Category Archives: News Alert

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Arts & Humanities, News, News Alert

Takoma ARTery Spring Art Fair this Saturday at Girl & the Vine

Takoma ARTery Spring Art Fair 

Saturday, April 10 from 11 am-5 pm
Girl & the Vine at 7071 Carroll Avenue

You can celebrate spring and support local artists at the Takoma ARTery Spring Art Fair this Saturday. Fifteen local artists will be selling their work across a wide range of mediums in this covid-conscious free outdoor event. Some artists also will create artwork live and explain their artmaking process. Masks are required and 35 people will be allowed into the art fair at any time.

The City of Takoma Park’s Arts and Humanities Division is providing city funding and promotion for the ARTery, which also arranges storefront displays with artwork by a diverse range of local artists. The displays, which feature changing bimonthly exhibitions, can be seen at at the Historic Takoma building at 7328 Carroll Avenue at the Takoma Junction and the Takoma Masonic Center at 115 Carroll Street in downtown.

The storefront displays support the livelihoods of local artists and improve the appearance of local business districts by filling vacant or underused storefronts with arts and handicrafts from Takoma Park’s creative community. Artists arrange sales directly with buyers and aren’t charged any commission. Artists who are interested in showing their work or anyone with possible locations for more storefront displays should email takoma.artery@gmail.com. There also is more info at takomaartery.com.

“The City of Takoma Park is happy to support the Takoma ARTery’s important work,” said Arts and Humanities Coordinator Brendan Smith. “Artists are small business owners who are responsible for Takoma Park’s reputation as an arts-friendly city, and they stimulate economic development both for the city and other businesses. We’re hoping for a good turnout at the Spring Art Fair this Saturday.”

Historic Takoma Window Display 

 

Arts & Humanities, News, News Alert

Sidewalk Poetry Contest Winners Announced

After receiving more than 150 entries, the winners of the Takoma Park Sidewalk Poetry Contest have been selected, including 10 children and 10 adults ranging from 6 years old to seniors. The winners will receive a $100 award and a chance to have their original poems stamped into a local sidewalk in the contest organized by the City of Takoma Park’s Arts and Humanities Division.

“We were impressed by the diverse breadth of poetry displaying the creativity, intellect, and whimsy of so many Takoma Park residents,” Arts and Humanities Coordinator Brendan Smith said. “This is a fun public art project which brings poetry to the streets and under people’s feet. We hope the poems will provide a laugh or a moment of reflection as people walk around town.”

Local residents could submit one or two poems in English or Spanish. The selection committee included Takoma Park Poet Laureate Kathleen O’Toole and local poets Bernardine Watson and Vladimir Monge.

Seven poems have been stamped so far and more poems will be stamped in the spring of 2022 when sidewalk work begins again.

A new online map provides a looping 4.2-mile walking or biking route which connects the seven sidewalk poems located across Takoma Park.

Child/Teen Winners

Ari Bernstein -10 years old

From the sky to the earth

and the nature in between

you can see the beauty

in which it is woven

and the space you may weave

 

Sofia Dalanda Crandall -14 years old

Poetry is not a chair

Until you eat it

From a freshly shined plate

In a rickety old bus

On a blanket of snow

 

Edwige Ghembesalu -16 years old

sunshine honeydew

drip drops from the sky

and we shimmy in the rain

by the creek and on the bridge

slippin cause we mean to

 

Graham Gould -8 years old

Joy is what I feel within

It burns right through my thin tan skin

Those I love I share my gift

You just need a hopeful lift

 

Hector Herrera -6 years old

People love

people hug

the love is strong from above

 

Ash Hewchuck -15 years old 

Song of moon, I take your hand

In dusk of sweet July night

Dappled thoughts and silver emotions

We’ll dance until first light

 

Nala Miller -7 years old

Little green ball in the tree

Bouncing and rolling free

Off the branch in the grass

Down the hill that’s all we see.

 

Maeve Monahan -11 years old

Takoma

Instead of a park

It’s more like a sea

Flowing from every

Green leafy tree

 

Ida Shaeffer-Allen -9 years old

Carving out rock

Cutting through land

Soft tender touch

Transforms more than seen.

 

Aissatou Thiam -7 years old

Six Legs

Tiny Ants

Don’t crawl up my pants!

 

Adult Winners

Sally Brucker

So here is the thing

not getting any younger

flowers

still budding

 

Chris Carson

If I had my way,

love and money would grow

All over the ground,

Like wild strawberries.

 

Colleen Cordes

Late light shines

through dusk dark pines.

Everywhere silence,

everywhere song.

Sing, silence, sing.

 

David Alberto Fernandez

(Spanish poem with English translation)

Las palabras que importan

no se imprimen,

ni están talladas o estampadas

Arden en nuestros corazones

 

The words that matter

are not printed,

carved or stamped

They blaze in our hearts

 

Rosemary Ferreira

If there is one thing I hold constant,

it is that I belong to this city

as much as it belongs to me.

 

Veronica Jackson

What will you have today?

I would like tomorrow

Ok that will cost you a day

Just give me yesterday

Sorry no refunds

 

Emily Kombe

You call it nappy,

I call it being able to breathe

for the first time

through my curls

 

Samantha Magrath

my footsteps sound

on hard surfaces

crisp and regular as a dealer

laying down card after card

on the city’s table

 

Maja Tokic

long ago

they walked this road

cold wind chilling their bones

over the ground hard as stone

long ago

 

Richard Weil

Know, that a valley,

Is a mountain resting

 

 

 

 

News Alert

Your Action Is Needed to Ensure Fair Tax Duplication Payments

 

“The Council of Takoma Park calls on the County Executive and Council to recognize the complementary work done by the County and municipalities in making our communities safe, attractive, and welcoming and to finally rectify this long-standing inequity.” — Resolution 2021-8 Demanding Fair Tax Duplication Payments

– City of Takoma Park, March 10, 2021

 

As the County Council begins to work on the County’s budget, it is time that we renew our calls for the County to address the long-overdue issue of tax duplication. This is the year to do it.

The Takoma Park City Council passed a resolution calling on the Montgomery County Council to finally pay the tax duplication rebates they owe our city. Every year, residents of Takoma Park and other municipalities in Montgomery County pay both the County and their cities for services that only their cities provide them. To account for this tax duplication, the County is required by law to rebate municipalities for the amount that city residents pay for services the County does not provide to them.

In Takoma Park, these services include road maintenance, crossing guards, parks, and our police department. You can read about tax duplication in more detail here and in our resolution here.

We have three asks:

  • That the Council amend the County Executive’s FY22 budget to adjust the municipal tax duplication payments to the amount for Transportation (road maintenance), Police, Crossing Guard, and Park services to reflect the amounts owed to municipalities in Montgomery County, which would total $14,203,314;
  • That the Council work to codify a consistent process and method to update the formulas for these categories, and
  • That the Council urges the County Executive to begin negotiations on the formula for police and park maintenance services for the FY23 budget year.

During the 2008-09 Great Recession, the County froze the rebate at its current level due to a lack of revenue. Revenues have since recovered. However, the tax duplication rebate has remained frozen at 2012 levels, even as the County has increased what it spends to deliver services to County residents who do not reside in Takoma Park and the cost of providing services such as road maintenance has increased since 2012.

Residents of Takoma Park and other municipalities have been paying their cities for services they receive and also have been forced to pay the County for services it does not provide. If the rebate had not been frozen in 2018, the City of Takoma Park would have received an additional $900,000 as part of our rebate in that year alone. Although only a drop in the bucket for the County budget, this figure amounts to 3.77 cents on our tax rate. It would make a big difference for our tight budget, increasing the City’s ability to maintain our roads and parks, reduce property taxes for those struggling financially, work to make housing more affordable, and provide other services.

The County Executive and Council have neglected to address this inequity for years. The Montgomery County chapter of the Maryland Municipal League, Takoma Park City Manager Suzanne Ludlow, members of the Takoma Park City Council, and I have all asked repeatedly that Takoma Park receive its fair share.

As the budget season begins, we must take the opportunity to continue and build on those efforts. County Executive Elrich included in his proposed FY22 budget an increase to the rebates, but not one that matches the County formulas for calculating how much cities are owed.

We will continue our efforts and I believe we will succeed if our residents join the call for tax justice. I encourage you to call or email the County Council and tell them to pay municipalities in full. Now is not the time to be short-changing cities, as we have been and continue to be on the front line in the fight against the pandemic, economic hardship, and racial inequity. Please call or email now and over the next couple of weeks as the County Council considers the County budget.

Here are some points to highlight:

  • The County Council should recognize the benefits of having its municipalities provide services that the County would otherwise have to provide.
  • The failure of the County to increase rebates to municipalities to provide such services since 2008 is an injustice that the Council should correct.
  • The FY22 budget should provide the $14 million for municipal tax duplication payments to Montgomery County municipalities for Transportation (road maintenance), Police, Crossing Guard, and Park services.
  • The Council should begin negotiations with Takoma Park and other municipal leaders regarding the FY23 budget and codify a consistent process and method to update the reimbursement formulas.

To sign up and testify on the County budget on April 6th or 7th go here.

Email addresses for the County Council:

Council President Tom Hucker – Councilmember.Hucker@montgomerycountymd.gov

Council Vice-President Gabe Albornoz – Councilmember.Albornoz@montgomerycountymd.gov

Councilmember At-Large Evan Glass – Councilmember.Glass@montgomerycountymd.gov

Councilmember At-Large Will Jawando – Councilmember.Jawando@montgomerycountymd.gov

Councilmember At-Large Hans Riemer – Councilmember.Riemer@montgomerycountymd.gov

News Alert, Public Notices

Input Needed: Take The Takoma Park Recreation Center Community Survey!

 

The Takoma Park Recreation Center on New Hampshire Avenue will be redeveloped into a new, state-of-the-art, community resource, and we need your input! The City of Takoma Park is conducting a community survey to understand the needs and priorities. Participants will have a chance to win one of several gift cards from local, Takoma Park businesses!

Click here to fill out the survey online! Now available 4 languages:

  • English
  • Español
  • Francais
  • አማርኛ Amharic

Paper copies are also available on-site the drop off locations. Drop them off at the locations below.

Drop-off Locations:
  • Takoma Park Police Department – 7500 Maple Ave
  • Hampshire Tower Apartments – 7401 New Hampshire Ave
  • Takoma Overlook -7333 New Hampshire Ave

The deadline to complete the survey is March 31, 2021.

For more information contact housing@takomaparkmd.gov or 240-414-8177.

News, News Alert

Grants and rebates available for weatherization, energy savings

 

The City offers residential sustainability grants to Income-qualified residents for FREE weatherization (insulation, draft reduction, and potentially heating and cooling equipment and appliances) by applying here.

Additional rebates are available for all residents who make energy efficiency improvements.

All residents looking to keep the cold air out, warm air in, and reduce utility bills at home can get a FREE ENERGY SAVING KIT from Montgomery County: https://mygreenmontgomery.org/2021/lwyl/

Kits contain:

  • door sweeps,
  • rope caulk for those leaky windows,
  • window insulations kits, and more.
  • requests must be received by March 31, 2021.
News Alert, Public Notices

Join Us on our journey in Search of a New City Manager: Start with our Survey!

 

The Takoma Park City Council is interested in getting feedback from you, our residents, on our next City Manager’s search. It’s an opportunity to have a community discussion on what’s important and your opinion matters.

City Manager Search Survey

The City Manager is retiring, and the Takoma Park City Council is looking for resident input in the recruiting and hiring of a new City Manager.

We want to hear your opinion regarding the attributes you would like to see in the next City Manager and the most important issues facing the community today. The survey should take no more than ten minutes to complete.

Surveys

The survey results will be used to inform and will be incorporated into the City Manager recruitment and selection process. The survey results will be shared with the City Council, consultant, and applicants. Your individual responses will be anonymous and results of the survey will be shared with others in the aggregate when feasible.

 

Thank you for your interest and participation in the process.

News Alert, Public Notices

Creating Affordable Home Ownership Opportunities

 

Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland, in partnership with the City of Takoma Park, plans to convert a multi-family rental property  located on Garland Avenue into two affordable homeownership opportunities.

 

The project began when the City of Takoma Park assigned its Right to Purchase to Habitat to buy the Garland property in November of 2020. The City also provided $200,000 from the Housing Reserve Fund to invest in the development of affordable homeownership opportunities.

 

Habitat will divide the existing structure, which now includes three rental units, into a duplex, creating two separate and distinct homeownership properties.

 

This project is a demonstration of how Missing Middle Housing typologies can be incorporated into established single-family neighborhoods. Splitting the property into two units helps to drive down the development cost per unit and ultimately the sales prices for each home. The property is also within one mile of a future Purple Line stop further emboldening the need to create, restore and preserve affordable housing opportunities, ensuring that all residents can access our public infrastructure investments.

 

Habitat will completely gut the home and rebuild it like new. The rehab will include a focus on sustainability starting with participation in the City of Takoma Park’s initiative to forego the use of fossil fuel in homes by abandoning the existing gas service to the home. This will be the first example of gas abandonment in the City in residential development. HFHMM will also incorporate an energy efficiency standard in its building practices, including continuous spray foam insulation for the entire envelope of the structure drastically reducing air leakage. Habitat will also install water sense fixtures, LED lighting, smart thermostats, and Energy Star mechanical equipment and appliances.

 

Once the project is complete, Habitat will sell the completed units to individuals living and working in our community but unable to afford a home through the traditional market. Habitat provides an affordable mortgage, ensuring that borrowers are not cost burdened. Providing access to affordable homeownership is critical for our communities so that families can build generational wealth. By providing homeownership opportunities for families at more income levels we can work to break down the racial wealth and ownership gaps and build more equitable communities.

 

Learn more at the project page.

News Alert, Public Notices

City of Takoma Park Partners with InSite Street Media to Celebrate Black History Month

 

Knowing the Past Opens the Door to the Future. With that in mind, the City of Takoma Park and InSite Street Media are celebrating African Americans who paved the way in American Society during Black History Month. This was done through the sponsorship of African American profiles displayed on our curbside billboard bus shelters in the City.

 

The first six African American Professionals, Pioneers, and Inventor profiles include:

  • Henry Ossawa Tanner – Internationally Acclaim Painter
  • Mary Elizabeth Mahoney – Professionally Trained Nurse
  • Garrett Morgan – Inventor of the 3 Way Traffic Signal
  • Daniel Hale Williams – Successful Heart Surgeon
  • Jane Matilda Bolin – Female Judge 1939
  • Oscar Micheaux – Pioneering Filmmaker

 

News Alert, Public Notices

Proposed Changes to Stormwater Utility Fee Structure

 

Click here to Access the Interactive Map

A letter was sent to owners of single-family residential properties in the City to inform them of discussions to be held this month by the City Council on changing the stormwater fee from a flat rate to a tiered rate based on the impervious surface area. The total amount of revenue from the combined residential and commercial stormwater fee remains the same – about $700,000 – but is more equitably charged among the properties.

A presentation will be given to Council on February 10 and a public hearing held on February 24. After that, more site-specific information may be sent to individual property owners based on the Council discussion. Please watch the presentation on February 10 and contact Daryl Braithwaite at DarylB@takomaparkmd.gov with any questions.

News Alert, Public Notices

Update: Application Deadline Extended to Feb 5 – Reimagining Public Safety Task Force

 

The purpose of the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force is to develop recommendations that make Takoma Park a safer, more livable community for all residents, with an emphasis on addressing racial inequalities that exist in government and services evolving around public safety. In light of what is happening in our country, we believe that as a city, it is our duty to take inventory of our public safety practices, with emphasis on the experiences of our Black and Brown communities. This Task Force is our opportunity to bring new voices into the process as we take stock of what is working, what is not, and as we explore best practices in public safety.

The City of Takoma Park is seeking the support of community members, non-profit leaders, local business owners, educators, etc. in Takoma Park who can help us make our community a safer and more livable city that serves all residents. The Task Force will be made up of 15 individuals sourced from our diverse community and approved by the City Council.

The Task Force will meet regularly throughout the months of February, March, April and May to create a set of recommendations on Public Safety.

To ensure this Task Force is as representative as possible, the process will begin with an open call for applications. If you are interested in being considered for a spot on the Task Force, please apply by Friday, February 5, 2021.  If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Suzanne Ludlow, City Manager SuzanneL@takomaparkmd.gov.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Links of Interest: