City Offices and Facilities Closed on Thursday, November 28, through Sunday, December 1 for Thanksgiving Holiday
Thursday, November 28, trash, food waste, and recycling routes will be collected on Wednesday, November 27. Friday, November 29, trash, food waste and recycling routes will be collected on Saturday, November 30.
MDOT SHA will host two different workshops in June for the community to help shape the vision for transportation at Takoma Junction.
Each workshop will have its own agenda with different activities and objectives. Please plan on attending both workshops. You must register for each workshop individually.
Part I – Crafting a Vision Statement Tuesday, June 4 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Part II – Bringing the Vision to Life Monday, June 10 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm
The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) is conducting a vision study to collaboratively develop and document a range of potential future improvements to address pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular mobility at Takoma Junction.
Do you want an opportunity to have your voice heard? You should take the Online Survey provided by SHA Vision Study.
The “Jarboe Battalion,” an unofficial group of Takoma Park firefighters that has existed for more than 50 years and was once seven men strong, is now down to a lone member. But that member is a Chief, and he has no intention of letting the legacy end anytime soon.
“Once a Chief, always a Chief,” said Jimmy Jarboe, 80, as he led a reporter on a tour of the Takoma Park Fire Station on a recent Sunday morning.
He explained that although he retired as a professional firefighter in 1988, because of health issues, he served as volunteer chief for 12 years (he retired in 2008), and he is still referred to as Chief. He is not the only Jarboe to earn that moniker, but he is the last to hold it.
Jimmy Jarboe’s brother, Teddy, was also known as Chief, having served as a Career Fire Chief in Kensington and as a Deputy Fire Chief in Montgomery County, passed away suddenly in February (read his obituary in the April 2019 newsletter), leaving Jimmy as the last of a family that has served as firefighters in Takoma Park and Montgomery County since 1956. (Read the article on the “Family Tradition” in the November 2019 newsletter.)
It was Teddy who was the first Jarboe to join, volunteering at age 16 in 1956. Jimmy followed soon after, and they were quickly joined by three more brothers, their father and their uncle.
But it was Teddy who was the leader, and his sudden death hit Jimmy hard. “It was a shock,” said Jimmy. “He was my number one input and influence.”
Teddy’s background as a longtime firefighter and fire safety educator profoundly shaped Jimmy’s work as a community fire safety advocate, a role he has embraced as a volunteer since his retirement as a professional firefighter. In this role, he attends community events and festivals, speaks at schools and generally takes every opportunity he can to educate the community about fire safety.
It is an important role, and one that only adds to an impressive legacy, said Darrell Hout, Montgomery County Fire Rescue Service Captain, Station Commander, assigned to the Takoma Park station. “He has been doing education and outreach for decades,” Hout said of Jimmy Jarboe. He was one of the originators of the smoke detector program here in Takoma Park.
“His heart has always been in it,” Hout said. And it still is.
On that recent Sunday morning, Jimmy eagerly cornered Hout to propose a new idea for reaching out to the community. And, of course, Jimmy volunteered to be the person to implement it. Which begs the question, “Does he see a time when he will give up volunteering?”
“My wife just asked me if I’ll ever stop,” he said, chuckling. “I’ve been around the firehouse a long time. I rode the trucks for 50 years, and now I really like working with the community and educating the public about fire safety.
“Plus, it’s helping people, it’s saving lives, and being around the station and the people is fun.”
In other words, the Jarboe legacy seems destined to live on. For that, we in the Takoma Park community can all be thankful.
The City of Takoma Park has a 30-year commitment to protecting its widely diverse community as a Sanctuary City.
Mayor, Kate Stewart
The dedication to our immigrant residents continues today. In Takoma Park, we stand strong against hate and vitriol that spreads ignorance and misinformation. And once again we reiterate our Takoma Park values:
We are a City with residents and staff from all over the world and we celebrate and cherish our diversity.
We are a City that welcomes those who are victims of terrorism, violence, or economic upheaval regardless of their national origins.
We refuse to demonize individuals based on their place of birth, religion, or race.
We are a City that upholds the right of ALL people to live their lives with dignity and respect.
Today, in the face of hateful, dehumanizing, and blatant lies being espoused by the current occupant of the White House, we remind the world that in Takoma Park we believe in building strong, inclusive, and healthy communities by ensuring that the rights of all are upheld — immigrants, people of different faiths, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, people of color.
We believe our immigration system should prioritize keeping families together and not tearing them apart.
We believe that every individual has an inherent right to be treated with fairness and justice, not with hatred and bigotry.
We are a City dedicated to forging stronger relationships and creating out of our myriad of differences and experiences one community that stands together.
So our message to President Trump – We Will Take Them.
At last night’s City Council meeting, I presented the Fiscal Year 2020 Recommended Budget for consideration by the Council. Below are my introductory comments followed by links to budget
City Manager Suzanne Ludlow
documents and to information on how you can share your thoughts with the City Council as they determine the appropriate balance of services and costs for the City of Takoma Park for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2019.
Public participation in the budget process is essential. And, for a budget as tight as this one is, it is very important to share your views on which programs and services should not be cut. People tend to not make comments on elements that they see in a budget that they support – they assume if the programs they like are in a proposed budget, they will stay in the budget. This year, I am proposing to raise the tax rate 2.69 cents just to keep a “maintenance of effort” budget. That means, if there is a desire to have a smaller tax rate, there will need to be cuts in programs, services and, likely, City staff positions. Communicating your thoughts to the City Council now through the April 24 Budget Public Hearing is important so the Council will have the benefit of your views when they do budget reconciliation on April 29.
My opening comments from last night:
I come before you today to speak of responsibility – and the power we have as a team of caring people, caring professionals, to address the work that is before us, and to make the decisions that need to be made.
What is before us? We have a convergence of pressures, projects and opportunities. They are here – all at once. What is before us?
The Purple Line – 20 years ago, I attended a Maryland Department of Transportation open house with my then 4 year old son, and it was clear that there would be a light rail line coming past Takoma Park with positive and negative impacts someday – today the construction is underway.
Washington Adventist Hospital – 12 years ago, it was announced that the hospital would be moving to another location, taking away the City’s largest employer and health facility – and the acute care patients are moving to a new hospital in White Oak this August.
Flower Avenue Green Street – 10 years ago, Public Works Director Daryl Braithwaite, after learning of the “green street” concept and tired of dealing with lack of attention to Flower Avenue by the State of Maryland and Montgomery County said, “Flower Avenue should be a “green street” – and construction is starting this month.
Library Expansion and Renovation – 5 years ago, a study of what a 21st Century library should be was done and plans were begun to renovate the Takoma Park Library so that it would remain a community living room with books and wonderful programs – and, detailed design work is now underway.
What else is happening?
Jurisdictions on every side of Takoma Park are redeveloping, and new businesses are moving into Takoma Park into some commercial spaces that weren’t as vibrant before.
Many new families are moving into homes that hadn’t had children in them for years, and schools in the Takoma Park area are bursting at the seams.
I have known for many years that one day we would be at this place. I just didn’t know it would be this year and I didn’t know we would have such a limited pool of resources with which to address these pressures.
Despite our best efforts, tax duplication remains a major issue. And, this year, as I will discuss, there is the surprise in the large number of properties in Takoma Park that lost value in the most recent State property assessment. While the cost of providing City services is increasing, the citywide net assessed value only increased 0.6 percent for FY20. If the City’s tax rate were to stay the same, we would only gain about $75,500 – the equivalent of installing just 600 linear feet of new sidewalk.
We also have challenges in increased risk from climate change, due to longer duration snow or rain storms. And, there are always surprises – for example, possible changes in federal law regarding cell towers or Sanctuary Cities.
We can address these challenges, though. We have the talented staff, we have the commitment to serve, and we have the excitement of creation, of possibility, of collaborative improvement.
However, we cannot address all of these challenges with a budget that does not increase. So, back to where I began this presentation: I come to you today to speak of responsibility and the power we have as a team to make the decisions that need to be made.
Budget Documents
FY20 Proposed Budget – note that you can skip to any section via links in the Table of Contents
Excel spreadsheets of Proposed Budget: Per the note included in the first tab: “The spreadsheets in the three tabs herein contain raw information pulled from the City’s enterprise financial system, which is used to develop the budget. The columns contain both budgeted and actual activity figures beginning in FY 2017 for each of the line items in the City’s budget. The column titled “Defined Budget” is the current fiscal year budget. The column titled “2019-2020” contains the dollar figures included in the proposed budget. Some line items contain descriptions for how the budget funds are broken down for that particular line. “2018-2019 CERT” represents the current fiscal year budget, while “2019-2020 Prelim” represents the proposed budget.”
Budget Schedule:
All meetings are at 7:30 pm in the Takoma Park Community Center Auditorium, 7500 Maple Avenue, unless otherwise indicated.
April 3 Presentation of Proposed Budget
April 8 Budget Open House – Takoma Park Community Center Hydrangea Room, 6:00-7:15 pm
April 8 Budget Work Session on Proposed Budget
April 10 First Budget Public Hearing
April 15 Budget Open House – Takoma Park Recreation Center,7315 New Hampshire Avenue, 6:00-7:15 pm
April 15 Budget Work Session on Options for Service and
Program Reductions – Takoma Park Recreation Center, 7315 New Hampshire Avenue, 7:30 pm.
April 24 Second Budget Public Hearing and Constant Yield Tax Rate Public Hearing
April 29 Budget Reconciliation – This is the meeting where the key decisions on the budget and tax rates are made by Council
May 8 First Reading Ordinances Adopting the FY20 Budget and Tax Rates
May 15 Second Reading Ordinances Adopting the FY20 Budget and Tax Rates
To share your thoughts on the budget, please go to Council Public Comment Form and/or testify at one of the two public hearings on the budget.
The City of Takoma Park joins other communities across the US and the world to declare that we are now in a climate related emergency that threatens our community and way of life.
The City of Takoma Park recognizes that the current rate of climate change of just one degree Celsius warming globally has triggered cataclysmic changes to our planet. In 2018, Takoma Park and the entire Washington DC region experienced the wettest year on record, with record rainfall, flooding and resulting stormwater issues. Trends for the region indicate that we can expect more severe weather events more often, continued increases in annual rainfall, and more frequent and prolonged stretches of extreme heat. These changes inflict substantial and often catastrophic damage to our physical, social, and economic well-being. Maryland is especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Across our region, our nation and our planet, communities are facing the impacts, which most strongly affect the most vulnerable among us.
Why did the City Council decide to declare a Climate Emergency at the local level, to address such a global issue?
Because it mobilizes action and builds public awareness that we are in an emergency state with devastating consequences for inaction.
It also serves as a public statement that our City will pursue necessary local steps to address this global challenge as soon as possible.
It signals that we are willing to do our part.
The City can serve as a leader and inspire others to do the same.
The Montgomery County Development Review Committee (DRC) held a meeting this morning with Neighborhood Development Company (NDC) representatives to discuss County and other agency staff comments on the proposed site plan and preliminary plan for the Takoma Junction development project. The meeting allowed NDC to follow up on DRC staff comments such as Fire Department access points and other technical clarifications.
Two major points from the meeting:
The County’s Department of Transportation and the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) stated the review of the transportation elements of the project will be delayed until after the SHA’s Vision project of the Junction intersection is completed this fall, thus delaying the project and the consideration of the project by the Planning Board. NDC will be following up with SHA about this.
Questions remain about the position of the Historic Preservation Commission regarding the plans. The staff person for the HPC provided written comments that seemed to conflict with Master Plan provisions and traditional historic preservation principles. Few existing commercial properties in the Takoma Park Historic District would meet the criteria identified by the staff person, so clarification is needed. NDC has been meeting with the HPC staff person and then will be meeting with the Commission to learn the position of the Commission concerning the proposal.
NDC will present a project update at the Takoma Park City Council meeting tomorrow night, Wednesday, March 20 at approximately 8:15 pm. For more information about the project, go to: Takoma Junction Project.
The Emergency Preparedness Committee for the City of Takoma Park is offering a one-hour course on how you can control severe bleeding due to an accident or intentional harm. The techniques taught will show various ways to control severe bleeding on someone using just your two hands, to someone that has access to a full trauma kit.
Uncontrolled bleeding is the number one cause of preventable death from trauma. The sooner the severe bleeding is controlled the greater the chance someone has surviving.
To reserve a seat at the training, complete the application. Classes are open to Takoma Park area residents and you must be 16 years of age or older.
Classes location: Azalea Room of the Community Center 7500 Maple Avenue Takoma Park, MD 20912
Dates Times March 20 7:30 to 9:00 pm April 13 2:00 to 3:30 pm April 17 7:30 to 9:00 pm
What are the best ways to connect with and empower members of our community who continue to face barriers and challenges to engagement? How can we bring more people to the table to work to build a stronger community and make our government more equitable, effective, and responsive to the needs of residents?
Mayor, Kate Stewart
In the last few years, we undertook new efforts to address these questions, most notably through our work on racial equity and increased engagement efforts.
We know more needs to be done. And, we know Takoma Park is not the only city looking at these issues. When I meet colleagues across Maryland and the country, I hear them asking the same questions and talking about the same challenges in their communities. It was at one of these recent meetings that I sat through a presentation on participatory budgeting. I had been introduced to this idea a couple of years ago. More recently, in the last few months, a resident reached out and sent me some materials to read. At this time, I started to see the potential of participatory budgeting to help us begin to create a more equitable budget, increase civic engagement, and build stronger relationships among residents and government.
Never heard of participatory budgeting? Most folks haven’t so you are in good company. Think about putting in place a system through which residents in the community get to decide how to spend a portion of the City budget.
“Participatory budgeting is a democratic process in which community members decide how to spend part of a public budget. It gives people real power over real money.” Participatory Budgeting Project
How does it work?
Generally, here are the basic steps and a proposal for starting to put participatory budgeting to work in Takoma Park that I would like the City Council to consider:
Step 1: Decide on the topic and allocate a portion of the budget. First, the City Council would need to decide on the portion of the budget and an area to focus on. Funds for participatory budgeting usually come from the existing budget and is a change in how we decide to use the budgeted funds.
Proposal for TkPk: We build on the Council priority to: “Ensure we have a range of safe, quality, and stable housing options that are affordable for residents of varying incomes and all races and ethnicities” and focus on projects to improve living conditions for renters in the community.
The Council would work with staff to identify funds either in Department budgets and/or we can allocate funds from the Housing Reserve Fund to focus on projects to improve living conditions for renters in our community.
Step 2:Designing the process. After selecting the topic and identifying the source of funds, we would form a Participatory Budget Committee with representatives from the City staff, residents, and possibly outside experts to design the process for soliciting ideas, developing proposals, and voting on how to spend the allocated dollars.
For example, if we have a project focused on improving living conditions for renters in our community, the Committee would be comprised of renters who would then design the process. Through designing the process, residents work closely with representatives from Council and City staff, resulting in more resident engagement and collaboration between people and government.
Step 3: Brainstorming ideas and developing proposals. Based on the process designed by the Committee, there would be a phase of brainstorming of ideas and identifying needs.
Using the examples of programs for renters, the Committee—with support from the City—would set up and hold meetings with renters to generate ideas, identify needs, and support the formation of groups of renters to take those ideas and turn them into feasible proposals.
Step 4: Proposals would be submitted to the Committee and to the City Council which would narrow them down based on criteria set out by the Committee to a manageable number for people to vote on.
Through this process, we would receive innovative ideas that are developed by and responsive to the needs of renters in our community.
Step 5: Vote, and then the winning project is funded!
Participatory budgeting has been shown to assist in increasing community engagement as people see tangible results and investments made in programs and projects they themselves identify to address their needs.
The overall process will take over a year and perhaps more the first time we undertake this effort. In addition to having one project that is voted on for funding, this process provides the City Council and staff with a range of new ideas on programs that we can decide to put in place.
Participatory budgeting is not meant to replace other funding programs, such as the Community Grants program.
In the end, participatory budgeting will increase engagement in the community, create stronger and more collaborative relationships among residents and government, and lead to projects designed by and addressing the needs of residents. Our goal is to create a process and space for people who traditionally have not participated in local government to have a say in local decision-making that impacts their lives.
I look forward to continuing the conversation about participatory budgeting and starting to put this into action soon. I welcome your thoughts and input.
For more information about participatory budgeting check out this website.
Trees are a great resource for a community. The environmental and social benefits trees provide are significant. However, trees need to be maintained to provide those benefits in a safe manner. Large trees located near, for example, buildings, roads and playgrounds need to be monitored regularly to ensure any dying branches, structural problems or insect/disease issues get identified and addressed. Tree hazards can be easily overlooked by the untrained eye. In our busy lives, few of us spend much time looking up into the tree canopy of the trees in our yard. A large tree branch can weigh several hundred pounds, and if it fails, can cause extensive property damage and severe injury or even death.
Preventing Tree (limb) Failure
Tree or tree limb failure is usually preventable. It is recommended that trees, especially large trees, be inspected by a Licensed Tree Expert (LTE) every two to three years. These regular inspections by a trained professional can identify structural issues, dead or dying branches or tree illness and disease. Typically, it does not cost anything to have a LTE visit a property and inspect trees.
If a more detailed inspection is recommended, a tree care company will provide an estimate of the cost for those services. It is recommended that you contact several tree care companies and have their LTEs visit the property and provide recommendations and quotes for any needed tree work. Be sure that the tree care company you hire is licensed by the State of Maryland and insured. It is also beneficial to develop a long-term relationship with an LTE who will become familiar with your trees and their health over time.
Determining the likelihood of tree failure requires a significant level of experience and knowledge about how trees grow, how they fail and what characteristics make a tree “risky.” Assessing tree risk requires special training and experience, and LTEs are specifically knowledgeable in determining the structural integrity of a tree and the risk it may present. While there are self-surveys of trees that property owners can conduct to determine obvious issues, there is no substitute for a professional assessment of the health of a tree.
Following City and State Regulations
When you have any tree work done on your property make sure you adhere to the City’s tree regulations, which can be found on the City’s website at takomaparkmd.gov/services/permits/treepermits. The removal of any tree 7’ 5/8” in diameter or greater requires a tree removal permit or waiver. The pruning of more than 5 percent of the live canopy of a tree 7 5/8” in diameter or greater requires the submission of a tree impact assessment. An emergency tree removal waiver will be issued to a property owner if a tree is highly hazardous, poses an immediate threat to people and property and the hazard cannot be mitigated through pruning or other tree maintenance.
What about my neighbor’s trees? Maryland has adopted the “Massachusetts Self-Help Rule” that says you must assume responsibility for the care and preservation of your own property. This means that you can cut branches from a tree on your neighbor’s property that extend into your property. Always notify the tree owner first. However, you may not destroy the tree in the process, nor can you cut the tree down. Also, you must stop at the property line unless the neighbor has given you permission to do otherwise, and it is best to have that permission in writing.
When a tree or its branches fall, it is considered an “Act of God” unless the tree was known to be dead or hazardous. This means the portion of the tree and the damage from it that is on your property is your responsibility to clean up. The portion of the tree that ends up on a neighbor’s property, and any damage to the neighbor’s property, is his/her responsibility. Such accidents are normally covered by the affected owner’s home owner’s insurance and are usually resolved by reporting a claim. The exception to this general rule is that the owner of the property where the tree originated may be responsible for damage to a neighbor’s property if the owner knew, or had good reason to know, that the tree presented a danger. A tree whose trunk (even a small portion of the trunk) straddles the property line may be a shared tree, and therefore, any cost for pruning, maintenance or removal would be a shared cost.
Working Together on Safety
The City of Takoma Park encourages neighbors to discuss tree issues long before tree failure becomes a problem, and responsibility for any damage becomes part of the discussion. If your neighbor’s tree is hazardous, you have communicated that to your neighbor and your neighbor is not addressing the issue, then the City may step in and require the neighbor to have the hazard mitigated.
As the City’s Urban Forest Manager (UFM), my focus is primarily on City trees and inspecting trees on private property related to review of permit applications for tree removal or tree protection. However, when a tree on private property is hazardous and I become aware of it either by noticing it myself or being notified by someone else, then I notify the property owner of the hazard and their responsibility. The City Code allows for the issuance of a notice of violation to the property owner requiring that the hazardous tree issue be addressed within a certain time frame.
For those property owners who have limited income, the City has established an Emergency Tree Fund to assist with the costs of removal of a hazardous tree. Residents can apply for those funds through the UFM.
In closing, I hope you will be able to join us for the Tree Canopy Assessment Seminar taking place on March 23.
Tree Canopy Assessment Seminar:
Takoma Park Tree Canopy Assessment Seminar Presented by Noah Ahles, University of Vermont
Saturday, March 23, 2019
Morning Session 10 am – 12 pm, Community Center Auditorium
Morning session will present findings on the current status of the City’s treecanopy using 2018 LiDAR data.
The morning session will be a general overview, the afternoon session will be a focused discussion with members of the Tree Commission and Committee on The Environment
Afternoon Session 1 pm – 3 pm, Community Center Auditorium
Afternoon session will be a planning discussion about establishing a Citywide treecanopy goal and implementation plan.
People frequently ask library staff about the status of the library’s plans for renovation and expansion. While there has not yet been any construction, the reality is that in the past two years, we have made considerable progress. We have a signed contract with our architect. We were successful in acquiring Capital Grant Funding through the State. The City Council also approved borrowing to complete the project through the State Infrastructure Loan Program. Schematic design is in progress, and a site survey and an engineering study were completed in 2018.
Library staff have worked hard to weed collections and prepare for moving materials out of our 64 year-old building. And library patrons continue to express enthusiasm for the Library project.
Inevitably, development and engineering questions come to light in the examination of a built environment, and indeed light was shed by the 2018 engineering report. The engineers concluded that the City needed a new flood plain delineation study to determine if the current flood wall (which was planned to be incorporated into the expanded library building) was adequate. While a flood plain study was done in 2002, hydrology improved significantly in the ensuing 16 years, and it made sense to conduct the new study.
As the saying goes, measure twice and cut once. A preliminary report was concluded in August of 2018 and submitted to the County’s Department of Permitting Services for review. Based on the conclusions of the new flood plain study, it was determined that a higher elevation for the Library would be required. The architect has submitted design options for a library building that would meet the elevation criteria based on the new information, but would preserve the same footprint. The new design options are all predicated on constructing a new library building on the existing site, as an alternative to changing the parking lot elevation relative to the Library, which we understand would be a significantly costlier option.
The flood plain study is important in advancing the City’s goals in other ways. The effect of climate change on the water table, as well as the flood plain, makes the recent delineation study a foresighted and practical necessity as the City plans the future purposes and locations of its facilities.
Immediate next steps for the library renovation project include consideration of the new concept designs. Because they don’t depend on modification of antiquated systems or constraints in the deployment of existing resources they offer new opportunities to imaginatively recreate and enliven existing space.
We are eager for things to progress now that we know what we need to do in response to the flood plain study. We look forward to sharing new information as it becomes available and to continued public discussion as the library project continues.
The architect will make a presentation to the City Council on March 20.
