MEMORANDUM
TO: City Council
FROM: David J. Deutsch, City Manager
SUBJECT: Status Report/Council Poll
DATE: February 28, 2008
Status Report
1. BGE Open House
BGE is hosting their initial open house pertaining to the improvements to
the electric system in Bowie on Wednesday, March 12, 2008. This open house
will be modeled on the successful event BGE held last June at Florian Hall
pertaining to the enhanced tree trimming program in Meadowbrook and Chapel
Forge. At the event held last year, BGE had a series of information areas
scattered throughout the room, with BGE staff at each area to discuss with
residents the improvements planned. This would be similar to how some of
the SHA open houses on the Route 197 improvements occurred. BGE plans on
two sessions from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
This event will be held at City Hall in the Multipurpose Room. Individual
letters will be mailed by BGE to residents directly impacted by this first
phase of improvements making them aware of this open house.
2. Cooperative Purchase
The Council of Governments has decided to exercise its option to renew, for
up to one year, the current gasoline contract which expires on February
28, 2008. The current vendor is Truman Arnold Company and the price for
unleaded regular gasoline in truck transport quantities, as of February
18, 2008 is $2.4588 per gallon. As with other fuel purchases, the price
will increase or decrease during the first and third week of each month
based on the published Oil Price Information Sheet (OPIS) price.
Section 62 of the City Charter requires the City Council be given seven days
notice prior to entering into a purchase agreement of this type. This contract
will be in effect through February 28, 2009.
3. Railroad Avenue Trail in Old Town Bowie
As Council is aware, the City received grant funding through the State's
Community Legacy Program for an engineering feasibility study for the Railroad
Avenue Hiker-Biker Trail in Old Town Bowie. The proposed trail is intended
to connect Old Town Bowie with the MARC train station at Bowie State University.
The trail concept was approved with community support in the Bowie and
Vicinity Master Plan. This effort is also a major component of the City's
Walkable Communities strategy for Old Town Bowie. The trail will also connect
several neighborhoods of Old Town with the City's Railroad Museum, Welcome
Center and park amenities. The consultant who prepared the study, AB Consultants
of Lanham, provided the final report to the City in December. (A copy
of the report on a disc is included in your package.) In order to complete
the study, AB Consultants performed some field surveys of the Railroad
Avenue right-of-way, resulting in several inquiries from adjacent residents.
The residents were assured that the project was only under study and construction
was not imminent. Staff subsequently applied for a grant from the Metropolitan
Washington Council of Governments (COG) Transportation/
Land Use Connections (TLC) Program for consulting services to conduct a community
informational meeting and charrette in early 2008. Last week, the COG Transportation
Planning Board approved the City's application, which was among 11 new technical
assistance projects approved. Staff is in the process of determining an exact
date for the community workshop, which is likely to be held on the campus
of Bowie State University. Staff is optimistic that a consensus can be reached
on an acceptable trail alignment and will advise Council when the community
meeting is scheduled.
4. Ethics Commission Advisory Opinion
Attached please find an advisory opinion from the Ethics Commission concerning
a matter recently brought to their attention. The redaction is required
by the City Code.
5. Public Service Commission BGE Reliability Update
On Wednesday, February 27th, Councilmember Valentino-Smith and City staff
attended a presentation by BGE Senior Vice President Stephen Woerner to
the Public Service Commission (PSC) in Baltimore, pertaining to the status
of their plans to improve electric reliability in the Bowie area. Attached
is a copy of the report presented to the PSC. A copy of this report will
also be provided to the Bowie members of the BGE Task Force. What was communicated
by BGE to the PSC was consistent with what has been communicated to the
City Council and BGE Task Force recently. BGE indicated that they anticipate
having the infrastructure repairs to the 10 worst feeder lines targeted
for improvement completed by the end of 2009. They anticipate that all
tree related work will take place by the end of 2010. BGE will begin meeting
with PSC staff next week to review in detail the technical aspects
of these improvements. This is consistent with the request made by the
City and eliminates the need for the City to do a separate technical
analysis as
originally proposed in the FY 2009 City Budget. The PSC Commissioners were
well briefed by PSC staff. They focused their questions on urging BGE to
accelerate these improvements to the extent that they can; requested that
BGE provide a detailed schedule to the PSC showing what is planned and when
improvements
will be made; communicated the need for BGE to track the progress of these
improvements against the schedule with the PSC; indicated the need to establish
metrics that show whether these improvements are having the desired impact
in terms of reducing the number of electrical outages; and expressed concern
that the infrastructure improvements are only focused on 10 feeder lines.
Tree related work is planned for all 21 feeders in Bowie over the next three
years. The PSC indicated that they will continue to stay engaged in monitoring
this project and anticipate follow-up meetings with BGE in the future. The
City will also request copies of the detailed schedules and updates noted
above. Councilmember Valentino-Smith expressed the City's thanks for both
the PSC and BGE involvement to date; supported the partnership between BGE,
the PSC and the City in working to improve this situation; and reiterated
the sense of frustration experienced by City residents because of the lack
of dependability of power over the years.
6.
BGE Meters – Request
for Addresses
Attached
is a letter from Senior Vice President Johnny Magwood responding
to the City's request for the addresses of customers in Bowie who had recently
received new meters so the City could send a letter to these customers,
informing them of this situation and advising them of follow-up contacts
with BGE and the PSC should they have any concerns about this situation.
BGE has declined to release this information because of their desire to
protect the privacy of their customers. Also attached is a sample letter
from BGE that they intend to distribute to Bowie customers and customers
in Prince George's County who have received these meters, informing them
of this situation and providing contact information with BGE should they
have any questions. As requested by City Council, BGE has indicated a willingness
to come before City Council to provide further follow-up on this matter.
Staff suggests having this follow-up at your March 17th City Council Meeting.
This date has not yet been confirmed with BGE. We will inform Council should
there be any change in this proposed date.
7. Sandy Hill Landfill Community Meeting
Last night the County hosted a community meeting regarding the results of
recent chemical testing in and around Sandy Hill Landfill. Approximately
70 people attended, including Mayor Robinson and Councilmembers Brady,
Polangin, and Marcos, and several representatives from County agencies.
The substance of the presentation came from a representative from the firm of Malcolm Pirnie, hired by the County as consultants, to do testing, analysis, and remediation. They sampled soil, surface water, and groundwater for two categories of compounds: volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can be cancer causing agents, and naturally occurring substances, such as lead, zinc and other metals.
Based on their sampling of 74 locations on the perimeter of the landfill and at Huntington North Park and the Sandy Hill Neighborhood Park, which border the landfill, almost all of the readings were within acceptable ranges. The few samples that have been cause for concern were detected in groundwater, rather than soil or surface water.
At the Sandy Hill Neighborhood Park on the northeast side of the landfill, no tests exceeded Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) compliance levels. Beyond the western boundary of the landfill site, but still on County property, low levels of VOCs were detected, but the levels were below the maximum chemical level (MCL) permitted by the EPA. At Huntington Park North, no problems were detected with the soil or surface water. However one groundwater sample did indicate a VOC concentration that exceeded the MCL. At the southwest corner of the property, bordering Duckettown Road, two groundwater samples showed elevated VOC levels. More testing is occurring in this area to determine how far the groundwater may be carrying the VOCs.
Because the contamination was detected in groundwater, the use of wells in the area was a concern. However, the County Health Department has visited each of the 19 neighbors bordering the landfill and determined that they are all served by WSSC and are not using well water.
Resident questions had
to do with how the County will remove the contamination, how the County
will communicate
with local residents, whether underground
utilities or sewer lines could be a path for contamination to travel as a
gas or a liquid into homes, and whether other homes within a mile or two
of the landfill on well water, may be at risk. County officials committed
to sharing information with local residents through letters and through the
County’s website. They intend to make the website page interactive
so that residents can pose questions directly from the website. The County
Department of Environmental Resources is the lead agency on this, but representatives
from the Health Department, the County Executive’s Office, and Park
and Planning are also involved in addressing this problem.
DJD/asf
Attachments:
Railroad Avenue Hiker/Biker Trail Feasibility Study
BGE Reliability Improvement Update
Bowie Ethics Commission Advisory Opinion
BGE Letter Regarding Electric Meter Changes