REGULAR MEETING OF THE GREENBELT CITY COUNCIL
held Monday, March 23, 2009.
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 Michael McLaughlin, City Manager; David E. Moran, Assistant City Manager; John Shay, City Solicitor; and Cindy Murray, City Clerk.
Mayor Davis asked for a moment of silence in memory of resident Rita Howard and former resident David Schurr. She then led the pledge of allegiance to the flag.
CONSENT AGENDA: Mayor Davis asked to remove the minutes of the March 9, 2009, regular meeting from the consent agenda. It was moved by Mr. Putens and seconded by Mr. Herling that the consent agenda be approved as amended. The motion passed 5-0.
Council thereby took the following actions:
MINUTES OF COUNCIL MEETINGS
Work Session, February 11, 2009
Work Session, February 25, 2009
Work Session, March 4, 2009
Work Session, March 5, 2009
Approved as presented.
Recognition Group Application – Chesapeake Education Arts Research Society (CHEARS): Council approved recognition group status be granted to CHEARS.
REAPPOINTMENTS TO ADVISORY GROUPS: Council appointed Alla Lake to a new term on the Advisory Committee on Education and Joyce Griffin to a new term on the Green Advisory Committee on Environmental Sustainability.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Mayor Davis requested “State Budget Issues” be added as Item #14.
It was moved by Mr. Putens and seconded by Mr. Herling that the agenda be approved as
amended. The motion carried 5-0.
PRESENTATIONS:
ACE Educator Awards Ceremony: Mayor Davis introduced Advisory Committee on Education (ACE) Chair Jon Gardner, who discussed the purpose of the ACE Awards, gave an overview of ACE’s other activities, and described the gifts and certificates to be presented tonight. He said this was the 14th consecutive year that ACE awards had been presented, and he thanked the City Council for its support over that period.
Mr. Gardner recognized Lauretta Baugh, Theresa Bugg and Sudhanshu Sinha, ACE members; Councilmember Mach, ACE council liaison, Wendy Wexler, ACE staff liaison; County Councilmember Ingrid M. Turner; and Walter Moody, representing the state delegation. He also recognized principals present from the Greenbelt area schools: Kimberly Seidel, Greenbelt Elementary School; Phyllis Gillens, Magnolia Elementary School; Linda Sherwood, Springhill Lake Elementary School; Tiffani James, St. Hugh’s School; Kenneth Jones, Turning Point Academy; Judy Austin, Greenbelt Middle School; and Reginald McNeill, Eleanor Roosevelt High School.
The following 2009 award recipients were recognized, and gifts and citations were presented from ACE, the City Council, the County Council and the General Assembly.
Greenbelt Elementary School Jacob Novick – Parent Liaison
Springhill Lake Elementary School Heather Forest – English as a Second Language (ESOL)Teacher
Magnolia Elementary School Terri Childress – 6th Grade Teacher
Turning Point Academy Knakia Nelson – 3rd Grade Teacher
St. Hugh’s School Lynne Gekas – 1st Grade Teacher
Greenbelt Middle School Portia Moore – 6th Grade Counselor
Eleanor Roosevelt High School Kathleen (Kate) Deery – Social Studies Teacher
Presentation of Grants for City Programs: Mayor Davis announced that County Councilmember Ingrid M. Turner had provided grants to the following City government projects and private non-profit organizations: Greenbelt CARES, $2,500; Advisory Committee on Education, $2,000; Recreation Department (Greenbelt Gets Active), $4,000; Friends of Greenbelt Museum, $1,000; Greenbelt theater building, $2,500; Astronomical Society of Greenbelt, $500; Friends of the New Deal Arts Café, $500; Greenbelt Association for the Visual Arts, $1,000; The Greenbelt Community Foundation, $1,000; Greenbelt Elementary School Parent Teacher Association, $790; and Eleanor Roosevelt High School’s Grad Night Program, $1,500. Council thanked Ms. Turner for the grants. Ms. Turner noted the importance of the programs receiving the grants and said she hoped to be able to continue support in the future.
Sylvia Lewis, President of Greenbelt Homes, Inc., also thanked Ms. Turner for her support of the projects and programs.
Proposed FY 2010 City Budget: Mr. McLaughlin presented his proposed FY 2010 budget for the City. In his overview, he noted the key issues that influenced the budget were Council’s Visioning Goals and the current economic downturn.
The Mayor and other Councilmembers thanked him and the staff for all the work that went into the preparation of the budget. Mayor Davis mentioned the upcoming budget work sessions and encouraged residents to attend.
FY 2009 Award for Distinguished Budget Presentation: The City received the Government Finance Officers Association Award for Distinguished Budget Presentation for its FY 2009 budget. This award recognizes Greenbelt’s budget document as one that satisfies national guidelines as a policy document, an operations guide, a financial plan, and a communications device. The City Manager accepted the award on behalf of the City.
PETITIONS AND REQUESTS
Keith Barr, 39-K Ridge Road, requested the law prohibiting parking a rental truck on city streets longer than three hours be changed. He said he had received a ticket on a moving truck he had parked on Ridge Road from a Saturday evening through a Monday morning while moving items from his residence. Mr. Barr also requested that his fees associated with the ticket be refunded. Mayor Davis requested Mr. Barr’s concerns be referred to Ms. Craze, Director of Planning and Community Development.
Vijay Kowtha, President of Eleanor Roosevelt High School Parent Teacher Student Association, expressed concern about the transfer of specific foreign language programs from Eleanor Roosevelt High School (ERHS) to other high schools. He also discussed the negative impacts to students if the parent liaison position was eliminated due to funding cuts. Council suggested Mr. Kowtha send a letter to all members of the Board of Education indicating his concerns.
MINUTES OF COUNCIL MEETINGS:
Executive Session of March 9, 2009: Mr. Roberts moved that the minutes of the executive session of the City Council held Monday, March 9, 2009, be approved as presented. He further requested that the minutes of this meeting reflect that the Council met in executive session at 8:53 p.m. in the Library of the Municipal Building. Council held this closed meeting in accordance with Section 10-508 (a)(7) of the State Government Article of the Annotated Code of Public General Laws of Maryland to consult with legal counsel. Mr. Putens seconded the motion.
ROLL CALL: Mr. Herling - yes
Ms. Mach - yes
Mr. Putens - yes
Mr. Roberts - yes
Mayor Davis - yes
Regular Meeting of March 9, 2009: Mayor Davis asked to correct the minutes to indicate the
ribbon cutting ceremony she had attended was for the “first visit of the Governor’s Wellmobile, an
important part of the “Backpack to Health Initiative”. It was moved by Mr. Putens and seconded
by Ms. Mach that the minutes be approved with this change. The motion passed 5-0.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS
Mr. McLaughlin announced the City has received a $200 contribution from the Greenbelt Tennis Association for the purchase of recycling containers at Braden Field tennis courts. He also announced that the City will be participating in Earth Hour on Saturday, March 28th, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Mr. Herling commented on the Transportation Planning Board meeting which he attended with Mr. Roberts.
Ms. Mach and Mayor Davis commented on the PGCMA meeting, Greenbelt Pottery’s Empty Bowls project, the luncheon honoring Virginia Beauchamp’s service to the Greenbelt News Review, and the NLC Congressional City Conference.
Mayor Davis also commented on the meeting of Transit Riders United (TRU), the Family Art Workshop at the New Deal Café, and the Women’s History Month luncheon. She congratulated the girls’ basketball team at Eleanor Roosevelt High School for winning the 4A state championship.
Mayor Davis requested that information on steps the City has taken towards going “green”, such as the use of alternative fuel vehicles and the amount of material recycled, be advertised on the website. She also requested the link www.recovery.gov to The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act be available on the city website.
LEGISLATION
A Resolution to Negotiate the Purchase of Home Modifications and Assessment Services from
Strategies for Independent Living, LLC of Takoma Park, Maryland at a cost of $40,000
Mayor Davis read the agenda comments.
Christal Batey, Community Resource Advocate, said 16 residents had applied for the program and will receive needed home improvements such as stair lifts, grab bars and ramps.
Mr. Herling asked if the City would pursue additional funds from the Community Development Block Grant program in the future to assist other residents. Mr. Moran said the grant application has been submitted for next year, and it was always possible funds could surface from other sources.
Sylvia Lewis, President of Greenbelt Homes, Inc.(GHI), said GHI was very pleased with the assistance provided to residents through the program.
Ms. Mach moved for second reading and adoption. Mr. Putens seconded.
ROLL CALL: Mr. Herling - yes
Ms. Mach - yes
Mr. Putens - yes
Mr. Roberts - yes
Mayor Davis - yes
The Resolution was declared adopted (Resolution No. 1043, Book 8).
STATE BUDGET ISSUES:
Governor’s Wellmobile
Mr. Moran advised that funding was cut by the House Appropriations Committee for the Governor’s Wellmobile program. He noted there appeared to be support on the Senate side to restore the funding.Ms. Mach moved that a letter be sent to our delegates supporting funding of this program which provides needed health services for uninsured and underinsured residents, not only in Greenbelt, but throughout the state. She also requested that newspaper articles regarding the Wellmobile be included with the letter. Mr. Herling seconded. The motion passed 5-0.
Highway User Fund Revenues
Mr. Moran reported that the Maryland House Appropriations Committee included in their budget another change to the funding formula for highway user revenues that will result in additional losses for municipal governments. He said the City uses these revenues for repairs to roads and crosswalks. It was noted that Council had already stated their opposition to any change in the funding formula for highway user revenues. Council advised staff to strongly advocate on their behalf with the state delegation urging the revenues be restored.
MEETINGS: Council reviewed the meeting schedule.
ADJOURNMENT: A motion to adjourn the regular meeting was made by Ms. Mach and seconded by Mr. Herling. The motion passed 5-0.
Mayor Davis adjourned the regular meeting of Monday, March 23, 2009, at 11:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Cindy Murray
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 March 23, 2009.”
Judith F. Davis
Mayor