Dear Neighbors:
The agenda for this week’s City Council meeting includes votes on contracts for a facilitator firm for the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force and for the City Manager search process; a resolution extending the use of public and private spaces (including Laurel Avenue) for commercial activity; a resolution removing the Housing and Community Development Department Director position from the budget hold list; and a contract for tree removal and trimming. In addition there will be an important work session on the Library renovation project, along with a discussion on State legislative priorities. You can see the agenda details here: https://takomaparkmd.gov/meeting_agendas/city-council-meeting-agenda-wednesday-december-2-2020/. For more information on 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.
The last Council meeting of the year will be on Wednesday, December 9, after which there will be a break around the holidays before we resume again in January. Key agenda items for that meeting include a priorities discussion with our State legislative delegation and a possible vote on moving forward with the Library project.
COVID Update. City staff has updated the Takoma Park COVID-19 Dashboard with data current as of November 27. New data points include:
· 36 new cases reported
· Infection rate of 4.6%
· 2 new deaths
Testing continues on Wednesdays at Sligo Adventist Church at the intersection of Carroll and Flower Avenues (in the parking lot behind the Church). Hours are 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM.
Montgomery County advises that if it has been 3-4 days and you have not received your emailed test results, call the Testing Helpline at 240-777-1755. There is sometimes a lag in the emailed notifications and calling the Helpline (and leaving a message there if you don’t get a live response) can often help track down results. Also check to make sure emailed results aren't in your spam box. There’s information on other County testing sites here: https://montgomerycountymd.gov/covid19/testing.html.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Public Engagement on New Hampshire Avenue Recreation Center Redevelopment. Brick & Story, the public engagement company hired by the City to conduct public outreach on the redevelopment of the Rec Center, is leading a series of conversations about the project. There will be three more of these virtual visioning and goal setting sessions as follows:
They are also launching a Community Art Contest for all ages. The contest runs until year-end, and submissions can be provided by email or at a drop box location. Click here to learn more!
Friends of the Library Annual Holiday Book Sale. This year’s sale is being conducted virtually. You can shop at the online collection of over 800 new and used books. Books are priced to sell at $3 each or 10 for $25. The sale is open to Friends members now and others on December 11. To shop during the members-only period join the Friends or renew your membership. Information on how to access the book sale will be sent via email to members.
Alternative Gift Fair -- December 5 Virtual Presentation, Noon - 4:00 PM. This local favorite combining charitable giving and seasonal gifting is virtual this year: https://aggw.org/.
Pajamarama. https://mainstreettakoma.org/featured-events/pajamarama/. This annual Old Town holiday shopping event will take place all day on Sunday, December 6. Shoppers wearing pajamas will get discounts at participating local businesses.
Police Department Holiday Toy Drive. https://takomaparkmd.gov/news-alert/help-tppd-bring-joy-this-holiday-season-donate-unwrapped-toys-cash-giftcards/. The Police are accepting toys and gift cards for children ages 2 - 12 through December 23.
Police Department Winter Coat Drive. https://takomaparkmd.gov/news-alert/winter-coat-drive-begins-monday-november-4/. The Police Department, in partnership with Adventist Community Services, is collecting clean, gently used warm coats in any size from infant to adult through December 18. They will also accept clean, gently used gloves/mittens and scarves.
Takoma Park Community Police Academy -- Applications Due December 23. The Academy will begin on January 5 and be conducted via Zoom. It’s a 14-week program with classes on Tuesdays from 7:00 - 9:00 PM. Participants will gain insight into how law enforcement officers perform their duties on such topics as patrol, traffic enforcement, use of force, criminal investigations, canine, firearms, crisis negotiation, etc. The Department believes educating the community will result in more understanding of their work. To see what others have said about the Academy or to apply, visit: https://takomaparkmd.gov/government/police/community-policing/community-police-academy/
The program is free to those who are 16 years of age or older, live or work in Takoma Park, and don’t have any serious misdemeanors or any felony offenses. Seats are limited to the first 25 students on a first come/first serve basis. The Department encourages all applicants to commit to the full 14 weeks to get the most out of the program. Questions can be directed to Public Information Officer Cathy Plevy, at 301-891-7142 or cathyp@takomaparkmd.gov.
VOTING SESSION
Facilitation Contract for Reimagining Public Safety Task Force: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2020/council-20201202-1.pdf. As part of our work establishing the Task Force, the Council decided it made sense to hire a facilitator to help coordinate the work. There’s some timeliness to the hiring, not only because making progress on reimagining public safety is a top Council priority, but also given our desire for the Task Force to be able to make some recommendations connected to our work on next year’s budget. We typically vote on the budget in May, with preparation, planning and drafting taking place in the months before that. I look forward to hearing more about the proposal submitted by LINK, the company that’s been recommended by the review team.
Executive Search Contract for City Manager Recruitment: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2020/council-20201202-2.pdf. There’s an element of urgency for this contract, too, considering that City Manager Suzanne Ludlow is retiring at the end of June. Conducting a search, reviewing the responses and interviewing candidates (including I anticipate with the help of a resident committee), and finalizing a contract will take a number of months. Starting now helps ensure that if we don’t finish by the end of June, any gap will be relatively short. Again, I look forward to getting details on the applicant selected by the reviewers.
Resolution Extending Use of Public and Private Space: http://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2020/council-20201202-3.pdf. When the long-term nature of the pandemic became clear earlier this year the Council approved a resolution allowing certain areas in the City -- including one side of Laurel Avenue -- to be closed to vehicular traffic to offer some flexibility for businesses and patrons during a period with limitations on indoor gathering. That authorization expires at the end of this year. As a result, the Council will vote this week on extending the program for up to six months. While I’m supportive, I did think it was important to add to the resolution language making it clear that the extension also preserves the public seating area for those who aren’t patronizing businesses. With the addition of language I proposed along those lines, I plan to vote for the resolution.
Resolution Removing HCD Director Position from Budget Hold List: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2020/council-20201202-4.pdf. This job -- vacant for over a year -- is one of the positions the Council put on hold in this year’s budget. That means the funds for the position are reserved for potential use in our COVID response, and can only be released for their original purpose if the Council votes to do so. Major parts of the COVID response include assisting residents with housing problems such as possible eviction, along with helping small businesses facing financial difficulties, and it’s been challenging for HCD staff to operate without the top job (which would play a key coordinating role) being filled. So I’m sympathetic to the idea of removing this position from the hold list so it can be advertised and filled. But before deciding how to vote, I’d like to have a clearer idea on how we’re going to assess whether and when to remove other “hold” items from the list, taking into account aspects of our COVID response that may need greater attention or focus.
Tree Removal and Trimming Contract: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2020/council-20201202-5.pdf. I’ll be voting in favor of this contract, which covers the removal or trimming of a number of trees, mostly in the public right of way.
WORK SESSION
State Legislative Update: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2020/council-20201202-6.pdf. We’ll be hearing from Ann Ciekot, who represents the City in Annapolis, with an update on State legislative activity. This presentation will be a valuable preview to next week’s session on City priorities with our State delegation (Sen. Smith and Dels. Moon, Wilkins and Charkoudian).
Update on Library Project: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2020/council-20201202-7.pdf. We’ll hear from the project architect and City staff about design refinements that have been made over the last several months along with recent construction cost calculations. Depending on what we learn at this week’s meeting, we may vote next week on moving forward with construction documents, which would in turn mean that the project could go out to bid in the spring.
My financial goal continues to be holding the line on costs so that the $7 million we borrowed 4 years ago through the State bonding process combined with the off-budget sources of funding (direct State grants and surplus cable television contract monies) are sufficient to complete the project. If that’s not the case, I’ll be looking for savings. I addition, I want to make sure the project includes sufficient green building components.
The statement from my blog on the July 8 Council meeting (when we last formally discussed the project) serves as a decent summary of my current thoughts on this topic. To read it scroll down to the work session portion of the blog: http://www.councilmemberkovar.com/blog/2020/7/6/agenda-for-july-8-2020-city-council-meeting.
How to watch City Council meetings: the public may view Council meetings 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.
Register for City Alerts and Updates: https://takomaparkmd.gov/sign-up/. You can sign up for various City alerts, including Police bulletins, Council updates, and the Takoma Insider. In addition, if you’d prefer to receive my blog directly instead of through your neighborhood email list, you can sign up here: http://www.councilmemberkovar.com/.
Feel free to be in touch with comments or questions involving any of the topics covered here.
Peter Kovar, Takoma Park City Council, Ward One,
240-319-6281; www.councilmemberkovar.com
(He, Him, His)
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