Town of Cheverly
Meeting Minutes
April 10, 2014
Call to Order
Meeting called to order at 8:00 pm in the Cheverly Community Center.
In attendance: CMs, Coolen, Rodgers, Thorpe, Cook.
Pledge of Allegiance
Agenda/Approval/Changes
Minutes – Town Meeting 3/13/14
Approved.
Minutes – Worksession 3/27/14
Approved.
Chief’s Report
Town Administrator’s Report
Mr. Warrington the trees are here and we are planting them in the front and rear yards of residents who requested them. Our trees for Gast Park will be in next week.
CM Thorpe I just wanted to note that the Public Works Department did a great job with the snow removal.
Mr. Warrington noted two incidents where Town employees went above and beyond the call of duty when they found a large ring of keys and a wallet. Via the grocery tags and credit cards, the Police Clerk got word to the owners that we had their keys and the wallet. Both items were returned to the owners and both were very pleased to get their items. The wallet owner was amazed that the credit cards and cash were all there.
Chief’s Report
Chief Robshaw our crime rate is down 10% this year in large part because our citizens are aware of the fact that we are open from 9-5 and we are getting calls to provide direct response. We can still respond, just call the County communications line. We are going through operation Spring cleaning and are targeting out of state tags and giving them time to address this before we begin issuing citations. 5 on 5 basketball will be on Cheverly Day. Get a team together and notify the department.
CM Rodgers do out of state tags apply to Cheverly Station as well.
Chief Robshaw yes, and you must change your tags over within 60 days of residency. You can keep your home state registration if you are a student, out of country, military or have a special exception pass. It is a $290 state citation.
Mayor we have a lot of door knockers with Spring and do you have some words of advice.
Chief Robshaw regarding the religious approach there is currently nothing we can do. I advise any citizen in town to not engage the solicitor, but tell them that they are trespassing and must leave the property. If they don’t, then the police can be called and action can be taken. That is the best solution to the problem.
Committee Reports
Recreation Council Report
Mayor I heard that the recent flea market was very successful. The Easter Egg Hunt is coming up soon and you are encouraged to attend.
Cheverly Day Report
CM Thorpe it is scheduled for May 31st. Tables are available and you can click on the community tab. If you wish to advertise, click on the advertisement tab. Content will be going up this weekend. There may be a miniature golf course as groups are donating holes on Cheverly Day. The Council will be doing one as well. You can make a donation on the website with a clear PayPal link or you can send a check to Town Hall.
Mayor transportation will be provided since parking is tough and some want to come and go. We are reaching out to the County and Bladensburg and we want to have from 12 – 5 two circulator buses. They will stop at places where there is parking like CUMC and St. Ambrose.
Green Infrastructure Committee
Mayor they met the other night and are asking for funding for storm water management.
Planning Board Report
Mayor they met and discussed Hunter’s Ridge near the Landover Metro. They hope to break ground within the next 18 months. The Community Standards Group discussed Capital Plaza and that it could look better.
Citizen Input
Mayor and Council Announcements
Mayor a 2009 ongoing battle regarding the tire changing place as you left the Route 50 exit has seemed to have come to an end. They were open 24 hours and it was an eyesore. We couldn’t do anything as it was outside our borders. We have been pressuring the County to do something and the owners were very good at avoiding meeting the set standards. They are now closed. The other remaining operation closes at night, does inside work and has inside storage, which makes that operation legal.
- CM Coolen to excuse CM Eldridge. CM Cook seconded. Approved 4-0.
- CM Coolen to excuse CM Riazi. CM Thorpe seconded. Approved 4-0.
Second Reading O-3-14 Amending the Refuse Section of the Town Code
Mr. Warrington this was introduced at our last meeting. We are changing our Town Code to comply with the County’s new rule against the use of plastic bags. We will pick-up yard waste in paper bags or containers. It also makes yard waste a recyclable so you can not circumvent the requirements by placing your yard waste out in plastic bags for trash collection. It will not be picked-up.
CM Rodgers do they get billed for a fee for picking up the bags. Mr. Warrington yes.
Second Reading O-4-14 Amending the Rental License Section of the Town Code
Mr. Warrington this is the smallest change I think we have ever made with an Ordinance as it is a four word change to our Town Code. We are changing the Code to have all the rental licenses expire on June 30th. We will pro-rate any licenses that come on line during various times in the year. We have a fairly stable amount of 100 single family homes that are being rental. It will be passed at the next Town Meeting and will be effective 30 days later.
Introduction of the FY 15 Operating Budget and Capital Improvement Program
Mr. Warrington this is our guide as to what we will be doing over the next year. We did very well in controlling costs over the past couple of years. We anticipate that we will not be deficit spending as much as we had anticipated. We will probably end up with a $2 million fund balance. We are proposing a deficit spending amount in the $900,000 range. The bulk of this will be almost $500,000 in road way improvements. We will be chasing WSSC paving roads that they are partially paving. We end up with a quality road paved in its entirety, but that we only have to pay for a portion. We will be discussing the budget at the next two Worksessions and at the next Town Meeting with a target to pass the budget at the Town Meeting in June. Discussed a number of CIP items
in detail. The good news is that there is no proposed increase in the tax rate. The Constant Yield will stay the same as taxes are remaining flat.
CM Cook you have the CIP items in the Newsletter as mandatory, high and other can you explain?
Mr. Warrington the mandatory ones are bond payments, truck payments. The high are things like paving where it is not mandatory, but we think it would be prudent to follow WSSC and pave the remaining parts of the road as they do their repairs. The others are items that I have rank ordered as to what we need and what we want.
Town of Cheverly
Summary of Action
April 10, 2014
- CM Coolen to excuse CM Eldridge. CM Cook seconded. Approved 4-0.
- CM Coolen to excuse CM Riazi. CM Thorpe seconded. Approved 4-0.
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