Spring Recap
Toward the end of February I went door to door throughout Ward 4, introducing myself to residents and leaving my contact information, which included links to this website. So if you are new to this site, welcome!
It’s been a busy winter on the council, so I’ve pulled together a list of items that have come up in town meetings and community meetings, as a quick overview in case you hadn’t seen the meetings, and also to put in context just how much work the town has been doing. This list also should help put into context why certain items are likely to come up in budget discussions this spring.
Our fiscal year begins on July 1 and ends on June 30, so the mayor and council have been working with Town Administrator Galloway on the budget. The budget discussions are underway, and a number of you reached out to me with your ideas already—however, if you haven’t done so yet, it would help to let me know your thoughts on town needs and priorities for the coming year.
Planning and Budgeting:
Strategic Plan.
With the help of L. Tia Blount, the mayor and council, town staff, and town residents all gave feedback on what the town should focus on for the next five years. (My blog post from December 5, 2021 gave an introduction to this process.) Ms. Blount compiled the feedback into a planning document that articulates the mission, vision, and some key priorities for the town of Cheverly, including its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, and trends. Ms. Blount presented her findings at the February 10, 2022 town meeting. Next steps: putting the plan into operation.
ARPA Funds.
ARPA stands for the American Rescue Plan Act, which is a law passed by Congress and signed by President Biden on March 11, 2021. Cheverly received $2.6 million as a result of this act, with an additional $2.6 million to come in a second tranche for next fiscal year (video cued to ARPA discussion from the January 27, 2022 town meeting). The act provides rules on what that money can and cannot be spent on, but the parameters are fairly broad. According to a survey sent out to the community, Cheverly residents want most of the money to be spent on stormwater management and infrastructure (link to follow-up discussion on ARPA funds at the February 24, 2022 worksession). Additionally, $780,000 will be used to reimburse ourselves on previous infrastructure investments, and will reduce our deficit. This ARPA money will factor into the council’s budget planning discussions.
Annexation Planning.
Annexation refers to changing the boundaries of town jurisdiction to include areas outside the current town boundaries. It would mean that town services would be extended to those areas, and the town would receive taxes from the businesses and residences in those areas. Annexation could provide Cheverly with additional influence on the industrial development adjacent to residential areas, and, its potential impacts are complex; no decisions have been made yet about whether / which areas to annex. The topic was discussed at the February 10, 2022 town meeting (link cued to annexation discussion).
Infrastructure, Building, and Repairs:
Water Drainage Problems, and Getting Them Fixed.
Drainage has been a problem for years in Cheverly, but problem spots are getting attention this year, so that the severe damage to some residents’ homes that occurred during a flood last year hopefully can be avoided in the future. Cheverly has a water task force, composed of residents from every ward, who work with Mr. Steve Brayman, Cheverly’s director of Public Works. Mr. Brayman and the task force identified over 60 problem areas throughout town that need to be fixed. A few of these projects, including an especially large project to be undertaken on Crestlawn Avenue (which currently has uneven ground due to poor drainage), were discussed by Mr. Brayman in the February 24, 2022 worksession (link cued to discussion).
Town Hall Renovations and Reopening.
The town hall has undergone much-needed renovations, including work on the roof and the HVAC system. The town hall opened again for public use on March 7.
William Eley Jr. Public Works Building.
The Public Works department has long needed a new building, and planning is now underway for a new building (link to presentation from February 24, 2022 worksession). As part of this new building, additional space is being planned in a second floor of the building, to provide extra meeting spaces for community groups and activities. The new building will be named after Mr. William Eley Jr., who in 1958 became the first African American elected to the Cheverly Town Council.
Woodworth Park Playground.
Woodworth Park Playground is at the corner of Wayne Place and Cheverly Park Drive, and has been in desperate need of renovation (I remember even back in 2019 a resident who lived near the park telling me that she wouldn’t let her grandchildren play there out of concerns for safety of the ground surface there). As part of the renovation, the park would be made accessible to children with disabilities, in honor of a child with special needs who lived near the park and who recently passed away. Playground Specialists Inc., the company selected to redesign the park, held three community input sessions (see also my blog post from October 17, 2021). Using that input a design has been selected, and the town council has given Mr. Brayman, our public works director, the go-ahead to move forward on the renovation (discussed at the February 10, 2022 town meeting).
Hospital Hill Redevelopment.
The mayor’s hours on January 25, 2022 featured presentations from companies responding to Prince George’s County’s request for proposals on the redevelopment of Hospital Hill.
Policy Changes:
Fence Ordinance.
This ordinance was written to amend the section of the Cheverly Town Code on fences and barriers (Chapter 8, Section 8-9), to allow residents on corner lots to be able to build fences. The current language lists situations in subsection (b) that prohibit the building of fences, and subsection (f) provides guidance to the mayor and council on what exceptions may be made in special cases (that is, even though subsection b says a fence cannot be built, the mayor and council may grant exceptions in certain cases). This new fence ordinance adds a new situation where the mayor and council can grant an exception — for persons whose property is bounded by two or more roadways. Even in that case, the fence may not obstruct the front entrance to the house nor can it be less than two feet away from the property boundary.
This ordinance is currently (as of 4/3/2022) going through the “three reader” procedure before it takes effect. The ordinance needs to be read aloud at a public meeting. The “first reader” took place at the February 10 town meeting (link is cued to that portion of the meeting) and the second at the March 10 town meeting (link to agenda).
Park Reservation Policy.
Discussed at the October 14, 2021 town meeting (link cued to the discussion). This does not affect people who just want to play some pickup basketball, or meet at the park with friends, picnic, etc. — this is just for people who want to reserve the park for special private events. The policy makes it easier for the town to exercise oversight and accountability for safety, liability, and compliance with town rules. It also requires those who reserve parks to obtain insurance related to the event. More details are on the park reservation form on the town website.
Ward Boundary Charter Amendment—In Effect Now.
The language describing the ward boundaries had some errors that got corrected (I discussed the changes in detail in my blog post from October 12, 2021). Since the language was in the town charter, there was a process (a “three reader” process) by which the revisions were read publicly, and there was a waiting period to allow for community to respond. That process has completed and the changes have taken effect.
New Town Seal.
The council voted to approve a new town seal on the March 10, 2022 town meeting (cued to discussion). This process began in May 2020, when the old town seal was removed from official town communications. The old seal depicted the plantation house, Mount Hope (located at One Cheverly Circle), owned in the mid-1800s by Fielder Magruder, on whose plantation the town of Cheverly later came to be built. The old town seal, as explained by the Mount Hope Commission, was “a symbol that expressed and reinforced white supremacy and the institution of slavery, was not representative of who we are as a community or of our individual and collective stories.” Community input on the new seal was sought through an iterative process, through multiple surveys. (Link to presentation on community engagement on the town seal, presented at the February 24, 2022 worksession.)
Responding to Issues That Did Not Arise from Within Cheverly:
COVID-19 Related: Vaccinations; Mask and Test Giveaways.
The town has had multiple events related to combating COVID: notably, pop-up vaccination clinics like the one held March 22, and home test kit giveaways, like the one on March 11. I assisted with that giveaway, along with other councilmembers, town staff, and community members, and have a limited number of test kits still available—please reach out to me if you need one.
Booms Meeting.
Residents and town officials of Cheverly met with representatives from Prince George’s County Department of Permittings, Inspection, and Enforcement, and the State of Maryland Department of Environment, via Zoom on February 22, 2022, to seek their assistance in stopping the booming and grinding noises coming from Joseph Smith & Sons, that wakes up Cheverly residents at night.
Town Staff and Other Organizations:
Police Department: New Chief and New Officers.
After interviewing several qualified candidates, the mayor and council hired then-interim chief Carl D. Miller to be the new Chief of Police for the Town of Cheverly. Chief Miller has been actively recruiting and hiring new officers to get the Cheverly Police Department fully staffed.
Planning Board — Seeking Volunteer for Ward 4 Representative.
Mr. Fred Price will be stepping down as the Ward 4 representative on Cheverly’s planning board, and I am grateful for his service. His last meeting on the board will be April 5 (link to agenda and Zoom information). He brought expertise informed by many years of work, on the town council, as part of the Ward 4 Civic Association, and in other capacities. As a consequence, I am looking for persons interested to serve as the Ward 4 representative on the planning board. Please contact me at CMWard4@cheverly-md.gov, or text or call (301) 875-7498, if you are interested or have questions (or contact me through the town website).
Cheverly Youth.
A number of residents have reached out to me regarding opportunities for youth activities, particularly for teens. Improving connections among the youth and providing additional activities will take a multi-faceted approach, but I’d like to highlight one in particular. To help improve opportunities for youth activities in Cheverly, the town hired Ms. Yvonne White in a part-time capacity to serve as Youth Coordinator.
On a related topic, Ms. Zora Heneghan, President of the Cheverly Youth Commission, spoke at last month’s Ward 4 Civic Association meeting, advocating for extending the vote to residents age 16 or older in town elections, and to gauge community support for this initiative. The W4CA members were supportive, viewing it as an important way to increase civic participation, and to promote civic responsibility among youth. I am on record to support that initiative as well.
Disability Advisory Board — Seeking Volunteers.
As I indicated in the April town newsletter, I am looking for volunteers to serve a new board that would advise mayor and council on the current or likely impact of town projects and policies on persons with disabilities. The board would help us identify improvements we ought to make, in policies as well as in the physical and virtual environments, and inform us of best practices. The board members should be persons with first-hand knowledge of how less-than-ideal practices affect the community. If you are interested please e-mail me at CMWard4@cheverly-md.gov or text / call me at (301) 875-7498. (Or use this link to my contact page on the town website).
Image: Joe’s 2021-2022 planner, entry for Saturday, January 22, 2022: “All day, 8-5:30 Zoom retreat for Strat. plan”
