Town of Cheverly
Meeting Minutes
March 13, 2014
Call to Order
Meeting called to order at 8:00 pm in the Cheverly Community Center.
In attendance: CMs, Riazi, Eldridge, Coolen, Rodgers, Thorpe.
Pledge of Allegiance
Agenda/Approval/Changes
We are adding a closed meeting regarding a property acquisition.
Minutes – Town Meeting
Minutes – Worksession 3/27/14
Approved.
Chief’s Report
Chief Robshaw I have a relatively short report this evening. Our crime is down and most of our arrests have been self-initiated by our Police Officers. I have two awards to give out tonight for citizens that have attended the County Citizens Police Academy, which is sponsored by the County Police. It is a commitment to attend every Monday for 15 weeks. David LaVoy and Jerome McCaw were recognized for their participation and completion of the curriculum. It is our citizens who are responsible for our low crime rate. Programs like this are a part of that success.
Town Administrator’s Report
Mr. Warrington mulch is available.
CM Coolen if we have loose tar from the weather in front of our houses, what should we do with it?
Mr. Warrington you can sweep it up and place it in a bag and we will pick it up.
Committee Reports
Recreation Council Report
Ms. Barbara Pejokovich our next meeting is March 25th at 7pm and all are welcome to attend and bring ideas. Our annual flea market is Saturday, April 5th and all our tables are sold. The money made from the sale of the tables provides us with funds for 2 $500 scholarships for Cheverly kids going to college. Scholarships can be applied for via the number in the Newsletter or you can give me a call. The Easter Egg Hunt will start at 11am and it is 9 year olds and under. We will have goody bags, rabbits and prizes. The Easter Bunny will be here, so bring your camera or phone.
Cheverly Day Report
CM Thorpe it is scheduled for May 31st. We have fireworks, music, games and food so join us. If you would like to volunteer contact me and we meet the second Tuesday of every month. We are looking for someone with talent to help us with social media, it has a small honorarium.
Green Infrastructure Committee
Mayor they did not meet this month due to the weather.
Planning Board Report
CM Eldridge we meet the second Tuesday of each month. Tonight MNCPPC gave a presentation regarding the Kenilworth Avenue Industrial Parks. A copy of the presentation is located on their website. MNCPPC will be back to present how to connect Cheverly by the Anacostia River Trail. The Planning Board will be wrapping-up the Envision Cheverly and it will be discussed at the next Worksession. The 202 corridor study, by MNCPPC, they have some concept presentations and are concentrating on the Dodge Park Shopping Center.
American Legion Auxiliary – Contest Winner Presentations
Lane Thompson I am President of the American Legion Auxiliary in Cheverly and we are focusing on children and youth to teach and promote democracy, freedom and good citizenship. The Americanism essay contest is held for students in grade 3 through 8. The Mayor and Ms. Thompson presented awards to the winners of the essay contest.
Mayor and Council Announcements
CM Eldridge read a Proclamation recognizing the Gladys Noon Spellman Art Program.
Citizen Input
WSSC Representatives
Mayor we reached out to WSSC to talk to us about billing.
Mr. Hop Quan Chief of Utility Services for WSSC we are responsible for the maintenance work of all pipes in the system.
Ms. Rose Marie St. Nicholas is the Correspondence Service Coordinator part of the problem when customer can not reach a live person due to high call volume, we have trouble to responding quickly to issues. We have a backlog on our emails as well. If you hit 0 you should be able to get to speak to an operator. If you say agent, you should get to speak to someone.
Mr. Quan we try to respond to water main breaks as quickly as possible, but sometimes we have a huge number of breaks and try to get there as soon as possible. If you see a water main break, you can call the emergency number and report any such issues.
CM Riazi you reference over 500 breaks in January. Is there any way you can publicly share a prioritization of your breaks so someone can see where they are on the list. This will help people know that they are not forgotten. Second, with the number of breaks, are you required to track the amount of water and report that in any way.
Mr. Quan we do have a customer notification system for the area you are interested. You will get an automatic notice. I am not the communication officer, but it is on the website. Whenever a customer calls, they can go to our website and see any emergency work in your area. It will note when reported and a work order is generated. It does not go away. Every year WSSC compares how much water treated versus how much billed in the meters and we are usually losing about 14% of the water. Sometimes it is via breaks and sometimes via flushing hydrants and lines.
CM Coolen some people in town have had a significant jump in their water billing. Can you give me any explanation?
Ms. St. Nicholas we do bill quarterly and there is some fluctuation of billing for the 90 days. Instead of a 90 day bill, we issued 120 day bills in order to read and not estimate meters. There were a lot of snow days, so people were home more during this quarter so they were using more water. On July 1st 2013 our rates did increase.
Mr. Quan when there is a high water bill we will send out our technicians to test the meters. Average consumption, which is number of days divided by the usage should be about the same.
CM Coolen this has been going on for some time and I am kind of lost as to the reasons for this.
Mr. Quan I will give you my business card and I will follow-up with the individuals.
Ms. St. Nichols mentioned how one can test their toilets for leaks by putting color in the tank and in 15 minutes checking the bowl for the die. If so, then they have a leak. One should consider replacing the flapper, which is the usual culprit.
- CM Rodgers to excuse CM Cook. CM Eldridge seconded. Approved 5-0.
Introduction O-3-14 Amending the Refuse Section of the Town Code
Mr. Warrington this is a change to the Town Code that incorporates the County’s new rule against the use of plastic bags. We will pick-up yard waste in paper bags or containers. We strongly encourage folks to take advantage of leaf vacuuming. 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.
Introduction O-4-14 Amending the Rental License Section of the Town Code
Mr. Warrington this 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.
Authorization to Execute a Lease/Purchase Agreement for a Refuse Vehicle
Mr. Warrington this item has been in the works for the past three years. We originally were setting funds aside to purchase a new refuse vehicle, but after a good deal of discussion. The Mayor and Council have decided to purchase the vehicle over a 3 year period. The interest rate is 2.6% and it will not put a one time large hit on our reserves. We do this by motion in order to obligate the Town over the next three years to make these payments.
- CM Riazi to authorize the Town Administrator to execute the 3 year lease/purchase agreement for the purchase of a refuse vehicle in the amount of $226,738. CM Coolen seconded. Approved 5-0.
Mayor we are now going to close the meeting for the purpose of discussing a property acquisition.
- CM Thorpe to close the meeting in order to discuss a property acquisition. CM Rodgers seconded. Approved 5-0.
Town of Cheverly
Summary of Action
March13, 2014
- CM Rodger to excuse CM Cook. CM Eldridge seconded. Approved 5-0.
- CM Riazi to authorize the Town Administrator to execute the 3 year lease/purchase agreement for the purchase of a refuse vehicle in the amount of $226,738. CM Coolen seconded. Approved 5-0.
- CM Thorpe to close the meeting in order to discuss a property acquisition. CM Rodgers seconded. Approved 5-0.
- CM Riazi to open the meeting. Seconded CM Coolen. Approved 5-0.
| 
