Jimmy's Ward Report - Friday, July 4, 2008

Recycling Pick-up – Public works has informed us that the next recycling pick-up won’t be until Friday July 11th. So don’t put your recycling bins out on Monday and expect them to be picked up.



Council Passes Budget – On June 17th the Council passed the budget and established the tax rate for Fiscal year 2008-2009. The total budget for the city is a little more than $4.5 million. Sixty per cent ($2.7 million) comes from the residential property tax and the rest comes from the income tax, licenses and fees, grants, and user fees.



Some of the highlights of the new budget are:



1 – Tax rate stays the same ($0.79 per $100 of assessed valuation). People will still see increases in taxes as evaluations in our city have continued to rise.



2 – Extended hours for police station: The police station will be open until 11 PM on weekdays. (Closed on weekends). We will announce when the new hours actually go in effect.



3 – Commitment to spend some of our reserves for the purchase of property downtown to help with redevelopment. The town has over $1.5 million in reserves and the Council made a commitment to spend some of this money over the next year to purchase one of the properties on Rhode Island Avenue to help spur the needed development in that area.



4 – New Trash Truck. This should mean that trash pick-ups will not be delayed because of truck failures.





Noise Problems: In the past few weeks there have been a number of complaints about loud noisy parties that have disturbed many residents. The Chief of Police has put out the following policy statement that is pretty comprehensive:




The Mt. Rainier City Code Section 10-121 defines noise, and basically boils down to this: If the noise emanating from your property is excessively or unusually loud, and annoys, disturbs, injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of others, and that noise can be heard more than 50 feet from your property, you are in violation of City Code and are subject to a fine of $75. Residents, property owners and business owners may obtain a special permit to exceed the noise restrictions as established in 10-121. This permit, obtainable from City Hall, will allow noise to be heard up to 200 feet from its source. Applicants may be granted a special noise permit up to a maximum of four times in a year. If you were planning an outdoor event, party or celebration it would be prudent for you to obtain the special noise permit.

A police officer or Code Enforcement Officer who responds for a noise complaint will ask the property owner, or another responsible party present, to reduce the offending noise level to a point where it complies with the Code and any special permit. He or she will extend this courtesy only once. If we receive a second complaint, someone will eceive a City citation for $75.

Motor vehicles driven on City streets are also subject to excess noise rules. Maryland law provides that when a motor vehicle is operated on a highway or street, the driver may not permit the operation of a sound amplification system from the vehicle that can be heard outside the vehicle from 50 or more feet. The fine for violating this provision of Maryland vehicle law can be as high as $500.

On Saturday June 21st our officers responded to five complaints of loud noise at a residence in the 4100 block of 32nd Street. A special noise permit had been issued to the resident that allowed amplified music to be heard up to 200 feet from the residence until 10 p.m. Each time a complaint was received an MRPD officer(s) responded. From the e-mails, phone calls and reports I have received in the past two days, after the first complaint no officer properly enforced the noise ordinance and no officer properly complied with the department's policy on noise.

In an effort to avoid any further misunderstanding, misinterpretation or confusion about the department's policy I will reiterate it here:

A police officer who responds for a noise complaint will ask the property owner, or another responsible party present, to reduce the offending noise level to a point where it complies with the Code and any special permit. He or she will extend this courtesy only once. If we receive a second complaint, someone will receive a City citation for $75. The City Code also provides that each 15 minute period the excessive noise continues after a warning or citation is issued constitutes a separate offense. Therefore officers are expected to issue a citation for each subsequent complaint - no warnings.

There will be no exceptions to this policy. Let me be very clear - there will be no exceptions to this policy. Officers are to follow the policy to the letter and supervisors are responsible for their officers' compliance.



Trash Can Enforcement: With the summer heat we must be especially careful about how we put out the trash. Remember you must have watertight lids on your trashcans. You can have up to 5 cans for pickup. Do not put items on top of the can or beside the can. Everything must be inside the can with a lad.



When Crimes Occur In Our City: From January 2007 through today, statistically, the majority of our reported crime (those for which we write reports, issue citations or make arrests) is on Friday between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. The 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. time frame in general is when we have the most reported crime, with 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. coming in second. The days of the week are ranked as follows for the number of reported crimes: 1-Friday, 2-Tuesday, 3-Thursday, 4-Wednesday, 5-Monday, 6-Saturday, and 7-Sunday. The Chief believes that keeping the police station open until 11 p.m., Monday through Friday, will provide public access during the times of heaviest call volume and criminal activity.



Corn Bin Update - On March 29 the County Planning Board approved the permit application for the Corn Bin. A number of members of the Co-op and Mt. Rainier residents traveled to Upper Marlboro to speak in favor of the co-op. One resident expressed concerns about appearance of the bin. The Corn Co-op folks were asked to update the plan to incorporate a new location of the bin where it is more easily accessible from the Fire Station parking a lot. In addition trees will be planted to help shield the bin. The corn bin folks will be working with the neighbor who had raised objections and are doing so. Once the updated plan is ok with all those involved, the plan has to be reviewed by the County Council. Getting things done is a long and difficult process, but I applaud Jodi-Beth McCain and the leaders of the Corn Co-op for volunteering to put in place in our community a new low-cost alternative to oil and gas.



Skate Board Park Update - The County Park & Planning Department is now preparing an RFP (Request for Proposal) for a design of the skateboard park at Otis and Wells Avenues. Once the RFP is developed, a design-build consultant will be selected and then prepare detailed designs that will be reviewed by the Council. The County is planning on having the park finished by September 2009.


Library Discussion on July 15th: The Council will be meeting on Tuesday July 15th. The main order of business will be a discussion on plans for developing the building, which contains the Mt. Rainier library at 3409 Rhode Island Avenue. The City received four proposals to renovate the building and asked the Friends of the Library, the Environmental Protection Board, and the Design Review Board to review the different proposals. We have asked these committees to report their findings to the Council on the 15th. We will also have to discuss the issue of the financing of the projects. All the proposals came in at $3 to $ 4 million



[I hope everybody is enjoying this July 4th weekend. I am. – Jimmy]