The March 25 meeting of the Greenbelt City Council got off to a hot start with former city human resources director Mary Johnson accusing the city manager of violating city code. In addition, council approved several contracts, received an update on planned renovations to the Municipal Building and sent a letter to county officials regarding the proposed service changes to TheBus.
Code Violation?
Johnson noted that City Manager Josué Salmerón has dismissed his executive assistant. She said that this employee had worked for the city for 29 years with a “stellar record of service,” and was just months away from qualifying for retirement. The dismissal is tied to a staff restructuring that is only just being proposed. Johnson said that the city code requires that any restructuring or reclassification of staff requires prior approval by council. In addition to being contrary to city code and personnel regulations, Johnson said this action was also at odds with the city’s past approach to its employees. Having received no responses to the email she sent to all councilmembers last week, she asked council, “Did you approve this?” There was no response from council at this meeting, other than Councilmember Rodney Roberts’ comment that he currently had no access to email.
In an interview with the News Review, Salmerón had a different take on the issue. Based upon consultations with the director of human resources and the city solicitor, he was confident his actions were legal. He agreed that she had been a strong performer but said that many of the functions she previously performed have now been automated. Others, such as pulling together information for the budget, are now performed by others, such as the Public Information Office. As city manager, when a position has become obsolete, it is his responsibility to redirect those resources.
Salmerón said that council was aware of his efforts to improve efficiency although he declined to say whether he had told council of the specifics, citing the need to keep manager-council consultations confidential.
Contracts
Ballfields: Council, on a 6 to 1 vote, with Councilmember Rodney Roberts opposed, approved a contract worth $190,133 with Charles P. Johnson and Associates to provide project management services for the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) project to improve the ballfields at Schrom Hills Park and Braden Field. Recreation Director Greg Varda said these services are needed due to the hard deadlines associated with ARPA funding as well as the number of permits the city must obtain.
Springhill Lake Recreation Center: In response to a review of the problems identified by resident Kevin Lockhart at a February 7 worksession, council unanimously approved contracts for a new door ($14,225) and repainting the interiors of the Rec Center and Clubhouse ($11,500).
Update
Varda reported on the renovations to the Springhill Lake Recreation Center playground. He is working to get a start date that will lead to project completion by mid-June. If that is not possible, the project will be deferred until the fall as the playground needs to be available for summer camps.
Municipal Building
Salmerón updated council on the planned renovations to the ground floor of the Municipal Building to make better use of its limited space. The renovations will create independent workspace for the Finance Department and Human Resources. Economic Development, Grants Coordinator and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, currently housed in this area, will move to the area being vacated by the Human Resources staff. The cost of the work is below the threshold requiring council approval, Salmerón said.
Mayor Emmett Jordan pointed out that the city is not yet on the verge of building a new Municipal Building.
Zoning
Council unanimously approved sending an ultimately unsuccessful letter to the county council objecting to the proposed extension of the period in which developers and property owners can submit plans to be reviewed under the old zoning law. This period was set to expire on April 1, so a continuing resolution was being considered that would further extend this practice. Director of Planning and Community Development Terri Hruby explained that staff recommends opposing this change as applicants have had enough time to adjust to the new zoning code. In addition, the new code contains provisions to protect and preserve the city’s historic district under the new Neighborhood Conservation Overlay zone, which the city had worked to have included. Only new applications are affected.
Assistant Director of Planning Jaime Fearer told the News Review that the county council approved a two-year extension at their March 26 meeting.
Camera Enforcement
Councilmember Jenni Pompi reported on proposed state legislation that would allow licensed civilians to review traffic infractions and issue citations. However, the proposal has been amended to allow this only for municipalities without police departments. To Pompi, this amendment defeats the purpose of the law. Prior to the amendment, municipalities with police departments would be able to free up police officers from this task. Former councilmember Judith Davis told council that the amendment was to allow municipalities without police departments to implement speed cameras.
TheBus
Council, without discussion as part of the consent agenda, approved sending a letter to the county Department of Public Works and Transportation opposing the reduction in service for Route 11 (from 30 minutes between buses to 45 minutes). The letter noted that the proposed changes “would directly and adversely affect some of Greenbelt’s most vulnerable residents, including those living in Equity Emphasis Areas (EEA).” It explained that “EEAs are a regional planning concept adopted by the Council of Governments’ Board of Directors to elevate equity, and they comprise census tracts that contain higher concentrations of low-income or minority residents compared to the rest of the region.”
The reduction in service to Route 11 would be particularly harmful, per the letter, if the Metrobus route G12, which was designed to complement Route 11 is also cut, which has been proposed. The letter did support the proposed changes to Route 15X, which affect stops outside of Greenbelt and the implementation of a new Route 61, connecting Greenbelt and Laurel.