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Worksession Minutes
April 7, 2008
The meeting was called to order
at 7 p.m. Present were Mayor Calvo, Mayor Pro Tem
(MPT) Jewitt, CMs Dennison, Gourley and Lofgren.
Also present were Town Administrator (TA) Murphy,
Clerk Harper and citizens.
1. Mayor
Agenda: An
executive session to discuss the citizen of the year
was added to the end of the meeting.
Announcements:
Mayor Calvo attended the book signing of Ann Harris
Davidson's “Berwyn Heights: Then & Now.” He enjoyed
the event, which drew close to a hundred guests, and
bought several copies of the book. The Seniors Club
will host Mayor Calvo for a conversation about the
proposed pension plan for Town employees on April 8
and celebrate its 25th anniversary on
April 13. On April 30 and May 1, Seniors have the
opportunity to take an American Association of
Retired Persons (AARP) drivers safety course.
Calendar: The
student mock Town Council meeting was postponed to
April 21, 6:30 p.m.
Minutes: On a
motion by MPT Jewitt and second by CM Dennison, the
March 24 worksession minutes were approved 5 to 0
with corrections. The March 12 Town meeting minutes
were reviewed for approval at the April 9 Town
meeting.
Department reports:
MPT Jewitt has drafted a letter of support for
funding Route 193 improvements in connection with
the possible re-establishment of the Neighborhood
Conservation Program and has forwarded it to Mayor
Calvo for review. CM Dennison congratulated the
Historical Committee and Ms. Davidson on a
successful book signing and the Senior's Club on
their 25th anniversary. She announced
that more volunteers are needed for Berwyn Heights
Day. Mayor Calvo is planning to set up a meeting
with local realtors to discuss the current housing
market and possible strategies for dealing with
foreclosures. He also plans to convene the
Commercial District Management Authority (CDMA),
which at the moment has no effective leadership, to
present the Public Safety Taxing District (PSTD)
budget. He would also like to discuss how to retool
the committee, so that it can give input on the new
development in commercial district, and the
appointment of a new chair.
Citizen comments:
Mayor Calvo received comments about the Pontiac
Street field and the Town's plans for making
improvements, about recess policy at Berwyn Heights
Elementary School (BHES). He also received a
complaint about construction of a temporary driveway
for parking commercial vehicles. MPT Jewitt received
an inquiry about the status of enforcement of the
Commercial Clean Lot Ordinance, which is in the
initial stages of implementation. CM Gourley
commented that he received his mail very late at
6:45 p.m. and wondered about the reasons.
Mike Attick of 62nd
Avenue commented that lately, he receives his mail
between 5 and 7 p.m. and surmised that it is the
result of not having an acting postmaster at the
College Park station. Further, he suggested that the
Town Council reconsider the reduction in its
contribution to the Fire Department, which is trying
to save money for a new ladder truck. Apart from
that, the County is once again considering cutting
the 8th professional firefighter at the
Branchville and Berwyn Heights Fire Departments. The
Council may want to approach developers about
assistance with funding public safety programs. Mr.
Attick also urged the Council to use the constant
yield tax rate as the baseline for the budget,
because it maintains the current tax load on
residents. Simply maintaining the current real
property tax rate raises residents' tax loads
because of rising assessments.
CM Lofgren stated for the
record that the Town increased the Fire Department
appropriation last year for the purpose of
purchasing 2 defibrillators. CM Gourley asked if the
Fire Department raises any funds from Springhill
Lake, to which the Department responds frequently.
Mike Attick replied that about $3,000 a year are
raised from non-Town sources, most of which comes
from Westchester Park.
Pension Bond Ordinance:
Mayor Calvo asked Councilmembers to review the
Ordinance for adoption at the April 9 Town meeting.
No corrections have been made by TA Murphy since its
introduction in March. The Ordinance contains the
question, which will be on the ballot in the May 6
election. Absentee ballots will be not be made
available to residents until after the approval of
the Ordinance. Council made a couple corrections to
punctuation and formatting.
Mayor Calvo asked TA Murphy if
he has developed proposals for alternative pension
plans from private insurers. TA Murphy said that he
is still working on that. Mayor Calvo said this in
effect precludes the Council from considering any
alternatives at the Town meeting. This Ordinance
only authorizes borrowing for the purpose of joining
the State Pension System. A different ordinance or
resolution would be required to join a different
system. MPT Jewitt said that joining a different
system likely would not require borrowing large
amounts of money.
Mayor Calvo said that a private
insurer may require either a lump sum payment upon
joining or higher annual contribution rates based on
its own actuarial valuations. He did not think that
private insurance plans would offer better terms
than the State plan. However, he would have liked to
have something available for consideration because
residents have suggested looking into other options.
Another plan could of course be developed if this
Pension Bond does not get approved by the voters in
May but it would require another referendum and
could not be done as part of FY 2009 budget. CM
Gourley said that the Council could hold a special
election in mid-year to approve an alternate plan
and include it in the FY 2010 budget. CM Lofgren
said he was under the impression that the Council
was committed to the State Pension Plan. The State
Plan may well offer the best value for the money as
evidenced by the fact that 9 other Maryland
municipalities have decided this year to join the
system.
2. Public Works
In-house recycling costs:
CM Lofgren said he has reviewed the
feasibility study for starting an in-house recycling
program put together by TA Murphy and Director
Coleman. He sees no reason why this could not work.
TA Murphy explained that the proposal assumes a
once-a-week pickup with an old compactor truck and a
three-man crew. Pickup would take place on
Wednesday, so as not to interfere with regular trash
pickup and avoid equipment and manpower conflicts.
Staffing for the recycling pickup could be done by
using either one full-time employee and one
temporary laborer or two temporary laborers. A
driver could be chosen from 4 employees with CDL
licenses. Using one full time employee and one temp
would be more expensive but is preferred by Director
Coleman because it would guarantee at least one
experienced and reliable worker performing the job.
It is also recommended to hire an additional
full-time employee, who would be used as a backup
for a variety of jobs throughout the week.
Mayor Calvo commented that
there are advantages and disadvantages to switching
recycling from Thursday to Wednesday, the
disadvantage being a likely temporary drop off in
recycling while residents adjust to the new
schedule. In terms of costs, an additional full time
employee could be paid out of the $54,500 in
recycling tax revenues collected from residents each
year. Additional revenues would be generated from
$12 per ton paid by the Prince George's County for
disposing recyclables at the Materials Recycling
Facility and by any businesses that might sign up
for the service. However, he does not believe that
an additional temporary laborer is needed if a full
time employee is hired. Another cost to be factored
into the budget is the purchase of a new garbage
truck and its maintenance costs. The truck that is
proposed to be used is 14 years old and not likely
to last many more years.
CM Lofgren commented that if
recycling is done in-house, there is a potential to
greatly increase the recyclable component of
residents' trash, which, at some point, might
warrant adding a recycling day for a trash
collection day. Again, this would generate
additional revenues. The most valuable materials
among recyclables are aluminum and cardboard; glass
and paper do not have a high return. CM Dennison
said that she supports in-house recycling if Public
Works can handle it. She believes that an
additional full time employee will probably be
needed to make it work. CM Gourley said that he has
long hoped the Town would be able to do its own
recycling as it is likely to be more cost-effective
in the long run. MPT Jewitt commented that an
additional full time employee and a one-day-a-week
temporary worker recommended by Director Coleman
would be the ideal to carry out the new
responsibilities. The cost of replacing the old
trash truck may be less than anticipated. A new
trash truck could probably be a less expensive model
because recyclables no longer have to be separated.
Other points raised included the need to educate
residents about switching to Wednesday recycling,
possibly with the help of BHES students, and
checking into the possibility of reducing trash
collection to once-a-week, as in College Park, and
mechanizing the pickup of recycling bins.
TA Murphy was asked to create a
worksheet that itemizes anticipated revenues and
expenditures for an in-house recycling program that
can be incorporated into the FY 2009 year-end budget
amendment. It should assume one additional full time
employee, inclusive health benefits for husband and
wife, the purchase of a replacement truck, as well
as day-to-day operational expenses.
At 8:30 p.m., the Council took
a 10 minute break.
Public Works Mutual Aid
Agreement: CM Lofgren explained that this
agreement would commit a number of Towns in northern
Prince George's County to assist each other in case
of an emergency. The agreement was discussed at last
year's Maryland Municipal League (MML) conference
and was to be approved by the councils of each
participating municipality. However, with additional
Towns wanting to be included, the agreement was
revised and has now been resubmitted for approval.
Mayor Calvo added that one of the municipalities is
University Park, which experienced a small tornado
last year and called on its neighbors to help with
the cleanup, which they did. An agreement would
have made assistance a matter of course. TA Murphy
was asked to draft a resolution to approve the
agreement at the next Town meeting.
3. Administration
No items were discussed.
4. Code Enforcement
Clean Lot Ordinance
amendments: MPT Jewitt outlined the proposed
language for amendments relating to parking on
grass violations. Section 4F has a new more
detailed definition of paved area on which
all vehicles must be parked. Section 5J declares the
parking of all motor vehicles on grassy or unpaved
areas of a yard a violation. Exempted are registered
boats, trailers and other recreational vehicles, for
which a permit has been obtained. Section 6B
authorizes any code enforcement officer or police
officer to enter a private property in order to
place a 24-hour warning notice on a vehicle parked
in violation, and to issue an immediate fine, if the
violation has not been corrected after 24 hours from
issuance of the warning. A new provision in Section
7 would specify that the fine for this violation
will be set by a resolution of the Town Council. It
was proposed to set the fine at $50.
Mayor Calvo explained that the
Ordinance also contains a revised Section 7A (7). It
authorizes a code official to enter a neglected
private property with a Clean Lot violation and
order an immediate abatement if the property has
been vacant for 30 consecutive days and the owner
cannot be located. CM Gourley suggested that
additional fines be charged if the property remains
in violation. Mayor Calvo said that an abatement and
initial fine would be charged as a lien on the
property, which will accrue interest. The goal
should be to fix the violation rather than to
generate fines. Fines for repeat offenses could be
imposed but can be worked out as part of a fine
schedule.
Mayor Calvo elaborated on
parking on grass violations. He said that any
code or police officer could issue a citation to the
owner of a car that is parked on grass, regardless
of how long the car has been there. The citation is
a code matter, however, and would be processed by
the Code Department, which would follow up with a
letter to the resident. If it is a first time
offense, the letter would merely warn that a fine
will be issued if the vehicle is parked on the grass
again. If the violation recurs and another citation
is issued, the Code Department would then send the
resident a fine letter. As a code matter, the
violation would be appealable to the Town Council.
An exception should be made for vehicles that are on
the grass but attended to.
Mike Attick commented that a
similar case could be made for cars that are parked
with two wheels on the curb. Mayor Calvo thought
that this would be a police matter and addressed by
the Parking Ordinance. MPT Jewitt said that some
sections in the Ordinance need to revised to make
them consistent with the new provisions. This
includes Section 7A (5b) and Section 8A, where the
phrase unless otherwise noted should be added
to modify the standard compliance periods. There was
further discussion of what constitutes a hard
surface on which vehicles can be appropriately
parked. This and other clarifications may be needed
to finalize the Ordinance before adoption; among
them, whether the new provisions accord with County
code and whether code officers are legally
authorized to enter on private property. TA Murphy
was asked to make the revisions discussed.
5. Parks and Recreation
No items were discussed
6. Public Safety
No items were discussed.
7. Budget
Mayor Calvo said that TA Murphy
made some changes to the budget spreadsheet and
included revisions agreed to at the last budget
worksession. Councilmembers are requested to look
them over. He asked if an additional $7,134 has been
appropriated for the Maryland State Pension system
contribution to allow for the increase of the
contribution rate from 8.94% to 9.17% as was
ordered by the Council at a previous worksession. TA
Murphy said that he will check on it.
8. Executive Session (9:40
p.m. - 9:55 p.m.)
On a motion by CM Dennison and
second by CM Lofgren, the Council went into
executive session to select the citizen of the year.
On a motion by MPT Jewitt and second by CM Dennison
, the executive session was closed.
Budget continued: TA
Murphy reported that he checked over the MD State
Pension contribution appropriation. Another
$1,818 needs to be added to it, which can be taken
from the general liability line item. MPT
Jewitt so moved. CM Gourley seconded. The motion
passed 5 to 0.
The meeting was adjourned at
10:00 p.m.
Kerstin Harper, Town Clerk
Copyright © Town of Berwyn Heights.
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