The Greenbelt City Council addressed a wide range of important topics and legislation at the April 14 regular meeting. The meeting began with a pair of petitions. First, resident Tom LeaMond noted the insufficient number of bike racks, mostly in Roosevelt Center, suggesting that more could be installed near the Greenbelt Co-op Supermarket and the Gran-ite Building, among other places. He suggested that this would inspire more biking in the city. Council was on board with his concern and will examine further.
Second, resident Michael Zeliff pointed out the increasing proliferation of the invasive plant species lesser celandine throughout most of the city, in backyards and common are-as. He noted the difficulties in rooting it out and suggested a study on the most effective eradication strategy, with council in agreement.
Next in the meeting was a series of proclamations. The first was for Telecommunications Week, which occurs on the second week in April. This focuses on the importance of communications personnel in police and safety departments. Greenbelt Police Chief Richard Bowers was present to extoll these indispensable first responders, whose efforts are often largely responsible for the positive outcome of a police call for service.
Earth Day was lauded next, falling on April 22 and in its 55th year of existence. Environmental Coordinator Kevin Carpenter-Driscoll and Chesapeake Education, Arts and Re-search Society (CHEARS) board member Carolyn Lambright Davis were on hand. They thanked council for its support and shared the various activities scheduled, with Davis stat-ing the Day’s driving impetus is “to make Earth Day every day.”
April is Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month. Anne Oudemans, assistant director of Recreation Programs, was there to accept the proclamation, informing those present about an inclusivity training for staff on Saturday, April 26 at 1 p.m. at the Community Center to heighten awareness.
Last was an acknowledgement of Animal Control Awareness Week, which ran from April 13 to 19. Bowers reported the significant renovations at the Animal Shelter, with Coun-cilmember Silke Pope praising the crucial work of the staff at the shelter, which is now at full
capacity.
EV Charging Stations
City Manager Josué Salmerón then gave an administrative summary. Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations for the Community Center and Greenbelt Library parking lot are in the engineering phase, while those at Buddy Attick Park are still in the planning stage. The EV payment platform for Schrom Hills Park and Springhill Lake Recreation Center has moved to Switch, offering better reliability.
Pool Closing
Construction is on track and work permits pending at the outdoor pool with a start date of May 5 being the goal. Those wishing to pause their membership can do so by email, phone or in person.
GPD and Immigration
The meeting’s first piece of legislation was an ordinance to the City Code that would codify the Greenbelt Police Department’s (GPD) existing General Order to not assist in the enforcement of immigration issues, except in the case of a criminal warrant issued by a judge. This issue elicited a strong positive response from residents at the meeting, like Frankie Santos Fritz, who invoked the high-profile names of Mahmoud Khalil, Mohsen Mahdawi and Kilmar Abrego Garcia, all of whom have undergone immigration controversies and hardships, with the lack of due process being cited. He saw this as a chance for the city to make its commitment to the legal rights of all its residents. Council all voted in favor of the ordinance.
Stop Sign Monitoring
Council voted unanimously in favor of an amendment to the City Code, according to the agenda, “to establish and authorize the operation of stop sign monitoring systems within designated school zones in the city,” as well as setting forth “the requirements for signage, public notice, civil enforcement procedures and penalties.” Bowers explained that this was an enabling effort that would commence a many-staged process of data collection and site designation, to be approved by council as well as, ultimately, county council. He re-ported that current stop sign compliance is deficient at only 20 percent as seen through current data.
School Zones
A similar piece of legislation was addressed next, this being, per the agenda, “to establish a school zone on municipal roads in the city to implement automated stop sign enforcement” within said zones. As pursuant with state law, these zones would be in a one-half mile radius. The resolution would also show support “to enhance traffic safety” in these high pedestrian areas. Like the previous legislation, this was a crucial early step in a long process of study and site choosing to be approved by council and county council. Council voted in favor.
Charter Review
Council chose to delay any action on the application stage for the pending Charter Review Task Force. There has been a lack of response from Greenbelt East and West, with the majority of the 11 applicants, for an eventual 10-person team, from Greenbelt Center. Council discussed an intensive outreach to the East and West sections of the city to achieve better representation. Resident Michael Hartman suggested making the whole idea of a charter and its importance more understood by residents, with Salmerón defining it as “a community vision.”
Portal Contract
The last legislation, approved unanimously, was to execute a contract renewal to Versatem for the Public Portal cloud and the Blue Team NextGen cloud-hosted annual maintenance, including software upgrades, associated materials and technical support via phone and email, at a cost of $10,833.27. Bowers explained that the public portal, a tool for the GPD, is a required arm of the department to collect complaints and compliments, with the other portal acting as internal HR system.
Opposition to Maglev
The evening’s last vote was for council and staff to send a letter to Governor Wes Moore and Lt. Governor Aruna Miller further making the city’s strong opposition to the pro-posed maglev project known.
Retirement Plan
A comprehensive discussion with the city’s broker national financial partners (NFP) corporation occurred at the meeting concerning the shift of the city’s retirement plan from its long-term use of Mission Square to Nationwide. Council voted in favor of the move, which would mean significant savings for all participants. Human Resources Director Dawane Martinez stated that the city’s current employees, for whom the change will be the most impactful, have expressed nothing but positive reactions to the move. The city’s retirees can use any recordkeeping provider desired at any time, including Mission Square. A more detailed article on this will be forthcoming.
A few items on the end of the agenda were left for the next regular meeting.
