The Greenbelt City Council held its annual worksession with Greenbelt Homes, Inc. (GHI) on August 31 to discuss topics of mutual interest. Representing GHI were General Manager James Claggett and board members Stefan Brodd (president), Debbie McKinley (vice president) and Carl Sanders. In advance of the worksession, Claggett had sent council a memo detailing topics the board proposed as agenda items.
Stormwater Main Pipes
Brodd said that stormwater main pipes, which are the property of the city, have been an ongoing concern for GHI, as GHI has been paying for repairs when pipes break within the GHI community. Costs have been significant: $228K in 2023, $340K in 2024 and $450K in 2025, according to Claggett. City Manager Josué Salmerón said council has not provided direction on whether the city should reimburse GHI for the expenses they have incurred. GHI would like to work with the city on a memorandum of understanding to clarify both GHI’s and the city’s responsibilities for future emergency pipe repairs.
Brodd asked for an update on the city’s plan to transfer the stormwater system to the county. Salmerón said the city currently is working on easement and transfer of a specific pipe with a long-term goal of transferring the entire system to the county. However, the county will not accept the system until it has been brought up to the county’s specifications on pipe diameter and condition. Salmerón said council was recently presented a study of the stormwater system, which identified areas where upgrades are needed, prioritizing areas where flow exceeds pipe capacity. Councilmember Frankie Fritz asked if there is an estimate of the cost to bring the system up to code. Salmerón said an engineering firm should be engaged to identify which pipes can be relined and which must be dug up and replaced before a cost estimate can be made. He lamented that the city had not addressed this issue years ago when costs would have been more reasonable. Mayor Emmett Jordan said he is interested in having the city collaborate with GHI on applying for grants to fund these infrastructure upgrades.
Water Supply Pipes
Brodd reported that, under a binding 1958 agreement, WSSC Water owns and maintains the water supply pipes up to the meter box at each GHI home. WSSC now wants the meters to be moved from homes to the street, which would require considerable additional piping that WSSC says GHI would be responsible for. Following an October 2025 meeting, in which city, county and state representatives expressed strong support for GHI resistance to WSSC’s proposal, GHI, with the support of a team of experts, is developing a plan to resolve the dispute, which began in 2008. Jordan offered that the city could convene a meeting with WSSC and GHI.
Cellphone Coverage
Brodd said there are still areas within the GHI community where cellphone reception is poor, and asked about efforts to improve coverage. Salmerón gave a brief overview of a new presentation by Diamond Communications on the wireless connectivity outlook for Greenbelt (see https://tinyurl.com/2psvmy8h), first thanking Constituent Services Coordinator Gizelle Alvarez for engaging Diamond to identify coverage gaps and provide solutions. Diamond mapped cell coverage by the three major local carriers — AT&T,
T-Mobile and Verizon — then implemented an optimization model to identify a site on city property that would significantly improve coverage. Diamond concluded that adding a 100’ tower at the fire station would improve reception for over 4,900 homes. If the city agreed to partner with them, Diamond would absorb the cost of building a tower and recoup their investment by charging the carriers a rental fee, which Diamond would share with the city. The city could specify a design for the tower, which could either go atop the building or stand alongside it.
Councilmember Silke Pope asked about Diamond’s success in marketing to carriers. Salmerón said he knew Verizon would be interested, and Alvarez added that Diamond said that usually when one carrier joins others follow. Diamond would like to enter into a site marketing agreement with the city, which would allow other sites to be considered if the carriers had preferences.
Resident Tom Jones thought that Diamond’s estimate of the homes that would benefit may be understated because the study was done with 4G cell service and 5G transmits further. He eagerly supported the proposal.
Resident Bill Orleans favored small towers or boxes atop utility poles rather than a tall tower and wanted the carriers, not the city or residents, to bear the cost. Councilmember Kristen Weaver said that in Diamond’s proposal there are no upfront costs to the city and the city would benefit by revenue sharing.
Councilmember Jenni Pompi thought Diamond should be invited to present their proposal at a town hall meeting with residents.
Historical Records
GHI has continued interest in storing their historical records at the Greenbelt Museum, acknowledging that it’s not a possibility until the Museum’s new space becomes available.
Brodd said that GHI does not have a great volume of historical records but what they have is unique and GHI would like to both preserve them and make them accessible to researchers.
Jordan said the city simply doesn’t have the capacity to store them. Salmerón said he’d like council to consider storage space for historical documents, including the city’s own, when plans for the Armory are discussed further.
Orleans urged that a meeting be scheduled with the Greenbelt Library to discuss the Tugwell Room as the repository for both GHI’s and the city’s historical records.
Story Walk Signs
Brodd said that GHI wants the Library’s Story Walk signs to be relocated, believing the sharp-edged signs are a safety hazard for children using the playground or running or cycling down the sign-edged sidewalk on the steep hill behind the Museum. Brodd also said the signs detract from GHI’s historic landscape.
Salmerón said that the Community Relations Advisory Board has an ongoing survey, linked to a QR code on Story Walk signs, that closes September 10 and will report on its findings at the September 30 worksession. Jordan suggested to Brodd that the QR code be shared with GHI residents. Salmerón said the Library would be happy to meet with council to discuss the project.
Street Lights
Both GHI and the city are interested in acquiring the street lights within their jurisdictions so they can change to LED lights and control light intensity and pole locations. Claggett said that GHI has completed an audit of street lights within the GHI community to identify which lights are GHI responsibility. Pepco has identified 83 light poles as GHI’s.
Claggett asked for an update on the city’s progress on street light acquisition. Salmerón said that Pepco, which was directed by the Public Service Commission (PSC) to create a system for municipalities to acquire their street lights, has yet to provide details on the acquisition process and cost, so the city has been unable to proceed. After a long delay Pepco inventoried the lights within Greenbelt. The city did their own survey to verify Pepco’s list, resulting in an $89K credit for overbilling of lights in the city’s portfolio. Fritz asked if the city should engage the PSC to apply pressure on Pepco.
Salmerón said that the city considered joining Chevy Chase Village in a suit against Pepco but chose not to, believing they will benefit from the outcome without being directly involved.
Building Purchase
Council congratulated GHI on the recent purchase of 121 Centerway by the Greenbelt Development Corporation (GDC), a GHI subsidiary. Brodd said that GDC had signed a lease with Greenbelt Consumer Cooperative (GCC) and soon will start renovating the vacant space on the lower level and seeking tenants. Sanders said there have been preliminary discussions with some local parties and hopes a city-based organization will be interested. Brodd said they may work with GCC on configuring some of the space for the supermarket’s use.
Fritz mentioned that he had attended a meeting with a Baltimore cooperative incubator and suggested it could be an attractive space for a non-Greenbelt cooperative to occupy.
Resident Lore Rosenthal was concerned about the “invisibility” of the vacant space, opening as it does to the street and parking area behind the building. Resident Konrad Herling urged that the property be viewed in the context of Roosevelt Center and that a review be made of meetings in 2001 that brought together the city, GHI, business owners, marketing professionals, residents and others in developing ideas to revitalize the Center.
SAYT
Weaver said the city plans to evaluate the Save As You Throw trash pickup program later this year but asked for GHI’s opinion of it. Claggett said that initial concerns were mitigated at a GHI town hall meeting and that once implemented the program has worked well for GHI residents, thanks in part to city Sustainability Coordinator Luisa Robles’ willingness to work with GHI residents who needed assistance.