27 July 2009 | Approved: 10 August 2009
Mayor Pro Tempore Charlie Challstrom called the regular meeting of the Town Council to order at 7:36 p.m. In attendance were Councilors Joe Clark, Georgette Cole, Sylvie Favret and Marida Hines. Ted Kelly arrived after the approval of the agenda. Also in attendance were Maintenance Supervisor Jim Fletcher, Treasurer Mary Challstrom and Town residents Bob Booher, Birgit Henninger, Betsy Klinger, George Paine, Ed Roberts, Jane Seegal and Missy Yachup.
Approval of the Agenda
Joe Clark moved, Georgette Cole seconded that the Agenda be approved. Charlie Challstrom suggested that the Casey 6 & 7 discussion be moved to after the LED lighting proposal. The agenda was approved as amended. Vote: 5-0.
Maintenance Report
Jim Fletcher apologized for the poor communication concerning permission to cut a low-hanging branch near the tennis courts which was given to a soccer player on Sunday. The action caused a bit of an uproar, albeit brief. Jim went on to say that debris from the recent storm had been removed and that the big limb that went in to Maple Lake would be removed on Tuesday. Joe Clark praised Jim’s attention to safety.
Update on LED Lighting Proposal
Charlie Challstrom explained the Department of Energy demo program and gave the Council some handouts. The discussion included; who would pay, who would install, who would do maintenance, HPS (high pressure sodium) lights, PEPCO’s willingness to participate (our poles are owned by PEPCO), efficiency, savings, taking a field trip to see examples of LED lighting, aesthetics, vandalism and protection of the bulbs.
Casey 6 & 7 Discussion
Charlie Challstrom began the discussion with a reference to Mayor Anderson’s testimony from the July 20th meeting with the designers and the representative from Montgomery County. Charlie also reported that Mayor Anderson has been working diligently with County leadership to get them out here. The use is improper and not compatible with the master plan designation as I-3. Charlie applauded and thanked Bob Booher for his suggestions and changes that he presented at the July 20th meeting. Missy Yachup brought up media coverage, letters to the editor etc… Tell the general public just how the County is proposing to spend their tax dollars. Charlie stated that perhaps Town Government shouldn’t do this yet but that residents could. A lengthy discussion ensued. It included; press coverage, worst case scenario, previous battles, actual dollars being spent, hiring a lobbyist or consultant, timing of press coverage, the revenue neutral land swap language (deceptive), working with the General Assembly, rejecting the plan completely, fear that this area could become the County dumping ground, not saying no to everything, trying to work with the County and using the points in the Mayor’s testimony for op-ed pieces to be written separately by the Mayor and Council. Further discussion about fact-finding and strategies is in order.
Council Reports
- Town Council Reports – July 2009 pdf
- Georgette Cole asked what was happening with the two (2) Local Government Insurance Trust personnel policies that were presented at the last meeting. This will be put on the August 10, 2009 agenda.
- Charlie Challstrom said that he would write something about the LED streetlight proposal for the August Bulletin.
- Joe Clark mentioned that he liked David Neumann’s idea of networking with other historic, railroad communities and would bring it up in his community outreach discussions.
- Ted Kelly brought up a new kind of crushed rubber mulch that he thought the Town should consider for their trial under the swing set. Ted also mentioned that, in light of the recent oil-changing incident and the dogs on the clay courts for playtime incident, maybe some new signage for Woodward Park was in order. Ted also brought up cats killing songbirds. Something about animal control will be put in the August Bulletin.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 p.m.