In addition to honoring outstanding employees at public schools in Greenbelt at its March 11 meeting, the Greenbelt City Council largely focused on deciding whether or not to support relevant bills now being considered by the Maryland General Assembly.
Council’s first major business was honoring a teacher or staff member from each of Greenbelt’s six public schools. Stephenie Arcido and Robert Snyder, members of Greenbelt’s Advisory Committee on Education, along with Greenbelt Councilmember Jenni Pompi, introduced the six honorees. The individuals recognized for their outstanding contributions to their schools are:
- Stephanie Abuelhawa, fourth grade teacher, Greenbelt Elementary School
- Byron Snowden, school security and coach, Greenbelt Middle School
- Judith Barrera, social studies teacher, Eleanor Roosevelt High School
- Mercy Faeldonia, second grade teacher, Magnolia Elementary School
- Kristen Ransome, paraprofessional and coach, Dora Kennedy French Immersion School
- Dr. Ivy Wilcher, kindergarten teacher, Springhill Lake Elementary School.
The educators praised the students with whom they worked. Barrera said her students taught her resilience, empathy and love.
Prince George’s County Councilmember Ingrid Watson and Board of Education member Jonathan Briggs attended the ceremony.
Proclamations
After the awards ceremony, Mayor Emmett Jordan issued two proclamations, the first designating March 20 Meatout Day, a day encouraging residents to follow a meat-free diet. Vegan residents Barbara Glick and Dan Gillotte attested to the many alternatives to meat available in local stores and restaurants. Jordan pointed out that a wholesome plant-based diet is a worthwhile way of contributing to social justice and environmental causes. Jordan also proclaimed March as Women’s History Month in recognition of the “indispensable” contributions made by women to our nation and our city. The mayor pointed out that, for the first time in its history, city council is a majority woman council.
Charlestowne North
Under Administrative Reports, Liz Park, director of Greenbelt CARES, subbing in for City Manager Josué Salmerón, reported that Tarantino Property Management has agreed to correct all violations at Charlestowne North Apartments within three months. All rents have been collected for March and the elevator is scheduled for repairs.
Budget Nears Completion
Assistant City Manager Timothy George reported that the budget is near completion and council needs to complete its letter to U.S. Representative Glenn Ivey and other members of the federal delegation supporting earmarks for funding that will benefit Greenbelt.
NLC Roadshow
Looking ahead, Jordan noted that on April 15 Greenbelt will be a stop on the National League of Cities (NLC) Roadshow. The NLC Centennial Roadshow: 100 Years, 100 Cities seeks to highlight members, partners and “transformative progress,” visiting 100 cities “to spotlight the unique stories of municipalities and the invaluable relationships they’ve cultivated with NLC.”
Playgrounds and Nature
Councilmember Danielle
McKinney requested a future update on seeking a grant for a playground in Franklin Park and also asked if Greenbelt might become a Nature Everywhere City as sponsored by NLC.
General Assembly
Jordan explained that the time has come in the legislative cycle when bills cross from House to Senate in the Maryland General Assembly. Council unanimously supported a Bottle Bill that will enact 10- and 15-cent refunds on beverage containers, depending on size. A code indicating Maryland will be added to the list of states that use these containers so that reverse vending machines can identify them and provide proper refunds. John Lippert and Tom Taylor from the city’s Green ACES/Green Team spoke in favor of this action.
Credits for PGCPS Employees
Council then supported with amendment a bill proposing that eligible employees in the school system who live outside Prince George’s County could receive a credit against their property taxes to encourage them to move into the county. However, council felt that this proposal is too limited as presently written and that, for example, employees who now rent inside the county should also be made eligible for this credit for first-time purchase of a home.
Traffic Enforcement
Council had already discussed the city’s agreement with Howard County for red light violation cameras that have been installed at Greenbelt intersections since 2011, which is due for renewal. Carrington and Associates, which advises Greenbelt on its relations with other local and state governing bodies, sent a letter to council recently opposing this renewal and suggesting that it can help produce a better contract. Councilmember Rodney Roberts asked Greenbelt Police Chief Richard Bowers for statistics demonstrating the effectiveness of these cameras in reducing accidents, and council agreed to revisit this issue at its next meeting. In a related matter, council discussed a bill that will authorize trained technicians to sign off on tickets created in the city by speed-monitoring cameras in place of police officers. Bowers estimated that some 2,500 tickets are issued each month for speeding and red light violations combined. This bill will free the department’s officers to work more hours on the city’s streets. All members except Roberts voted to support this bill in the Assembly. Council took no action on a proposed bill that will increase fines for speeding in restricted work zones since members felt that proposed increases anywhere from $290 to $1,000 are too punitive on, for example, people who drive for a living. Council unanimously supported a bill that will penalize street racing and exhibition driving but opposed a bill to establish three transportation authorities in the state that members think may provide funds for adding more lanes to certain highways. Even though Jordan pointed out that these new lanes will be used for buses and also light rail transportation in Southern Maryland, resident Michael Hartman warned that these new authorities, once established, will be hard to control and, so, backed Roberts in successfully opposing the proposed bill.
Education Funding
Council also voted to send a letter to the state assembly opposing a proposed bill that, Pompi asserted, will make it easier to move restricted funds out of education. See article on page 7 for more on this.
Land Use
Council decided to take no additional action on a proposed bill that claims to give municipalities more authority in deciding land-use cases, but in fact, Roberts claimed, will only make council a mouthpiece for the county, which now holds most of the power here. Jordan disagreed with Roberts, noting that the bill does give municipalities some additional authority.
Council Hiatus in July
Last, council discussed blocking out a period of two weeks in July when it will hold no meetings to allow its members and city staff to catch up on work such as talking to Greenbelt’s residents and also to plan time off for themselves and their families. Roberts, supported in general by resident Bill Orleans, explained that as a small business owner he cannot afford to take off extended periods of time and, so, opposed this proposal. Responding that the residents of Greenbelt had voted for human beings and not automatons, Councilmember Kristen Weaver persisted in supporting this proposal, which passed and thereby approved a council hiatus with no worksessions during the weeks of July 15 and 22.