Meeting began at 7:32pm. Council members Patrick Wojahn and Christine Nagle were present, Council member Jack Perry joined later.

Prince Georges Co. Police COPS officer Sarita could not come due to a prior engagement, however, she sent a crime report for the members. Two houses had been broken into: one on Indian Lane and the other on Rhode Island Ave.

Celeste Bryant of the EnvisionPrinceGeorges came to make a presentation on the program and took question. She spoke about the effort to create a vision for our county’s future. The group had a series of town hall meetings during winter around the county to seek input from the county residents. Nearly 700 residents joined these town hall meetings. There is a town meeting on Saturday, March 20, at the Sports and Learning Complex to discuss and vote on what the PG Co citizens want for their county’s future; more can be found on http://envisionprincegeorges.org/

Alex E. Compagent, Partnership Specialist, Philadelphia Regional Census Center made a presentation on the upcoming Census 2010, its benefits, and what to expect. Residents will start receiving census forms by mail from March 15 and will have 3 weeks to respond. If they fail to do so, census volunteers will come and visit to residents’ houses to collect census data. There are only 10 questions in the short form (25 in the long form). Participation is important, because it determines funding levels for schools, public safety, and state and county services, as well as how to apportion representation. In the past, Prince George’s County has been undercounted, which has decreased the amount of funds we receive. Answers are held in strict confidence; they will NOT be shared with the City. Jobs are available with the Census Bureau as Census Takers; you can get more information at census2010.gov (phone 1-866-861-2010).

President Larry Bleau reported that he appointed Judy Blumenthal to Variance Committee. He improved the membership roster, asked City Manager about acoustic improvements to Davis Hall (they will be made in spring), and asked Public Works Director Bob Stumpff about retrofitting podium to accept a wireless microphone (Bob will look into it).

Treasurer Mohammed Taluckder reported the ending balances of $1,915.12 in Chevy Chase Bank. The expenses include mailing $17.65, Change of Resident Agent $25, domain name renewal $9.17, domain mapping fee $9.97. The PNC Bank account is now closed; funds are transferred to Chevy Chase account.

Moved by Bill Robertson and seconded by Peter Lakeland, the February 2010 minutes was approved with one correction: In paragraph seven, lines two and three, replace from ”the City” through the end with, “that he will not be submitting a ‘Wish list’ himself”.

Members discussed ideas they would like to have incorporated in the FY2011 City budget. The list includes (1) Have additional recreational events for families with teens or with no children, (2) Increase parking enforcement efforts to ticket cars on City streets that are parked illegally or in the wrong permit zone, (3) Increase fees charged to landlords for the annual inspections to better cover the cost of those inspections, (4) Work with the proper authorities to have the State enact legislation that would allow municipalities to obtain revenue from certain establishments within their boundaries; e.g., bars; (5) Add a few more street lights to areas where that are currently too dark (no light on pole as opposed to light not working), (6) Provide wireless Internet access at the Youth and Family Services building for parents who wait at the drop-in facility while their children are there.

Lourene Miovski introduced a By-Laws amendment, “NCPCA Bill of Rights”, to modify Article II, Section 2, to add Anti-discrimination, Free Speech, and Violations clauses; and modify Article V, to add a Controversial Votes section. Moved by Mark Shroder/Margaret Wood, “Have NCPCA By-Laws committee consider the proposed amendments.” Moved by Marcia Booth/Mary Cook to amend the motion: “Due to conflict of interest, another member other than Mark Shroder be selected to chair the By-Laws committee.” Lourene raised a point of order, citing Article VIII, section 2 in the By-Laws regarding the process for By-Laws amendments. Larry Bleau ruled the motion to send the amendment to committee to be out of order. Mark Shroder appealed that decision. Members supported the ruling by two-thirds voice vote.

Using the authority granted him by Article IX, Larry Bleau created a committee to review NCPCA’s By-Laws to fix ambiguities, correct inconsistencies and recommend improvements, and asked Bill Robertson to chair the committee; Bill agreed. Larry appointed Mark Shroder to the committee, and said he would appoint additional members to represent all segments of the membership.

Alina Smith of the Youth and Family services gave a presentation on the department. The center is located in the north College Park at 4912 Nantucket Road. The YFS provides services in English and Spanish in the areas of family counseling, parenting classes and support groups, youth life skill groups and referral programs. Their advocacy activities include coordination to ESOL programs, advocacy with schools and social services. They also have a recreation center which is open between 3pm to 7pm. The drop-in center is operated by the M-NCPPC.

Moved by Peter Lakeland and seconded by David Turley, Adjourn the meeting.  Motion passed, and the meeting was adjourned at 9:20pm. 

Respectfully submitted by Fazlul Kabir, Secretary