PRESENT:
Mayor Williams Councilmember Clay Councilmember Robinson Councilmember Seamens Councilmember Snipper Councilmember Wright		City Manager Matthews City Clerk Carpenter Deputy City Manager Ludlow HCD Director Daines Public Works Director Braithwaite Affordable Housing Manager Walker

 

ABSENT: 

Councilmember Schultz

 

Mr. Williams asked for Council concurrence to send a letter opposing the demolition of the Takoma Theatre. There was Council consensus to send the letter (attached).

Mr. Williams announced Ward 6 Night, scheduled for February 16, and the Takoma Park Art Swoop, scheduled for January 31.

Mr. Williams noted that he and Councilmembers Robinson, Wright, and Snipper attended an MML reception for legislators.

Mr. Williams said he had attended the Montgomery County Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration. Since the City is a partner in the annual celebration, he said he would like to find a way to improve what the City is doing at the event.

Ms. Clay said she would like to have the City engage in service during that day, to leverage volunteers to do things the City has not been able to afford and to build community.

Mr. Seamens said he had been a speaker at the City’s Martin Luther King celebration, which had been organized by volunteers and staff. He said he liked the grassroots organization and preferred a local celebration. He said event organizers were seeking volunteers to organize the event for next year.

Mr. Seamens referenced the comments of last week from the CEO of Hearts and Homes for Youth regarding the home on Hudson Avenue. Mr. Seamens said that group homes provide a valuable service, but since last week’s meeting several other problems with the home had come to his attention. He asked the City Manager to have staff check on the home to see how things are going.

Mr. Robinson thanked Ward 3 residents for attending the meeting and reception. He noted that his role is to try to be at the interface of what residents want to see done and what policies are enacted. He encouraged residents to build a case for that they want to have done in the City.

Mr. Wright asked if the City had heard back from the Governor’s Office regarding the status of who is responsible for Ethan Allen Avenue between Takoma Junction and New Hampshire Avenue.

Ms. Matthews said she would follow up on it.

Minutes of October 26 and November 4, 2009 were adopted upon motion by Mr. Wright, seconded by Mr. Seamens.

Pat Loveless, 7620 Maple Avenue, asked if it would be possible for the City to set up a peace fund and ask people to make contributions. Mr. Seamens said he would recommend that residents set up an independent organization instead.

Kat Haines, Prince George’s Avenue, noted that she had submitted a petition for a sidewalk along Prince George’s Avenue where there is a gap. She requested that the City build a sidewalk there. She said that you have to live in a neighborhood to know what the priorities are. Ms. Haines said the neighborhood was talking about requesting a traffic study to find ways to calm traffic. Additionally, she said that she heard that Prince George’s Triangle might be considered for location of a dog park. She supported that because it could provide more eyes on the street.

Terry Beam, Sherman Avenue, between Maple and Hancock, noted that there are no street lights right above Hancock, which creates a dark area. He said he would like a plan for Sherman Avenue, perhaps to make it a one way street.

David Borden, Ward 3, spoke in support of Takomans for Intelligent Marijuana Enforcement and commented on drug enforcement in Takoma Park. He said that drug enforcement in the city was primarily for marijuana possession and primarily directed at African Americans, but he noted that the existence of racial disparity is rarely deliberate. He provided a packet of information to the Council.

Sat Jiwan Ikle-Khalsa spoke in support of the Prince George’s Avenue sidewalk and use of the Prince George’s Triangle.

Byrne Kelly said he had been appointed to the Biodiesel Greenfield Advisory Board. They were seeking to locate in Takoma Park with a facility to distribute the product. He also noted a cut back on buses at the County level. He suggested that the size of buses should be reduced and the City should consider purchasing jitneys for use in Takoma Park. Mr. Kelly suggested that residents get rid of grass in their yards and compost leaves on site. There should be composting locations in each ward. He requested lights on Circle Avenue and sidewalks on New Hampshire Avenue.

Marie Jean, Lincoln Avenue, announced a program to raise money for Haiti (to be donated through the Clinton Fund)

Tom Wolf, Sycamore Avenue, spoke in support of installing street lights. He would like to have lights upgraded to LED lights. He commented that Takoma Park is the most expensive place to live in Maryland. He said that if the City does not have the money to do projects like the Public Works facility, it should not do them.

(1) Resolution Recognizing the Contributions of H. James O’Brien

Mr. Williams read the resolution. He commented that Mr. O’Brien’s health was not good. The Council wanted to let him know how much he is appreciated.

Ms. Clay noted that a number of people in the community expressed what a terrific contribution he has made to the community. She said she appreciated Mr. O’Brien’s support and the countless things he has done.

Mr. Robinson said he had worked with Mr. O’Brien closely and has appreciated knowing him.

Joseph Klockner, commented that he has worked with Mr. O’Brien for over 15 years in the construction business. He said Mr. O’Brien is a great person and has contributed much to the community.

Peg O’Brien thanked the Council on behalf of Mr. O’Brien. She said that her husband has taken pride in the city, and is a man of peace, giving, fairness and sensitivity.

Motion Moved by , seconded by .    (VOTING FOR: Mayor Williams, Councilmember Clay, Councilmember Robinson, Councilmember Seamens, Councilmember Snipper, and Councilmember Wright; ABSENT:  Councilmember Schultz)

Resolution 2010-8 (attached)

(2) Ward Night - Ward 3

Ward 3 residents commented:

Elise Liguori, Westmoreland Avenue, commented on the property at 6602 Cockerille Avenue. She wanted to be sure the dogs chained in the yard at the property were not being abused. She also noted the presence of a possible used car business there.

Mr. Williams and Ms. Clay acknowledged that they were aware of issues with the property.

Sol Schneiderman, Lincoln Avenue, expressed concern about the crosswalks on Carroll Avenue. He asked if there was a policy about crosswalks and determining whether they were safe or not.

Mr. Williams responded that SHA had authority over the crosswalks on Carroll Avenue.

Mr. Robinson noted that there was a request to add a crosswalk at Carroll and Lincoln Avenue.

Mary Jane Michui, Allegheny Avenue, commented on the work she had done to petition for off leash dog hours at Spring Park.

Ms. Matthews commented on her denial of the petitioners’ request, noting that whether to put up a fenced dog park would be a decision to be made by the City Council.

Mr. Williams noted that a broader discussion of the issue was scheduled for February 8.

Ms. Clay commented that for the discussion she would like to have a listing of all the public spaces in the city and undeveloped areas that may serve as a potential location for a dog park.

Kay Daniels-Cohen, Sherman Avenue, commented on the ongoing community discussions about Takoma Junction. She encouraged interested residents to come to the Council discussion on January 25.

Jeff Trunzo, Ward 3, SS Carroll, commented regarding the corner of Sherman and Maple Avenue. He said he would support anything that would help with the commercial area and the trash and loitering, including code enforcement, video surveillance, removal of invasives, and landscaping. Mr. Trunzo also noted his concerns about parking along Maple Avenue. He said that despite the large amounts of asphalt in the apartment building parking lots, vehicles from apartment residents were parking on Maple Avenue, and also on Sherman Avenue because they believe their vehicles are safer on Sherman Avenue. Many of the vehicles are commercial vehicles.

Mr. Seamens said he would like staff to check to see what the apartment owners’ parking policy is. He noted that there are a lot of blue collar workers; it would be a severe hardship to not have their vehicles parked in the neighborhood.

Ms. Clay asked if the City had authority to require multi-unit buildings to provide parking for the residents.

Mr. Robinson supported increased parking management.

(3) Discussion of Proposed Allocation of CDBG PY34 Funds for Affordable Housing Initiative

Linda Walker presented a proposal to use Community Development Block Grant funds that were designated for affordable housing initiatives to finance weatherization and related energy efficiency upgrades at multi-family rental facilities in Takoma Park. The program would be marketed by City staff, but administered and monitored by the Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Development. Staff noted that the program would target properties too small for certain other funding, but that was also not eligible for funding targeted to single family homes.

Council discussed the proposal. There was support for the program, giving nonprofits first priority as well as properties where tenants pay their own utilities. Properties would have to remain as affordable rental units.

(4) Discussion of Implementation Plan for ADA and Sidewalk Studies

The Council was asked to discuss the priority for sidewalk construction and ADA compliance, whether to adopt or adapt the ranking system provided by Toole Design Group, whether to make a decision about alternative sidewalk materials, and whether to move forward with a contract for design and construction management of sidewalks.

Mr. Robinson commented that the focus of the study was safe routes to school because of the funding source. He said he wondered if the prioritization wasn’t missing dangerous streets. He asked about the difference in cost between pervious and non pervious sidewalk materials.

Ms. Braithwaite commented on the need to weigh the impervious sidewalk issue against other means of dealing with runoff on large impervious areas. She commented that the decision about whether to use pervious materials could wait until the sidewalk design process. She noted that the recommended improvements for curb ramps could be done by the existing contractor used by the Public Works Department through the indefinite quantities contract.

Ms. Clay commented that the ranking system does not reflect the knowledge of the community. She suggested looking at the objective criteria but also consider other mechanisms. Ms. Clay suggested a policy priority to build new sidewalks before going back to replace old sidewalks. Another criteria to consider is the need to have a network of sidewalks, that are not necessarily the Safe Routes to School program priorities.

Ms. Braithwaite asked for Council to provide information on what sidewalks were needed that would not be higher priorities in the ranking system.

Ms. Ludlow explained that the higher priorities recommended by staff would be projects that were less expensive and more possible to complete.

Ms. Daines noted examples where sidewalks would be very expensive to construct because of slopes and lack of right of way.

Mr. Snipper supported opting to go ahead with the ADA compliant ramps to indicate a good faith effort to deal with that issue. He said he was not in favor of the alternative construction materials because it would be much easier to use concrete.

Mr. Seamens indicated that he wanted to see the ranking system revised to include areas where there are institutions that have a heavy need for sidewalks, such as the day care center on Geneva Avenue.

Mr. Wright supported prioritizing the ADA ramps. He agreed with the ranking system for sidewalks generally, but suggested that each Councilmember review streets and point out areas where the ranking system did not capture the community’s priorities. He agreed with building new sidewalks over repairing old sidewalks, except where existing sidewalks are dangerous or have ADA issues.

The majority of the Council agreed with Mr. Wright’s suggestion.

The Council adjourned for the evening at 11:20 p.m.