REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2006

CALL MEETING TO ORDER:

The Regular Meeting of the Bowie City Council was held on Tuesday, January 17, 2006 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, Conroy, Jenkins, Lyles and Turner; City Manager Deutsch, Assistant City Manager Fitzwater, City Attorney Robert Levan, Members of the Staff, the Press and the Public. Mayor Pro Tem Brady and Councilman Kroemer were not present.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG:

The Council led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

CITIZEN PARTICIPATION:

A. Ms. Debbie Sell, 2705 Birdseye Lane, spoke about Basket Bingo to be held at the Christian Community Presbyterian Church on January 25; proceeds will support the summer youth Montreat experience.

PRESENTATIONS:

A. Teacher of the Month Recognition - Ms. Joyce Halper, Education Committee, said the Committee would like to acknowledge Washington Savings Bank which has been a long-time sponsor of the Teacher of the Month Program; the Bank purchases a United States Savings Bond for all of the honorees. She added that Main Street Caterers is treating all honorees and Principals to a special luncheon; in addition, the Committee thanks Chic-Fil-A for supplying meal coupons. Ms. Halper then announced the Teachers of the Month for November is Robert Holiday who has taught band at Benjamin Tasker Middle School for 28 years; December - Margaret Derocia who has taught early intervention/special education at Chapel Forge Special Center for 27 years in Bowie; January - Susanne Bermpohl who teaches at Yorktown Elementary School and who attended schools in Bowie. Mayor Robinson presented the savings bonds and a certificate of recognition to each of the honorees.

CITY BOARDS AND COMMITTEES:

A. Councilman Jenkins moved the appointment of Jerry Sanford as a member of the Administrative Review Board. Councilman Turner seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

B. Councilman Turner moved the appointment of Lauren-Jei McCarthy as a member of the Diversity Committee. Councilman Jenkins seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

C. Mayor Robinson swore Mr. Sanford and Ms. McCarthy into office in accordance with Sec. 92A of the City Charter.

CITY MANAGER’S REPORT:

City Manager Deutsch reported on the following items: 1) Franchise Negotiations with Verizon - Another negotiation session was held and staff is continuing to work with Verizon; some limited progress was made and staff hopes to bring a recommended franchise agreement to allow another firm to provide cable television service. 2) Katrina Relief - Staff has been researching adopting a city within the storm ravaged area; expect to come to Council on February 6 with a detailed proposal; the city staff has been in contact with is D’Iberville, Mississippi.

CONSENT AGENDA:

A. Councilman Lyles moved the approval of Consent Agenda Item A) Approval of Minutes of December 5, 2005 Council Meeting. Councilman Jenkins seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

OLD BUSINESS:

A. Resolution R-1-06 - Enlarging the Corporate Boundaries of the City of Bowie by Annexing Certain Residential Property and a Portion of the W.B. & A. Trail Parcel, Contiguous and Adjoining to the City’s Existing Corporate Boundaries, Known as the Colt’s Neck Subdivision, Consisting of Approximately 54.381 Acres of Land Located on the South Side of Race Track Road, at Its Intersection With Jericho Park Road Into the Corporate Limits of the City of Bowie - City Attorney Robert Levan summarized the resolution and said this is the last phase of a process which began with the negotiation and completion of an Annexation Resolution which achieved the necessary consents for incorporation within the City. He added that the annexation has been appropriately advertised and all of the appropriate agencies notified.

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

Mayor Robinson announced that Councilman Kroemer was away on business and had asked the Council to continue the hearing until the February 6th meeting so he could be present.

Councilman Jenkins moved to continue the public hearing on Resolution R-1-06 until February 6, 2006. Councilman Lyles seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

B. Shopping Center Legislation - City Manager Deutsch reported that at the December 5, 2005 Council meeting this issue was reviewed by Council and was deferred until other entities could have an opportunity to review the legislation; the bill as proposed by Delegate Marvin Holmes requires shopping centers over a certain size to have mobile security within the shopping centers; Council asked staff to obtain reaction from the business community as well as other interested parties. Mr. Deutsch noted that several letters from property owners expressing concerns were attached to the staff report. He said it is staff’s recommendation to take no action on the legislation, but to continue to stay involved and continue to work with Delegate Holmes at the issue moves forward.

Delegates Marvin Holmes said he was in the process of making amendments to the legislation to address some of the concerns from the business community. He added that he agreed with Mr. Deutsch’s suggestion as a way to proceed.

Public Hearing:

1. Mr. Art Widmann, President of the Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce, addressed the Council. A copy of Mr. Widmann’s statement is attached.

2. Mr. Sherman Ragland, Chairman of the Bowie Economic Development Committee, gave a brief report on the EDC meeting at which Delegate Holmes addressed the Committee. He reported that the EDC recommends that the Council take no action on the legislation in its current form. A copy of the EDC memorandum to Council is attached.

Following further discussion of the legislation, Councilman Jenkins moved to approve the staff recommendation to delay action. Councilman Lyles seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

B. Resolution R-6-06 - Accepting Bids For an Executive Search Firm to Assist with Selection of a Police Chief - City Manager Deutsch summarized the staff report dated January 12, 2006, a copy of which is on file at City Hall. He said that when the Council acted affirmatively upon the results of the advisory question in November, Council also authorized staff to hire an executive recruitment firm to assist the City in hiring the first Police Chief; a Request for Proposal was developed which was sent to a number of firms known to the City as well as other firms of interest; nine proposals were received which have been ranked and reviewed using a series of criteria as outlined in the staff report. Mr. Deutsch reported that staff’s recommendation is to hire the Mercer Group which staff feels is the most appropriate organization, has a significant history of public sector recruitments, has done a number of Police Chief recruitments, and clearly understands where Bowie is as a City embarking on creating a police department; based on staff’s analysis, it was felt the Mercer Group had the best proposal; if Council approves the recommendation, a contract, which the City Attorney has reviewed, can be signed immediately.

Council posed questions to the City Manager. Mr. Deutsch said that staff is working on many aspects of the police department initiation; staff will come to Council in February with a recommendation for an additional appropriation for funds to carry through June 30; staff is focusing on questions for the budget, how many officers expected to be on board in 2007-2008, working on how the question of retirement fits into the benefit package, looking at the issue of interim space, and looking at certification requirements, etc. Councilman Jenkins then moved approval of R-6-06. Councilman Conroy seconded the motion.

Councilman Jenkins said the motion is made with the Council’s understanding that staff is going to provide Council with an overall plan of action. Mr. Deutsch said that staff would deliver the plan to Council in February.

The motion to approve Resolution R-6-06 carried with a vote of 4-1 (Lyles - nay; Brady and Kroemer - absent).

COUNCIL COMMENTS:

A. Councilman Turner announced: 1) He is hosting his first community meeting for District 3 on January 31 at City Hall; 2) a meeting has been scheduled for the Advisory Committee for the new high school on February 7 at the Bowie Library.

ADJOURNMENT:

Councilman Jenkins moved to adjourn the meeting. Councilman Conroy seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Pamela A. Fleming, CMC
City Clerk