Mayor Davis called the meeting to order at 8:07 p.m.

ROLL CALL was answered by Councilmembers Konrad E. Herling, Leta M. Mach, Rodney M. Roberts, and Mayor Judith F. Davis. Councilmember Edward V. J. Putens arrived shortly thereafter.

ALSO PRESENT were Michael P. McLaughlin, City Manager; Robert A. Manzi, City Solicitor; David E. Moran, Assistant to the City Manager; and Kathleen Gallagher, City Clerk.

Mayor Davis asked for a moment of silence in memory of resident Kathleen Weber. She then led the pledge of allegiance to the flag.

CONSENT AGENDA: Mayor Davis requested that the minutes of the March 29, 2004, meeting be removed from the consent agenda. It was then moved by Mr. Herling and seconded by Mr. Putens that the consent agenda be approved as amended. The motion carried 5-0.

Council thereby took the following actions:

MINUTES

- Work Session, March 22, 2004

- Work Session, March 31, 2004

- Work Session, April 8, 2004

- Regular Meeting, April 12, 2004

Approved as presented.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Arts Advisory Board, Report #04-004 (Contribution/Recognition Group Applications): Council accepted this report and agreed to consider it at the budget work session for contribution groups on May 5.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA: It was moved by Mr. Putens and seconded by Ms. Mach that the agenda be approved as presented. The motion carried 5-0.

PRESENTATIONS - Municipal Government Week – Proclamation: Beverly Palau, Public Information and Communications Coordinator, received a proclamation from the Mayor declaring this week to be Municipal Government Week in Greenbelt. The Mayor announced that the AIt=s Municipal Government@ schools competition would be held Friday, April 30, at 6 p.m. in the Community Center. Ms. Palau described the activities for the week and the “If I Were Mayor” contest, as well as City events during the spring that serve to showcase municipal government.

PUBLIC HEARING - FY 2005 PROPOSED CITY BUDGET: Mayor Davis read the agenda comments and declared the public hearing to be open. Since no one wished to speak about the budget, the public hearing was closed.

PETITIONS AND REQUESTS: Elaine Brett, chair of the Greenbelt Pink Ribbon Ride for 2005, announced the race would be held on October 2 and invited the City to serve as a sponsor again, on the basis of its assistance with space and staff support. Mr. Putens made a motion that Council approve sponsorship by the City. Mr. Roberts seconded the motion, which passed 5-0.

MINUTES OF MEETINGS

Regular Meeting of March 29, 2004: Mayor Davis made a correction to the Administrative Reports section of the minutes, which were then approved 5-0, following a motion by Ms. Mach and a second by Mr. Herling.

Executive Session of April 14, 2004: Mr. Roberts moved that the minutes of the executive session of the City Council held Wednesday, April 14, 2004, be approved as presented. He further requested that the minutes of this meeting reflect that the Council met in closed session at 7:30 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room of the Community Center in accordance with Section 10-508 (a)(4) of the State Government Article of the Annotated Code of Public General Laws of Maryland to consider an issue regarding a proposal for a business or industrial organization to expand or remain in the City. The topic of the meeting was the new postal facility proposed for Ora Glen Drive. Mr. Putens seconded the motion.

ROLL CALL: Mr. Herling - yes

Ms. Mach - yes

Mr. Putens - yes

Mr. Roberts - yes

Mayor Davis - yes

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS

Mr. McLaughlin reported on attending the ICMA Best Practices Symposium on April 22-23, 2004. He announced that this year’s Bike-to-Work Day would take place on Friday, May 7, and that the nearest “pit-stop” would be in College Park. He also said the City would serve as a field trip destination for participants in the American Planning Association meeting being held in Washington, D.C., this week.

Mr. Manzi explained the circumstances leading up to the decision to remove the update on the Greenbelt Station settlement agreement from tonight’s agenda. He said in the most recent discussions, the developers had wished to remove the language regarding annexation by the City.

Mr. Herling reported on throwing the opening pitch for the Cal Ripken League season.

In response to a question from the Mayor, Mr. Manzi said two other cities (Laurel and Annapolis) have agreed to join Greenbelt in a meeting to discuss a common agreement on newspaper vending racks. He said that number is adequate to proceed, but he is still hoping that Bowie and College Park will join in.

Mayor Davis thanked staff for their work on the April 17 Earth Day, Arbor Day, Celebration of Spring, and Public Works Open House activities. She said she had attended an anniversary luncheon of the Golden Age Club. She reported on attending a meeting of the Maryland Municipal League Board of Directors on Saturday, where Lt. Governor Michael Steele spoke. He said the administration did not intend to cut education but that health and aid to local governments will be cut next year, and Program Open Space is very low priority. Mayor Davis also reminded everyone of the April 30 deadline for applying for PGCMA scholarships.

LEGISLATION: There was none.

BRIEFING ON STATUS OF POSTAL SERVICE PLANS FOR FACILITY AT HANOVER AND ORA GLEN: Mayor Davis read the agenda comments. Timothy Haney, District Manager for the Capital District of the Postal Service, briefed Council on the status of plans for the Greenbelt post office. He said funding had been approved for the new facility on Ora Glen Drive and that construction could begin within three or four months, with completion by next summer. He said although it had previously been said that the retail facility at Roosevelt Center would be kept open for at least three years, the Postal Service had subsequently determined that the two facilities were too close to one another for this to be possible under current budget conditions. He said they could consider two options: a full-service facility at the new site, including all retail, operational, and carrier components; or retail retained at Roosevelt, with carrier and operational functions at the new site. He then presented the possibilities for establishing a Contract Postal Unit (CPU) to provide retail services at Roosevelt Center, if the decision were made to open a full-service facility at the Ora Glen site. A CPU would be under contract to the Postal Service but operated by the staff of a retailer at the Center.

Mayor Davis said in order to allow for public comment, Council would wait to vote on a recommendation until the next regular meeting.

Mr. Roberts asked if the Postal Service had a preference between the options. Mr. Haney said they would prefer the Ora Glen facility to be full-service, since they believe retail operations could be adequately covered by a CPU at Roosevelt Center. Mr. Roberts then asked what the impact would be on the new facility and the site plan if the retail operation were kept at Roosevelt Center. Mr. Haney said he anticipated that the facility would remain essentially the same externally, although there would be some differences in access without the retail operation.

Mr. Roberts asked Mr. McLaughlin if there had been any survey of the merchants to see if any might be interested in contracting for the CPU. Mr. McLaughlin said there had not been. Mr. Haney said their marketing group would be happy to give a more detailed presentation to the merchants.

Sylvia Lewis, 2C Gardenway, asked if the CPU would maintain a local “Greenbelt” mail slot and how often mail would be picked up. Mr. Haney said these things would remain the same and that CPUs get the same pick-ups as regular post offices.

Sheldon Goldberg, 7848 Jacobs Drive, said the homeowner associations in Greenbelt East were still strongly supportive of having the full-service facility on Ora Glen Drive. He said it sounded to him as though the CPU would provide the same services in Center City that would have been provided by the Postal Service anyway.

Mr. Putens said he had some concern that if the retail operation were not included with the facility, it might eventually take on a “warehouse” appearance and function. He said he was also concerned that the age of the Roosevelt Center facility might be an issue for employee safety.

Ms. Mach asked for clarification on the costs to be taken on by the contractor of the CPU. Mr. Haney cited the staffing, initial installation, and a surety bond. He emphasized that the attraction for the contractor was not only a percentage of revenues but also the increased traffic for the retail operation’s main business.

VOTER-VERIFIED PAPER TRAIL FOR VOTING MACHINES: Mayor Davis read the agenda comments. She added that at this month’s Democratic Club meeting, Senator Pinsky had said that he could not have supported the Senate Bill on this issue this year because of the complex issues involved and potential cost implications. Mr. Roberts said he thought a paper trail was needed, regardless of the costs. Mr. Putens said he agreed it was necessary but that 2004 was too soon to implement it. Ms. Mach said the information from the League of Women Voters should give one pause in terms of any oversimplification of the question. Mr. Roberts said he would like to send the support letter as requested. Mayor Davis and Ms. Mach were reluctant to do so. Mayor Davis suggested sending instead a letter to the City’s legislators asking them to continue to explore the alternatives. Mr. Roberts so moved, with a second from Mr. Herling. Sylvia Lewis addressed Council to say she was convinced that counting the vote electronically was more accurate and reliable than any manual count, and she encouraged Council to broaden its request to the delegation to look at methods of voter-verification, without limiting the method to a paper trail. The motion passed 5-0.

RETIREE HEALTH SAVINGS PLAN: The Mayor read the agenda comments. Rosemary Knapp and Sheri Berman of ICMA were present to answer questions. Mr. McLaughlin said he was seeking Council’s approval to pursue development of this plan now but that it would take three or four months to work out the details. After clarification was made on several points, it was moved by Mr. Putens and seconded by Mr. Roberts that staff be directed to proceed on developing a retiree health savings plan. The motion passed 5-0.

ELEANOR ROOSEVELT/DUVAL HIGH SCHOOL FUNDING SHIFT: The Mayor read the agenda comments. Mr. Putens made a motion, which was seconded by Ms. Mach, that the City establish a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the School Board and County Councilmember Douglas J. J. Peters to provide a set of assurances to the City, as developed by the Advisory Committee on Education and stated in the agenda comments.

Mr. Roberts asked if there would still be temporary buildings left at Eleanor Roosevelt after the reduction in population, and Ms. Mach said it would depend on where they hit in the target population range they mentioned. She said in theory one goal of “right-sizing” would be to eliminate the temporaries. Mr. Roberts suggested that it be added to the MOU that in the event student population rose enough to require the use of temporaries again, Eleanor Roosevelt would immediately be placed back on the School Board’s CIP list to acquire permanent structures. This amendment was acceptable to Mr. Putens and Ms. Mach. The assurances to be included in the MOU were thus revised as follows and adopted on a 5-0 vote:

1. That the school attendance boundaries for Greenbelt be drawn and retained such that all Greenbelt children attend Greenbelt schools and that all high-school-aged children living within the City limits attend Eleanor Roosevelt High School, both now and in the future.

2. That the City support the classroom addition at Duval High School in light of the projected demographic trends.

3. That there be no changes to the special programs offered at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, even with a reduction in the student census, including the Science and Technology Program, the Quest and AOIT pre-Science and Technology summer prep programs, the Advanced Placement classes, and Russian, Latin, German, and other foreign language offerings.

4. That with the reduction in the number of students at Eleanor Roosevelt, there be a reduction in the existing student:teacher ratio of 33:1.

5. That in the event student population rose enough to require the use of temporaries again, Eleanor Roosevelt would immediately be placed back on the School Board’s CIP list to acquire permanent structures.

MEETINGS: Council reviewed the meeting schedule. Mr. Roberts said he could attend the CDBG hearing the following evening. Mayor Davis thanked Mr. Moran for his work on the issue of the reduction in CDBG funding.

ADJOURNMENT: A motion to adjourn was made by Ms. Mach and seconded by Mr. Herling. The motion carried 5-0. The Mayor adjourned the regular meeting of April 26, 2004, at 10:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen Gallagher
City Clerk

"I hereby certify that the above and foregoing is a true and correct report of the regular meeting of the City Council of Greenbelt, Maryland, held April 26, 2004.

Judith F. Davis
Mayor

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