City Council

CITY OF TAKOMA PARK, MARYLAND CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING Wednesday, February 9, 2022 Minutes Minutes adopted July 27, 2022 CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Stewart, Councilmember Kovar, Councilmember Dyballa, Councilmember Kostiuk, Councilmember Seamens, Councilmember Smith, Councilmember Searcy Also present: City Manager Fox, Deputy City Manager Clarke, City Clerk Carpenter, Public Administration Specialist Dan Powers, ARPA Manager Vernae Martin, Library Director Jones, HDC Director Cross, Public Works Director Braithwaite, Recreation Director Clarke The City Council convened at 7:34 PM via Zoom. CHANGES TO THE AGENDA / AGENDA SCHEDULING UPDATE Mayor Stewart updated the Council on upcoming agenda items. ADOPTION OF MINUTES: 11/3/2021; 11/9/2021 (D-3 SHA Meeting) The adoption of minutes was moved by Ms. Kostiuk and seconded by Mr. Seamens. The motion carried (VOTING FOR: Stewart, Kovar, Dyballa, Kostiuk, Seamens, Smith, Searcy). LEGISLATIVE UPDATE The City Council was updated on Maryland General Assembly legislative matters. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON VOTING ITEMS No Comments PUBLIC COMMENTS ON OTHER MATTERS Tom Gagliardo, Hodges Lane, commented on the proposed redistricting maps and urged the Council to respect the neighborhood boundaries. Ferd Hoefner, Montgomery Avenue, urged the Council to further improve the financial support for low-income residents and include direct cash assistance. Page 1 of 4 Sue Miller, Ward 3, commented on the redistricting proposals and urged Council to choose the map that makes the wards more compact. Emanuel Wagner recommended adding an educational after school program to the ARPA proposed spending plan. He asked the Council to follow up on the 2020 and 2021 Complete Safe Streets recommendations on traffic calming, sidewalk prioritization, and speed reduction. He commented on the Takoma Junction redevelopment project and asked Council to work with NDC on a new proposal. Mary Jane Muchui, Boyd Avenue, commented on the need for families with developmentally disabled children and adults. COUNCIL COMMENTS Mr. Seamens wished the community residents a Happy Valentine’s Day. Mr. Smith was in support of the ARPA spending proposals from Mr. Hoefner and members of the faith communities. Ms. Kostiuk thanked the community for their feedback on the redistricting map proposals. She gave a brief update on the redevelopment at the former Strayer College building. She commented on meetings attended. Mr. Kovar suggested a follow up on SHA work requested by the City. He announced an upcoming Play Day. Regarding the construction of apartments at the former Strayer College building in the District, he recommended that the City make efforts to reach an agreement with the developer on noise from the project, similar to what was done with the recent Montgomery College construction. Mr. Kovar said that the Sustainable and Banking Task Force would be requesting a modest extension to complete their work. Ms. Searcy provided an update on Hillwood Manor Playground and announced a start date. She noted upcoming night Washington Gas construction work on New Hampshire Avenue. Ms. Searcy will be holding a meeting for the Larch/Kentland community in Ward 6 regarding redistricting. Ms. Stewart reported that she had testified on behalf of the City for the Vision Zero bill. She attended a meeting of Montgomery County mayors. The group convenes monthly. She attended the COG Board meeting, where the focus was on housing in the region. Ms. Stewart met yesterday with a nonprofit that provides mental health and behavioral health services. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS Page 2 of 4 No comment. VOTING SESSION 1. Second Reading Ordinance Approving FY22 Budget Amendment No. 3 Mr. Seamens moved the ordinance. Ms. Searcy seconded the motion. The motion carried (VOTING FOR: Stewart, Kovar, Dyballa, Kostiuk, Seamens, Smith, Searcy). Ordinance 2022-2 (Attached) WORK SESSION 2. Presentation and Discussion of Redistricting Options Kate Doiron from Flo Analytics gave a brief overview of the criteria the City Council adopted in September to create the map options. She explained that the Redistricting engagement website was up to date with the latest proposed maps and presentations. Ms. Doiron presented the redistricting proposed map options A and B based on the City Council’s suggestions made at the meeting held last week. (Presentation attached.) Following the presentation, Councilmembers asked questions and made some suggestions to keep some neighborhoods together. Ms. Doiron stated that she would have a new draft redistricting maps Y and Z ready to post on the City website by Friday before the scheduled February 16 public hearing. 3. Continued Reconciliation of ARPA Spending Plan and Budget Amendment Ms. Stewart stated that new information on the ARPA spending plan was going to be presented by staff. She said that the first vote on the plan would take place on February 23. Ms. Clarke presented the updated reconciliation sheet which reflected the feedback received from the Council and new proposals from staff based on new cost information received on the library project. Ms. Clarke explained that the library construction project estimate cost increased to 4 million dollars and that staff still recommended using the ARPA funds to pay the cost difference. (Presentation attached.) Ms. Clarke briefed the Council on the allocation of ARPA funds on social services partnerships. She explained that the original proposed amount of 3 million was reduced to 2.4 million. The funds would be allocated to direct cash assistance, community connectors, and grant to non- profit organizations. Scenarios for direct cash assistance programs were presented. Page 3 of 4 The City Council asked for additional information from staff. Ms. Stewart stated that there would be another work session scheduled for next week to review the reconciliation list again and to discuss the draft ordinance. ADJOURNMENT The Council adjourned the meeting at 11:01 p.m. Page 4 of 4