Dear Neighbors:
Here’s a link to the agenda for the February 10, 2021 City Council meeting: https://takomaparkmd.gov/meeting_agendas/city-council-meeting-agenda-wednesday-february-10-2021/. We’ll be starting at 6:00 PM, with a presentation from Bibliotecha, a remote library locker system, which we may consider as a supplement to our current library services. In the regular meeting, which begins at 7:30 PM, there are no votes scheduled. During our work session there will be an update on the City Manager search process, a discussion on the proposed change to a tiered stormwater fee structure, and a continuation of our work on the Council Priorities document for 2021 and 2022. For more information on these topics see below. There will also be a proclamation honoring the centennial of Boy Scout Troop 33.
Residents who wish to speak during the public comment period will need to sign up by 5:00 PM on the day of the meeting: Link to sign-up for Live Public Comments.
COVID UPDATE
The Takoma Park Data Dashboard has been updated with data through February 5:
· There were 42 new cases identified in the last week in Takoma Park, bringing the city's case total to 1,433 and its prevalence rate (the approximate percentage of Takoma Park's population that has contracted COVID since the beginning of the pandemic) to 8.1%.
· The seven-day moving average of cases per 100,000 residents declined significantly along with the rest of the County, to the lowest rates of spread since late November. However, it remains unclear how widespread more-infectious variants of COVID-19 are in Maryland and the rest of the country, raising concerns about future spread.
· After a week of no deaths, there were two new deaths due to COVID in the 20912 zip code in the last week, bringing the death total for the zip code to 33 since the start of the pandemic.
Testing continues at our Recreation Center every Wednesday and Saturday, 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM. For other County testing locations, visit this link. You can pre-register for vaccinations at the County vaccine page: https://montgomerycountymd.gov/covid19/vaccine/. Or you can call 240-777-2982. It’s also possible to sign up for vaccines through the Maryland Vaccine Website: https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/pages/vaccine.
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPDATES
Let’s Play America’s All Virtual Mid-Winter Play Day, February 14, 1:00 - 5:00 PM. https://www.letsplayamerica.org/upcomingevents/2020/11/17/all-virtual-mid-winter-play-day. Play opportunities the run the gamut from Craft Jam to Comedy to Karaoke and more.
Laurel Avenue Closure on Valentines Day. On Sunday, February 14 -- a busy day for Park Florist and also a Farmers Market day (the market will continue to operate in the rear parking area) -- the City will close the one through-lane of Laurel Avenue. That will allow Park Florist to use it for packing up deliveries, with 8 vehicles being loaded four times during the day. The City plans to use signage and other measures to preserve public safety and assure continued commerce in the rest of the block.
New Bikeways Meeting, Thursday, February 18 at 6:00 PM. https://takomaparkmd.gov/uncategorized/new-ave-bikeways-meeting-thursday-feb-18-6pm/. This is a great chance to learn about the Bikeways project, which is focused on creatively redesigning lanes on the southbound side of New Hampshire Avenue as a two-directional bikeway, while still providing vehicular access to adjacent properties.
Community Quality of Life Grants. The City is accepting applications for its Community Quality of Life Grants Program through Thursday, March 11. Projects are eligible for up to $10,000 in financial support, for projects taking place between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022. For more information and to apply, go to: Community Grants.
Survey on City Manager Position. https://takomaparkmd.gov/news-alert/join-us-for-a-community-conversation-on-our-journey-for-the-next-city-manager-thursday-feb-4-at-600-pm/. As part of our search for a new City Manager (as noted previously, our current City Manager Suzanne Ludlow is retiring at the end of June), there’s a survey through which residents can express their views on the qualities and background experience the community would like to see in the new appointee to that position. This is an important component of our search process so please take time to fill out the survey!
February City Newsletter. https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/news/newsletter/2021/TakomaParkNewsletter_FebruaryEdition.pdf. There’s lots of valuable information in this month’s newsletter, including details on the proposed stormwater fee structure (see below), the new tree species list, COVID-19 updates, opportunities for installation of curbside electric vehicle chargers, and much more.
City Manager Comments. You can see Suzanne Ludlow’s official comments from last week’s Council meeting here: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-manager/city-manager-comments/2020/City%20Manager%20Comments%20_%2002.03.2021.pdf
WORK SESSION
City Manager Search: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2021/council-20210210-2.pdf. As noted previously, Suzanne Ludlow will be retiring at the end of June, and the Council has begun the process to find her replacement. In addition to hiring a consultant to assist with the process, there are plans for two focus groups, and we have developed a resident survey (see the announcement above) regarding key qualities and the kind of background we hope to see in our next City Manager. There was also a community conversation on this subject last week. We’ll be discussing those and related matters involved in the search, including the likely schedule.
Proposed Stormwater Fee Structure: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2021/council-20210210-3.pdf. The Council has discussed several times over the last couple of years a proposal to shift the City’s single family stormwater fee system from a flat amount paid by every homeowner to a tiered structure in which the fee would vary depending on the amount of impervious surface on each property. The amount of impervious surface contributes to the flow of untreated stormwater, over which the City is legally required to exercise some control. Apartment buildings, commercial structures and the like in Takoma Park already pay a variable amount for their stormwater fees tied to the size of their impervious surfaces. The calculations for the new proposed single family fee structure are derived from Lidar technology and GIS data.
You can view the potential impact on individual properties, as well as statistics for each Ward, details on the calculations, etc. through the documents in the above link. The materials also include a copy of the letter sent to residents about the proposed fee structure (which most residents should have received within the last week or so). That letter includes a link to an interactive map which enables residents to see the effect on their own property.
While I agree it would be fairer to have a system based on the actual extent to which a given property contributes to untreated stormwater flow, I do have some concerns about the proposal. First, the technologies used to calculate the impervious surface on each property may not fully capture every relevant feature on a property or infrastructure improvement homeowners have made that could affect the calculation of the impervious surface area. So, we need to make sure the appeal process will be able to factor in those kinds of details.
Beyond that, the proposed fee structure would increase some residents’ stormwater charges and reduce others’, with a majority projected to see increases. I don’t think we should implement a system that’s going to produce higher fees for a wide range of residents without taking additional steps to strengthen our existing stormwater program. In particular I’d like to see us begin to respond to the heightened levels of stormwater flow we’re seeing now as a result of more intense rain storms due to climate change. So, I won’t be supporting the new fee structure unless there’s a commitment to initiating some actions that begin to give us tools to help address that challenge. I’ll go into more detail in Wednesday’s meeting on steps I’d like us to consider.
Council Priorities: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2021/council-20210210-4.pdf. The Council is conducting its annual priorities-setting process, which has included a day-long retreat and other discussions in our regular meetings. We’ve now made a number of changes to our previous priorities list and are close to finalizing the new document (see below). Among the key changes we made in last week’s Council meeting was adopting a proposal from Councilmember Searcy to make responding to COVID-19 its own separate major priority area, giving us 6 rather than 5 key priority areas.
This week we’ll review the re-drafted document, consider a shorter list of possible additions which we haven’t yet discussed in detail (see also below), and receive input from City staff on the overall list including costs and staffing needs. We’ll likely then also discuss designating 3 - 5 items from the list as our top priorities for this year. Even if we do that, it wouldn’t mean we’d ignore the rest of the document. Rather, a number of the priorities simply may take longer to get to and/or take more than one year to address.
Draft Priorities: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2021/2021-priorities-draft-02062021.pdf
Additional Priority Proposals: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2021/priorities-proposals-02062021.pdf
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The public may view the meeting on City TV (RCN - 13, HD 1060; Comcast/xfinity - 13, HD 997; Verizon Fios - 28), on the City Council Video Page; on YouTube, or Facebook.
Please feel free to be in touch with questions or comments about any of the issues covered in this blog.
Peter Kovar, Takoma Park City Council, Ward One
240-319-6281; www.councilmemberkovar.com
(He, Him, His)
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