Our City is small, unique, and is host
to our homes whether we live in apartments, single family residents, or other
multi-family dwellings. It is where we live, and often work and play.
Each of us moved here for various reasons, but we have stayed here for pretty
much the same reasons. That sense of community; that belonging; that
sense of purpose, and of course our brand of politics!
However,
for some of us, the past two years have at best been challenging. As your
Mayor, I encourage you to look beyond the construction, the water main breaks,
that huge arch of water that came straight down your chimney, and know that
this too shall pass. I have arranged for the City to have a major block
party in the spring with a ribbon cutting ceremony to "officially"
open the newly paved Bunker Hill Road! Stay tuned.
Bunker Hill Road: November was a very busy month. In
fact, it all started in October and just kept on coming. It is good to
see so much activity in the City. We know that our old infrastructure is
being updated and replaced. That's good for the City even if it is
painful for us as residents.
Street
work is being done throughout the City. New sewer lines are being put in,
as well as the gas lines. Because so much of the work in some areas have
caused sidewalks to be removed as well as curbs and gutters, the City will get
new sidewalks, new curbs and new gutters.
Because
so many companies (WSSC, Washington Gas, PEPCO and all of their contractors) are
involved, it has been hard to always make sure that the right hand knows what
the left hand is doing. This has resulted in gas line breaks; water line
shooting water up over houses, sink holes, blocked drive ways and blocked drive
ways with cars in them, and lets not talk about the noise factor or the many other
inconveniences. Some neighbors have described it as living in hell.
The
good news to all of this is that we are beginning to see some light at the end
of the tunnel. HOWEVER, it is not the time to rejoice. Keep
checking. Keep me and your councilmember informed of the work, quality of
the work, and any other issue that might result in a future problem for the
City. You are our eyes and ears closet to the problem. We need your
help.
Allison Street Levee: In the next few months, we will encounter even
more construction/reconstruction when the County (DER) brings in its engineers
to begin full scale work on the levee. A number of you are aware that the
levee has had some ongoing work for the past several months. Much of that
was testing the soil, evaluating the existing levee, and making some final
decisions on the direction that is best for the County to go to meet the new
Federal standard for levees. (NOTE: Jesse Christopherson has been
assigned the lead on this project).
The pumping station in Brentwood will be restored, the levee
walls and berms will be raised, and the 34th Street bridge will be replaced
(one side at a time and will have an impact on traffic, Thomas Stone, and some
of our residents). Upon completion and certification, the project will provide improved
flood protection, and will carry the same flood requirements as have been in
place since the installation of the levee, i.e., residents are advised to get
flood insurance, but will not be required to get flood insurance. The
new finished bridge will have sidewalks on both sides, and may even have a bike
lane. It will also be raised higher than
the current bridge. In addition, traffic
will be redirected in order to allow the work to be carried out.
The new levee requires that there be no trees within 15
feet of the levee (the oak and plane trees that line Arundel Road, the trees in
Richardson Park, the trees around the Nature Center, and behind Standard
Pressing Machine Co. on Queens Chapel Road).
As part of the County’s agreement with the City, for each tree removed,
the County will donate two trees that will be insured for one year after
planting including watering them, and replacement should the trees not make it
during the first year.
Some specifics that you should
understand:
F
The levee work extends from 30th
Street to Queens Chapel Road including the wall behind the 7/11 on 34th
Street.
F
The levee wall throughout the
project will be raised anywhere from 0.5 feet to 3 feet to meet certification
requirements.
F
34th Street Bridge will be raised. There will be traffic detours, but one side
of the bride will remain open throughout the project to allow access to the
school and some traffic in the area. The detour will occur at 34th and
Arundel with a left turn on Arundel during both construction periods (both
directions). There may be a need to request that Allison Street, in
Brentwood, be made a one way street in the opposite direction. (This will
require a discussion with Brentwood) Signage will begin at Windom Road and will
probably go all the way to Eastern Avenue to give motorist as much notice about
the road and levee construction as possible.
F
The wall will be stained (City will
have an active role in determining the colors, possibly adding a mural etc.).
F
Development
and Implementation
of a green street on Arundel Road. Three concept plans have been offered
ranging from $1.1 million to $890, 000+. Copies of the plans are at City
Hall and available online. Residents
will have an opportunity to provide input prior to final implementation. This is NOT a part of the levee work,
but is an olive branch of sort for the trees that will be removed, but also
part of the County's bigger initiative to address the storm water issue.
F
Project is to be completed by end of 2015. Because of the project, homeowners in the
area will not be required to buy flood insurance, but would be encouraged to do
so even as they are encouraged to do so now.
The following includes an update on
what was reported last month as well as a kind of recap of some of the things
that Mayor and Council, staff, and others have done throughout the year.
1)
With the grant from the Department of
Aging Secretary, Gloria Lawlah, the Whatcha Doin Seniors’ Club (WDSC) will hold its
first official meeting on Monday, January 6 at 11:30am at the Mount Rainier Police
Station. Lunch will be served. The purpose of the first meeting is to get
ideas and set up activities for senior residents. Transportation will be made available to
those who need it.
If you
have not signed up to be a member of this newly forming Club, you should call Miss
Janis Lomax immediately so that you can be a founding member! Miss Lomax can be reached at
301-985-6585. There are no fees to join,
but you MUST be a senior (60 years and over).
See the October issue of the “Message” to learn more about the Whatcha
Doin Seniors’ Club.
2) The
Halloween Party was a booming success.
Thank you to everyone that helped to make it possible and to all of the
parents who came by and brought their children.
Based on your request, I believe we can repeat it again next year. So mark your calendars. NOTE: DOUBLE thanks to all those residents
who came and brought their candy to be given out at the party. It kept us from running completely out before
7:30pm. If you have ideas and/or
suggestions or would just like to help with this next year. Please let me know.
3) Veterans
Day Celebration on November 10, 2013 was a huge success. Thank you to all of the participants. Mount Rainier has its share of Veterans and a
number of our police officers are veterans.
I am proud that many of our veterans came out to be honored at this
event. Secretary of Maryland’s Veterans
Affairs, Edward Chow, Jr., and Maryland Municipal League’s first vice president
Bruce Wahl were in attendance. Intisar
Haamid provided the refreshments, and the event was held in our very own Potts
Building (also known as the Eastern Star building). Thank yous and kudos to Janis Lomax for helping
to make this event possible.
4) I am
humbled and thankful for the great support that was received on short notice
for help to make Thanksgiving a reality for 44 families in our community. Twenty families from Mount Rainier Elementary
and 20 families from Thomas Stone Elementary received a turkey and some
non-perishables to help them with their Thanksgiving feast. The principals, counselors and teachers were
just overwhelmed and appreciative of the help that was given to their students.
Thank you to my little worker bees, Timothy Alexander, Charles Evans, and
Eriyana Miles Barnes for their help in shopping, packing, loading, unloading,
and bagging all of the items for the families.
Hours of work with smiles and a spirit of sharing were exhibited by all
of them. Without their help this project
would have been much harder to accomplish.
Thanks also to Janis Lomax and Markita for their help and support. Markita actually dug down in her pocket for
the cranberry sauce to make sure every family received at least one can. What a team!
Donors to
this event included Senator Victor Ramirez, Shoppers Food Warehouse on Chillum
Road, Mario Cisnero, Dionne Luna Tenhue, Margaret Boozer, Carman Wigman, Brian
Hicks, Khyyam Cooper, William (Lee) Miles, Captain Jimmy Stoots, and our own
Chief Michael Scott. Others did not give
a name or did not want their names included in this list. Thank you one and all for whatever the gift including
kind words.
5) Third update
on Bunker Hill Road and other streets in Mount Rainier. Reconstruction work has started on Bunker
Hill Road. Sidewalks, curbs and gutters
are being installed (and from what I have seen, they are looking good). With this warm weather, I am hopeful that we
will see an entirely new street in the not too distant future. Special thanks to former Mayor Bryan Knedler
for taking off from work to oversee some of the reconstruction work on Bunker
Hill. There still tend to be some rule
violations, but we have been on top of them and will continue to monitor this
project until it is completed.
Your
Councilmember, Brent Bolin, and I continue to walk and monitor the area to ensure
compliance, but we need those pictures, and other information about issues of
concern to you. You are our eyes and
ears. We were assured that they will
strive to complete their work prior to winter setting in, but everything
depends on the weather and no more unexpected surprises.
Washington
Gas has completed its work on Bunker Hill Road.
There are, however, still some issues on 31st with
the soil replacement in our tree boxes.
That issues has been called to their attention for correcting. As of Monday, December 2, all of the work being
done on Bunker Hill Road is being done by Washington Gas Company. They are in the reconstruction phase, i.e.,
rebuilding our street, sidewalks, and gutters.
Bunker
Hill will soon be done.
Thirtieth
Street has had most, if not all of the work done to prepare it for milling next
spring. Washington Gas will be doing
that work. HOWEVER, I have noticed that
there has been some additional work being done, and that portion of 30th
that was done first now looks as if it was never redone. I will be discussing this with both utility
companies to make sure that when one is finished they are all finished so that
our streets will remain in good shape for a while.
Additional
work is planned in the City. Michael
Jackson and I will soon be meeting on that project. It is a big project similar to the one on
Bunker Hill Road, but we will apply what we have learned from Bunker Hill Road
as we begin this project. We will keep
you posted on where, when, what, how long and the extent of the work to be done
once we have more information.
6) The holiday season is here. We need to be very diligent and mindful that
there are those amongst us who have much less than we do. During the Thanksgiving holidays, Thomas
Stone Elementary and Mount Rainier Elementary identified 40 families that live
in our community and are struggling to stay afloat. Thanks to residents, family and friends from
as far away as Colorado, we were able to meet their needs for Thanksgiving. Those same families will be struggling for
the Christmas Holiday season whether they celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanza
or none of the above, no one should be hungry in Mount Rainier.
Our
Holiday food drive is underway, and we are accepting can goods, pasta, and
other nonperishables at the Mount Rainier Police Station and Mount Rainier City
Hall. This drive is being led by Captain
Jimmy Stoots who has for the past many years made food basket donations to at
least ten families each year. This year,
I have asked him to increase the number to 44.
In
addition, we need toys for the children.
There are approximately 100 children between the 44 families. The children’s ages range from one year to
fourteen years of age. If you have the
resources are access to the resources, we are asking that you p donate at least
one toy, new clothing item, electronic (teaching/learning toys) clearly marked
for a boy or girl and the age. The
children or either at home (pre-school) or in K-6.
7) Thursday,
December 5, 2013, Councilmember Jimmy Tarlau officially announced his bid for
State Delegate for District 47A! We had an awesome turnout, and Jim was warmly
received and acknowledged as the candidate for our District. Now, it is time
for us to go to work, to make sure that Mount Rainier, Brentwood, North
Brentwood, Colmar Manor, Cottage City, and Bladensburg are fairly represented
at the State level. Jimmy’s campaign needs volunteers, donations, and
people ready for change to join on this uphill battle NOW! Our District has
been reshaped and changed to meet specific agendas by our current politician,
and it is large. Jimmy has been walking it and introducing himself to District
47A residents. He needs YOU to sign up and join him as he knocks on doors.
There is an old saying “many hands make light work.” The Tarlau campaign needs
MANY HANDS.
8) Last
night, I heard someone say “We do not need any more politicians that show up
for parades, kiss babies, throw big bashes, and promote themselves.” If you
agree with that statement, then let's put into office that someone that will
actually work for change in our community. We need somebody in Annapolis that
will work for the working poor! So, I say "RUN JIMMY RUN!"
A lot happened in Mount Rainier this
year, and I cannot recap it all, but a few of the highlights include:
The Cultural
Academy For Excellence (CAFÉ) a 501©3 corporation moving into our
neighborhood with activities for all ages. CAFÉ began in 1996 with a grant from the
Kaiser Permanente Building Hope Foundation. Founder and Executive Director Lorna
Green together with a Board of Directors, committed professionals, parents and
community leaders lend their expertise to keep CAFE’S program innovative and
creative.
Bill Updike leaving the Council and New
Councilmember Jesse Christopherson elected in Ward 1.
Another
awesome Mount Rainier Day in spite of the rain.
Mayor
and Council coming together to learn about TIFs and hiring an expert to lead us
through the process of developing the Bass Property.
The completion and
opening of the 36th Street Park.
Halloween
party jointly sponsored by the Mayor and the Mount Rainier Police Department.
The
first Veterans Celebration on November 10 honoring Mount Rainier’s Veterans.
Four
new police officers sworn in with two of them being females bringing our police
force back up to seventeen (17).
Construction
work on our aging infrastructure on Bunker Hill Road continued to plague our
residents.
New
telegraph polls installed in the City raising PEPCO lines higher above our tree
canopy.
Our
tree canopy continued to be improved with the planting of more than 30 new
trees in the City.
Council
meeting are now being streamed on our website so that if you do not have cable
you can still watch your Council at work.
Updated
website with more tools and equipment for residents to stay in touch with what
is going on in the City.
New police cars
added to our fleet, and our officers equipped with body camera to better
protect themselves, record the event, and provide a video recording for future
use.
Code
Enforcement has gone high tech. They are
recording and reporting events and incidents while in the field. No longer having to go back to the office to
write up the reports.
Electronic
recycling has become a part of the City regular routine to help reduce our foot
print on the environment.
This
is just a snippet of what your City has been doing to make life better for all
residents. With a budget of less than
five (5) million dollars, our staff, led by Ms. Jeannelle Wallace has managed
to compete on all levels for keeping our community safe, clean, livable, and a
destination by most visitors in the Washington Metropolitan area.
Your
Mayor and Council have met regularly (for regular, special, and closed session)
to make sure that appropriate policies and procedures are in place for staff to
carry out their functions. Spending has
been held down, and minum tax raises have been the order of the day. As your Mayor, I have enjoyed serving you tis
past year, and look forward to serving you again in 2014.
Happy Holiday Wishes
In the
spirit of the season and those who would be politically correct, I hereby
declare the rest of 2013 as Mount Rainier’s Season of love, caring, and giving;
and wish that neighbors will help one another not only during the remainder of
December 2013, but throughout 2014.
Merry
Christmas
Happy
Hanukkah
Happy
Kwanza
And peace
and blessings to all including those who celebrate nothing!
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