Council Adds Voting Age, Maybe Dam Loan to Ballot
Voters will likely see two referendum questions on the ballot when they go to the polls on Tuesday, November 7. The first question, whether to lower the voting age to 16, was unanimously approved for referendum by the city council at its September 11 meeting. A second question is whether the city should borrow up […]
Forest Preserve Assessment Recommends City Actions
As the July 31 city council worksession drew to a close, Mayor Emmett Jordan reminded everyone that “this is just a start.” The meeting was called to discuss the Forest Preserve Assessment conducted by A. Morton Thomas and Associates, Inc. (AMT) with Gregory Osband, the company’s director of landscape architecture and ecosystem services, Erin Josephitis, […]
Theater Facing Challenges Due to PEPCO, Legal Fees
Just one day after receiving an emergency loan from the city for $10,000, Executive Director Caitlin McGrath of the Friends of the Greenbelt Theatre (FOGT) met with the Greenbelt City Council on June 7 for the annual review of theater operations. In general, council appeared sympathetic to the theater’s failure to become self-sufficient this year, […]
Police, FOP Work to Resolve Issues in No Confidence Vote
So, what has happened since the Greenbelt Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) issued a vote of no confidence in Acting Chief Thomas Kemp? What were the motivations behind the vote? Why had there not been advance notice to the full police force? When will the city have a new police chief? Have […]
2018 Budget and Open Space Approved by City Council
The Greenbelt City Council made relatively quick work of its June 5 agenda, passing the Fiscal Year 2018 budget, receiving several petitions and seeing another officer join the city police force. The councilmembers also approved the 2018 Program Open Space program and agreed to loan the Old Greenbelt Theatre $10,000. Mayor Emmett Jordan returned after […]
FY18 Planning Budget Aired, Celia Craze to Retire June 30
On May 1, the Greenbelt City Council reviewed City Manager Nicole Ard’s proposed Fiscal Year 2018 budget for the Department of Planning and Community Development. That budget calls for spending $974,000 for the department, a 1.3 percent decrease from Fiscal Year 2017’s budget of $987,200. The department is also budgeted to receive $235,000 for animal […]
Greenbelt Station Transportation Woes, Budget and Beer at Council
At its April 24 meeting, the City Council discussed the sudden discontinuation of the Greenbelt Station shuttle to the Metro station, adopted two changes to the city’s building code, held the first public hearing on the budget and introduced an ordinance that would allow the Greenbelt Farmers Market to add beer and hard cider to […]
New Cell Phone Tower Dominates Heated Discussion by City Council
Judging by crowd size, the topic of greatest interest to residents at the April 24 City Council meeting was clearly the proposed construction of a T-Mobile cell phone antenna tower on the grounds of Eleanor Roosevelt High School (ERHS). Council unanimously approved motions to send a letter expressing their concerns to Milestone Communications, which would […]
City Council Begins Markup Of Proposed 2018 Budget
City Manager Nicole Ard’s first proposed budget is set in a somewhat improving fiscal environment but with more uncertainties than usual: will federal grants be cut given the Trump administration’s desire to severely trim domestic agencies’ budgets? Will the General Services Administration choose Greenbelt as the new site of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s headquarters? […]
State Compliance Board Finds Errors In City’s Handling of Open Meetings
Judging by crowd size, the two hot topics of the March 27 meeting of the Greenbelt City Council were the swearing in of four new police officers and the opinion from the Maryland Open Meetings Compliance Board regarding the complaint submitted by Brian Almquist charging council with violating the provisions of the Maryland Open Meetings […]