Town Meeting Minutes

Town of Fairmount Heights 6100 Jost Street | Fairmount Heights, MD 20743 | Phone: 301-925-8585 | Fax: 301-925-8977 December 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. Roll Call Mayor Akiaba Stewart, Vice Chairwoman Barnhardt, Councilmember St. John, Councilmember Wood-Dodson are all present. Councilmember Leftwich & Councilmember Oscar is absent. Meeting Rules Stated by Mayor Stewart. Amendments to Agenda N/A Reading and Approval of Minutes No minutes to present. Police Department Report Chief Stanford Moore shared some holiday safety tips. He advised he will make an appointment at the DMV to obtain hard tags for the code enforcement vehicle next week. Traffic Study for Fairmount Heights began December 12th, with equipment located at multiple locations. From December 1st-December 20th the police department have been doing traffic enforcement as well. 25 moving violations have been issued and 19 of those violations were for running stop signs. It is a huge problem for the town, and they will move forward with changing the equipment locations and continuing to collect the raw data needed in order to better resolve these issues. Chief attended a crime meeting hosted by Capitol Heights police department. The cross- border traffic initiative meeting was rescheduled for after the holidays. The AED equipment he tried to obtain for the building was no longer available and he will continue to look for options for that. The Children’s Coat Drive on Dec 16th was a tremendous success, and he thanked everyone for their assistance and participation. He also attended the Prince George’s County Police Chiefs Association meeting on December 19th, where he was nominated to sit on the executive board. He won the election, and was extremely honored to sit on the board which is completely comprised of African American men for the first time in this association’s history. They plan to meet with the association’s lobbyists to obtain some crime fighting initiative grant money to better service the communities. 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 Mr. Pinkney thanked everyone for their prayers and well wishes during his recovery. For this period: (2) civil citations totaling $2,000.00, (2) building permits totaling $251.50, (0) Business Licenses, & (3) Rental Licenses totaling $500.00 have been issued. There have been $0 Vacant Building Fees received for this period. There have been (3) Stop Work Orders and (4) Corrective Notices issued. The town purchased a Code Enforcement Vehicle and the signage is currently being installed on it. He discovered upon his return from sick leave that Aida Convenience Inc./Sheriff Road Carry Out Beer and Wine was no longer preparing or selling hot food only convenience items. This was not the understanding when they were issued their business license as Sheriff Road Carryout and his question to the Mayor and Council is what should be done. Lastly, he inquired with The County Executive Office to find out if the Town of Fairmount Heights would be given the new lime green composite waste containers, and was told that these containers are only being issued to residents of and unincorporated town. Town Manager’s Report Mayor Stewart presented Mrs. Sarumi’s report in her absence. The town administration interviewed potential applicants from SCSEP. Public Works Supervisor reports the following: Started leaf removal and are preparing for snow removal. They met with Carolyn Barth and her assistant to map out a tree planting plan on town property. Sidewalk and street repair project started on December 5 and is complete. The staff will install two benches at the Veterans Memorial Park tomorrow. Mr. Ruffin from Pepco is currently working to restore lighting outages throughout the Town. The Net Zero Housing project work will continue through mid-February. There was no Green Team Meeting during this period because of the Thanksgiving Holiday. Treasurer's Report Mrs. Walker presented the treasurer's report through November 30th, 2023. She reviewed the revenue, expenditure, and account balances listed on the financial summary she provided to the mayor and council from her report. There have been a lot of projects in the town thus far, such as the first phase of the street/sidewalk repairs, the speed hump installations and electronic street signs. She has been in contact with multiple vendors for quotes in regards to replacing the lighting in the building and updating the technology we currently use for our meetings which the ARPA funds will be allocated for. The bond awarded to the town will be used towards making the front door to the building ADA compliant and bathroom renovations downstairs. She proposed an additional meeting in January to discuss the many items that will need to be addressed to avoid a longer work session. Citizen’s Participation 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. Teresa Glover requested a new distributor from the food drive due to the expired food given out. She also mentioned the audio problems with the Fairmount Heights tv channel. The Mayor advised the town would be looking for a different vendor. Another resident spoke about drain issues in front of his house and mentioned a malfunctioning street light on his block. He also mentioned a suspect trying to open the car doors on his street over 3x this month. He also said he saw these same suspects try to take the tags off of the cars on his street and he called the police but they didn’t show up. He spoke about the alley behind his house and the abundant amount of trash at 706 60th place. The Mayor stated she would have Mr. Cradle, Mrs. Walker, and the Chief look into all of his issues mentioned. Mr. Glover echoed the prior resident’s concerns about the issues with the suspects trying to get into resident’s cars. He also mentioned a family in need in the community from Seat Pleasant, that he would like to see if the council could offer help and services. Reverend Holt thanked the council the police and the citizens for partnering with the church for the holidays, giveaways, and other events they have to support the town and the community. Patricia Waiters mentioned the District 24 Christmas Charity event, and asked for the Mayor and Council to sponsor by giving permission for the committee to use the town’s logo on the flyer. A motion was proposed and approved. The Chief gave a special thank you to Mrs. Waiters, along with his fellow officers and Reverend Holt for their partnership, and for checking on and rallying the young kids in the community, to help give them the things that they need. Mrs. Downing praised the town for their efforts with the repairs and signs throughout the community. She asked for no truck signs at the corner of a few streets, and an additional poop station Old Business Clerk to the Council This was tabled until January in Ms. Russell physical absence from tonight’s meeting. Fairmount Heights Urban Tree Planting Plan MOU This was tabled until January in Ms. Carole Berth’s absence. Clothes Closet and Food Services Councilmember Wood-Dodson advised this would be in compliance as of January 17th, 2023, per the email she received from the Mayor. Ethics Committee and Council Seat 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. Mayor Stewart discussed the proposed interviews for the ethics committee and council seat candidates that was to take place at tonight’s meeting. However, upon reaching out to confirm, Mrs. Sarumi advised multiple candidates were unavailable due to the short notice and the holidays. The hosting of the interviews was postponed to the January 9th Town Work Session. New Business Rev James Walker MLK Community March Reverand Walker spoke about the Dr. King’s Anniversary March they would host in Danville, VA every year on his birthday, and the impact it would have on the community. He requested assistance and support from the council and chief of police in moving forward with the church’s MLK Community March on January 14th. Reports Mayor Stewart’s Report – The Mayor wished everyone a Happy Holidays and Happy New Year. Vice Chairwoman Barnhardt – Discussed current events such as Chapel Oaks Fire Dept with Santa and the Light up the Night contest. Councilmember St. John – Discussed social media platforms, blackboards with current information and resources, as well as the town newsletter that is currently being worked on. She also mentioned the new website that launched on December 19th, and the success of events attended this month such as the Coat Drive, PGCMA meeting. She wished a happy birthday to Council member Wood Dodson and Mr. Cradle, and mentioned the building would be closed for the holiday party. Adjournment Motion to adjourn presented by Vice Chairwoman Barnhardt 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.