Jimmy's Ward Report - Sunday, May 25, 2008

Special Thursday (May 29th) Council Meeting on Tax Rate and Budget –

The City Treasurer informed the Council that because of a State requirement, it was necessary to vote on the tax rate before June 1st. As a result the Council has scheduled a special meeting to vote on the tax rate on May 29th and since the tax rate is in many ways is dependent on spending priorities, there will also be a work session to finish reviewing the budget and to have a first reading on the budget on Thursday. It will be a busy meeting.

The Council seems to be intent on keeping the tax rate unchanged. There was only one person who came to the public meeting so the tax rate does not seem that controversial. The City would like to put more resources in cleaning up the downtown area and keep money in reserves for the possible purchase of property downtown. Furthermore given the announced cutback in state and county funding, the Council does not feel it is prudent to reduce the tax rate at this time. The Council does plan to pass tax relief legislation for those residents with a household income less than $60,000 (similar to last year).

The Council still has to decide whether to spend extra moneys to keep the police station open on weekday evenings or to use the money for other priorities.

Residents are encouraged to come to the meeting Thursday to let the Council knew how they feel about the City’s budget priorities.

K Foodmart and Single Sales of Beer in Mt. Rainier – The Council heard public comment and discussed whether to file a protest and/or request the revocation of the liquor license at K Foodmart (3233 Rhode Island Ave. There was also a good deal of discussion about what could be done regarding the sale of single sale beers by the City’s liquor stores.

Everybody on the Council (and the City as a whole) is interested in cleaning up our downtown area and making it more attractive to residents and potential visitors and new business owners. People are concerned about public urination, excessive loitering, disorderly drunken behavior and trash on Rhode Island Ave.

K Foodmart: There have been reports that K Foodmart had sold liquor to minors and a recent police report stated there had been 38 calls for service at the address. The Council decided to write a letter of concern to the County Liquor Control Commission. The Council felt that there was not enough hard evidence to actually ask the Commission to revoke the liquor license for the store. In the case of Bass Liquor, the City and the residents had to build up a case with a number of eyewitness and official reports of “illegal and anti-social” behavior at the Bass property for the liquor board to move to revoke the license. We would like people to document and/or call the police if they see any illegal or rowdy behavior anywhere in the downtown area so the City can build a legal case to going against businesses that don’t behavior in a resident friendly manner.

Single Beer Sales – Many residents feel that the sale of single beers is a major contribution to public drunkenness, public urination, and unruly behavior in our downtown area. DC is looking into the prohibition of single sales of beer in a number of Council districts in the City. The City of Mount Rainier cannot pass legislation limiting the sales of beer but Delegate Doyle Niemann agreed to introduce legislation next year that would prohibit the sales of single sales beer in the area of the 47th legislative district. In the past similar legislation had failed, but Doyle felt that if the legislation was limited to just the 47th district, there might be more chance of it passing. I will let people know when the legislation is introduced and how people can help get the bill passed.

Funds for Those Unable to Maintain Their Lawns – The Council discussed creating a fund for those elderly and/or disabled who are unable to maintain the lawns and also do not have the means to hire someone to do the mowing. While the details still have to be discussed, there was a consensus to appropriate moneys to hire summer youth to cut lawns where it is impossible for the owner to keep it maintained.

Concerned About Tall Grass in Abandoned Lots: Let City Hall know about the tall grass and the city will take care of it. The City has to notify the owner first so it will not be cut right away. The City will send the bill to the owner and put a lien on the property if the bill is not paid.

Increase in Foreclosures: A recent report indicated that the number of foreclosures in Prince George’s County has gone from 468 in the first quarter of 2007 to 1192 in the second quarter to 1600 in the third quarter and 2732 in the fourth quarter. There is projected to be over 9,000 foreclosures in 2008. We still haven’t seen the full impact on all this in our community.

Joint Border Patrol – The Chief announced that Mt. Rainier and the DC Police are now doing joint border patrols in the Eastern Avenue areas that separate our two cities. This is great and hopefully will help in apprehending criminals who move from one jurisdiction to another.

Segways are Being Used - I was one of the doubters when we purchased segways for the police department last year. But I think they’ve been a real help. The Chief reported that the segways have logged over 800 miles and there have been two major arrests from officers on segways.

Speed Camera Legislation Fails – Legislation to allow local jurisdictions to use speed cameras failed to pass in Annapolis. Hopefully the bill will be re-introduced and pass in 2009.

Meeting Scheduled for New Dog Park - County Councilman Will Campos has been working with PG County Park and Planning staff, and the City of Hyattsville, to create a new dog park in our area.

The dog park will be located at the corner of Ager Road and Nicholson Street near the entrance to Heurich Park. The dog park will include two fenced in areas; one for larger dogs, and another for smaller dogs, a source of water for dogs and their owners, as well as a small pavilion at the entrance to house equipment and provide shade.

There will be a meeting on Wednesday, June 11th at 7:00 p.m. in Prangley Room at the City of Hyattsville's municipal building located at 4310 Gallatin Street for a meeting to review the plans and facilitate feedback.

In addition, representatives from Park and Planning will be present to discuss the level of community involvement that will be required to help run and maintain the dog park.

Even though the park is in Hyattsville, residents of Mt. Rainier are encouraged to attend and hopefully use the park once it is created.

Library Discussion on Tuesday June 17th – The City received four proposals to renovate the city owned property at 3409 Rhode Island Ave. where the public library is now located. The Friends of the Library, the Environment Review Board, and the Design Review Board all reviewed the different proposals and issued reports to the City. The Council in it 6/17 work session will be discussing what next steps have to be taken in developing that property and renovating the library.

Special Thanks to All Those Who Made Mt. Rainier Day A Great Success - I thought Mt. Rainier Day was a great success. It was by far the best festival we’ve put on. I would like to thank those members of the City Staff who worked tirelessly to make it a great success. We are trying to organize another Open Studio Tour later in the fall so more people can see and enjoy the works of our resident artists.

City Noise Regulations: The City Code restricts the amount of noise that can be made during daytime and nighttime hours. Owners or operators of residential multi-family dwellings may enforce more restrictive noise regulations on their own properties.

Nighttime - During nighttime hours (8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. from Sunday through Friday and 10:00 p.m. on Saturday to 8:00 a.m. on Sunday), if the noise is audible more than 50 feet from the private property where such noise is occurring or more than 50 feet from the noise source on public property, then there is a presumption that the noise is unreasonable and that a public nuisance exists. Unreasonable nighttime noises include, noise from amplified sources like radios, the operation or use of any tool or equipment (including but not limited to construction equipment, lawnmowers, power tools, hammers, drills, and generators), yelling, and barking dogs.

Celebratory noise on New Years Eve (Dec 31) and from midnight to 2:00 a.m. on New Years Day (Jan 1) is exempted from the restrictions.

Daytime Noise. During daytime hours (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. from Sunday through Friday and 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Saturday), the following noises are unreasonable if they can be heard more than 50 feet from the private property where such noise is occurring or more than 50 feet from the noise source on public property: amplified noise from speakers, radios, TVs, etc. (this includes sub-audible frequencies and car radios).

Exceptions for daytime noise restrictions are made for any vendor or outdoor event with a city permit; the use of bells or chimes to signal religious activities; and noise that is not audible beyond 200 feet from its source on Mother's Day, Father's Day, Independence Day (July 4), Memorial Day, Labor Day; New Year' s Eve (Dec. 31), and New Year' s Day (Jan. 1).

The City Manager is authorized to issue a permit to exceed some of the noise provisions of the city law. Any resident, property owner, or business owner may secure for a specific address or location a maximum of 4 variances per year from these restrictions. No permit shall be granted for nighttime hours (that means that loud parties, construction work, etc. on Saturday nights must cease after 10 pm, and at 8 pm for all other nights). Permits are valid for a specified 5-hour period. Only one permit shall be issued to a property in a 30 day period.

A noise permit allows amplified noise to be heard up to 200 feet from its source. If the amplified noise can be heard further than 200 feet from the source, the noise permit is void. A Mount Rainier police officer or Code Enforcement Officer has the authority to revoke or impose restrictions on a noise permit if, in his or her judgment, the provisions of the City noise restrictions are being violated.

Permits for residential properties are $5; nonresidential permits are $25.

Violation of the noise ordinance may result in a $75 fine for each 15 minutes the violation continues.

Tax Credits for Home Repairs in Mt. Rainier: I want to remind everybody that you can receive a 20% tax credit (off your MD state income taxes) for waterproofing basements, fixing roofs, etc. in almost all homes in Mt. Rainier. (We are a designated historical district.)

We have gotten money back for the following: installing central air conditioning, renovating our attic, repairing our wood windows, and repairing our front and back porches. We are currently submitting requests for credit to repair our roof and also to waterproof our basement.

It takes a little time to fill out the forms and there is a lag for the MHT to approve the requests (repairs can only be done after the request has been approved) but a 20% credit on renovations ends up being a lot of money.

We received over $15,000 two years ago when we renovated our third floor and will be getting $3,000 back from MD for repairs we did in the last year and half on our windows, our porch and our roof.

Here is a link to the web site: http://www.marylandhistoricaltrust.net/taxcr.html.

I'd be glad to answer any questions regarding the forms since I've had a lot of practice filing them out.