On August 14 the Greenbelt City Council held a worksession at Greenbelt Station. The session considered issues surrounding the planned trail between Greenbelt Station residences and the Metro Station, recreation, police matters and schools. Providing an update were Director of Planning and Community Development Terri Hruby, Greenbelt Police Chief Richard Bowers, Recreation Supervisor Greg Varda, as well as District 22 State Delegate Alonzo Washington.
Hruby began the meeting with the latest information on the future pedestrian/bike trail that would connect Greenbelt Station to the Metro Station, a part of the overall plan for the community, according to Hruby. The newest step is council approval of a connection agreement to be sent to Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) for their consideration and approval. Decided upon at the council meeting on August 12, the agreement would require the city to outline the terms of construction, use and maintenance of the trail. This agreement has evolved since October 2017, when WMATA offered a draft for city consideration. A revised version was created after input from the city attorney and planning staff, in conjunction with Woodlawn Development Corporation (WDC), the developer, and WMATA.
Hruby stated that the project is in the engineering phase, focused on the details involved in the construction. WDC will be creating a plan which must be approved by several parties before final construction can begin. The parties include Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, WMATA, council, Maryland Department of the Environment and Prince George’s County. The city has earmarked $1.8 million for the project but expects that the final cost will be over $2 million after the engineering estimate. Hruby expects construction to begin in the fall of 2020.
Hruby stated that Greenbelt Station itself will be completed by the end of this year. After city approval, based on findings from an inspector, Hruby and Director of Public Works Jim Sterling, the community will transition from WDC to city management.
Residents expressed interest in the upcoming seats open for election in their homeowners association, which eventually will transition from WDC control to become completely held by residents.
Concerning policing, Bowers stated that as a new neighborhood, there is not much data concerning its ultimate policing needs. He said that auto theft is not unusual and is preventable by simple measures such as keeping items out of plain sight. There have been thefts from the construction site.
The police department is developing an initiative to combine all the safety cameras in the city into a single database in order to better generate leads in ongoing investigations. Bowers encouraged residents to participate.
Varda also encouraged residents to look into all the activities offered by Greenbelt Recreation as well as offer input on how the department can better provide for the needs of their community. He stressed the soon-to-be-finalized list of fall activities to be offered in Central Park, saying “there’s lots of stuff to do!”
The meeting concluded with a discussion about school availability. Residents expressed a desire for enrollment in both Greenbelt Elementary School and Eleanor Roosevelt High School, based on their living within the city. Councilmembers expressed their agreement on this, Mayor Emmett Jordan asserting that “Greenbelt kids should be at Greenbelt schools.”
Councilmember Leta Mach said that the matter has been brought to the attention of Prince George’s County Schools CEO Monica Goldson and County Executive Angela Alsobrooks who said they were surprised and were amenable to further discussions.
Currently, Greenbelt Station students can attend Greenbelt schools with adult transportation, and there is a yet-to-be-confirmed plan for busing in the coming year. Said Mach, “the city council is happy to help.”
Jordan said that Greenbelt Station “is coming together in a very cohesive fashion.” He expressed hope that the community will work with the city to provide an environment where information is shared freely at this important time of transition.