REGULAR MEETING OF THE GREENBELT CITY COUNCIL held April 9, 2007.

Mayor Davis called the meeting to order at 8:05 p.m.

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

ALSO PRESENT were David Moran, Assistant City Manager; John F. Shay, Jr., City Solicitor; and Kathleen Gallagher, City Clerk.

Mayor Davis asked that everyone observe a moment of silence in memory of residents Drummond Orr and Larry Joseph Kling. She then led the pledge of allegiance to the flag.

CONSENT AGENDA: Mayor Davis asked to remove the work session minutes of March 27, 2007, from the consent agenda. It was moved by Mr. Putens and seconded by Mr. Herling that the consent agenda be approved with that change. The motion passed 5-0.

Council thereby took the following actions:

MINUTES OF COUNCIL MEETINGS

- Interviews, March 26, 2007
- Regular Meeting, March 26, 2007
- Work Session, March 28, 2007
Approved as presented.

COMMITTEE REPORT - Arts Advisory Board, Report #07-001 (Contribution/Recognition Group Applications): Council accepted this report and agreed to consider it at the Contribution Group budget work session scheduled for May 9.

ATTENDANCE AT NLC HUMAN DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING: Council approved reimbursement of costs of approximately $525 for Ms. Mach to represent the City by participating in the National League of City’s Human Development Committee meeting, to be held May 17-20 in Lafayette, LA.

REAPPOINTMENT TO ADVISORY GROUP: Council reappointed Lester Whitmer to the Board of Appeals.

APPOINTMENT TO ADVISORY GROUP: Council appointed Jeffrey Pedelty to the Advisory Planning Board.

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

PRESENTATIONS

Arbor Day – Proclamation: In keeping with its designation as a “Tree City USA,” Greenbelt issues a proclamation annually in recognition of Arbor Day. Mayor Davis read the proclamation and presented it to Charles Jackman, chair of the Advisory Committee on Trees, who gave an overview of this year’s Arbor Day plans.

National Public Safety Telecommunications Week – Proclamation: Mayor Davis read a proclamation in recognition of the Police Department’s communications specialists for National Public Safety Telecommunications Week. Present to receive it were Capt. Thomas Kemp, Sgt. David Buerger, Patrol Operations Sergeant, Communications Supervisor Alicia Covile, and Communications Specialists Jessica Houle, Shaniya Lashley-Mullen, and Marcia Brown.

Maryland Chiefs’ Challenge – Proclamation: Mayor Davis also read a proclamation designating April and May for the Maryland Chiefs = Challenge Campaign. Sgt. Buerger received the proclamation on behalf of MPO Scott Kaiser.

Municipal Government Month – Proclamation: Mayor Davis read a proclamation designating April as Municipal Government Month. She presented it to Assistant City Manager David Moran. Ms. Mach, who serves on the Maryland Municipal League’s Communication Committee, announced that this year a record number of essays, more than 2000, had been submitted to the “If I Were Mayor” contest, which is held in conjunction with Municipal Government Month.

Council of Governments 50 th Anniversary – Proclamation: Mayor Davis read a proclamation recognizing the 50 th anniversary of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG), of which the City of Greenbelt is a member. She will present the proclamation to COG on Wednesday of this week.

PETITIONS AND REQUESTS: Bill Cornett, 38 Lakeside Drive, noted that there have been ongoing concerns regarding traffic speed and the safety of pedestrians, especially children, on Lakeside Drive. He said it had come to his attention that in some areas there are signs in, for example, a 25 m.p.h. zone that say “15 m.p.h. when pedestrians are present.” He asked if doing something on this order would be possible on Lakeside. He said that aside from the speed issue, it would prompt drivers to look for pedestrians. The Mayor said Council would refer the request to staff for review. Mr. Cornett also had comments regarding the proposed surveillance cameras for Roosevelt Center, which the Mayor asked him to hold until that item came up later on the agenda.

MINUTES OF MEETINGS

Work Session, March 27, 2007: The Mayor asked that it be added to the minutes of the work session with Petrie Ross Ventures that Ms. Mach had objected both to the spelling of “Towne Centre” and also to the use of that name for the development at the Greenbelt Station north core, since Roosevelt Center is Greenbelt’s “town center.” It was moved by Ms. Mach and seconded by Mr. Putens that the minutes be approved with that change. The motion carried 5-0.

Executive Session, March 27, 2007: Mr. Roberts moved that the minutes of the executive session of the City Council held Tuesday, March 27, 2007, be approved as presented. He further requested that the minutes of this meeting reflect that the Council met in executive session at 7:10 p.m. in the Council Room of the Municipal Building. Council held this closed meeting in accordance with Section 10-508 (a) (9) of the State Government Article of the Annotated Code of Public General Laws of Maryland to consider matters related to collective bargaining negotiations. Mr. Putens seconded the motion.

ROLL CALL: Mr. Herling - yes
Ms. Mach - yes
Mr. Putens - yes
Mr. Roberts - yes
Mayor Davis - yes

Executive Session, April 4, 2007: Mr. Roberts moved that the minutes of the executive session of the City Council held Wednesday, April 4, 2007, be approved as presented. He further requested that the minutes of this meeting reflect that the Council met in executive session at 7:35 p.m. in Suite 200 of the Community Center. Council held this closed meeting in accordance with Section 10-508 (a) (1) of the State Government Article of the Annotated Code of Public General Laws of Maryland to discuss an appointment to an advisory group. 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. Moran announced that the annual egg hunt had taken place on April 7 and that, in addition to Arbor Day, the other activities to take place on April 21 included Earth Day and the Public Works Open House.

Mr. Herling commented on the Greenbelt Lake and Springhill Lake Stream cleanups, which both took place on March 31 in conjunction with the Potomac Watershed Cleanup.

Ms. Mach commented on a reception held for the participating artists in recognition of the Maryland Municipal League Award of Excellence, which is to be received by the City’s Artful Afternoon program.

Mayor Davis commented on a meeting at the State Highway Administration District III offices and a meeting she, the City Manager, and Fire Chief Brian Rudy attended with County Councilmember Turner to urge maintaining the line item in the county budget for land for a new Greenbelt fire station. She added that, although the line for the School Resource Officer had been dropped from the county budget, Councilmembers Turner and Campos both promised it would be reinstated in the supplemental budget. She commented on the egg hunt and noted that Greenbelt Baseball would open its season on April 15 and wanted one or more Councilmembers to attend to throw the opening pitch.

LEGISLATION

A Resolution to Negotiate the Purchase, Installation, and Maintenance Services of a Surveillance Camera System for Roosevelt Center with Avrio Group Surveillance Solutions, Inc., of Easton, Maryland, at a Cost of $38,062

Mayor Davis read the agenda comments. Mr. Herling introduced the resolution for first reading, with the qualification that he was doing so only to get the discussion going.

After describing the surveillance camera system he has at his home, Mr. Cornett offered what he described as an improvement over the system the City was proposing to purchase from the Avrio Group. He said that by using an IPIX camera, which attaches a fish-eye lens to a high resolution camera, the City could get many more features, use one less camera, and perhaps place the fourth camera at the Spellman overpass. He said the IPIX camera can pan, tilt, and zoom without any physical motion of the camera, with the result that the angle can be changed by multiple users at once. He said that it also records its entire field of vision, so that it can be “moved” to see a different angle of view even after the fact. He suggested putting this camera in the middle of the Center on an existing light pole, with one camera at each end of the Center. He said these three cameras would give better coverage than the four that had been proposed by Avrio.

Mr. Cornett said he had been in contact with Betsy Chupek of the Avrio Group, and she had forwarded his messages to her technical staff, who had informed him that the IPIX camera would be compatible with the plan that had previously been presented to Council. Mayor Davis said she knew Mr. Cornett had also discussed the alternate plan with Beverly Palau and that she was looking into it. Mr. Putens thanked Mr. Cornett for undertaking this research. He said that he, Mr. Cornett, and Mr. James had discussed this and that he particularly appreciated Mr. Cornett’s having taken the initiative in talking with the potential contractor. He said he used the word “potential” because he did not think the Avrio proposal was ready for adoption and it was not yet certain that Avrio could incorporate Mr. Cornett’s suggestion into their proposal. He said he had wanted to receive a report from the Public Safety Advisory Committee and from the Roosevelt Center merchants prior to this proposal being placed on the agenda for action. He also questioned whether this project should go out to bid.

Mayor Davis said she knew the Roosevelt Center merchants had received a presentation from Ms. Palau, and Ms. Gallagher said the Public Safety Advisory Committee had as well but that she was not aware of there having been any referrals made by Council and that she did not think reports were forthcoming from either group. Mr. Moran said that this could be looked into further before the next Council meeting, as well as the issue of bidding. He added, however, that it was the staff recommendation that Council handle this by resolution of negotiated purchase because there is not in-house expertise for preparing a bid package or for evaluating the response.

Mayor Davis said she also wanted more information from Avrio, particularly how they are able to secure the system from unauthorized users if it is wireless and accessible on the Internet. In response to another question, it was also clarified that the Police Department would monitor the cameras but that authorizing other monitors would also be feasible.

Mr. Herling sought clarification on whether audio was part of this package, since it is listed as a capability of the system and he was concerned about the idea of conversations being overheard. Mr. Moran said he would have to get that information. Mr. Herling said he was concerned about privacy. He said he strongly agreed with the e-mail letter sent to the City by resident Frank DeBernardo, who opposed having any surveillance camera system on the basis of its encroachment on civil liberties and thought that better solutions could be found to security problems at the Center, including increased policing and citizen use of the Center, as well as social programs for loiterers at the Center. Mr. Herling identified Mr. DeBernardo as a member of the Friends of Roosevelt Center (FORC). He said he was not prepared to support the proposal for surveillance cameras and wanted to address the question of security at the Center “more holistically.” He suggested bringing this topic into the “visioning” process for further discussion later. He said at this point he thought the proposal was “premature.” The Mayor responded that since residents had been requesting that the City repair or replace the non-functioning cameras at the Center for four or five years, it did not seem premature, but that several questions had been raised that required response when the matter was further discussed in two weeks.

Ed James, 56D Crescent Road, said that he, too, was a member of FORC and, although he understood Mr. DeBernardo’ concern, Mr. DeBernardo was not speaking for FORC. He said Mr. DeBernardo was concerned about government encroaching on the rights of citizens and that he himself did not share that concern in this context. Mr. James said he also serves as co-chair of the Old Greenbelt Neighborhood Watch group, which unanimously supports the replacement of the cameras at Roosevelt Center. He said one issue he would raise is the functioning of the cameras if the power goes out.

A Resolution to Approve a Collective Bargaining Agreement Between the City of Greenbelt and Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 32 to Take Effect July 1, 2007

Mayor Davis read the agenda comments. Mr. Putens introduced the resolution for first reading.

SELECTION OF AUDIT SERVICES FOR FY 2007: Mayor Davis read the agenda comments. Mr. Putens made a motion to approve the selection of Clifton Gunderson to conduct the FY 2007 audit for the City and Green Ridge House. Mr. Herling seconded the motion, which carried 5-0. The Mayor noted that typically the City would seek proposals for this work after one firm had conducted it for three years. Mr. Putens asked when the City had last reviewed its selection of banking services and asked that staff check on that process.

MEETINGS: Council reviewed the meeting schedule. The Mayor asked to add to the list the meeting with WMATA regarding Greenbelt Station, which Petrie Ross offered to facilitate.

ADJOURNMENT: A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Ms. Mach and seconded by Mr. Herling. The motion carried 5-0. The Mayor adjourned the regular meeting of April 9, 2007, at 9:25 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Kathleen Gallagher
City Clerk

"I hereby the 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 9, 2007.
Judith F. Davis

Mayor

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