MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION held April 18, 2001, for the purpose of reviewing the proposed FY 2002 Recreation Department budgets.

The meeting began at 8:06 p.m. It was held in the Multipurpose Room of the Community Center.

PRESENT WERE: Council members Rodney M. Roberts, Edward V.J. Putens, Thomas X. White and Mayor Judith F. Davis. Mr. Turnbull was not present.

STAFF PRESENT WERE: Michael P. McLaughlin, City Manager; Jeffrey Williams, City Treasurer; David Moran, Assistant to the City Manager; Anne Marie Belton, Executive Secretary; Hank Irving, Recreation Director; Harry James, Assistant Recreation Director; Julie McHale, Recreation Supervisor; George Rogala, Aquatic and Fitness Center Supervisor; Joe McNeal, Community Center Supervisor; Nicole DeWald, Arts Coordinator; and Karen Haseley, Therapeutic Recreation.

ALSO PRESENT WERE: Amy Boyes with the Gazette and Al Geiger with the News Review.

Mr. Irving began the meeting by stating that the proposed FY 2002 recreation budget is a mere $23,000 more than last year. With the upcoming retirement of the Assistant Director, restructuring of the department will be looked at.

Youth Center - Ms. McHale noted that with the addition of the photo identification program instituted in FY 2001, behavioral problems have declined. Additional staffing has also aided in keeping down behavioral problems. Ms. McHale stated that 10% of the pass sales at the Youth Center were for non-residents. The lighting in the Youth Center gym is in need of replacement. Mr. White inquired about the reduction of funds budgeted for gas service (under line item 39, Utilities). Mr. McLaughlin explained that this reduction is warranted due to the fact that a contract negotiation will take place in the spring; an off peak season for gas usage. Mayor Davis inquired about line item 46, Maintain Building & Structure. Mr. Williams informed Council that money saving efforts were focused in the following areas: painting, maintenance costs, and cleaning supplies.

Schrom Hills Park - Park permits for both Schrom Hills and Buddy Attick Park are nearly sold out for this season. The television and VCR are proposed to be replaced in FY 2001; they were stolen in the summer of 1999.

Self Supporting Programs - A new program, Counselors In Training, is proposed to begin in Summer 2001. The program was designed with older children (age 13-14) in mind to assist with younger campers and to learn to be a counselor. The food grant, spear headed by Nancy Wilmot, has improved the quality of snacks given to the children that participate in the GOAL program. Even though fees for before and after care in the GOAL program have been raised, the cost is still competitive with other facilities.

Therapeutic Recreation Programs - Ms. Haseley reported that the computer classes offered by Prince George’s Community College are well received. These courses may be able to continue throughout the summer at St. Hugh’s. A beginner computer class is being looked into for the summer. Mayor Davis inquired about having Internet access for the computers used for the senior’s classes. Ms. Haseley advised that the computers would need to be upgraded before this could happen. Mayor Davis inquired about the salaries for the inclusion counselors and food site manager. These two positions are not a part of the compensation and benefit study. Mr. McLaughlin reminded Council of the outstanding CAR regarding the classification of some non-classified positions. The part-time non-classified employee pay issue will be looked at after the completion of the current compensation and benefit study.

Other Recreation Programs - Ms. McHale mentioned better coordination of City events has proven difficult. The coordination has improved over the past year, but is still difficult. Mr. McLaughlin pointed out the management objective to research the possibility of corporate sponsorship. Both Mayor Davis and Councilmember White expressed a concern about the advertising of the corporate sponsor. The desire is to not have the sponsors logo displayed largely on fliers for City events. Mr. McLaughlin also pointed out to Council that the funding for Contributions, line item 68, is budgeted at last years budget amount; it is Council’s decision to adjust any of the amounts.

Aquatic and Fitness Center - On September 29, 2001 the Aquatic & Fitness Center will celebrate its 10 year anniversary. Special events are to be planned for this event. In FY 2001, the indoor pool had a new filter installed. The new filter resulted in a savings of $40,000 to $50,000. Mr. Rogala reported that the summer daily admission policy that was put in place last fiscal year has worked out and it is recommended to continue this fiscal year. Four new treadmills were purchased in FY 2001. The second phase of the equipment replacement project, FY 2002, will have staff consult with a contractor to evaluate the remaining equipment’s life expectancy. The Automated External Defibrillator (AED) proved successful in FY 2001 when a patron of the center experienced a heart attack. Other staff in other buildings have been trained on the use of the AED. Mayor Davis suggested having AED’s in each of the City facilities. A new drain will need to be added to the baby pool due to new county regulations. The funds for this drain have been proposed in the Capital Projects Fund. There is a need for a full-time female cleaning position. Funding is only available for a part-time non-classified employee. A full-time cleaning position has been requested to be placed on an unmet needs list for consideration at the final budget work session. This position could also be used to augment other facilities in the City in need of service. Over-booking of classes will be tried this fiscal year. History has proven that patrons have not shown up as frequently towards the end of the session. Even with the proposed 3% increase in passes, the Aquatic and Fitness Center is still quite affordable when compared with neighboring jurisdictions.

Community Center - Mr. McNeal reported that attendance at the Greenbelt New Year Celebration had approximately 1,000 participants. The New Deal Café is in arrears to the City in the amount of $6,860. They have been granted an additional night per week use of the Community Center kitchen (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday). It was suggested that The New Deal Café be added to the list of Contribution Groups. A new catering group, Basic Feast, is also renting the kitchen. The City was able to assist the Brentwood Adult Day Care Center with space when their meeting space was damaged by fire. Mr. McNeal is interested in creating a virtual reality tour of the Community Center. He is also interested in posting the resident artists’ biographies on the City’s website as well. The window project is continuing. The quotes from vendors were unexpectedly high. The darkroom is scheduled to be operational by the summer of 2001. The Center is in need of additional phone lines and a new commercial oven. One of the requests of the Community Center is to hire a full-time "handy-man" to cover the little things that need fixing. A salary for this person would be in the $30,000 range. It was also noted that Professional Services, line item 30, could increase by $11,400 due to an increase in requested funding made by GAVA.

Arts Programs - It was stated that the idea of separating out building and program budgets will be discussed after the adoption of the FY 2002 budget. Ms. DeWald noted that it is difficult to distinguish the difference between individual programs and building expenses when the funds are combined with building maintenance. Ms. DeWald discussed the various arts programs in Greenbelt. She also stated that the insurance coverage by LGIT is not working out for the type of coverage the City currently has. Staff is investigating other venues of coverage. LGIT is requiring an appraisal be done, which is way too costly for the paintings. Artists currently display their art in public spaces at their own risk. Ms. DeWald stated that the City Stages performances are carried on throughout the year; not just during the summer.

Informational Items - Mr. McLaughlin noted that the ride along visit by Mr. Hoyer went well. Coverage of the event will appear on Channel 5 and Channel 8. This ride along was scheduled in an attempt to raise awareness of the COPS grant funding proposal to be cut by President Bush. Mr. McLaughlin also informed Council of a vehicle accident with injuries at the intersection of Southway and Greenbelt Road.

Mayor Davis had spoken with Mr. Hoyer regarding the Goddard Master Plan and noted that the City will follow up with a letter to him.

The meeting ended at 12:22 a.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Anne Marie Belton

Executive Secretary

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