Staff Report

             REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
MONDAY, MARCH 16, 2009

CALL MEETING TO ORDER:

            The Regular Meeting of the Bowie City Council was held on Monday, March 16, 2009 in the Council Chambers at City Hall.  Mayor Robinson called the meeting to order at 8:00 p.m.

QUORUM:

            In attendance were Mayor Robinson, Councilmembers Brady, Polangin, Trouth, Turner and Valentino-Smith; City Manager Deutsch, Assistant City Manager Fitzwater, City Attorney Robert Levan, Members of the Staff, the Press and the Public.   Mayor Robinson announced that Councilmember Marcos would not be present.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG:

            The Council led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

AGENDA ADDITIONS/DELETIONS/AMENDMENTS:

            A.  Councilwoman Valentino-Smith requested that Items B and F under the Consent Agenda be moved to New Business for discussion.

            B.  Councilmember Brady asked that a brief discussion regarding language for the resolution creating the Animal Shelter Task Force be added under New Business.

            C.  Mayor Robinson added Proclamation P-3-09, Declaring April 4, 2009 as Arbor Day in Bowie under the Consent Agenda for approval.

CITIZEN PARTICIPATION:

            A.  Ms. Gaye Williams, resident of Bowie since 1963, spoke in support of CLAW and their support of an animal shelter in Bowie.

            B.  Ms. Rhoda Pollack, 13318 Yarland Lane, spoke about the locked door policy in the Animal Control office.

            C.  Mr. Richard Stein, 2712 Filbert Lane, spoke about the animal shelter.  A copy of his statement is attached.

            D.  Ms. Virginia Jones, 12430 Winding Lane, also spoke about the animal shelter and asked that the Council keep this facility at the forefront of their budget deliberations.

            E.  Ms. Connie Carter, a resident of Bowie for 43 years, repeated a story regarding the loss of animals.

            F.  Ms. Cathy Fitzgerald, 16321 Pewter Lane, also spoke about the animal shelter and her support of CLAW.

SWEARING-IN CEREMONY

            A.  Swearing-in of New Bowie Police Officers - Mayor Robinson swore Officers Raford Moten, Mark Polk, Christopher Grimshaw, Andrew Thomas, Michael Rounds, Sean Schwartz and Arie Neal into office in accordance with Sec. 92A of the City Charter.

CITY BOARDS AND COMMITTEES:

            A. Counclmember Brady moved the appointment of Frederick Penn as a member of the Diversity Committee.  Mayor Pro Tem Turner seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

            B.  Councilmember Brady moved the appointment of Kelly Pierce and Alana Heinle as members of the Economic Development Committee.  Mayor Pro Tem Turner seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

            C.  Mayor Pro Tem Turner moved the appointment of Jeffrey Cooper as a member of the Public Safety Committee.  Councilmember Trouth seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

            Mayor Robinson swore Mr. Penn, Ms. Pierce, Ms. Heinle and Mr. Cooper in office in accordance with Sec. 92A of the City Charter.

PRESENTATIONS:

A.  Teacher of the Month Recognition - Ms. Valerie Hall, Chairman of the Education Committee announced the Teacher of the Month for January is Mary Truman from Chapel Forge Early Childhood Center. Councilmember Valentino-Smith read and presented a Certificate of Recognition and a BB&T Savings Bond to Ms. Truman on behalf of the City Council.

            Ms. Hall announced the Teacher of the Month for February is Kirsten Rose from Rockledge Elementary School.  Councilmember Brady presented a Certificate of Recognition and a BB&T Bank Bond to Ms. Rose on behalf of the City Council.

COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

            Mayor Robinson announced: 1) One of Bowie's own who is a Bowie High School graduate, Rick Arnold, blasted off into space recently; the Council and residents are extremely proud of his accomplishments.   He said that Astronaut Arnold is carrying a City flag and other items given to him for the trip into space; 2) Wished everyone a Happy St. Patrick's Day.

CITY MANAGER’S REPORT:

            City Manager Deutsch reported that 1) He and Mayor Robinson testified at the Senate and House hearings in Annapolis in support of a bond bill to attempt to secure some State funding to assist in the development of the new City Hall project; the City will find out shortly whether or not the effort was successful; 2) There is an environmental survey on the City website; it is the creation of the Environmental Advisory Committee and will be up through the end of March.  He urged residents to go to the Green page on the website to fill out the survey.

CONSENT AGENDA:

           Mayor Pro Tem Turner moved the approval of Consent Agenda items:  A) Approval of Minutes of February 17, 2009 Council Meeting; C. Approval of Resolution R-13-09, Adopting the Recommendation of the Bowie Advisory Planning Board in the Case of #BD-01-09; D. Approval of Resolution R-15-09, Accepting the Private Streets Known as New Oak Lane, North Dale Lane and North Dale Court Thereto Located Within P.G. Oak Pond and Approving an Agreement Between the City and P.G. Oak Pond Homeowners Association, Incorporated; E. Approval of Resolution R-16-09, Accepting Bid for Renovations to the Equipment Maintenance Garage Tool Room and Office; G. Proclamation P-1-09, Congratulating Samuel Ogle Lady Rams on Winning the Girls Middle School Basketball Championship; and H. Approval of Proclamation P-3-09, Declaring April 4, 2009 as Arbor Day in Bowie. Councilmember Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

NEW BUSINESS:

            A.   Legislative Update - Mayor Pro Tem Turner noted, for the record, that he was recusing himself from discussion on this matter.  Mr. Leonard Lucchi, City Lobbyist, summarized his report dated March 12, 2009 on pending legislative matters affecting the City; a copy of his report is attached. 

            Mayor Robinson asked about the status of the proposal for the transfer of over 76 million dollars from the Park and Planning budget to the County's General Fund.  Mr. Lucchi responded that the proposal was amended to 30 million dollars in 2 increments of 15 million dollars over 2 years; it has passed the House Delegation unanimously and will go to the Senate for consideration; he felt that the bill will pass.

            Councilmember Brady referred to the cable franchise fees and said that he felt that people needed to understand that the decision-making of what happens in the right-of-ways is transferred to the Public Service Commission and is not just a revenue issue, but also a control issue. 

            Councilmember Valentino-Smith asked about the transfer of funds and if there would be any talks or analysis if there was an argument that it is disproportionate among municipalities; and is there an argument with respect to Bowie being hit with more tax than other areas because it will move into the General Fund.  Mr. Lucchi replied to the first question that there was none and there is a compelling argument with regard to the second part of the question.  He added it might be worth asking the Attorney General for an informal opinion.  

            Mr. Lucchi said he neglected to mention, with regard to the local speed camera legislation, that there is a proposal from the County Executive and County Council to have the municipalities request permission from the County Police Department before locating speed cameras within municipalities; there was a strong and immediate reaction from all the municipalities as well as the County Police Chief; the County withdrew the proposal.

            In response to a question from Mayor Robinson regarding the transfer of funds to the County's General Fund, City Manager Deutsch said the Delegation did seek and obtained an Attorney General's opinion which Delegate Levi will provide to the City.

            B.  City Hall Colors and Finishes - Ms. Melanie Hennigan, Grimm & Parker, displayed a PowerPoint presentation to show in detail the materials to be used; the presentation showed views of the City Hall as well as the Police Station areas; a copy of the presentation is on file at City Hall.     Ms. Hennigan then displayed the materials to be used for the project, including brick and masonry, floor tile, glass, carpet, colors, wood paneling, countertops, and ceiling tile, etc. 

            Discussion was held on cost effectiveness, quality of materials, use of recycled products, furniture, lighting, safety of terrazzo floor tile.

            In response to a question from Councilmember Valentino-Smith, City Manager Deutsch said Council is being asked to give their endorsement of what is being shown to them, and to share their concerns so that Ms. Hennigan and her colleagues can assess and come back with responses; urged Council to give their endorsement so the project can move forward; the current schedule is to go out to bid in April with bids being opened in May, and a contract being awarded in July.   He added that at the end of the first week in April, Council will receive the FY 2010 budget which will contain the financing plan for this project; Council will know well in advance of being asked to take action on a general contractor bid what the funding mechanism will be, and what the elements are in the varying degrees of cash borrowing.

            Discussion continued and Mr. Deutsch stated that the project is at the stage where decisions regarding budget have been made; Council has signed off on the earlier changes resulting from the Value Engineering process; the project fits together as a unified whole and landscaping has been bulked up due to public concern and the reflection of that concern from members of the Council; there will be some add-on or deduct alternates to consider at a later time; staff shares the Council's concern about cost, but it has been done carefully, and the project is now at the bid stage.  Ms. Hennigan added her firm had to make commitments to mechanical, structural, electrical systems and the work cannot continue unless these decisions are made; during construction document phase there is little chance to change things 10-20%; the design of the building would have to be radically changed and this would delay going out to bid; every day delaying going out to bid there is a risk that the market would change.

            Since there were no persons signed up to speak, Mayor Robinson declared the public hearing to have been held.

            Following further discussion between Council, staff and Ms. Hennigan, Councilmember Brady moved that Council endorse the presentation so the project can move forward.  Councilmember Polangin seconded the motion and it carried with a vote of 4-2 (Turner, Valentino-Smith - nay; Marcos absent).

            C. Resolution R-12-09 - Declaration of an Official Intent to Reimburse From the Proceeds of Debt Expenditures Made In Connection With the Construction of the New City Hall - City Attorney Robert Levan summarized the staff report dated February 26, 2009, a copy of which is on file at City Hall.   He said the resolution will protect the City's financing and obligations that may be incurred with regard to the bond issue; federal regulations, in order to cover the cost which is being expended in connection with various phases of this project, and in order for the City to reimburse itself if it should desire, requires that the Council enact a Declaration of Official Intent resolution.   He said in accordance with federal regulations the City is declaring an official intent to expend money prior to the issuance of bonds and to use the proceeds of those bonds to reimburse the City for any expenditures; the resolution is required to meet the federal requirements and indicates the maximum principle amount is intended to be 25 million dollars and the resolution will be become effective immediately.

            Since there were no persons signed up to speak, Mayor Robinson declared the public hearing to have been held.

            Following discussion, Mayor Pro Tem Turner moved approval of Resolution R-12-09.  Councilmember Brady seconded the motion and it carried with a vote of 5-1 (Valentino-Smith - nay; Marcos - absent).

            D. Resolution R-10-09 - Accepting Bid for Contractor Services for the Implementation of the Gallant Fox Lane Forest Mitigation Bank - Councilmember Valentino-Smith said her concern is that given the size of the parcel this is a project that could be undertaken with the City's resources.  She said she was not convinced that for the $20,000 in the RFP that this is something that cannot be done by City employees.  

            In response to a question posed by Ms. Valentino-Smith with regard to the easement, City Manager Deutsch said easements will be placed over the land for forest mitigation for private developers who need mitigation sites; staff's assessment is that there is a potential income of $38,000 and an expenditure of $21,000.  Mr. Deutsch said as he indicated earlier in response to the inquiry, this is not the type of work done by the City, this is an aforestation project and has to be done to the approval of the Park and Planning Commission plans.  He explained the work the City Parks and Grounds Division does and said their work does not involve a County approved aforestation plan.

            In response to a question posed by Mayor Pro Tem Turner, Planning Director Meinert said that the past history of the earlier planting is that the City wanted to do away with the asphalt paving and conducted a landscaping job which was not the same thing as the forest conservation easement; the area was landscaped and it was decided that the area was not landscaped enough to make a difference; this project focuses on the back portion adjacent to the wetlands which is the more environmentally valuable portion of the property; the existing landscaping will be supplemented with the new trees and it will be fenced and signed to show that it is a environmental preservation area; it will complement the existing wooded areas and fill in the trees in better form as was done with the original landscaping.

            Following further discussion, Councilmember Brady moved approval of Resolution R-10-09.  Councilmember Polangin seconded the motion and it carried with a vote of 5-1 (Valentino-Smith - nay; Marcos - absent).

            E.  Resolution R-17-09 - Awarding the Landscape Maintenance Service Contract for Six Stormwater Management Facilities - Councilmember Valentino-Smith asked if the proposals were new maintenance contracts and what is currently happening.  City Manager Deutsch replied that the stormwater management facilities on Mitchellville Road and Northview Drive/Evergreen Parkway; the MD Route 450 is new, however, it is meeting its obligation under an agreement that Council signed with SHA when the Rte. 450 expansion project was initiated; SHA only agreed to the enhanced landscaping if the City agreed to maintain it.   He added that the City has hundreds of acres of parks and grounds that need to be maintained and mowed, and if the City would maintain these areas with existing forces, staff would have to ask for additional staff and equipment; staff looks at whether various projects can be done by contract or with in-house labor.

            Mayor Pro Tem Turner moved approval of Resolution R-17-09.  Councilmember Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

            F.  Proposed Resolution R-14-09 - Establishing a Task Force Studying the Establishment and Operation of a Small, Short Term Holding Shelter for Cats and Dogs Captured by the Bowie Animal Control Division - Councilmember Brady handed out a draft resolution forming the task force.  He pointed out there are 3 new purposes added: the task force of 7 members will include 1 senior resident, modifies the veterinarian or veterinarian technical assistant, and deletes the reference to the Director of Community Services and to the County Animal Control.  He asked for comments within the next two weeks.

ADJOURNMENT:

            Mayor Pro Tem Turner moved to adjourn the meeting into an Executive Session for the purpose of discussing legal, contract negotiation and personnel issues. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.  The meeting was adjourned at 11:05 p.m.

                                                                        Respectfully submitted,

 

                                                                        Pamela A. Fleming, MMC
City Clerk