On Tuesday, September 27, Greenbelt City Council presented a proclamation to representatives of five of the city’s seven cooperatives, reaffirming council’s support at the start of Cooperative Month, and also recognized Hispanic Heritage Month and the city and library activities taking place to celebrate them. A major item concerning results of a space study are described in a separate article, on page 7.
Administrative Reports
Interim City Manager Tim George announced the city has hired a grants coordinator and has a new intern for economic development. The economic development office is sponsoring a business coffee and has met with occupants of Roosevelt Center to look at opportunities there. A second Job Fair at Beltway Plaza is scheduled for Saturday, October 8.
Resolution Signature
George addressed the signing of the resolution addressing police general orders (found by the Police Safety Action Committee (PSAC) as not being the document voted on in council). He characterized it as a clerical error which involved using an earlier version and denied that there was any impropriety. He stated that they have now improved their version control system to have version numbering and have tightened up procedures for signatures.
During Covid, council had been authorizing signatures remotely and not physically signing the documents in person. Mayor Emmett Jordan stated that council should consider signing resolutions in person going forward and thanked PSAC for surfacing the issue. Councilmember Judith Davis suggested that George write to the News Review with an explanation. (Editor’s note: An email was received.)
ARPA Funding
Councilmember Kristin Weaver suggested that council accept the list of projects to be funded from the $22M of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding remaining and, as necessary, amend the budget as actual costs become clearer or the project needs amendment, providing flexibility as the program evolves. Davis agreed, saying, “We need something to work with.” She suggested that the plan come up monthly, with council showing where each item is, and be publicly displayed. She also noted that some municipalities have hired an administrator to maintain and wrangle the implementation of the list.
The city has developed an online tracking form, expected to be updated weekly. It will have a variety of status information, including ongoing costs. Contracts will be brought to council. George encouraged some consolidation of comparable smaller projects as a bundle under one contractor.
Jordan wanted more detail in some of the items, e.g. ballfields – which fields, what’s happening – so he requested a sub-list of what is needed per facility. George agreed, noting that all the projects would be analyzed in more detail as the plan matured.
He also proposed engaging local groups to assist in disbursement as appropriate (e.g. healthcare vouchers). Resident Bill Orleans reiterated his long-standing objection to the use of ARPA money for capital projects, noting that very little of the budgeted funds were going to benefit people directly.
Draft Transportation Plan
Although the six-year budget is significantly larger because of the addition of Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill monies, it still does not fund items requested for multiple years in a row by the city (e.g. the Greenbelt Road project). The recommendation is to write the state to recommend inclusion of this and other Greenbelt-related projects and to reiterate the city’s ongoing objection to SCMaglev and the I-270 additional lanes. Davis urged City Director of Planning and Community Development Terri Hruby to include in the letter the most strongly worded possible statement of the city’s opposition to the SCMaglev.
Councilmember Rodney Roberts noted his opposition to adding any more highway capacity, including the additional entrance from the Beltway to the Greenbelt Metro station, because it encouraged people to drive to Metro instead of using public transportation, which he noted was “not a step in the right direction” with respect to climate change.
Council voted to have Hruby draft a letter and submit it by the deadline. Weaver will consider if she can attend the virtual meeting on the draft transportation plan.
Local Initiatives Support
After some discussion on how best to support local initiatives in need of funding, council voted to award $2,500 apiece to the Pumpkin Walk and The SPACE to assist with immediate financial needs.