town meeting Minutes
january 13, 2010

The meeting was called to order at 8:00 p.m. Present were Mayor Calvo, Mayor Pro Tem Lofgren, CMs Ahrens, Dennison, and Wilkinson. Also present were Town Administrator Murphy, Chief of Police Murphy, Treasurer Lape, Clerk Harper, as well as Chair of the Education Advisory Committee (EAC) Beth Brittan Powell and citizens.

Mayor Calvo led the Pledge of Allegiance.

1. Presentation

2. Minutes

Clerk Harper read a summary of the December 9 Town meeting minutes.

3. Treasurer’s Report

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

4. Mayor’s Report

Mayor Calvo gave an overview of the state of the Town. He said that the Town will be facing difficult fiscal circumstances in the next three years. Property reassessments, which went into effect in January, bring an unprecedented 27.5% decline in property values. This translates into a 6% shrinking of the Town's tax base, or a loss of $93,000 in real property tax revenues, after the homestead tax credit is taken into account. While this is good news for taxpayers, home owners, who benefited from the homestead tax credit, will continue to see their property taxes increase by 8% - 10% until the entire homestead tax credit is phased in. In addition, the State of Maryland continues to curtail aid to local government. Governor O'Malley has announced at the opening of the legislative session that Highway User Revenues (HUR) will again be cut by 90%. To the Town this represents a loss of approximately $128,500.

Mayor Calvo said that, as a result of shrinking revenues, the Town will have to re-evaluate how it does business and delivers services. Some cost-saving actions will probably include asking employees to pay for a larger share of health benefits, the cost of which has gone up considerably in recent years, and possibly cutting out the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), as opposed to merit increases, which was done this year. The Town will also seek to recoup the increasing costs of code enforcement by raising rental licensing fees, as well as other fees and fines. Beyond that, local government will need to innovate and use technology to become more efficient. For example, he has gone on the record proposing a switch to once-a-week trash collection. With new, larger trash trucks, trash could be picked up 3 times a week, each day in a different part of Town. This would make trash collection 25% more efficient by dropping one day of collection. In addition, the Town will have to become serious about making sure that residents recycle and it may levy fees on households that set out above average amounts of trash on a regular basis.

Mayor Calvo continued that, with Chief Murphy's departure next summer, the Town will loose a manager who has raised the standard of professionalism of the police force and was able to maximize the resources at his disposal. The Town must find a way to maintain those standards and operating procedures when looking for a replacement. In the Administration Department, a transition to electronic bill payment should take place. Customers should be able to do things like filling out rental applications online and paying by credit card. This requires an updated website that is interactive. Thanks to volunteers that serve on a variety of community organizations, the Town already is the recipient of a lot of valuable input from its citizens. Mayor Calvo is convinced that the upcoming challenges can be overcome with a thoughtful Council that moves in the same direction.

Lastly, Mayor Calvo announced that Senator Pinsky will attend the next Education Advisory Committee meeting. Further, the Council had a productive discussion with the State Highway Administration Assistant District Engineer Brian Young about the traffic light pattern and pedestrian safety at the Pontiac Street/Kenilworth Avenue intersection, and a good follow up conversation with Delegate Gaines on how this intersection can be improved. At the last worksession, the Council approved a signage plan for speed monitoring on Pontiac Street and Edmonston Road in preparation for the setting up of speed cameras. Residents are requested to drive carefully in the expanded school zone.

5. Department Reports

Administration: CM Wilkinson gave an update of revenues received to date, which at $1,104,000 have reached 55% of the projected total of $2,554,000. Expenditures for December were above the norm due to the payment of pension contributions and snow removal expenses. He also reminded residents to remove snow from sidewalks in front of their homes and from car roofs, so that the snow does not come off when driving in traffic.

Code Compliance: CM Ahrens reported that the number of rental homes has continued to increase and now stands at 180. Their regulation entails a higher workload and administrative costs. Further, residents are reminded that behaviors causing a disturbance of the peace between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. are prohibited. Such behaviors include operating power equipment, such as lawn mowers, construction equipment, playing loud music or television, having loud parties and barking dogs among others. CM Ahrens noted that the Code Department has noticed a number of old cars sitting around in driveways. These can be usefully donated to charities and earn a tax deduction.

Parks and Recreation, Education and Civic Affairs: CM Dennison reported that the snow storm, that dropped 20 inches of snow on the Town before Christmas, was an opportunity for   neighbors to help neighbors. She commended the Public Works Department for doing a good job under difficult circumstances, and for helping an elderly neighbor get out of her driveway. She brought food and snacks to the crew that stayed overnight at the Public Works yard. The snow also resulted in the postponement of a graduation ceremony, in which her daughter Sarah was to take part. On the other hand, she was happy for children who had extra time off from school to go sledding.

CM Dennison invited Delegate Justin Ross and his family to judge the holiday decorating contest this year. Best House was 5713 Seminole Street, Best Yard 8711 58th Avenue, Best Overall 8912 56th Avenue and Kids Choice 5604 Seminole Street. Before Christmas she had the pleasure to help present a special gift to two needy families that had been paid for by a collection taken up by Leon Swain's and Theresa Beck's Karate Club.

The Recreation Council has begun to plan for the next Berwyn Heights Day and will hold a planning meeting for all Town organizations on February 4. Also on the drawing board is another talent show at Berwyn Heights Elementary School (BHES) scheduled for March 19. The Education Advisory Committee (EAC) will meet tomorrow with Senator Pinsky in attendance. The Historical Committee (BHHC) will meet on January 26 and is inviting residents to join and learn more about the Town's history.

Public Health and Safety: Mayor Calvo announced that Chief Murphy signed the Town up for the County's public safety communications system, Nixle. It allows residents to sign up at www.nixle.com so as to immediately receive public safety announcements for a particular area by e-mail or text message.

Chief Murphy explained that, as the Nixle administrator for the Town of Berwyn Heights, he plans to use the system sparingly and only send out announcements about relevant and important concerns. Those residents signing up to receive messages can opt not to receive them during certain hours. Further, he asked residents to be careful when donating cars to charities, and make sure that the donors' name is taken off title and registration. He then gave the police activities report for December. There were 11 Part I offenses which is higher than the 5 year average of 7.6. This brings the 2009 total to 107 offenses. This is higher than the 2008 total of 100 but still the second lowest total in the last 10 years. Violent crimes were down from 20 in 2008 to 16 in 2009, most of which were breaking and entering and thefts.

In response to Mayor Calvo, Chief Murphy said he does not believe that the increase in burglaries are due to hard economic times but are a reflection of the socio-economic problems of the surrounding areas. Frequently, burglaries are carried out by drug addicts who pick targets of opportunities. He advised residents to report anyone who does not seem to belong to the police so they can be checked out. Chief Murphy concluded with highlights of press releases.

Public Works: MPT Lofgren reported that the big December snow storm took its toll. Public Works employees worked overtime through the night to try to keep the roads clear. However, they were hampered by a broken snow plow and running out of road salt, which they must obtain from College Park or Greenbelt. Residents are reminded not to park their cars in the street when it snows and not to shovel snow into the street. MPT Lofgren also noted that one of the trash trucks broke down at the landfill and has to have the transmission replaced.

6. Committee Reports

Education Advisory Committee: EAC Chair Beth Brittan Powell reported that Senator Pinsky will attend tomorrow's meeting. A good turnout is expected. Topics to be discussed include reconstruction and academic performance at Greenbelt Middle School, Per Pupil Allocation (PPA) and teacher incentive plans, as well as education funding issues between State and County. Mel Tremper has agreed to remain as vice chair while the Committee continues to look for a secretary. The Committee also wants to review its bylaws and mission statements to see if they need updating.

The focus of the EAC's attention is on Hyattsville Middle School's Creative and Performing Arts program, which is in the process of being evaluated. The EAC has been in contact with Hyattsville's PTA to advise them to take a proactive role in the evaluation so that they will not loose the program as happened to Berwyn Heights Elementary School. Ms. Brittan Powell thanked the Council for writing a letter of support for the program. The EAC is also taking a close look at Greenbelt Middle School and is trying to find out if Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) has a plan to address academic under-performance if it fails to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Parents are encouraged to become more involved in the school.

Ms. Brittan Powell continued that the proposed PGCPS FY 2011 budget cuts 124 parent liaison positions, while insisting that it is a goal to increase parent community involvement, and 3 CPA positions. The EAC will publicize upcoming budget meetings and encourage parents to attend and ask questions. Further, lottery applications for TAG and specialty program have been released. These are different than applications for middle school specialty programs. The music teachers at BHES are setting aside time for a workshop to help families complete the Creative & Performing Arts program applications.

Ms. Brittan Powell thanked the Town Council for their continued donations to the weekly reader program at BHES. The Assistant Principal at the School retired at the end of last year. It is uncertain whether the position will be refilled. Music teacher Tiffany Papanikolas received her National Board certification, bringing the total of so qualified teachers to 3. The BHES 6th graders made it through the first round of the Maryland Science Bowl and will be competing in the next round in February. Also, a new mural was started at the school. Students draw a self-portrait on a tile, which will be put up as frieze along school walls. The book club will meet in March and again benefit from a $3,000 Target grant. Lastly, Ms. Brittan Powell asked whether a speed sign could be put up in the lower school parking lot. Mayor Calvo informed that the parking lot is M-NCPPC property and needs to be consulted before a sign is posted. He offered for the Town to help.

Historical Committee: Reported under Department Reports.

Neighborhood Watch/Emergency Preparedness: Mayor Calvo said that the Committee elected a new board with Mike Attick as chair.

Recreation Council: Reported under Department Reports

7. Unfinished Business

There was none.

8. New Business

There was none.

9. Citizens Discussion

Ms. Brittan Powell said that she lives close the hockey rink at Sports Park. There is a problem with teens playing at the rink at all hours, including in the middle of the night. She proposed to install a motion detector that switches on lights when the rink is used at night. This would alert police to their presence at a time when the park is officially closed. Mayor Calvo said that this is a very good idea and asked Chief Murphy to look into it. MPT Lofgren said that residents can also call the Park Police who will arrest people violating park rules.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:24 p.m.

Signed: Kerstin Harper, Town Clerk

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