May 11, 2006 Town Meeting
1
Town of Cheverly
Meeting Minutes
May 11, 2006
Call to Order
Mayor Mosley called the meeting to order at 8:00 PM in the Cheverly Community Center. There were 3 citizens in attendance.
In attendance: Attorney Colaresi, Chief Robshaw, CMs Ford, Hofmann, Oslik, Schachter and Watson.
Pledge of Allegiance
Agenda/Approval/Changes
Approved as written. Mayor Mosley asked that announcements be kept to a minimum and items would be moved up if the meeting runs late.
CM Oslik requested a discussion on mosquitoes and the West Nile Virus be added. It was added as Item 13.
Minutes – 3/9/06 Town Meeting
Mayor Mosley added that grammatical changes were made and accepted. There were no other changes.
Minutes – 4/13/06 Worksession
Approved as written.
Minutes – Worksession 4/27
Approved as written.
Special Worksession – 5/4
Approved as written.
Town Administrators Report
Mr. Warrington announced that the Town has received a Tree City USA Award for the tenth year in a row from the Department of Natural Resources. Police Department construction has begun and completion is estimated for Thanksgiving. The Town will be without Internet and a cable generator for two to three weeks due to construction; in however, the Town office can be reached by phone. Public Works should not be affected by the Internet and cable outages.
CM Oslik congratulated the Public Works Department on winning the Tree City USA Award.
Police Report
Lt. Joe Frohlich gave the April report (attached to original of the minutes). April had the lowest crime rate total since 1998. First quarter 2006 had the lowest crime rate since 2001. The next CPAC meeting is scheduled for May 15 at 7:00 PM and will include discussion and planning for National Night Out. Flyers have been sent out for the June 22 Women’s Defense Class that will be held from 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM. The cost is $20. Attendees should bring their own lunch; beverages will be provided. The Smooth Operator will begin on May 21 and the State Highway Administration will fund overtime.
Mayor Mosley added that Officer Seaford has returned safely from Iraq.
CM Hoffman asked for an update on the rash of auto and shed burglaries on Lockwood and Tremont.
Lt. Frohlich responded that he did not have an update but referred inquiries to Detective Green. Lt. Frohlich added that a number of the burglaries committed are by perpetrators who are passing through Town.
· CM Oslik Moved to excuse CM Ford. Seconded by CM Schachter. Unanimously approved.
Mayor and Council Announcements
Worksession Agenda (5/25): FY07 Operating Budget, tax increase, letter to Park and Planning about E&J Auto Body (Tuxedo Rd), apartment security improvements.
Mayor Mosley added that Cheverly Day was spectacular. She thanked everyone for their hard work, especially the Police Department, Public Works, Mary Jane Ulrich and Sue Rosnick. The 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament was rescheduled for June 3 at the Community Center. Registration will be held Friday, June 2. The Boys and Girls Club will provide refreshments.
CM Oslik requested that a proposal submitted by the Garden Club be added to the Worksession agenda. They are proposing to erect the first Small Blue Star Memorial (a tribute to America’s armed forces) in the County.
Committee Reports
Cheverly Day Committee
CM Watson summarized that the financial data will be available in a few weeks. He thanked Mr. Warrington, the Chief and the many volunteers. The day went well and highlighted the many services Cheverly offers. The 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament will be held on June 3; details will be posted on cheverlyday.com. The 96-page program booklet received favorable response. It was expensive to produce.
Recreation Council
No report.
Citizen Input
Brendan Heneghan, 6024 Hawthorne Street, thanked the Town for the best Cheverly Day ever.
He reviewed the meeting minutes for the October Town Meeting and expressed concern around the Lobbyist discussion. He had stated at that time that hiring a Lobbyist was a bad idea for many reasons including the fact that the Lobbyist hired by the Town is the wife of a councilmember. He read the following excerpt from the minutes “Mayor Mosley clarified that the grants pursued by the lobbyist are legislative grants”. Mr. Heneghan added that he is not sure if this is true, but if the Lobbyist is pursuing other matters, it should be discussed at Town Meetings.
He added that he was struck by a discussion he had with the Lobbyist who said that she is a close personal friend of the Mayor. He was opposed to a lobbyist having these relationships. He takes strong exception to the authorizing language in the motion made to hire the lobbyist “CM Watson authorized the Mayor and Council to enter in to a contract.” The Mayor is not supposed to sign contracts.
Mayor Mosley clarified that the Lobbyist is the wife of a County Councilmember, not a Town Councilmember. Also, she and Mrs. Harrington are not personal friends nor did Mrs. Harrington make this statement. She has only discussed her hiring only weeks prior to the Mayor and Council’s vote to hire Proctor and Associates.
Attorney Colaresi added that the Mayor can sign contracts because she is the CEO, and the Town Administrator is the Chief Administrative Officer. Anyone the Council authorizes can sign contracts on behalf of the Town, additionally; it is frequently the case in area municipalities where the Mayor signs everything. Mayor Mosley added that 99% of the contract details had been worked out by the Mayor and Council on camera. Mayor Mosley added that there was additional language that she and the Town Attorney were asked to work out before she signed the contract.
Mr. Heneghan added that he would have liked to hear a sales pitch from the lobbying firms and asked that the contract be reviewed.
CM Schacther stated for the record that he finds nothing unusual about the Mayor signing a contract. He reiterated that the merits of the consultant were thoroughly discussed at a videotaped meeting where he raised a series of questions regarding conflicts of interest (representing other towns). He was insulted by the suggestion of the basis of friendship versus the merits of the firm. The firm is well known and well connected which is why they were hired.
CM Oslik commented that he agreed with Mr. Heneghan that the process of assessing the contract should begin early to determine whether this is a worthwhile expenditure for the Town and whether Proctor and Associates is the right representative.
PEPCO Presentation
Mayor Mosley introduced PEPCO Representatives, David Gould, Public Affairs Representative for Prince George’s County, Ynette Brown, and Earnie Baker both representing the Reliability Services Team.
Ernie Baker introduced Dave Gould and Ynette Brown.
Mr. Baker asked residents to bring forth their issues for him and his colleagues to document, research and work to an eventual resolution. He circulated a sheet for residents to write their issues (name, address contact information and questions).
Mayor Mosley recapped the issues:
1. Montrose Road – some improvements, upgrades. An updated long-term report on maintenance and future improvements was promised. Have not seen that report.
2. Longstanding problems in parts of Ward 1 and Ward 2 (Alleyway, Carlyle, Dewey, Crest, 59th) saw improvements that have been slipping. They suspect equipment and tree maintenance are the causes.
3. Tree trimming.
Mr. Baker committed addressing these issues.
Dave Gould showed a diagram of the town feeders. Corrective actions to date include inspection and maintenance of feeders. Maintenance has been conducted on cross arms, lightening arresters, retention slack wires, pole straighteners, new fuses, cross arm bracer and animal guards.
Mr. Gould reviewed the circuit breaker outages and explained that when these outages occur, the feeder is out of service. As soon as a circuit goes out PEPCO sectionalizes the feeder, finds the fault, defines the problem and restores service to the feeder. He described fuse outages resulting from weather, tree damage and weather. Corrective actions should prevent recurring problems. Tree trimming was conducted last year. And is scheduled next for 2007. The State regulates this activity.
CM Schacther asked whether PEPCO would replace aging power lines with underground lines on Dewey Street.
Mr. Baker responded that underground wiring is installed for new construction. It costs $1M per block to move above ground wires underground. There are no plans to underground current above ground systems.
CM Schacther complained about improper tree trimming.
Mr. Gould responded that PEPCO is limited in how much trimming they can do. He recommended having the Vegetation Staff visit a Town Meeting to explain their processes and procedures.
The rate increase is a result of “opt-in” regulation. Customers were given the opportunity to choose another power provider - and most people did not do this. PEPCO and BG&E became default suppliers. Rates were lowered by 7% and were frozen for 5 years. PEPCO had to divest of their power plants because regulated companies were not allowed to have power plants. The cost of coal has since gone up 150%, oil has gone up 300% and natural gas has gone up 400%. Now that the cap has been removed, PEPCO sought a supplier only to find that no one would sell power at the price they had been paying. PEPCO is only allowed to make $1.00 per customer profit. The public is misinformed as to why rates have risen – PEPCO is not making a 38% profit. PEPCO remains a
regulated company.
Mayor Mosley asked why the power fails during good weather. Mr. Baker responded that it could be due to animals, trees damaged from a previous storm, traffic accidents, etc. As a result, PEPCO will either repair the transformer or rearrange secondary wires to remove the overload. PEPCO hopes to load software that will enable them to do transformer overload studies so that they can be more proactive.
Mayor Mosley added that the Council toured the Euclid Park facility and there are low hanging electric and cable wires lines on private and public property. This is an area that is affected and that PEPCO may want to examine.
CM Oslik asked what it cost for new developments to have lines run underground and who pays for it? Mr. Gould responded that it is less expensive to install underground wiring for new construction. Factors that impact the cost of cutting in to an existing neighborhood include making sure no gas or water lines are hit in the process.
Mr. Gagliardi raised the issue regarding the right-of-way on Wayne Street that is part of an effort to improve the natural environment. What would it cost to bury or move the lines to return the area to its natural state? Mr. Gould responded that Ynette could get back to the Council with an estimate. Also, there are five feeders for Cheverly.
In response to CM Oslik, Mr. Gould will provide a report of all outages (and their causes) that have occurred in the past five years. CM Oslik added that a resident expressed concerns about the elimination of the Powerwatchers Program.
Mr. Baker responded that the Kilowatchers Plan was one of several initiatives that the Public Service Commission deemed prudent for PEPCO to fund to incentivize customers; however, the program was cut.
CM Hoffman asked for a commitment from PEPCO to take care of Ms.Beil (sp?). Mr. Gould agreed to get a contractor to walk the neighborhood and look at fuse tap. Mayor Mosley promised to send Mr. Gould a map of Cheverly featuring highlights of the homes impacted by outages.
Discussion regarding PEPCO rates and opt-out aggregation pool.
Mayor Mosley stated that she would submit information and questions at a later date.
FY07 Operating Budget and Capital Improvement Program
Mayor Mosley reported that there have been minor changes to the budget and one significant change.
Mr. Warrington summarized that projected revenues equal $4,993,000.00. The budget had an expenditure of $5,296,000 and the Mayor and Council removed the proposed street sweeper that would have cost $97,000. There was debate over Capital Improvements, but no decisions. Mr. Warrington added that he is working to address further issues raised by the Mayor and Council. The County deadline for the tax rate was June 2; however, an extension was granted and the Town will submit the new rate on June 9 (after adoption at the Town Meeting).
Summary of planned expenditures:
· Purchase of 5 police cars with onboard computers (powered through communications that have to be paid for)
· Curb, gutter and sidewalk repair.
· Program Open Space funds for the gym floor resurfacing (simulated wood with a foam backing) Work will be done in August. Funding is $.75 and the Town will pay $.25.
· Potential land purchase via Program Open Space Acquisition funds (100%) and a County Livability Grant for the Palm Reading site. Mr. Warrington spoke with the property owner who keeps the property for his mother who is getting older. He is amenable to selling.
· Cost of living increase for employees
· Adjustment for police salaries
· Street resurfacing
Issues being monitored:
· Possible rate increase for yard waste dumping; which may increase from $10 - $40.
Mr. Warrington stated that the Town purchases electricity on a commercial rate scale. They have compared PEPCO standard with PEPCO Energy Services and have decided on PEPCO standard due to rate stability.
There have been no citizen inquiries on the budget; he is working on Council inquiries to be addressed at the Worksession.
Mayor Mosley announced that taxes would be raised to cover the cost of the police station. She summarized that a $.01 increase adds $40,500 revenue to the Town and $10 for every $100K value for a house. A $.06 increase on a $350K home would equal in an additional $210 in taxies. On a $400K house it would equal $240 in taxes. $.06 brings $243K to the Town and $.05 brings $202,500.00. CM’s are concerned about increased assessments that would also result in a tax increase separate from the Town.
CM Watson added that the budget that Mr. Warrington has compiled leaves the Town reserve very low. In a sense, raising taxes would increase the reserve. A low tax increase would not position the Town fiscally. He would recommend a higher tax increase so that taxes would not have to be raised incrementally year after year in order to keep up.
CM Oslik commented that that over recent years, income has been stable and expenses increasing. Expenses managed due to the reserve. Any extra income that would come from increased assessments has been already factored in to the budget. 52% of budget went to public works 31% public safety and 17% for general government operations. In order to keep services at expectation taxes need to be raised.
CM Schachter added that the Mayor and Council are unanimously in favor of the need to raise taxes. He thinks of what services can be purchased for the tax increase.
Mayor Mosley added that there has not been a tax increase in several years. This is a trend the Council wishes to continue. We did a lot of extra items this year and it was close to $200,000.
Funding Option for Community Center
Mayor Mosley stated there was an option presented to us that Mr. Jamal, the developer, would be setting up a CDC site or a direct contribution to the Town, but the case is that a CDC type will handle all the money. Should the Town accept a donation from a developer? There was no decision from the Mayor and Council but now it is a moot issue although still open for discussion.
CM Oslik added that since they do not know what form any money might take. Since this discussion touched on the role of Lobbyists and relationship issues, the Mayor and Council should discuss the Town’s need for a Lobbyist sooner rather than later.
Mayor Mosley added that the time frame should continue to be a year. She suggested that this item be discussed at the July Worksession (possibly June).
She added that she is trying to get a meeting with the County Executive where she would ask for funding from his office for both the next phase of funding for the Police Station and the development outside of Town.
CM Oslik added that a copy of a publication featuring the development project outside of town referenced 2500 housing units.
CM Schachter suggested asking the Task Force assigned to the Cheverly Metro Development to examine this issue.
Intention to Adopt Bond Resolution at the May 25th Meeting
Attorney Colaresi summarized that the Town will be billed monthly for the police station construction. The bond issuance to pay for the construction is a $1.2M bond is becoming imminent because of other commitments. Rather than wait until the June Town Meeting, they are trying to do this at the Worksession. The public will be notified and a hearing held. What the Council intends is to pass the Resolution at the Worksession authorizing issuance of the $1.2 M bond. Currently, 12 financial institutions have been solicited to gauge interest in this tax-exempt general obligation bond that will mature in 15 years from date of issuance. The principal will be paid annually; the interest will be paid twice yearly (May and November). The Town may prepay the bond after the 8th
year. It will be a fixed interest rate held through June 8. The interest rate is pending quotes from solicited institutions and will hopefully fall within the 4-5% range.
Attorney Colaresi announced that he would not be in attendance at the Worksession due to a personal commitment.
West Nile Virus-Mosquitoes
CM Oslik summarized a recent article featured in the Washington Post regarding the Asian Tiger Mosquito and their prevalence in the Metro areas. This aggressive breed is out during the day, is difficult to eradicate and can reproduce easily.
Prevention and education is key. He recommended putting announcements in the Newsletter and on cable. He is not sure spraying is the answer.
Mayor Mosley responded that announcements can be put on cable and Newsletter articles have appeared. She recalled that a thorough discussion regarding spraying took place last year and there were opponents.
CM Oslik stressed educating residents. He suggested that this might be a good project for Scout Leaders.
Mayor Mosley suggested republishing the Town Handbook (small budget item) and a page on West Nile could be included.
Adjourned 10:30 p.m.
Town of Cheverly
Summary of Action
May 11, 2006
1. CM Oslik moved to excuse CM Ford. Seconded by CM Schachter. Unanimously approved.
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