DRAFT
Town of Cheverly
Meeting Minutes
June 9, 2011
Call to Order
Meeting called to order at 8:00 pm in the Cheverly Community Center.
In attendance: CMs Eldridge, Coolen, Cook and Thorpe.
Pledge of Allegiance
- Motion CM Eldridge to excuse CM Riazi from the meeting. Seconded CM Coolen. Approved 4-0
Agenda/Approval/Changes
Minutes – Town Meeting 5/12/11
Approved as written.
Minutes – Worksession 5/26/11
Approved as written.
Town Administrator Report
Mr. Warrington reported that the Newsletter contains an article about putting yard waste out on the wrong days. The Public Works staff has been issuing notices of this infraction and giving residents the opportunity to remove the items from the curb and this is being followed-up by the Police staff with the issuance of tickets for violations. Also, the Town has used all of the water in our rain barrels, over 2,000 gallons. The watering we are doing is water collected off the roof. We are getting ready to institute the new budget and we are getting ready for the audit.
Police Department Report
Chief Robshaw the good news is although the crime rate was down up to this part of the year, but with 12 burglaries we are back to even. We have closed 11 of the 12 cases and we are ready to go to court. That accounts for the rise in crime this past month. The County over the last 6 months has had over 200 thefts of women’s purses at gas stations in the Hyattsville area. If they leave their purses in the car, the thieves walk by and take their purses. Carry your purse with you or lock it in the trunk. It is a crime of opportunity. Let’s not give them the opportunity.
CM Eldridge I am just curious to hear how the license tag reader is working?
Chief Robshaw I would encourage the Mayor and Council to come out and see how this works. If I could, I would put one in every car. We are waiting for the County 911 center to make them fully operational via verification. We look forward to take full advantage of this unit.
CM Eldridge does the speed camera know if a car is stolen. Chief Robshaw no and we would not issue a ticket if verified as stolen
Mayor could you explain the summer vacation house checks? Chief Robshaw you can download a form from the website and get it to us and we will have the day and evening officer perform a house check.
Presentations
Emily Tevault Chair of the ChevProm thanked a number of parties that made the event a success. Presented donation of funds from the event to: Cheverly Day, Girl Scouts, Brownies, Daisies, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Cheverly Advocates for Public Schools and the Cheverly Young Actors Guild.
Mayor Callahan presented the Jack L. Wheat award to Mr. David Kniepp and the Mayor’s Award to Ms. Ann Barsi.
Mayor Callahan recognized Sanford S. Booth, II for achieving the rank of Eagle Scout through Scout Troop 524 and designating June 15th as Sanford S. Booth Day in Cheverly.
Mayor Callahan recognized Marika Nell for achieving the rank of Gold Award winner through the Girls Scout Troop and designating June 16th as Marika Nell Day in Cheverly.
Mayor Callahan noted the 80th birthday of former Councilmember Dorothy McClain.
Committee Reports
Nick D’Angelo Cheverly Day was May 14th and was a great success. Thank you to everyone who participated and attended. The parade winners were: Bladensburg High School, St. Ambrose Little Bees, Judith P. Hoyer. The float winners were: Emerald Landscapes, Lower Beaver Dam Creek and Cub Scouts 257. The other winners were DC Different Drummers, the Greenbelt Dog Brigade and the Weekday Nursery. Thanks to the Mayor for putting on the parade. Thanks to David Thorpe for the music as well and Pat Nelson for the midway.
CM Eldridge the Green Infrastructure Plan will have a working session on the 17th from 11-3 and will be presented later to the Mayor and Council. I think we hope to adopt the plan at the August meeting.
Citizen Input
Doug Alexander the composting program to place 180 compost bins in town and in 3 weeks we have closed in on one half of that goal. We want to reduce the food waste and other compostable materials. We want 400 homes to participate. We think that is a feasible goal.
Mayor Callahan presented Mr. Alexander a Master Composting recognition certificate.
Mayor and Council Announcements
CM Eldridge the Cheverly United Methodist Church will have an open house this Sunday to show off the new windows they installed as part of a grant.
Mayor today Aldis had an open house at the future location in the Landover Shopping Center and hope to open at the end of October.
CM Coolen Aldis is ready to become a member of our community and we should welcome them by supporting them when they open.
Mayor Callahan now the upcoming Worksession agenda: Wall Boarding of Priorities, MML Conference Issues, Cooperation Agreement regarding CDBG, Green Infrastructure Overview, Traffic Initiatives, Evaluation of Department Heads.
Public Hearing – Speed Hump Request 2600 Block Crest Avenue
Mayor I don’t have to open the public hearing since it is a continuation from last month
Mr. Warrington a speed hump petition was received for the 2600 block of Crest. Mr. Torres distributed to the neighborhood some of the elements that came out of last month’s discussion.
Mayor I would like clarification regarding speed humps and the size of them.
Mr. Warrington a speed hump being proposed would be more gradual and would be more to the liking of what is on Cheverly Avenue in order to not launch vehicles that may be going downhill. You can approach them at the appropriate speed and not bottom out or scraping the bottom of your car. If you hit them at an inappropriate speed you will not be launched.
Barry Hill Ward 2. We have lived there 11 years. People do not stop at the Stop sign at Euclid and the problem is coming from Euclid and this does not go far enough. There needs to be a speed hump on Euclid where there is the Stop sign and you need a speed hump further up on Crest Avenue.
Julie Cunningham I live next to Mr. Hill. There are children out there and the cars do not stop at the Stop sign. I think need a speed hump to slow traffic on Euclid and coming down the hill at Crest.
Sue Bredekemp I have lived at 2608 Crest for 40 years. We support the Town’s efforts and we agree with parts of the plan and disagree with other parts of the plan. We don’t support the hump in front of our house. It is on a completely flat part of a street. The problem is the downhill toward Carlyle and we do need a Stop sign and a calming device. We don’t understand why to put 2 calming devices where there isn’t a problem because the raised crosswalk will not allow for the speed to increase by the time you get to the next speed hump. This speed hump will take away from parking as well.
Glen Bardon Ward 1. I see the police on Columbia Park Road, but we need random enforcement in that area to deter speeding.
Mayor would like to extend the public hearing to the Worksession and add this to the agenda.
Sue Bredekemp I don’t understand why you need these speed humps in tandem when on Cheverly Avenue they are very far apart. That doesn’t make any sense to me.
Mayor we will ask Juan to do a study of the entire area to include Euclid and Crest.
Public Hearing Constant Yield Tax Rate
Mayor opened the public hearing on the Constant Yield Tax Rate.
Mr. Warrington we are required by law to have a public hearing. We would have to reduce our tax rate to 45 cents if we were to keep the amount of tax collected at the same amount. Our rate is staying the same at 48 cents, but we are collecting an additional $138,000 because the values of properties are increasing. We have had 2 years where the property values have remained flat and we have not had to have this hearing.
Adoption Charter Amendment CR-1-11
Mr. Warrington this is a minor change. We used to require staff had to be registered in Town and this was when every staffer lived in Town. This will remove this requirement as many staff do not live in town.
- Motion CM Eldridge to adopt Charter Amendment CR-1-11 amending the election section. Seconded CM Cook. Approved 4-0
Second Reading Sign Ordinance O-5-11
Mr. Warrington this is the second reading of an amendment to our sign ordinance. This is language we have borrowed from the County sign ordinance that expands the parties responsible for the posting of illegal signs around town. We felt this language made our ordinance more enforceable and to date we have written over 20 tickets for the posting of illegal signs.
Adoption OB-1-11 Adopting the FY12 Budget
Mr. Warrington explained the process of the Budget and the minor changes since last presented.
- Motion CM Coolen to adopt as an emergency Budget Ordinance OB-1-11 adopting the FY 12 Operating Budget. Seconded CM Thorpe. Approved 4-0
Meeting adjourned.
Town of Cheverly
Summary of Action
June 9, 2011
1. Motion CM Eldridge to excuse CM Riazi from the meeting. Seconded CM Coolen. Approved 4-0.
2. Motion CM Eldridge to adopt Charter Amendment CR-1-11 amending the election section. Seconded CM Cook. Approved 4-0.
3. Motion CM Coolen to adopt as an emergency Budget Ordinance OB-1-11 adopting the FY 12 Operating Budget. Seconded CM Thorpe. Approved 4-0.
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