City Council Preview: Feb. 13

Greenbelt City Council will hold a regular meeting Monday at 8 p.m. in the council room on the second floor of the .

Council plans to take up the following presentation, legislation and business items:

PRESENTATION

ACE Educator Awards: Council will honor 2012 ACE Educator award recipients from six Greenbelt schools.

LEGISLATION

Community Center HVAC System: City Council's agenda comments state that the Community Center climate control systems has been problematic for years. As a result the center is having problems with air movement, temperature control and has reduced energy efficiency.

Council will hold a first reading on a resolution to negotiate the purchase of an HVAC system evaluation and assessment for the Greenbelt Community Center. The service would be performed by Mendoza, Ribas, Farinas & Associates of Rockville, Md., which has submitted a proposal for a total cost of $9,660.

Other Business

Greenbelt 75th Anniversary Sign: City staff has recommends that council approve the design for a 75th Anniversary sign. Staff also recommends that council authorize the installation of signs. The cost to manufacture the signs is $660, according to council agenda comments.

Cable Negotiation Agreement: City staff is seeking council's approval to commit to joint negotiations and cost sharing when negotiating the current franchise agreement with Comcast, which is set to expire in 2014.

The city would negotiate as part of a coalition with the county and other municipalities in the county. Agenda comments state that negotiating as a group will allow participants to share costs, streamline the negotiation process and result in a better agreement.

Letter on Behalf of County Fire Departments: Mayor Davis requested that a letter to County Executive on behalf of county fire departments be included in the agenda for discussion.

City Organizational Assessment: The City Manager is seeking council's direction on an organization assessment of the city of Greenbelt's operations. The City Manager thinks that the $50,000 in the city's FY 2012 budget may be insufficient. The original study was to study study to determine if the city had the right positions in the right departments to provide city services, but it has grown into a study of the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization. An estimate for the larger study is $100,000.

State Legislation:
Staff seeks council direction on:

• PG 301-12 on the prohibition of retail delivery of alcohol to consumers

Staff recommends council support:

• HB 1/SB 208 on a recycling requirement for apartment buildings and condominiums

• SB 486 on speed monitoring systems enforcement

• SB 146, Public ethics - financial disclosure statements

Federal Legislation:
Council direction is sought:

• S. 1270/H.R. 2284, Responsible Electronics Recycling Act. Staff does not believe this legislation has direct municipal impact and recommends the city limit its federal advocacy efforts to bills that have such an impact.

• S.J. Res 33/H.J. Res 78 Constitutional Amendments on the Citizens United Decision. Staff recommends that council refrain from supporting specific amendment language at this time.

• S. 1994, Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act