REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2005

CALL MEETING TO ORDER:

The Regular Meeting of the Bowie City Council was held on Monday, August 1, 2005 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, Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins, Councilmembers Aleshire, Booker Jones, Brady, Kroemer and Lyles; 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. Michael Rogers, spoke against the City contributing money towards the Crime Solvers reward.

CITY BOARDS AND COMMITTEES:

Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins moved the appointment of Camilla Gaines as an alternate member of the Board of Elections. Councilman Brady seconded the motion. Mayor Robinson swore Ms. Gaines into office in accordance with Sec. 93A of the City Charter.

COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Mayor Robinson announced that Councilman Dennis Brady was elected as First Vice President of the Maryland Municipal League at the June convention. He reported that Councilman Brady has since been elevated to President. Mayor Robinson offered congratulations on behalf of the entire Council and staff.

CITY MANAGER’S REPORT:

City Manager David Deutsch reported on the following items: 1) Last weeks storm resulted in the suspension of the rules for yard waste pick-up and storm debris will be picked up as part of the regular trash pick-up. 2) There have been recent newspaper reports about other communities working on franchise agreements with Verizon for video; negotiations are ongoing and expect that within the next 90-120 days a recommended franchise agreement will be brought to Council; there is pending federal legislation that would preempt all governments abilities to franchise and the National League of Cities and other organizations are working to try prevent this from happening. 3) Police Staffing - The County Police Chief indicated in a communication to the City in September, 2004 he was planning to double the number of patrol officers assigned to Bowie from District II; the commitment was that there would be 40 officers by July 31. After checking with the District II Commander and as of last week there are 22 officers.

CONSENT AGENDA:

Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins moved approval of Consent Agenda Items: A) Approval of Minutes of May 16, 2005 Council Meeting; B. Approval of Minutes of June 6, 2005 Council Meeting; C. Approval of Minutes of June 20, 2005 Council Meeting; D. Approval of Resolution R-48-05, Waiving the Competitive Bidding Requirements of Section 61 “Purchasing and Contracting” of the Charter of the City of Bowie to Allow the Rental of Leaf Collection Trucks, and Authorizing the City Manager to Enter Into a Contract With Hertz Equipment Rental in the Amount of $45,642; F. Approval of Resolution R-50-05, Accepting Bid Proposal for the annual Supply of Polymer Utilized by the Wastewater Treatment Plant; G. Approval of Resolution R-51-05, Waiving the Advertising Requirements of Section 61 “Purchasing and Contracting” and Authorizing the Purchase of Toughbooks; H. Approval of Resolution R-52-05, Waiving the Advertising Requirements of Section 61 “Purchasing and Contracting” and Authorizing the Purchase of Personal Computers; I. Approval of Resolution R-53-05, Approving Entering Into a First Amendment to Agreement of Sale With Winchester Homes Pertaining to City Owned Property on Central Avenue Commonly Known As the Entzian Property; J. Approval of Resolution R-54-05, Accepting Bid Proposal for Street Repair; K. Approval of Resolution R-55-05, Accepting Bid Proposal for Street Resurfacing; L. Approval of Resolution R-56-05, Adopting the Recommendations of the Bowie Advisory Planning Board in the Case of BV-1-05; M. Introduction of Ordinance O-8-05, Amending Chapter 14, “Motor Vehicles and Traffic”, Article I, “In General”, Section 14-1, “Definitions”, To Amend the Definition of the Term “Abandoned Vehicle” and to Add Definitions for the Terms “Commercial Vehicle” and “Inoperative Vehicle”; Amending Article III, “Stopping, Standing and Parking”, Section 14-11, “Parking of Commercial Vehicles Prohibited”, To Change the Cross-Reference Therein From Section 26-1 to Section 14-1; Amending Article III, “Stopping, Standing and Parking”, Section 14-13, “Leaving Vehicle on Street, Etc. for Continuous Period Longer Than Seventy-Two Hours; Penalty”, to Delete the Term “Unattended” and Substitute the Phrase “Without Being Moved a Distance of at Least One Vehicle Length” and Prohibiting the Parking of Abandoned Vehicles on City Streets, Modifying the Requirements Concerning Notice to Vehicle Owners, and Making a Violation of That Section a Municipal Infraction; Amending Article III, Section 14-14, “Impoundment of Abandoned Vehicles”, to Refer to All Vehicles Subject to Impoundment; Amending Article III, Section 14-15, “Impoundment of Vehicles From Public Property Without Prior Notice”, To Provide for the Immediate Impoundment of Vehicles That Have Been Subject to a Notice of Intent to Impound Within the Preceding Sixty (60) Days; Amending Article III, Section 14-17, “Repossession of Impounded Vehicles”, to Refer to Vehicles Impounded Under Any Section of Chapter 14; and Making Other Minor Stylistic Changes to Certain Provisions of Chapter 14, Including Sections 14-11 and 14-25; N. Approval of Resolution R-35-05, Authorizing the City Manager to Execute an Annexation Agreement With Timberlake Homes, Inc., Establishing the Terms and Conditions Governing the Proposal Annexation of the Coleman Property Subdivision Including Approximately 8.41 Acres of Land Located on the West Side of Heatherstone Drive, Approximately 0.1 Mile South of the Old Stage Road Intersection, Into the Corporate Limits of the City of Bowie; O. Introduction of Resolution R-57-05, Enlarging the Corporate Boundaries of the City of Bowie By Annexing Land contiguous and Adjoining to the Existing Area of the City of Bowie Residential Property Known as the Coleman Property Subdivision Consisting of 8.4087 Acres of Land Located on the West Side of Heatherstone Drive, Approximately 0.1 Mile South of the Old Stage Road Intersection, Into the Corporate Limits of the City of Bowie; and P. Approval of Resolution R-58-05, Accepting Bid for Construction of Gallant Fox Restoration Project. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

NEW BUSINESS:

A. Bowie and Vicinity Master Plan and Sectional Map Amendment - Mr. Joe Meinert, City Planning staff, summarized the staff report dated July 28, 2005, a copy of which is on file at City Hall. He reported that the current schedule for the Master Plan calls for worksessions by the County Council beginning in September. He said the purpose of bringing this item to Council this evening is to 1) brief Council on the status of their recommendations which were presented at the May 17 joint public hearing; and 2) to look at other items that came up subsequent to the May 17th hearing, which were filed in the record but not available for Council review when the City held its own hearings. Mr. Meinert handed out the Park and Planning staff’s revised recommendations on the Preliminary Master Plan, which he then summarized. He then reviewed major requests that have been submitted to Prince George’s County and presented the staff recommendation on each: Mount Oak Estates-Outparcel A, Willowbrook, Melford, Chesley-Gibraltar Property, Dimensions/Shelter Development, Auto Tech, Turner Property, Hall Road Property, and Kirk-Martin Partnership.

Public Hearing:

1. Mr. Bob Stoddard, 218 N. Charles St., Baltimore, Development Director with Shelter Development, spoke about the Dimensions/ Shelter Development item and said they were in agreement with the staff recommendation.

2. Mr. John McDonough, an attorney with O’Malley, Miles and representing MIE Properties, said that the Master Plan and Sectional Map Amendment recommends M-X-T for the Science and Technology Center which his firm supports, and the Master Plan also recommends an Illustrative Plan and 29 Guidelines; the next speaker will review those guidelines.

3. Mr. Robert Goodill, 1300 Spring Street, Silver Spring, noted that the Science & Technology Center is emphatically an employment center and a mix of uses is an important aspect of creating a place that has value that can lure the kinds of companies to a place such as this Center. He added that the concept plan that Park and Planning has fashioned with respect to their own plan differs in 3 places: is more flexible, a different street plan is crafted, and a public use is located in a residential neighborhood to the north and east of a little retail area located in their proposed center.

4. Mr. Lyle Thorpe, representing Melford, said an archeological survey has been done; there are 3 sites on the tract one of which is associated with the Melford House, the second is the cemetery and the third is a prehistoric site that was found in the development area. He noted that reports were submitted to the County, reviewed and approved, and the final copy is on file with the County and the Maryland Historical Trust. Mr. Thorpe then said that the second study done is a condition assessment for the Melford House and out buildings.

5. Stanley Robinson, President and CEO for Oakhurst Development, said he is interested in the Kirk-Martin Property and the adjacent properties in order to tie the surrounding public and private properties together and create a revitalization program in Old Town Bowie. He said they agreed with the staff recommendation.

6. Mr. Bruce Pletsch, 16520 Abbey Drive, Sherwood Manor, spoke about the Maryland Science and Technology Center. A copy of his statement is attached.

7. Mr. Bill Knight, representing the Hall Road application, said they support the staff recommendation consistent with the recent decision of the Prince George’s County Council which endorsed a compromise for this property.

Mayor Robinson summarized each item and the staff recommendation.

In the matter of Mount Oak Estates, Outparcel A, Councilwoman Booker Jones moved to accept the staff recommendation that there is no justification for additional commercial centers in the Bowie area. Councilman Aleshire seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

Councilman Lyles moved approval of the staff recommendation for the Willowbrook application to reiterate the City’s position with regard to Exhibit 30 in the Sectional Map Amendment. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

With regard to the Melford request, Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins moved approval of the staff recommendation in opposition to the M-X-T zoning. Councilwoman Booker Jones seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

With regard to the Chesley-Gibraltar Property, Councilwoman Booker Jones moved approval of the staff recommendation in opposition to the proposal. Councilman Aleshire seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

Councilwoman Booker Jones moved approval of the staff recommendation with regard to the Dimensions/Shelter Development to support the request for age-restricted housing in the R-18 zone. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins moved approval of the staff recommendation in the matter of the Auto Tech to oppose the request. Councilman Aleshire seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

Councilman Brady moved approval of the staff recommendation regarding the Turner Property in support of the request. Councilwoman Booker Jones seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

Councilman Lyles moved approval of the staff recommendation regarding the Hall Road Property in support of the addition of text in the Master Plan specifically characterizing the type of activity cent4er approved in A-9838. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

Councilman Kroemer moved the approval of the staff recommendation regarding the Kirk-Martin Partnership to support a new recommendation in the Master Plan for R-S zoning for the subject property. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried with a vote of 6-1 (Booker Jones).

Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins moved that the City send a letter to County Councilman Doug Peters endorsing the additional Master Plan and Sectional Map Amendment recommendations presented in the staff report. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
B. Crime Solvers Reward - Councilman Kroemer reported that Crime Solvers has collected funds to help solve crimes and that the County has contributed $25,000 towards this effort. He moved that the City of Bowie contribute $2500 to Crime Solvers in order to support them in solving the crime, which had recently occurred in our City. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried with a vote of 5-1 (Lyles - nay; Booker Jones - absent).

COUNCIL COMMENTS:

Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins referred to a major power outage, which had recently occurred in Bowie and commended the Public Works Department for their efforts in clearing away the debris from the storm quickly. He also commended Assistant City Manager Fitzwater for his role in keeping Council up-to-date. Mr. Jenkins added that he was concerned about the need to be in a better position in terms of communications. He asked for consensus to ask staff to do some creative thinking to come up with a plan. Council concurred.

ADJOURNMENT:

Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins moved to adjourn the meeting and move into an Executive Session for the purpose of discussing personnel matters. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried by those members present. The meeting was adjourned at 10:10 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Pamela A. Fleming, CMC
City Clerk