BUDGET WORK SESSION OF THE GREENBELT CITY COUNCIL held Wednesday, April 30, 2003, for the purpose of meeting with Contribution Groups to discuss the proposed FY 2004 budget.

Mayor Davis started the meeting at 7:30 p.m. It was held in the Senior Classroom of the Community Center.

PRESENT WERE: Council members Edward J. Putens, Rodney M. Roberts, and Mayor Judith F. Davis.

STAFF PRESENT WERE: Michael McLaughlin, City Manager, and Hank Irving, Recreation Director. Also present were Mark Gitlis and Virginia Zanner of the Arts Advisory Board.

Greenbelt Golden Age Club – Elinor Rimar and Bob Terrell represented the group. The Club is not requesting funds this year. Council thanked them for this consideration.

Greenbelt Concert Band – Tom Cherrix and David Clarke were present to represent the Concert Band. It was noted the band could really use more storage and more lighting on the Community Center stage, and would also like to suggest a backdrop to the Community Center stage. Suggestions were made on how to better promote the band and recruit new members.

Greenbelt Baseball – Greg Fisanich, Joe Fulton and John White represented the group. Suggestions were made on how to recruit players from the Springhill Lake neighborhood.

GIVES – Ernie Varda, Bob Terrell, Ruth Huggins and John Taylor represented the organization. Mr. Varda explained the types of services GIVES provides. The group is in good financial shape and has more volunteers than requests for service.

Friends of New Deal Café Arts – Barbara Simon, Ray Stevens, and Eileen Peterson represented the group. It was noted there is no general membership to the group. Membership consists of the founding members and people they select to be members. Ms. Simon said FONDCA was established to support the New Deal Café and would use the funds to support its outdoor performance series. Ms. Simon noted these funds could be the funds that have been budgeted in the past to partner with the Café. Council requested a copy of FONDCA’s by-laws.

Greenbelt Labor Day Festival Committee – Patti Brothers and Lenny Wertz represented the Festival. Mr. Wertz noted that MNCPPC has significantly raised the price of renting the stage from $450 per day to $800 per day. Staff will contact MNCPPC to check about lowering the fee. Some new approaches to selling ride passes/tickets are being considered. The Committee provided $2,000 towards the repayment of the loan, leaving a balance of $6,000.

Greenbelt Boys & Girls Club – James Green and four others represented the Club. It was noted the Club has a need for office space. Greenbelt participation is very high in both registration and on the board. The club is looking into corporate sponsorships.

Greenbelt Senior Softball – Jerry Jenkins represented the group. He noted there are now seven resident participants and they had a successful year.

Greenbelt Writers Group – Amy Hansen represented the group. The group is not requesting any funds from the City because insurance is not required. Membership and participation are up.

Greenbelt Aquatic Boosters – Erv Beckert, Clement Lau, Mark Otto and Larry Hilliard represented the group. More Greenbelt children have joined in recent months due to promotion and new programs. The group is working to promote and expand its water polo program.

Greenbelt Babe Ruth League – Bob Sonneveldt represented the group. He noted that the programs are going well and the teams are 85% comprised of Greenbelt youth.

Greenbelt Arts Center – Konrad Herling, Mary Liu Fisher, Tom Jones, Virginia Zanner and David Weaver represented the group. Mr. Herling outlined the goals for the group, which include improve ticket sales and upgrading ADA accessibility of the arts center. There was discussion that the Arts Center ought to begin thinking of whether it would expand after a portion of the Post Office operation moves. The group expressed thanks for the City’s support over the years.

Mr. Irving briefed Council about plans to establish a temporary skateboard facility. The site in mind is one of the Lakecrest tennis courts. Council was supportive of the idea.

The meeting ended at 10:45 p.m.

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