Weekly Status & Information Report:
January 5 - January 9, 2009

Piney Branch Pool Opening Ceremony: City TV sent a video crew and photographers to the PBES opening ceremony on Tuesday, January 6th. A highlight was Mayor Williams jumping into the pool. Councilmembers Terry Seamens and Colleen Clay also attended, as did County Councilmember George Leventhal. The Communications office will be helping to publicize the pool's schedule once this information is available, including a Snapshots segment on City TV, a newsletter article and various web links. (City TV)

Press Conference - Maple Towers, 7610 Maple Avenue (Ward 4): On Monday, January 12 at 10:00 a.m., Montgomery County Executive Isaiah Leggett will hold a press conference at 7610 Maple Avenue to discuss the acquisition of Maple Towers by Montgomery Housing Partnership, an affordable housing non-profit organization. The rehabilitation of this vacant and deteriorating rental property is a priority for the city and the county, with financing for acquisition being provided by Montgomery County's Department of Housing and Community Affairs. The property will have between 35-40 affordable housing units, scheduled to be completed in 2010. (Housing and Community Development)

Purple Line Testimony: Councilmember Josh Wright presented the testimony of the City of Takoma Park at Thursday's Purple Line public hearing before the Montgomery County Planning Board. The City strongly supports the medium investment, light rail alternative of the Purple Line. The Planning Board will decide on a position at its meeting of January 15. The issue then goes before the Transportation and Environment Committee of the Montgomery County Council for discussion on January 22, with a decision by the full County Council likely the following week. A recommendation by the Montgomery County Executive is expected before the County Council takes action. The Maryland Transit Administration wants to hear from you about the Purple Line. Their comment period closes on January 14. Final decision on the Purple Line is expected in late February or March by Governor O'Malley. For more information, go to www.purplelinemd.com or www.mc-mncppc.org/transportation/projects/purple_line.shtm. (Deputy City Manager)

New Associate Planner: The Housing and Community Development Department extends a warm welcome to new Associate Planner, Ms. Carman Lam. Prior to coming to Takoma Park, Ms. Lam worked in the private sector on a variety of land use, urban design and master plan projects in Canada and in China. She has a MSc degree in Building and Urban Design from the University College London, University of London. As Associate Planner, Ms. Lam will be involved in a variety of planning and neighborhood revitalization projects throughout the community. (Housing and Community Development)

New Hampshire Avenue Beautification Grant Outreach (Ward 6): City staff met with business owners and business property owners on Holton Lane to promote grants available to business and business property owners along the corridor. The program is oriented towards improving the attractiveness of the corridor and business owners' ability to improve and maintain their business exteriors. (Housing and Community Development)

Montgomery County Green Infrastructure Plan (City-wide): Montgomery County Park and Planning are working on a environmental infrastructure plan for Montgomery County. A map depicting a network of green spaces throughout Montgomery County will soon be available for review. MNCPPC invites the public to critique their draft on January 13. For more information, go to http://www.mcparkandplanning.org/green_infrastructure/index.shtm. (Housing and Community Development)

Take the Montgomery County Growth Policy Survey (City-wide): County planners drafting the 2009-2011 Growth Policy are rethinking how the County manages growth, looking beyond basing it just on congestion relief and school capacity. Instead, they will focus on ways to enhance quality of place in communities, including respecting the natural environment in the design of buildings, spaces and streets to create great places with better connections. County staff has placed a survey online for people that live and work in Montgomery County: http://www.mcparkandplanning.org/research/growth_policy/growth_policy09/agp_growing_smarter.shtm. (Housing and Community Development)

Fireproofing Project: The City appreciates the patience and flexibility of staff and patrons between December 19 and January 5, while fireproofing improvements were made to several rooms in the Community Center. The work was scheduled over the holidays to minimize disruptions to the City's afterschool programs. (Deputy City Manager)

Technical Difficulties: Due to some technical issues with the Granicus server, the Council meeting was not available online until Friday, but is now up and running. (City TV)

Officers in Meetings:
- On January-6, Capt. Ed Coursey attended a flood management meeting at Public Works. Also, Capt. Coursey attended a meeting on inauguration issues.

- On January 8, Chief Ricucci attended the monthly meeting of the Crossroads Development Authority (CDA). (Police)

Traffic Enforcement: Officers conducted at least 115 traffic stops, which resulted in citations, three (3) vehicle impounds, one (1) Controlled Dangerous Substance (CDS) arrest and one (1) warrant arrest from traffic.

During December 29, 2008 - January 5, 2009, the following details were completed:

December 29, 2008
- New Hampshire Avenue (speeding) - conducted a one (1) hour detail and issued three (3) state citations.

December 30, 2008
- New Hampshire Avenue (speeding) - conducted a one (1) hour detail and issued seven (7) state citations and one (1) warning.

January 5, 2009
- 7600 Carroll Avenue (speeding) - conducted a one (1) hour detail and issued one (1) state citation. (Police)