Dear Neighbors:
Here’s the agenda for the May 12, 2021 City Council meeting: https://takomaparkmd.gov/meeting_agendas/city-council-meeting-agenda-wednesday-may-12-2021/. The Council will be taking several key budget-related votes, including on the overall municipal budget for Fiscal Year 2022, which begins on July 1; on the Stormwater Management budget; and on the property tax rate. The final votes on those budget and tax measures will take place on May 19. We’ll also be voting this week on a Consent Agenda covering a photocopier lease agreement, the purchase of a building access system, and the closure of Anne Street on June 26 for the Summer Mercado. In our work session, there will be a discussion on the proposed closure of Laurel Avenue for part of Friday, May 28 for a Washington National Opera “Opera Truck” performance, and we will continue our review of Council-appointed committees. In addition, there will be a proclamation on Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. For more information on these agenda items see below. Sign up for public comments will be open until 5:00 PM on the day of the meeting.
You can watch 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 on Facebook.
CITY MANAGER INTERVIEWS
On Tuesday, May 11, the Council will be spending much of the day conducting remote interviews with the 7 top candidates for the City Manager position. (As many residents are aware, our current City Manager Suzanne Ludlow will be retiring at the end of June.) We’re working with Catherine Tuck Parrish from the Novak Consulting Group -- an executive search firm -- to hire a new person to fill that position. We received over 60 applications, and they were whittled down to the top 10, out of which the Council identified 7 to interview. There will be another round of interviews for the top two or three candidates next week.
TAKOMA JUNCTION UPDATE
I appreciate all the residents who have reached out to me and/or posted comments and questions in the last few days concerning the situation at Takoma Junction relating to the Co-op’s ability to get deliveries on the City lot. I thought it would make sense for me to issue this general statement in order to ensure that as many people as possible are able to see my comments. Meanwhile, I’m working on responding to individual emails as well, and I apologize if I’ve missed any or if some of my replies are taking a little longer than usual.
I’m seeking a resolution of the situation that will enable the Co-op to continue receiving deliveries. As I’ve mentioned previously, given the complex legal situation in which we find ourselves, there are what I hope are some understandable limits on my ability to share information on the discussions that have been taking place about legal strategy, etc. I regret that’s the case, and I hope to be able to share more details in the future. This coming Wednesday morning (May 12) there will be a Montgomery County Circuit Court hearing on the emergency relief that’s being sought by the Co-op. It’s possible there will be more details available after that hearing.
One other point: several residents had asked who participated in the meeting last week between the City and NDC, which is mentioned in the most recent City statement (https://takomaparkmd.gov/news-alert/new-statement-from-the-city-regarding-ndc-and-co-op-dispute-and-lawsuit/). The Takoma Park representatives were Mayor Kate Stewart, Councilmember Kacy Kostiuk, City Manager Suzanne Ludlow and City Attorney E.I. (Skip) Cornbrooks, IV. The NDC team was led by Vice President Michaela Kelinsky.
COVID UPDATE
The Takoma Park COVID-19 Data Dashboard has been updated with data through Friday, May 7. City staff have temporarily removed the chart showing weekly trends in vaccination totals due to discrepancies in the May 7 data-update received from the County. We’re waiting to hear back from the County, which in turn has requested an explanation from the State, which is the source of the data. Additional key data points noted by staff:
· The vaccination totals in the May 7 update (through May 6) show 9,523 Takoma Park residents with at least one COVID-19 vaccine, and 5,717 fully-vaccinated residents.
· There were 12 new cases of COVID-19 reported since the last update, bringing the city's total to 1,693. April ended up finishing with 69 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest since October 2020's total of 58.
· There was one new death due to COVID-19 reported in the 20912 zip code, bringing the zip code's total to 37.
You have probably heard that all Maryland residents who are at least 16 years of age are now eligible for vaccinations. You can register for appointments at the State Vaccine Website. It includes information on the many pharmacies, including all CVS stores, and other locations which are giving vaccinations without appointments. You can also try the Montgomery County webpage or call their number: 240-777-2982). In addition, there’s free COVID testing Saturdays in Takoma Park at the New Hampshire Avenue Recreation Center from 10:00 AM -- 5:00 PM. No identification, insurance, doctor’s note, or payment is required. For other testing options, please see the Montgomery County Testing Sites.
ANNNOUNCEMENTS
Key Montgomery County Council Vote on Tax Duplication -- Wednesday, May 12. Thanks to a major effort by Montgomery County municipal leaders and residents, with Takoma Park playing a key role, the County Council’s Government Operations Committee recommended recently that County municipalities receive the tax duplication rebate amount they have requested for Fiscal Year 2022, which begins July 1. The County Council will be voting on the Committee’s recommendation in a meeting this Wednesday which starts at 1:30 PM. So now is the time for Councilmembers to hear from City residents in support of this funding. Government Operations approved Committee Chair Nancy Navarro's proposal to add $5 million to the County Executive’s proposed amount for tax duplication rebates. The $5 million would be divided among the County’s municipalities. If the County fully funds that proposed increase, the City of Takoma Park would receive an additional $480,000.
This year’s effort was spurred by the resolution the City Council adopted in March https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/resolutions/2021/resolution-2021-8.pdf, with important backing from Mayor Stewart’s testimony before the County Council. A number of City residents also submitted testimony in support of tax duplication action. You can read more about this effort in last week’s comments from City Manager Suzanne Ludlow: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-manager/city-manager-comments/2021/cm-comments-20210505.pdf, and through this Open Letter: https://takomaparkmd.gov/news-alert/open-letter/. I encourage City residents to contact the County Council before the Wednesday vote in support of adding these funds to their budget. As noted in the City Manager’s statement, it would make sense to thank Committee members Navarro, Friedson and Katz; ask Council President Hucker to include the funds in the budget; and let the other Councilmembers know of your support.
Office Hours -- Wednesday, May 12, Noon - 2:00 PM. I’ll be available in the public section of the Laurel Avenue Streetery (at the end near the Post Office) to meet informally with residents. No appointments are needed and any topics are welcome.
Montgomery College Construction Truck Routes. I had mentioned the proposal from Barton Malow, Montgomery College’s contractor to change the route for some of the larger trucks on the site of the Math-Science Building project in North Takoma. This would have meant trucks traveling on Takoma and New York Avenues, which would have been at odds with the College’s initial pledge. I was pleased that in a meeting on this topic last week, we were informed by Barton Malow that they have found another way to maneuver their larger trucks and they have withdrawn the proposal to use Takoma and New York Avenues. I appreciate the many comments from North Takoma residents in opposition to the earlier proposal.
Small Things Matter. One of the local groups making valuable contributions in the effort to address food insecurity is Small Things Matter: http://www.smallthingsmatter.org. They pack and distribute food several times a month at the Co-op and at the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Old Town. If you can volunteer, take a look at the website for specific days and times. In addition, they are working on raising funds through a GoFundMe effort: https://www.gofundme.com/f/small-things-matter-summer-donation-drive?utm_campaign=p_cp_url&utm_medium=os&utm_source=customer. You may also be interested in the recent coverage of Small Things Matter on local news Channel 7: https://wjla.com/features/abc7-helping-hands/7news-helping-hands-easterns-automotive-group-surprise-teen-led-small-things-matter
VOTING SESSION
Budget: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2021/council-20210512-1-3-cover-memo.pdf. All relevant sub-links are here (scroll down to Voting Session): https://takomaparkmd.gov/meeting_agendas/city-council-meeting-agenda-wednesday-may-12-2021/. As noted above, we’ll be taking the first or two formal votes on the budget, property tax rate and stormwater fund. Following the issuance of the City Manager’s recommended budget in early April, the Council held a series of work sessions and public hearings on the budget, culminating in our Reconciliation work session on Monday of last week. Reconciliation is the process by which the Council makes revisions to the proposed budget.
One of my key goals for Reconciliation was to bring the property tax down from the increase that was in the proposed budget to no higher than the current rate and if possible reduce it further. I publicly called for that, and I appreciated that the Council fairly quickly centered around the idea of keeping the rate at the same level as this year (53.97 cents per $100 of assessed property value). This would be the third year in a row with the same rate. For most residents keeping the rate flat would mean no change in the amount of property tax they pay.
Of course, even with the property tax rate kept flat, I’m mindful that some residents will see increases in the coming year in their stromwater fees, owing to the new fee structure we’ve adopted that aims at more accurately reflecting the amount of untreated stormwater flow from each property. That leads to my second key priority for the budget this year -- allocating funding to begin addressing the problem of increased stormwater flow across and among private property because of more intense rain storms due to climate change. I made it clear I wouldn’t be supportive of the new fee structure unless there was a commitment to providing such funding in the budget. And when we adopted the fee structure, we also passed a resolution I helped draft calling for the funding.
In Monday’s Reconciliation session we agreed to allocate $150,000 in the budget for this purpose, with the idea that we could hire an outside consultant to identify the major private property stormwater problem areas in the City and recommend ways to mitigate them. With the likelihood we’ll be able to use Federal funds included in the huge ARPA COVID aid package for stormwater infrastructure work, I think we’re reasonably well positioned to make progress on this issue.
Beyond the stormwater funds, the Council approved add-ons to the budget for potential programs identified by the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force ($50,000); a tree planting pilot in “under-treed” areas of the City ($36,000); a building benchmarking study as part of our climate change work ($60,000); a public engagement pilot involving community navigators/ambassadors ($50,000); and a little under $200,000 for racial equity initiatives, support of small businesses, and technology to expand Library services.
On the other side of the ledger, we cut $250,000 in unspecified housing costs (we allocated nearly the same amount separately into the Housing Reserve fund); and made a series of cuts in personnel fringe benefits and other duplicative funding that, taken together -- even with the increases mentioned above, were sufficient to bring down the proposed property tax increase to this year’s level. While as I mentioned, I had had some hopes of us getting to a lower property tax rate, with the agreement to keep the rate the same, with the approval by my Council colleagues of the the stormwater funds, and given the priority I placed on the tree, climate change, public engagement, public safety, and racial equity work, I supported adding those additional funds. And I do plan to vote yes on the three budget related measures.
One area that generated quite a bit of debate was whether to remove funding for the K-9 program from the Police Department budget. It’s a relatively small amount (around $10,000), but ending it could certainly send a significant signal and help avoid any dangerous dog incidents. While I personally oppose continuing the program, I had been accepting of the idea that we could wait to make a decision until we heard from the Public Safety Task Force. However, when the idea of removing the K-9 funds was proposed during our Reconciliation discussion last Monday, I did speak and vote in favor of it. After a lengthy debate, the funding was kept for now on a 4 - 3 vote, but I think there’s a pretty decent chance we’ll have another opportunity to remove the funds once we hear the Task Force’s recommendations.
CONSENT AGENDA (a single vote covering all three agenda items -- I’ll be voting yes)
Lease of Photocopiers: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2021/council-20210512-4a.pdf
Building Access Control System: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2021/council-20210512-4b.pdf
Anne Street Closure on June 26: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2021/council-20210512-4c.pdf
WORK SESSION
Laurel Avenue Closure for Opera Truck on May 28: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2021/council-20210512-5.pdf. The City has received a request the Old Takoma Business Association to close the west side of Laurel Avenue on Friday, May 28, from 4:00 - 9:00 PM. The closure would enable OTBA to host the Opera Truck for a 30-minute performance. The additional time is needed for set up and breakdown of a mini stage.
Continued Discussion on Council-appointed Committees: Updated background material was not available as of blog-post time. Here’s last week’s agenda material for reference: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2021/council-20210505-4.pdf
Please feel free to be in touch with comments or questions about any of the topics 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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