayor Calvo received a call about a noisy party at a rental property on Bucknell Terrace. Police were called twice. The party was shut down and tenants told to clean up the yard. For the first time, a fine for nuisance behavior was issued and paid. Mayor Calvo also received comments about the WSSC project on Seminole Street and had a conversation with the College Park director of Meals on Wheels who asked for support of the program. As there are a number of senior citizens in Berwyn Heights who benefit, the Council may want to consider supporting the program. For his part, he plans to advertise the program at the next Town meeting.

CM Gourley received comments about a fence owned by the Fire Department that is in need of repair and about an increase in raccoons and other wildlife on Seminole Place. The Code Department has followed up on complaints about a resident feeding raccoons. CM Lofgren remarked that the problem with wild animals is Town-wide and suggested that the Town look into signing up with a professional trapping contractor.

CM Dennison received comments about the availability of the Town's generator to residents during power outages and about a perceived decline in the Town's appearance. She noted that the Staples parking lot remains an eye sore despite a promise of new landscaping. Further, an illegal campaign sign is posted on the property. Mayor Calvo agreed that the Staples parking lot is not well maintained and suggested that a commercial clean lot ordinance be drafted that allows for immediate fining for violations. Campaign signs may not be posted earlier than 45 days before a primary. CM Dennison continued that she was recently notified that the Berwyn Heights Under 14 Girls softball team won the County championship.

MML convention recap: Mayor Calvo said he took an open meetings class, which he found especially instructive. He learned that Town committees established by executive order are public bodies and subject to open meeting regulations and that there are certain rules about holding executive sessions not currently observed by the Council. He also had the opportunity to talk with many candidates running for elected office this year, including the governorship, state Assembly, County Council and school board. CM Dennison took classes in emergency management and dealing with upset citizens, attended meetings of the Prince George's Elected Women and PGCMA breakfast and carried the flag. She particularly liked the municipal main street theme. CM Gourley took classes in municipal budgeting, city/town streetscapes and excessive occupancy of residential homes. He thought that some of streetscape improvements featured could serve as a model for beautifying Berwyn Heights.

At 8:00 p.m., the Council took a 5 minute break.

Safe streets committee: Mayor Calvo said that in order to launch the safe streets committee the Council should draft a mission statement and begin to solicit interested residents to serve as members. The mission should set out a process of operation to which members would adhere. The process would entail addressing different types of traffic calming solutions from street closings to speed humps. Residents serving on the committee should represent all of Berwyn Heights not only the most heavily traveled streets. Possibly half of the Metroland compensation could be made available to fund the improvements recommended by the committee.

In discussions, CM Dennison said that a notice should be published in the Bulletin asking residents to serve on the committee. She related that she previously served on a streets committee and a sidewalk committee that addressed issues of traffic safety. However, with the exception of several new stop signs, no improvements were implemented as a result of committee deliberations. She suggested that the committee recruit a technical adviser and seek input from representatives of Police and Fire Departments and other stakeholders.

CM Lofgren said that during his previous term on the Council stop signs were installed all along Pontiac Street to slow down truck traffic. At the time, it was still a state road. However, truck traffic didn't stop until the Town took the road over and closed it to trucks. Mayor Calvo said that he would like to consider closing 57^th and 59^th Avenue to through traffic and approach Park and Planning and the Maryland Planning Department for technical assistance in redesigning the streets. CM Lofgren said that the Town should also explore grant aid to communities to help with this type of project. Further, he recommended renaming the committee to better reflect its charge, such as traffic control or traffic safety committee.

Four Cities agenda: Mayor Calvo said that the July 20 Four Cities Coalition meeting in Berwyn Heights will feature a presentation on the proposed widening of Kenilworth Avenue by State Highway Administration (SHA) officials. It will take up a large part of the meeting. Other likely topics include a Verizon franchise agreement and development updates. No other additions to the agenda were made.

2. Code Enforcement

Nothing discussed.

3. Parks and Recreation

Nothing discussed.

4. Public Safety

Nothing discussed.

5. Public Works

Nothing discussed.

6. Administration

Seminole Street update: TA Murphy said that he and Director Coleman met with the project director of the WSSC Seminole Street water main replacement project regarding the restoration of the street. WSSC agreed to resurface the trenches, plus 3 ' on each side and repair damaged driveways but not curbs. He also learned that WSSC has a sharing program whereby the Town could opt to contribute funds and have the entire street resurfaced at the conclusion of the project. However, this must be decided before the bids for a contractor go out.

Mayor Calvo commented that WSSC should have informed the Town of the sharing option beforehand so that the Town could have considered resurfacing all of Seminole Street. He also remains concerned about the damaged curbs. The curb damage mostly occurs when stabilizers for the trenching equipment are set down close to a curb without the use of padding. The Council agreed to carefully document the condition of Osage Street before the water main replacement project begins and to get a prior agreement to protect curbs through use of padding when possible. As Osage Street is in good repair, a resurfacing of the entire street will probably not be needed.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:58 p.m.

Kerstin Harper, Town Clerk