Jimmy's Ward Report - Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Santa Claus Stops In Mt. Rainier on Sat Dec 20th – From The Chief of Police “I have it on good authority that Santa’s annual visit to the Great City of Mount Rainier will take place on Saturday December 20th beginning at 7 pm. Santa will put aside his sleigh and reindeer for the evening and rely on the Mount Rainier Volunteer Fire Department to escort him about the City. Children young and old should listen not for the prancing and pawing of each little hoof but for the siren and horns of the big Pierce fire truck!”

City Purchases Bass Property - On December 4th the City became the owners of the Bass property.

The total cost including closing expenses was $966,801. It will cost an estimated $45,000 to demolish the property. The City borrowed $1.25 million at 4.79% for 15 years. The yearly payment will be $118,000.

The money will go for the purchase, demolition, paving it into a parking lot. We are hoping in a few years that a developer will purchase the property from us and use it for a mixed-use project.

Gateway Arts District Holiday Sale – Saturday December 13th – Do some holiday shopping by purchasing arts and crafts from some of our most acclaimed artists and crafts persons. It goes from 10 AM to 7 PM. Here are some of the participating studios and venues:

H&F Fine Arts Gallery and Fountain Framing - 3311 Rhode Island Ave
Washington Glass School & Studio – 3700 Otis St.
Red Dirt Studio – 3706 Otis St.
Flux Studios – 3708 Wells Ave.
Sinel-Stewart-Weiss Studios – 3708 Wells Ave.
Alec Simposon and Laura Thorne Studios – 3705 Otis St
Gateway Art Studios @ ezStorage – 4302 Rhode Island Ave.
Designs for Living – 4309 41st St.
Studio 4214 –4214 Gallatin St.
Zimstone Gallery – 4814 Rhode Island Ave., Hyattsville
EYE Alternarive Gift Fair @ Lustine – 5704 Baltimore Ave.
Artists on the Avenue – 5614 Baltimore Ave.
The Beader’s Workshop –5200 Baltimore Ave
A Tangled Skein - 5200 Baltimore Ave.

47th Legislative District Economic Commission – On Monday December 1st, State Senator David Harrington convened a meeting of area municipal leaders to discuss the current economic challenges facing our community. The result was the formation of a 47th District Economic Commission that will focus on cooperative plans to revitalize our communities. This is a critically important time. The next Congress will be passing and signing into law the largest public works program since the 1950s. This will be the stimulus package that President-elect Obama hopes will jump-start the economy. We do not want Mount Rainier and our neighboring towns to be by-passed when these projects are put into place so it is important that our elected leaders come up with a specific list of infrastructure improvements that can be used both to put people to work and to revitalize our community. I hope that this Commission gets down to business as soon as possible and works with our Federal legislators to make sure that these infrastructure funds are not just put into building new highways.


New Speed Camera on Eastern Avenue Near Bunker Hill - The DC Police Department has told us that they will be placing a speed camera at this location. It should help with some of the speed problems in that area.

New Solar Energy Tax Credit – The County Council recently passed a law allowing a 50% property tax credit for residents who install a "solar energy or geothermal energy device.” This covers a system intended to heart or cool a structure or provide hot water. The credit is the lesser of 50% of installed cost or $5,000 for heating and $1,500 for hot water. For more information on the tax credit, you can e-mail Bryan Higgins at greenhome2@verizon.net.