Dear Neighbors:
Here’s a link to the agenda for the July 13, 2022 City Council meeting: https://takomaparkmd.gov/meeting_agendas/city-council-meeting-agenda-wednesday-july-13-2022/. There are no votes this week. In the Work Session, City staff will make a presentation on the bids for the Library renovation project, after which we’ll discuss construction management services for the Community Center renovation project; a stormwater resiliency study; a budget amendment; and appointments to boards and committees. There will also be a proclamation on Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. For more on the agenda items see below.
The Council is scheduled to meet each Wednesday this month through July 27 (with a possible meeting on August 3), after which we will be on break from formal meetings until September. The first meeting in September will be on the 14th, though the Nominating Caucus (at which candidates for Mayor and City Council are officially placed on the ballot for the November election) will take place on the evening of September 13. As I’ve announced previously, I’m not running for re-election, and I’d be glad talk with anyone who may be thinking about running for the Ward One Council position.
You can make public comments for this week’s meeting by coming to the Community Center auditorium at 7:30 PM (no advance sign-up is needed) or remotely via Zoom (sign up by 5:00 PM on the day of the meeting): https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_M9YmS4mzTim5aX3nMRNcPA. You can watch the meeting on City TV (RCN -- 13, HD 1060; Comcast/xfinity -- 13, HD 997; Verizon Fios -- 28), on the City Council Video Page; on YouTube, or on Facebook.
COVID UPDATE
The City’s COVID dashboard is updated through July 7: https://takomapark.shinyapps.io/covid_dashboard/. Montgomery County’s COVID Community Level continues to be designated as “medium.” The dashboard includes infographic representations of various COVID metrics.
Mask/Testing Kit Distribution: https://takomaparkmd.gov/public-notices/covid-19-rapid-test-kits-and-kn95-masks-available-now/. The Takoma Park Library is continuing to distribute N95 masks and COVID rapid testing kits during all open hours.
Other COVID resources: For information on vaccine appointments go to: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/covid19/vaccine/ or State Vaccine Website; for testing: Montgomery County Testing Sites; for food aid: Submit an online request for help with food resources or call 240-777-0311. For help with housing, utility bills, etc. send an email to housing @takomaparkmd.gov or call 301-891-7119.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Federal, State and County Primary Election: https://takomaparkmd.gov/public-notices/2022-gubernatorial-county-election/. The primary election -- which includes U.S. Senate and U.S. Representative, Governor and other State officials, and County positions -- is on July 19, with early voting having started on July 7 (the closest early voting location is the Silver Spring Civic Center). You can also deposit mail-in ballots in drop boxes, including one at the Takoma Park Community Center. Note that this primary election doesn’t include Takoma Park Mayor and City Council -- as noted above, candidates for those positions are placed on our local election ballot via the September 13 Nominating Caucus.
Youth Council Applications: https://takomaparkmd.gov/public-notices/seeking-applicants-for-the-takoma-park-youth-council/. We’re seeking applicants for the Youth Council. The application deadline is September 7.
Draft Urban Forest Plan: https://takomaparkmd.gov/government/public-works/tree-care-and-resources/. Two years ago, when the Council amended the Tree Ordinance and adopted a tree canopy and urban forest policy resolution, we called for the development by the City’s Urban Forest Manager of a long-term urban forest plan. Urban Forest Manager Marty Frye presented a draft of that plan in the June 22 Council meeting, and I encourage residents to review it and offer suggestions and recommendations by the July 17 deadline. To see the presentation of the draft plan plus the annual reports for the last two years, along with the subsequent Council Q and A, go to the June 22 video at the 114:30 mark: https://takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/meetings-and-documents/city-council-video/
KEY UPDATE FROM LAST WEEK
Election Code Amendments: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2022/council-20220706-2.pdf. In election years, the Council often makes modifications to our local Elections Code, in consultation with the Board of Elections and the City Attorney. For this fall’s election, the Board has proposed a series of amendments to the law, which the Council discussed last week. The expectation is that we will vote on any changes this month, thereby ensuring they are in place well in advance of the fall campaign season. While I agree with much of what the Board has proposed, I did raise concerns in the meeting about what I felt was unclear language concerning the registration requirements for groups wishing to influence the elections, as well as the proposal to eliminate one of the campaign finance report filings (which would leave a six week gap during the fall campaign season between the dates of the two filings). I’m hopeful we’ll be able to make some changes to these two areas before we vote on the amendments.
WORK SESSION
Presentation of Library Bids: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2022/council-20220713-1.pdf. We’re nearing the point this month when the Council will be able to vote on moving forward with construction of the Library renovation. The construction bids have now been received by the City and as noted above the staff will be presenting them to us in this week’s meeting. I’m pleased that we received 7 fully responsive bids which fall within our budget. As outlined in the background material accessible through the link above, City staff is recommending that we contract on the project with Rockville-based Doyle Construction. They were the lowest bidder at a little over $9.2 million. I’m a supporter of the Library project, and now that I’ve seen the bids I’m eager to move forward, though I do look forward to hearing more about Doyle’s bid and the others in this week’s meeting.
In terms of the project’s cost, we’ve made available a total of $13.8 million for the project (including $7 million borrowed through the State of Maryland bond process; $300,000 in direct State grants; $2.5 million in surplus cable TV funds; and up to $4 million in ARPA dollars). We’ve already spent some of these funds on design work, permitting costs, our construction management consultant, etc., and we’ve been paying back the State bond with interest for the last five years. Earlier this year we had seen estimates for the construction component of the project in the $10 - $11 million range. So assuming we go with the Doyle bid (or any of the others for that matter), there would potentially be additional funds available in case, due to the current economic conditions, there are upticks in costs for materials or other changes to the project.
As I’ve mentioned previously, if we stay within the currently budgeted amount, the impact on residents in terms of the local property tax burden would remain the same as it was in 2017 when we voted to borrow the $7 million through the State bonding system. This is because ARPA monies and the other supplemental dollars allocated to the project since then (the direct State grants and the surplus cable television funds) aren’t funded via the local property tax. Keeping the impact of the project’s costs on property taxes where it was when we made the decision to borrow those funds five years ago has been a major concern of mine, and I’m pleased we’re still on track with that goal.
Community Center Renovation Construction Management Services Procurement: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2022/council-20220713-2-rev.pdf. This proposal would provide approximately $194,000 for Arcadis -- the construction management firm with which we are already working on the Library project -- for work on the project to fill in the Community Center Atrium. I’ve stated in the past that, while I think this is a meritorious idea, I don’t favor doing it now, particularly using $1 million in ARPA funds. First, proceeding with this work at the same time we undertake the Library renovation seems problematic to me. Second, I’d rather be able to use the funds for other purposes which would be of more direct benefit to those in the City most affected by COVID (though I do appreciate that one of the purposes of the Atrium project is to create more space for mental health services). Because of my concerns about these issues, I voted against allocating ARPA monies for the Community Center project, and I’ll most likely vote no on this procurement proposal as well.
Stormwater Resiliency Study Procurement: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2022/council-20220713-3.pdf. I was one of the Councilmembers who proposed including these funds in last year’s budget, and I’m pleased that we’re now in a position to move forward with a plan for using the funds. My main reason for proposing that we allocate some funds for a stormwater study by an outside firm was the growing recognition that, because of climate change, we are increasingly seeing heavy rainfall events which are causing unprecedented stormwater damage to -- and flows across -- private properties in the City. I’ll be interested to learn more about this proposal, including the idea of identifying and making recommendations on 20 flood prone areas around the City.
Budget Amendment: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2022/council-20220713-4.pdf. Periodically the Council considers budget amendments reflecting delays in expenditures which carry over to the following fiscal year, as well as other types of increases or decreases in planned spending. It’s fairly common for there to be a large number of carry-overs around the time a new fiscal year begins (which happened on July 1). This proposed budget is composed primarily of carry-overs from last fiscal year which would be spent in the current one. According to the background memo, there is also $92,877 in new funding, about which we’ll get an explanation from City staff in this week’s meeting.
Committees to Boards and Committees: We’ll soon be appointing another semi-annual slate of residents to be members of the City’s boards, commissions and committees. This week we’ll be discussing where things stand with the applications we’ve received.
As always, please feel free to be in touch with any comments or questions.
Peter Kovar, Takoma Park City Council, Ward One
240-319-6281; www.councilmemberkovar.com
(He, Him, His)
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