MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION,
held Wednesday, January 16, 2002, for the purpose of discussing the Admissions and Occupancy Policy and the Parking Management Program at Green Ridge House.

Mayor Davis started the meeting at 7:35 p.m. It was held at Green Ridge House.

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

STAFF PRESENT WERE: Michael P. McLaughlin, City Manager; and Kathleen Gallagher, City Clerk.

ALSO PRESENT WERE: Terry Blake, Regional Property Manager, Community Properties; and Salva Holloman, Community Manager; and Amy Boyes, the Gazette.

Following introductions, Mayor Davis asked Mr. McLaughlin to address the highlights of each item prior to comments and questions.

Admissions and Occupancy Policy

Assistance in Living: Mr. McLaughlin said the discussion of the admissions and occupancy policy had carried over from a year ago. He reported that federal regulations had changed so that it was now possible to allow residents who require assistance to stay in their units if they are capable of taking care of themselves and their units with that assistance. Mayor Davis commented that this policy is compatible with other efforts the City is pursing in conjunction with the NORC grant and through the work of the Community Resource Advocate.

Residency Preference: Mr. McLaughlin said the other change is that Green Ridge House can now give a preference on admission to City residents. It would also be possible to give preference to individuals who may not be City residents but who work or do volunteer work in the City.

Mayor Davis noted there are currently 185 people on the waiting list, which means a wait of two to five years. Of these 71 are residents and 114 non-residents. Mr. Blake clarified that it would be the case that the a new resident who applies would move ahead of the 114 non-residents. He said rooms designated as handicapped-accessible are an exception, since a non-resident who requires the access features of the room would have priority over a resident who did not.

Mayor Davis asked about the query Jim Cassels had made last year about restricting eligibility to the elderly. Mr. McLaughlin said he will have an answer on that later.

Mr. Turnbull observed that there could be difficulties if terms are not defined clearly with regard to the residency preference: e.g., how a resident is defined, how working in the City is defined. He suggested staff tighten these definitions up before the policy comes back to Council.

Mr. Cassels asked for clarification on the home visit that is required for application. Mr. Blake said the purpose of the visit is to evaluate the applicant’s current ability to take care of him/herself and that it is not done until all other requirements have been met.

Parking Management Program

Mr. McLaughlin said the number of parking spaces increased from 39 to 54 following the expansion of the lot that was done about a year ago. At the time the spaces were added, Council directed that a parking management program be established. The City believes the program has been a success, although there have been complaints on two subjects: whether the lot should continue to be open during the day; and whether enforcement is adequate.

Mayor Davis explained that the parking enforcement staff had recently been increased, and the officer who has been coming to Green Ridge House has said he usually finds no violations and has never given more than two tickets at a visit.

There was not agreement on whether the lot should be open during the day or not, and a show of hands found the residents who attended the meeting fairly divided. It was noted that this is not an issue just for residents with cars, since those without cars may have more frequent visitation from care-givers and relatives. Mr. Blake asked how many had actually had to park on the street during the day, and about 5-7 residents indicated it had happened to them at some time. A number of residents also said they had seen people park in the lot and then walk into GHI courts.

Mr. McLaughlin strongly encouraged people to call parking enforcement or police dispatch if there are violations problems and to call him if there is not an adequate response.

Mr. Blake asked if the City had considered towing rather than ticketing violators, saying he believed that to be a much more effective deterrent. Mr. McLaughlin said the City is reluctant to tow and would prefer not to do so.

The Mayor announced that the subject of car-sharing is still under review and that as soon as the City has more information from Zip Car, there will be a presentation to answer people’s questions.

Capping Permits: Mr. McLaughlin asked for opinion on whether the number of parking permits should be limited to the number of spaces. Currently there are 57 permits for 54 spaces, so that a permit is effectively a hunting license rather than a guaranty of parking.

Mr. Blake said he recommended that residents have to renew annually, and Mayor Davis suggested doing this at one time during the year.

It was agreed that the system could be changed to allow two stickers per car so that residents could park either front-in or back-in.

Mr. McLaughlin will check to see if two spaces near the entrance could be used as extra spaces at night.

Mr. Blake said he would look into having the entrance and exit to the lot marked more clearly for direction, since cars sometimes enter through the exit lane.

Mr. Cassels suggested making the residents’ parking committee a more formal part of the procedures, but Mayor Davis said experience at Greenbriar suggested that keeping it less formal is better.

The meeting ended at 9 p.m.

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