The Town of GLEN ECHO Chartered 1904 Town Hall - 6106 Harvard Avenue - Glen Echo - Maryland 20812 (301)320-4041 ownnal@glenecno.org TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES January 10, 2022 Held Virtually Via Zoom CALLTOORDER: MAYOR DIA COSTELLO. 7:01PM PRESENT Mayor: Dia Costello. Town Manager: (TM) Beth Boa. Guests: Dhani Jones Vanessa Sax (University Ave). Councilmembers: (CM) Mona Kishore, Dan Spealman, Matt Stiglitz, and Julia Wilson. Residents: Mimi Ikle - Khalsa (The Journey Space), Matt McFarland (Vassar Cir), Emily Parsons (The Echo), OPPORTUNITY FOR COUNCIL TOI HEAR RESIDENTS' COMMENTS: Mayor Costello offered an opportunity to take comments from the residents. There were no comments. COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES: ACTION ON DECEMBER 13.2021 MEETING Minutes oft the December 13, 2021 Council meeting were approved as amended. Motion to Approve Minutes: CM Stiglitz; 2nd CM Kishore. Approved 4-0. TULANELOTI DISCUSSION.Costello The Council continued discussing options for the Town-owned lots on Tulane. Mayor Costello suggested surveying residents about the options of selling, leasing, or using the land. The Council continues to be in the early stages of discussion. Some Council members agreed that leasing would allow the' Town to control how the land was used. Vanessa Sax (University Ave), a resident who works for aj professional commercial leasing agency, provided input that it would bet tough to sell as housing lots and suggested leasing the land and! have thel lessee pay to rezone, rather than the Town. She encouraged the Council to ask the residents ift they have other ideas for the land. Ifleasing becomes a serious consideration, she suggested the' Town hire a commercial real estate attorney and the interested party hire their own real estate attorney. Vanessa Sax offered to help negotiate the terms so that the Town would not have to pay a commission. Mayor Costello asked Matt McFarland to talk to Chris Hughes (owner oft the Irish Inn) to discuss hisi idea foral beer garden on the lots. He will also talk with Mimi Ikle-Khalsa, owner ofThe. Journey Space on Oberlin. She would like to bel kept informed about plans for the land. IRISHINNPARKING LOTLEASE: Costello The Town's] parking lot lease with the Irish Inn, amended in 2006, includes one - year notice to cancel thel lease. The Town attorney drafted a new amendment that changes the notice to six months for any flexibility needed. 1 The Council authorized thel Mayor to discuss this with Irish Inn owner Chris Hughes. Motion to Approve Negotiating the Lease as Drafted: CM Stiglitz; 2nd CM Kishore. Approved 4-0. AMERICAN RESCUE PLANUPDATE: Spealman CM Spealman met with TM: Boa to go over the requirements of20 CFR 200 - procurement guidelines as they will apply to American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The meeting also included discussion of the Final Rule, the CM Spealman also discussed the options for use oft the funds. If the Town were to grant the funds to another party adversely affected by COVID, the Town would have to oversee the use of the funds. CM Stiglitz noted that the Final Rule allows a standard deduction oft the full amount of the grant for lost revenue that can be used for Town compliance guide, and policies the Town will need to establish for ARPA. services and capital improvement projects. TOWN ENGINEER: Costello The Town reached out to two engineering firms, confirmingi they have the insurance required by the Town. Applicants: Jason Azari is with Clark and Azar. They have been doing plan reviews for Poolesville for nearly 15; years and recently have started reviewing permits for a couple of other municipalities. They have worked in Chevy Chase View and Garrett Park and were open to working with Glen Echo. The hourly rate ranges from $125 for a staff engineer to $145 fora project manager. They are a woman-owned business. Lance Ball, PE and Peter Noursi, PE are with Oyster, Imus and! Petzold, Inc. They have been doing stormwater work in the Town of Chevy Chase since 2016. Their rate is $110/hour. Their work at Chevy Chase includes: review and approve plans for new construction to ensure that they conform with the Town's water drainage inspect construction to ensure that the SWM is constructed substantially in accordance with the approved plans after construction is completed, conduct annual inspections oft the properties to see ift the SWM is functioning as advise TOCC: residents regarding drainage problems, ifrequested (requests must be made through the' Town of ordinance. designed. Chevy Chase) TM: Boa spoke with the two firms and checked references. TM Boa and Mayor Costello recommend the Council approve the contract with Oyster, Imus and Petzold, Inc. (OIP). Motion to Approve the Contract with OIP: CM Stiglitz; 2ad CM Wilson. Approved 4-0. 2 CAPITALI IMPROVEMENTS PLAN:Spealman CM Spealman added to the draft Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) spreadsheet toi include more information on timing and expected costs. The Council suggested adding columns for the source oft the budget and whether they are funded by other sources besides the' Town, and which items are necessary and which are optional. Mayor Costello, CM Spealman and' TM: Boa will discuss the CIP and bring it back to Council. BUDGET AMENDMENTS: Costello New Category: 20.41 Health Insurance- - February through June 2022 $3,000 tol Montgomery County as a Participating The Council was asked to approve a budget amendment of$3,000 for Employee Health Insurance premiums through Agency. This covers 80% of the premium cost. Remaining 20% is paid by employee. Montgomery County. Motion to Approve Budget Amendment for Health Insurance: CM Kishore; 2nd CM Wilson. Approved 4-0. Category 22:110THI Improvements - $4,210 spent of $3,500 budgeted. Expenses were fixing the iron fence by the post office, fixing electrical issues, and repainting the post office sign on MacArthur Blvd. The Council was asked to approve Category 22.22 Software /Domain: $704. spent of $750 budgeted. This category includes Zoom, Constant Contact, laptop warranty, domain, hosting. The Council was asked to approve $300 to this category for a budget of$1,050. Category 22.120 Office Furniture: $438 of $3001 budgeted. Some new office furniture was purchased including a shelf the addition of$1,5001 toi this category for al budget of $5,000. and cabinet. The Council was asked to approve $1381 to cover the expense. Motion to Approve Budget Amendments: CM Stiglitz; 2nd CM: Kishore. Approved 4-0. FINANCIAL REPORTE FOR THE MONTHOFI DECEMBER (copy attached). TM Boa The month of December was an average month in terms ofi revenue and expenses. The' Town received: Property Tax collections of $1,892 -1 the Town has received 57% of expected revenue in this category. Expenses: Bolt Legal expense was $1,1161 for November broken out by categories as follows: 39% attend Council meeting; 22% on ZTA on cell towers; 25% Wild Bird Center parking pad agreement. 3 Joseph F.Toomey Associates: $720: for months of July through November. 44% Vassar Circle; 3% WMATA trestle bridge; 6% 7316 University porch; 6% 6004 Bryn Mawr fence; 9% 5906 Oxford fence; 6% 29 Wellesley shed permit; 13% meeting with Town Manager on permit process. The Council asked about some items in the budget; TMBoa will respond to the Council regarding the expenses in 22.73 Miscellaneous Admin Fee as this item was over budget, with $593 spent of $500 budgeted. PROPOSED BUDGETDEVELOPMENTTIMELINE Budget Development Work Session on Monday March 7th FY2 2023 Budget Ordinance and' Tax Resolution Introduction and Council Meeting: Monday March 14, 2022,7 FY2023 Action on Budget Ordinance and' Tax Resolution and Council Meeting: Monday May 9, 2022,7PM PM FY 2023 Budget Hearing and Council Meeting: Monday April 11, 2022,7PM The Council agreed with this timeline; these meetings may bel held via Zoom or in person. Motion to Approve the Financial Report: CM Stiglitz; 2nd CM Kishore. Approved 4-0. OPERATIONS REPORT: Infrastructure: Administrative: Social: TMI Boa Infrastructure: Pepco: TM Boa asked that Town Council Members Wilson and Kishore be able to accompany Pepco on the vegetation evaluation walk through in Town. The Pepco representative said that she would share this request with Vegetation Management to see what accommodations: can be made to support this request. Regarding thel EV Charging Facility, the location at Town Hall presents several significant challenges for construction and at this time Pepco does not recommend moving forward with an installation at this location. They are open to considering other areas in the' Town we suggest. Curb Repairs on Vassar Circle: This has been postponed twice due to weather and is now scheduled for. January 13. Social: Winterlude: The Livable Town Committee will host Winterlude February 5 at 5:30. It will include luminaries ($2 apiece tob benefit Greentree Family Shelter), firej pits and baked potatoes, hot dogs, cocoa, and marshmallows. CM Wilson noted that two years ago the' Town raised $300 for the shelter. The rain date is February 6. Administrative: American Rescuel Plan: On. January 6, Treasury adopted their final rule for the Coronavirus State and! Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (State and Local Funding). This makes several key changes and clarifications in thei final rule, outlined at the bottom of this email. TM: Boa attended a webinar January 10 regarding these issues. 4 KEY CHANGES AND CLARIFICATIONS IN THE FINAL: RULE The "final rule" delivers broader flexibility and greater simplicity in the program, responsive to feedback in the comment process. Among other clarifications and changes, the final rule provides the features below. Replacing Lost Public Sector Revenue The final rule offers a standard allowance for revenue loss of $10 million, allowing recipients to select between a standard amount ofr revenue loss or complete a full revenue loss calculation. Recipients that select the standard allowançe may use that amount - int many cases their full award for government services, with streamlined reporting requirements. Public Health and Economic Impacts In addition toj programs and services, the final rule clarifies that recipients can use funds for capital expenditures that support an eligible COVID-19 public health or economic response. For example, recipients may build certain affordable housing, childcare facilities, schools, hospitals, and other projects consistent with final rule requirements. In addition, the final rule provides an expanded set ofhouseholds and communities that are presumed to be "impacted" and disproportionately impacted" by the pandemic, thereby allowing recipients to provide responses to al broad set of households and entities without requiring additional analysis. Further, the final rule provides a broader set ofuses available for these communities as part ofCOVID-19 public health and economic response, including making affordable housing, childcare, early learning, and services to address learning loss during thej pandemic eligible in all impacted communities and making certain community development and neighborhood revitalization activities eligible for disproportionately impacted communities. Further, thei final rule allows for al broader set of uses to restore and support government employment, including hiring above a recipient's pre-pandemic baseline, providing funds to employees that experienced pay cuts or furloughs, avoiding layoffs, and providing retention incentives. Premium Pay Thei final rule delivers more streamlined options to provide premium pay, by broadening the share of eligible workers who can receive premium pay without a written justification while maintaining a focus on lower-income and frontline workers performing essential work. Water, Sewer & Broadband Infrastructure 5 The final rule significantly broadens eligible broadband infrastructure investments to address challenges with broadband access, affordability, and reliability, and adds additional eligible water and sewer infrastructure investments, includinga Chesapeake Bay" Trust Grant: Robin Kogelnik wrote up feedback to Greening Urban on their draft proposal. Holly Shimizu and' TMI Boa discussed it and will send it to Greening Urban. The Town is requesting further guidance on Wild) Bird Center: The building sold on December 28, 2021 to Josh Carleton &. Jyll Kauffman and their holding company The Old Bird House, LLC. They plan to live inj part oft thel building and lease out the rest. Wild Bird Centers has moved out completely although Matt McFarland, Amy Collins and George Petrides (renting back as small office) will stay as renters. Thei new owners will open al hair salon in a year. Iti is zoned Commercial Residential Town (multiuse). Town Halll Rental: Several rentals for. January were canceled due to COVID. Simon Says Yoga has moved to its new location. The Council will require that rentals be canceled for a month ifthe vaccine passport or social distancing is broader range ofl lead remediation and stormwater management projects. priorities and costs. The Trust requires aj progress report byl February 1. required by the County. County Vaccine Requirements: There is a resolution that is scheduled to bei introduced by thel Montgomery County Council, sitting as the Board ofHealth, on Tuesday, January 11,2022, regarding vaccination requirements to enter bars, restaurants, fitness centers, and other covered establishments. The vote on this may be held. January 25. Rapid' Test Kits: The County will provide rapid Covid test kits to the Town, to be distributed to residents. More information on this will be forthcoming. Building Updates & Other Permits: 6101 Harvard: Fence 7316 University: Dumpster OPPORTUNITY FOR COUNCIL TOI HEAR RESIDENTS' COMMENTS: Mayor Costello announced a closing opportunity for comments by thei residents. No residents made comments. ADIOURNMENT Motion to adjourn: CM Stiglitz 2nd CM Wilson. All in favor. Meeting Adjourned 9:00 pm Minutes Prepared by: Beth Boa, Town Manager Approved: Ma Mayor, Dia Costello Date: 2/22/2033 6