REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2004

CALL MEETING TO ORDER:
The Regular Meeting of the Bowie City Council was held on Tuesday, February 17, 2004, 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 Aleshire, Bennett, Booker Jones, Brady and Jenkins; City Manager Deutsch, Asst. City Manager Fitzwater, City Attorney Elissa 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.

CITY BOARDS AND COMMITTEES:
A. Councilman Aleshire moved the appointment of Robert Deegan as an associate member of the Community Recreation Committee. Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

B. Councilman Brady moved the appointment of Debora Cottrell as an associate member of the Arts Committee. Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

C. Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins moved the appointment of Nancy Ritter as a member of the Ethics Commission. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

D. Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins moved the reappointment of Alan Kolski as Chairman of the Education Committee. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

E. Councilwoman Bennett moved the appointment of Terri Nuriddin as Chairman of the Bowie Advisory Planning Board. Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

F. Mayor Robinson swore Nancy Ritter, Debora Cottrell, Robert Deegan, and A.J. Baca who had been previously appointed, into office in accordance with Sec. 92A of the City Charter.

COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Mayor Robinson announced: 1) A fundraiser is scheduled for Sunday, February 22 to raise funds for Pastor Barnes who is in need of a bone marrow transplant. Donors can come to City Hall on Saturday, February 21 if they wish to have their blood tested to see if they could be a potential donor.

CITY MANAGER’S REPORT:
City Manager David Deutsch reported: 1) A meeting was held last Thursday with the Mayor, City Manager, Planning Director, counterparts from the cities of College Park and Greenbelt, County representatives, MNCPPC and assorted lobbyists. He reported discussion was held on the land use legislation and noted that the bill was now going through the process and will be subject of hearing before the bi-county committee on February 25. 2) Staff is continuing to monitor State budget programs and it appears there will be another reduction in the State road budget.

CONSENT AGENDA:
A. Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins moved approval of Consent Agenda Items : A) Approval of Minutes of January 5, 2004 Council Meeting; and B) Approval of Resolution R-8-04, Authorizing the City Manager to Enter Into a Lease Agreement for the Operation of Concession Area at the Bowie Ice Arena With Simple Pleasures Ice Cafe. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

NEW BUSINESS:
A. Public Access – Board of Conveners Update – City Manager David Deutsch reported that there has been a citizen led effort to bring back cable access television to the community; the Board of Conveners have been working on the material that is before Council and the next step will be to appoint a Board of Directors and get the station running on local cable access.

Mr. Michael Lyles, Chairman of the Board of Conveners, provided an overview of the Board’s work and their mission statement; a web site was created that will serve as a foundation for contacting the Board of Directors as well as provide information on the work of the Board of Conveners; an ad was placed in various journals to solicit applications throughout the city and county and a number of responses were received. Mr. Lyles said the Board of Conveners decided on Bowie Community Media Corporation as the new corporate name and set up a new, tax-exempt corporate structure; the Articles of Incorporation were filed and received back from the State; by-laws have yet to be voted on, but are about 95% complete. He concluded by saying that interviews are being set up for early March.

In response to questions posed by Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins regarding the time frame of when cable access television will be available, Mr. Lyles said it will be up to the Board of Directors; what is planned in interviewing and talking to directors, is to give them a sense of what the Board of Conveners have learned in their work so as to allow the new Board of Directors to move as quickly as possible to get the studio up and running.

Councilman Aleshire asked City Attorney Levan about whether the Board would ensure the membership will abide by the guidelines set forth by the studio. Ms. Levan replied said this will fall under “supervising all officers, agents and employees of the corporation to ensure their duties are performed properly”. Dr. Nancy Banks, member of the Board of Conveners, added that they tried to not incorporate this, but be more general on how the duties of the Board in terms of what the regulations are; there is a provision to remove a member. Ms. Levan noted that this issue is addressed on Page 11 of the Articles.

Councilwoman Bennett referred to Page 12 of the Articles, under Section 3, and noted that when volunteers handle checks, etc., they could be misplaced and not deposited. She suggested that a time frame be noted such as “deposited on a weekly basis”.

Councilman Brady said he was looking forward to the next step and the opening of the studio. He noted that reference to councilmanic districts should not be specific to number but should read, “one member should be located in each of the councilmanic districts.” In response to questions raised by Mr. Brady about student membership, Dr. Banks said the Articles could be revised to read: “or a student who attends another school or university but resides in the city….”

Mayor Robinson thanked the Board of Conveners on behalf of the Council for a job well done.

COUNCIL COMMENTS:
A. Councilman Aleshire referred to a proclamation issued by the Council several months ago in support of the Chaplain Henry Plummer Committee’s efforts. He announced that the Committee will be attending the official signing of a document in support of the committee; then there will be official signing of the paperwork to have Chaplain Plummer’s Court Marshall reviewed.

ADJOURNMENT:
Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins moved to adjourn the meeting into an Executive Session for the purpose of discussing a legal matter. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 8:52 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Pamela A. Fleming, CMC
City Clerk