As the weather starts to warm up and Takoma Park is setting its sights on the summer ahead, Dance Exchange is inviting youth from across the city to participate in its 2016 Teen Leadership Institute. Happening June 23-25, the Teen Leadership Institute brings together young people ages 13-19 to build their skills as artists and leaders in their community using dance, song, poetry and storytelling.

The Teen Leadership Institute is a summer tradition at Dance Exchange, an intergenerational dance company with a long history in Takoma Park. Teens will experience a range of art forms throughout the three-day Institute. Working alongside professional artists and community organizers in the DC area, participants will build their creative and leadership skills through dance, art and storytelling workshops, group conversations and public engagements.

Dance Exchange Resident Artist Matthew Cumbie explains that this opportunity “gives teens a chance to explore their capacity to transform ideas into action through artmaking. By the end of the Institute, teens really understand the role of art in building community and creating sustainable change.”

The 2016 Institute will focus on the experiences of LGBT youth, as well as youth who consider themselves friends and allies. “Everyone needs a safe space to tell their story,” notes Teen Leadership Institute Co-Facilitator Amanda Newman. “We’re excited that through dance, storytelling and more, this year’s Institute will create that safe space for LGBT youth and allies to share their experiences, challenges and hopes.”

Teens of all orientations and identities are welcome—with or without dance experience. Registration is now open, and a limited number of scholarships are available through an application process. To learn more or to register your teen, contact Matthew Cumbie at matthewc@danceexchange.org.

This article appeared in the May 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

The Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts play in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League, a wooden bat league composed of ten teams in Virginia, D.C. and Maryland. Top college players are recruited to play for the team. Weeklong: The team runs summer baseball camps in June and July for boys and girls 7 to 15. Instruction is from Doug Remer, the Thunderbolts head coach. He is assisted by T-Bolts coaches and players. This is a camp for baseball players; kids have fun, and they learn the game of baseball. The emphasis is on fundamentals, baseball values and discipline, conditioning and healthy lifestyle choices. Each camp session is limited to a total of 50 campers. After camp in the evenings, campers can attend T-Bolts games where they can cheer on their coaches. We provide bats, balls and equipment. Campers bring their own gloves and lunch. Each camper gets a Thunderbolts T-Shirt. The weeklong camps are June 20-24, June 27-July 1, July 5-8 (no camp July 4), July 11-15, and July 18-22 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. The location is Blair High School, 51 E. University Blvd., Silver Spring, Maryland. The cost is $205 per week except for the week of July 4, which is $175.

Three-Day: We also offer three-day specialty camps for kids ages 11-16. These camps will provide intensive training from Thunderbolt coaches and players on batting (Day 1), pitching and catching (Day 2), and the camper’s choice of an expanded session on pitching or catching (Day 3). There will be a 3 to 1 camper to counselor ratio. The dates are June 20-22, June 27-29, and July 5-7. The hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day, and the price is $250 for each three-day session. The location for these camps is also Blair High School, 51 E. University Blvd. in Silver Spring.

For early bird, sibling and multiyear discount information, refund policy, and application forms, go to www.tbolts.org. For questions, call 301-270-0794. The Thunderbolts are not associated with the Takoma Park Recreation Department.

This article appeared in the May 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

You are going away for 10 days and there’s no one in your house. Is there anyone who can do regular checks on the property? You sleep in the back of the house and want to be sure no one takes your car—without your permission—between midnight and 5 a.m., and you don’t want to stay up all night. Is there a “car-sitting” service? Here are some free services the Takoma Park Police Department (takomaparkmd.gov/government/police) offers to help residents manage these and similar situations.

House checks: If you are away 4-30 days, the Takoma Park Police will walk through the perimeter of your house and make sure there are no tamper marks in critical areas, check for cut screens, etc. How can you activate this service? Contact the Takoma Park Police Department (301- 270-1100) in advance of your departure, and not the day before you leave, if at all possible. If you are away for a shorter period—especially if the area has had problems, contact the Takoma Park Police, who will advise you of the short-term process.

Home security surveys: An officer will do internal and external security assessments: internal checks look for vulnerabilities such as lock security and screens, items next to windows (laptops, TV) etc. External checks include looking at shrubbery near windows, equipment left outside (such as ladders, bolt cutters), whether exterior lights are working as intended, and more. To activate this service, call Takoma Park Police at 301- 270-1100.

Night-time auto security: Want to ensure that your car does not move from its space between midnight and 5 a.m.? You can register the car with the TP Police and get a car sticker.

Community Cam Program: If you wish to have a camera on your property also monitored by the TP Police, join the Community Cam program. For more information, visit takomaparkmd.gov/news/thecitys-community-cam-program.

This article appeared in the May 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

By Morgan Fecto

Vicki Gau had a lot on her plate before Takoma Ensemble’s “Movable Home” concert on April 9. On the Thursday before the show, she went to Strathmore for meetings, back to Takoma Park to answer emails, then to Silver Spring to secure the April 9 venue, and home again to do some parenting and social media before heading back out. She squeezed in time before rehearsal to explain her robust relationship with music between bites of a sandwich at Kaldi’s Coffee.

“It’s just part of what makes life worth living,” she said of creating classical music. “I want to build Takoma Ensemble into an organization, and to do that requires people who are passionate. It also requires time, and I’ve got two jobs.”

Although Gau is an associate conductor at the National Philharmonic and artistic director of Capital City Symphony, being artistic director of Takoma Ensemble has been her passion project since she founded it with violinist Susanna Kemp in 2013. “With National Philharmonic, it’s, ‘Here’s a concert of Bach,’ which is lovely, but I wanted to be a part of the creative process and show that this music is exciting, not a museum piece,” Gau said. “Everything we do exists on a continuum from past to present.”

In her work with the Takoma Ensemble, Gau collaborates with her contemporaries and pays homage to the greats. In “Movable Home,” the ensemble paired pieces by Respighi with titular piece “Movable Home” by Joel Friedman, and “Constellations,” a piece written for the ensemble by up-and-coming composer Alistair Coleman.

“Classical music has gotten this really bad rap,” she said. “‘It’s not fun, it’s stuffy, it’s elitist.’ Those are the barriers we’re trying to get past.”

In the past, Gau and the ensemble have collaborated with kindermusik expert Becky Linafelt on “PB and Jam Sessions,” concerts that fuse kindermusik concepts and classical music vignettes. “We work really hard to present the ensemble as lighthearted and fun,” she said. “It’s how we’re facing the challenge of getting people to come to our door.”

Gau also wants to recruit more board members, explore alternative venues, and broaden the ensemble’s audience. “There are these big folk and jazz fan bases here, so we’re excited to learn where we fit in,” she said. “Our community is this great niche. From the start we loved the idea of being able to make music right at home.”

While Gau aims to convert more Takoma Park residents to classical music-lovers, she’s had the City’s faith from the get-go. Back in 2013 she and Kemp met with Sara Daines in the Housing and Community Development department to ask for suggestions for growing the new ensemble. They ended up booking concerts in the City’s then-fledgling We Are Takoma series.

“She calmly looked at the calendar and said, ‘I think that’s an idea we can get behind,’” Gau said of Daines. “I told Susanna, ‘We’ve got concerts, so I guess we better get started.’”

To learn more about the ensemble and get updates about upcoming concerts, visit takomaensemble.blogspot.com.

This article appeared in the May 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

By Karen MacPherson

The Takoma Park Library has got a star-studded list of children’s authors and illustrators coming to visit in May, including 2016 Caldecott Medalist Sophie Blackall and best-selling author and humorist Dave Barry.

In fact, three wonderful author/illustrators will be helping us to celebrate Children’s Book Week (May 2-8) in a big way this year. Our Children’s Book Week celebration will begin with a program featuring picture book star author Mac Barnett on Tuesday, May 3 at 7 p.m. Barnett is the author of a number of hugely-popular books, including the Caldecott Honor book, Sam & Dave Dig a Hole, which was illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Jon Klassen. At our May 3 event, Barnett will talk about his new picture book, Rules of the House, illustrated by Matt Myers. In a last-minute addition, Myers also will be part of the program.

On Friday, May 6, at 7:30 p.m., humorist and kids’ author Dave Barry will read from his newest kid’s novel, The Worst Night Ever, a sequel to his popular book, The Worst Class Trip Ever. Barry gave a crowd-pleasing performance when he visited last year, and we expect this year’s program to be just as good. Note, please, that Barry’s event will take place in the Takoma Park Community Center auditorium.

We’ll wrap up Children’s Book Week on Saturday, May 7, at 3 p.m., when Caldecott Honor illustrator Molly Idle present the newest in her series of Flora picture books, Flora and the Peacocks. Idle also will do some drawing for the crowd.

Then, on May 19 at 7:30 p.m., we’re thrilled to welcome “reigning” Caldecott Medalist Sophie Blackall, along with author John Bemelmans Marciano, to talk about their new series, The Witches of Benevento. Our event offers a very special opportunity to meet a newly-minted Caldecott Medal winner; Blackall won the 2016 Caldecott Medal for her illustrations for Finding Winnie, which was written by Lindsay Mattick.

For the May 19th event, Blackall will be highlighting the illustrations she did for a new series of chapter books written by Marciano. Titled The Witches of Benevento, the series focuses on a five cousins and the way they outwit the many witches who live in their hometown of Benevento. School Library Journal noted of the first book, Mischief Season: “Magical spells and amusing characters with distinctive personalities, coupled with an engaging story with a twist, will captivate readers and leave them clamoring for future stories….”

Our final event of the month takes place on Friday, May 20 at 7:30 p.m. when graphic novelist Maris Wicks talks about her newest non-fiction comic, in the Science Comics series, Coral Reefs, Cities of the Ocean. Wicks won acclaim from critics and young readers for her work on two previous nonfiction comics, Primates and Human Body Theater.

All of our May author/ illustrator events are cosponsored by Politics & Prose Bookstore, which will sell books at each program. But all of the events are free, and no purchase is required to attend. Please join us!

This article appeared in the May 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

By Ellen Robbins

Join the Friends of the Library Bimonthly Reading club on Wednesday, May 25 for a discussion of The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu. The author immigrated to America in 1980, when he was 29, after his family fled genocide in Ethiopia.

The protagonist in this novel is Sepha Stephanos, who settles in the Adams Morgan area of D.C., where he runs a small neighborhood grocery store. He lives in near isolation; his only friends at first are two fellow Africans, whose longing and nostalgia are as great as his own. In time he is befriended by neighbors Judith and Naomi – a white woman and her biracial daughter. However, as racial tensions and violence erupt in his community, his challenges are only beginning.

The New York Times Book Review called this work “A great African novel, a great Washington novel, and a great American novel…In Mengestu’s work, there’s no such thing as the nondescript life. He notices and there are whole worlds in his noticing. He has written a novel for an age ravaged by the moral and military fallout of cross-cultural incuriosity… there’s something hugely hopeful about this young writer’s watchful honesty and egalitarian tenderness.”

The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears is a Los Angeles Times Book Prize winner and Mengestu’s first novel. All are welcome to join the Friends book discussion, which will be held in the Hydrangea Room at 7:30 p.m. Copies of the book are available at the Takoma Park Maryland Library.

This article appeared in the May 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

The Celebrate Takoma festival will be back for a fourth year, but with a few changes. The festival is moving from its usual Sunday afternoon time to the early Saturday evening (4 – 7 p.m.) of May 14. It is also moving from the field behind Piney Branch Elementary to the block on Maple Avenue in front of the school with the aim of making the festival more of a street party. The festival will feature music, dance, ethnic food, games, children’s crafts (including chalk drawing on the pavement), booths from community groups, an expository display of town history and the annual presentation of the Azalea Awards.

For the first time, children and the young-at-heart will be treated to free ice cream.

After a prelude performance by the Takoma Park Community Band, the steel pan band Panquility will kick off the event with the shake-shake-shake percussion sounds familiar to fans who dance yearly to their music in the Independence Day parade. The Proverbs band will bring the event to a close with their rollicking blues-beats of reggae. In between will be performances by Ethiopian dancers, a flamenco dancer and an Indie blues singer.

The Azalea Awards will be presented to volunteers and activists who have been selected as the year’s best at improving life in the Greater Takoma community. Under the auspices of the Takoma Foundation, nominees are recommended and then voted on by the public at large.

In a town known for musical and cultural events, Celebrate Takoma was started in 2013 by the Recreation Department and the Recreation Committee with a vision that harks back to old-fashioned town celebrations. “The idea is to throw a party for everyone who lives here, the whole wonderful mix of people,” said Howard Kohn, a Recreation Committee member.

This article appeared in the May 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

A lot has changed since a year ago when newly appointed City Manager Suzanne Ludlow proposed a budget with a tax rate increase to help fund the second year of a phased-in salary increase for City employees.

Seven months later Kate Stewart was elected Mayor and Peter Kovar and Rizzy Qureshi joined the Council. The new Council continued the previous Council’s interest in economic development and environmental sustainability and added affordable housing, youth issues and improved police/ community relations to the priorities the City government would address.

In keeping with these priorities, two key elements of the City Manager’s proposed FY17 budget are highlighted below.

No change in tax rate

This year, an eight percent increase in the assessable property base will yield just enough revenue to offset the final year of the phased-in increases in employee salaries, bringing them up to the market rates for staff of small municipalities in the region. Some additional revenue increases from State and County sources will allow City staff to be able to address Council priorities while continuing to provide municipal services at current levels.

Ludlow proposes to keep the tax rate at $0.585 per $100 valuation. This adds $846,272 to the expected property tax revenue for the coming fiscal year because of the recent increase in property assessments. On average, the owner of a property now assessed at $400,000 would pay the City of Takoma Park $13 more in property taxes next year than he/she did in the current year.

If the City wished to receive the same amount of property tax revenue next year as it expects to receive this year, the City’s tax rate would need to be reduced to $0.5518 per $100 assessed valuation, the “constant yield tax rate.”

A new neighborhood services division

Ludlow is proposing one new full-time position and an organizational change. The new position is that of an Environmental Code Enforcement Officer. Recent new laws passed by the City Council require a significant amount of outreach and enforcement for them to be effective. These include the Safe Grow pesticide restrictions, polystyrene ban, multifamily and business recycling and a possible plastic bag ban. City laws prohibiting overgrown vegetation and vines growing on trees have been on the books for years, but there has been little capacity for regular enforcement. The new position would coordinate education efforts and oversee enforcement of these laws.

The new position would be part of a new division in the Police Department called the Neighborhood Services Division. The Division would also include the City’s two Property Code Enforcement Officers, currently in the Housing and Community Development Department, and the Police Department’s one full- and one part- time Parking Enforcement Officers. The officers would be cross trained and conduct joint enforcement efforts when needed. They also become part of the community efforts of the Police Department to identify areas that need greater attention (that may have litter, graffiti, or vacant properties) and to continue community outreach with businesses and residents.

The Housing and Community Development Department would focus more on proactive affordable housing and economic development efforts.

The City Manager’s proposed budget will be presented to the City Council on Wednesday, April 6. The Council will consider the details of the budget during special Monday night budget work sessions in April, with votes on May 11 and May 18 on the contents of the budget and the amount of the tax rate. Public Hearings on the budget are set for April 13 and April 27 at 7:30 pm.

The proposed FY17 budget is available at www.takomaparkmd.gov/budget.

Budget Highlights

• Proposed addition of an Environmental Code Enforcement position to provide education and enforcement of the City’s environmental laws.
• Creation of a Neighborhood Services division in the Police Department, responsible for the enforcement of property codes, environmental laws and parking restrictions.
• Funds for an economic development study and pursuit of redevelopment and investment in the New Hampshire Avenue Corridor, building on the coming of the Purple Line.
• Funds for affordable housing efforts, building on recommendations coming out of February’s Affordable Housing Community Conversation.
• Funds to help advance the City’s education and lobbying efforts related to tax duplication so that Takoma Park taxpayers do not pay twice for services they only receive from the City of Takoma Park.
• Continued work on plans for the renovation and expansion of the Takoma Park Library.
• Significant investment in the ongoing Ethan Allen Gateway Streetscape and Flower Avenue Green Street projects.
• Completion of three park projects: Colby Avenue Park, Sligo Mill Overlook Park and the dog park, if not completed in the current fiscal year.
• Street repair, new sidewalk construction and ADA sidewalk improvements at the full annual commitment level of $500,000 each.
• Continued funding for the City’s match to the State’s Homeowner Tax Credit program for lowerincome homeowners.

“My nicest memories come from the supportive words I heard from community members as I took on the new role as City Manager,” says Suzanne Ludlow of her first year on the job. “It made the transition to the position easier for me.”

In this interview, Ludlow shares highlights from her first year in her new position: what’s been accomplished, what lies ahead for the City, and what she is most looking forward to as she begins her second year on the job.

TP News: What has surprised you the most in the past year?

Ludlow: I’ve been most pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm of the Council to jump in and help on City efforts. This is the most active Council I’ve worked with, both on their own constituent service matters and on setting priorities as a group and working on them. In addition, they have pitched in on cleanup efforts during the big snow storm, they’ve come to staff events, and they want to be asked to help on lobbying efforts and in making connections to other jurisdictions and agencies. It’s really great—it’s a team effort.

TP News: What were your biggest challenges as you began your new role last year?

Ludlow: My biggest challenge was to hire an excellent Deputy City Manager to help share the work load. It helped that many talented people wanted to work for the City of Takoma Park, so we had great applicants from which to choose. Jason Damweber has been on the job eight months. He jumped in with both feet and has made my job so much easier. He has already made significant improvements to many of our technology and communications systems, and he is building strong relationships with Councilmembers, staff and residents.

My second biggest challenge was dealing with the brief stay of the person we hired as a Finance Director when Yovonda Brooks retired. Fortunately, our Budget Specialist Susan Cheung has stepped into the director role and will perform well in that key position. This experience reinforces the need for succession planning in all City departments. We need to ensure that the excellent and critical work we do will continue when planned or unplanned vacancies occur.

TP News: What was your greatest opportunity, and how have you been able to capitalize upon it?

Ludlow: My greatest opportunity was the big snow storm in late January. With the City’s new website and ability to do blog posts, I was able to give frequent updates before and during the storm. Residents want to know what’s happening during an emergency event, and we were able to get that information out.

More than that, I was able to tell the stories of our public works staff and police officers as they rose to the challenges they faced. It’s nice to be able to show that City staff is made up of real people who really care about Takoma Park. In getting the word out in this way, Councilmembers and residents found it easier to share information with each other and then back to me, so problem areas could be promptly addressed.

Now we have shown to ourselves that this higher, and more personal, level of communication is well-received and helps show what is special about Takoma Park. News blogs from individual Councilmembers and the Mayor on behalf of the whole Council, and from key staff and the City Manager on behalf of the City staff, will go out regularly to keep people informed about activities in the City. And they will continue to be used most effectively in times of emergency. I’m so glad it worked well. It’s a nice new part of the Takoma Park experience.

TP News: Of what accomplishments are you most proud?

Ludlow: It seems too early to talk about accomplishments. A lot of improvements have been made over the past year, but it feels more like most things are a work-in-progress. The new website is so much better than the old one, and I love the Project Initiatives page on the website and the My TkPk app. I was really pleased with staff’s work in organizing the first Community Conversation on affordable housing, and there are many internal system improvements that have been made that the public can’t see but that help staff do their work well. If there is one improvement of which I’m proud, it is that staff members see the importance of communication as a key part of our work. There’s more to be done here as well, but we have advanced so much in this area that I feel really good about it.

TP News: What kinds of “challenges” do you anticipate during the remainder of this year?

Ludlow: We have huge projects and initiatives in the works: Takoma Junction, the look of the renovated library, improvements to the intersection of Ethan Allen and New Hampshire Avenues, economic development initiatives along New Hampshire Avenue, how to serve young people in the community that most need a leg up, and many more. It will take a lot to balance the work load and accomplish the goals the Council has set out in its excellent priorities document.

TP News: What are you most looking forward to as you begin your second year as City Manager?

Ludlow: A vacation! In May after the budget is passed, my husband and I will take a few days to help our son move to Florida for a summer job, and I hope to take some time off with my husband in August.

A primary focus of a rental housing inspection is to look for life safety code violations. Some of the basic requirements that all living spaces should have include hot water, heat, cooking facilities and sanitary facilities.

Fire safety is a major concern. Smoke alarms must be on the ceiling of every level of your home and both inside and outside bedrooms. Being able to escape in case of a fire is vital, so all bedrooms must have an outside window or exterior door for egress. Egress windows may not have bars unless they are breakaway bars approved by the Montgomery County Fire Marshall. In basement bedrooms, a code conforming window well may be required if the window is not large enough for a tenant to escape or a firefighter to enter.

Doors to the outside may not have keyed locks on the inside and must be openable with a thumb latch. There must be a safe, clear path to the outside door or to a required egress window. This means no trip hazards in a unit. Additionally, all stairways must have handrails. Nothing should be stored near a furnace or water heater. Electrical fixtures should be installed properly, outlets and switches should be property covered (not cracked, arcing or sparking), and there should not be any extension cords or cable wires running through doorways or windows.

Although this list is not all inclusive, this covers the basic safety housing requirements to ensure everyone has a safe place to live.