DRAFT
Town of Cheverly
Meeting Minutes
August 9, 2009
Call to Order
Meeting called to order at 8:00 pm in the Cheverly Community Center.
In attendance: Vice Mayor Watson, CMs Callahan, Eldridge, Johnson, Tevault and Schachter.
Pledge of Allegiance
Vice-Mayor Watson asked for a motion:
- CM Tevault MOTION to excuse Mayor Mosley. Schachter seconded. Approved unanimously
Agenda/Approval/Changes
No changes were made to the agenda.
Minutes – Town Meeting 7/09/09
Approved as written.
Worksession 7/23/09
Approved as Written.
Town Administrator Report
Mr. Warrington reported that the front office staff is working on the audit. As noted on the agenda tonight, there are a number of Capital projects that will soon be worked upon.
CM Eldridge noted that someone in Ward 3 noted a rumor or suspicion on a house where worked has started on one of the burned-out houses on 63rd.
Mr. Warrington replied no.
CM Watson wanted to know if there was anything at the Worksession for Virtual Town Hall or were we the technology committee going to meet and discuss it. Discuss, okay, sorry. Was the transportation letter cleaned-up? The one that was for Congressman Wynn?
CM Tevault we were holding-off on that and Mr. Warrington was addressing vegetation on the Route 50 area.
Mr. Warrington said yes, but no response to date.
Mr. Watson did we report the streetlight on Lake?
Mr. Warrington need a pole number
CM Eldridge I have a question on status of design concept for Landover Road.
Mr. Warrington has met with MNCPPC and they are working on a design.
CM Callahan is there a letter out for the WSSC water tower to remind them of the water tower? I will follow-up tomorrow. I am not sure of Delegate Ramirez letter, but will check.
Recreation Council Report
Barbara Pejokovich announced the flea market October 3rd and reservations taken on September 1st. Tables are still $15 with CPRC doing the kitchen. The next Recreation Council meeting will be in September, please feel free to join us to share ideas.
Police Department Report
Chief Robshaw wanted to provide an update on the homicide. We have the trailer out and don’t want people to forget about it. Need the help of citizens in the Town. We know Mr. Morris was with two other males that day to play basketball and we would like to speak to those people. We continue to follow-up on leads in the neighborhood. July was the first month this year where our crime rate exceeded last year. The problem was breaking and enterings with five in old ward 4 and we have a suspect and expect to make an arrest. Public Safety Day will be September 21st from 5:30 to 7:30 at Town Park.
CM Watson can you ask the County to look at the graffiti on Rankin.
Chief Robshaw they will not do brick, but have done the other surfaces.
CM Callahan would you mind telling the people in Town about the simple burglar alarm.
Chief Robshaw noted that everyone should get a home security check. New car panic buttons on a key chain provide a relatively free burglar alarm. Keep your key close to activate your panic alarm on your car if you perceive an emergency. The CPACT meeting will be announced in the Newsletter.
Mayor and Council Announcements
CM Eldridge announced that the consultant is working on the non-motorized safety study and completed a preliminary draft. Will send it out for Mayor Council and Staff to look at.
CM Callahan provided an update on Special Exception 4618 Kenilworth Foreign Auto Salvage. The Zoning Hearing Examiner meeting went long and was extended until August 19th. Hope a denial, but have a number of conditions that are significant if the ZHE approves.
CM Eldridge wanted to know if people could still testify.
CM Callahan people can still testify, but members of the Planning Board can only speak as an individual since the Mayor has been designated as the spokesperson for the Town.
Vice-Mayor Watson noted the walk through for the Pepco plan, which is scheduled for September 8th at 6pm. I wanted to remind the Council to arrive early Thursday September 10th for the Mayor, Council and Staff photo. The MML Fall Convention is in October, please let the Mayor know if you wish to attend to get approval under our reimbursement policy. Agenda for the August Worksession: Chief Robshaw, Debt Management Policy Discussion, Planning Board appointments and Non-motorized Plan. Budget discussions will be on the October Worksession
Green Infrastructure Report
CM Eldridge wanted to thank everyone for the great input after the Worksession presentation. On September 12th there will be a 4-5 hour intensive worksession to refine the message and develop the more detailed message of what the plan is about and where it is going.
Citizen Input
Vincent Ford 2913 Cheverly Oaks Court wanted to know if the Cheverly Planning Board will be looking at the Subregion 4 Plan regarding zoning.
CM Eldridge noted that the Planning Board will be looking at this.
Item 9 64th Avenue Bridge Repair
Mr. Warrington noted that this item is an FY 10 CIP item and was advertised in the Washington Post and on our Town website. The bridge was reconstructed under CDBG in the mid nineties at a cost of $300,000. The staff is recommending the low bidder on the project to Espina Paving, Inc. at $29,860 and the CIP amount was $35,000.
- CM Schachter MOTION to authorize the Town Administrator to enter into a contract with Espina Incorporated for repairs to the 64th Avenue bridge in the amount of $29,860. CM Eldridge seconded. Approved unanimously
Item 10 64th Avenue Road Repair
Mr. Warrington noted that this item is an FY 10 CIP item and was advertised in the Washington Post and internet. The road was the next road scheduled under the worst-first list. The staff is recommending the low bidder on the project to VMP Construction at $185,314.15 and the CIP amount was $173,000. A budget adjustment of $12,400 is needed to fully fund and award.
Mr. Colaresi given the amount of the contract can the motion include authorizing the Town Administrator to include the approval by the Town Attorney.
- CM Eldridge MOTION to authorize the Town Administrator to enter into a contract with VMP Construction for the repaving of 64th Avenue in the amount of $185,314.15 and to authorize a budget adjustment of $12,400 to the road improvement account and subject the contract to the approval of the Town Attorney. CM Tevault seconded.
CM Schachter wanted to know if the Town has the authority to reject all the bids and put out for new bids since the amount bid was significantly higher than what was budgeted?
Town Attorney yes you can.
CM Schachter would like to initiate a discussion to reject all the bids and re-bid. Feels there can be a lower bid.
Mr. Warrington disagreed noting that the Federal stimulus money has yet to be released for public works projects and when that happens there will be a glut on the market for work and the contractors will not be as hungry as they are right now. There may be very few bidders with trillions of dollars in the market.
CM Callahan I believe the Town Administrator has been working on this for months and knows the market and I will trust his view of the process.
CM Tevault we may not get as many bids with bidders thinking we may reject again and where is their incentive to change their bids?
Mr. Warrington we do a sealed bid process to get the sharpest pencils and also a fairness factor and having opened these and announced the results we may have compromised the process. The budgeted amounts are estimates that we put in the budget in April and it is not an exact science and we are in the ballpark.
Vice-Mayor Watson noted that the estimate was within 7% and called the vote. Approved unanimously
Item 11 Community Center Siding and Guttering Repair
Mr. Warrington noted that this item is an FY 10 CIP item and was advertised in the Washington Post and on the Town website. The repairs have been in the budget for some time and that the integrity of the building has been breached and is in need of repairs. He will not miss the raccoons entering the building. We are going to create a rain barrel collection system from the roof to use for watering and even washing cars. We will have a great savings with two 1,000 gallon tanks that we are paying WSSC for water and sewage charges. In some long term spreadsheet this will pay for itself. The staff is recommending awarding to the low bidder on the project to Pioneer Construction, who built our new police station in the amount of $17,500 and the CIP amount was $22,000.
- CM Callahan MOTION to authorize the Town Administrator to enter into a contract with Pioneer Builders for siding and gutter repairs to the Cheverly Community Center in the amount of $17,500. CM Eldridge seconded. Approved unanimously.
Item 12 Demolition 5811 Landover Road
Mr. Warrington noted that this item is an FY 10 CIP item and was advertised in the Washington Post an on the Town website. The Town purchased the property with POS money a few years back in the hopes of making it green space. The amount budgeted for demolition was $25,000 and some of that has been spent for utility disconnects and asbestos removal. The staff is not recommending the low bidder since the Town seeks the lowest and best bid. Staff is recommending the second low bidder of G&D Construction in the amount of $12,500. G&D have yet to provide the proper insurance certificates, but they are anticipated. If they do not provide the proper certificates, the staff reserves the right to come back to the Mayor and Town Council to propose the use of the next low bidder. The Town has worked with a non-profit to recycle as much of the structure as possible and is requiring the contractor to recycle materials as well.
CM Eldridge wanted to know what the site will look like once the project is finished?
Mr. Warrington noted that the contractor is responsible for erosion control by installing a silt fence and soil stabilization as part of the bid specifications.
- CM Callahan MOTION to authorize the Town Administrator to enter into a contract for the demolition of 5811 Landover Road with G&D Construction in the amount of $12,900. CM Tevault seconded. Approved unanimously.
Item 13 Discussion Mandatory Recycling
CM Warrington noted some of the potential procedures that the staff may use if the Mayor and Town Council pass legislation that makes recycling mandatory. Disabled and Senior Citizens will continue to be provided side door pick-up. The cost savings could be conservatively 10% and result in approximately $10 to $13,000 per year. There could be a non-trash collection for repeat offenders and eventually fines.
CM Tevault this is a good time to consider this since we have comingled recycling and it is easy and we need to control our expenses and with tipping fees on the rise this is a way of doing this.
Mr. Colaresi what does mandatory recycling mean? If I put crab feast covered newspaper in the trash then it is a bit unreasonable. The legislation can not be too broad. Perhaps we should not forbid recyclables in the trash, but it is an elusive concept as to how to do it.
Mr. Warrington in all cases using the Latin term reduxo absurdum applies in that we can reduce things to the absurd. There is an element of common sense that you must entrust with the staff to carry-out the recycling efforts. We will not be the trash police. It is a motivational tool to get people thinking seriously about recycling.
Mr. Colaresi I just don’t want to be in court and be struck down because our legislation is too broad.
CM Callahan I would like to say that this is a process. We are probably ahead of ourselves to be talking about this publicly because there is a lot of work and feedback necessary. Part of the conversation is to try to get people to continue to recycle and recycle more.
Mr. Warrington we pay 0 for recycling versus $56/ton for trash in the landfill. This is a way of empowering citizens to have an impact on their own taxes.
CM Schachter the issue isn’t should we have mandatory recycling, but how we should do it. This is the right thing to do. It will be an enormous benefit to the entire town.
Vice-Mayor Watson I will recommend it to the Mayor for the Worksession, but we can keep it on the September Town Meeting. I will look more into Recycle Bank which is a program that rewards people for recycling. It is a company that works with towns. So, there are other options.
Item 14 Ordinance O-3-09 Authorizing Speed Cameras
Vice-Mayor Watson declared open the public hearing on the subject of instituting a speed camera ordinance.
Mr. Warrington this is the introduction of an ordinance to authorize speed camera use in school zones within one-half mile of a school zone, exceeding the speed limit by 12 miles per hour with a 30 day warning period.
Mr. Colaresi discussed various aspects of the new state law.
Mr. Warrington noted that this is not a per ticket contract under the law, but must be a flat fee and the Town may not make any money.
Vincent Ford Ward 6 will the cameras be tied to when school is open since it is a school zone.
Vice Mayor Watson noted the periods by law when the cameras are legal. Also, there is an upper limit for cameras, so Landover Road may be an issue. The law caps the amount of money the Town can receive and use for the Fiscal Year, but it is a large cap and we will in all likelihood not exceed that amount. Declared the Public Hearing Closed.
Item 15 Ordinance O-4-09 Amending the Town Code Rental Licensing Penalty
Mr. Warrington noted that the Town is looking to make it less advantageous for landlords to skirt the law and not register their rental. Mr. Colaresi is also taking the opportunity to clean-up and address the Property Review Board. Also, there were some concerns by the Mayor and Council at the Worksession to make citizens aware of the appeals board that should be rectified in the next printing of the violation notice.
Vice-Mayor Watson is everyone happy about the administrative fix for the Review Board.
Mr. Colaresi we should not lose track that the Town Administrator is the first line of appeal when you receive a violation notice.
Item 16 Resolution R-4-09 Authorizing Enterprise Zones in Cheverly
Mr. Warrington noted that the Town experimented with the Focus Area option some time ago, but found it not an advantage to lose such a large amount of Tangible Personnel Property Taxes. The Enterprise Zone however rewards employers for creating new jobs and hiring low-moderate income persons and gives them a corporate tax break. This has been discussed at the Worksession.
CM Eldridge there is a line in the Resolution that mentions municipal real property tax credit.
Mr. Warrington it’s an option to municipalities and we have opted not to in the past and staff is recommending to not provide this option. We can remove it from their standard resolution by removing “and municipal.” I will check before sending and get back to the Mayor and Town Council.
- CM Watson MOTION to adopt Resolution R-4-09 Supporting the Designation of an Enterprise Zone in the Town of Cheverly. CM Schachter seconded. Approved unanimously.
Vice Mayor Watson announced the Worksession is August 27th and August is Juan Torres Month. September is David Warrington Month.
Meeting adjourned.
Town of Cheverly
Summary of Action
August 9, 2009
- CM Tevault MOTION to excuse Mayor Mosley. Schachter seconded. Approved unanimously
- CM Schachter MOTION to authorize the Town Administrator to enter into a contract with Espina Incorporated for repairs to the 64th Avenue bridge in the amount of $29,860. CM Eldridge seconded. Approved unanimously
- CM Eldridge MOTION to authorize the Town Administrator to enter into a contract with VMP Construction for the repaving of 64th Avenue in the amount of $185,314.15 authorize a budget adjustment of $12,400 to the road improvement account and pending approval of the contract by the Town Attorney. CM Tevault seconded.
- CM Callahan MOTION to authorize the Town Administrator to enter into a contract with Pioneer Builders for siding and gutter repairs to the Cheverly Community Center in the amount of $17,500. CM Eldridge seconded. Approved unanimously.
- CM Callahan MOTION to authorize the Town Administrator to enter into a contract for the demolition of 5811 Landover Road with G&D Construction in the amount of $12,900. CM Tevault seconded. Approved unanimously.
- CM Watson MOTION to adopt Resolution R-4-09 Supporting the Designation of an Enterprise Zone in the Town of Cheverly. CM Schachter seconded. Approved unanimously.
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