Worksession Minutes
January 25, 2010

The meeting was called to order at 7:04 p.m. Present were Mayor Calvo, Mayor Pro Tem Lofgren, CMs Ahrens, Dennison and Wilkinson. Also present were Town Administrator Murphy and Clerk Harper.

1. Mayor

Announcements: MPT Lofgren is expecting another grandchild. CM Dennison's daughter graduated from the University of Maryland.

Calendar: The Prince George's County Elected Women's Caucus will meet on April 10 at the Town Office.  May 17 was designated as a regular worksession date. The May 24 worksession was canceled.

Minutes: On a motion by CM Wilkinson and second by Ahrens, the January 11 worksession minutes were approved 5 to 0.

Department reports: Mayor Calvo reported that he met the College Park Public Works Director in Annapolis, who told him that he responded to Berwyn Height's request for more road salt during the December snow storm. He left the message on the main Public Works telephone, which was not received because employees were out plowing streets. Last Thursday, two more mid-day burglaries occurred. Residents are encouraged to lock their homes securely and report any suspicious people to the police. CM Wilkinson reported that all parts of the I-Net are operational. Having I-Net operational will save money because Comcast can be dropped as Internet Service Provider. MPT Lofgren reported that Public Works helped the police search for the suspects in last week’s burglaries. The broken transmission on a refuse truck was repaired at a cost of $4,600. Lose leaf collection was less than in previous years. This may be due to weather, more vacant homes and the loss of mature trees throughout Town.

CM Dennison reported that the Recreation Council will hold the Berwyn Heights Day planning meeting on February 4, which all Town organizations that take part in Berwyn Heights Day are requested to attend. The Education Advisory Committee (EAC) has taken up two new issues:  revision of PGCPS' policy regarding sibling entry into specialty programs and the possibility of another educational census in Berwyn Heights, which may provide interesting comparative data to previous censuses. In Governor O'Malley's proposed education budget $250 million has been appropriated for new school construction. Greenbelt Middle School is first in line to receive funds for its reconstruction. Some money was set aside for the SEED Foundation, a public college preparatory school for at risk students that recently expanded into Maryland. Tuitions for higher education will no longer be frozen. The Maryland Municipal League (MML) is sponsoring competitions for volunteer achievement awards and lifetime service awards. She will forward the information to Town organizations.

CM Ahrens said that the Code Department has retired its old code car. It has switched to using a surplussed unmarked police car. The Council needs to approve funds to mark the car as a code compliance vehicle. Mayor Calvo asked to do this at the next worksession. He also noted that he and CM Dennison attended the last Prince George's County Municipal Association (PGCMA) in Greenbelt. PGCMA authorized joining with the Montgomery County Municipal Association to hire an attorney to challenge a recent Pepco street light service rate increase of 12.9%

Citizens comments: CM Dennison received a comment thanking Public Works for clearing the driveway of an elderly resident from ice and an inquiry about receiving notifications on public safety issues other than e-mail. Mayor Calvo had a comment from a resident who moved away and questioned why he now needed to get a rental license for a tenant. He also received a comment about Prince George's County police responding to a call for an ambulance and Prince George's County Police Chief Hylton running for Sheriff.

MML conference: Five hotel reservations will be made, subject to changes after the election of a new Town Council.

Town Council election judges and voting method: Clerk Harper explained that, after the Council expressed interest in voting by paper ballot, she inquired with the City of College about their procedures. College Park uses paper ballots, which are deposited into ballot boxes in voting stations screened by cardboard display boards. College Park has offered to loan Berwyn Heights their ballot boxes. The cost of voting by paper ballot would probably be less than $50 as opposed to $1,800 quoted by the voting machine vendor. Berwyn Heights' Election Ordinance has a procedure for voting by paper ballot. It prescribes using ballots with coupons that serve as a safeguard against stuffing ballot boxes. Purchasing such ballots may add additional cost.

Ms. Harper further reported that the Board of Election judges has many new members. Sharmila Bhatia agreed to be the next chief judge using a paper ballot system. Mayor Calvo said that he favors using paper ballots because they leave a paper trail, which would facilitate recounts. He asked for a motion to approve paper ballots. CM Wilkinson so moved. CM Ahrens seconded. CM Ahrens said that he has served as an election judge as far back as 1968 but never with a paper ballot system. He pointed out that it would be more work for the judges. CM Dennison felt ambivalent as this type of voting may be more prone to mistakes than voting machines. MPT Lofgren was in favor of returning to paper ballots because it saves money. The motion passed 5 to 0

Berwyn Heights promotional brochure: Mayor Calvo said that the Prince George's County Visitor Bureau inquired whether the Town had a brochure that could be given out to interested visitors. The Town does not currently have a brochure that highlights the Town's assets. However, the Council has long wanted to have better marketing tools that would attract visitors, businesses and residents, especially in light of the relocation of military personnel to Maryland following the base realignment. He has spoken to CM Wilkinson about joining forces with local real estate agents in creating a brochure

CM Wilkinson said that the brochure should tie in with the website, which would give people more detailed information about the Town. CM Dennison said that it should highlight the presence of a well regarded elementary school and low crime rates to appeal to families. MPT Lofgren said that, in the 1980s, the Town financed a very useful Berwyn Heights telephone directory with ads from local businesses. Mayor Calvo said he would like the Council to authorize himself and CM Wilkinson to put together a partnership with real estate agents and present the Council with a plan. CM Dennison so moved. CM Ahrens seconded. The motion passed 5 to 0

At 8:05 p.m., the Council took a 10 minute break

PGCMA legislation: Mayor Calvo explained that this year, the Prince George's County Municipal Association (PGCMA) legislative package focuses on reforming the Maryland National Capital Park & Planning Commission (MNCPPC). First, it proposes to set up a task force that would look broadly at the Commission's structure and authority and its relationship with municipalities. Second, it proposes to apply a homestead tax credit to Park & Planning taxes. Third, it puts forth a bill that would introduce a tax differential for park services provided by a municipality in lieu of the County.

Mayor Calvo asked the Council to endorse the PGCMA legislative package. CM Ahrens so moved. MPT Lofgren seconded. CM Dennison asked whether the implementation of a homestead tax cap would lower Park & Planning taxes. Mayor Calvo said that, if enacted, taxes could not increase by more than 10% per year. CM Dennison also noted that Berwyn Heights may be eligible to receive a tax differential for park services it currently provides, such as maintenance of the concession stand. CM Wilkinson asked if there is documentation on these proposals that he could review before endorsing the package. Mayor Calvo said that the proposals are still in the conceptual stage and have not been formulated into legislation. He believes that only the homestead tax credit has a chance of being enacted into law this year.

MPT Lofgren cautioned that the proposal to extend the tax differential to Park & Planning may cause resentments. This was the case after County Executive Paris Glendening first implemented joint tax collection at the county level. The Town has had a good relationship with Park & Planning and benefited in terms of recreational amenities and programs. He would not want to taint the relationship. Mayor Calvo agreed that Park & Planning has done good things for Berwyn Heights and vice versa. He doubts that a Park & Planning tax differential would be enacted this year. The Council voted 5 to 0 to support the PGCMA package

Mayor Calvo sought support for another PGCMA legislative proposal that would allow people cited for a moving violation to request a court date to contest it. Currently, recipients of a moving violation are assigned a court date automatically. However, approximately 80% of them are no-shows. On the other hand, a police officer from the jurisdiction in which the ticket was issued must be present. Whenever Berwyn Heights sends an officer to traffic court in Hyattsville it pays for 3 hours of overtime, plus gas and miles on the vehicle. Municipalities, counties and the state waste a lot of money sending officers to court proceedings for which defendants don't show up. Defendants are more likely to come to court if they can request a date. Those that do not ask will not receive a court date, saving law enforcement agencies time and money. Mayor Calvo will forward this as well as the other PGCMA legislation when it is available. No vote was taken

2. Administration

Four Cities agenda: The Council reviewed the agenda. Greenbelt Middle School operation was added under Berwyn Heights.

PGCMA meeting: Mayor Calvo said that Berwyn Heights will host the next PGCMA meeting on February 18. He asked for approval to spend around $200 to have the event catered. CM Wilkinson, who heads the Administration Department, had no objections

Nothing was discussed under 3. Parks & Recreation

4. Public Health & Safety

Speed camera vendor selection: TA Murphy explained that, with the help of OptoTraffic, he has secured proposals from 2 other speed camera vendors: ACS based in Germantown, Maryland and ATS based in Bridgewater, New Jersey. ATS has not yet developed a pricing plan for Maryland and was not able to furnish much information. ACS is a large company that provides speed cameras throughout Montgomery County and a few jurisdictions in Prince George's County, including Bowie. ACS prefers to start with a 2-year contract. Its fee is based on volume of speeding tickets issued. The more tickets issued, the lower the fee. Speed studies are conducted on an ongoing basis to determine whether there are enough violations to justify a camera. The minimum is 65 violations per day. Their fee on a $40 speeding ticket ranges from $16.25 to $19.00 and is negotiated.

TA Murphy said that OptoTraffic's contract is more flexible. It would be renewed yearly, with an option to terminate after 90 days. Their fee is $15.60 per paid ticket. OptoTraffic also agreed to submit the SHA application for a speed camera on Greenbelt Road. In terms of equipment, ACS' mobile camera is smaller than OptoTraffic's, can be shut down nightly and moved to a new location the next day. OptoTraffic moves their camera once a month

Mayor Calvo said that OptoTraffic makes more sense for Berwyn Heights because they are familiar with the area and less expensive. He is doubtful that ACS would want to come to Berwyn Heights because of relatively low volume of citations. He asked if the Town would bear any cost if the volume turned out to be insufficient to make speed cameras viable for either vendor. TA Murphy said it would not. CM Dennison wondered where cameras would be moved around to as there are only a couple of streets where they could be set up. TA Murphy said that there would likely be only one camera that could be set up on Pontiac Street, Edmonston Road or Greenbelt Road. If there is enough volume on Greenbelt Road a second camera might be deployed. However, ACS said that a 50% to 75% drop in citations is to be expected in 6 to 8 months of monitoring

CM Wilkinson asked if the Town can have input on where the camera will be placed. Mayor Calvo thought that the vendor might be asked to rotate the camera to all 3 locations that speed studies showed to yield enough volume. He would like the camera to be on Pontiac Street for at least one month. Mayor Calvo said that ACS may have one advantage over OptoTraffic. Their cameras could be more effective at capturing violations because they are smaller, less noticeable and would be moved around more. Overall he would favor OptoTraffic, however

CM Wilkinson moved to approve OptoTraffic as the speed camera operator. CM Dennison seconded. The motion passed 5 to 0.

Nothing was discussed under 5. Public Works or 6. Code Compliance.

Signed: Kerstin Harper, Town Clerk

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