REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING

MONDAY, MAY 15, 2006

CALL MEETING TO ORDER

The Regular Meeting of the Bowie City Council was held on Monday, May 15, 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, Mayor Pro Tem Brady, Councilmembers Conroy, Jenkins, Kroemer, Lyles and Turner; City Manager Deutsch, Assistant 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.

CITIZEN PARTICIPATION

Mr. Ty Troyer, 2606 Felter Lane, invited Council to come to the opening ceremony for the Bowie Relay for Life, a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, to be held at Bowie State University on June 2. Three Councilmembers have indicated they will participate in the dunking booth activity.

Ms. Juanita Thompson, 8303 Zug Road, President of the American Legion Auxiliary Disney Bell Post 66, spoke about Poppy Month, the oldest and most widely recognized Legion Auxiliary program. Contributions assist disabled and hospitalized veterans. Ms. Thompson thanked Council for designating May as Poppy Month in the City and presented poppies to Councilmembers.

Ms. Mary Nusser, 3631 Majestic Lane, spoke on behalf of the Bowie High PTSO in regard to funding requested for the Bowie High After Prom Party. City had funded and supported the program in the past but there is no current support from the City and would like to see it restored through Council consensus. Ms. Nusser mentioned that Youth and Family Services receives outside grants targeting teen drug and alcohol prevention; some of those authorize use of funds for an after prom event. For additional information, Ms. Nusser may be contacted at 301-805-9566.

PRESENTATIONS

A. Excellence in Education and Arts Scholarships and Awards -- Ms. Bridget Kopetsky, Chairman of the Scholarship Selection Committee for the Bowie Education Committee, noted that in the past 17 years, the City has awarded more than $72,000 in scholarship money to 67 high school students. This year, 25 nominations were received from the principals of 15 high schools. Ms. Kopetsky introduced the following students who were selected to receive scholarships: Ricardo Rivera, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, $2,000; Alexander Campbell, Bishop McNamara High School, $1,500; Christine Petzold, Queen Anne High School, $1,500. The Committee also presented a certificate recognizing the efforts and accomplishments of Jeremy Seppi, an Eleanor Roosevelt High School student who received a full scholarship from another source. Ms. Kopetsky acknowledged the presence of Mr. Marco Clark from Bishop McNamara High School and Ms. Kristin Walker from Queen Anne High School.

Ms. Michelle Johnson, Chairman of the Scholarship Committee for the Bowie Arts Committee, introduced Erin Burch, Bowie High School, the sole recipient of a $1,000 Arts Scholarship. Committee Chairman Kathleen Parker and Committee member Charles Johnston were also present.

On Council’s behalf, the Mayor extended congratulations and best wishes to all the scholarship recipients.

B. Proclamation P-9-06 – Supporting the “Chrome for Critters Motorcycle Ride and Classic Car Show” Fund Raising for Animal Rescue Efforts -- Councilman Jenkins read and presented the Proclamation to Charles Johnston and Dorothy Belpoli. The Companion Animal Rescue Alliance will sponsor the above event on Saturday, June 10 at the Prince George’s Stadium; this event will help 19 different animal rescue groups. Councilman Jenkins moved for approval of the Proclamation; the motion was seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Brady and carried unanimously. Ms. Belpoli thanked Council for their support.

CITY MANAGER’S REPORT

Mr. Deutsch noted that City staff conducted a yard sale at City Hall on Saturday, May 13 to raise money for the Katrina victims in D’Iberville, Mississippi; approximately $1,200 was raised at that event with good community participation and a lot of staff help. This was part of the City’s ongoing effort to help D’Iberville residents.

The Bike to Work program is Friday, May 19 from 6:30 – 8:30 a.m. There are two pit stops – one at the Firehouse in Old Bowie and one at the Bowie Town Center food court.

On Saturday, May 20th at the Knights of St. John in Old Bowie, the Walkable Communities Program will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; there will be various events and discussions related to the Walkable Communities aspect, which ties into the renovation and modernization of Old Bowie.

CONSENT AGENDA

Councilman Turner expressed concern with respect to the staff recommendation for a higher priced generator for the Senior Center and asked staff to explain the specifications for sound attenuation. Mr. Deutsch responded that the recommended bid is within budget; sound attenuation is designed into the bid to allow that unit to run so that the facility can still be operated; if the generator is not designed properly, the noise will overrun the facility. The recommended bidder met the specifications; the others did not and as a result, their bids are lower because they proposed a less expensive unit.

Mayor Pro Tem Brady moved approval of all items on the Consent Agenda: A. Approval of Minutes of April 17, 2006 Council Meeting; B. Approval of Minutes of May 1, 2006 Council Meeting; C. Approval of Resolution R-27-06 – Authorizing the City Manager to Enter Into An Agreement with the Law Enforcement Officers Pension System (LEOPS) of the State of Maryland; D. Approval of Resolution R-28-06 – Awarding the Bid for the 2006 & 2007 Fireworks Display; E. Approval of Resolution R-30-06 – Bid Award for the Supply of a Generator for the Senior Center; F. Approval of Resolution R-31-06 – Authorizing the City Manager to Enter Into a Grant Agreement with the Maryland Technology Development Corporation for a New Business Incubator Facility Feasibility Study; G. Approval of Resolution R-35-06 – Approving a Contract with Fentress Bradburn Architects, LTD to Perform a City Hall Space Requirement Study; H. Approval of Letter re: Trinity Community Church of Bowie Limited Detailed Site Plan #DSP-05101 for Construction of a 333-seat Church and 190-seat Classroom Space Located on Old Stage Road; and I. Approval of Proclamation P-12-06 – Celebrating Memorial Day, 2006 By Honoring Those Whose Lives Were Given in Service to Their Country. The motion was seconded by Councilman Jenkins and carried unanimously.

OLD BUSINESS

A. Ordinance O-5-06 – Approving and Adopting a Budget for the Fiscal Year Beginning July 1, 2006 and Ending June 30, 2007 – City Manager Deutsch noted that Council for the past five or six weeks has been engaged in the review of the Proposed Fiscal Year 2007 Budget and Capital Improvements Program through Fiscal Year 2012. Despite a fairly rigorous review, there have been a limited number of changes. The majority of the dollar value of those changes related to moving some capital projects from Fiscal 2006 to 2007 due to the anticipated completion dates of those projects. The sum total of other changes was under $10,000 in the General Fund. The General Fund budget following the minor modifications is $30,708,600 and the other operating fund, the Water and Sewer Fund, is budgeted at $12,426,000. That budget has gone up significantly due to the major construction project coming up of renovating the Wastewater Treatment Plant, redesigning it to the level of enhanced nutrient removal. The City is eligible for some significant State grants for the vast majority of that project and the revenue will be there to offset those increased expenditures. Other elements of the Ordinance include the Equipment Acquisition and Replacement Fund at $2,298,000 and the Capital Projects Fund at $8,993,800.

Councilman Jenkins indicated his intent to vote in favor of this budget and considers it to be very solid and fundamental. It takes steps to strengthen the Water and Sewer Fund, which is a critical function; focuses and deals primarily with services to the citizens. Councilman Jenkins said he would like to raise a flag for the citizens, and that is that the Budget does have a milestone in it – the creation of a Police Department – which is something that citizens overwhelmingly supported in last November’s election. This is a huge undertaking and it is not being completed in this Budget; the framework/foundation is being laid; expenses incurred in this first step represent a tax increase but are only part of the cost. Ultimate full creation of the Police Department will represent additional funds and additional tax increases.

Councilman Jenkins noted that the City Manager and the City Council have been incredibly patient with him and his minority position that the position of Public Safety Coordinator should be abolished concomitant with the hiring of the Police Chief and creation of the Police Department. He asked for a formal vote on his proposal that the position of Public Safety Coordinator be abolished; the motion was seconded by Councilman Lyles and failed by a vote of 2 (Jenkins, Lyles) – 5.

Mayor Pro Tem Brady commended the City Manager and staff in the preparation of this document and expressed his support of the Budget. This document is a product that Council, staff and the citizens can be very proud of – it continues the excellent delivery of services that citizens have come to expect from the City while, as referenced by Councilman Jenkins, this is the first step in establishing the Police Department.

Councilman Lyles also commended staff for putting together a very sound Budget; commended his colleagues for their awareness and attention to some of the capital projects that are going to be necessary in the City – facilities that need to be built, facilities that are older that need to be rehabilitated, and also with respect to stated wishes and desires to have Old Town Bowie redeveloped. Council sees the need to build gateway marquee signage that unifies the City not only architecturally but also serves as a bridge of information to the various ends of the City that somehow can’t always get together in one place. Citizens should note that there is money to improve Allen Pond Park, particularly the Amphitheater. For constituents who enjoy sports, Councilman Lyles noted that the football fields at Church Road Park will undergo a major renovation and expressed his appreciation for Council and staff’s attention to the problems experienced there.

Councilman Kroemer recognized the unsung people behind the scenes – spouses and children and acknowledged the innumerable amount of hours staff spends. The City is growing and will continue to grow and there is the need to continue to thoughtfully plan through this; there are capital projects for Public Works, for City Hall, work on a police department, all sorts of work on water and sewer. Councilman Kroemer said he felt that part of the reason why there wasn’t much contention in the discussions was because the City now has a vision – the Strategic Plan; we know where we are headed and are well on our way to realizing what this City can become – a great place, only getting better.

Councilman Turner echoed commendations for staff and particularly for his colleagues; as a new Councilmember, he had a lot of questions and thanked his colleagues for their indulgence in allowing staff to answer them. Councilman Turner commented that Council obviously doesn’t like to approve a tax increase and a water and sewer rate increase, but they have an obligation to do what they think is in the best interest of the City in trying to meet the goals and vision for the City, particularly now with starting a new Police Department which the general public supported.

Mayor Robinson thanked Messrs. Deutsch and Fitzwater for putting together a good team, and an eminently readable, thoughtful and concise document. The Budget document is forward focused and future oriented. On Council’s behalf, he commended Finance Director Patrick and Assistant Finance Director Matthews. Mayor Robinson acknowledged that the Budget takes on some new challenges with the Police Department and water and sewer system. The Mayor congratulated his colleagues for their performance through budget deliberations.

The motion on the table to adopt Ordinance O-5-06 Approving and Adopting a Budget for Fiscal Year Beginning July 1, 2006 and Ending June 30, 2007 carried unanimously.

B. Resolution R-20-06 Adopting a Capital Improvement Program for Fiscal Years 2007-2012 – City Manager Deutsch noted that this CIP is a six-year document that addresses, as Councilman Lyles mentioned, future oriented projects, with the first year being the Capital Budget staff recommended to Council for positive action. The motion on the table to adopt Resolution R-20-06 carried unanimously.

C. Ordinance O-6-06 Amending Chapter 2, “Administration”, Article II, “Personnel System”, to Add Division 3A, “Chief of Police” – City Attorney Elissa Levan noted that in order to establish the Police Department consistent with the current organizational structure of the Personnel provisions of Chapter 2 of the Code, which does not establish City departments department by department but does provide for certain personnel provisions and then imbues them with various responsibilities including the City Manager and the Personnel Officer, the Police Department has been created by creating the office of Chief of Police and conferring upon that office the authority to establish and maintain the police department, in conjunction with the City Manager to provide for the management tasks entailed in establishing the Police Department and running it on a day-to-day basis. Ms. Levan noted that in the whereas clauses it is referenced that the City Charter has reserved the right to establish a police department, so no amendment to the City Charter was required.

Since no one had signed up to speak, the Mayor declared the Public Hearing to have been held.

Concerning the language that says “with concurrence of the City Manager”, Councilman Turner asked does this mean that if the Police Chief says we need to do something a little bit different, that the City Manager has to concur with that before bringing it to the Council or is it something that as a City department head the Chief has to get concurrence or approval from the City Manager before bringing it to Council’s attention. Mr. Deutsch said the Police Department is viewed in some sense much as other departments are viewed – it has a similar spot on the organization chart; would find it most unusual to have a department head bring a recommendation to Council that had not been endorsed by the City Manager – that should not happen and if it did happen, it would indicate a serious problem within the organization; would expect that the Chief would be a team player and any issues would be resolved before they become issues. Councilman Turner asked if that language was consistent with the other department heads; Mr. Deutsch responded affirmatively.

Mayor Pro Tem Brady moved that Ordinance O-6-06 be adopted; the motion was seconded by Councilman Jenkins and carried unanimously.

NEW BUSINESS

A. Resolution R-34-06 Adopting the Housing and Community Development Annual Action Plan for Fiscal Year 2007 – Grants Administrator Jesse Buggs said that the Annual Action Plan for Fiscal Year 2007 is consistent with the requirements of HUD; and that the document is presented as representative of what the City intends to do for the next 12 months; it includes continuing infrastructure improvement programs in Old Town Bowie and expends funds that are allocated within the Budget. It is consistent with what the City has proposed to HUD over the past three or four years, and what is seen in the other programmatic areas is consistent with what HUD requires.

Since no one had signed up to speak, Mayor Robinson declared the Public Hearing to have been held.

It was moved by Mayor Pro Tem Brady and seconded by Councilman Conroy that R-34-06 be adopted; the motion carried unanimously.

B. Preliminary Subdivision Plan #4-05140, Mill Branch – Senior Planner Elizabeth Chaisson gave the staff presentation. The property is located on the south side of Mill Branch Road east of US 301. It is zoned R-A; north and south of the site are also zoned R-A; east of the site is O-S and on the other side of US 301 there are several different zones. It is more suburban in character. US 301 does divide the Developing Tier from the Rural Tier. The aerial photo shows the southeast corner is heavily wooded as well as the southwesterly line of the site – this is currently ¼ wooded, ¾ agricultural. The site maps show where the streams are along the southwesterly lot line all the way down to the south. This is an extension of the Green Infrastructure Network. The proposal is for 38 single-family detached lots on 104 acres. This project will be heard before the County Planning Board on Thursday, May 25.

There is one main cul-de-sac running through the property from basically north to south and a shorter cul-de-sac off of it. Most of the lots along Mill Branch Road are two acres in size to comply with a County recommendation that because Mill Branch is an historic scenic road, that those lots should be larger and preserve the scenic viewshed of that road. The other lots vary in size; 50,000 square feet is the minimum size of each lot. Staff recommended approval of the plan with conditions.

The Bowie Advisory Planning Board also recommended approval of the plan with conditions. Ms. Chaisson referred to the list of conditions on page 6 of the BAPB memo. Conditions 1 thru 3 the applicant had no problem with; Condition 4 – BAPB discussed with the applicant and deleted; conditions 6 and 8 were deleted; change on condition 10 – Mill Branch Road is a rural primary road, not a collector road (a collector road is four lanes) – staff said the road should be two lanes. Condition 12 – staff identified lots 11, 12, 15 & 30 – adjacent to those lots there are private access easements (long stem private driveways that go to the rear lots); there are at least two lots that have their driveways off of that. Staff was recommending that some of the adjacent lots also utilize the private access road; the reason being to reduce the amount of impervious surface area. This isn’t possible because the requirements of the Subdivision Regulations say that you have to have at least two acres; these lots are less than two acres. The applicant could technically ask for a variation request. On page 12 of the staff report, Condition 12 was deleted and staff recommended that the applicant seek a variation request pursuant to Section 24-113 of the Subdivision Regulations to allow lots 11, 12, 15 and 30 which are less than two acres to be accessed via the proposed adjacent private access easements.

Condition #13 is controversial; after lengthy discussion, basically the applicant agrees that they could flip garage and driveway on Lot 35 but that presents more of a problem on Lots 7 and 21 (would interfere with where the septic field is planned to go). There is a problem with steepness of the grade on Lot 7, so staff suggested further that maybe they should look at flipping the driveway on Lot 6. The reason is again to cut down on the amount of impervious surface area; to have two driveways running parallel to each other creates more stormwater runoff. If the driveways are separated, you diffuse where the water is going -- part of low impact design techniques, part of the stormwater management plan that’s been approved for this project. Staff recommends going that extra mile and making sure the driveways are separated from each other. The applicant agreed they can probably flip the driveway on Lot 6. Staff would recommend the condition say that the garage and driveway on Lots 6 and 35 shall be flipped from one side of the house to the other. Conditions 14 through 16 remain the same.

Mayor Pro Tem Brady asked if staff is recommending the conditions as appears on pages 11 and 12 of its report or those of the BAPB. Ms. Chaisson said they tried to leave the staff report as it was presented to the BAPB, realizing that between each meeting there are discussions with the applicant and things change. Staff’s recommendations are basically on page 11; the BAPB recommendations are on page 6 of the BAPB memo.

William Knight, Attorney for the applicant K & P Builders, noted the presence of Mr. Roy Kilby from K & P and Mr. Gary Butson, Engineer with Capital Development Design Inc. Council had seen this plan several months ago, but because of the various County moratoriums, etc., the applicant had to withdraw the plan and resubmit; it is essentially the same plan. Originally the applicant had hoped to have public water and sewer but that didn’t occur; have been able to obtain approval from the Health Department for well and septic system locations. They are pretty much in full agreement with the conditions proposed by the Bowie Advisory Planning Board, which would be the conditions on pages 6 and 7. With the additional comments made by Planner Chaisson, they are virtually in 100% agreement with the BAPB motion. Only changes involve Condition 12; today, those lots would not be eligible for the shared driveway because of their size. Secondly, changed the lot numbers in Condition 13 to 6 and 35 and applicant is fine with that. Condition 15, which asks for a second access point to Mill Branch Road, hasn’t been discussed; Park and Planning has indicated preference for single access; Mr. Kilby has indicated he could do it either way but his preference would be the single access in terms of privacy. If the City prevails on that condition, he is not opposed to putting in a second access.

Since no one had signed up to speak, Mayor Robinson declared the Public Hearing to have been held.

Councilman Jenkins asked if the access to Lots 30, 31 & 32 are considered driveways or private roads. Mr. Butson noted two means of access referred to in the Subdivision Regulations – one is called a flag lot and one is called a driveway on a shared easement (the lots on the shared easement have to be two acres in size). Lot 30 is less than two acres so it has its own private driveway; Lots 31 and 32 are over two acres so the lots have a shared driveway and the two property owners would maintain the driveway. Councilman Jenkins asked about Lots 3, 4 and 5; Mr. Butson said private driveway (22 feet wide) and the three owners that use it would maintain it. Lots 9 and 10 share a driveway (22 feet); Lot 11 is less than two acres and has its own driveway of about 10 feet; there is a separation between those two driveways. Lots 13 and 14, another driveway on a shared easement maintained by those two houses; Lots 20 and 21 have individual driveways.

Councilman Kroemer highlighted four contentious items. The staff recommendation on page 11, Condition 4 about afforestation/preservation areas on particular lots – Councilman Kroemer said that if there is a County law that says that you need a certain amount of conservation on your property, then people should be held accountable for that; because the County feels they can’t enforce it, is irrelevant – that is their job. He disagrees with City staff on this condition – we should require those conservation easements. Condition 6 concerning the 65 dBA line, whether that line is drawn at the center of existing Route 301 or whether that limit is drawn from what is proposed to be the new Route 301 – issue is that no one knows what Route 301 is going to be so how can you draw the line. Councilman Kroemer agrees with staff that we have some fairly good idea where that line is going to be drawn; there is a plan to widen 301 and should set the line at the planned 301. Condition 8 – the Councilman asked if the City requires the applicant to abide by this September – March time frame for clearing the forested area, would this delay the project at all. Mr. Knight said that condition would only apply to about a quarter of an acre of the site (10,000 square feet); could delay the project. Councilman Kroemer said he would be willing to go along with the BAPB on deleting this condition. Condition 15 regarding second egress to the site – the Councilman said he understands applicant’s comments but doesn’t think a second exit on this rural road is problematic in terms of privacy and suggests that there be a second egress to make it easier to exit and provide another emergency route in. The Councilman asked if the applicant is predisposed to staff’s recommendation to seek a variance on Lots 11, 12, 15 and 30. Mr. Knight noted that under County law you have 140 days from date of accepting application to date of decision and they are up against the 140 days; to seek a variance at this late date, there wouldn’t be time to go through Park and Planning’s variance process and stay on schedule; they are not opposed to the concept.

Mayor Pro Tem Brady asked for clarification with regard to County law, that it currently prevents Lot 11 from taking advantage of the shared driveway for Lots 9 and 10. Mr. Knight reiterated that a lot under two acres is not allowed under County Subdivision ordinance to have a shared driveway. Mayor Pro Tem Brady expressed frustration that here they are trying to use new techniques for dealing with stormwater management and a lot of asphalt is being added unnecessarily. He continued that he would encourage the applicant to speak to this issue and maybe staff – letter of the law is such that we are going to be violating the whole intent of what the low impact development techniques are all about. In response to the Mayor Pro Tem’s question about how far away these four lots are from two acres, Mr. Butson said that Lots 11, 12, 15 and 30 are over 50,000 square feet – a two-acre lot is 87,000 square feet; 60% of the 38 properties exceed two acres.

In response to Councilman Turner’s question concerning annexation, Mr. Deutsch said this property falls outside the growth boundary that Council adopted two months ago. Councilman Turner brought up roadway conditions/improvements; in reference to his question concerning Condition 10, Mr. Knight said that that condition describes the road as it exists today so there are not going to be any improvements on Mill Branch. He mentioned that the entrance and subdivision streets are new. In response to the Councilman’s question about acceleration/deceleration lanes at the entrance, Mr. Knight said there will be one; the applicant is not planning on contributing to any other improvements on the roadway. Councilman Turner referenced the Master Plan process and that one of the recommendations for Rural Tier was conservation subdivision design (has not been adopted at the County level yet); he asked if staff could find out how many lots would be available to the applicant under conservation subdivision design. Ms. Chaisson said it should be approximately the same amount – 50% of the area would remain open and the lots might be smaller as a result.

Councilman Lyles asked staff if they compared the current US 301 with the alternative proposals from State Highway and gotten an idea of how close the new road is going to be to these houses. Ms. Chaisson said we don’t have an exact number but the lines are on the plan, shows the setback.

Councilman Lyles also asked if staff looked at the development’s location with respect to Green Branch Park to get an indication of how close the ingress and egress to the park as well as the park amenities are to this subdivision. Mr. Deutsch said that it is his understanding that access issues related to Green Branch Park have not yet been resolved; that is a major question that is stalling the progress on planning that facility, so there is no document that staff could have looked at to make that determination at this point. City staff recently reviewed that planned recreation facility among many others in a meeting with M-NCPPC staff; they are trying to focus on that access issue internally and with a nearby property owner across whose property they need to traverse. Councilman Lyles asked if staff foresees a noise or encroachment problem from the people visiting the park, based on what is known about the park. Mr. Deutsch said Green Branch Park is a rather extensive, highly developed park facility that the County is planning. We have similar situations around City parks with developments; would think that potential buyers of homes in this subdivision ought to ask what is going to potentially go in across the road on undeveloped property; parks are generally good neighbors. Councilman Lyles mentioned from what he knows about people in the Rural Tier, they don’t like to see anything going around them and sees a conflict coming concerning ingress and egress, people using the side roads to get to the park – caution us to be aware that there will be a problem between stated support of Green Branch Park and whatever Council passes on this subdivision.

Mr. Knight reviewed Condition 6 in the staff report. Applicant is in fact in compliance with the regulation as it exists today and that is essentially why the condition was deleted by BAPB; the applicant requests that this condition be deleted.

Mayor Pro Tem Brady asked if Condition 2 relative to the issue of insufficient percolation is needed if in fact the applicant has received an official letter from the Health Department. Ms. Chaisson said that at the time the staff report was written, the applicant had not received the letter; Mr. Knight was asked to provide a copy to City staff. In that case, Mayor Pro Tem Brady said he thought that this condition can be deleted.

Mayor Pro Tem Brady moved approval of staff recommendations for Preliminary Plan #4-05140 listed on pages 11 and 12 of the staff report, with the following modifications: deleting Conditions 2, 4, 8, 15 and incorporating staff’s rewording on condition 13 (leaving Lots 6 and 35); and to retain the staff recommendation on the variance request but leave it to the County, make it a consideration. The motion was seconded by Councilman Kroemer. Councilman Jenkins said he is confident that this is going to be a quality development and is one that normally he would support; understands and appreciates the rationale for shared easement driveways in large lot developments, but respectfully disagrees with it as a design approach; feels design approach begs for future maintenance and access issues, and for that reason he cannot support this particular design. Motion carried by vote of 4-3 (Jenkins, Turner and Lyles).

COUNCIL COMMENTS

Mayor Pro Tem Brady requested several weeks ago, following a tragic accident in which two people were killed, that the City send a letter to the head of the State Police requesting enforcement of the trucks parking on the shoulder of Route 50. On May 3rd, he attended a Strategic Highway Safety Plan Executive Committee meeting; a requirement of the new ISTEA legislation (federal funding for transportation issues around country) is that a plan to enhance highway safety be adopted by the end of the Federal fiscal year, September 30th. At that meeting, he raised the issue about safety with trucks parking on the side of high-speed roads, as well as the failure of local governments/SHA to immediately remove abandoned vehicles from the shoulder. Participants agreed that there is an issue and is a concern. There is a Catch-22; truckers are limited to the amount of time they can spend driving, and for a trooper to put them back on the road if they are tired, jeopardizes people on the road; pointed to the fact that there is an extreme deficiency in space available for trucks to park. Mayor Pro Tem Brady asked for Council’s consensus to direct staff to contact SHA District 3, Park and Planning, and the County to start a dialogue to where we can be a model throughout the State in dealing with this and come up with some creative solutions to this problem.

Councilman Kroemer requested that the City Attorney examine the ability of the City to provide additional language in the City Code regarding variances in the Huntington section that would provide a little more leeway for fences (as they may appear in the front/side yards of corner lots) and setbacks. This request comes as a result of an issue that arose in that section with a particular property and a fence that was installed, that for all intents and purposes was an upgrade to the area but doesn’t quite match the City Code.

Councilman Jenkins asked the City Manager about this being the time of year during which municipalities develop potential legislative issues that the Maryland Municipal League may be interested in bringing to the State’s attention. Mr. Deutsch said municipalities submit Legislative Action Requests (LARs) to MML for review by the Legislative Committee, which then develops a legislative package for the year. Councilman Jenkins asked for Council’s consensus to ask staff to pursue the development of a LAR that would pertain to the thought of municipalities being able to locally adjudicate Code violations; this is an issue the City brought to the Court’s attention sometime ago, for which there was a lack of interest. There was no Council objection.

Councilman Conroy would like for staff to see if the City could provide provisional ballots for citizens during an election.

Councilman Conroy mentioned discussions regarding finding space for the Youth Services Bureau and that Council reviewed a Scheer Partners recommendation to go to the Collington Trade Center; that Council would still like to keep these services within the City and knows staff is pursuing this. The Councilman said it seems that Scheer Partners may actually own the property that they were suggesting, and asked the City Manager if is this is true and would this be a conflict of interest. Mr. Deutsch said it is his understanding that the property that staff recommended to Council at the Trade Zone is not owned by Scheer Partners; they were involved in a broker relationship. If they are the owner, they did not disclose that; but at this point, based on Council’s direction last Monday evening, staff is reexamining the issue and hopes to bring to Council an alternate recommendation that will place the temporary location within the City’s 18 square miles. Staff is concerned whenever anybody raises questions of conflict; within the real estate industry, there is always the potential because of multiple entangled relationships in terms of brokerage and commissions and fees and ownership, and there are a lot of changes that occur very frequently.

ADJOURNMENT

Mayor Pro Tem Brady moved Council go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing a personnel item; the motion was seconded by Councilman Jenkins and carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Anne S. Ford, Acting City Clerk