MEMORANDUM

TO: City Council

FROM: David J. Deutsch, City Manager

SUBJECT: Status Report/Council Poll

DATE: July 26, 2007

Status Report

1. Melford District Council Oral Argument

On Monday, July 23rd, the District Council heard Oral Argument on Conceptual Site Plan CSP-06002 for Melford. Attorney John McDonough argued the case for St. John Properties. Mr. Julius Henson and Mr. Ramon Benitez were also present.

Ms. Martha Ainsworth presented the case from the opposition members who had filed an appeal of the Planning Board's January 2007 approval of the CSP. Ms. Ainsworth argued that the Planning Board committed numerous errors in approving the CSP and that the plan should be remanded back to the Planning Board to review a revised plan. City staff joined in the opposition testimony, noting that the proposed CSP cannot be implemented due to the City's restrictive covenants. At the end of the Oral Argument hearing, Council Member Ingrid Turner elected to take the case under advisement until a later date. According to the Zoning Ordinance, within 60 days of the close of the Council's hearing, the Council shall affirm, reverse or modify the decision of the Planning Board, or return the Conceptual Site Plan to the Planning Board to take further testimony or reconsider its decision. If the Council fails to act within the specified time, the Planning Board's decision is automatically affirmed.

2. Equipment Acquisition

The Information Technology and Police Departments have identified for purchase a mobile license plate recognition system. The scanner reads license tags and compares the number to a database containing stolen vehicles and outstanding warrants for the owners. Once identified, the officer will verify that the tag number is either stolen or there is a warrant and will take necessary action. The unit is portable which allows it to be used by all officers in their cruisers.

This is an excellent crime prevention tool; if there is a stolen vehicle in a parking lot within the City, the chances are very good that the occupants are probably planning to commit a crime. Once the word about this device is spread, criminals will tend to stay away from Bowie. The Police Department has received $7,000 in donations from businesses toward the purchase of this device.

The purchase amount for the mobile license plate recognition system is $21,525.00, which is well within the budgeted amount of $25,000. The equipment is available on a GSA contract GS-07F-0073L. As provided in Section 62 of the City Charter, this will serve as the required seven-day notice of intent to purchase this equipment. If Council has no objection, we will issue a purchase order on August 3rd.

3. Police Department

The following Officers will be sworn in during the Council Meeting on Wednesday night:

Ericka Mullins of Washington, D.C. was a member of the Baltimore City Police Department for one year.

Wilbert Golden of Columbia was a member of the Baltimore City Police Department for four years.

William Peterson of Glen Burnie was a member of the Baltimore City Police Department for six years.

Archie Ferguson of Bowie was a member of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Police Department for three years.

Christopher Parker of Rockville was a member of the Metropolitan Police Department for three years.

4. BGE Corridor Tree Trimming Program

At the BGE Task Force Meeting on Wednesday, July 25th, BGE provided an update regarding the Corridor Tree Trimming Program that is occurring in the Meadowbrook and Chapel Forge sections of the City. Approximately two miles of the 3.7-mile project has been completed, which represents 54% of the project. There have
been 125 customer contacts, 97 properties impacted by this program, and three customers that have had issues in terms of not wanting their trees trimmed. One of these customer issues has been resolved and two others are still being addressed. There have been 293 trees greater than 8" in diameter removed as part of this program. BGE anticipates that the vast majority of the work will be completed by the third full week of August.