Town of Berwyn Heights

Town Meeting Minutes

June 13, 2007

The meeting was called to order at 8:01 p.m. Present were Mayor Calvo, Mayor pro Tem (MPT) Jewitt, CMs Dennison, Gourley and Lofgren. Also present were Senator Paul Pinsky, Town Administrator Murphy, Chief of Police Murphy, Treasurer Lape, Clerk Harper, as well as Chair of the Education Advisory Committee (EAC) Ann Harris Davidson, Chair of the Neighborhood Watch/Emergency Preparedness (NW/EP) Mike Attick, Gazette reporter Marcus Ngbea and citizens.

Mayor Calvo led the Pledge of Allegiance.

1. Presentations

Mayor Calvo gave the floor to Berwyn Heights Elementary School (BHES) PTA President Beth Brittan Powell, who introduced other PTA board members in attendance: Sally Cicotte, Cheryl Compton, Jackie Conover and Deeda McInnes. On behalf of the entire PTA, Ms. Brittan Powell thanked the Council for their steadfast support of the school and its children and presented a plaque and t-shirts.

Mayor Calvo welcomed Senator Paul Pinsky, who represents Berwyn Heights and several neighboring communities in the Maryland General Assembly. Senator Pinsky gave an update on the recently concluded legislative session. He reported that the previous session under newly elected Governor O'Malley was strangely quiet because the potentially contentious issues of how to close a looming budget shortfall and establish spending priorities were put off to next session. However, the more important accomplishments included:

Tuition freeze for the Maryland University and College system to keep college education affordable;

Living wage bill mandating that any party contracting with the State of Maryland must pay its employees a living wage of a $11.35 per hour in the Baltimore-Washington corridor and less in the rural areas where the cost of living is less;

Clean car bill, which permits Maryland to adopt a more stringent emission standard along with California and several other states than the federal government sets.

Other bills that were introduced but didn't get passed included:

A bill limiting greenhouse gas emissions to reduce global warming. It would require Maryland to reduce its emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.
A health care bill that would insure all of Maryland's as yet uninsured.

Senator Pinsky then gave a preview of the next session. He said that the State is facing a $1.5 billion deficit. The options on the table for addressing the deficit include a new sales tax on services, making income taxes more progressive, increase corporate taxes and closing loopholes as well as permitting slot machine gambling, which should not be concentrated in low income areas. He invited residents to give input on how the deficit can be reduced. Finally, the issue of how to save Prince George's Hospital and its important trauma center must be addressed. While funds have been appropriated to keep the hospital going for another 2 years, a permanent solution needs to be developed. He advocates that the State of Maryland take over the hospital from Prince George's County, stabilize it and later sell it to a qualified bidder.

Mayor Calvo thanked Senator Pinsky for his update and asked questions about slots, highway user revenue (HUR), other state aid to municipalities and a possible gas tax. Senator Pinsky replied that he believes that a compromise can be reached on slots; that State aid to municipalities is likely to be constrained in a tight budget environment and that gas taxes may be needed to meet all of Maryland's transportation needs, such as the Inter County Connector (ICC), the purple line and Route 1.

CM Dennison asked if a bill re-establishing a 9 district single member school board which was changed by Senator Miller and vetoed by the Governor, will be brought back next session. Senator Pinsky said that he believes it probably will be brought back because a majority of people think that the current arrangement is too cumbersome. He personally favors a less parochial board and would like to depoliticize the election process.

CM Gourley asked what the State's share in funding the proposed overhaul of the Beltway is and how much revenue would be generated by raising sales taxes. Senator Pinsky said that he doesn't know how repairs to the Beltway would be financed, but believes that there is not enough money to do a complete overhaul. He said that there are some estimates about revenues generated by a new service sales taxes. However, there is no agreement yet as to which services would would be taxed how much. Other issues raised included free public transportation for state employees, the disincentive to earn higher incomes with a more progressive tax system and a possible mandate for annual vehicle safety inspections. Mayor Calvo concluded the discussion by noting that the Council will be approaching its delegates later this year about legislation that would enable Berwyn Heights to join the State pension system.

2. Hearings

Ordinance No. 141- FY 2007 Budget Amendment (8:53 – 8:54 p.m): Mayor Calvo explained that the budget amendment takes account of a number grants received throughout the year and fund transfers for year-end capital improvements, salary adjustments and a traffic engineer. Mayor Calvo opened the hearing. There were no comments and the hearing was closed.

3. Minutes

Clerk Harper read a summary of the May 9 Town meeting minutes. CM Dennison moved to approve them. MPT Jewitt seconded. The minutes were approved 5 to 0 with corrections

4. Treasurer’s Report

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

5. Mayor’s Report

Mayor Calvo reported that he will attend the Planning Board hearing on Commerce Bank's detailed site plan tomorrow morning and testify against a staff recommendation that would require a lesser setback from Greenbelt Road and result in a smaller parking area and a higher retaining wall in front of the building. Mayor Calvo and TA Murphy met with leaders of the Berwyn Presbyterian Church to resolve a problem with loud late night parties stemming from the rental of the Church's fellowship hall. Better oversight and new rental procedures were promised to put a stop to noisy parties. Mayor Calvo threw out the first pitch in the 14 and under girls softball championship game. The Berwyn Heights team won the game 21 - 0 for their 3^rd straight championship.

Further, Mayor Calvo participated in a rededication ceremony of the Miriam Farwell plaque, who was principal at Berwyn Heights Elementary School from 1954 – 1974. The meeting Yesterday, he attended an Education Advisory Committee forum with Berwyn Height's school board representative Rosalind Johnson, who briefed residents on the board's actions. With one exception, the new school board has been very productive and successful. Also this week, he had the pleasure to announce the winners of the “If I Where Mayor” essay contest at the school. He read the winning essay from 4^th grader Jeremy Brosh. Runners up included Maryam Hussain, Tracy Okoroh, Lindsay Child, Gabriela Lira and Fay Ramirez, most of which were in Ms O Roark's 4^th grade class.

If I were mayor I would plan different things that would help the environment, bring people together and teach the young generation about being a mayor. Putting recycling bins in the parks would help reduce the amount of trash being thrown away, planting more flowers and trees and having a community vegetable garden are just a few things that would help our environment stay healthy, clean and green. As mayor I would like to see the community have a museum of history and a culture night celebrating our diverse culture today. These two ideas would be a good way to teach our citizens about the past and present times of Berwyn Heights. Lastly, I would like to teach the young citizens of Berwyn Heights about the job of mayor and have an ongoing “shadow the mayor” day. These are just some of my ideas that would enhance the already good job Mayor Calvo is doing.

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Lastly Mayor Calvo announced that the Council will attend the Maryland Municipal League (MML) conference next week, where he will participate in a panel on immigrants, and that TA Murphy is trying to reschedule a water shutoff for a weekend in connection with the Seminole Street storm drain project.

6. Department Reports

Administration: CM Gourley reported on revenues received to date, all of which were close to the budgeted amount. He thanked Lisa Carroll for implementing a new Town Web site and Patricia Blankenship and Darlene Erickson for weeding and beautifying the rain gardens at the Town Center. He reminded residents to report broken streets lights, to put recyclables at the curb early and use the recycling container at school to help raise funds..

Code Enforcement: MPT Jewitt reported that violations for high grass have reached a new record and asked residents to be conscious about when their grass needs cutting. He concluded with an abbreviated report on code violations.

Parks and Recreation, Education and Civic Affairs: CM Dennison reported that June turned out to be a busy month with the Town wide yard sale and Volunteer Appreciation Dinner coming up. The Boys & Girls Club has concluded its baseball and softball seasons and will host a picnic at Sports Park on June 30. Boys & Girls Club plans to build a new shed at the Pontiac Street field are moving forward with Berwyn Heights Elementary (BHES) Principal Singer giving her approval and the Council sending a letter of support to Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) The Historical Committee will have its final meeting before taking summer break and will select a street for the next historic marker. The BHES PTA finished the school year with a free pool party and will welcome students back to school with a Hello Huskies night on August 21. Most BHES students who applied to continue the Music and Technology program at Hyattsville Middle School were accepted. Berwyn Heights' regular middle school, Greenbelt Middle School, on the other hand was given an International Baccalaureate (IB) specialty that continues at Parkdale High School. Lastly, the Recreation Council will kick off its next season with an Ice Cream Social on September 14 and is considering a pot luck dinner.

Public Health and Safety: Mayor Calvo reported that the Safe Streets Committee had a productive meeting with Chief Murphy at which many questions were usefully answered. Chief Murphy also provided statistics on which Berwyn Heights locations have most traffic violations and accidents. He thanked Chief Murphy for his time and efforts to support the Safe Streets Committee fact finding.

Chief Murphy gave last month's police activities report. There were only 9 Part I offenses, significantly less than the 5 year May average of 12. The year to date average of 51 also lower than the 5 year average of 53. He ended with a summary of press releases.

Public Works: CM Lofgren reported that 4 vehicles were in the repair shop last month. The lights at Sports Park needed repairs. Lights on the pedestrian bridge were vandalized and had to be replaced, while graffiti at Pop's Park needed to be cleaned up. Public Works Director Coleman and TA Murphy continue to monitor the water main replacement and relining projects. A contractor has removed dead trees and tree limbs around the school property while the ball fields have suffered from the dry weather and unauthorized mowing.

7. Committee Reports

Education Advisory Committee: Chair Ann Harris Davidson reported that the Farwell Park rededication was a success thank's mostly to the organization by Principal Singer, BHES staff and students. Ms. Davidson also attended the 6^th grade promotion ceremony at the school and awarded a leadership award named after her to Danielle Rosales who helped organize the Farwell Park rededication. Greenbelt Middle School was one of 5 PGCPS middle schools given the opportunity to become accredited for the IB middle years program. The principal of the school, Judy Austin, will attend the August Town meeting. Berwyn Heights' school board representative Rosalind Johnson attended yesterday's EAC meeting and shared a lot of good news. MSA test scores have gone up in Prince George's and Fairmount Heights was selected to receive $15 million grant to test a new faculty recruitment program.

Historical Committee: CM Dennison announced that the Historical Committee will hold the next meeting on June 26 and will make a decision on the next historic street marker and discuss possible events for next year. The Committee continues to seek historic photos of Berwyn Heights and asks resident to share them with the Town for copying or scanning.

Neighborhood Watch/Emergency Preparedness: Chair Mike Attick reported that the next NW/EP meeting will take place on August 1. Members will discuss a pandemic flu exercise in which Berwyn Heights is the only participating small town in Maryland. The exercise is intended to gather information about how residents will react to flu crisis and to instructions from emergency response personnel and also how CERT teams will perform. It is hoped that many Berwyn Heights residents will participate.

Recreation Council: Reported in CM Dennison's department report.

Safe Streets Committee: Reported in Mayor Calvo's department report.

8. Unfinished Business

Ordinance No. 141 – Adoption of FY 2007 Budget Amendments: Clerk Harper read the Ordinance. CM Lofgren moved to adopt it. CM Dennison seconded. Mayor Calvo noted that total revenue additions detailed in the amendment are $40,300 and total expenditure additions are $39,000. With no comments offered, the Ordinance was adopted in a 5 to 0 roll call vote.

9. New Business

Resolution No. 7-07 – Adoption of Council Rule No. 3 as Amended: Clerk Harper read the Resolution. CM Lofgren moved to adopt it. CM Dennison seconded. CM Lofgren, who spearheaded the revisions process, said that the amended Council Rule incorporates an administrative policy that more accurately reflects the current minute writing and approval procedures. With no further comments, Council Rule No. 3 was adopted in a 5 to 0 roll call vote.

Resolution No. 8-07 – Approval of Public Works Mutual Aid agreement: Clerk Harper read the Resolution. MPT Jewitt moved to adopt it and CM Dennison seconded. MPT Jewitt explained that the agreement formalizes the process of requesting aid from neighboring cities and towns in the event of a public emergency or terrorist threat. The Town of Berwyn Heights will benefit from access to neighboring cities public works vehicles and equipment while the other signatories will benefit from the access to Berwyn Heights' emergency preparedness trailer. TA Murphy noted that the Resolution should be modified to include the Public Works Director as an executor of the agreement. There were no objections. The Agreement was adopted in a 5 to 0 roll call vote.

10. Citizens Discussion

There were no citizens comments.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:07 p.m.

Kerstin Harper, Town Clerk