Town Meeting Minutes

Town of Fairmount Heights 6100 Jost Street | Fairmount Heights, MD 20743 | Phone: 301-925-8585 | Fax: 301-925-8977 October 18th, 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 October 10th Work Session was canceled. No minutes to present. Mayor discussed the October 3rd Closed Session to discuss staff compensation. Police Department Report Chief Stanford Moore discussed the 7 calls to service in 7 days. The Police Department attended and helped facilitate the Groundbreaking event on October 13th. Car Jackings, Vehicle Tampering’s, and Armed Robberies are more frequent in the fall months. Reminders are given for residents to do their part by locking the front doors to their house, car doors, all windows, and watching their surroundings as well. Monitor heaters and smoke detectors with the cold weather approaching. Fairmount Heights Police Dept have been investigating a serial car thief over the past 3 ½ weeks, that has been tampering with vehicles in a stolen White Toyota Highlander with a VA temporary tag all over Prince George’s County. Chief made contact with the criminal and tried to initiate a traffic stop and the suspect fled the scene. Multiple police departments are working together in order to locate and identify this suspect, as he is considered armed and dangerous. All videos and photo evidence have been shared with the neighboring jurisdictions. Patrols have increased as a result in vehicles and on foot as well. Six vehicles have been ticketed, towed and impounded. Officers will be taking more training and steps have been taken to provide more doorbell cameras to the residents in the town. All meetings are Open to the public. Meetings may be closed in accordance with the Maryland Open Meetings Act, Subtitle 5 of Title 10 of the State Government Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, after giving reasonable notice to the public, with the exception for meetings held in response to an emergency. Code Enforcement Report No report presented in Code Officer Pinkney’s absence. We wish him a speedy recovery. Town Manager’s Report Mrs. Sarumi introduced and welcomed the new town clerk Janiqua Russell. Priscilla Hodge will be extended an employment offer also as a clerk. Fairmount Heights new representative for Pepco external affairs is Daniel Teixeira. New list of local lighting outages has been noted. Recap on the ribbon cutting ceremony and rebranding of the town. “Welcome to the Innovative Town of Fairmount Heights”. Thanks, extended to the police and public works staff in their assistance with the groundbreaking ceremony. Ready to start the K Street Market circle project in which they have received $10,000 from Pepco and Sustainable Maryland. Revision of the trash fee schedule will be discussed at the next meeting. The Green Team is now up to 8 members, and will continue to work on upcoming innovative projects with economic development. Treasurer's Report Mrs. Walker presented the treasurer's report through September 30, 2023. Welcomed 3 new staff members. Reviewed total budget for revenue; waiting to receive the largest portion of income. Operating in a positive in the last 8 or 9 years. Reviewed 3 vehicle loans. Town Treasurer Walker explained how difficult it is to get things done in 4 weeks, but there are a lot of projects on the table that need to be addressed, and additional meetings are needed. Discussed the street repairs to the 2 sidewalks noted and additional areas that need repairs as well. Mayor Stewart reached out and confirmed the funds provided can’t be deferred and must be spent. Will be moving forward with the lower and upper bathroom, and front door repairs. Public Works will be in a good position for the winter with the leaf vacuum, 3 backpack blowers and sweeper that have been purchased. However, we will need to begin preparations for the winter months as we are not currently ready if there is a weather event. Accommodations will need to be made for public works and the police staff to make sure our essential workers are prepared. Citizen’s Participation Mrs. Flood-Bennett from the Fairmount Heights Community Development Corporation shared some details about their mission and hopes for collaboration for the enhancement of the town. Their non-profit mission is to provide economic growth, workforce and business development, supportive housing program, mental health and wellness awareness, youth services, senior services, meal and nutrition services, beautification of vacant properties, provision protection and education in collaboration with the town in order to pursue all opportunities for the enhancement of the community. Their proposal is to work in partnership with the Town of Fairmount Heights by way of an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding), in order to pursue joint funding, development, technical training opportunities, etc. for the enhancement and unity of the community. They would like to request a joint letter of support from the town, prior to meeting to vote and move forward with the MOU. 100 cameras have been donated to the residents of the town and additional funding is currently available; $83,000 for the community safety project, and pursuing $780,000 for the expansion of the affordable housing inventory within the town to have the funding released from the state of MD. All meetings are Open to the public. Meetings may be closed in accordance with the Maryland Open Meetings Act, Subtitle 5 of Title 10 of the State Government Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, after giving reasonable notice to the public, with the exception for meetings held in response to an emergency. Ms. Joyce White from the Citizen’s Association asked about the status of the ethics board. Councilmember St. John advised they currently have 2 applicants and they are still looking for additional candidates to apply with their letter of intent for the third and final position open. There was another concern in regards to the work session that scheduled for this month that was canceled. Mr. Barnhardt (for the record) addressed 2 emails he received from Mayor Stewart. The first email in regards to her hours of operation, and the second in regards to the request for 24-hour service from the police department. Chief Stanford Moore provided a response in agreeance with the mayor to the officers doing their due diligence to perform their duties and provide protection to the citizens of the town with the allotted hours, and how 24-hour service from the police department was simply not feasible with the current officers and budget in place Old Business 707 60th Place Mr. Hubbard spoke in regards to this property rental history with the current tenants, his prior correspondence with the judge and inspectors, and his inability to provide an update on its current status and future status of the property until the eviction has taken place. Chief Moore responded and offered assistance to help facilitate the process. Harvest Party Discussed details of the community event on October 28th 4:30-7:30pm est. Reports Mayor Stewart’s Report – Discussed events attended PGCMA meeting, NetZero Groundbreaking ceremony. Selection process for vacant council seat is underway. Wishes Mr. Pinkney a speedy recovery. Vice Chairwoman Barnhardt – Report will be presented at the next meeting. Councilmember St. John – Discussed updates to social media platforms and website redesign. Most requested resources as hot key buttons, layout and training schedules are currently being worked on for all employees to operate the site. Set to launch prior to Thanksgiving. Information reminders: Ethics committee is being formed, still accepting applicants and open vacancy on the council as well. Info@fairmountheightsmd.gov is functional once again. Reminder given of rental facility open to the public to rent. Attended Community Day hosted by the Civic Association, Civic Plus Meeting on accepting negative feedback, Trust Estate Planning orchestrated by the Mayor and the MML conference. Discussed future events Harvest Party, Farmer’s Market, Domestic Violence hosted by Ayesha Braveheart. All meetings are Open to the public. Meetings may be closed in accordance with the Maryland Open Meetings Act, Subtitle 5 of Title 10 of the State Government Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, after giving reasonable notice to the public, with the exception for meetings held in response to an emergency. Councilmember Leftwich – Discussed events and meetings attended with the NetZero ribbon cutting, and Green Team Meeting. She is continuing to work on the residential repair program finalizing the remaining details. Councilmember Wood-Dodson-Discussed the current planning for the Thanksgiving Project. Adjournment Motion to adjourn presented by Councilmember Leftwich and seconded by Councilmember St. John at 8:40pm. Submitted, Janiqua Russell All meetings are Open to the public. Meetings may be closed in accordance with the Maryland Open Meetings Act, Subtitle 5 of Title 10 of the State Government Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, after giving reasonable notice to the public, with the exception for meetings held in response to an emergency.