MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
Held Monday, May 15, 2000,
For the purpose of discussing the Green Ridge House budget.

The meeting began at 7:40 p.m. It was held in the Cafeteria Room of the Green Ridge House.

PRESENT WERE: Council members Rodney M. Roberts, Alan Turnbull, and Mayor Judith F. Davis. Council members Edward V. J. Putens and Thomas X. White arrived shortly thereafter.

STAFF PRESENT WERE: Michael P. McLaughlin, City Manager; Kathleen Gallagher, City Clerk; Terry Blake, Property Manger, Home Properties; and Amy Boyes, the Gazette.

Mayor Davis announced that the Memorial Service for Irv Siegel would be held Sunday, May 28, at 1:30 p.m. in the Community Center.

Mr. McLaughlin is serving as the liaison to Green Ridge House. He gave a brief overview of the work accomplished at Green Ridge House this year, including the implementation of the parking management plan (which must now be monitored for effectiveness by staff), initiation of construction of the expansion of the parking lot, window replacement, upgrading of the TV. antenna, and replacement of water valves. He then described capital renovation projects in the 2001 budget, including the completion of the audio loop in the dining room, renovation of six remaining kitchens (when the residents are ready or the units become vacant), and installation of awnings at the exterior doors on the Terrace level. He noted that renovation plans for next year were not ambitious, owing to the substantial amount of work that had been done the last few years.

Mayor Davis said that the staff will be monitoring the parking management plan. The parking officer has come through about 44 times over the last couple of months without finding parking violations. She encouraged a suggestion that had been made that the next time they are replaced, Green Ridge House acquire larger parking permits so that it will be easier for both residents and enforcement officers to know which vehicles are parked legally.

There were many specific questions asked and answered about particulars of the budget. Major issues that were raised included the following.

It came up several times during the meeting that some residents are still not happy with unrestricted parking in the daytime. They say that residents cannot always find places. It was emphasized by several members of Council and staff that this policy would not be reconsidered until the expansion of the lot had been completed and at least six months’ testing of the situation had occurred. At that point, the policy will come back for review.

There was discussion of whether there is a need for handicapped parking spaces to be designated for wide spaces for vehicles loading wheelchairs. Mayor Davis asked that Green Ridge House determine if there was in fact a need and, if so, notify Council so that it could be taken into account before re-striping of the lot is done.

It was asked whether a car with handicapped tags can park in the lot at any time. Initially, opinion was that the answer was "no," but Mr. White suggested that staff research State law on this matter.

Last Saturday, an alarm went off that is supposed to be connected to the Fire Department, but it rang for 10-20 minutes with no response. During the interim at least one resident called the Fire Department directly. It also came up that there may not have been any recent complete drill on fire procedures for the residents. There were also questions raised about response to dialing 911 and whether the Fire Department puts people on "hold" when they call. Although initially it was suggested that Mr. McLaughlin look into these issues with the Fire Department, it was eventually decided that it would be more effective to have representatives from the Department hold a meeting at Green Ridge House to review all these matters and answer residents’ questions. The Mayor and Council emphasized the high priority that should be placed on resolving matters of fire safety and training and suggested that this meeting be initiated before the next monthly residents’ meeting would occur in June.

A resident suggested that surveillance cameras were needed in the lobby because too many unauthorized people have access to the building. Mr. Blake said a broken camera was being repaired and that card access or some other stronger security measure was being considered for the back doors and that these changes would probably be adequate.

The meeting adjourned at about 8:45 p.m., and Council and staff remained for refreshments.

Respectfully submitted,

Kathleen Gallagher

City Clerk

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