REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2005

CALL MEETING TO ORDER:

The Regular Meeting of the Bowie City Council was held on Monday, September 19, 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, Assistant City Manager Fitzwater, City Attorney Elissa Levan, Members of the Staff, the Press and the Public. Councilwoman Booker Jones arrived late.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG:

The Council led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

CITIZEN PARTICIPATION:

A. Mr. Zareh Mozian, 1414 Perrell Lane, requested that the City waive the user fee for the Bowie Playhouse for an anti-smoking event.

B. Mr. Bill Britton, Malta Lane, responded to a letter sent to him by the City Manager concerning his suggestions that the City host an open forum for elected officials.

C. Ms. Debbie Sell, 2705 Birdseye Lane, spoke about hurricane relief efforts organized by the youth of the community.

CITY BOARDS AND COMMITTEES:

A. Councilman Kroemer moved the appointment of Manuel Celaya and Tasha Tillman as members of the Bowie Education Committee. Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

Mayor Robinson swore Mr. Celaya and Ms. Tillman into office in accordance with Sec. 92A of the City Charter.

COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

A. Mayor Robinson, on behalf of the City Council, presented Mr. Robert Haas with the Malcolm “Skip” Popp Award for outstanding service to the community. He congratulated Mr. Haas and thanked him for his service on behalf of young scouts.

B. Councilman Brady announced that in his capacity as President of the Maryland Municipal League, he attended the 2005 graduation of the Academy for Excellence in Local Governance. He said that City Clerk Pam Fleming received her certificate and asked Council to join him in congratulating Ms. Fleming.

C. Mayor Robinson congratulated City staff, in particular the City Museum staff, for seeking and receiving State support in the amount of $16,000 in matching funds to expand the museum services in the City.

CITY MANAGER’S REPORT:

City Manager Deutsch reported on the following items: 1) The first of the four public forums regarding the police advisory question on the November ballot will be held on September 21 at Rockledge Elementary School; the second forum will be held on October 5 at City Hall; the third is at the Senior Center and the fourth is at Pointer Ridge Elementary in successive weeks. He said that all material is on the City web site or can be obtained from the City Manager’s office. 2) The installation of lights at Church Road Park has recently been completed; the lights are on and working as needed. 3) Katrina Relief Efforts - the Maryland Municipal League (MML) has asked about the kinds of assistance or support the City might offer; staff provided to the National League of Cities and MML a list of the kinds of services offered to residents and residents in the affected area may decide that Bowie has staff with certain skills and abilities that might provide a match for a short term assignment into the affected area. He added that staff is also working through one of the municipal leagues to determine whether if a community in the affected area would be a likely community to develop a more formal match such as a domestic sister city program.

In response to a question posed by Councilman Lyles regarding the Northview Elementary School, Mr. Deutsch said he did not have any specific updated information; staff has a contact with the Projects Section staff of the School Board and it is the Board’s intention to have this project ready for occupancy in August of 2006; will try to obtain a more detailed construction schedule for Council.

CONSENT AGENDA:

A. Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins moved to approve Consent Agenda Items A. Approval of Minutes of August 1, 2005 Council Meeting; B. Approval of Proclamation P-16-05, Recognizing Cheryl Brennan for Her Years of Service to the Bowie Community. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

OLD BUSINESS:

A. Resolution R-57-05 - Enlarging the Corporate Boundaries of the City of Bowie by Annexing Land Contiguous and Adjoining to the Existing Corporate 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 - City Attorney Elissa Levan summarized the resolution and said the site is to be developed into 7 residential lots; there is an annexation agreement to which the resolution is subject; there are no residents living in the area and the site will not create an enclave.

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

Councilwoman Booker Jones moved approval of Resolution R-57-05. Councilman Aleshire seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

NEW BUSINESS:

A. Resolution R-64-05 - Adopting the Housing and Community Development Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) for Fiscal Year 2005 - Mr. Jesse Buggs, Grants Administrator, summarized the staff report dated September 19, 2005, a copy of which is on file at City Hall. He said the report before Council outlines all the activities as required by HUD for the previous year. He asked for Council’s approval of the report and to adopt Resolution R-64-05 to allow staff to transmit it to HUD within the next several days.

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

Councilman Kroemer moved the amend R-64-05 to delete “-06” on Page 2. Councilwoman Booker Jones seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

Councilman Aleshire moved to approve the report and adopt R-64-05. Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

COUNCIL COMMENTS:

A. Councilman Aleshire reported he had attended a program at Arlington National Cemetery for the burial of Mark Matthews who was the oldest living Buffalo Soldier until his passing. He added he wanted to acknowledge the service to his country Mr. Matthews had provided.

ADJOURNMENT:

Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins moved to adjourn the meeting. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Pamela A. Fleming, CMC
City Clerk