News

City Council Notes

BY JAMILA A JACKSON

City and CASA of Maryland continue to provide location for day laborers

While Montgomery County and Prince George's County have yet to guarantee any money to assist the day laborers that crowd corners waiting for jobs, Takoma Park officials continue to make efforts to help them with their limited budget.

Day Laborers wait at various locations for potential employers to come by with landscaping, construction and other jobs. The locations span throughout Takoma Park, Prince George's County and Montgomery County.

One location has a portable toilet and a trailer. These furnishings are currently funded by CASA de Maryland and Takoma Park.

In an attempt to reduce expenses City Manager Richard Finn has spoken to the property owners of this official site, to request that they decrease the rent. One owner agreed to decrease the rent from $3,000 to $2,000 per month. The other owner has not yet been contacted, but Finn is optimistic about the possibility that this owner will also agree to a decrease in rent.

The Montgomery County Executive, Douglas Duncan has included money in their budget that the county may be willing to give to Takoma Park, Finn said.

Takoma Park is still waiting for a response from Prince George's County, but Finn said that officials seem willing to meet and discuss the issue.

Most Takoma Park City Council Members are optimistic and want continue with the efforts to maintain the work site. However, Council Member Share Maack disagreed, and suggested that the city abandon the site. "The cost of the trailer is a burden to the budget that I feel is fiscally irresponsible," Maack said.

The council will continue talks and attempts to get assistance from surrounding counties.

City Considers traffic Cameras

Chief of Police Cynthia Creamer met with the Takoma Park City Council to discuss Senate Bill 455, which awaits Governor Robert Ehrlich‚s signature.

The bill would allow counties and municipalities to use photo radar cameras to cut down on speeding. The new speed regulation system would operate much like current red light cameras that take photographs of drivers running solid red lights. The 1997 law allowed counties to mail citations to the registered owner of the vehicle photographed running a red light.

If Ehrlich signs this bill, more drivers will be receiving citations in the mail if they are photographed moving more than 10 mph over the posted speed limit, Creamer said.

Although, the council is interested in the details of the new technology, there are just a few issues in the way. The council is primarily concerned about the rumors that Ehrlich will probably veto the bill.

Mayor Kathy Porter said that she feels that it is important to pass the bill to give counties and municipalities the opportunity to make their own decision about using the radar cameras. "With your acquiescence, I would like to write a letter to the governor," Porter said to the council. "We would like to see the bill signed. I think it‚s an authority we should have."

"This is not without controversy," Creamer said. Creamer‚s concern was the that Takoma Park might have problems resulting from issuing the citations to the registered owner, even if the owner was not the driver. Taxi drivers lease their cars from the company owners, so the owners currently receive the tickets, instead of the driver, Creamer said.

The owner has a certain amount of time to let officials know that another driver ran the red light, and they are obligated to provide contact information for the driver, Creamer said. However, if the owner loans out the car while out of town for longer than the designated time, the fines can collect, because the tickets are mailed to the owner‚s home, and not to the driver‚s home.

Council Member Joy Austin-Lane was optimistic about the potential of the devices. "I read that there were 70 percent less red light running and 75 percent less speed limit infraction at the camera locations."

"I do think this warrants more examination," Austin-Lane said. "A lot of people are supporting us doing something like this in this city."

See Spot run

Dozens of Takoma Park residents showed up for the April 14 public hearing to discuss a new proposal that will transform a local park to a fenced-in animal park, and will amend the current leash law.

The proposal would make Opal Daniels Park into a dog park, and all dogs would have to be on leashes at all times.

Community speakers were spit about 50-50 for and against the leash law, and most were against creating a dog park.

Buddy Daniels the son of Opal Daniels, whom the park was named after in 1988, showed up to speak on behalf of the Daniels family. "I‚m sure I can say that she would have been against turning the park into a dog park with a fence," said Daniels, chairperson of the SS Carol Citizens‚ Association. "She very strongly believed in recreation for everyone, including dogs, but fought for 40 years for more open space in Takoma Park and everywhere else in the county."

Margaret Bowman, mother of two and a dog owner, spoke for a number of residents who stood in support of her comments. Bowman came armed with a list of reasons against turning Opal Daniels into a dog park. "Other dog parks in the county have turned into mud pits that have to be closed, and Opal Daniels is not well drained an would likely turn into a mut pit as well," she said.

Bowman continued, saying that dog and car traffic would increase. More dogs in and out of the area will make it unsafe for children to play in the nearby playground. "The only driving access to the park is Hancock, which is a dead end street," Bowman said. Increased traffic on that street could cause driving and safety problems for the 11 young children in that area.

Most in attendance agreed with Daniels and Bowman. Bowman and other residents spoke to neighbors on Sheridan Avenue, Sherman Avenue and Carroll Avenue and "no one thought it was a good idea," Bowman said. She also delivered to the council a petition against the proposal with 58 signatures.

The matter of the leash law was significantly more controversial.

Erica Meyer, who was an animal control officer in the district for two years, thought that keeping all dogs leashed at all times was a bad idea. In DC, dogs have to either be kept on a leash or under their owners immediate control, and there are very little animal problems, Meyer said. "Any problems with dangerous dogs are usually dogs that have not been socialized and don‚t know how to interact with dogs off leashes. Animal control promotes socialization."

The problem is that most dogs are not truly under voice control, said Ann Reily, whose daughter was bitten by a 134 pound dog. "We live in too crowded of an urban area to have dogs running loose," Reily said.

According to Reily, her leashed dogs are socialized, but when other unleashed dogs, that owners claim to be friendly, approach Reily‚s dogs with their teeth bared, they react to defend against what they consider to be a threat.

"Dog problems should be handled on a case by case basis instead of punishing the overwhelming majority of those dog people who have perfectly fine dogs," Paul Shapiro said.

Nat Dickinson, a jogger, said that he feels the potential dangers of dogs running loose, every time he jogs. "I feel like I‚m playing Russian Rulet when I‚m running," Dickinson said of the groups of unleashed dogs that approach and follow him while on his runs.

Lisa Moran supports regulating dangerous dogs, but not restricting dogs who have no history of dangerous behavior. "Recent dog incidents have involved the same dangerous dogs that have not yet been removed from their owners," she said. "That is the result of poor law enforcement, not the result of laxity in the law itself. Adding new leash laws will only increase the burdens on the police department to enforce them."

Dickinson asserted that although, owners may know that their dogs are harmless, and records may not show a history of unruly behavior, a jogger or other pedestrian does not know any of this about a group of dogs following him.

Both animal control issues will be further discussed during the Monday, May 19 City Council work session following a Ward 3 walk through, scheduled for Sunday, May 18 from 3-to-5 p.m. Residents are encouraged to join the walk through, which will cover both Opal Daniels Park and Spring Park.

Additional testimony on this issue can be added to the record by sending comments and petitions to the City Clerk at 7500 Maple Avenue, Takoma Park, MD 20912, or comments can be emailed to clerk@takomagov.org.