Dear Readers,
Men are such liars! Especially men from the WSSC! Oh, they were SO heartfelt back in March, when the head of the Silgo Creek Parkway construction project stood up, looked the city council squarely in the eye, and pledged to take "personal interest" in making sure the job was done on time and to the community's satisfaction.
And what was "on time?" 90 days, he said. As an afterthought he added "Six months at the very most."
Dear Readers, that was EIGHT months ago.
If this ticks YOU off, you should see the Mayor! He was fuming about the "need to escalate this battle!" and "rattle cages." He said he came close to placing a phone call to WSSC from the podium during the public meeting. The council was ready to dial the number for him, they added stories bout bad street patches, ditches that could tear off a car muffler, and so forth.
Doubtless, irate calls have been made by now, and we look forward to an update next meeting
The OTHER Gilbert
The council proclaimed November 24 Founders Day in honor of Benjamin Franklin (B.F.) Gilbert, the 19th century developer who bought up farmland and turned it into our fair suburbia.
We were interested to learn that the first house built in Takoma Park in 1884 is the building now called the Hilltop Hostel, at the corner of Cedar and Carroll Avenues, right by the Metro station.
Straightening out the Purple Line
In response to objections from a group of merchants and building owners in the area affected, city staff re-wrote a city resolution in favor of the mass transit Purple Line. City administrator Suzanne Ludlow met the previous week with the X-Road group to discuss their concerns. The revisions were satisfactory to both the X-Roads group and the city staff.
The resolution, with a few more tweaks from the council, passed unanimously, and was ready to be presented by the mayor at a Nov. 22 meeting on the Purple Line. Whew!
Sign Up
Most of the city's "Nuclear Free Zone" signs have disappeared. A Nuclear Free Takoma Park Committee representative requested that they be put back up. The mayor agreed that they should, but said that since the council has recently been reminded of the city's strict sign ordinance, they are now aware that the signs cannot be placed on utility poles as before.
The next city council meeting Nov. 24 will be the last one of 2008. The next meeting will be Jan. 5, 2009.
- Gilbert
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