The Town of GLEN ECHO Chartered 1904 ownnal@genecno.org Town Hall * 6106 Harvard Avenue : Glen Echo - Maryland 20812 (301)320-4041 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES June 13,2022 Held Virtually Via Zoom CALLTOORDER: MAYOR DIA COSTELLO. 8:05) PM PRESENT Mayor: Dia Costello. Councilmembers: (CM) Mona Kishore, Dan Spealman, Matt Stiglitz, and Julia Wilson. Town Manager: (TM) Beth Stickler. Shimizu (Bryn Mawr), Bill Vincent (The Echo),. Residents: Maire Hewitt (Wellesley C.), Debbie Lange (Wellesley C.), Martha Shannon (Wellesley C.), Holly Guests: Charles Cuvelier (National Park Service), Ha-Yeon Jean (Del. Korman representative). OPPORTUNITY FOR COUNCIL TOHEAR RESIDENTS' COMMENTS: Mayor Costello offered an opportunity to take comments from the residents. There were no comments. Thel NPS anticipates funding in FY23 forr rehabilitating the Clara Barton House. The architecture firm is ini the design phase. The Mayor requested that the' Town be part of the planning team so that we can let residents know the process and how they will be affected. Mr. Cuvelier agreed and willl let us know when the process starts. It will include electrical work and roof repair. There are three viable expressions ofinterest to use the Thel NPS is also refurbishing the Candy Corner interior. It will be al Ranger office at Glen Echo Park. The Spanish Ballroom is being looked at to finish spaces in the building, partial floor replacement, and finishing The George Washington Parkway willl be rehabilitated between thel Beltway and Spout Run this summer. The "bridge to nowhere" may eventually be converted into an overpass for traffic traveling NW on the Clara Barton Parkway, avoiding congestion with vehicles turning offi into Glen Echo, but ifitl happens, The graffiti on the Cabin John area pathway toi the C&O Canal has been painted over by an anonymous party. Aaron LaRocca, Chief of Staff for the George Washington Memorial Parkway has moved on and the interim NATIONAL PARK SERVICEUPDATE: Charles Cuvelier space. the balcony. AC may bei installed. this will not take place for several fiscal years. Chief of Staffis Claire Shields. COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES: ACTIONONI MAY9.2 2022 MEETING Minutes of the May 9, 2022 Council meeting were approved. 1 Motion to Approve Minutes: CM Stiglitz; 2nd CMI Kishore. Approved 4-0. GREENING URBAN FINAL REPORT: Shimizu Holly Shimizu, Chair oft the Glen Echo Environmental Committee, reported that the' Town had received the final version of the Greening Urban Report with Recommendations for Stormwater Improvements. Last year, the Town applied for a grant from Chesapeake Bay Trust and was awarded $14,700 for a conceptual plan for green stormwater solutions. After reviewing three proposals, the' Town chose Greening Urban LLC toj put The' Town received the final report from Greening Urban in April. The conceptual plan includes aj prioritized list ofrecommendations for stormwater remediation, including raingardens, swales, and infiltration trenches. The Town has put out an RFP and received three bids for the engineering design phase oftwo recommended features. together the plan. The Town applied for funding of $28,271 for this project from the Trust. The two features are a raingarden at Town Hall and a swale on the right of way between Harvard and Bryn Mawr. The installation costs would be $8,000- $16,500 (raingarden, depending on design) and $43,800 (swale). The Town will need toi investigate what ongoing maintenance costs would be. The' Trust encouraged the Town to pursue funding for the installation. Greening Urban also suggested installing raingardens at the pocket parks, trenches at the bottom oft the streets, and The area between Bryn Mawr and Cornell needs to be addressed as it holds water as well. This could be possibly grates across some streets. Raingardens allow stormwater to percolated into the ground. done with native plantings. KEY SANITATION CONTRACT:TM Stickler TM Stickler asked Key Sanitation to renew per our contract for another year. July 1,2022 -June 30, 2023. They propose to remain at the same rate $3200/month plus a $300 diesel fuel surcharge (which can be adjusted if fuel prices decrease). This is the current agreement we have with them. As long as fuel stays below $6.50 the surcharge will not increase. Ifit does, we can work with them to negotiate a When the prices go back down to $3.60/gallon the contractor will bring the price down to $3,200/month and rate. eliminate thei monthly surcharge. Motion to Approve Contract Addendum: CM Kishore; 2nd CM Spealman. Approved 4-0. 2 JUNETEENTH: Costello Mayor Costello asked the Council to consider passing a resolution recognizing Juneteenth. The Council will consider this ini its July Council Meeting. GUNY VIOLENCE: Costello Mayor Costello signed thel National League of Cities letter on gun violence. The Council discussed whether guns are prohibited in Town Hall. TM Stickler will look at the Town code and Montgomery County code. The Town Hall Rental agreement can be modified to state that no weapons are allowed. COMPOSTING: Kishore Council Member Kishore reported that she has been in discussion with Compost Crew. Shei is negotiating pricing for Town residents; the Town would not pay for the service. STREETA OWNERSHIP: Costello The' Town has received information from Ron Bolt, the County, and MDOT on Street. A ownership. Per Ron, it appears to have been created by thel Park, prior to 1968. MDOTH had assigned Street A to the Town as of approximately 1974. Montgomery County Planning Department: Wel have analyzed "Street. A" and see that this is aj publicly dedicated right-of-way, platted in 1891.At that time the ROW was marked' "Reserved for Railroad" and may never have been intended as a roadway. We also see that "Street A" serves property owned by the United States Government. As noted by Mr. Sklar (MDOT), "As for history, this road served as an entrance into Glen Echo Park, an amusement park in the Town that operated until 1968. The National Park Service took over maintenance ofthe property in 1971."MDOT: states that from what they can find, it appears that "Street A"i is in fact al NPS road within Glen Echo Park. The Town can: note in this year's HPS-20 (report submitted to MDOT annually that indicates any road improvements) that thet town no longer claims Street A and have MDOT convert it to al NPS federal street. Doing sO would reduce the Town's Highway User Revenue somewhat (12%). The reasons to claim the road would include the ability to control its use, its name, and HUR. However, The Town attorney sees no legal basis to claim Street A going forward.. A full title examination has not been performed, but based on the information available to date, it appears tol be aj park road. Ifthe Town has not been maintaining it in the past, disclaiming the Street may actually be the best course of action, for maintenance and liability purposes. 3 :: The Town has relayed this information to Glen Echol Park, which has not disagreed. The Town has not plowed or Motion to) Disclaim Street A and Designate as National Park Service Road: CM Kishore; 2nd CM Stiglitz. patched Street. A. Approved 4-0. AMERICANI RESCUE PLAN UPDATE ON POSSIBLE USES: TM Stickler The Council continued to discuss the use oft the ARPA funds and the capital improvement needs. Paving streets = the Council discussed whether the streets need to be repaved in the next few years. Some Council Members question whether there is a need. Joe Toomey had prepared a report in 2020 which graded the pavement. The streets ranged in their need for repaving. The current town engineering firm, OIPA, assessed how soon the streets will need to be repaved. As the report had been received on the day of the Council Meeting, the Mayor did not present their assessment. The streets were paved in 2009 and again around 2014 after Washington Gas installed gas lines in Town. The Town also asked paving company A.B. Veirs to evaluate whether the streets need repaving Council members questioned the need for road replacement as visually they did not see the reason as there are no signs of potholes, major cracking, etc. The Council asked that OIPA walks streets with them to review the need for paving. The paving needs should be coordinated with stormwater improvements. STREETSIGN DESIGN DISCUSSION: Costello The Council discussed the design options for new: street name signs. They decided: A scroll above the sign. A finial on. top of the post. No base on the post. The suggested font was Neutraface. Mary Parsons (Bryn Mawr) sent examples oft the font. FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF MAY (copy attached). TM Stickler Revenue: Cable Franchise Fees: $119: for Comcast and $690 for Verizon. Now at 71% of budget. State Income Tax: $31,531. Now at 104% of budget. Highway User Revenues: $2,661. Now at 71% ofbudget. Property Tax: $1,491.Now: near 100% of budget. Expenses: Bolt Legal expense was $186 for April for work on right of way agreement for small cell ordinance (time split among allj jurisdictions). OIPA: expense was $385-N March and $302- - April. March: 65% 10 Vassar Fence cvicew/preconstruction; 35% for 4 Vassar Fence. April: 100% for street repaving review. 4 Motion to Approve thel Financial Report: CM Spealman; 2nd CM Wilson. Approved 4-0. OPERATIONS REPORT: Social: infrastructure;. Administrative: TM Stickler Social: picnic. Infrastructure: Summer picnic vendors set: Safari Ice will provide shaved ice. Volunteers are needed for set up and clean up at the Signs at Post Office: New signs were posted at the post office: One at the entry way saying "Post Office Parking" Landscaping: Maple Hill Lawn and Landscaping sprayed sidewalk weeds with Avenger 5/17 and 6/8. The landscaper pulled invasives at the parks, cleaned up and mowed along Radcliffe, and will come back to install some native plants. We are: scheduling a drain clean off, street cleaning, and vegetation cutback. The sidewalk weeds need tol be sprayed again with. Avenger. The vegetation cutback will be scheduled after giving residents a 30 day period to cut theirs back. The Council discussed whether the Town should charge each resident for cutting back vegetation and a newl Exit Sign on the wall. at their property. TM Stickler will ask the landscapers how this could work. Raya's Garden: Will be installed in July. Yale Sidewalk: The sidewalk behind 6101 Harvard was repoured June 1-2. Administrative: SSL Training: TM Stickler completed Montgomery County Volunteer Center/Montgomery County Public Schools Student Service Learning (SSL) Training and required paperwork, so the' Town is good for three years. The Town is looking for volunteers tol help reorganize/clean out storage areas in Town Hall including the attic. Highway User Revenue: During the 2022 legislative session, the MD General Assembly passed an increase to Highway User Revenue which includes transportation trust fund revenue for municipalities. Annual Highway User Revenue to Glen Echo will increase from currently $15,000 to $29,794 by FY27. House Bill1187 fully restores municipal highway user revenue funding to pre-Recession levels and was signed into law by Governor Hogan on May 12, 2022. Under this agreement, the share oft transportation funding for local jurisdictions will increase from 13.5% to 15.5% inl FY24, and by FY27, the percentage will increase to 20%. Municipalities will receive 2.4% oft that starting in FY24 (ani increase from current level of2%); that amount will rise to 2.7% in] FY25, hitting ai record high of3% inl FY26 and FY27, then levelling back off at 2.4% for FY28 and beyond. Without action, municipal funding would have dropped to 0.4% in FY24. 5 Snow Removal RFP: The Town will go out to bid on snow services for the upcoming winter season. Ifthe Town wants to keep brining as an option, it may reduce the number of firms that would bid. HVAC: RFP: The Town is working on an RFP to replace the AC: systems at Town Hall. Elected MML Montgomery Chapter Secretary: TM Stickler was elected for a year long term as MML Chapter Town Hall Rentals: Rentals at' Town Hall have picked up with Michelle Brafman holding her classes there and Secretary. several other events being scheduled this summer. OPPORTUNITY FOR COUNCILTO HEAR RESIDENTS COMMENTS: Mayor Costello announced a closing opportunity for comments by the residents. No residents made comments. The. July 11 council meeting will be held starting at 7pm and will bei in person upstairs in Town Hall. Motion to adjourn: CM Stiglitz; 2nd CM Wilson. All in favor. Meeting Adjourned 10:05 pm ADJOURNMENT Minutes Prepared by: Beth Stickler, Town Manager Approved: Mayor, Date: Dia Costello Dibth ypen 6