Town Meeting Minutes
august 12, 2009

The meeting was called to order at 8:00 p.m. Present were Mayor Calvo, Mayor Pro Tem (MPT) Lofgren, CMs Ahrens, Dennison, and Wilkinson. Also present were Town Administrator (TA) Murphy, Chief of Police Murphy, Treasurer Lape and Clerk Harper.

Mayor Calvo led the Pledge of Allegiance.

1. Presentation

Safe Streets Committee Report: Mayor Calvo welcomed Co-Chairs of the Safe Streets Committee, Sharmila Bhatia and Paul McNulty, who presented the Committee's findings on how to make the Town's streets safer after two years of studying traffic problems, hearing public input and evaluating a traffic engineering study. On behalf of the Committee, Mr. McNulty thanked the Council for the opportunity to serve and pleased to present the Committee's recommendations, despite the fact that funding for traffic improvements has become uncertain after the bankruptcy of the Metroland Development and the payout of the related $1 million in compensation.

Ms. Bhatia presented a summary of the recommendations for the Council's consideration, which incorporate the findings of a 2008 traffic engineering study by Traffic Group.

Intersection of Pontiac Street, Edmonston Road and Kenilworth Avenue: Already one of the busiest and most dangerous gateways of Berwyn Heights, this intersection has experienced an increase in traffic after the opening of Berwyn Heights Elementary School (BHES) and the Friends Community School in the Westchester Park. It is proposed to add a dedicated left turn lane for the outbound traffic. Thus there would be separate lanes for vehicles turning left onto Kenilworth, going straight into Westchester Park and turning right onto Kenilworth Avenue. Further, it is proposed to add a feeder lane on northbound Edmonston Road for drivers wishing to turn right onto southbound Kenilworth Avenue. This should reduce backups on northbound Edmonston Road. A stop sign at Edmonston Road for eastbound drivers on Pontiac Street is proposed to alleviate confusion about right of way.

Pontiac Street in front of BHES: To improve pedestrian safety at the exit of the BHES lower parking lot, it is proposed add a raised crosswalk at the intersection of Pontiac Street and 60th Avenue. This would create a visual and physical barrier for drivers coming down the hill on Pontiac Street.

Edmonston Road between Pontiac and Seminole Streets: To reduce speeding, it is proposed to re-paint the yellow center line, which would prevent drivers from crossing the median and stay in lane. Other solutions include the construction of a traffic circle at the intersection with Tecumseh Street, which may not be technically feasible in a 3-way intersection and which the Committee declined to endorse. Instead it is proposed that chokers or median strips be installed to slow traffic.

Cunningham Drive along Pop's Park: To improve visibility and pedestrian safety at the entrances to Pop's Park, it is proposed to prohibit parking on both sides of Quebec Street and Cunningham Drive alongside the park, as well as in the intersection of Cunningham Drive and Quebec Place.

Seminole Street: This street serves as an alternate route to Greenbelt Road and has substantial pass-through traffic. To improve visibility at a blind curb on Seminole Street between 58th and 59th Avenue, it is proposed to prohibit parking along the inside of the blind curb. To reduce speeding, it is proposed to add chokers between Cunningham Drive and 62nd Avenue.

Charlton Avenue and Berwyn Road intersection: This intersection is at a steep incline and has poor visibility. To improve visibility and traffic safety, it is proposed to add stop signs on Berwyn Road and extend the no-parking zone in the intersection to 15 feet.

Charlton Avenue, Goucher Drive and Villanova Road: To improve visibility, it is recommended to extend the no-parking zone in the intersection to 15 feet.

Pontiac Street and 58th Avenue: This intersection experiences heavy traffic during morning and evening rush hour as it is used by non-residents as a cut-through route. To improve safety, it is proposed to install a traffic circle. This solution was endorsed after lengthy debate between residents and the Committee, and would require the Town to use its right of way to take land from the property owners at each corner.

Intersections throughout Town: To improve visibility and traffic safety, it is recommended that the Public Works Department paint the curbs in accordance with Town Ordinance No. 119 – Traffic & Parking to ensure that cars are not parked in an intersection. Further, it is recommended that white lines, indicating where to stop before an intersection, are not painted too far away from the intersection so that drivers can see oncoming traffic. Intersections identified in the Traffic Group's study for changing stop lines and stop signs include Pontiac Street and 60th Avenue and Charlton Avenue and Berwyn Road.

Roads throughout Town: As a long term solution for reducing speeding and pass-through traffic, the Committee recommends narrowing roadways by installing sidewalks with green strips whenever streets are renovated. This would also improve pedestrian safety and aesthetics and reduce storm water runoff. According to the Traffic Group study, streets could be narrowed to an 18' travel lane, a 7' parking lane on one side of the street and a 5' sidewalk on one side of the street, as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Mayor Calvo thanked Ms. Bhatia and Mr. McNulty for volunteering their time to steer the Committee through a 2 ½ year process of hearings, evaluations of proposals and distilling a set of usable recommendations. He then asked if the ADA in fact requires sidewalks to be 5' wide. Many sidewalks built since its passage are narrower. Ms. Bhatia said that this information comes directly from the Traffic Group study. It appears that sidewalk construction does not always comply with the ADA. Mayor Calvo further asked how far away from a stop sign or white line cars may park, according to the Town Ordinance. Chief Murphy said that the distance prescribed by Ordinance No. 119 is 30’ from a traffic control device. Ms. Bhatia said that the marked no parking area generally is 15' from a traffic sign or signal. The State regulations, however, are different. Thus the Committee simply recommends marking no parking areas in accordance with Town ordinances. Mr. McNulty added that the Committee was unable to ascertain whether no parking applies only on the approach to a traffic sign or beyond it into the intersection as well. There are 3 way intersections, such as 60th Avenue, Cunningham Drive and Quebec Place, where cars park in the intersection. Mayor Calvo said that the Town probably needs to study some of these areas and make specific rules.

MPT Lofgren asked if speed humps and speed limit signs are included among the traffic control devices where no parking within 30' rules applies. Chief Murphy thought that they may not apply but that case law needs to be examined to verify this. CM Dennison and Mayor Calvo said that they would not want the no parking rule to apply to speed signs.

CM Wilkinson thanked the co-chairs and Committee for their work. He asked what recommendations were made about a proposed crosswalk on Edmonston Road and Pontiac Street to accommodate walkers to and from Friends School and Westchester Park users of the R12 bus stop. Ms. Bhatia said that the proposal was made too late in the Committee's deliberations and was not voted on for a recommendation. In response to other questions, Ms. Bhatia explained that a sidewalk in the green space in front of the school was not considered because pedestrian traffic is guided through the school parking lot. Further, the Committee did not take a position on a report by a previous sidewalk committee because that report did not become available until late in the Committee's deliberations. However, the Safe Streets Committee does recommend building more sidewalks in general and to utilize the previous Committee's recommendations as to their location.

Ann Harris Davidson of 58th Avenue commented that sidewalks were discussed before the reopening of BHES but a decision was made not to build a sidewalk in the green space in order to funnel pedestrians into the school property. She thanked the Committee for recommending a traffic circle at Pontiac Street and 58th Avenue, which she has advocated for years. She believes that the other homeowners at this intersection are also in favor of it.

Mayor Calvo again thanked the co-chairs for the Committee's work and said that the Town may consult with them when it takes up any of the recommendations.

2. Minutes

Clerk Harper read a summary of the August 12 Town meeting minutes. On a motion by CM Dennison and second by CM Ahrens, the minutes were approved 5 to 0.

3. Treasurer’s Report

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

4. Mayor’s Report

Mayor Calvo said that the big news this month is a 90% cut in Highway User Revenues (HUR) undertaken by the State of Maryland to reduce its $700 million budget deficit. While Lieutenant Governor Brown had given warning that HUR and police aid would be subjected to further cuts, the size of the cuts was wholly unexpected. For Berwyn Heights it means a loss of $128,000 loss in HUR as well as a $7,000 loss in police aid, together making up 6% of the Town budget. The cut affects all local governments, both county and municipal. Mayor Calvo commented that this undermines the compact with taxpayers, who pay State gas taxes of 25.3 cents per gallon to pay for road maintenance, including county and municipal roads. By cutting the entire Transportation Trust Fund by 25%, the State's share of HUR is taken off the table and the burden of the cut placed on local governments. Gas taxes are in effect used to pay for general government operations. On the federal level, a firewall has been created to prevent the use of gas taxes for general expenditures, something the Maryland Municipal League (MML) may advocate for the State of Maryland to adopt.

Mayor Calvo continued that the implication of the loss of HUR is that Berwyn Heights' infrastructure improvements have been placed on hold. The FY 2010 budget transferred $70,000 of HUR to its infrastructure fund to pay for impending road repairs, namely for Seminole and Ruatan Streets. This project can probably not be undertaken until the State resumes payment of HUR to local governments, which may not happen for several more years.

To close the shortfall created in the Town budget, Mayor Calvo said he will recommend to the Council to suspend merit increases this year, a savings of $15,000, and move to once a week trash collection, with possible savings of up to $40,000 a year. These savings are in addition to not making a $70,000 transfer to the infrastructure fund in the FY 2010 budget. He urged residents to give their input on these proposals or propose other ways to save money. So far, he has heard from 16 residents supporting once-a-week trash collection and had no emails opposed. Despite the shortfall, Berwyn Heights continues to be in better shape than many neighboring municipalities.

In other news, Mayor Calvo was re-appointed to the Maryland Municipal League (MML) Legislative Committee. The Committee's first meeting took place shortly after Governor O'Malley announced the cuts in Highway User Revenues and adopted as its legislative priority “municipal revenue security.” He also received an update on the vacant home at 8507 58th Avenue from DER Deputy Director Tom Matzen. The property went into foreclosure and the bank that owns it has put it up for sale for $70,000. The County, which received legal authorization to tear the house down in spring 2008, did not move on it until June 2009, and now has lost the chance to demolish the home. However, the County has offered the bank to remove the house for $12,000, which would make the property easier to sell.

In Town news, Hello Husky Night had a huge turnout of about 500 people. It was attended by 3 Town Councilmembers, Senator Pinsky, and Delegates Gaines and Healey among others. He commended the PTA on making this event a big success and congratulated Desiree Wolford, who took the helm as the new PTA president from Beth Brittan Powell. He also thanked Zelda Bell for organizing a block party on 60th Place, which was an opportunity for long-standing neighbors to get to know each other better. Finally, the Town and PGCPS Board of Education will host a farewell reception for Ann Harris Davidson and Stephen White on September 11 to honor their contributions as volunteers in the Town of Berwyn Heights.

5. Department Reports

Administration: CM Wilkinson reported that the Administration Department is working on translating the Town Center Rental Agreement into Spanish. He has submitted a request to Park & Planning for the paving of a number of footpaths around Town after consulting with the Boys & Girls Club and BHES Principal Singer. He and MPT Lofgren toured the sites for the proposed sidewalks with Park & Planning Supervisor Monteria, who reacted favorably to most suggestions. The format of the Treasurer's report has been revised to include the previous year's figures for comparison. The results for first month of FY 2010 are excellent, with $2,500 more in receipts than in FY 2009 and $60,000 less in expenditures. The final numbers for FY 2009 have been transmitted to the auditors. The Town took in $150,000 more than it spent despite declining revenues. TA Murphy worked hard to put together 3 energy grant applications to install more energy efficient light fixtures and doors in Town buildings, as well as substitute more energy efficient sodium vapor street lights in several locations around town. The Town Bulletin has a new look because the Town outsourced production. Some technical issues regarding printing still need to be ironed out.

Code Compliance: With school and universities back in session, CM Ahrens advised to take precautions against the swine flu, to remain at home when having flu-like symptoms, and to practice good hygiene. He reported that high grass citations again topped the list of code violations. The Department took in $100 in code fines and liens in the last month.

Parks and Recreation, Education and Civic Affairs: CM Dennison commended the BHES PTA on organizing another great Hello Huskies Night. Apart from students, parents and teachers, members of the Berwyn Heights Police and Fire Department were present as well as the Karate Club and the band of teachers Brett Goldstein and Darelyn Fung, who provided entertainment. She announced that the annual Ice Cream Social will take place on September 19, followed by another movie night at Sports Park featuring Disney Pixar's Wall-E. On October 27, the Recreation Council and PTA are co-sponsoring this year's Halloween Party at the school's auditorium. Jay, the Magician will entertain with a magic show and a costume parade, crafts and snacks will round out a fun evening.

Further, CM Dennison reported that CM Wilkinson talked to her and Principal Singer about painting a crosswalk to make it safer for students who walk to school to cross the BHES parking lot. She thanked CM Wilkinson for approaching Park & Planning about paving footpaths on several Park & Planning properties in Town, as well as a swale alongside the Sports Park concession stand to improve storm water runoff. Lastly, she encouraged residents to become involved in a community organization and announced their meeting times.

Public Health and Safety: Chief Murphy noted that today marks the 40th anniversary of his leaving home to take up training as a Marine on Parris Island, South Carolina. He then proceeded to give the police activities report for August. There were 14 Part I offenses, including 1 armed robbery, which ended in an arrest. This is higher than the 5 year average of 12. However, the year to date total of 66 Part I offenses is still well below the 5 year average of 87.

Public Works: MPT Lofgren reported that he presented the Town's proclamation to Nathan Kyle Smith, who earned his Eagle Scout award on August 22. He built a wedding garden at Berwyn Presbyterian Church for his Eagle Scout project. His grandson, along with hundreds of other high school students, spent the first week of school waiting for his schedule in the school cafeteria because of a computer software problem. The Public Works crew last month re-painted street marks around the school and the curbs at fire hydrants. They also sealed the roof of the lean-to in the in Public Works yard, helped the police with a robbery at the Xtra Fuels station, and performed work that made Town buildings more energy efficient. Further, streets were swept and trees trimmed. Public Works investigated downed cables and potential power line problems, which TA Murphy reported to Pepco. One problem concerned bare wires at his house to which Pepco responded a week later in the middle of a rainy night.

6. Committee Reports

Education Advisory Committee: Ann Harris Davidson announced at last night's BHEAC meeting, she was replaced by Beth Brittan Powell as chair, who has the right qualifications to lead the Committee. The Committee also decided to change the meeting time to the second Thursday of the month and confirmed BHES music teacher Darelyn Fung as liaison to Greenbelt Middle School, Lily Shields, who teaches Chinese at USDA, as liaison to Parkdale High School, which is trying to strengthen its foreign language program, and Debby Steele Snyder as secretary, a post she held for a number of years when the Committee first became active. Ms. Davidson also attended the hugely successful Hello Huskies Night at BHES and encouraged parents to participate more in other PTA activities.

Ms. Davidson further reported that Prince George's County Public Schools have concluded Phase I of the boundary hearings, which resulted in the closing of 8 schools and the creation of several others. A second creative and performing arts specialty program was established at Benjamin Fallois and two other schools were given the green light to transition to K-8 schools. Next week Phase II of the boundary hearings will commence, which is of critical importance to Berwyn Heights, as it presents an opportunity to push for BHES to become a K-8 school. High school boundaries will be reviewed in Phase III beginning in January 2010. Berwyn Heights' local high school Parkdale remains overcrowded despite a recent 600 seat addition. This means that no out-of-boundary students can transfer in to take some of the specialty classes offered, such as Chinese and Arabic. Lastly, school board elections will be held next year, in which school board members will again be elected from 9 local districts.

Neighborhood Watch/Emergency Preparedness: Co-Chair Joan Hayden reported that the Committee's election of officers was postponed to October 7, as the September meeting did not have a quorum. September was also emergency preparedness month. Mayor Calvo asked Ms. Hayden to transmit the Council's thanks to the Committee for working the grills during National Night Out. Ms. Hayden said that the Committee received some complaints about running out of hot dog and hamburger rolls. She hopes that this can be rectified for the next National Night Out.

Mayor Calvo said that the Safe Streets Committee has concluded its mission and will no longer give reports at Town meetings. The Council recognized Leon Swayne and Theresa Beck's karate club as an official Town organization so that they may use the BHES auditorium for practices.

7. Unfinished Business

There was none.

8. New Business

Ordinance No. 149 – Introduction of Speed Camera Enforcement: Mayor Calvo said that the Maryland General Assembly recently passed legislation to authorize municipalities to undertake limited speed camera enforcement. Speed camera monitoring is only allowed in work and school zones. Tickets are $40 and may be issued only to drivers exceeding the posted speed limit by 12 mph. Revenue collected from speed camera enforcement may not exceed 10% of a municipality's budget and may only be spent on enhancing public safety. Tonight's introduction of the Ordinance is a beginning of a discussion with residents that the Council expects to take several months.

Clerk Harper read a summary of Ordinance No. 149. CM Wilkinson moved to introduce the Ordinance. MPT Lofgren seconded. Mayor Calvo asked to strike November 11, 20009 as the effective date for the Ordinance. Mayor Calvo repeated that he regards the introduction of the Ordinance as a beginning of a longer discussion. Having invited public comment on speed cameras at a previous meeting, he has already received several e-mails, with six in favor of using of speed cameras and two opposed. Regardless of where they stand, residents feel strongly about the issue with some angry about speeding and other upset about what they regard as an invasion of privacy. Personally, he does not want to put up cameras all through Town but would like to use them on Pontiac Street in front of BHES, on Edmonston Road north of Pontiac Street where speeding is a big problem, and, if possible, on Greenbelt Road in front of Greenbelt Middle School.

CM Ahrens commented that he uses the northern stretch of Edmonston Road on his way home. To maintain the 25 mph speed limit there one has to step on the breaks because the road goes downhill. Ever since he has lived in Town this stretch of road has been a speed trap and offered the opportunity to write tickets. MPT Lofgren said that he attended a workshop on speed cameras during the MML conference. What he took away was that too many different interests had to be reconciled to get this law passed. As a result, it may be too difficult to apply. In particular, the provision that a ticket cannot be issued unless the posted speed limit is exceeded by 12 mph makes it less useful in enforcing speeding.

CM Dennison said that this provision was inserted to prevent municipalities from using it as a revenue generator. She believes that residents would not object to having the 15 mph speed limit enforced in the school zones on Pontiac and Quebec Streets. Elsewhere in Town, 51% of residents would first have to agree to request that a school zone be established on their block before a speed camera could be set up. The Council included this provision into the Ordinance to prevent the law from becoming overbearing and intrusive. She continued to question whether a speed camera could be set up on Greenbelt Road, suspecting it may require approval from the State Highway Administration. CM Wilkinson commented that he lives at the top of Pontiac Street and has been walking his children to school for 4 years. He has witnessed speeding and running of the 63rd Avenue stop sign on numerous occasions. He believes a speed camera would be an effective deterrent and strongly supports the Town adopting this program. The $40 fine is not too onerous, can be appealed in a court of law, and does not result in points on a driver’s license. While the law is not perfect, it is workable.

Joan Hayden asked about fines doubling when lights are flashing in a school zone. Mayor Calvo said that the fines only double after passing the flashing lights in the direction one drives. He does not know if this applies to traffic going in the opposite direction. This would have to be researched.

The Council voted 4 to 1 to introduce Ordinance No. 149 with CM Ahrens opposed.

Resolution No. 1-09 – Adoption of MOU for Use of PGC Public Safety Communications System: Mayor Calvo explained that Prince George's County will switch to an 800 MHz communications system when the infrastructure is in place. In order for the Town to be able to use it, it has to adopt a Memorandum of Understanding with the County, as enacted with this Resolution. The Council already set aside funds to purchase new radios in last year's budget. Clerk Harper read a summary of the Resolution. CM Dennison moved to introduce it. CM Ahrens seconded. CM Dennison commented that the Council hopes that the radios would be paid for by a State grant. Mayor Calvo added that Delegate Ross at the June Town meeting assured the Council that the State would make money available to municipalities to pay for the radios. The Council voted 5 to 0 to adopt the Resolution.

9. Citizens Discussion

Ann Harris Davidson announced that the PTA for the second year applied for and received a $2,700 Target grant to fund the school's book club. As this may be the last Town meeting she attends before moving to New Mexico, she also wished to thank the Town Council and Administration for the services to their residents. In particular, she thanked CM Dennison, who as the Council Liaison to most Town organization, attended most of the meetings of the Education Advisory Committee and other meetings to advocate for the Town's schools. On a personal note, Ms. Davidson expressed her gratitude for a farewell party the Town is hosting with the Board of Education the coming Friday. Their home received offers from several buyers as soon as it was put on the market, but has to complete the process of inspection and appraisal before it can be sold. If everything goes as planned, she and her husband will likely leave Berwyn Heights by October 17.

Joan Hayden said that she hopes the Town can find a way to repair Seminole Street because it is a piecemeal of patches. She wonders if WSSC, which did not adequately restore the pavement after replacing water and sewer lines, could be asked to help pay for the project. She further asked if the Recreation Council selects the citizen of the year.  Mayor Calvo replied that WSSC has agreed to pay $30,000 toward the cost of refurbishing Seminole Street, which the Council plans to use for that purpose. The Council recently decided to commission bid specifications for the reconstruction rather than the resurfacing of Seminole and Ruatan Streets to correct underlying engineering problems. While this will result in a better road when it is done, it will be substantially more expensive. With the loss of Highway User Revenues this year and probably the next two years, the Council does not have the money to undertake the project now. As for selecting citizens of the year, it has been done by the Council for as long as he can remember. There are no plans to transfer this responsibility to the Recreation Council. Ms. Hayden said that there was a time when the Recreation Council had a Committee to nominate citizens of the year and would make recommendations to the Council.

CM Dennison announced that the PTA will hold its walk-a-thon fund raiser on September 24. CM Wilkinson wished a happy birthday to his father, the Reverend Wilkinson at Holy Redeemer Church.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:15 p.m.

Kerstin Harper, Town Clerk

Signed: Kerstin Harper, Town Clerk

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