Town of Cheverly
Meeting Minutes
November 12, 2009
Call to Order
Meeting called to order at 8:00 pm in the Cheverly Community Center.
In attendance: Mayor Mosley, CMs Callahan, Watson, Eldridge, Schachter, Johnson and Tevault.
Pledge of Allegiance
Agenda/Approval/Changes
CM Watson would like to add an item 12 regarding ongoing police investigations, which will be a closed meeting.
Minutes – Town Meeting 10/08/09
Approved as written.
Worksession 10/22/09
Approved as written.
Town Administrator Report
Mr. Warrington reported that the Public Works Department is in full swing with leaf collection, but the rain has put us behind schedule. Mr. Torres will be catching-up next week to get back on schedule. Mayor appreciates the Public Works Department for collecting recyclables the day after the holiday. Mr. Warrington our audit is completed and the Mayor and Council will address it at the next Worksession. The numbers are very positive.
CM Eldridge does the Town accept donated plants for the area occupied by the yellow house?
Mr. Warrington we are waiting for Ms. Jones of MNCPPC to provide a landscaping plan. If we don’t use them there we can accept them for other locations.
CM Eldridge how does the urban renewal process work and what are the steps?
Mr. Warrington normally it is instigated by a need in the community that has become dilapidated or abandoned and the property owner does not get it in a non-degraded state. If there is no compliance it will be proffered to the Mayor and Council that the property be added to the Urban Renewal Plan. This list contains properties for taking, which is a misnomer since the Town has to pay fair market value. The Mayor and Council will then refer it to the Cheverly Planning Board for a recommendation for inclusion in the Plan or not. If the Mayor and Council direct staff to move forward, then a public hearing will be held with an invitation extended to the property owner. Two independent appraisals will give us a fair market value, which is then offered to the property owner. The next step is
to go to court and plead the case to the judge. The judge can set the fair market value after listening to the other side’s arguments and/or experts as to the value. If the judge denies the eminent domain action, the Town is responsible for all the attorney fees and court costs. It is not to be taken lightly.
CM Eldridge being on the list does not mean we are taking the property? Mr. Warrington no I must be directed by the Mayor and Council to move forward on taking the property. You must really be able to show a blight and/or abandoned condition before such action. We have not taken any property that has been occupied or for economic reasons just blight reasons.
Mayor if the judge decided it was not a property worthy of taking, then you would have to pay the court costs? But, if when the fair market value comes back you can back out but still have to pay the other sides court costs.
Mr. Warrington correct and with the two buildings across from Howard Johnson’s the judge split the difference and we ended up paying $1.5 million.
CM Callahan I have seen some good results from houses being on the list. I believe one of the properties still on there is the Medical Terrace property. Mr. Warrington the owner came here and made his case and the Mayor and Council did not add it to the list and you all deferred it at his request.
Police Department Report
Mayor noted that Chief Robshaw had been called away this evening on an emergency to attend to police matters.
Mayor and Council Announcements
Mayor the Worksession agenda items are speed limits in town, a stop sign at Kilmer Street and Belleview Avenue, Tree Commission presentation, Clean Currents proposal, FY 09 Audit, another discussion for a Youth Program in Cheverly because we have $4,000 for a study to be done and options if we were to do a program. Mr. Warrington presented some thoughts as to a direction and the Council has not acted on that yet. The Worksession will be on Tuesday, November 24th. Also, the Holiday Tree Lighting will be Friday, December 4th at 7 pm. We will have a new Christmas tree by then. December 5th from 9-2 is Santa’s Secret Shop.
CM Eldridge one of my constituents is interested in a Forum to meet with Clean Currents to take a benefit from renewable energy. Shoot me an email if you are interested, hopefully in December to have an event.
CM Watson I have an agenda item that doesn’t have to be an agenda item. Maybe an update if we can get an update on the Pointe, Walgreen’s, Quincy Run and Addison Row. Mayor I think that is a good agenda item.
CM Callahan I would like to talk about the Urban Renewal Plan and see if there we need to add. I am concerned about Medical Terrace.
Mayor that is something that I will shake-out with Mr. Warrington.
CM Eldridge perhaps with lots of different things going back and forth, perhaps we can have a brief discussion about Councilmembers engaging on new technology. Mayor we may address that item tonight with our Town Attorney.
CM Callahan I have been approached by CAPS to host an education program for December 9th.
Mayor they can work that out with Ms. Pejokovich since it is a scheduling issue.
Committee Reports
Recreation Council
Barbara Pejokovich The Halloween children’s function was on October 31st with the parade from Gast Park then fun from 4-6pm prior to Trick or Treating. We served a lot of hot dogs. I thank the Mayor for the work she did in the kitchen. The teenage volunteers were a great help and much appreciated. The Holiday Party is Saturday December 5th at 11:00 in the gym and Santa’s Secret Shop starts at 9:00 am in the lobby area. The puppeteers will be in at 11:30 followed by a visit by Santa. We need to find a location to obtain Polaroid instant photographs. Anybody has any information that would be great. We don’t have the fancy equipment like they use at the Malls. The Friday after Thanksgiving the Festival of Lights will open at
Watkins Park so please visit and make a donation for those less fortunate.
Cheverly Day
CM Watson Cheverly Day will be May 22nd and we will be announcing other things in the future. It is not a parade year. We are still waiting to see if the volunteers will commit themselves to a race. The softball game and entertainment will be there. We are looking for volunteers to provide time and ideas. Give us a call or go to our website.
CM Tevault announced that the Cheverly Prom will be the Friday night before Cheverly Day. We are talking about bands and music options. Last year’s pot luck was such a success, that they will continue the tradition this year as well. This will keep expenses low and keep the price very reasonable at $10. We may have door prizes. If you have questions, suggestions or would like to help just email me at councilmemberward6@cheverly-md.gov.
CM Eldridge had a meeting Monday and one of the issues is that they are going to start looking into a centralized stormwater system approach rather than a green street approach and we will bring that to you.
Citizen Input
Mayor Mosley asked if there were any resident wishing to speak on a matter not already on the agenda.
Mr. Sean McDonald of Ward 3 in the 2800 block of 63rd Place this is my partner Tim Finn. The reason I am here is because of a fire next door in April and the house has been boarded-up. I came to the June Worksession. I also came to the Worksession because the physical condition of the yard had not been addressed and the grass was 3 feet tall. Also, I have complained about a tarp on another house’s roof. I email RJ in early October and RJ never got back to me. I have noted on the Cheverly Exchange as to why the Town was not getting back to me. We have one of the nicest homes on 63rd and the Town has had nothing to say to us about the house next door. This Council is a disgrace. The whole Town is decaying around us and you talk about
Cheverly Day and Green Plans. There are houses on Cheverly Avenue for $150,000 and our property values are dropping. Mr. Warrington is not communicating with Mr. Eldridge. What are we paying taxes for? The buck stops with you Ms. Mayor.
Mayor Mr. Warrington would you like to address this matter. Mr. McDonald this type of business should easily be conducted through email. There is no reason a citizen should have to come up here. This is not rocket science.
Mayor Mr. Warrington can you address this matter. Mr. Warrington the key issue is insurance companies. The insurance company due to privacy issues has not been forthcoming with the status. We checked with the Town Attorney to see if we could force the insurance company to divulge information and he assured us that we could not do so. It is between the homeowner and the insurance company. The insurance company has not agreed to provide us with an address or phone number for the property owner. We have had other fires in Town, one on Lake Avenue where the property owner had to fight the insurance company 18 months before a settlement check was issued. As far as the property itself the Town hired a contractor to take care of the grounds.
Mr. McDonald there are two issues here we don’t expect this property fixed-up because we want it, but we do expect the Town to take an active role in rehabilitating it. Second, I have the forwarding address for the owner through court records. I can give David her address. To my knowledge the house was in foreclosure in March. I spoke to the mortgage attorney.
Mayor I know that CM Eldridge, CM Tevault and I have had email exchange or discussions with you regarding this house. A great deal of the information that you brought before the Council at that Worksession was not all accurate. The Town has spent a great deal of time on this and other properties that have had fires at their properties. We explained at the Worksesssion the limits that the Town has legally regarding this and other properties. I believe Public Works had been to the property prior to the Worksession to remove debris. Mr. McDonald I didn’t say they didn’t do it. I said they didn’t do it until I pointed it out. Nobody has told me what the Town has done since June.
Mayor the Town is moving as fast as we legally can.
I believe the report Mr. Warrington has given you addresses not only this property, but how we deal with every property in Cheverly. Mr. McDonald how is it that I can go into court records and find an address for the owner of the property in Lanham and Mr. Warrington can not?
Mayor there was some mistaken information given to us at a previous Worksession. Mr. McDonald well we can talk about this later off camera. But I have the court record and that is all I have to say.
Mayor is there anybody else?
Tony Bochicchio 2806 64th Avenue wanted to thank the Mayor and Council for the new street, curbs and gutters. And I wanted to thank Mr. Torres for his help with the drainage. I want to touch on some of what Sean said, we moved in 3 years ago and all of the houses were occupied, but now there are at least three unoccupied and looking bad in the area.
Mayor information provided to the Town Administrator is forwarded on to the Code Enforcement Officer and in this case shared with the Public Works Director. I would caution people however to be careful when making assumptions and accusations regarding other citizens. Anyone else, not on the same issue this evening.
Mr. Sean McDonald 63rd Place I think the problem here again is that there is no communication from you to citizens. I have emailed you and CM Eldridge many times. Mayor I will talk to you after the meeting.
Mr. Fred Price, Jr. Ward 4 invited the Mayor, Town Council and all citizens to the Envision Prince George’s County meeting. The Envision project is a means to provide input into what we want our county to be and how we can get there. It is a call to action for a high quality of life for all. Space is limited so it is requested that you reserve a space. Please go to the County website and take the survey. The first community forum will be Tuesday, November 17th at the University of Maryland beginning at 6:30 pm.
Adoption of Business License Ordinance 0-5-09
Mr. Warrington this is to close a loophole in our law from estimators giving estimates and then selling their product. It began with a citizen complaint and we are trying to address. We have added a line including estimates leading to the sale of goods. This Ordinance is up for adoption
Mayor can I get a motion?
- Motion CM Watson to adopt 0-5-09 Amending the Business License Requirements. Seconded CM Schachter. Approved 6-0.
Introduction Ordinance O-6-09 Required Recycling
Mayor noted that the Council is proposing required/mandatory recycling in town. This is been requested particularly by Mr. Torres. It is posted on our website for review. This Council is very much in favor of moving forward.
CM Tevault wanted to expand the containers that were allowable to hold recyclables on page 3 part 4.
CM Eldridge for Mr. Warrington I wondered if you should put recycling out in plastic bags?
Mr. Warrington stated that is not what they want at the MIRF. One can bundle the Giant grocery bags in a bunch, but they do not want individual bags.
CM Callahan I would ask our Attorney for a word that is larger than minuscule, but smaller than large. The second thing I have is that the Council has developed a frequently asked question list on this matter that is not yet finished. I’d ask everyone to wait to make final comments until all these items are addressed.
Mayor it is not on the Worksession agenda. I don’t believe this will be done in 3 months.
CM Callahan we need to gather questions to avoid answering in a scattered type shot. I would ask that everyone review this.
Mr. Colaresi there is no way to measure for miniscule, but we could say negligible quantities or in significant quantities. I would like you to think about this.
CM Callahan I get questions like how will I know how many bottles exceed miniscule?
CM Eldridge noted a report regarding Seattle’s recycling and they have not issued any fines. We are trying to make it easy.
Mr. Colaresi the way this is written is voluntary compliance and we can not cite someone for a first offense. It is only after repeated offenses that we get to the fine possibility.
CM Schachter I am in full agreement with this policy. Rather than look for words regarding quantity, we should look for terms that mean obvious.
CM Watson penalties discuss 10-5, but what does 10-5 say. Mr. Colaresi 10-5 has to do with notice. CM Watson on page 5, I get confused. Mr. Colaresi I go back to general regulations and definitions. Once a Municipal Citation is issued it must go to court not to the Town Administrator for adjudication. Once issued it must proceed to court. 10-10 is a $50 fine.
CM Tevault what about fluorescent light bulbs? Mr. Warrington you can take them to the landfill or Home Depot.
Mayor CM Callahan mentioned a lot of questions, but if you all are ready for it to go in the Newsletter we will have to look at them and decide.
CM Callahan can the Town Administrator explain the animal and human waste concern.
Mr. Warrington we were always told by the County that you could not put either in the landfill. We called and they confirmed this policy. We called a second time and asked for the policy in writing and they didn’t have it. We wrote to the Department Head and come to find out they do not have a policy. The County hasn’t responded in writing, but there is no regulation and we have reinserted that provision into this legislation.
Mayor we thought they could not put cat box litter into the trash? Mr. Warrington the County told us to separate the waste and flush, bury compost or take it to the landfill as hazardous waste.
Mr. Sean McDonald 63rd Place again this is a communication problem. On the Cheverly Exchange there has been a lot of talk about waste. People are not going to flush it and we will have a serious rat problem. My dear friend Pinkey Oden did a great job of educating people and I don’t see that happening outside the Newsletter. Some household would like to use a larger container like a standard size trash cans.
Mr. Warrington a regular 32 gallon trash can is acceptable, as long as it is not full of 4 years of newspapers or magazines and cannot be lifted. We do not want our workers hurt.
CM Eldridge there is a provision for elderly or disabled persons to request side yard pick-up.
CM Callahan a 32 gallon is okay, but a 64 gallon is too much of a risk for our employees.
Fred Price, Jr. Ward 4 I would hope that the Town’s position to not collect trash on a day if there was a problem, I would hope my Councilmember would interact with the citizens and this is up to the Town Council to sell. This is a long time coming, let’s expedite.
Tim Finn 63rd Place I have a question about section 10-5 and I am confused if this starts at 10-7 then where is 10-5 and 10-4.
Mr. Colaresi all we are chaninging are the ones in this ordinance. The others are already in the Town Code. We don’t reproduce the entire chapter and the Code is on line with the entire chapter. Mr. Finn can’t you clean it up and get rid of all the cross-outs. Mr. Colaresi the strike-outs are the old portion of the Code that is being deleted. I am required by law to show this.
Mayor I am not sure this will happen in three months.
Mr. Colaresi with this introduction, it must be adopted in a 90 day period according to your Charter. That would mean adoption at the January Town Meeting.
Mayor tonight is the official introduction.
Discussion – Speed Limits in Town
Mayor stated that as a result of looking at the prospect of using speed cameras in Town the Mayor and Council requested a town wide speed limit analysis. Mr. Torres provided a very comprehensive report, which has lead to the Mayor and Council looking at speed limits throughout the Town.
Mr. Warrington explained the differences in speed limits on a number of streets and that one street in particular has one speed limit going uphill and another going downhill. The idea is to make all the streets now 20 mph except for Cheverly Avenue that will remain 25 mph and the streets right by the school and certain alleys will remain 15 mph. We will have to look at which streets we have at 15 mph and whether they should be kept that speed. We will have to look at some 20 mph streets and see whether they should be lowered to 15 mph and why? This will provide a consistency for residents and our police officers. The Mayor and Council will evaluate these lists and on a case-by-case basis look at each one. There will have to be an Ordinance to change this, but it will take a long
time simply because of the volume of streets.
Mayor to Mr. Colaresi’s point regarding recycling then this will not be addressed in 90 days and could you speak to the 5 mph issue.
Mr. Warrington if there is a white sign with black lettering then this is the speed limit. If you see a yellow sign with black lettering, then this is a suggested/recommended speed limit for various reasons. The police can not write tickets for a yellow sign with black lettering since it is just a suggested safe speed.
Mayor streets that have 5 mph have mostly speed humps and we could keep those signs as a warning as to what a safe speed limit is? Mr. Warrington yes you are required to have those at speed humps and you can leave them in other locations.
CM Eldridge the last time we discussed this there was something in the statute that required an engineering study. Have we looked into that? Mr. Warrington we will eventually have to do that, but we wanted to begin the discussion of the matter before moving forward with an engineering study. CM Eldridge I just want people to be sure that it will not just be based on a Council whim. I would not like to keep the yellow signs with the recommended speed limit since it is not enforceable.
CM Tevault had a question about the 15 mph school zone. For the speed cameras that is a large area and will we be determining where they go. Mr. Warrington we can have the staff put together some defined school zones not like the State one half mile radius.
CM Watson we were on the course for looking for a process to rationalize these speed limits.We heard that we would move them all to 20 mph except for Cheverly Avenue and some 15 mph streets. Mayor we haven’t had that discussion yet. Is it the direction we want to go in? CM Watson did anyone see an unmarked street that should remain 25 mph? Are we comfortable with this scenario? CM Callahan I think that is a good re-cap of the Worksession discussion and spoken consensus.
Mayor then Cheverly Avenue will be 25mph and none of the others will be 25 mph, which will make Mr. Warrington’s job a lot easier. CM Eldridge I don’t have my list in front of me, but what about Lydell? Mayor we will check on that one.
CM Schachter Cheverly Avenue has been 25 mph for a long time, but it has been a problem with speeding. So, I think we should consider lowering Cheverly Avenue to 20 mph. Mayor is there any reason why that would be a problem. Mr. Warrington not regarding enforcement, but it is a Federal Connector with a designated route. An engineer coming out and doing an evaluation will not result in an analysis recommending 20 mph.
CM Schachter I think an engineer will tell us you can’t have something slower. We can make a political decision to make it lower. Mr. Warrington that is the key phrase political. The Maryland Uniform Traffic Code is set-up to prevent political decisions to set it at 6 mph. The engineer looks at the capacity, volume and capabilities of the road. If you ignore this and lower it you will have all the tickets thrown out and you will have greater liability.
Mr. Colaresi State law does not allow it. It says after a study and you are lowering below 25 mph then you must have a really good reason. David is correct in that the engineers follow certain standards. It is not true that lower is safer. Mr. Schachter then we do have the possibility of picking a speed limit that is lower provided we have a good reason. Mr. Colaresi I would rather let the process happen and then look at this issue.
Mayor we need to see if is there a consensus on the Council that we would like to see Cheverly Avenue as 20 mph and see what the engineering study results are. I am attempting to narrow this discussion so we can logically look at each and every street. Is the Council tonight, for discussion purposes, dropped to 20 mph or defer to the Worksession. CM Watson I would like to see it 20 mph, but only if we aren’t going to lose funding or something else. Mayor we will look for 20 mph and Mr. Warrington will look for the administrative aspects of that issue.
CM Eldridge I would like to look at the pedestrian and bicycle aspect as well in the study not just vehicles.
CM Johnson perhaps we could have a suggested speed limit. The way Cheverly Avenue is set-up the natural coasting of a vehicle could be 20 mph by just coasting. My defense in court would be that I have to ride my brakes all the way down the hill.
Mayor for the transcription that was CM Eldridge that interjected yes at the end of CM Johnson’s statement. You do have to hit the brake to maintain 25 mph. A standard 20 mph would make it easier for the police and for the citizens. It will be on the Worksession agenda.
Mayor that is the last agenda item, but we will be closing to go into executive session to discuss a police matter and possibly seek advice from our legal Counsel. We have had a number of break ins tonight and the Chief was called away and would like me to announce to please lock doors and windows. A disproportionate number are from unlocked windows and doors. I would like to get a motion to approve $1,000 in reward money for information regarding these break ins.
- Motion CM Tevault to provide the Chief with $1,000 in potential reward funding at the Chief’s discretion regarding recent burglaries. Seconded CM Johnson and Schachter. Approved 6-0.
Mayor Can I get a motion to close.
- Motion CM Callahan to close the meeting to discuss a police matter and possibly get advice of Counsel. Seconded CM Watson. Approved 6-0 via a roll call vote.
Meeting adjourned.
Town of Cheverly
Summary of Action
November 12, 2009
- Motion CM Watson to adopt Ordinance O-6-09 Amending the Business License Section of the Town Code. Seconded CM Schachter. Approved 6-0.
- Motion CM Tevault to provide the Chief with $1,000 in potential reward funding at the Chief’s discretion regarding recent burglaries. Seconded CM Johnson and Schachter. Approved 6-0.
- Motion CM Callahan to close the meeting in order to discuss a police matter and possibly get advice of Counsel. Seconded CM Watson. Approved 6-0 via a roll call vote.
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