REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
MONDAY, JULY 2, 2001
CALL MEETING TO ORDER:
The Regular Meeting of the Bowie City Council was held on Monday, July 2, 2001 in the Council Chambers at City Hall. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Robinson at 8:00 p.m.
QUORUM:
In attendance were Mayor Robinson, Mayor Pro Tem Peters, Councilmembers Brady, Ellington, Green, and Jenkins; City Manager Deutsch, Asst. City Manager Fitzwater, City Attorney Robert Levan, 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.
CITIZEN PARTICIPATION:
A. Mr. Gerald Passnault, 13301 Forest Drive, spoke about recent complaints received by the City concerning dirt bikes on his property. He noted that the persons complaining to the City had never approached he or his family about the problem; felt that the noise created by the bikes was not excessive.
B. Ms. Jill Reese, 12700 Old Chapel Road, supported Mr. Passnault's testimony and said the complaints were unfounded.
C. Mr. Ken Fox, 14102 Guardian Court, spoke about Resolution R-63-01 which appears on the consent agenda and concerns a contract for Education Equity Analysis for the City. A copy of Mr. Fox's statement is attached.
D. Mr. Eugene Kiley, 3621 Melfa Lane, said he wanted to thank two members of City staff, Ms. Tracey Maydag and Mr. Bill Bachteler, for their care and concern when a leak was discovered at his residence.
CITY BOARDS AND COMMITTEES:
A. Appointments/Reappointments/Swearings-in - Councilman Jenkins moved the reappointment of Abbie Banks, Mary Ann Minger, Dola Marsden, Mary Ellen Winlund, and Luther Holley as Regular Members, and Tom Kerley as an Associate Member of the Civic Affairs Committee. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
B. Councilman Jenkins moved the reappointment of Robert Harris, Helen King, Norma Martof, Carolina Nakas, and Bernie Nolan as Regular Members, Marcelina Brooks as an Alternate Member of the Education Committee, and to elevate Bridget Kopetsky to Regular Member status when a vacancy occurs. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
C. Councilman Brady moved the reappointment of Nancy Enright, Kathleen Parker, Margaret Suddeth, and Jim Tupper as Regular Members of the Arts Committee. Councilman Jenkins seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
D. Councilman Brady moved the reappointment of Harlan Tucker, Ed Biemel, Pat Boyd, and Donna McCorkle as Regular Members of the Community Recreation Committee. Councilman Jenkins seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
E. Councilman Ellington moved the reappointment of Carol Cousins, Robert Hunter, Lynn Hancsak, and Dorothy Campbell as Regular Members of the Administrative Review Board. Councilman Green seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
F. Councilman Ellington moved the reappointment of Corinne Shulimson and Beth Lingg as Regular Members and Susan Pearl as an Associated Member of the Heritage Committee. Councilman Jenkins seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
G. Mayor Pro Tem Peters moved the reappointment of Dan Pololey, Barba Koroma, Richard Baer, and Frank Rose as Regular members of the Public Safety Committee. Councilman Jenkins seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
H. Mayor Pro Tem Peters moved the reappointment of Joseph Clark, Deborah Swope, and Evan Young as Regular Members of the Human Resources Committee. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
I. Mayor Pro Tem Peters moved the reappointment of Tom Sykes, Jessie Smith, and Donna Hayward as Regular Members of the Beautification and Tree Preservation Committee. Councilman Jenkins seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
J. Councilman Green moved the reappointment of Wayne Minger, Jose Boluda, Kurt Kroemer, Mitch Neitzey, and Dufour Woolfley as Regular Members of the Financial Advisory Committee. Councilman Jenkins seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
K. Mayor Robinson moved the reappointment of Angela Cipolla, Joseph Foley, Sherman Krasney, and Don Enty as Regular members of the Board of Elections. Councilman Jenkins seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
L. Mayor Robinson moved the reappointment of David Cromer as a Regular Member of the Board of Personnel Appeals. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
M. Mayor Robinson moved the reappointment of Jarnot Troyer, Raymond Loftin, John Cooper, Joan Griffith and Joe Hines as Regular Members of the Bowie Advisory Planning Board. Councilman Jenkins seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
N. Mayor Robinson moved the reappointment of Renee Winsky and Benjamin Woolery as Regular Members of the Ethics Commission. Mayor Pro Tem Peters seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
O. Mayor Robinson moved the reappointment of Philip Mathis, Raymond Blummer and Ralph Grutzmacher as Regular Members of the Cable Rate Regulation Commission. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS:
A. Mayor Robinson a) announced that Councilman Aleshire is recovering from surgery and Council and staff wished him well. b) He urged everyone to attend the July 4th celebration at Allen Pond Park.
CITY MANAGER'S REPORT:
A. City Manager Deutsch reported on the recent storm and noted that 10,000 homes had been without power for 8-9 hours; all power has now been restored; most outages and tree damage occurred south of Route 50. Mr. Deutsch said that Public Works crews will be picking up debris caused by the storm.
CONSENT AGENDA:
A. Councilman Jenkins moved approval of Consent Agenda Items A: Approval of Resolution R-63-01, Authorizing the City Manager to Enter Into a Contract With the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research to Conduct an Education Equity Analysis for the City for the Amount of $51,976. Mayor Pro Tem Peters seconded the motion and it carried with a vote of 6-0.
NEW BUSINESS:
A. City Transportation Priority List for Year 2001 - Mr. Joseph Meinert, City Planning Department, summarized the staff report dated June 22, 2001, a copy of which is on file at City Hall. He reported that each year, the Council conducts an overview of the State's Consolidated Transportation Program (CTP) and County Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for the purposes of establishing the City's Transportation Priority List; the City's priorities are communicated to State and County officials as early input to the next year's budget cycle. He said the levels of activity a typical project goes through are Project Planning, Engineering, Right-of-Way Acquisition and Construction. Mr. Meinert then outlined the Proposed Transportation Priority List as outlined in tables which are attached to the staff report. He concluded by saying that it is staff's recommendation that Council adopt the proposed transportation priority list to be used in evaluating the State CTP and County CIP; other local priority projects may be identified through future reviews and evaluations of development patterns; as these projects are identified, they will be added to the City's priority list at Council's direction.
Mayor Pro Tem Peters said he was concerned with listing the U.S. 50 trumpet interchange at the Science and Technology Center; felt he could not support this at this time since there are some issues that are environmental in nature.
Councilman Jenkins suggested, for the purpose of future presentations, that visuals of the tables be used for the viewers at home to follow as they are being discussed. He also asked if the Governor had vetoed the HOV lane concept on Rte. 50. City Manager Deutsch replied that the Governor had nixed the tolls on HOV lanes and that the construction project was still proceeding. Councilman Jenkins then asked what is the impact under Project Planning of switching the second (MD Rte. 3 from Rte. 50 to MD Rte. 32) and third (the new interchange between Rte. 50 and Rte. 704 and Rte. 197) priorities; felt this would have a far greater impact on Bowie, particularly with the development of the Turf Farm and also the Bowie Town Center than the impact will have on Bowie on Rte. 3 from Rte. 50 to Rte. 32. Mr. Meinert replied the priorities could be switched.
Councilman Jenkins then spoke about the Governor's personal commitment concerning the retrofit and landscape boulevard between Rte. 450 to Rockledge Drive, and wanted to be sure it was listed as a high priority. City Manager Deutsch said that this item could be referenced in the cover letter that will accompany the document.
Councilman Ellington asked if State Highway was still considering freeway status for Rte. 3/301 as the road of choice from Virginia. Mr. Meinert replied the freeway status is indicated on the Bowie-Collington Master Plan for Rte. 3 and Rte. 301; this does not mean that the roadway needs to be upgraded to that level immediately, but is only the long term build-out scenario; control of access and safety improvements are what is being discussed now. In response to a question from Councilman Ellington regarding the Rte. 301/197 interchange, Mr. Meinert said staff has moved the project from Project Planning into the Engineering and Acquisition phase.
Councilman Brady requested staff look at the current funding that SHA provides, new construction in particular, in Prince George's County and Montgomery County to see if there is an apparent disparity; felt there was a lot of new road construction work going on in Montgomery County and that Prince George's County was equal in generating revenue for the State as is Montgomery County. Following discussion, Councilman Brady suggested that the Rte. 50 interchange at the Science & Technology Center be added to the list as recommended by staff. He also said he thought the City should request sidewalks on the north side of Rte. 197 opposite the Bowie Town Center, add Governor Bridge Road improvements and reconstruction of the bridge, and repeat the remainder of the list of red light camera at traffic signals where they have not been installed. He also asked that staff pursue having SHA look at placing traffic light to operate only during the school year at Benjamin Tasker Middle School and Rockledge Elementary School during the time students are dropped off in the morning and picked up in the afternoon.
Councilman Green said that he felt that the pedestrian bridge on Rte. 197 needs to be owned and maintained by State Highway Administration or by the Department of Transportation or by the State; there is time to send a letter to Legislators explaining the City would like this to occur. Council concurred. Councilman Green then spoke about the interchange at the Science and Technology Center and Rte. 50 and asked if it was still the position of the developer that they would drop the request since it would not be feasible and too costly. City Manager Deutsch said he had not heard the current owners of the property indicate that they would like this to be deleted.
Mayor Robinson summarized the items that Council reached concurrence on as follows: Engineering - Rte. 50 Trumpet Interchange - leave in with notation that staff will investigate the requirements for the Phase II of the Science and Technology Center with the ownership, as well as alternates for the interchange, then make a final decision before the letter is sent. Council concurred. Acquisition - take out acquisition study and/or reference in letter. Construction - Items 1 and 2 okay; cover letter to reference ongoing improvement to Rte. 197. As a separate action, the City communicate with the Senator and Delegates asking for support for legislative opportunities to have the ownership of the pedestrian overpasses shifted to the State Highway Administration. Councilman Jenkins noted that the following items be addressed: Items 3 and 4 receive strong support; add Item g in last year's request regarding installing crosswalks on 11th Street; add Item h from last year's request, regarding a deceleration lane on Rte. 197 at Holiday Lane; add Item d from last year's request concerning noise walls for Princeton Square. Items d and e concerning a traffic signal warrant at Millstream Drive and Rte. 197 and a safety study at Rte. 197 and Old Chapel Road should be carried over to this year's request.
Councilman Brady asked that an acceleration/deceleration lane be added at Danbury Lane off westbound Central Avenue.
Since there were no persons signed up to speak, Mayor Robinson declared the public hearing to have been held.
Councilman Brady moved approval of the staff recommendation as modified with instructions to bring it back to Council at a future meeting for approval. Councilman Jenkins seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
COUNCIL COMMENTS:
A. Councilman Brady asked for consensus to ask staff to contact the City of Alexandria regarding speed tables which are temporary speed bumps and report back to Council with their findings; to send a letter regarding the action of the School Board to cut $1.9 million of $2.1 million to request that the money be reinstated to allow principals to hire added teachers; delay discussion of the creation of the Diversity Task Force so that the Mayor of Bladensburg can attend; and add wording to the City's Legislative Action Request citing the League's policy statement with regard to local control of zoning authority.
B. Councilman Jenkins congratulated Councilman Brady on his re-election to the Maryland Municipal League Board; asked for consensus for staff to provide another option on redistricting process; would like to have a model for a 4 or 5 district layout. Council concurred.
C. Councilman Ellington said that increasing the number of polling places be looked and the level of public awareness be increased by additional advertising. In response to a question posed by Councilman Ellington, City Manager Deutsch replied that when the City obtained GIS software a couple of years ago, a grant was obtained from a software provider and part of the package was a redistricting component; staff has been using it and does not feel additional software is necessary at this time. Councilman Ellington then asked that an invitation be extended to the participants of a recent MML workshop to attend the restricting public hearing.
ADJOURNMENT:
Mayor Pro Tem Peters moved to adjourn the meeting. Councilman Jenkins seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 10:26 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Pamela A. Fleming, CMC
City Clerk