Minutes of Regular Meeting on July 12, 2012
Meeting began at about 7:30 pm. Councilmembers Patrick Wojahn and Fazlul Kabir were present.
Members held a roundtable discussion to vision the future of NCPCA. The topics to cover in the coming year are rent stabilization, Pepco, the City budget, a legislative delegation visit, noise control, disaster preparation and recovery, presentations by different organizations, neighborhood watch, planning issues, lack of code and parking enforcement, Greenbelt Metro, Pepco street lights and tree pruning, and the community library.
Members suggested having workgroups: hospitality, safety, membership outreach, communications. Upcoming events include a National Night Out on August 7, an open house, and inviting local businesses. Larry Bleau volunteered to update the NCPCA flyer and list the future agenda items on its back, to be printed and put with the city wide distribution.
Members recessed for refreshments at about 8:30; the meeting resumed at 8:40.
Moved by Mark Shroder / Dave Turley: Approve the minutes of NCPCA June 14 meeting without change; motion passed.
President John Krouse welcomed everyone and hoped they liked the new table arrangement. Treasurer Tanweer Ahmed reported an opening balance of $1,504.26, received $100 in dues, spent $141.73 in expenses, for a closing balance of $1,462.53. Vice President Mark Shroder reported that he had printed new name tents for members. Secretary Larry Bleau reported that he has updated the web site myncpca.org to include the new officers, recent agenda and minutes.
Committee reports: Safety (Donna Weene) reported that the curb in front of the new fire hydrant at Hollywood Elementary School needs to be painted yellow, and the sidewalks at Attick Towers need to be replaced. It was reported that the CSX transfer station will likely be located near Baltimore. There was no report from the Variance or Route 1 Reengineering committees.
Councilmember Wojahn reported there were three major incidents related to the PEPCO repairs: a tree down on Niagara Road; at 48th Ave. near Hollywood Road a tree split and fell into a roof, taking out many utility poles; at 49th Ave. and Lackawanna there was a broken utility pole. Members asked that information be available ahead of time as to cooling centers available in the city and the protocol for loss of heating or cooling. Patrick informed members that if a tree is down in the right-of-way and no wires are involved, it is cleared by the City; if there are wires, it is PEPCO’s responsibility.
Councilmember Wojahn gave members an update on the Greenbelt Metro Sector Plan. A draft of the plan will be available in July; City Council will discuss it in August. The developer is requesting a change to the conceptual site plan. The original Detailed Site Plan was based on the need to maintain a level-of-service (LOS) of D, but the area plans require that the area only meet a LOS of E; as a result, certain improvements at the intersection of Rhode Island Ave. and Route 193 as well as other intersections in the area were no longer deemed necessary. Members would like to stay informed as to the timeline of the plan.
There was a question if the United Methodist Church would need to be torn down. Patrick stated that a few months prior the church had financial problems; he will check with the pastor.
Moved by Larry Bleau / Dave Turley: Appoint Donna Weene to the Board of Directors. Motion passed. Several others expressed interest in being a director; John Krouse will speak with them.
A member mentioned there are graffiti and stickers on Lackawanna St. on the stop, speed hump, and gateway signs. Patrick and Fazlul said these are unlikely to be gang related, but will follow up.
The meeting adjourned at about 9:40 pm after a motion by Mark Shroder / Donna Weene.
Submitted by Larry Bleau, Secretary.