SPECIAL
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
MONDAY. APRIL 9, 2001
CALL MEETING TO ORDER:
The Special Meeting of the Bowie City Council was held on Monday, April 9, 2001 in the Council Chambers. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Robinson at 8:14 p.m.
QUORUM:
In attendance were Mayor Robinson, Mayor Pro Tern Peters, Councilmembers Aleshire, Brady, Ellington, Green, and Jenkins; City Manager Deutsch, Asst. City Manager Fitzwater, Members of the Staff, the Press and the Public.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG:
The Council led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Mayor Robinson announced that Unity Day was a successful event and thanked everyone that attended. He extended best wishes and congratulations to the General Assembly as this is the last day of the 2001 legislative session. He also announced that Arbor Day is scheduled for April 14 at Acorn Hill Park.
CONSENT AGENDA:
Councilman Brady moved approval of Consent Agenda Items: A. Approval of Proclamation P- 11-011 Recognizing and Acknowledging the Many Outstanding Contributions Made by the Bowie Baysox Baseball Club; and B. Approval of Resolution R-36-01, Accepting Bid to Supply and Erect a Six (6) Open Bay Pole Building.
OLD BUSINESS:
A. County Legislation -Adequate Public Facilities Test for Schools -City Manager Deutsch reported that representatives of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning staff were before Council two weeks ago discussing APF issues with Council; at that time, Council invited County Council members who had been involved in the issue, as well as the School Board representative, to attend tonight's meeting.
County Councilwoman Audrey Scott addressed the Council and said that APF issues cover a myriad of issues, but the one that has been consuming is that of Adequate Public Facilities for Schools; APF for Schools is a relatively new concept in Prince George's County as far as helping control growth and is a tool used for this purpose, and it has gone through many variations. Councilwoman Scott said that at a recent County Council retreat, the Park and Planning Commission
Mr. Robert Callahan, Prince George's County School Board, spoke about the over-crowding at Bowie schools and said clusters needed to be looked at; to spread the numbers over a larger place than the City would involve busing children to other schools that are less crowded. He cautioned Council to be aware that this does not happen. He also said that he is recommending that the School Board support Councilman Maloney's legislation because it is in the interest of the schools. He encouraged the City to support the legislation as well.
Councilman Jenkins asked Councilman Maloney how would the City be most effective in terms of how to go forward in the process. Councilman Maloney responded by saying that the City should support CB-5 and in addition to the City's comments with respect to the Park and Planning recommendations, state that the City feels that CB-5 embraces the concerns of the City Council. Councilwoman Scott added that there was a consensus at the recent retreat of 7-1; however, there has not been legislation drafted as a result of that consensus and strongly suspects there will be another piece of legislation in addition to CB-5.
Councilman Jenkins moved to approve the draft letter as amended to include language stating the City supports the concept embraced by the amended version of CB-5. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
B. BRAVA Center for the Performing Arts -Mr. Gordon Stewart, President of BRAVA, summarized the funding process thus far, reviewed the budget and showed charts depicting the progress of the building.
Ms. Mary Nusser said that the BRAVA Board would like to gain the City's support for additional funding from the City, as well as from federal funding by sending letters of support to members of Congress.
Mayor Pro Tem Peters said the Council has not seen the budget proposal yet; there are some serious challenges and many capital projects with limited funding and the Council needs to look at the entire budget before any decisions are made. He asked what is the possibility of going back to some of the groups that have pledged operating funds such as the Park and Planning Commission and Prince George's County Schools System to get the present value of what they were going to give over a five year period, and supplement it with grants for funding. He said he will support sending a letter to Congressmen Hoyer and Wynn since this is a Prince George's County project, as well as Senators Milkulski and Sarbanes.
Councilman Jenkins asked what is the level of agreement between the parties with respect to the Memorandum of Understanding. Mr. Gordon replied said there is no major issue just some minor points to be worked out. City Manager Deutsch added that the language has been worked out; no jurisdiction has agreed formally to sign the MOU, which would actually commit to the funding. Councilman Jenkins then asked what has been the level of the City's agreement to the $80,000 a year maintenance outlay. Mr. Deutsch replied that the discussions staff has had with the Governance
Councilman Ellington said he felt this project should be the #1 priority of the City; it needs to be finished and there is work to be done to make it happen.
Councilman Green said he hoped other public entities such as Prince George's County and the School Board would come forward. The City is facing a very tough budget this year, but will keep an open mind during the process.
Mayor Robinson said BRAVA has the City's on-going support but noted that the City's capital improvement projects now exceed 7 Y2 million dollars and does not include BRAVA's request; the Council will look at all requests objectively.
C. Resolution R-28-01 -Accepting a Contract With the Faux Group. Inc. in the Amount of $16,000 for Professional Services for the Continued Implementation of the Old Town Bowie Redevelopment Master Plan -Mr. Jim Cronk, City Planning Director, summarized the staff memorandum dated March 30, 2001, a copy of which is on file at City Hall. He said the Council adopted the Master Plan for Revitalization of Old Town Bowie in 1999; in keeping with the directions of Council, staff sent out a legal notice and the Faux Group, who was one of the original consultants, responded to the solicitation; a two-part contract has been negotiated for the $16,000 fee. He reported that Faux Group is ready to go if Council authorizes approval of R-28-01 authorizing the contract.
Councilman Brady asked if this resolution is passed, who would the consultant be working for, where will they take their orders from and who would be monitoring their work?
City Manager Deutsch replied they would be working closely with Jim Cronk and the Planning Dept. and his office so that he can report appropriately to Council.
Councilman Brady then asked what will be the consultant's relationship to any of the groups in Old Town Bowie. Planning Director Cronk replied staff would expect them to work closely with them, the core group is still functioning from the original focus group and staff is looking to expand the participation of the other businesses, as well as the residential community; staff wants to have the consultant continue to report to staff and it is actually written into some of the contract documents in terms of who they report to.
Mayor Pro Tem Peters said this is the right thing to do; Council approved the Master Plan, went through the proper steps for funding, it is time to step up and follow the Master Plan and had someone who has worked on the development of it move forward with it. He said he would like to go over the scope of work with the steering committee, does not want to hold up the funding; although the resolution approves the signing of a contract, would like to meet and discuss.
Councilman Ellington asked what has been done in Old Town Bowie to attract and encourage business. Mr. Cronk replied the City has obtained the Amtrak parking lot to provide additional parking, beautification efforts such as street scapes and banners have helped to make the area more attractive, the City has financially supported Christmas programs, and these have been a success. Mr. Deutsch said the Faux Group's proposal contains some specific approaches in looking at discussed with the Old Town Bowie Steering Committee which has championed this project along with the City. Councilman Aleshire seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
NEW BUSINESS:
A. Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Budget Statement -City Position -City Manager Deutsch said that on April 16 there will be a public hearing on the Park and Planning Budget; staff has prepared a statement that covers the proposal and some information from the Commission is attached, which describes both their assessment of their budget status as well as the individual pages that are relevant to Council's assessment of the Park and Planning Budget proposal. He said there are some concerns that mirror the Council's concerns annunciated over the years regarding maintenance of ballfields and improvement of their schedule, completion of renovations of the community centers, a new issue of a proposed reduction of the grant that has been provided since FY 1974 for operating support of Allen Pond; if Council adopts the statement, staff suggests a companion letter be sent to County Councilmembers Scott and Russell urging them to seek restoration of funding. Mr. Deutsch added there are a number of other issues such as the Saddlebrook Neighborhood Park, staffing reductions, updating the Master Plan, etc. that need to be addressed as well.
Councilman Jenkins said that he will not support the statement as long as the City supports the County Planning Department and the Development Review Department that the City has had disagreements with in terms of developments that affect Bowie.
Councilman Aleshire asked that the Bowie-Collington-Mitchellville and Vicinity Area Master Plan needs to be separated out and highlighted as a separate paragraph. In response to a question posed by Councilman Aleshire, City Manager Deutsch said it would be appropriate for the Council to urge the Commission to accept its responsibility and provide operating costs for the BRAVA Center for the Performing Arts and to ask them to provide some construction costs as well.
Mayor Pro Tem Peters suggested adding additional maintenance for the parks such as grass mowing and latrine cleaning and emphasize this is the second year this has been asked for.
Councilman Ellington asked if the real estate consultant could look into what would be the financial implications, if there is a potential for a land swap with Park and Planning to help them with their budget shortfalls by taking control of the athletic fields and community centers in Bowie. City Manager Deutsch said staff needs to clarify with Council the direction they are suggesting; there are serious operating costs implications.
Councilman Green asked for concurrence to write a letter to the County representatives relative to Page 414 of the County budget; the stated project refers to the closure of Sandy Hill Landfill and funding required for the construction of facilities needed for post closure care. He added that the page also contains wording to include funds for completion of payments for tasks associated with the design and permitting of the Sandy Hill Landfill expansion project. He asked for additional information since the language is contradictory .City Manager Deutsch said staff will provide a response to Council.
Councilman Brady said he agreed with Councilman Jenkins' statement regarding funding the Planning Department, but suggested that wording be added that substantial cost savings can be realized if planning and zoning functions were transferred to municipalities.
Councilman Jenkins moved to approve the Statement of the City of Bowie Regarding the Proposed FYO2 Budget of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission as amended. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
ADJOURNMENT:
Mayor Pro Tem Peters announced that Council met in Executive Session prior to this meeting for the purpose of discussing a personnel matter. He then moved to adjourn this meeting. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 11: 10 p.m.