Worksession Minutes
February 16, 2010

The meeting was called to order at 7:02 p.m. Present were Mayor Calvo, MPT Lofgren, CMs Ahrens, Dennison and Wilkinson. Also present were TA Murphy, Code Director Sonjia Solomon, Clerk Harper and Karate Club Instructor Theresa Beck.

1. Mayor

Announcements: There were none.

Calendar: Director Coleman will be asked to present his budget at a later worksession as he was unable to attend tonight's meeting.

Minutes: On a motion by CM Ahrens and second by MPT Lofgren, the January 25 minutes were approved 5 to 0. On a motion by CM Ahrens and second by CM Dennison, the February 1 minutes were approved 5 to 0.

Department reports: MPT Lofgren reported that the County landfill reopened last Friday afternoon February 12. However, Berwyn Heights Public Works did not resume trash pickup because it was not notified until this morning. Today the crew will pick up as much trash as it can in the entire Town. Tomorrow it will pick up recycling and trash in the entire Town. TA Murphy said that $24,000 was spent on overtime for snow removal this winter or $16,000 more than was budgeted. MPT Lofgren continued that storm drains appear to be draining well. He has not heard of any backups. Public Works vehicles have taken a beating. Snow plow attachments on the trucks, mufflers and other things have been damaged and need to be repaired. Salt is still not available. Director Coleman will keep the Council updated.

CM Dennison said that the Education Advisory Committee (EAC) meeting was postponed. One topic to be discussed is adjustment of high school boundaries, on which the school board is now holding hearings. If Parkdale's boundaries were reduced, more students could be admitted to the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. Parkdale High School has the largest offering of foreign languages in the County and has placed in the top for students taking and receive credit for Advanced Placement (AP) and IB classes. CM Ahrens reported that the Code Department is back patrolling the streets. The Code car has not been marked yet.

Mayor Calvo reported that Park & Planning has made a compromise proposal to the initiative of the Prince George's County Municipal Association (PGCMA) to appoint a task force to broadly examine Park & Planning operations. It is proposed that the examination focus on tax issues and limit the task force to legislators. Bowie, Greenbelt and Laurel were opposed to narrowing the scope of the examination because they are interested in reviewing zoning authority. In Berwyn Heights, residents of the 8400 block of Cunningham Drive asked to have their section of road blocked off so that they could chip off the ice. Theirs is one of the most icy streets in Town. Power, telephone and cable lines are still affected by the snow storms with branches caught in some of them. The Police Department is back at 7 officers providing 24 hour coverage.

MPT Lofgren reported that the contractors hired to clean out a foreclosed home on 58th Avenue have been back repeatedly to pick up left behind items some of which were covered by snow. CM Wilkinson proposed to hold a potluck for Public Works to thank them for their snow clearing work. It was agreed to ask Director Coleman for a convenient time.

Citizen comments: Mayor Calvo received innumerable comments about the snow clearing operations, most of them positive. He also received comments and questions about power lines and finding alternatives to road salt for treating the roads. CM Wilkinson said he received many comments about the snow as well. Most residents were impressed by the work of the crew.

At 7:50 p.m., the Council took a 5 minute break.

Code Department budget request: Mayor Calvo welcomed Code Director Solomon. Ms. Solomon said that she is submitting the same budget as last year and is not requesting funds for new initiatives. Mayor Calvo asked her to outline trends and challenges of the prior year. Ms. Solomon began with a review of code liens (unpaid code fines added to owners' real property tax bills). She said that that the FY 2010 budget has $8,550 in liens for last year and $3,090 for prior years. However, the Code Department just received a check of $7,401 in liens for FY 09 – FY 10 and expects to receive another check of $5,011 for FY 08 – FY 09 within the next week. The County is changing the way it is processing liens and plans to reimburse municipalities every 6 to 8 months. Taken together the budgeted liens and the liens received in February 2010 total $26,307, which exceeds the budgeted amount considerably. The Town needs to change the way it records this income to have better estimates.

Mayor Calvo commented that liens are not a revenue source but a payment method for fines. There should be a master list of outstanding code fees, fines and abatements, their dates and any interest applied. Once payment is received, either as cash payment or lien, the item is taken off the list. In this way, the Town would know what amounts it is owed for what type of transaction. Just specifying how much money is received in liens, as is done in the current budget, is not sufficient because it does not indicate what type of fee or violation it relates to. He would like the Council to have detailed information on what the money received, in liens or otherwise, is for. He asked how the responsibility for tracking this information is currently divided.

Ms. Solomon said that she gives the Treasurer a copy of the package of fines she sends to the County to be processed as liens. This package includes the amount of the fine, property address and date for each violation. The Treasurer then files this information somewhere. TA Murphy said that the information is entered into an electronic database as an accounts receivable. When payment is received, the payment owed by a particular property is expunged from the account. There is also supposed to be a spreadsheet that lists the violations broken down by type of fine. He will need to check to see what its status is and what needs to be changed so that all types of code fees and fines can be tracked.

Mayor Calvo said he would like to see this tracking system fully implemented. This is important because there has been a substantial increase in fees and fines collected by the Code Department over the last years but it is not known exactly what drives the increase. As a result, the projected revenue from code fees and fines has been less than what was actually received. It matters because the excess revenue cannot be budgeted for other needed items. He ventured that a sizable part of the increase is due to an increase in rental properties. Ms. Solomon confirmed that an increase in unlicensed rental properties has been the main factor in the increase revenue, as well as the associated property maintenance fines. As someone who checks properties on a daily basis, she can discern trends when looking at the County's list of liens, such as an increase in abatements relating to vacant properties. In fact, she maintains a formal list of vacant homes because tracking these properties is a top priority. She and her staff try to ensure that they are properly maintained and not broken into.

Mayor Calvo said that the revenue associated with vacant homes, which are increasingly owned by banks, probably pays for the enforcement effort required. This type of data can then be used to make policy decisions, such as whether to add more code enforcement hours. CM Dennison said that she can provide lists of foreclosed homes and short sales if needed. Ms. Solomon said that approximately $40,000 of all revenue derives from rental homes. If more revenue is needed to cover enforcement costs she would propose doubling the fines for property maintenance and rental inspections. The rental license fee could possibly be raised as well. Rental homes take up at least 30% of all code enforcement time. Mayor Calvo said he is of the opinion that rental owners should carry the cost of enforcing rental regulations. He supports an increase in the licensing fee based on a recalculation of the time spent regulating rental homes.

Ms. Solomon continued, on the expenditure side of the budget, she is trying to reduce postage expenses by not mailing Ordinance 120 as part of the rental license application packet. This saves $1.29 per package mailed. She has thought about saving postage be reducing certified mail. However, fine notifications must be mailed by certified mail or served in person and signed by the homeowner. Mayor Calvo asked if the certified mail notification can be skipped if a rental owner waives this right and asks to be notified by e-mail or fax. Ms. Solomon said that the Town attorney should give his opinion on that. Personally, she would prefer not to send notifications by certified mail. In response to CM Ahrens, Ms. Solomon explained that $750 is budgeted for abatement to pay for a contractor, in case Public Works can't perform the abatement. This money is not always spent. Mayor Calvo suggested that abatement revenues could be set aside in a 'sink fund' to pay for future abatements.

Mayor Calvo asked how the extra time gained from transferring Bulletin production responsibility to the Administration Department and increased hours for the part time officer are used. Ms. Solomon replied that there have not been any dramatic changes in operations. The code clerk files and archives papers and follows up on scheduling rental inspections for 5 hours a week. The secretary, who is shared with the Administration Department, spends 2 ½  – 3 hours a day answering code inquiries on the phone, schedules rental inspections and mails out code letters. The part time code officer patrols the Town in the evening and on weekends, writes up common violations and follows up on lists of code violations she provides. She performs most of the administrative work, which takes up about 50% of her time. The additional hours are spent on priority issues within that basic framework.

Mayor Calvo asked Director Solomon and TA Murphy if they are satisfied with how the Administrative Assistant is shared, 25 hours a week for the Administration Department and 15 a week for the Code Department. Director Solomon said she is satisfied with the work the Assistant does for her. She is trying to utilize her only for those tasks she performs well. TA Murphy said that he believes the Assistant spends closer to half of her time on code related activities, leaving the Administration Department short handed. Mayor Calvo asked if it were better to have a part time position for each department instead of one shared full time position. Ms. Solomon said separating the positions would be her preference because each assistant would be accountable to one department. She conceded that this would have a customer service drawback because many code inquiries would remain unanswered until someone can return phone messages left on voice mail.

CM Wilkinson suggested that the shared assistant be trained to help write the routine correspondence and that the 3 part-time code positions might be usefully converted into one full time position. Ms. Solomon  said that it is faster for her to handle all correspondence and that it would be difficult to combine 3 disparate part-time positions. Field work and office work are too hard to combine. CM Ahrens and MPT Lofgren said that the shared assistant is very good at taking phone calls and answering residents' questions, a valuable asset in the Town office. Ms. Solomon agreed. CM Dennison expressed skepticism about whether the assistant's skills are used to the fullest extent and are shared fairly. She will ask more questions when TA Murphy presents the proposed budget.

Public Works budget request: Mayor Calvo noted that the budget lacks budget change forms, which explain major changes in appropriations. He suggested holding the discussion of the budget until Director Coleman can come in. The Council agreed.

Parks and Recreation budget request: CM Dennison explained her budget request. She said that her budget is proposed to decrease from $20,400 to $18,740, or 8%, mainly because of the Town is switching  to the County's I-Net for Internet service. She highlighted accomplishments of the current fiscal year and the major changes in the FY 2011 budget.

• Increases in Pops Park maintenance and supplies

• $200 increase in Volunteer appreciation dinner because of purchase of gifts

• $200 decrease in Historical Committee expenses because only one museum conference registration is requested

• $500 decrease in youth services; last year this item funded the purchase of BGC uniforms

• $100 increase for maintenance and winterizing of Sports Park concession stand

She noted that further savings could come from the Equipment appropriation where no purchases are planned this year. There is a possibility that an Americorps volunteer might be obtained to assist the Recreation Council in developing youth programs.

Mayor Calvo commented that, last year, the Council decided to rename the Special Events line Recreation Council. This reflects its decision to give the $7,500 in this appropriation to the Recreation Council to dispense at its discretion in accordance with Ordinance 113. The Ordinance intends the Recreation Council to function as an umbrella group for all community organizations. The Council also decided to add new organizations as voting members to the Recreation Council, including the  Education Advisory Committee and Historical Committee. Membership would confer access to the special events money administered by the Recreation Council. If the Historical Committee continues to organize events, it should be done under the auspices of the Recreation Council. A Town committee, which receives funds from the Town, should adhere to the Town's recreation framework. For that reason, the Historical Committee's special event funds should be folded into the Recreation Council budget. Ultimately, it is hoped that all committee events would become part of a set yearly program that could be published in advance.

CM Dennison sought clarification as to whether the Historical Committee would continue to receive other than special event funds and was assured they would. She said that she would discuss this with the Committee at the next meeting. CM Wilkinson suggested that the $1,500 Equipment appropriation be considered for the purchase of movable bleachers at the school field. He also asked if money has been budgeted for a gate to give trucks access to the field from 63rd Avenue. CM Dennison said that the money is requested as part of the capital budget.

MPT Lofgren noted that the $500 Tree Service appropriation in the Parks & Recreation Department is complemented by another $6,000 Tree Service appropriation in the Public Works budget. This fulfills the requirement of the Arbor Day Foundation that the Town spend $2 per residence on trees. The Town has mostly used this money for pruning and felling. The Parks & Recreation tree service line funds planting of trees and shrubs in parks and an annual celebration of Arbor Day.

Karate Club resolution (discussed out of order): Mayor Calvo welcomed Theresa Beck, who with Leon Swain leads the Berwyn Heights Karate Club, which was recognized by the Council as an official Town organization last September. TA Murphy explained that the Club has grown substantially in membership and applied to Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) for permission to use the school's multi-purpose room. PGCPS is requesting proof that the Club is a not-for-profit volunteer organization and covered by the Town's insurance. In speaking to the Town's insurance provider LGIT, he learned that the instructors must fulfill the definition of volunteers to be covered by the Town's insurance policy in case anyone is injured. The Town must provide a certificate of insurance to PGCPS and document that the Club is a Town-sponsored recreational activity to receive permission to use the school facility.

Mayor Calvo commented that the Town would in effect indemnify the PGCPS against and law suits brought by students or their families. He asked what would be the Town's exposure to liability, assuming that the Club has its members sign waivers for claims of injury. Ms. Beck confirmed that all members are required to sign consent forms before they start the activity and hold the Club harmless for any injury. She said that there is no sparring and that all exercise is performed under the supervision of experienced instructors. Mayor Calvo said that there are precedents for the Town sponsoring this type of activity and that he is comfortable with it. However, if there is an injury and a lawsuit it may spell the end to the activity. He would also like the Town attorney and LGIT to review the Club's consent form. Even if LGIT covers law suits, there may be a cost to the Town in the form of higher insurance rates. Once the review is completed, the Council should pass a resolution to recognize the Karate Club as a Town sponsored activity. The Council agreed. Ms. Beck thanked the Town for its support.

Refuse Ordinance revision: Mayor Calvo said that he wanted to review the latest changes to the Ordinance before introduction at the March Town meeting. Clerk Harper said that the latest changes were made to Section 5, Duties and Responsibilities of Property Owners and Occupants, sub-section L, which deals with the disposal of loose leaves. The provision prescribing bagging of loose leaves was moved to sub-section R, which describes the handling of yard-waste. Paper bags were added as a Town-approved alternative to plastic bags to dispose of leaves. In Section 10, Violations, Fines and Abatement, sub-section E, a one-year time frame was added, in which an immediate could be imposed for a repeat violation. Council decided to insert the provision on repeat violations after sub-section A, Violations, to clarify their relationship. MPT Lofgren, said that he had changes to offer, which he will transmit to TA Murphy. Mayor Calvo said that for introduction the Council needs a document that allows comparison of the original ordinance with the current version and all the changes made.

Nothing was discussed under 2. Administration, 3. Code Compliance, 4. Parks & Recreation, 5. Public Safety or 6. Public Works.

Signed: Kerstin Harper, Town Clerk

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