Councilmember Clay
Councilmember Robinson
Councilmember Schultz
Councilmember Seamens
Councilmember Snipper
Councilmember Wright
City Clerk Carpenter
Deputy City Manager Ludlow
HCD Director Daines
The City Council convened at 7:35 p.m. in the Azalea Room of the Takoma Park Community Center -- Sam Abbott Citizens' Center, 7500 Maple Avenue, Takoma Park, Maryland.
Ms. Clay commented on basketball registration at the Recreation Department. She noted an issue of registration being closed earlier than expected. She also said that an ice skating outing had been canceled by the Department, but people were not told about the cancellation.
Mr. Wright said he was pleased to see the Police Department purchasing hybrids as unmarked vehicles.
Mr. Wright said he had met with members of the Old Takoma Business Association, where he heard the clear message that it is a hard time for small businesses. He said the businesses would like to work closely with staff and the Council to promote businesses in the Newsletter and on City TV. He said that they would like to pursue the issue of the personal property tax. He asked the City Manager to provide information on how our tax compares with other jurisdictions in the area. Mr. Wright said he would like to resolve the question of the tax in the next budget cycle.
Mr. Schultz announced Ward 6 Night scheduled for February 16. He commented on his recent visit to France where the use of non-biodegradable plastic bags had been abolished. He said he felt that the bags should be outlawed in Maryland.
Randy Gibson, Ward 6, volunteer with the Main Street Program, said he was working on a market analysis of the downtown area. He invited business operators and the community to a meeting on February 2 to review the results of a fairly comprehensive market analysis report. He said the analysis was available for review online.
Kay Daniels-Cohen, President of SS Carroll Neighborhood Association, distributed a letter she had sent to the City Council in 2008, regarding the need to develop a vision for Takoma Junction.
Donna Victoria, Ward 6, commented on the sidewalk discussion held on January 19. She said she was disappointed where the Council ended up. Ms. Victoria said that when the consultants presented their findings, that had clear objective criteria for ranking sidewalks. She said she believed it was a mistake to inject additional information into the criteria. She suggested that it is useful to separate out places where the sidewalks are not ADA compliant and places that have no sidewalks. The missing components are which of the streets are feeder streets and where are there accessibility issues.
Mr. Wright said he appreciated the comments but he felt that the Council had agreed to take the recommendations, go back to the ward to see if there is any valid reason why we think a street should be changed by something not captured in the data. It was not his intention to have a wholesale trading of streets; he just wanted to be sure the numbers jived with real world experience.
Mr. Williams agreed.
Barrie Lee Howard, President of New Hampshire Gardens Citizens Association, said his neighborhood is ready for sidewalks. He said that during a 2008 workshop, the community expressed a need for connection of neighborhoods, and connection from neighborhoods with shopping areas, parks and schools. He said the Association is ready to work with the City to implement sidewalks in the neighborhood.
Erin Caldwell, of the National Research Center, presented the results of the resident survey (executive summary attached).
After the presentation, Mr. Schultz asked about bias in the kinds of people likely to respond to the survey. He noted the high percentage who had graduate or post graduate degrees, with 80% responding that they had high speed internet. He asked if they were the people most likely to respond to a survey.
Ms. Reynolds responded that NRC does its best to reach a random sample, and weighs the results because of some of the issues he raised.
Mr. Schultz asked about the number of Hispanic respondents.
Ms. Ludlow said the number of Hispanic respondents seemed low, which may mean a low response rate or it may reflect that people do not wish to identify themselves as Hispanic.
Mr. Williams asked about the large number of respondents indicating that they had graduate degrees, and noted that the number of respondents who said they were victims of crime seemed high.
Ms. Ludlow said that the number with graduate degrees seemed accurate. The number who indicated that they were victims of crime may reflect that those individuals were more likely to fill out the survey. She noted that external factors, such as the rape in Sligo Creek Park, may have influenced some of the responses.
Mr. Wright commented on the high number of individuals who indicated that they read the Newsletter. He noted that the Newsletter is push technology, as opposed to the Web and City TV, which is pull technology.
Mr. Seamens said that he had voted against funding the survey because it was too much to spend for a feel good project. He said it behooves the Council to use the results to improve the quality of services or as a way to save money.
Mr. Snipper said he had voted against the survey because he would prefer to spend money on something substantially more specific, tied to specific activities, functions or programs, so that the Council could assess whether a program was doing what it says it will do, and reflect how people feel about it.
Ms. Clay agreed with Mr. Snipper about the need for a survey that provides more useful information. She noted that Ward 2 residents said they did not want to raise taxes and would rather reduce services. People responded to the question about what services they would give up in a vacuum, not having the information on what would be the benefit if a service were cut. She noted that some services are rebated, and some are not, so that residents did not have the information they needed to evaluate tradeoffs.
Ms. Matthews noted changes made to the ordinance since first reading.
Motion to adopt Second Reading Ordinance 2010-1 Authorizing FY 2010 Budget Amendment No. 2. Moved by Councilmember Wright, seconded by Councilmember Snipper. (VOTING FOR: Mayor Williams, Councilmember Clay, Councilmember Robinson, Councilmember Schultz, Councilmember Seamens, Councilmember Snipper, and Councilmember Wright)
Second Reading Ordinance 2010-1 (attached)
A. Single Reading Ordinance 2010-5 Authorizing Purchase of Three Ford Fusion Hybrid Police Vehicles (attached)
B. Single Reading Ordinance 2010-6 Authorizing Purchase of Two Dodge Charger Police Cruisers (attached)
C. Single Reading Ordinance 2010-7 Authorizing Purchase and Installation of Police Vehicle Equipment (attached)
D. Resolution 2010-9 Endorsing the Use of Community Development Block Grant Funds for Weatherization and Energy Efficiency Improvements at Multi-Family Rental Properties (attached)
E. Resolution 2010-10 Appointing John Hemphill to the Tree Commission (attached)
Motion to adopt the consent agenda. Moved by Councilmember Snipper, seconded by Councilmember Seamens. (VOTING FOR: Mayor Williams, Councilmember Clay, Councilmember Robinson, Councilmember Schultz, Councilmember Seamens, Councilmember Snipper, and Councilmember Wright)
Mr. Williams introduced the discussion by stating that he wanted to hear what the issues were, what are the community’s priorities to work on, and whether the Council wanted to establish a formal group.
Ms. Daines provided basic background information on the City lots in Takoma Junction. There were two parcels, one zoned residential (along Columbia Avenue), and the second parcel zoned commercial (fronting along Carroll Avenue). She said the Council may wish to establish a formal work group for the project, then hold a public discussion to get everyone engaged. She said if the City decided to dispose of the property, funding should be included in the budget to have an appraisal done.
In response to questions, Ms. Daines said that the City may have to repay some of the external funding used to purchase the property. She said a commercial development on the property would have to be appropriate for the character of the historic district, meet zoning requirements, and have appropriate size and massing for the neighborhood. A historic area work permit would be needed.
Ms. Daines indicated that if the City were to issue an RFP or RFQ, part of the offering document would be to solicit developers who have experience with this type of development.
Ms. Clay commented that the traffic situation affects the quality of life in the intersection. She wondered if the property could be used to leverage changes to traffic flow.
After further Council discussion, Mr. Williams invited community members to comment.
Howard Kohn noted that there is potential for development of the lot to be a game changer for Takoma Junction. He advised the City to move slowly and make its decision carefully. He commented that there should be a sign that says "public parking" on the City lot, given the need for parking in the Junction. He urged the Council to preserve parking in the area.
Roger Schlegel commented that in a City-wide context, Takoma Junction is at the geographic heart of the City. He noted frustrations expressed by residents -- traffic, congestion, bad pedestrian access. He said that residents felt sad about the loss of local places to eat and work and would like to see anything with excellent customer service. Mr. Schlegel said that residents expressed a vision of having a small town feel, with offices and services that would attract daytime visitors. They want it to be easier to cross from the Co-op to the other side of the street. Residents expressed concern about kids who have to cross to get to the school bus.
Kay Daniels-Cohen said that the SS Carroll Association had formed a committee to start the ball rolling, to focus on pedestrian safety, traffic, and business vitality. They met with business owners, who expressed concern about the traffic. There was interest in having more foot traffic, and recognition that parking is an issue.
Randy Gibson commented that the market analysis that had been done by the Old Takoma Business Association was full of excellent observations and recommendations. In the area from Takoma Junction to Takoma Theatre, the research indicates a potential to grow based on the demographics, if there is marketing and vision. Spinoff of customers from the Co-op to other businesses was limited because of problems with pedestrian access.
Lorraine Pearsall suggested that the City reach out to property owners with the Facade Improvement Program. She urged the Council to lobby for additional funding for facade improvements. She noted that parking is critical as buildings get new tenants. It is a life and death issue for Takoma Junction.
Roz Grigsby, Executive Director of the Old Takoma Business Association, recognized John Kidney, General Manager of the Co-op, along with three members of the Co-op Board. She said that the City lot was a game changer, but the group was looking at the Junction beyond the City lot. They were also looking at pedestrian flow, traffic, and viability of businesses.
Mr. Williams asked the Council for a sense of how it wanted to proceed.
Ms. Clay said she agreed with the broad focus. She said there were little fixes that could be done now with signage. She said she was not afraid to talk about how to incorporate the Co-op in a redevelopment scheme because it is an anchor business. She said if we go forward with a task force, it should have a broad scope and be inclusive of people across the City, since it affects people across the City.
Mr. Wright said there are some things that should be done right away, but some issues are longer term, such as working with SHA. He said a task force should have broad representation. A task force should look at short, medium and long term issues. He said pedestrian issues could be a short term issue, but the traffic pattern needs to be changed. He said the Council should set parameters, such as keeping the historic structures, but recognize that they may have to be moved. Nothing should be off the table.
Laura _____, Co-op board member, said the Co-op was interested in participating in the process and continuing dialogue. The Co-op was considering whether to expand the store or add additional stores. In the short term, there was interest in adding more prepared foods and cafe seating.
Mr. Williams said the group had provided a good start. He suggested that temporarily the group keep meeting. He said he would schedule another session in two months to develop a sense of whether the Council wanted to create a formal task force.
Mr. Seamens and Mr. Wright recused themselves.
Ms. Matthews explained that she was not looking for specific direction at this time, she was hoping to get a sense of what the Council’s priorities may be to aid in preparation of her proposed budget.
Mr. Snipper said his higher priorities were the Crossroads Farmers Market, the Takoma Park Folk Festival, and the Takoma Park Independence Day Committee. His middle group included CASA de Maryland and Historic Takoma. Manna and the Old Takoma Business Association were his lower priorities. The Indicators project was his lowest priority.
Ms. Clay commented on the Old Takoma Business Association. She advocated for using a business tax to fund certain business programs or to come up with some mechanism for stable funding. She said she would like to continue to support the Independence Day Committee. She commented that the festivals do a lot to help the business community and serve as another way to invest in the business community. She suggested limiting the Crossroads Farmers Market to the CDBG funding they would receive.
Mr. Robinson said he liked the idea of looking creatively at how to support the business districts. He supported funding the Independence Day Committee. He said he would like to know what the Folk Festival’s business plan is to become self sustaining. Mr. Robinson said the Indicators project would need to make a strong case to receive his support. He said that CASA was not high on his list.
Mr. Williams said his higher priorities were the Independence Day Committee and the Old Takoma Business Association because both use the funds to leverage funding from other sources. He commented that the County should be providing some business support for our tax dollars.
Mr. Williams’ lowest priorities were CASA, the Indicators project, the Crossroads Farmers Market, and Manna. His middle priorities were Historic Takoma and the Folk Festival.
Mr. Schultz commented that leverage is one criteria he would look at. He said he would reserve judgment on his priorities.
The City Manager presented her quarterly financial report (attached).
The Council adjourned for the evening at 11:27 p.m.