REGULAR MEETING OF CITY COUNCIL HELD
MONDAY, February 9, 1998

Mayor Davis called the meeting to order at 8:12p.m.

ROLL CALL was answered by Edward V.J. Putens, Rodney M. Roberts, Alan Turnbull, Thomas X. White and by Judith F. Davis, Mayor.

ALSO PRESENT were Michael P. McLaughlin, City Manager; Robert Manzi, City Solicitor; W. Bowman Ferguson, Management Analyst and David E. Moran, City Clerk.

Mayor Davis observed a moment of silence for Milton Foxwell, Charles Barr and Lenora Carter. Then, she led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

CONSENT AGENDA: Mr. White removed the minutes of January 26 and Ms. Davis removed the minutes of January 12. Mr. Putens requested that item 17 be removed. With these changes, Mr. Putens moved approval of the consent agenda. Mr. Roberts seconded. The motion passed 5 to 0.CONSENT AGENDA: Mr. White removed the minutes of January 26 and Ms. Davis removed the minutes of January 12. Mr. Putens requested that item 17 be removed. With these changes, Mr. Putens moved approval of the consent agenda. Mr. Roberts seconded. The motion passed 5 to 0.

COUNCIL THEREBY TOOK THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS:

MINUTES:

Work Session, January 14, 1998
Work Session, January 21, 1998
Work Session, January 28, 1998
Work Session, February 2, 1998
Work Session, February 4, 1998

Approved as presented.

CITY CODE UPDATE: Council approved the code update at an estimated cost of $8,860.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Mr. Turnbull moved that the agenda be approved. Mr. Putens seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

PETITIONS AND REQUESTS:

MINUTES: :

Minutes of January 12, 1998: Ms Davis asked about an incomplete sentence, "Mr. Roberts favored ______" on page 4. Mr. Moran indicated he would have to check the tapes to determine the answer. Ms. Davis requested that the minutes be corrected and brought back at the next meeting. Minutes of January 12, 1998 

Minutes of January 26, 1998: Mr. White requested that page 4, the following sentence be added "Agnolutto corrected his estimate to 50,000 square feet of restaurant space or 160,000 square feet of office space plus the Nylcare expansion." Ms. Davis noted that on page 1, "Ralgo" should be spelled "Raduazo." Mr. Turnbull requested that page 3 and 4 be changed to state "Mr. Turnbull asserted that, to one way of thinking, this property could be viewed as significantly under-developed since most of its area would be devoted to parking and he therefore had reservations..." Council requested that these minutes be revised and presented at the next meeting. 

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS: Mr. McLaughlin noted that the recycling truck is back in operation as of today. He also noted that MML was requesting that cities participate in a parade of flags at the MML convention. Council agreed to participate. Mr. McLaughlin reported that Bowie Councilman Leo Green had picked up information about the indoor pool and Councilman Aleshire and one other person had contacted pool staff for information 

Mayor Davis noted that Bowie Mayor Allen had undergone heart surgery and requested that the city send a card. Mr. White asked if the city had received any information from Mr. Krouse regarding Indian Creek. Mayor Davis reported that she had seen a dead beaver along Greenbelt Road near CVS. She also sent best wishes to Kim Bradshaw, who left city service for a new position. Ms. Davis also congratulated ERHS for receiving a blue ribbon award. She noted that Dr. Boarman had received a distinguished educational leadership award from the Washington Post.

 Mayor Davis reported on the retreat held January 31. She summarized the activities which took place. She noted that nine priority issues were identified: improve and enhance public safety, preserve and enhance the green belt, enhance sense of community, improve parks and ballfields, fiscal sustainability, enhanced youth services, changing demographics and increase technology and technology education.  

NEW TRAFFIC SIGNAL ON SOUTH WAY: Mayor Davis read the agenda comments. Ms. Craze presented a brief overview of the plans. Mr. White asked if the left turn lane from Southway onto southbound Parkway had sufficient length. Ms. Craze responded she was satisfied that phasing the light would address the issue. Ms. Putens favored lengthening the left turn lane now while SHA was completing the project. 

Mr. Turnbull stated he was unconvinced that this new signal would be an improvement. He asked if outbound Southway would have a detector. Ms. Craze stated outbound Southway was the primary phase. Mr. Turnbull asked if traffic would be prevented from exiting the Parkway and making a u-turn at Southway and Ridge. Ms. Craze responded that this movement would still be allowed. Mr. Turnbull expressed concern that SHA was making an incursion into old Greenbelt. He requested that SHA be asked to consider an alternate fixture type that was more in keeping with Greenbelt’s history.

Ms. Davis asked if the lights would flash for some period before the signal was fully activated. Ms. Craze responded she would check. Mr. White and Mr. Roberts both agreed that staff should explore an alternate fixture for this location.

JUNIOR BABE RUTH LEAGUE: Mayor Davis read the agenda comments. Mr. Sonneveldt described the request and the proposed program. Mr. Roberts moved that $2,450 be appropriated from the reserve appropriation. Mr. Putens seconded. In response to a question from Mr. Roberts, Mr. Sonneveldt noted that the junior and senior team would share a field. The motion passed 5 to 0.

AWARD OF PURCHASE - PICK-UP TRUCKS & 15-PASSENGER VAN: Mayor Davis read the agenda comments. Mr. Putens moved Council award the purchase of a 15-passenger van and two pickup trucks to Lanham Ford at a cost of $64,979. Mr. White seconded. The motion passed 5 to 0.

PETITION AND REQUESTS: Sgt. Greg Lynn expressed gratitude for the closing cost purchase program established by the City.

STATE LEGISLATION: Mayor Davis read the agenda comments. Mr. Putens moved Council support PG 402-98 and SB 202-98. Mr. Roberts seconded. Mr. White asked if there was information about the how the arts district would be defined. He believed the legislation should be amended to allow the County or a municipality to have the authority to designate an arts district. Mr. Manzi believed the city could request the amendment. Mr. Putens and Mr. Roberts accepted the amendment.

Ms. Davis noted that SB 202 had met vigorous opposition last year and the bill had been modified to set a cap. Sheldon Goldberg reported that this was a budgetary problem for the homeowner associations. Mr. Putens was concerned that real estate associations were opposed and asked that the Council be kept aware of this. Mr. White noted that cooperatives where in the same situation. Mr. Turnbull hoped that a condominium bill would also cover cooperatives.

There was some discussion regarding the best strategy for getting this legislation passed. Mr. Putens’ earlier motion passed 5 to 0.

Mr. Putens moved that the city request a bill be introduced that would cover condominiums and cooperatives either separately or jointly. Mr. Roberts seconded. The motion passed 5 to 0.

Mr. McLaughlin noted that a fire house bond bill had been submitted. Council suggested the city wait until the dinner on February 25 to discuss this bill with State legislators.

AGENDA FOR MID-TERM LEGISLATIVE DINNER: Mayor Davis read the agenda comments. Mr. Putens suggested that we add State "Rico" legislation to the list. Mr. White stressed that the bond bills should be the city’s top priority. Council requested that the city reformat the materials. Mr. Turnbull believed that since the city opposed ROS, we should not propose a no development zoning category. Mr. White suggested that this concept be discussed in conjunction with the conservation easement. Council asked that the ROS zone be discussed at the Dinner.

UPGRADE OF A NON-CLASSIFIED PUBLIC WORKS POSITION: Mayor Davis read the agenda comments. Mr. Roberts moved Council authorize the change of a non-classified position to a classified position, a Refuse Collector, GC-5, in the Public Works department. Mr. Turnbull seconded. The motion passed 5 to 0.

Mr. White thanked Public Works for responding to a fallen tree in Capital Office Park that was threatening to pull down a power line. Ms. Davis also thanked the department for finally installing the audio loop in the Multi-Purpose Room. She asked if it could be installed in other rooms at the Community Center.

CITYWIDE LIQUOR LICENSE RENEWAL: Mayor Davis read the agenda comments. Mr. Putens reported that he knew of a complaint regarding Osaka Restaurant. He asked if the city could establish another mechanism to review the establishments outside the County and how citizens can file complaints. Mr. Manzi stated that citizens can file a complaint with the liquor board. Mr. Putens requested that this information be placed on B-10 so that citizens are made aware of the complaint process.

Mr. Putens expressed concern about activities occurring in the vicinity of a facility. He wanted to track these incidents including establishments outside the city. Mr. White noted that many of licenses were for specialized uses like hotels and a catering facility. Mr. Roberts stated that it was next to impossible to revoke a liquor license.

Ms. Davis noted that the city wanted to attract upscale restaurants which usually have liquor licenses. Mr. Putens wanted to monitor and track the situation and educate the public as to how to deal with a problem. In response to a question about a cap on licenses, Mr. Manzi noted that there was a cap on B licenses based on population. Mr. Putens suggested that Council may want to consider requesting that the dollar amount for BLX be raised from $800,000.

MEETINGS: Council scheduled an executive session for February 23. Council scheduled budget work sessions on March 30, April 1, 2 and 15, May 4, 6, 7, 13 and 20. They set the public hearing for May 11. Council set a goals follow-up retreat for February 28. They also scheduled a briefing on the Greenbelt West Metro Area Study for March 5. Council set aside March 16, 25 and 26 for meetings with Roosevelt Center Merchants, Springhill Lake and Beltway Plaza.

ADJOURNMENT: Mr. White moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Turnbull seconded. The motion carried 5 to 0. Mayor Davis adjourned the regular meeting of February 9, 1998, at 10:35p.m

Respectfully Submitted,

David E. Moran
City Clerk 

"I hereby certify that the above and foregoing is a true and correct report of the regular meeting of the City Council of Greenbelt, Maryland, held February 9, 1998."

Judith F. Davis
Mayor

City of Greenbelt, Maryland
City Offices, 25 Crescent Road, Greenbelt, MD 20770
Phone: 301-474-8000 FAX: 301-441-8248