Ward Report - Jan 20, 2008 - Sunday, January 20, 2008

Temporary Speed Humps: The Council decided to experiment with temporary rubber speed humps instead of permanent asphalt humps. The rubber humps are considerably cheaper ($400 vs. anywhere from $1500 to $5000) and can be removed if they prove not to be workable. The first humps will be placed at the intersection of 32nd and Bunker Hill Road sometime in the next few weeks.

New Parking Meters: At long last two-hour parking meters have been installed on the 3300 Block of Rhode Island Ave. and the 3700 block of 34th Street. There will also be new meters placed on the 4000 block of 33rd St. and on Bunker Hill Road (across from Joe’s).

Police Department Receives Grant to Purchase to Purchase License Plate Reader – Chief Scott reported that the City received a $21,000 grant to purchase a license plate reader that can be mounted on a police vehicle and read license plates as the car circulates throughout the city. The plates are scanned and compared against a database of stolen vehicles and will enable our Department to quickly see if there are stolen cars parked on our streets.

Ordinance on Recreational Vehicles: There was a first reading on an ordinance that would amend the law regarding recreational vehicles. I do not know a lot of the history of this issue but my understanding is that in the past there have been complaints about large recreational vehicles parked on city streets and in drive ways. Right now a recreational vehicle has to be 25 feet from the street line. Since the front of some people’s houses is less than 25 feet from the street, a recreational vehicle could be parked in a driveway back from the front of the house and still be in violation of the current ordinance even though it is not an ‘eye sore’. The new ordinance says that a recreational vehicle may be parked ‘not nearer to the street line...than the front facade of the house...”. (It also allows the City Manager to issue a permit for a recreational vehicle to be parked on the street for no more than a two-week period once every six months.) The ordinance comes up for a vote on Tuesday February 5th.

Start of Budget Process: The Council voted on a calendar that lays out a time line for discussions, hearings, and votes on next year’s budget and tax rates. This culminates on Tuesday June 17th when there is a final vote on the City’s budget and tax rates. There have been predictions of some revenue and tax short falls because of the slow down of the economy. On the other hand, I believe there should be increased property tax revenue because of the increased property values in Mt. Rainier (from a few years ago). The City has saved some money over the last couple of years (more revenue than expenses) and is in the healthiest financial shape it has been in a number of years. I am hopeful that we can slightly reduce the tax rate while continuing to fund our city’s services. We will not be able to figure that out until we analyze this year’s spending and look at projected revenues.

Proposed Change in Nominating Petitions: When I ran for Council last spring I noticed a flaw in the nominating petition procedure in that a resident is only allowed to sign a nominating petition for one candidate. If he/she signs more than one, his or her name is invalid on all the petitions.

I do not think this is right. A person often signs a petition to allow someone to be in the ballot before he/she is committed to that candidate. If the person changes his/her mind and decides another candidate should be nominated instead or in addition he/she can't sign the petition. This also helps the candidate who starts out early. If a candidate starts early and gets a lot of signatures it makes it much more difficult for another candidate to run for office which I think is a mistake.

I have proposed an amendment to the City Charter that would correct the problem.

Report from Public Works: Luther Smith, the Director of Public Works, reported that nine tree stumps were removed. Tree stumps have become an annoying problem in the city. Trees get removed but the stumps stay behind. The city was able to get a better price ($200 per stump) because we did nine at the same time. Curb side leaf pick up has been completed. But Public Works is still collecting leaves in bags on the second Monday of January and February by appointment only (residents are to call 301-3985-6558).

Two New Businesses Open In Downtown Mt. Rainier: 1) RBGD’s
Electronic Eye has recently opened at 3806 34th St. Robert Bannerman, the owner recently moved his store from Hyattsville. His store specializes in vintage and collectible items. His inventory includes jewelry, art, small furniture and a selection of boots. The hours are Wednesday through Saturday from Noon to 7 PM. 2) Robert Taylor has opened up Six Amigos, an ice cream parlor at 3406 Rhode Island Ave. (right in front of the bus stop). He has ice cream, coffee, sandwiches, and Filipino groceries. Hopefully he will get some good coffee business from people waiting for the bus into DC.

Upcoming Council Meetings: There are a couple of important Council meetings coming up. On Tues. Jan. 29th, the Council will have a work session and be meeting with the County Redevelopment Authority to discuss parking issues in our town and will also be discussing what to do next regarding the development of the 3300 block of Rhode Island Ave. On Tuesday Feb 5th the Council will be having a regular session at which time the ordinance on recreational vehicles will be up for a vote and on Feb 12th, the Council will be having a public hearing on the Ordinance regarding Immigrants in our community. The proposal has produced a lot of discussion and I am interested in seeing who comes to the hearing