Mayor Davis called the meeting to order at 7:35 PM.

PRESENT were Mayor Judith F. Davis and Council members Edward Putens, Rodney Roberts, Alan Turnbull and Thomas X. White.

STAFF PRESENT was Michael McLaughlin, City Manager.

ALSO PRESENT were Jay Remenick, President of Greenbelt Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad (GVFDRS) and Randy Krob, Chief of GVFDRS.

Deployment of Paid Fire Fighters: Mayor Davis began the meeting by noting that it was for the purpose of discussing the possible redeployment of the paid County fire fighters from the Greenbelt Station to elsewhere in Prince George’s County. Mr. Remenick briefed the Council on what they had been told in meetings and discussions with the County and other volunteer agencies. He indicated that other stations were being looked at by the County for redeployment, not just Greenbelt. These included Branchville and Laurel. The county believed that volunteers could provide coverage or that other nearby departments would respond in emergencies.

Council members were very concerned about the impact on the Greenbelt community should the paid fire fighters be moved to another station. While Council understood that other areas of the County might be in need, the proper solution was to fix the funding and recruitment issues, not to reduce coverage in other areas. There was concern as well that volunteers would not be able to handle this additional load and that public safety would be jeopardized by increased response times due to the fact that the response might have to come from stations further away.

The meeting was then adjourned so that Council, Mr. Remenick, and Chief Krob could attend the Four Cities meeting which was to include this topic.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:55 PM.

Respectfully submitted,
Michael McLaughlin
City Manager

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