Ward 2 Report
The preliminary work on the 2004 financial got
underway last week. You will be hearing
more on and about the audit as the auditors begin the task of auditing our
books. It should be noted that our
financial books are in good order and no serious delays are anticipated.
1. Earth
Day Every Day was a wonderful way to kick on the beginning days of spring. If you did not attend this event, you missed
what I hope will become an annual event here in
Many thanks to Paula McNeil and John
Douglas, naturalist at the
2. The
hot topic in our neighborhood is the Washington Gas Chillum Station storage
facility on
3. The
City’s Election Manual is available at City Hall. If you are interested in running, this manual
will provide you with the information you need to become a candidate, and be
knowledgeable about all of the City’s election procedures. Stop by and pick up a copy. Election
Day is
4. Kudos
to the Public Works Department for keeping our streets clean during the recent
snow storms.
5. Kudos
to our Police Department for reducing crime in our City and making our streets
safe for all or our residents. Our
Police Department has received many honors this year including recognition for
community policing. In addition, Chief
Keeney has been appointed to work with the County’s new crime task force.
6. The
City has been notified that their Community Legacy Grant has been approved, but
we still have been not told the amount or when the funds will be made available
to the City. It should be noted that
Governor Ehrlich and Lt.
Governor Michael Steele have been traveling the State and personally making the
presentation of the grant. As soon as we
are notified of their attendance in our City, we will alert you so that we can
have our residents participate in this great occasion. I can’t remember the last time the governor
of our State came to visit us bearing gifts.
So, stay alert, you won’t want to miss this one.
7. The
NOTE: If you
are a business in
NEXT MEETING:
8. The Mayor and Council appointed the
following persons to the Personnel Board:
a. Patricia Fenn -- Former Chair, Prince George’s
County Human Relations Commission and Human Resource Specialist with Maryland
National Capital Park and Planning Commission’s Human Resource Department
(Lewisdale)
b.
c.
d.
e.
f. George
Denny – Mayor,
h.
i. Charles
Williamson – Mount Rainier Resident, former Paralegal Specialist, Office of the
Corporation Counsel,
j. Jerry
Park –
Notifications and the first meeting will be scheduled
during the next few weeks.
Congratulations and thank you for volunteering.
9. The
Mayor and Council also appointed Joan Ring-Cooke and Rev. Sinclair Grey to the
Cable Commission. This is a very
important Commission that works to ensure that our cable franchise is working
for the City; looks at and recommends ways to better utilize our cable system;
stays abreast of issues surrounding cable in the County, and keeps the Mayor
and Council informed of those issues.
There is a great need for members on this Commission, and now is the
time to volunteer. To be fully
functioning, the Commission needs five members.
If you are interested in serving on this Commission, please contact City
Hall, 301-985-6585. The first meeting of
the Commission will take place within the next two weeks.
10. Ground
breaking at Joe’s Emporium. Wow, what an
occasion. On Monday, March 14 neighbors,
friends, sponsors, funders, and elected officials gathered to be apart of the
groundbreaking event for Joe’s Emporium.
This was a gala event and was well attended. In attendance was Congressman Chris Van
Hollen, State Senator Gwendolyn Britt, a representative from Senator Paul
Sarbanes’ office, former County Councilman Peter Shapiro, and representative
from each of the funding sources. Also
in attendance at the affair representing the City was Mayor Knedler and yours
truly. Executive Director, Brooke Kidd
was excited about the moment and the turnout.
To date, Joe’s has raised more than $1.9 million toward its goal of
$3,000, 000, the amount needed to begin and complete the renovation project for
the Direct Mail building. It was a great
day for the arts in
11. Traffic
Light on
12. On
March 12, Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan attended a meet and greet at
Rainier Manor. The Meet and Greet was
sponsored by Patricia Fenn and me. It
was well attended. Included on the
attendance list were Delegates
13. Bass
Liquors’ is CLOSED. The owners of Bass
Liquors’ property officially locked and boarded the doors of Bass on Monday,
March 14. The fate of the property has
not been decided, but there are discussions about next steps. Let me hear from you about what should be
done with this property. The Bass family
still owns it, but the City will be working diligently to have input in the
future use of the property.
14.
This year, it is anticipated
that the Community Tool Shed Committee, and the Mount Rainier Beautification
Committee, will work together to make the
15. The Community Tool Shed is operational. Committee members are desperately needed to
make this wonderful resource in our community functional. Please consider joining this Committee. Our fearless leader,
16. Mount Rainier Giving Project (MRGP) is in full swing. Adrien Tanguery has been declared the
official chair, and two organizing meetings have been held. MRGP will be a year round project focusing
primarily on the needs of those here in
17. Opt-out
aggregation was defeated in the State Legislature. I am sure that it will come up again. I don’t know about you, but my gas bill this
winter has been outrageous, and I truly believe that opt-out aggregation would
have helped to control gas prices. The
gas companies (primarily BGE and PEPCO) were against this legislation, and they
lobbied hard to prevent its passage. On a
more positive note, Washington Gas announced at the PGCMA meeting that there is
money available to help person who are unable to pay their gas bills. For assistance, call the Maryland Energy
Assistance Program (MEAP) at
18. CERT classes so that they will be prepared to join the emergency
team in case of a disaster. Training is
free and there is a mandatory 20 hours of training that must be completed. For more information contact
19. This week begins the City
Budget process. A copy of the budget
should be available for your review and comments at City Hall.
20. “IF I WERE MAYOR….” CONTEST Last year, the City’s two schools
contributed more than 150 essays in this contest. It was the best showing we had in our
District. This year, we would like to
improve on the number of participants and the quality of the essays
submitted. In other words, we want one
of the winners to be from
21. An Economic
22. The
23. Are you a senior citizen (50 and over in some cases)? Then you should check with your car insurance
company about taking the defensive drivers course that is offered through
AARP. If they accept the class, you can
significantly reduce your car insurance, and the class credit is good for three
years. The class is offered at
24. The Community Tool Shed hosted it first training at the Tool
Shed on
25. The Tree Commission will also be
hosting Arbor Day on May 21. The exact location for this
activity will be provided in the April Ward 2 Report. The Commission continues to be busy have and
needs additional members to carry out the many tasks that are needed in the
City. Current members of the Tree
Commission are Hannah Grisar, hbgrisar@yahoo.com;
26. Most of us probably never think about how things get done in our
City. Well, for the most part, things
get done by committee. One of the
hardest working Committees in our City is the Mixed Use Town Center (MUTC)
Committee chaired by Margaret (Peggy) Dillon.
This Committee is not a City Committee, but the City gets to recommend
the appointment of many of its members. During
the past month, the Mayor and City Council will be appointing or reconfirming the
appointment of several of those members at its next meeting.
Peggy Dillon who has led this
Committee for the past few years will be leaving our fair City in the very near
future, and I am taking this opportunity to say THANKS PEGGY for a job well
done. I personally have appreciated the
time and effort that you have given to this City, and REGRET with a passion your leaving. Best
wishes for all of the success in the world in your new job. You will be missed.
27. Citizens needed for committees – The City still needs your help
in filling vacancies on its committees. To be appointed to one of the following
committees, all you need do is call City Hall and let staff know the committee
you would like to serve on. Below are a
few of the City’s committees and/or commissions that need you!
1 Cable Commission (appointed by Mayor and Council)
2 Tree Commission (appointed by Mayor and Council)
3 Community Tool Shed Committee (appointed by Mayor and
Council)
4 Senior Emergency Preparedness Commission (appointed by Mayor and
Council)
5 Mount Rainier Day Committee volunteer group
6 Parenting Committee – volunteer group*
7 Personnel Review Board – (appointed by Mayor and Council)
8
9 Mixed Use Town Center Committee (recommended for appointment)
10 Mount Rainier Board of Elections (appointed by Mayor and
Council)
11
12.
13. Babysitting Coop – volunteer group*
These committees and
commissions only meet once or twice a month or less. The time and service that you give to them
would be invaluable, and would reduce the amount of time required by some of
your very busy neighbors. I know we are
all very busy, but this is our City, and it takes each of us, doing just a
little to make it an even better place to live.
Some of them may already have sufficient members, but it is not too
early to become familiar with their functions or serve as an alternate or even
get appointed. The City NEEDS YOU. To sign up for a committee or commission,
please call 301-985-6585.
NOTE1: There was a follow up forum on the use of the
old police station and the Library, but unfortunately, I was not in attendance
and have not received a full report. For
more information on the forum, please contact Mayor
NOTE2: Did you know that we have residents in our
new artspace building? We do. An open house was held for the new residents
a few weeks ago. Hopefully, we will have
a grand opening in the very near future so that residents will be able to tour
our newest building. Keep watching for
further information.
As always, I welcome your
opinion and comments. If I omitted
information, I will try to catch up on it in the April Ward Report. In the meantime, please actively participate
in the upcoming City Elections. Your
participation is crucial for good government.
Thank you.
Announcements:
*
* PGCMA’s April 21 meeting will
be held in Glenarden, and the last meeting of the year, May 19, will be
announced, but will be hosted by M-NCPPC.
These are very informative meetings, and although held for alerting and
education elected officials, residents and visitors are welcome.
*Each year, Prince George's County Delegates and
Senators organize "Annapolis Nights" or District Receptions.
These events are great opportunities to talk with your Delegates and Senators
about restoring the elected school board in
* Mount Rainier Nature Center has started an Earth Day
Club for families. If you are interested
in joining, please contact Paula McNeil, (Paula.McNeil@pgparks.com) or call her
at the
* The
*
The following web sites may be
of interest to you.
Malinda Miles --- www.malindamiles.com
Historic Mount Rainier Maryland
--- http://www.mountrainiermd.org
Mount Rainier Police Department
-- http://www.mountrainiermd.org/government/mrpd/index.html
Bunker Hill Volunteer Fire and
Rescue Company --- http://www.mrvfd.org
Friends
of the Mount Rainier Library (FOL) --- http://www.mtrainierfol.org/