Dear Neighbors:
This week’s City Council meeting will be the last one before Election Day on November 3. On November 12, the Council will meet to receive certification of the election results, and then on the 16th the Mayor and City Councilmembers will be sworn in. The next regular Council meeting will take place on November 18.
Here’s a link to the agenda for this week’s meeting on Wednesday, October 21: https://takomaparkmd.gov/meeting_agendas/city-council-meeting-agenda-wednesday-october-21-2020/. We’ll start at 6:00 PM in a closed session with the City Attorney to receive legal advice. The regular meeting, which begins at 7:30 PM, includes five voting items: a resolution on principles of Council Compensation; a resolution suspending operations of the Committee on the Environment; three separate votes on personnel matters (a retirement incentive program, the Collective Bargaining Agreement for our non-management police officers, and a wage adjustment for non-management, non-union employees); a tree removal contract; and appointments to the Tree Commission. The work session will feature a presentation and discussion on the Montgomery County stormwater permit process, and an update on our local elections. For details on all of these topics see below. The sign-up for public comments will be open until 5:00 PM on the day of the meeting. Link to sign-up for Live Public Comments.
LOCAL ELECTION UPDATE -- Everyone Please Vote!!
The Takoma Park local election ballots have begun to arrive via the US Postal Service at the homes of registered City voters. I received mine a couple of days ago. If you’re registered and don’t receive your ballot by the end of the day tomorrow, contact the City Clerk or the Board of Elections (elections@takomaparkmd.gov or clerk@takomaparkmd.gov).
You can mail in your local ballots. As long as they are postmarked by Election Day (November 3) they will be counted even if they arrive up to 5 days later. In addition, there are City ballot drop boxes at the Community Center (lower level parking area by the Police Department entrance) and at the New Hampshire Avenue Recreation Center. All drop box ballots must be deposited by close of business on Election Day. There will be limited in-person drive-through voting on Election Day at the Community Center for those who don’t have ballots. Translation and other in-person local ballot assistance will also be available at the Community Center from October 22 through November 2 from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM.
Please note: voters will need to sign their ballots before mailing them or dropping them off. Also make sure the bar code shows in the window before you seal your outer envelope.
The Community Center also has a drop box for the County/State ballot (which includes the Presidential and U.S. House of Representatives elections, plus Montgomery County Board of Education candidates, County judges, and County and State referenda). The two boxes at the Community Center are well marked, but if ballots are accidentally placed in the wrong box, I’ve been assured by the City Clerk they’ll end up in the correct place. There’s no County/State drop box at the Recreation Center. The nearest in-person voting site for the County/State ballot is the Silver Spring Civic Center, where early voting will begin on October 26.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Ward One Virtual Community Discussion -- Tonight, October 19, 7:00 - 8:30 PM. This is another in the series of discussions I’ve scheduled in lieu of in-person office hours during the pandemic. All topics are welcome. Here’s the Zoom meeting link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEucu2qqTsvG9VmyBnytwNrfKFTJhAoZE-e
COVID Dashboard. The Takoma Park COVID-19 Dashboard has been updated, with numbers current as of October 16. Some key data points:
· No new deaths
· 11 new reported cases
· Infection rate increased to 3.8%, compared to the County rate of 2.3%
· *New* data graph available showing reported cases by race & ethnicity over time
The new Takoma Park testing site -- at the Sligo Adventist Church parking lot, 7700 Carroll Avenue -- will be open every Wednesday from 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM, and accommodates both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals since it is outdoors. Participants can drive-up or walk-up, and testing is free, with no requirement for doctor’s orders, insurance cards, government IDs, or advance appointments. Testing volunteers are multilingual and available to translate as needed. Information on schedules at other County testing sites can be found through this link: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/covid19/testing.html.
Prescription Drug Take-Back Day -- Saturday, October 24. The Takoma Park Police Department will participate in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Nationwide Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on October 24, from 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM. This campaign enables the public to dispose of expired, unused, or unwanted drugs. Prescription, over-the-counter and pet medications will be accepted at the Police Department office in the Community Center. As a reminder, residents can dispose of excess and expired medications at the Department’s safe and secure permanent drop off location, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with no questions asked.
Tree Care Workshops. https://takomaparkmd.gov/news-alert/tree-workshops-to-be-held-in-october-and-november/. The City has partnered with Maryland Sustainable Ecologies to offer four 30-minute Saturday workshops on tree care issues. The first workshop was this past Saturday, and the next one will be this coming Saturday, October 24. These events will take place remotely on Zoom, beginning at Noon on each day.
Halloween Events. https://takomaparkmd.gov/government/recreation/halloween-events-2020/. In an effort to keep the season’s family fun alive during the pandemic, the City has scheduled a series of events from October 28 - 31.
Pepco Tree Trimming. We received information late last week on some upcoming Pepco tree trimming activity. The following link shows the locations: https://publicworks-takomapark.s3.amazonaws.com/public/utility_projects/PW-20201015-PEPCO-distrobution-pruning-plan-overall.pdf. I note the map’s legend indicates the “planning dates” for the work as September 15 - October 7. While I’m seeking clarification on the dates for the actual work, I thought it made sense to circulate the map now.
UPDATES FROM LAST WEEK’S MEETING
Mural at B.Y. Morrison Park. The Council voted to go forward with a public arts program that doesn’t include restoration of the mural, which means it will be removed and returned to the artist. The idea of not restoring the mural because of its depictions of Black people had been mentioned by several Councilmembers when we discussed the arts budget in a previous Council meeting several weeks ago. That’s obviously a very important consideration, especially in light of the national discussion on police violence against people of color, the Black Lives Matter movement, and our own local racial equity policy. I thought it made sense to take some additional time to assess the community’s views on the mural before making a final decision on restoration, and I suggested that approach in last week’s meeting. A majority of the Council didn’t agree with that idea, and as a result we approved the arts budget without the restoration funds. For those who may be interested, you can see video of the Council discussion through the following link (starting at the 1:15 mark of the October 14 meeting): https://takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/meetings-and-documents/city-council-video/
Report on COVID-19 Assistance. You can see the staff COVID assistance presentation here: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2020/Meeting-Documents/COVID-Response-Presentation-20201021.pdf. While our staff are working hard and engaging in a wide breadth of COVID relief efforts, I’m interested in exploring whether we can provide additional assistance to residents, particularly given the complications related to coordinating with the County and accessing other sources of aid, along with the reality that landlords may attempt to start ramping up eviction proceedings.
City Manager Comments. You can read Suzanne Ludlow’s official remarks via this link: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-manager/city-manager-comments/2020/City%20Manager%20Comments%20_%20%2010.14.2020.pdf
VOTING SESSION
Principles of Council Compensation: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2020/council-20201021-1-rev.pdf. I’ll be voting in favor of this resolution, which modifies previous Council compensation principles to emphasize the importance of providing sufficient compensation and benefits to make it more likely that a wider range of residents would consider seeking to serve on the Council.
Committee on the Environment Suspension of Operations: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2020/council-20201021-2-rev.pdf. The Committee has submitted a request to suspend its operations, so that members can continue their work with a racial justice facilitator. While this is an unusual situation, I think it makes sense to agree to this request from the remaining members of the committee as part of our overall efforts to help ensure that committees are move reflective of the City’s population. I’ll be voting in favor of this proposal as I did when it first came before us last week.
Personnel Matters: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2020/council-20201021-3-rev.pdf. Due to the COVID pandemic, some key personnel decisions relating to potential pay increases for City staff were put on hold when the budget was adopted earlier this year. To be specific, while the budget included funds potentially for step pay increases, an inflation adjustment, and some additional pay hikes for employees with outstanding records, that was all put on hold, as were the Collective Bargaining negotiations for our two employee unions. The City Manager is now proposing some initial steps to begin to address staff pay in this fiscal year, including a retirement incentive program, the Collective Bargaining Agreement for our police officers who are in a union (the United Food and Commercial Union), and a pay hike for a small group of non-union management employees.
Under the original terms of the budget, City employees were potentially in line for pay increases of up to 4.5 percent (1.5% step increase, 2.5% inflation adjustment, and 1.5% for high performers). The City Manager is proposing to limit the pay increases for the police officers in the union and the non-union management staff to only the 1.5% step increase, with the remainder of the funds being returned to the City’s general reserves. The retirement incentive program would enable lump sum payments to eligible workers of $750 for each year of service with the City. The cost would likely be partially offset this year and fully offset in the following year, unless the Council chooses to create new positions to replace the retirees.
I’m supportive of the retirement incentive program, and I’m still considering the two pay increase proposals, including specifically what impact they may have on the separate Collective Bargaining Agreement for non-police staff, as well as compensation for management. In addition, since we can’t be sure how the pandemic will continue to develop, I think it’s important to ensure that we have plenty of flexibility to adjust pay next year and beyond. I’d like to understand better how the decisions we make this week fit into that set of questions.
Retirement Incentive Program: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2020/Meeting-Documents/Retirement-Incentive-Resolution.pdf
Collective Bargaining Agreement: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2020/Meeting-Documents/Local-400-draft-resolution.pdf
Wage Adjustment for Non-Management Employees: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2020/Meeting-Documents/Non-mgmt%20non-union-wages-draft-resolution.pdf
Tree Removal Contract: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2020/council-20201021-4.pdf. I’ll be voting in favor of this contract for removal and other treatment of several trees, including some that hazardous.
Tree Commission Appointments: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2020/council-20201021-5.pdf. The Council recently approved a policy freezing most appointments to resident committees, boards and commissions while we develop strategies to improve the diversity of membership on those bodies. The two exceptions to this policy are when a given panel can’t take formal action because it has too few members, or if appointments could help promote more diversity. The Tree Commission needs at least one new member in order to be able to formally consider tree permit appeals, and has only white members at present. I wouldn’t be inclined to support expanding the Commission to its full five members from the current two. But I may support adding one or two in order to help address its ability to function and help address its membership diversity.
WORK SESSION
Montgomery County Stormwater Permit Process: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2020/council-20201021-6.pdf. As part of our efforts to explore alternative approaches to handling stormwater, especially given the apparent increase in more severe rain storms and the likelihood of a higher incidence of such storms in the future owing to climate change, we’ll be hearing from Mark Etheridge, Manager of the Water Resources Section of the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services. He will provide an overview of County stormwater permit processes, and answer Council questions.
Update on Local Elections: No written materials were available in advance.
HOW TO VIEW THIS WEEK’S MEETING
The public may view the meeting as always: on City TV (RCN – 13, HD 1060; Comcast/xfinity – 13, HD 997; Verizon Fios – 28), on the City Council Video Page of the City Website; on YouTube, or on Facebook.
Please feel free to be in touch if you have questions or comments about any of the matters covered in the blog.
Peter Kovar, Takoma Park City Council, Ward One
240-319-6281; www.councilmemberkovar.com
(He, Him, His)
Important Privacy Notice: All correspondence, including emails, to or from City of Takoma Park agencies, officials, and employees is subject to the Maryland Public Information Act and may be disclosed to the public.