MEMORANDUM

TO: City Council

FROM: David J. Deutsch, City Manager

SUBJECT: Status Report/Council Poll

DATE: December 14, 2006

Status Report

1. Melford/MSTC

Staff has learned that the Planning Board hearing for Melford has been moved from December 2006 to January 11, 2007. The County's staff report will be available in late December (approximately two weeks prior to the scheduled hearing).

2. Economic Development Committee

The Bowie EDC held their regular December meeting at One Melford Plaza. They agreed upon a work plan for the remainder of the fiscal year; that plan includes reviewing and discussing the City's transit study and incubator study, meeting with the County EDC and with Bowie State University, and examining various aspects of small business.

The EDC meeting was hosted by St. John Properties. Mr. John McDonough and Mr. Ramon Benitez spoke about current and future plans for development at the MSTC/Melford project. Mr. Benitez fielded questions from the EDC members present. Mr. Benitez indicated they are successfully leasing the buildings they have, and he announced that the second floor at One Melford Plaza has been leased to defense contractor ITT who will occupy the space in 2007. He also said they expect to complete construction on one building on Parcel 4 in January 2007, and will complete the second building six months later.

Councilmembers Brady, Jenkins, and Lyles also attended the meeting.

3. Red Light Cameras – Change in Contractor

Prince George's County has notified the City that they have changed contractors regarding the implementation of the County's Red Light Camera Program. The
current contractor is ACS. The new contractor is Traffipax. Traffipax has operated the Howard County Red Light Camera Program. The City's current contract with ACS allows the City to terminate our contract should Prince George's County go with another vendor. Also, the City's current contract was for three years with two one-year extensions and we are beyond that period as well. Because the City did not have a police department when the red light camera program was implemented five years ago, the City had to partner with Prince George's County regarding this program.

One of the reasons the County is changing vendors is that they expect to get a much higher picture quality and therefore not have to reject so many tickets due to poor picture quality. The City has one red light camera in current operation at the corner of Route 197 and Kenhill Drive. When the yellow phase of the light was increased from 3.5 to 5 seconds at this intersection by SHA, the number of tickets issued at this location dropped from an average of 220 tickets per month over the first year of operation to an average of 20 tickets per month over the last year of operations. The fee that Traffipax will collect is $30.00 per paid citation. The City pays ACS $27.90 per citation issued. Red light camera tickets have a $75.00 charge attached to them. There is no proposed charge for the installation of new cameras. ACS charged $27,830 per location for both the City and County contracts. Red light cameras can also be used as speed control cameras should State law be modified to allow this use.

Traffipax has indicated that the City could piggyback on the County contract if the Council so desired. Traffipax has asked the City if it would like them to reevaluate the intersections in the City to determine the extent of the problem with red light running, and determine whether there is any benefit to the City in considering the installation of red light cameras at other intersections in the City. Staff would suggest authorizing Traffipax to do this evaluation so that the City has more information by which to access the extent of the red light running problem in the City. Having this evaluation done will not commit the City to any further red light camera installations. Staff will provide information to City Council once this evaluation is completed for further consideration of this issue by Council.

4. Cooperative Purchase of Diesel Fuel

The Council of Governments has received bids for the cooperative purchase of diesel fuel. In this year’s solicitation, vendors were asked to quote on a net price differential to be applied to the current price published on the Oil Price Information Sheet (OPIS). The current OPIS price is $1.9175 and the low bidder, Mansfield Oil, bid a differential of $0.0307 per gallon in truck transport quantities. The beginning contract price would be $1.9482 (the current OPIS price plus the differential). Mansfield was also the low bidder for deliveries in tank wagon quantities, offering a differential of $.0983 per gallon, bringing the cost to $2.0158 for deliveries of less than 6,000 gallons. As with other fuel purchases, the price will increase or decrease during the first and third week of each month based on the published price. The City Charter requires the City Council be given seven days notice prior to entering into a purchase agreement of this type.

5. State Highway Administration Alternates Public Workshop

On Tuesday evening, December 12th, the State Highway Administration (SHA) held an Alternates Public Workshop regarding the proposed widening of MD Route 197 between Kenhill Drive and old MD Route 450. Approximately 80 residents attended the Workshop, held in the Multipurpose Room at City Hall. SHA staff and consultants set up 11 information stations, which included such topics as: Project Purpose and Need, Review and Planning Process; Newsletter Survey Results; Environmental Summary; Right-of-Way/Noise; Next Steps; and, a Comment Table, where attendees could complete comment cards and turn them in to SHA representatives. Also on display were four (4) roadway cross-section plans, which included two (2) four-lane proposals and two (2) five-lane proposals. Some of the main comments received at the Workshop included: noise; pedestrian access along MD Route 197; traffic signal interconnection; adequate sight distance at the Faith Lane intersection; and, landscape buffer impacts.

6. Bowie Advisory Planning Board (BAPB) Results

On Tuesday evening, December 12th, the Bowie Advisory Planning Board (BAPB) conducted a public hearing on Preliminary Subdivision Plan #4-06103, a proposal by Lonergan Development, Inc. to create 15 residential building lots on a 24-acre site, which is zoned R-E (Residential Estate) and is located on the east side of Church Road, approximately 0.6 mile south of U.S. Route 50. (The subject property is located adjacent to the Collingbrook residential subdivision now under development and to the PDC/Rodenhauser Property, which the Council recently reviewed. The site does not have frontage on, or direct vehicular access to, Church Road.) No one signed up to speak during the public hearing. The applicant indicated his concurrence with the staff recommendation of approval and with the conditions contained in the staff report. At the conclusion of the hearing, the BAPB voted unanimously to support the staff recommendation of approval. This application is scheduled for a public hearing by the City Council on Tuesday, January 16th.