Town of Cheverly
Meeting Minutes
October 11, 2012
Call to Order
Meeting called to order at 8:00 pm in the Cheverly Community Center.
In attendance: CMs Riazi, Coolen, Eldridge, Thorpe, Cook.
Pledge of Allegiance
Agenda/Approval/Changes
Minutes – Town Meeting 9/13/12
Approved as written.
Minutes – Worksession 9/27/12
Approved as written.
Town Administrator Report
Mr. Warrington the safe route to schools grant is almost complete and the flashing signals on Cheverly Avenue should be operational next week. The goal of this grant was to improve pedestrian safety to and from school and I think this will be accomplished with the new raised crosswalks and pedestrian crossing signals. We are just about finished with our rental truck for tree trimming and we looked a the math of having contractors in for a week versus renting a cherry picker to do the work ourselves and found that we can get about three more weeks worth of work if we do it ourselves for the same price. The leaf collection schedule is out and on line.
Chief’s Report
Lt. Frohlich noted that our crime rate is again down. We wrote 498 State citations and parking tickets last night. Thanks for the success of the Cheverly Public Safety Day and that the bake sale resulted in a $350 donation to the Concerns of Police Survivors and $150 to our local Cub Scouts. The Police yard sale garnered $800, which will be used for the purchase of personal cameras for the officers to wear on their vests to record encounters in the field. This should work well to eliminate the he said she said issues that often occur on a traffic stop.
Committee Reports
Recreation Council this coming Saturday we will have the Fall Flea Market on October 13th. Funds raised are for the scholarship fund. Mother’s Day Out will have a bake table. So, please come down. Our next meeting will be the 23rd at 7pm in the conference room. Anyone can come down. The Halloween Party will be Saturday the 27th with the Parade starting at Tot Park at 11:15 am. Parents are welcome to dress-up.
Green Infrastructure Reports
Ms. Salo the results are in for the Cheverly biggest tree contest and it is a Tulip tree in Woodworth Park on the property owned by the Town of Cheverly. There were 20 nominees and the remainder of the results will be announced at the Community Market. On November 17th we are wrapping up the Cheverly year of the Oak and Mt. Rainier Nature Center will be coming to give a presentation on Oaks and will be bringing animals. We meet the first Monday of every month.
CM Eldridge the MNCPPC is kicking off a new sectional map amendment for the 202 Corridor focused on the Commercial areas along the road. There will also be a refocus on the Landover Metro Station as a redevelopment site. October 18th in the PG Ballroom is the next meeting for this and we encourage you to all get engaged.
Citizen Input
Mayor and Council Announcements
CM Riazi. Regarding the hospital employees coming to Cheverly to smoke, they have now set up a smoking site on the hospital grounds
CM Eldridge the walk to school day will be tomorrow starting at Legion Park for Spellman. St. Ambrose does a walk on every Wednesday around 7:30. WMATA is proposing changes to the F12 and F13 lines and a meeting will be held on October 29th at New Carrollton Library.
CM Thorpe we are looking for volunteers to help us with the 2013 Cheverly Day. If you are interested please contact me at 301-773-7888. We are also looking for forms of entertainment.
Mayor we are working to keep the plans for the Pointe at Cheverly in place. For the Worksession agenda: grant to the Ward 4 Civic Association for the African American Museum, Zone Parking, Ethics Ordinance, Tree Lighting and a CIP Process discussion.
Presentation – WSSC Construction
Mayor WSSC is throughout our town. I would also note that the Amliner trucks are WSSC contractors as well.
Mr. Huang noted that we have completed 3,400 feet of pipe in the public right of ways. We have some projects coming up in environmentally sensitive areas, which will be in the summer. In November and December we will be working on faulty sewer laterals. We will be having a meeting in the future with all of the Beaver Dam basin folks for a large public meeting. There will also be internal manhole repairs in Cheverly and surrounding communities, which will start next summer.
Mayor If you will send us the list of projects and after you take a look at that then I will send you a list of all the customer complaints.
Mr. Huang we have a work order system that registers customer complaints. As long as customer privacy is protected, so we can keep it very generic with no names and addresses.
CM Riazi I would like a more specific conversation about the Cheverly projects prior to everything being in place and it is ready to go. I would like to structure the process so it is inclusive in order to discuss the particular sensitivity of many of the green areas. I want to use the Town’s peoples experience in this process.
Mr. Huang I am not the project manager on these upcoming projects, but I did send the Mayor the project manager’s name. We know where pipe bursting will occur and can email you a list of where that will occur. Amliner doesn’t do pipe bursting themselves, they sub the pipe bursting out. Our systems inspection group sent letters to the residents and put door hangers out 24 hours prior to work.
Daphne Levitt can you speak to the styrene product and when it is going to get used and the MSD sheet on this.
Mr. Rico Hoover one of the biggest things I hear about is the odor. It comes from the resin base that is impregnated into the felt when it is being installed. It can travel up the lateral into the homes. If this happens you need to open your windows, flush your toilets and run water in the sinks. It will go away in 24 hours. On Monday I will update Amliner’s notice to include the odor issue. We take readings to see if the chemicals are harmful, so in a sealed environment any chemical like this is bad and you should vent your home. Styreen is environmentally safe from all the testing agencies and is totally non-harmful to be breathed. We use trenchless technology to avoid digging up your streets. I have requested all MSDS’s from Amliner for the
Styreen and will suggest it be in the trucks.
Mayor I would appreciate notification to Town Hall so we can get word out through our News and Announcements.
CM Coolen I would like a copy or have the MSDS’s disseminated and if they are provided to Town Hall we can then do that.
Mr. Larry Silverman I’m helping people on Lombard Street. Where does the water go after the pipe bursting system? Have you done studies about groundwater.
Mr. Rico Hoover we fill the lateral area with gravel and we pack gravel around the main as well.
Mr. Huang the sewers are not supposed to carry groundwater and that is what we are trying to address. As long as the house has been built correctly and has proper drainage and sump pump then this should not be an issue.
Mr. Dan Smith the largest tree in Cheverly is a Tulip Poplar is located less than 30 feet from a manhole. I want to note that if there is a need for access to the manhole we would appreciate your looking into access plans that are sensitive to the root structure of this tree.
Mr. Huang we value trees too and always look at ways to protect trees. Our access paths attempt to preserve healthy trees.
Mr. Joe McWhorter they have been working in front of my house for the past three weeks and they begin at 7 am. It is really an inconvenience and sometimes they do not tell me that the water is back on and they did not tell me that there will be mud in the lines.
Mr. Rico Hoover the contractor’s must make everyone aware of a shut-off and they are to inform residents as to what one should do to clear their lines. They should turn on your outside faucet to clear debris and air from the lines. Once the contractors are done with the lines, we will have another contractor out to do the concrete curb, gutters and aprons. Their timing has to do with their workload and we try to get the work done within 2 months. WSSC does not cross the property line without customer consent and 9 times out of 10 we only cut back on your property to get fall from the lateral to the main.
Mr. Samuel Bujamo I am the contract manager for the water main replacement project in your area. I have provided everyone with the power point presentation, which is similar to the one I distributed six months ago. Construction should start on October 19th.
Mr. Robert Spigone who will be the WSSC contact person and I was here 6 months ago during the power point presentation. We will be putting temporary water pipes above ground and they will begin on Lockwood and Crest Avenue. It is a 439 day contract, which should run to December 2013. There will be excavation cuts for the sewer replacement. This is a much more traditional project. We will be done by December 2013.
CM Cook You did major work at 63rd and Joslyn and you did not mention that work the last time you were before us. I would like to know if this project is completed.
Mr. Bujamo I will have to check on that for you.
Mr. Spigone if we have barrels out, the residents should not move them as it causes a problem with the operation and we do not want to tow anyone. If a driveway is blocked, we try to treat everybody so they can come and go since we know they have some place to go.
Ms. Sheila Salo I want to reiterate what has already been said about communications.
CM Eldridge what would be most helpful would be a summary of everything that WSSC has going on throughout the Town and with a timeframe.
Mayor that is what we are going to get from Mr. Huang. State Street is not on this list, but it was on the list a year ago, so could you find out for us where that is in the plan.
Discussion County Legislation for Electronic Recycling
Mayor this item is on a very short time frame as the County Council has to amend the Zoning Ordinance in order to permit electronic recycling in the old Craftsman building. We are on the fence and we are trying to figure out where we are going with this.
Mr. Tom Haller attorney representing US Electronics and they would like to place a business in the Craftsman Building in the Cheverly Industrial Park. The County Zoning ordinance does not address electronic recycling and if it is not in there, then it is not permitted. The nature of this business is to properly recycle electronics to keep them out of the landfill. Everything we are disassembling in this zone we could assemble in this zone. The business plan is to separate the items in the plant and ship the components off to where they will be dealt with properly. We have answered a number of your questions, and we have amended our initial legislation to better define and address your needs. This business will be run within the parameters of National certification to ensure the
operation is done with great environmental stewardship.
Mr. Steve Earp is an attorney of environmental law in North Carolina. He is an owner and of US Electronics and has plants operational in South Carolina and Georgia. I oversee all of the compliance concepts and the regulatory overlay. There are Federal, State and International laws and standards that we adhere to. We have all of the certifications and we will have them here in Cheverly as well. The R2 standard is specific to electronic recycling. In electronics there is some bad stuff and good stuff. Our staff starts to take these items apart and separate the components. We try to reuse, recycle and dispose. We would like to have 0% waste, but can’t always get there. We will have 100-125 people and the work is pretty steady all day. Once
the products are disassembled, the shredding process occurs in a room about 3 times the size of this room with conveyer belts dropping about a ton at a time to be shredded. We sell this material on the world market. Mr. Earp then addressed the questions asked, handout provided for discussion. There is no water usage, no wastewater generated, not stormwater generated, no air emissions outside, no significant noise emitted outside and no hazardous waste generated. The noise in the plant is not rock concert loud, but loud so that you can walk through for 10 minutes and not be affected. We will have 6-8 trucks come in per day and about 3-4 trucks leave per day, which is about one an hour. In North Carolina we operate 16 hours per day. We store nothing but pallets outside. Anything else to be shipped will be stored inside. We expect the people we deal with downstream to be certified as well. There will be no chemical,
biological and/or smelting at the plant. Everything is mechanically disassembled and then discussed the handling of material.
CM Coolen you have these R2 standards. Are they industry or government set? Who reviews?
Mr. Earp it was an EPA and industry group that drafted the original standards and now EPA has stepped out and amendments will be made in 2013. It is monitored by ANAB which is the certification body that approves the audits.
CM Eldridge how do you measure the productivity?
Mr. Earp we measure in pounds and our average is about 2.5 million pounds per month and a typical truck is 40,000 pounds. I don’t know if they have a business plan outlining the pounds per week. I would expect them to start with 20-25 people since this is a fairly mature market. It will start small, but it will grow quickly as we will draw a lot of business. There are other ecylcers in this area, but we will be unique in our separation process. The R2 and Estewards came out of different entities and there is a fair amount of politics between the two, but there are very few differences in the standards. We have chosen to stick with R2 because our company is in the leadership of the R2 program.
CM Riazi to clarify, the only thing stored outside will be wooden pallets? Is there anything that helps regulate idling vehicles? How quickly do you have to get up to speed on the latest R2 standards?
Mr. Earp that is correct. Our vehicles don’t normally idle and I haven’t dealt with that issue. They normally give you 6 months to a year, depending on the change, to meet the new standard.
Ms. Shiela Salo what is the role of Paul Smith in this operation? We will have to think of the property as a whole and the parking lots drain into a stream and right now there is intentional direct run off into the stream. You will want to reduce your impervious surface.
Mr. Earp Mr. Smith is a 50% investor.
Mr. Norman Oslik my question is if this turns out to be an extremely successful venture, can the facility expand on the property?
Mr. Earp not as I see on this site.
Mr. Haller with regards to the legislation, right now the County’s generic recycling definition does not address electronic recycling. It is permitted in the I-1 zone with a Special Exception, but that will take a year. There are no elements that are not light industrial so the legislation would permit the activity in the I-1 Zone. We are putting in a minimum square footage and the operation must be wholly enclosed. With all the entities input we had to add three things to the legislation which are; the description of electronic recycling to preclude I-2 activities, collected sorted and packaged for reuse as raw materials, processing means how the items are separated. We also added what you can’t do such as speculative accumulation (storing this stuff for a long period of
time) and Federal regulations limit that activity. We have added, per the Town, that the occupants must maintain, after 12 months, and obtain certification under R2 or another requirement set by the County. R2 is an operational requirement, so it is obtained after you open and are operating. The County Council does not meet in December and if not adopted by November 20th then it is dead for this calendar year and will not get reintroduced and adopted until April. If it is not completed by this date, then the operation will probably locate in Howard County which allows this type of operation in a number of zones. The Planning Board has recommended approval.
Mr. Earp an R-2 inspection or audit is like a financial audit that requires spot checks. They will take a month and follow the materials from start to finish to make sure it is being done correctly.
Mr. Norman Oslik did I understand correctly that at the Planning Board an I-1 facility would be required to comply to R2, but would not be required in I-2? I would urge you and the Town to urge the County Council to require the same thing in I-2 as a means of upping the bar. Another question is whether there will be a commitment in terms of hours of operation and stormwater.
Mr. Haller there is no County requirements, since there is no additional construction, regarding any site improvements that are not required otherwise.
Mayor we need to be careful about not looking at the entire industrial park holistically, rather than at this time and piecemeal. My opinion that we have an open dialogue with the owner, now is the time to have conversations regarding a bike path and any other items. Please get items to us quickly. We need input by tomorrow. We might not be prepared to take a vote this evening. We may need a special session on Tuesday night or do you want to push through this tonight? Then we will discuss this Tuesday night at 7:30 pm.
Adoption – CAR-3-12 Amending the Referendum Section of the Charter
Mr. Colaresi this Charter Amendment will change the requirements for the percentage of registered voter signatures needed to bring a statute back for reconsideration. This will bring both Charter Amendments and Ordinances to 20% as Ordinances now are at 10%. This amendment will also preclude from referendum the Budget and Bond Issuance in order to protect the continuity of the operations of the Town. It will be up for adoption at the October Town Meeting.
- CM Thorpe to adopt Ordinance CAR-3-12 to Amending the Referendum Section of the Charter. CM Cook seconded. Approved unanimously.
Mutual Aid Agreement with Municipal Police Agencies
Mr. Colaresi this is an agreement that virtually all of your surrounding agencies agree to aid each other. To do so, the State requires an agreement. It contains no specific commitments, but will enable the inter-agency cooperation. I would urge you in your motion to approve and to direct the Town Administrator and Chief of Police to sign this agreement.
- CM Riazi to approve Mutual Aid Agreement between municipal police agencies. CM Coolen seconded. Approved unanimously.
Introduction – O-4-12 Repealing and Reenacting the Ethics Ordinance
Mr. Colaresi the State law requires us to change our Ethics Ordinance to comply with State law. They have dictated what we must include. We need to introduce tonight and pass at the next meeting so that it is effective by January 1, 2013. Your Ethics Commission now has something to do since they must note the submission of the required financial forms and filings. I would suggest that you reduce the number on the Board to three in order to make it easier to have a quorum.
CM Eldridge if we change the number, it doesn’t have to go back to the State does it?
Mr. Colaresi no it does not.
Mayor can we do a third reading at the Worksession?
Mr. Colaresi yes you can do that.
Mayor meeting adjourned.
Town of Cheverly
Summary of Action
October 11, 2012
- CM Thorpe to adopt Ordinance CAR-3-12 to Amending the Referendum Section of the Charter. CM Coolen seconded. Approved unanimously.
- CM Riazi to approve Mutual Aid Agreement between municipal police agencies. CM Coolen seconded. Approved unanimously.
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