In addition to reviewing an already-approved liquor license application by the Greenbelt Cinema, it was contract time at the September 26 regular meeting of the Greenbelt City Council. Council approved contracts or purchases of four shade structures for Greenbelt Station, a variety of technology purchases and installation of fiber optic cable between city buildings. In addition, it approved the refurbishment of the outdoor recreation areas of the Springhill Lake Recreation Center.
Cinema
The Greenbelt Cinema received a Class D beer and wine liquor license from the county liquor board earlier that day. Nonetheless, council voted not to oppose granting the license. The vote was 6-1 with Councilmember Rodney Roberts opposed, based upon his concerns about the high death rates from alcohol in the metropolitan area among young people. Several councilmembers, although generally accepting letting moviegoers have a beer, noted that this breaks a city protocol of no alcohol in city facilities (the city owns the theater building) and said that issue should have been discussed with council first.
However, Cinema Executive Director Caitlin McGrath told council that she had taken the issue and the license application to then-Interim City Manager Timothy George and was following his lead as she was unfamiliar with city protocol on this issue.
McGrath said that no outside sales will be permitted and only theater patrons will be able to purchase alcohol. Patrons will not be able to take drinks out into Roosevelt Center or the cinema patio. Cinema staff must be at least 18 years old to serve liquor although all staff will be trained. There will not be a bar. Instead, McGrath expected the Cinema to sell single-serve containers of beer and wine, probably in cans.
There will likely be further discussion of this issue between council and the Cinema.
Recreation Center
Council approved staff’s recommendation to reallocate $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds away from designing an addition to the Springhill Lake Recreation Center to redesigning and refurbishing the outdoor play areas there. Recreation Director Greg Varda reported that staff had unearthed a concept plan from 2002 for an addition that is still viable. Varda said the department’s goal is to have the new play area ready for the 2024 summer camps. Council had only designated funds for design, not construction. Varda said the actual construction is likely to cost $4 million to $5 million and would need a funding source such as a bond issue to move forward.
Greenbelt Station
In order to provide residents in Greenbelt Station with badly-needed shade at their community park, council approved granting a roughly $55,500 contract to Cunningham Recreation to purchase and install four 12-foot x 10-foot arched cantilever shade structures.
Pepco
Council approved contracting with Pepco to install an electrical connection for an electric vehicle charging station in the library parking lot at a cost of $30,658. The charging station plan has not yet been presented to council for approval but an installation agreement with Pepco expired on September 29, thus leading to this cart-before-the horse action. The charging station will serve both city and private vehicles.
Technology
Council approved purchasing a number of pieces of technology using ARPA funds, including $246,188 to purchase new equipment to upgrade the camera systems at the Community Center, Youth Center, Public Works facility and Police Station, and upgrade the backend servers and storage capacity for the additional cameras. When work is complete, the cameras at all of these facilities will be integrated into the citywide system.
Councilmember Silke Pope pointed out that, prior to the pandemic, the Public Safety Advisory Committee had issued a report regarding locations where cameras should be installed. Recognizing that a lot has happened since then, council agreed that the report should be dusted off and reviewed to see if additional locations should get cameras.
Other ARPA-funded purchases approved under this item are a backup firewall device ($14,000), 59 additional computers provided for additional users and increased demand for mobility and remote access ($50,600), network switches ($17,500) and a network-attached storage device ($14,800).
Council also approved a contract with PEI Engineering and Construction to install fiber among various city buildings using roughly $154,000 in ARPA funds. Currently the city uses the Comcast I-Net for these connections. However, Comcast has stated that, in the future, it wants to charge for use of these connections. By installing its own cables the city will also be able to increase the number of fiber strands available for future use. Information Technology Director Dale Worley said that the city will maintain the initial connection with Comcast but will use its own cable among buildings. This will also let the city maintain its connections to other area municipalities.
Committee Vacancies
Councilmember Judith Davis urged the city to recruit vigorously to fill the many vacancies on city committees. She singled out the Advisory Committee on Education with five vacancies out of nine slots, the Youth Advisory Committee with just one of its seven seats filled and the Board of Elections with two vacancies among its seven seats.