Staff Report

REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2010

CALL MEETING TO ORDER:

The Regular Meeting of the Bowie City Council was held on Monday, February 1, 2010 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, Marcos, Polangin, Trouth Turner, and Valentino-Smith; City Manager Deutsch, Asst. City Manager Fitzwater, City Attorney Elissa Levan, City Clerk Fleming, Members of the Staff, the Press and the Public.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG:

Russell Van Buskirk and Dominic Hanyak, members of Boy Scout Troop 1688 led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

CITIZEN PARTICIPATION:

A. Ms. Agnes Bowersox, 3429 Memphis Lane, spoke about the Animal Shelter Task Force and encouraged the Council to read the report in anticipation of the worksession.

B. Tara Kelly-Baker, President of CLAW, spoke about the membership of CLAW and their fundraising efforts as well as supporting residents who need assistance.

C. Ms. Karen Garretson, 13215 Ithan Lane, spoke about the Animal Shelter Task Force and the need for an animal shelter facility in Bowie. She said CLAW recommends that a committee be formed to work with Bowie Animal Control in the establishment and operation of a short-term shelter.

PRESENTATIONS:

A. Teacher of the Month Recognition - Dr. Dawn Brodus-Yougha, Chairman of the Education Committee, announced the recipients of the Teacher of the Month. She also acknowledged that BBT Bank provides the $100 Savings Bond and Main Street Catering presented each teacher and principal with a lunch. Dr. Brodus-Yougha said that Mr. James Kerns, a music teacher at Yorktown, Rockledge and Kenilworth Elementary Schools, was the recipient of the December 2009 Teacher of the Month award. Councilmember Polangin presented a Certificate of Recognition from the City Council to Mr. Kerns who thanked his students and the Council.

Dr. Brodus-Yougha then announced that Mr. Pedro Gonzalez, a foreign language teacher at Samuel Ogle Middle School, was the recipient of the Teacher of the Month for January 2010. Mayor Pro Tem Marcos presented a Certificate of Recognition from the City Council to Mr. Gonzalez who thanked his students and the Council.

COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Mayor Robinson congratulated Councilmember Polangin, Chief Perez and Deputy Chief Netsky for participating in the Polar Bear Plunge to raise funds for the Maryland Special Olympics.

CITY MANAGER’S REPORT:

City Manager Deutsch reported on the following items: 1) State Budget - a) some misinformation has been circulated regarding possible cutbacks and an attempt by the State to reclaim monies already allocated to cities and counties in the Program Open Space program; POS money is funded at a higher level in FY '11 than in FY '10 and the Governor has accomplished this by borrowing rather than using a PayGo method; from a municipal perspective, there is no negative impact on the City's budget or use of the POS funds. b) there is an accounting mechanism being used at the State level to reallocate some $350 million from a fund that is used to dole out income tax receipts to the counties and cities; this will not have a negative impact on local tax receipts. 2) Snow storm - produced 8-9 inches of snow and the City spent approximately $90,000 for snow removal; contractors were used at $46,500, city labor at $23,000, and $26,000 for salt. 3) Foreclosures - some preliminary information indicates that the zip codes in Bowie are not as severely effected based on the latest data compared to other areas in Prince George's County; the trend is more positive in the Bowie area and staff is preparing a report that will be distributed to Council this week. Mr. Deutsch then reported that after checking with the Code Office, it was learned that the City is currently monitoring 174 vacant homes; some are foreclosures and some are for sale; staff reports that there is a much greater degree of success lately in working with financial institutions which are becoming more responsive; staff will continue to monitor and keep Council informed.

CONSENT AGENDA:

Councilmember Marcos moved approval of Consent Agenda Items: A. Approval of Minutes of January 19, 2010 Council Meeting; B. Approval of Proclamation P-2-10, Recognizing February 2010 As "Black History Month" in Bowie; C. Approval of Resolution R-9-10, By Two-Thirds Vote Authorizing the Waiving of Bidding Requirements to Authorize the City Manager to Execute an Agreement for Electric Demand Response Services Through a Commonwealth of Virginia Contract; D. Approval of Resolution R-10-10, Approving an Amended Agreement With OpenDoor Housing Fund of Silver Spring, Maryland and Authorizing the City Manager to Enter Into an Amended Agreement for Previously Approved Grant Funds; and E. Approval of Letter Re: Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority Proposed Service Reductions. Councilmember Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously by those members of the Council present.

Mayor Robinson asked Mr. Deutsch to pass on the Council's appreciation to the Public Works staff for another outstanding job in removing the snow.

NEW BUSINESS:

A. Public Art Selections for New City Hall - Ms. Annette Esterheld, Arts Specialist, summarized the staff report dated January 28, 2010, a copy of which is on file at City Hall. She provided some background about the Public Art Selection Panel and introduced the members that were present. She reported that as plans moved forward for the construction of the new City Hall, the Arts Committee was asked to assist in the selection of public art for this building; the Committee met with the Grimm + Parker architect team to discuss potential public art types and locations; a number of projects were considered, but the Committee decided to focus on two: a mobile to be located in the rear of the lobby and a large sundial to be located in front of the new building. Ms. Esterheld said that a Public Art Selection Panel was established and over 100 artists submitted resumes and photographs of past work; the Panel selected three finalists for each project and they were invited to a meeting with the architects; the six finalists returned to Bowie and presented their design for a public art piece and the Panel chose a mobile designed by Kate Kaman and Joel Erland from Philadelphia, PA and a monumental sundial designed by Gino and Judith Schiavone of Taos, NM. She concluded her report by asking for approval of the Public Art Selection Panel recommendation.

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

Following questions and comments from Council, Councilmember Brady moved that the Council endorse the Public Art Selection Panel recommendation for two pieces of art for the new City Hall building. Councilmember Polangin seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

B. Committee Review of City Recreational Fees - City Manager Deutsch summarized the staff report dated January 28, 2010, a copy of which is on file at City Hall. He reported the Financial Advisory Committee and the Community Recreation Committee have been working together to review the user fees charged at various Bowie recreational facilities/programs to determine whether non-resident fees are being appropriately charged; and to make recommendations to the City Council for updates and/or improvements to the existing fee structure. Mr. Deutsch said both committees are seeking Council response to questions which are noted in a memorandum dated January 6, 2010.

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

Following discussion and questions, Council concurred that the policies for fees for the city facilities should be reexamined. The Financial Advisory Committee will bring a report back to Council at a later date with recommendations for future policies.

ADJOURNMENT:

Mayor Pro Tem Marcos moved to adjourn the meeting into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing a personnel matter. Councilmember Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 9:17 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Pamela A. Fleming, MMC, City Clerk