City Council Meeting - Thursday, May 22, 2008

CITY OF TAKOMA PARK, MARYLAND
BUDGET WORKSESSION
OF THE CITY COUNCIL

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Minutes adopted July 14, 2008.

PRESENT:
Mayor Williams Councilmember Barry Councilmember Clay Councilmember Robinson Councilmember Seamens Councilmember Snipper Councilmember Wright		City Manager Matthews Public Works Director Braithwaite City Clerk Carpenter Deputy City Manager Ludlow Finance Director Brooks Communications Director Moffet Deputy Recreation Director Clark

The City Council convened at 7:30 p.m. in the Auditorium of the Takoma Park Community Center -- Sam Abbott Citizens' Center, 7500 Maple Avenue, Takoma Park, Maryland.

Mr. Wright thanked the City Manager for the information she provided for the budget worksession.

Mr. Seamens commented that he appreciated some of the changes Mayor Williams had made on the Council. He said he would like to have a brainstorming session on the role of the Council in Takoma Park.

Jay Keller, 324 Lincoln Avenue, Vice Chair of the Recreation Committee, asked for the Council’s support for the fall/winter basketball league.

Kay Daniels-Cohen, 19 Sherman Avenue, Chair of the Recreation Committee, spoke in support of funding for the winter basketball league.

Jose Dominguez, Chair of the Arts and Humanities Commission, spoke in support of funding for the public art program, the mosaic project, and renovation of the Auditorium.

Randy Cohen, 6757 Eastern Avenue, member of the Arts and Humanities Commission, spoke in support of the auditorium renovation project and the public art project.

Emily Paulus, 507 Elm Avenue, member of the Arts and Humanities Commission, spoke in support of the public art program and the renovation of the auditorium. She noted the research the Commission had done while developing the Cultural Plan. The plan has public art and facilities/venues for the arts as two of its five goals.

Stephan Janin, supported inclusion of $10,000 in the budget for the public art program and supported renovation of the auditorium.

Bruce Baker, 7724 Maple Avenue, on the Board of the Takoma Foundation and Director of the Silver Spring Community Indicators Project, spoke in support of the Council providing $25,000 for the indicators project. He said it would product a community report card which would serve as a benchmark for policy actions and goals for allocating resources.

John Hume, Carroll Avenue, spoke in support of continuation of the wayfinding signage program.

Sabrina Baron, President of Historic Takoma, Inc., requested Council support for renovation of HTI’s archives building in Takoma Junction.

BUDGET WORKSESSION

Mayor Williams read a statement suggesting a number of reconciliation items (attached). He proposed lowering the tax rate by one-half cent. Additionally, he withdrew his request to delete the Park Avenue parking lot from the budget.

Council discussed the budget and the reconciliation items. Two other proposals for cutting the tax rate were put forward, to drop it by one cent and by two cents. There was agreement to add additional funding to purchase wind power. The Council reached preliminary agreement to not fund the vacant recreation manager position; to add the winter basketball league; to delete the Washington Adventist Hospital property design charrette, to add funds for Adventist Community Services and Historic Takoma, Inc., to provide some funding for the mosaic project, to delete the public art capital program, to fund the green roof deck on the Community Center, to add funds for landscaping and screening of the Grant Avenue entrance. There was an interest in increasing library fines,

The Council discussed the senior recreation manager position and agreed that they wished to have much more discussion regarding the Recreation Department.

Continued discussion of budget reconciliation items was scheduled to take place on May 27.

The Council adjourned for the evening at 10:28 p.m.

Administrative Function Session

Following the meeting, the Council met in the Council Conference Room to hold an administrative function session to discuss the City Manager’s evaluation. (PRESENT: Williams, Barry, Clay, Robinson, Seamens, Snipper, Wright).