Town Meeting Minutes

Town of Fairmount Heights 6100 Jost Street | Fairmount Heights, MD 20743 | Phone: 301-925-8585 | Fax: 301-925-8977 September 20th, 2023 Town Meeting Minutes Call to Order Opening Mayor Stewart calls the Fairmount Heights Mayor & Council Town Meeting to order at 7:30pm. Flag Salute Led by Mayor Stewart. Meeting Rules Stated by Mayor Stewart. Roll Call Mayor Akiaba Stewart, Vice Chairwoman Barnhardt, Councilmember Leftwich, Councilmember St. John, Councilmember Wood-Dodson are all present. Councilmember Oscar is absent. Amendments to Agenda N/A Reading and Approval of Minutes August 8th, August 16th, and September 12th were presented. Motion to approve the minutes presented by Councilmember St John and seconded by Councilmember Wood-Dodson. Officer Coghill was sworn in by Chief Stanford Moore. Police Department Report Chief Stanford Moore informed that the Fairmount Heights Police Department will be taking active training and classes with the Prince George’s County Domestic Violence Unit. He also discussed the arrest of a student with a handgun at Fairmount Heights high school. They will be participating in the parade and homecoming event and citizen’s association community day. Officer De La Cruz initiated a traffic stop the prior week of a suspect that was wanted for attempted murder in Prince George’s County. He was apprehended and turned over to the homicide division. Chief and Sergeant Morris have been corresponding with the Department of Health about the complaints about one of the homes on 60th Ave not being up to par as far as living conditions. The Honorable Maryland State Senator JoAnne Benson discussed the 529 Program, the Breast and Lung Cancer Screening Awareness Program within the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) and the Income Tax - Caregiver Tax Credit and other bills they are working diligently on to get adopted for the betterment of the community. Code Enforcement Report Chief Moore discussed the current status of the 707 property and the abandoned home used for prostitution, and the Sheriff Rd carryout in Mr. Pinkney’s absence. Town Manager’s Report Mrs. Sarumi discussed providing the candidate for the new town clerk Janiqua Russell. Looking forward to maintaining Priscilla Hodge as well and currently completing background checks for 2 additional laborers. Rental of the lower level of the hall will continue. Paint was purchased for Public Works, and contacted Pepco to report outages throughout the town. Fairmount Heights new representative for Pepco external affairs is Daniel Teixeira. NetZero Housing Project ribbon cutting will be Oct 13th at 10am. Green Team will be combined with Economic Development and will be meeting September 28th. Letter was sent to the attorney in order to serve an administrative search warrant in order to condemn the property at 707 60th place. Treasurer's Report Mrs. Walker presented the treasurer's report through August 30th, 2023. A new truck was purchased for Public Works, along with a leaf vac and a sweeper. Copier lease needs to be renewed but would like to explore options for a new copier. New computer and monitor will need to be purchased for the new officer. Discussions for the purchase of an additional vehicle for the police department will happen at a later date. Benches for the monument are still not back in stock. Citizen’s Participation Mr. Barnhardt reminded everyone about Citizen’s Appreciation Day on Sept 30th. He attended an event with Congressman Ivy and discussed the future of Fairmount Heights and creating programs and resources for the youth and the seniors in the community. The Citizen’s Association will be looking to obtain grants as a non-profit in order to fund future programs. He posed a question to Chief Moore about the standards for background checks for employees of the town, specifically Public Works due to prior events. A citizen questioned the budget for the police department and the funds allocated and Senator Benson offered some insight on the funding that is being given to support the municipality police. She also inquired if there was a current MOU between Park and Planning, Fairmount Heights Police, and Prince George’s County, which Mayor Stewart confirmed there currently is not, but they will pursue those possibilities. Joyce White questioned Mrs. Sarumi about the status of the Town Hall building and if it had been brought up to code and if it would pass inspection. Mrs. Sarumi confirmed that the building would pass inspection with findings, and said they are currently seeking additional funding to update and perform renovations on the areas of need. Old Business Website main page Councilmember St John discussed the website redesign and the removal of old data from the webpage. Retreat Councilmember Wood-Dodson discussed the quotes provided by SLK and requests given to have the retreat. Senator Benson expressed the importance of having list of items to be discussed and an outline of the plan, so the proper personnel can present. New Business End of Year Activities Councilmember St John discussed the Save the date for future events on October 28th and Dec 16th. Approval of Variance for lot Coverage (727 61 St Ave) Parliamentarian Training Mayor Stewart discussed the shed that was built without the proper permits. A stop work order was put up, and in order for the shed to not have to be torn down, an approval must be given from the council for the variance. Motion to approve the shed presented, in which Vice Chairwoman Barnhardt, Councilmember Leftwich, Councilmember St. John were all in agreeance. Parliamentarian Training 2 Hour Training Session is being offered for the town employees, councilmembers, and residents and will be finalized in the next few weeks. Reports Mayor Stewart’s Report – Discussed events attended such as the Prince George’s County Town Hall event. There were meetings with a few lobbyists, and with the CDC in regards to the $780,000 grant that was applied for to fund the operating costs in forming a partnership with the town for mixed use projects and affordable housing. She advocated for a new town hall and new lighting and street repairs at another event attended with the other municipal mayors, and will be working with Mrs. Sarumi to draft a proposal to seek the additional funding. Community Forum is planned for October 5th. Discussions were had with the mayors from Seat Pleasant, Capitol Heights, and Fairmount Heights, to possibly combining all 3 police agencies in one central location. A letter was drafted to be sent to property owners with a deadline of 45 days to get their property in compliance. Vice Chairwoman Barnhardt – Discussed the Public Works meeting attended with the other municipalities and the additional trainings available for the public works staff. Informed all of the upcoming events such as District Heights Power in the Park, First Annual Health and Wellness, Non-Profit Showcase, Glenarden Family and Friends Day, College Park Day, Silva Vista Baptist Church Cookout, etc. Councilmember St. John – Discussed the website redesign. She will be attending PGCMA Meeting as well as a Civic Plus webinar about embracing negative feedback. Discussed Salvation Army and Youth Awareness League, Prostate Health Information Session, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Community Beautification upcoming events. Councilmember Leftwich – Discussed the ARPA funds and the proposed home repair program for 15 residents, specifically seniors and disabled citizens in the town set to begin in October. Motion to switch the funding amount for the repair program from $1000 to $1500, all Councilmembers present were in agreeance. Councilmember Wood-Dodson-Provided the council with a letter from her doctor with recommendation to step down from attending future meetings in person, and can participate via Zoom from home due to health issues. Adjournment Motion to adjourn presented by Councilmember Leftwich and seconded by Councilmember St. John. Submitted, Janiqua Russell