Jimmy's Ward Report - Sunday, July 27, 2008
Jimmy’s Ward Report – July 28Council Plans to Purchase Bass Property - The City is proposing to purchase the former Bass Liquor property for $953,000. There was a first reading on the resolution at a July 24th special session of the Council and there will be a public hearing on August 7th and a vote on whether to move ahead with the purchase.
As almost everybody knows, there has been a great deal of discussion for the last year about the development of the properties on Rhode Island Ave. between Eastern Ave and 33rd St. One developer, Bob Holland, wanted to build a hotel with retail stores but most people did not feel that was a good idea. Another developer, Landmark Atlantic, offered to buy the properties but their offer was rejected by all the owners.
A few months ago, the Bass owners came to a City Hall meeting and indicated they were willing to sell their property to the City. The Bass family wanted $1.15 million for the property. The City did not feel it was worth that much and the Bass family have agreed to the City’s offer of $953,000. (There will be additional costs to demolish the existing structure.)
There will be future discussions about how to finance the purchase but most of the Council feel that a combination of using the City’s reserves ($1.7 million) and borrowing will be the most prudent option.
While there will not be any increase in the tax rate (most people’s taxes are going up anyway because of increased evaluations), the purchase will cost the City somewhere between $50,000 and $70,000 a year in lost interest (by using some of our reserves which would be collecting interest) and borrowing.
There has not been any decision on what to do with the property once it is purchased. One option that is being discussed is to raze the building, level the lot and use it temporarily for parking. The city could sell it to a developer at a later time or figure out what it would like to do on that lot (and how to finance it!).
There will also be more discussion on how to take control of the former funeral home on the corner of Eastern and Rhode Island. It is in terrible shape and it is unacceptable for it to remain an eye sore in our community for an indefinite period.
While I am interested in hearing more from our residents at the public hearing (and by e-mail), I am in favor of our purchasing the Bass property. While it will cost the city at least $50,000 a year to own the property, something must be done to jump start the development on Rhode Island Avenue. Hopefully this will start to rejuvenate our downtown area.
National Night Out – Tuesday August 5th – National Night Out is designed to a) Heighten awareness of drug and crime prevention efforts; b) Generate support and participation in crime prevention efforts; c) Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police community relations; d) Send a message to criminals to let them know that neighborhoods are being organized.
Please come and join us at Thomas Stone Elementary School. There will be live entertainment, food and lots of fun things to do for the whole family.
Council Discusses 3409 Rhode Island Ave (Mt. Rainier Library) – At a July 15th meeting of the Council (which was not a formal meeting because there was no quorum) the Council members present heard reports from the Design Review Board and Friends of the Library on proposals to develop the building at 3409 Rhode Island Ave.
The city has received four proposals to turn the building into a modern four-story structure that would accommodate the library, public meeting rooms, and two floors devoted to private retail.
Representatives from the Design Review Board questioned whether it made sense to spend $5-6 million (the cost of tearing down and building a new structure) at that location because of the small foot print of the lot.
The report of the Design Review Board concluded that the space was too small, there was inadequate parking and the city might not be able to attract the private retailers that are expected to help pay for the project. They recommended that the library would be better located in a new location on a larger lot.
The Friends of the Library were not opposed to a new library being built in a larger location, but wanted to make sure that the library would stay in Mt. Rainier and that moneys that have been given to the City for the refurbishing the library would not be wasted.
City Manager Wallace said that if the city does not act soon, it could lose $210,000 in state money for the project, granted through the Maryland State Department and the state legislature.
Most people felt that because of the pending acquisition of the Bass property, any decision on the development of the 3409 Rhode Island Avenue property and the future of the lot should be made in conjunction with plans on what to do on the Bass property lot.
The Possum Hunter – (from Chief Scott) - In the early morning hours of July 3rd MPRD officers responded to a desperate call for help at a house in the 3700 block of 34th Street. It seemed that, unnoticed by the residents, a wily possum had sneaked into their quiet place of abode and took up residence in the bathroom. They were none too happy about the situation and needed someone to remove the trespassing beast from their happy home. They were in luck - MRPD's fearless Possum Hunter was on the job!
No stranger to critter removal, MRPD's fearless Possum Hunter, a.k.a. PFC Tuk Carpenter, donned his possum huntin' gloves and went straight to work. He thoroughly evaluated the situation and, after making sure that the residents (the human residents) were safely out of the way, began his approach. He tactically stalked Mr. Possum and maneuvered himself into a position to strike. Like a crafty snake charmer the Possum Hunter distracted the marsupial with one hand; and, with one lightening-quick motion snatched the beast up by the tail with his free hand. The possum, being seriously perturbed that he had been had by a mere human, attempted to ferociously spray urine at the Possum Hunter in retaliation. The Possum Hunter, wise to the ways of opossum assault tactics, had already anticipated this move and deftly evaded the noxious attack. With his prize in hand, the victorious Possum Hunter removed the hapless beast from the residence and returned it to its proper home in the wilds of the Great City.
Don’t you just love a happy ending?!
A photo of the victorious Possum Hunter and his catch can be seen on the Chief’s Blog at www.mrpdchief.blogspot.com.
Crime In Our Community – There have been a number of recent robberies in our City including the robbery of one of our mail delivery personnel in broad daylight (only personal items were taken). Some people have asked what the City Council is doing about crime prevention in our City. Councilman Knedler wrote a good summary of what we’ve been attempting to do:
“What can the police department/city officials do to encourage residents to call dispatch and report suspicious activity? Why do we (myself included) sometimes feel it is "bothering" the police to call on some intuition that a person is out of place or up to no good? My neighbor stopped a theft in progress at my house last year when she confronted some guys helping themselves to my downspouts and cast iron radiators which were on the ground as my house was under renovation. She called the police and they took off. She got the license plate number (turned out it was a fake plate). She called me at work (we have traded phone numbers amongst the neighbors on my block). They only got one downspout but they could have had all my radiators and the contractor's aluminum ladders if she had not acted. Neighborhood watch worked! On the other hand, a recent daytime housebreaking could have been averted if a neighbor had acted. A few days after the breaking and entering, a neighbor mentioned that he had seen a man looking over the fence at the victims' house and he had a bag. But the neighbor did not keep an eye on the guy, nor did he call the police to report a suspicious person.
”At last night's council work session, we reviewed the plan by Queenstown Apts. to erect 8 foot wrought-iron fences around the perimeter of the complex--leaving only one entrance into the complex off of Chillum Road. The management and our police department feel the complex is too easy to get into and out of. Pedestrians will be cut off along with cars. In effect it will become a gated community (without the security guard at a gate). It was said that Rainier Manor is considering the same idea. The impact on crime will be easily documented since we know the complex is a hotspot of crime by our statistics. As a side benefit, it may free up police officers to patrol other parts of the city instead of being tied up with arrests and calls at Queenstown.
”The city council supported the closure of Perry St. at 31st to prevent cut-through traffic, but it also had the effect of reducing loitering/drug activity in the 3200 and 3100 blocks of Perry. Are there other places in the city where we should consider this?
”We are considering increasing the wattage of a street light on Otis St. to help discourage crime. We upped the wattage on lights around Bunker Hill and 34th several years ago after several robberies near GLUT. It was too dark in the area at night.
”The Council has approved street cameras (although I personally don't think they do much).
”The Council has increased the number of officers (although we often have trouble recruiting new officers to be at full-strength).
”We purchased the segways and have a new license-plate scanner that helps identify stolen tags/cars.
”How many of you have exchanged phone numbers with your neighbors? How many of you let your neighbors know when you will be gone, or if you have guests staying with you (so they know who belongs at your house and who does not).?
”Do you hide your small valuables in your house rather than leaving them out in the open? Do you carry large amounts of cash with you when out on the street? Do you have the earphones in your ears as you walk (making you a better target and advertising you have an iPod).
”Anyway, some of my thoughts as a neighbor and elected official. Would love to hear more suggestions.”
Median Prices on Homes Sold in Mt. Rainier Fall - The Washington Post reported that the median purchase price for a house in Mt. Rainier fell from $359,000 (between Jan and March 2007) to $282,500 (between Jan and March 2008).
These numbers may be misleading. There were 21 houses purchased in the first three months of 2007 and only 10 purchased in the same period in 2008. So it could very possibly be that only the less expensive houses were being purchased in 2008 and the more expensive houses were still on the market and had not been purchased. It still does indicate (if everyone didn’t already realize it) the decline in housing prices in our community.