Dear Neighbors:
My top concern, as it is for everyone, is the impact of the Covid-19 Coronavirus, and how best to respond to the challenges it has created for all of us. I’ve periodically sent out information and links to resources that I thought would be helpful to residents, and I’ve included some more updates later in this message. First, though, here are the two most recent blogs (both posted on Sunday) from Mayor Kate Stewart and City Manager Suzanne Ludlow, both of which include not only important updates on City actions, but links to other organizations playing important roles in the response to Covid-19:
https://takomaparkmd.gov/city-blog/message-from-the-city-manager-things-have-really-changed/
Meanwhile, before getting into further details on the virus, I thought it would be helpful to outline the procedures for this week’s Council meeting.
MARCH 18 CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Here’s a link to the agenda for the March 18 Council meeting: https://takomaparkmd.gov/meeting_agendas/city-council-meeting-agenda-wednesday-march-10-2020/. Because of the restrictions we’re facing as a result of Covid-19, this meeting will be conducted “virtually” and the agenda will be limited to three more critical voting items: amendments to our Election Code, the final vote on the pending budget amendment, and the City Manager’s contract extension.
The Election Code Amendments are vital for us to adopt in order to ensure that the necessary logistical arrangements can be made in time for the election in November. The City Manager’s current contract expires on March 31, so that’s also a time sensitive matter. And the budget amendment is important to complete as we move into the annual budget cycle. There’s more information about all three of these issues below. Other agenda items initially listed for this week will be postponed to a future meeting.
Prior to Wednesday’s meeting, information will be shared with residents on how they can observe the virtual meeting. Those who wish to comment on any of the three agenda items can submit their comments in writing to City Clerk Jessie Carpenter (jessiec@takomaparkmd.gov) and they will be read out loud as part of the meeting. Per our normal requirements, comments will be limited to three minutes, so I recommend that residents test out how long it takes to read their comments out loud so the comments don’t end up being truncated. Comments on other topics (including issues connected to the Coronavirus) will be shared with the entire Council, but won’t be read out loud publicly at this meeting.
In making these plans, we’ve consulted with our counterparts in other communities, all of whom are facing similar challenges and considering solutions along the same lines. I recognize that the process we’ll be using on Wednesday is not as open as our usual Council meeting procedures allow for. But given the difficult circumstances we’re in, I think this is a workable approach, and it’s one that will be in compliance with State open meeting requirements.
While I hope the technology will function smoothly, it’s certainly possible there could be hiccups at Wednesday’s meeting, so we’ll all have to be a little flexible. Based on the experience that night, we should be additional to take steps to help ensure future meetings have a more user friendly, transparent process, with a more robust public comment capacity. In order to allow for sufficient time to explore options along those lines, the Council won’t meet next week (when our regular meeting was scheduled for March 25).
UPDATE ON COVID-19 RESPONSE
I’m sure we all already have had some unusual experiences as a result of the virus. My wife and I decided not to attend a wedding in Washington, DC on Saturday, and we were pleased to be able to watch it live-streamed instead. In the last couple of days I’ve done a little more grocery stocking up than usual, checked on some residents who I thought might need help, and took some nice walks during which I had to keep a little distance from friends and neighbors I encountered. I guess these kind of things are the new normal for a while.
The most significant new information comes from Governor Hogan’s announcement earlier today. As residents are probably aware, he ordered the closure of all bars, restaurants, movie theatres and gyms, effective at 5:00 PM today, with bars and restaurants still able to provide takeout service. He also barred any gatherings of more than 50 people. I would add that we may soon see further tightening of these rules, as the Centers for Disease Control this afternoon recommended no gatherings of more than 10 people. Under the Governor’s order most other businesses, including especially grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations would remain open. In addition, the order prohibits utilities from shutting off service or applying late fees, and it also bans evictions from rental properties. These are just some of the key features of the order; you can see more through this link: https://governor.maryland.gov/2020/03/16/governor-hogan-orders-closure-of-bars-and-restaurants-announces-unprecedented-public-health-surge-to-combat-covid-19-crisis/.
With City of Takoma Park offices closed to the public, and many City staff now telecommuting, it may be difficult to reach employees. So the City has set up an online portal for asking questions or making suggestions relating to our local response to the virus: askus@takomaparkmd.gov. I hope residents will take advantage of this option. If you face any pressing challenges or if you become aware of any problems affecting your neighbors, please feel free to contact me, or the Mayor, or City staff.
This crisis is unusual because the most important way of slowing the spread of the virus is to avoid contact with others to the extent we can. On the other hand, it’s only by working together and collaborating that we’ll ultimately succeed, because we will need to help each other. We’ll just have to learn to do that in ways that involve much less close contact than we’re used to. I think Takoma Park is well suited to the task because we do have such a strong sense of community, and I’m confident that will help us get through whatever we’ll be facing in the coming weeks.
UPDATES FROM LAST WEEK’S COUNCIL MEETING
Library Renovation Project. We heard more details last week on the estimated costs of the Library project. If you scroll down to the bottom of last week’s agenda (https://takomaparkmd.gov/meeting_agendas/city-council-meeting-agenda-wednesday-march-11-2020/) you can see some of the important cost details in the two Library sub-links. The key point is that, based on current estimates -- including the availability of cable television funds -- it would be possible to complete the project without additional borrowing or having to include new funds in our budget. While that’s positive news, it’s not entirely certain, given the way construction costs change and the need for more details on the soft costs (items like permitting, paying a construction manager, furnishings, etc.). For those reasons, I’m continuing to look at changes to the design that could save money, such as not making the proposed improvements to the Recreation Department area and removing the proposed lounge that would be located above the Police entrance by the lower parking lot.
The next step would be for the Council to consider a further payment to the architectural firm for additional design work. Before we have a vote on that, we’ll need to see the soft costs broken out in more detail. I had anticipated those things happening in the next few weeks. But our Council meeting schedule is not clear at the moment due to the challenges presented by the virus, so the calendar for further action on the Library will take a little longer to clarify.
Parking Management Task Force. As noted in last week’s blog, I’m interested in opening up the Task Force to enable additional members to join, including a representative from North Takoma (one area that could be affected if there’s a broader set of changes to current parking permit policies). I brought up this concern during the discussion before last week’s vote on the appointment of a replacement for a Ward 3 Task Force member who had stepped down, and Mayor Stewart agreed that we would consider the idea of additional members at an upcoming Council meeting. As with the Library project, the potential timing for that is up in the air now, owing to the impact of Covid-19 on the schedule for Council meetings. And of course I don’t know at this point whether there would be support on the Council for a change along these lines. But I appreciate the Mayor’s openness to the idea, and I’m hopeful we’ll be able to consider it before long.
VOTING SESSION
Election Code Amendments: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2020/council-20200318-3.pdf. As part of our work to synchronize our local elections with Federal, State and County elections by shifting our ballot from odd to even years, the Takoma Park Board of Elections proposed a series of changes to our Election Code. The Council has had a number of in-depth discussions of the changes, and several important refinements to the Board’s recommendations have been made.
The key changes that would be made by these amendments include: an updated definition of “campaign material” to better encompass online communications; a clarification of the campaign authority disclosure required on any publicly released campaign materials; a requirement that campaign expenditures must be reported (currently only contributions have to be reported); a limit of one thousand dollars for contributions from any individual (there’s no limit currently); a ban on anonymous donations; an improved schedule for campaign finance reporting; clarification on the use or surplus campaign funds when a local elected official decides not to run for re-election; and some improved procedures for absentee ballots.
I support these and the other modifications that have been proposed. While there may be a few additional adjustments before the final vote, I intend to vote for the overall set of changes.
Budget Amendment: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2020/council-20200318-4.pdf. This amendment comprises a group of changes to our budget, including transfers between accounts, to reflect such factors as delays in the availability of State funds, staff vacancies, or slower than anticipated movement on projects and initiatives. This will be the second of two votes on the amendment, and I’ll be voting yes as I did previously.
City Manager Contract Extension: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2020/council-20200318-5.pdf. The current contract for City Manager Suzanne Ludlow ends on March 31, and she has announced her intention to retire on June 30 of next year. The Council will be considering a 15 month extension of her contract with a two percent increase over her current salary, an increase that’s slightly below what most senior managers on City staff are receiving. I plan to vote in favor of the contract extension.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments about any of the issues covered in this message. And I hope everyone stays safe and healthy.
Peter Kovar, Takoma Park City Council, Ward One
240-319-6281; www.councilmemberkovar.com
(He, Him, His)
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