[0:08] Good evening everyone and welcome to the Bladensburg town of Bladensburg. That is

[0:13] council work session for Monday, July 13, 2026. Thank you for joining us

[0:18] whether you're watching online or took the time to brave the heat and join us

[0:23] in person. Glad to have you here. We are now called to order. The next item on

[0:28] the agenda for today is the approval of the agenda. Is there a motion to

[0:33] approve? >> I so move.

[0:35] » Moved by council member Dixon. Is there a second?

[0:37] » Second. >> Seconded by council member McBride. Any

[0:41] corrections or amendments to the agenda before calling the vote? Hearing none.

[0:47] All in favor? Let it be known by the saying of I.

[0:50] » I. Any nays? The eyes have it. The agenda is approved as presented.

[0:57] Next on the agenda, we'll move down to the approval of meeting minutes for

[1:01] Monday, June 8th work session. Is there a motion to approve?

[1:10] » Not all at once. So moved by Council Member McBride. Is there a second?

[1:16] » I second. >> Second. Oh, thank you. Seconded by

[1:19] Council Member Dixon. Any corrections or comments regarding the um the minutes

[1:27] hearing? None. I'll call for the vote. All in favor, let it be known by the

[1:30] saying of I. >> I. Any naysay? The eyes have it the

[1:35] meeting minutes for June 8th are approved. Tonight, we don't have any

[1:39] items under unfinished business. So, we'll proceed into new business,

[1:44] beginning with item E regarding 52nd Avenue update. and I'll turn it over to

[1:49] the town administrator at this time. All >> right. Uh good evening, mayor and

[1:53] council. Uh before I jump in, I just wanted um to uh take note. Uh obviously,

[2:00] you can see our finance director uh is not here this evening. Um he had a

[2:04] family emergency come up this afternoon um which required him to um uh to to

[2:11] head out a little bit early. Um but he uh just wanted me to make sure everybody

[2:17] uh was aware and um when we get to the council uh meeting portion of the

[2:23] evening um I'll just share a couple of updates from him. Um so uh with that

[2:29] noted uh the next topic is 52nd Avenue update. Um unfortunately this afternoon

[2:35] it was made known that um SHA was going to be unavailable to come this evening.

[2:42] Um, so that does alter our uh plan a little bit, but I did want to provide um

[2:49] a few updates to council about where we are um since our last conversation on

[2:55] June 8th um which stemmed from uh a pretty robust meeting um back in May

[3:01] with SHA. Um just a a very brief overview for um those that might be

[3:07] watching. Um this uh part of the street is or was part of a pilot project um a

[3:16] few years ago or a couple of years ago. Um we're now at a point trying to

[3:21] determine what the best path uh moving forward is and turning uh it was

[3:26] temporarily turned into a one-way uh road. There was a substantial amount of

[3:31] work that needed to be done just to maintain it. Um, I I want to take a a

[3:36] moment to um thank our team and SHA for a tremendous effort um that took place

[3:46] starting last Thursday, July 9th, um and then continued on Friday, July 10th, and

[3:52] then continued today on July 13th of a joint cleanup um along 52nd uh Avenue.

[3:59] they uh brave the heat and uh realigned barriers. Um thank you to SHA for um

[4:08] coming back out on Friday and putting up uh the the flexi

[4:13] um uh what am I trying to think of?

[4:19] » Flexibles. Thank you. Um which which look fantastic. Um they cut down a

[4:24] tremendous amount of shrubbery removed that uh trash

[4:29] um was was collected. Um and just this afternoon I was driving up there and I

[4:35] saw a number of uh of people walking that road again. Um and so uh I I just

[4:43] wanted to say thank you um to our team and to SHA um for making that joint

[4:48] effort possible. Um it really was uh much needed and and I know that the

[4:55] residents in that area uh truly appreciate it and anybody that traverses

[4:59] that road. Um so next point uh we shared with SHA um a draftou

[5:08] um and and for transparency. One of the things that we were calling for and that

[5:14] I think we heard loud and clear from the joint uh meeting was um while this is a

[5:20] stateowned road um to get us to um the point of redesign and effectuating

[5:30] um the permanent transition to a one-way road. We're about 2 years out. Um so

[5:35] what is the plan um moving forward? And uh I think we're kind of at a crossroads

[5:41] of do we uh remove the barriers completely or do we um continue with

[5:46] this program while we're trying to um uh await the final design. Um

[5:55] so I think while there are a number of

[6:01] different um options, one of the things that we used as a starting point was uh

[6:07] quarterly joint cleanups. I think we saw how effective they were. Um after

[6:12] speaking with Derek last week after he reviewed the draftou,

[6:18] um I know that their team is is spread pretty thin. Um there was some concern

[6:23] about um whether or not that would be feasible. Um I think Pernell would agree

[6:29] one of the things that was u most beneficial um and something that we are

[6:34] desperately in need of um are some of the equipment um that they have. And so

[6:40] um I think we're still trying to hammer out what those details will be exactly.

[6:45] Um but I think the effort um this past week shows that there is um

[6:53] there are some opportunities to work together to move forward. Uh so we don't

[6:57] know exactly what that will look like. We hope to have a draft um response from

[7:01] them over the next couple of weeks. It's with their in-house attorneys right now.

[7:06] Um so you know that's something that we're going to continue to hammer

[7:10] through over the next several weeks um to bring back to you. Um, but just

[7:15] wanted to give you guys kind of an update on uh where we were, the effort

[7:19] that um both teams, the town and the state uh made and and figuring out um

[7:26] what the next steps will be as we as we move forward.

[7:32] » Thank you for that update. And um after you let me know they couldn't make it, I

[7:37] want to confirm Senator Augustine said he will plan to come to that next

[7:41] meeting when SHA is here. So, um, and he was glad to hear that there's been

[7:46] progress with conversations. So, I think having him as part of that in September

[7:51] will be really helpful. But any comments or questions from the council before we

[7:55] move on? Council member Dixon. >> Thank you, Madame Mayor. Brian, did they

[8:01] mention when will be ready? >> Yes. So, um, it long before September.

[8:08] Um, so they are it's with legal right now. he hopes to have a draft back um to

[8:13] us within the next uh couple of weeks. Um so we'll we'll look over it. Um

[8:19] definitely we'll update council uh since we have our retreat coming up. Hope to

[8:23] have some updates by then. Um I think the benefit also of um unfortunately

[8:29] this being pushed back but um one of the benefits is uh they also hope to have a

[8:35] 30% complete design to present to council as well um of of the redesign of

[8:41] 52nd Street in September. So um we'll kind of hopefully have a a two for one

[8:47] then. >> Thank you.

[8:49] » Absolutely. >> Council member Brown, you had a comment

[8:52] or question. >> Uh thanks. I was going to ask the same

[8:54] thing about theou and hopefully we can, you know, get it in time enough to

[8:59] review and look over it and make our comments and stuff. But yeah,

[9:04] » absolutely. I'm uh pushing uh I did make it clear when our retreat was, so really

[9:10] trying to have uh something for us to uh respond to uh by then. So

[9:17] agreed, >> that is all good. Um, and we'll look

[9:20] forward to that conversation coming up in September. But now for another

[9:26] engaging conversation. Council member Blunt, it's over to the Port Towns bus

[9:30] operations, which I know you are very passionate about.

[9:35] » And uh, from the update in the packet, it sounds like there's been some

[9:40] interesting conversations. It's really not the Port Towns bus anymore. It's

[9:44] becoming more of the Bladensburg bus, >> but that's

[9:47] » but you know, so I'll turn it over to the administrator for the update.

[9:54] » It wasn't working, but I was like

[9:59] something, but I couldn't say anything. So,

[10:01] » it's all right. That's why we're here. You got You have the mic.

[10:04] » Do you want to lead off? >> Your mic's not on, council member.

[10:08] » No, actually, you you can start off and then I'll

[10:11] » I'll push my way in. fill in the blanks. >> Yeah.

[10:15] » Okay. >> All right. Sounds good. Um, so I think

[10:19] uh the mayor kind of teed it up uh perfectly. This uh several years ago was

[10:24] a joint effort collaboration um with all of the port towns. Um uh I think we're

[10:30] on bus number two now. Um and it's kind of nearing end of life. Um

[10:38] uh so it you know it it was a great uh collaborative effort. I think some of

[10:43] the other towns um you know the the uh participation has decreased

[10:48] dramatically. Um I think we were analyzing you know the last year or so

[10:53] of ridership and it's about 90 95% uh Bladensburg usage. Um Kore Manor has a

[11:00] resident or two that hops on. Um but it it is definitely um being utilized

[11:07] heaviest by us. We do all of the coordination of the scheduling. Um we

[11:13] house uh the the the bus. Um and really right now Commer Manor is really just

[11:20] doing the administrative piece. Um and the two part-time drivers are on um are

[11:26] on their payroll. Um so what we had a conversation about was uh understanding

[11:33] those realities. Um does it still make sense for uh Kar Manor to um to to

[11:42] administer this program? um or does it make more sense for uh Bladensburg to to

[11:48] take full ownership of the bus of the two part-time personnel um and save uh

[11:54] the 10% administrative fee that we are uh currently paying Comar Manor. um they

[12:00] are um eager I would say um to have this kind of transition over um you know I

[12:08] think one of the logistical pieces that we spoke about was um whatever the value

[12:13] of the bus currently is um you know we could figure out a way to um to to

[12:21] rectify th those payments um whether it's um with inkind rides for the comar

[12:27] manner residents for x amount of months or until you know that uh value of the

[12:32] bus is paid off. Um you know they're they're flexible there and and there's

[12:37] some uh wiggle room. Um I think the other piece to this is it does give us

[12:43] um even more flexibility about how we want to use the bus moving forward. Um

[12:49] both scheduling um and we would still theoretically make it available to uh

[12:55] the other Porttown communities. Um, but it it does give us more flexibility as a

[13:01] community um to determine what and how we want to use it. Um, I think the other

[13:06] side is um this this gives us a little bit of a runway. Um, I'd estimate we

[13:12] probably have 12 to 18 months um of of life left in

[13:19] that bus with um a few repairs here and there. Um, so thinking about, you know,

[13:24] what do we want to do next? Um we did receive a grant um this year for um

[13:32] replacement of a couple of vehicles. Unfortunately um I think we we might

[13:36] have uh glossed over the fine print um and the uh stipulations around the

[13:43] tonnage uh of the bus um that that we would have to purchase um would require

[13:49] CDL um and would probably be bigger than than what we would actually need. Um, so

[13:56] you know, we'll we'll go back to the drawing board on that. But this gives us

[14:00] some runway and some flexibility. So, um, I bring it to council um, as as I

[14:07] promised the the town manager. Um, I would do and and have this kind of

[14:13] conversation and see where we want to go from here.

[14:16] » Thank you for the update. And council member Blunt, if you would also chime

[14:20] in, please. >> Yeah. Um, well, I was shocked to know

[14:23] that we were paying them anything. Honestly, that's just I was I I was

[14:28] shocked we were paying them anything. But the six the $60,000 maybe I'm not

[14:33] understanding what is that used for. >> Can you speak to what that goes to

[14:38] directly? >> Sure. Um, so that goes towards uh

[14:42] predominantly the riders. Um we're essentially paying

[14:48] we pay per rider right now even though it it comes back to us in a sense. Um

[14:53] that also pays for maintenance gas um and for the uh the two part-time

[15:00] drivers. >> But so Coma man doesn't pay for the

[15:04] drivers. We pay for the drivers. >> Correct.

[15:07] So, >> but what what money was

[15:11] » Well, that's not all of the driver's salary, but that's the majority of it.

[15:15] Yes. >> But we pay for that.

[15:16] » Yes. >> And because they were administering

[15:19] handling all the paperwork, right? >> That's where the administrative fee came

[15:23] in that was paid to Kar Manor at the time.

[15:27] This was, I think, before any of us got on the council. It's just that's how it

[15:32] was set up. They would facilitate. You call that number, they schedule, they

[15:37] are responsible for scheduling the rides to pick up the seniors and then they're

[15:40] responsible for communicating with the drivers and scheduling them. I don't

[15:45] believe we've ever had dispatch responsibilities.

[15:47] » Well, we know we we didn't I just didn't know we was paying them a fee until I I

[15:52] heard it. >> But also, the money that the residents

[15:55] pay, where did that money go to? So that goes towards the the the ride

[15:59] itself, but it's it's such a nominal fee, it doesn't actually typically cover

[16:03] the overall cost of >> because per person we're paying what

[16:08] » I think it's >> 30 or 40 per ride or something. Yes.

[16:12] » So if they pay $2 or $3, it's not it's something,

[16:16] » but it's not covering the full amount. >> And I guess maybe I'm still

[16:20] understanding we're paying third. I guess if you look at how much it cost

[16:24] like you as we said through co what we were paying for for the ride but it's

[16:30] just the numbers just doesn't make sense to me at I just doesn't make sense I

[16:36] mean so when they who collects the money >> so right now com men is collecting the

[16:42] money as part of their administrative

[16:46] process >> so they keep the money they keep that

[16:50] money plus 10% %. >> So they're using that money to pay for

[16:55] the bus drivers like their salary and for any maintenance um above and beyond

[17:02] typically will have to go into our pockets if you know maintenance required

[17:08] over a certain percentage or dollar amount.

[17:11] » So >> that mean that drivers are basically

[17:14] employed by Kar Manor. >> They are they're on Kar Man's payroll.

[17:18] » Okay. And if Blad is >> Go ahead.

[17:21] » Yeah. The 60,000. Okay. No, go ahead. Make it make sense to me. That's all.

[17:25] » So, if we become the primary >> for the bus.

[17:29] » Mhm. >> Are we going to be employing these

[17:32] drivers? >> We would take that on as a

[17:34] responsibility. Yes. >> And also, the bus is going to be

[17:38] replaced within 12 to 18 months. Well, I think that's a guesstimation on the life

[17:43] expectancy of the current bus, whether we decide to replace it, whether we

[17:49] decide to discontinue the program altogether, whether we I think that's

[17:54] kind of the decision point, but one that we don't have to necessarily make

[17:58] tonight, but that's, you know, the medium-term

[18:02] discussion that that will have to be had. And I think the benefit is we can

[18:07] get better control over these rides because honestly by us not having the

[18:13] dispatch piece of it, we don't know what's being used, how many trips until

[18:18] the administrator gets the bill, reviews everything, and is signing off on them.

[18:23] And I just think it goes back to something council member Blunt, you said

[18:26] a couple years ago, which was we should be more strategic and say on this day,

[18:32] this is where the bus goes. on this day, it goes here because it's wasteful

[18:37] » to have two or three people on there and taking it here, there, and everywhere

[18:42] and racking up those per person fees. I think

[18:45] » we have to cut back. We've talked about budget constraints. We can't afford to

[18:49] keep doing this. And when you look at the number of people being served,

[18:53] there's other things that could be done with that money. And remember, you even

[18:57] brought up Uber. What if we did um what do you call them? Uber passes. Instead

[19:03] of that, I think another option is, and like you said, we've got time to figure

[19:08] out the next step, but another option is we have transportation companies right

[19:12] here in the business park. We could easily contract with them to say twice a

[19:16] week, we need you to handle senior rides.

[19:20] » And then we're not dealing with vehicle maintenance. We're not dealing with

[19:24] part-time employees, payroll expenses, and all the rest. and they're

[19:28] professionals at this. So we and they're great when we use them for town events.

[19:32] So I feel like we could explore that. >> So my ask would be council member Blunt,

[19:39] » if you wouldn't mind working with the town administrator on this to put

[19:43] something together to say based on what you see

[19:47] » at the senior, you know, resident level, what is appropriate in terms of what

[19:52] this service could be? >> And I did do that already.

[19:55] » Okay. I know that um the the trans the senior transportation would take them

[19:59] anywhere they need to go within Prince George's County and that's free.

[20:04] » So it's not I mean they're not losing there. They can have transportation

[20:08] there. >> Um

[20:10] » except for they do want to go to go to the casinos and stuff. I'm I'm against

[20:14] it. I'm against it. So that's just me. I'm against them going gambling. That's

[20:18] just me though. But I I rather I rather go your route

[20:24] because Emerson House that bus can pull up in front of Emerson

[20:30] House. >> Drop one person off, turn around and

[20:34] come back and drop two off then go back come back at Emerson House about seven

[20:37] times. Make it make sense. It doesn't make sense to me. And I know Coa Mana do

[20:42] wants no control of at all. >> I kind of heard him say, "No, y'all take

[20:46] it over." I got I heard that come out of the administrative mouth um self. So my

[20:51] thing I think is I like the other other way cuz we don't have to pay that

[20:54] $60,000 can be be used for something else.

[20:58] » And council member Blunt I don't know if everyone caught it but the other service

[21:02] that she mentioned is the bus. >> The bus is the one free goes all across

[21:08] the county. So to your point, even if we have to scale back this resource, we're

[21:13] not leaving the seniors without because that's already a service that

[21:18] » mic mayor mayor Mike. >> Sorry, Mr. Gray.

[21:24] » I didn't push the button hard enough. My apologies, but I was just um tagging on

[21:29] to say what council member Blunt mentioned was a service called the bus,

[21:33] which is prevalent in Prince George's County. So if we have to reduce services

[21:37] with this formerly called Porttown's bus, at least there's still a service

[21:42] available to the seniors and that's actually free whereas with ours it's

[21:46] subsidized. They pay a few dollars and the town pays the rest.

[21:49] » So um >> I agree. I totally agree with um going

[21:55] the route with Mayor James in terms of contracting someone which cost less

[22:01] » and not only that looking at replacing the bus 10 to 12 to 18 months.

[22:08] » What is the bus going to cost? That's another thing. Can the town afford a new

[22:11] bus right now? >> I just don't think they should even try

[22:15] » or the you can get a grant too. And the fetal brought this up before in terms of

[22:21] your question about the replacement. So we did get the MEA grant for um an

[22:27] electric bus, but it it's a there it's a formula. So it doesn't cover everything.

[22:33] It covers up to what is it the cost of what a combustion engine bus would be?

[22:39] » I never quite that. The fine print. >> Yeah, the fine print. It's 75% of the

[22:45] additional cost of an EV. So, let's say a traditional bus cost 100,000, let's

[22:51] just for conversation sake, and an EV bus cost $200,000.

[22:57] » The grant would pay the 75,000, which is 75% of the difference. So, the town

[23:02] would still be on the hook for $125,000. >> Um, so beneficial in some respects, but

[23:09] also, but we also found out other fine print pieces. um the categories of buses

[23:16] that are available. It's really looking at larger vehicles that um require CDL

[23:21] licenses and both public works and the current bus drivers that we have right

[23:25] now don't have CDL licenses. >> Okay. We really don't want to leave the

[23:28] seniors stranded or anything like that. We want to make sure you know that we're

[23:32] providing services to the residents of Bladesburg, but at the same time we want

[23:38] to be careful how we are spending. >> Right.

[23:41] » Yeah. >> Yeah. Um,

[23:43] » and as you said, we don't want to leave them without services, but the bus is

[23:47] there and >> they're not out of service because they

[23:50] a lot of metro access and also it takes them wherever they want to go. I mean,

[23:54] so they're they're not left out of any services at all. And that's the good

[23:58] thing about >> the transportation now.

[24:02] » I I just get get rid of it. I mean honestly get just that's just what I'm

[24:07] saying because I can't understand that 60,000 and they're paying and then he

[24:11] doesn't well >> I know co man co man probably listening

[24:16] they don't want to pay for nothing >> I agree

[24:19] » I'm just sorry I had to say >> I think yeah

[24:22] » I'm sorry I just had to say it okay council member hold on council member

[24:26] Brown and then back to >> she was waiting for a bit yeah thank

[24:31] thanks but but yeah because we we've been talking about this for for a while

[24:35] and it's like make it make sense you know but and probably initially when you

[24:39] know when the agreement you know came into place it it did it didn't make

[24:44] sense but now because um as we had discussed before it's like you know you

[24:50] have a companies here and and they have different size buses and you know you

[24:55] know we one and I don't know if you if we will talk about that too but one week

[24:58] we may need the big bus and next week we may may need only a 10 passenger bus I

[25:03] mean just having that flexibility you know, working with the with the with

[25:06] the company that that's their business. It's what they do. So, that makes sense.

[25:11] And like you said, we're not leaving the um our seniors. We're not leaving them,

[25:15] you know, stranded or whatever without transportation,

[25:18] » you know. Absolutely. you know, and then and it

[25:22] would provide, you know, provide better service, you know, you know, I I believe

[25:26] to the to the residents and and then from a budget standpoint, yeah, it

[25:30] would, you know, you know, take that that piece off of our books. Yeah. Off

[25:34] of books for reduction and um and I think that's yeah, would be wise. But

[25:39] although we're just kind of having a conversation about it right now, but

[25:41] yeah. >> And one thing that you said, council

[25:44] member, it kind of sparked a thought. um would it even be possible if we had some

[25:49] sort of public private partnership with a transportation company? So we say

[25:54] we've gotten this grant. Could we pass it through to them? So they pay the

[25:59] difference toward the vehicle. So, we're essentially donating the 75,000, let's

[26:04] say, >> and then they pay the difference because

[26:07] it's helping their fleet regardless >> and giving them greater flexibility

[26:12] because it is an EV and then work out some sort of contractual partnership for

[26:17] X number of years and then we revisit it after that point. So, that's where I'm

[26:22] going. Save the town money, you know, still be able to help the residents. We

[26:26] don't want to give back grant money to the state because that you can get

[26:29] dinged when you go to apply the next time. So, I don't want to lose that. But

[26:34] maybe there's a path forward that just doesn't have us paying for this and, you

[26:40] know, not using those resources more wisely.

[26:43] » Yeah, cuz that fine print there's it does, you know, it's still costing the

[26:47] town more more money. So, >> give us

[26:52] » Council Member McBride, thank you for waiting your turn.

[26:56] Thank you. Um, my only question is, so this is supposed to service the seniors

[27:02] or does it can it service the different apartment complexes inside of

[27:07] Leadensburg? >> If they're senior,

[27:10] » as long as they're seniors, I mean, >> traditionally, Sean and Pernell, you're

[27:14] going to have to help me, but I think it was more so geared towards seniors.

[27:18] » Yes, it was. And um I think there may have been special

[27:24] circumstances where if there was a town event and we needed transportation then

[27:28] we could reach out and ask them to pick up people but the way it was set up with

[27:32] the four towns back in the day was primarily for senior

[27:36] » foren. Okay. >> Mhm.

[27:38] » I had a question I'll hold.

[27:41] » Okay. But you know like when I found out that they were not paying to get on the

[27:45] bus it I was very upset. that I had to call call

[27:51] Miss Blue. You know, y'all know I say I like to say names. Um, Miss Blue and let

[27:56] her know why did this her senior club didn't think that they had to pay

[28:01] » didn't Well, we was told No, I don't know who told y'all that cuz y'all have

[28:05] to pay like everybody else cuz you're riding the bus because she was under

[28:09] understanding by Ka Mana that they didn't have to pay.

[28:13] » So, they start paying. >> I have a

[28:17] Go ahead, council member Brown. Yeah, because it was under membership

[28:21] » and um >> um and and you know to that point with

[28:26] the council member McBry, you know, once we look at it and restructure it or

[28:30] something, you know, it it may be able to like special events occasions and you

[28:35] do put some modifications in there where it can kind of service,

[28:40] you know, some of the other buildings in the town as well. This one.

[28:45] » Yeah, that's going to be have to be really restricted because

[28:48] » Yeah, >> I'm just saying.

[28:53] » No, go ahead, Mr. Hall. >> That's that's like microphone be a

[28:57] tricky thing. You can tell him no, but you can tell him. I mean, you know, so

[29:01] that's I think that's why when it came out years and years ago, it was strictly

[29:06] appointed to seniors. >> Makes sense. And Mr. Wood,

[29:10] » well, I was just going to say so a couple of things. one, yeah, this would

[29:14] have greater flexibility because when it was initially purchased, it was used, I

[29:18] believe state money was used um and so the requirements and covenants around it

[29:23] required that it be used predominantly for seniors. But when we purchased the

[29:27] second bus, it was with local dollars and so there's greater flexibility and

[29:34] those requirements no longer apply. Um, so if the town were to take over

[29:39] ownership, we would be able to do with it as we desired. I I think there would

[29:45] be a a desire to, you know, keep with some spirit. If the other communities

[29:52] all of a sudden ridership spiked and they wanted, then then that um would

[29:57] would be something to look at. Um, and then two, um, I think to the point that

[30:01] the mayor made a while back about, um, Uber and other ride shares, um, I was at

[30:07] a conference a few years ago, and I know that there are some communities that,

[30:12] um, have done that and set up, um, various different structures with Uber

[30:15] and and other types where, um, individuals over a certain age can get x

[30:20] amount of dollars or an Uber will take you within x amount of miles of a

[30:24] community for free or, you know, there's a number of different arrangements. Um,

[30:28] so if that's something that the town wanted to look at, we wouldn't be uh the

[30:32] first community to do that and they have an infrastructure set up to partner with

[30:36] uh municipal organizations to set things like that up. So, just wanted to

[30:40] » I know we we've been on this for a long time, but um they will have like a

[30:44] setback because some Uber drivers do not help you with your packages and seniors

[30:49] need help and I see they don't help with the wheelchairs, the walkers, they don't

[30:53] help. They just it's it's crazy but it's up to the Yeah. So that's the only thing

[30:59] I would say. >> So um Brian what if um Kar mana decided

[31:03] to withdraw before we come to some conclusion

[31:06] and >> my other part question

[31:13] » and my other question is who covers the insurance for the bus? Is it the town or

[31:18] Kar Manor? >> Uh currently Coar Manor covers the

[31:22] insurance. um that's built into >> okay

[31:25] » again all of it is kind of per rated based on usage. So

[31:29] » there's the aggregate cost and then per ride it's broken down. So we're still

[31:33] paying for a significant portion of the insurance. Um and to your first point if

[31:39] commer I'm not saying they basically said that

[31:42] they're walking away but they >> sounds that way.

[31:47] » They basically said they're walking away. So um

[31:52] yeah >> but are they paying for the insurance or

[31:55] we paying for the insurance? >> So the insurance is uh so the insurance

[31:58] is technically with com manner but >> the aggregate cost of the bus per year

[32:04] is broken down per rider and so we're still paying for a significant portion

[32:08] of the insurance. We're just paying it through the per ride cost. Right.

[32:13] » Um so that's part of the 2,000 >> if I get that $60,000 still not making

[32:17] sense to me. >> Yeah. So, I think we cuz we could talk

[32:21] about this in circles. I think we're at the point where there's agreement that

[32:25] we want to re-evaluate this because we don't think it's the best use of town

[32:30] dollars. >> Getting it under the town's uh realm of

[32:34] responsibility makes sense while we're figuring out with council member Blunt a

[32:38] path forward. phasing it out is certainly an option given we have the

[32:43] bus, but also um an option is pursuing the grant and possibility of partnering

[32:51] with a local business to see if that's even possible. If the answer is no, then

[32:55] we just have to send a letter to MEA saying we can't accept the grant, you

[32:59] know, due to financial constraints, we can't keep our commitment and just again

[33:05] move forward with consolidating this down and collapsing the service cuz it's

[33:09] just extremely expensive. >> So I think that's where we are in terms

[33:13] of when you send us the summary from the meeting, there's agreement that we

[33:18] cannot continue. >> It's not you, it's us.

[33:23] So, I'll draft up um >> a formal process with comar manner about

[33:29] how we're going to execute this um and bring that before it would have to go

[33:35] before both councils. >> Thank you, Council Member Blunt for the

[33:38] last word. >> I like the um the idea that you said

[33:44] because for the lack of not saying anything else,

[33:48] we done with that process. Let's do something. Let's just do something new.

[33:54] We done with that. >> I agree.

[33:57] » Yeah, I agree. There was a a higher demand at the time. That demand just

[34:01] isn't there anymore to justify the cost. So, yeah, we have young seniors who are

[34:06] driving themselves around and they're walking through the community and all of

[34:10] that. So, we have to get with the times. >> All right. So, speaking of getting with

[34:15] the times, PAL's project poster presentation is next up on the agenda.

[34:20] Um I'll turn it over to you town administrator Wood.

[34:24] » Yeah. So um they have been making their way around the port towns. They were

[34:29] supposed to come up to us next. Um they the boards have well they they've

[34:35] disappeared. We'll we'll find them. Uh not from us. Uh they were recently with

[34:39] Cottage City. Um but are you guys familiar with the PAL project that took

[34:44] place? Um I guess was last semester, so last

[34:50] spring. Um and some of the designs um for the Porttown communities.

[34:57] Uh maybe not. Okay. So, uh a recap of what the PAL Project is um and and what

[35:02] they do. So, the PAL Project um is a partnership with the University of

[35:07] Maryland um and they work with undergrad and graduate students um on a number of

[35:13] different uh projects. Right. So um towns, municipalities, yep, all across

[35:19] um uh the state can submit uh to um for the PAL project for them to do any

[35:27] number of things. Um it can be um something like we had they can do

[35:34] engineering, they can do um statistical analysis, budget breakdowns. Um and they

[35:40] have students work on these projects throughout um throughout the semester.

[35:45] Um each project typically costs um about $10,000.

[35:50] Um and part of that goes towards the cost of executing the project, whether

[35:55] they need to purchase data sets, if there's travel required for the

[35:59] students, whatever they may be. Um and then part of that goes to offset the um

[36:03] administrative uh cost for their adviser whether that's um a professor or or

[36:08] whomever it may be. Um, one of the projects that um was grant funded um

[36:14] last year was the uh placemaking and design for uh the Port Towns communities

[36:21] um at different um I guess you could say uh prominent locations um in in each

[36:29] community that connected each of each of the communities. So, uh, for us, we had

[36:34] a couple of different bridges. Um, and so what it was was, um, thinking about

[36:40] how do we denote these this as a Porttown community. Um, and so, uh, they

[36:46] designed, uh, these kind of beautiful pocket parks with, um, similar colors

[36:51] of, uh, yellow, orange, purple, and blue, I believe it was. Um, and each

[36:57] community had a slightly different design and a different location, but it

[37:00] created the through line that these were all Porttown communities. Um, there's

[37:04] some beautiful renderings that are on posters that we were supposed to get

[37:08] tonight. Um, unfortunately, they're not here. Um, but the the reason that it's

[37:13] also um kind of timesensitive is um we received uh grant funding again um from

[37:23] from the state. Um and part of what uh BCC was looking at was do we want to

[37:32] invest some of those dollars um into the next phase of um this placemaking and

[37:39] and and these designs which would be kind of the engineering aspect of it um

[37:44] and and understanding what the fabrication uh of these types of pocket

[37:49] parks um would cost. We know that each one would be, you know, north of

[37:54] probably $100,000, but this would be the next step in that in that process. Um,

[37:59] and so >> h

[38:06] so um you know that PAL's project would probably be a little bit more uh

[38:12] expensive, closer to $30,000. Um but again, it's grant funded um and would

[38:18] kind of be the through line. there's quite a bit of interest in it. Um so

[38:22] what I would propose is for the visuals to you to actually be able to see um

[38:27] what was done by these young people which was quite impressive um is to

[38:32] bring that to uh to the retreat. Um so that you guys will be able to see that.

[38:37] Um each town is kind of talking about the elements that they liked, what they

[38:42] may not like. Um, and so that will go into the input um, as we prepare the

[38:47] next PAL's uh, request for this fall. >> Hopefully,

[38:53] » thank you for that overview. Any questions or comments for the town

[38:56] administrator? >> I think we look forward to seeing the

[39:00] visuals at the retreat. Council member Dixon.

[39:04] » Thank you, Madam Mayor. in regards to this um pilot project.

[39:08] » Mhm. >> Um what services the town has to offer?

[39:11] Does it has to provide public works, public safety or anything like that?

[39:16] » Nope. >> Okay.

[39:17] » Um completely. So the next phase would be completely done by um the students.

[39:22] Um this would be uh for us is actually in a in a public location already,

[39:27] something that we already take care of. Um this would just be a redesign.

[39:31] » How is this how is this figure determined?

[39:35] the $30,000 or the >> the Yeah.

[39:41] » Uh that's not in the packet. I think what you're looking at is for the Hamlet

[39:45] Woods project. The next item, >> we're not there yet. Sorry.

[39:49] » Sorry. I think >> almost there. Almost there. A couple

[39:51] more items.

[39:55] » Yes. Yes. We will we will get to that. >> All right. Um,

[39:59] » so if there are no more questions, we can drop down get closer to it under

[40:04] town managers report. >> Yep.

[40:07] Um, yeah. So, we can just we can jump down

[40:11] to that. Um, >> Oh, yeah.

[40:12] » So, so the pilot program um there's a briefing in your packet there.

[40:19] Um, so the Hamlet Woods project um >> that's the one I was starting.

[40:24] » Yeah. So this has been one that has been um ongoing for a number of years now.

[40:31] Um I think they originally came to the town almost this time last year with a

[40:36] proposal um for payment in lie um just to rehash this is uh 59 units of um

[40:45] workforce housing um that will be available um and Sean correct me if I'm

[40:50] wrong but they're going to be ready end of or mid August

[40:54] » mid August um actually I wrote through the property today they're probably I'd

[40:58] say 85% complete Um they're working on the last section

[41:02] and mid August is when their final grand opening is supposed to be.

[41:08] » Okay. Um so they are um well on their way and and well past uh substantial

[41:15] completion at this point um which is very exciting. This gives a breakdown of

[41:19] kind of where the funding came from. There's been um significant investment

[41:24] from the state, from the county uh and private dollars. Um what they were

[41:29] looking for is um essentially a payment in lie of taxes. Um they received um a

[41:38] similar deal or structured a similar deal with the county um which was

[41:43] essentially a 50% reduction um in their overall tax rate um and they have now

[41:50] come to the town asking for or proposing something similar. Um

[41:56] what we have before us is um two different options. Um what was proposed

[42:02] by um HT Woods was essentially $500

[42:09] per unit. Um and so sorry, let me back up a little

[42:14] bit. So looking at the assessed value, um and this folds into uh the

[42:20] recommendation that I that I have. Um these are based on 2023 numbers and so

[42:26] it was estimated that the project would be assessed at approximately almost $8

[42:30] million $7,972,000.

[42:34] Um what that was proposed was again 500

[42:39] unit or $500 per unit um a as a pilot with an escalator of uh 2%

[42:49] um at the 110 20 and 30 year mark. Um what

[42:56] we countered at or what we're proposing to counter at is a 600 unit uh dollar

[43:03] per unit uh starting threshold um with the same escalator. Um and so it

[43:09] essentially breaks down to um the structure that they had with the county

[43:13] is about a 50% reduction. Um they're asking for essentially the same thing

[43:18] from the town. uh the numbers that are proposed here are closer to 43%

[43:24] reduction um which is still fairly favorable. Um and the reason I think

[43:29] there's um value in what the town is proposing is it goes back to the

[43:36] original assessed value dollar that these numbers are generated off of uh

[43:41] which are 2023. We all know that the assessed value since 2023 has gone up

[43:46] significantly more. Um we estimate that the value is probably closer to $10 to

[43:52] $12 million at this point. Um which would if we were to restructure this

[43:56] deal in today's terms would dramatically increase the per unit cost um versus

[44:02] what you see here. So a 43% um structured deal um is still um I

[44:12] think better than if they were to go out and do a market assessment today. Um,

[44:16] and even if they even if we agreed to 50%, it would still probably be higher

[44:20] than um than what we're proposing here. Um,

[44:25] so that's the the broad strokes of it. Um, Suelan uh and part of the reason

[44:30] that this took a year to uh get to this point is um Suelan had to dig through uh

[44:38] the state uh code to find where we would be able to actually do this. um the

[44:45] language that was used at the county level was specific to the county um and

[44:48] did not allow municipalities to set up a pilot program. And so um there was a

[44:54] great deal of digging that was involved um and and obviously with a number of

[44:59] other things that were um on our town attorney's plate. Um this kept getting

[45:04] pushed back, but um we did eventually find it or she did eventually find it.

[45:09] Um so that's what's here before you. Um there is

[45:14] a little bit of a clock um given the the uh status of the project at this point.

[45:20] Um but I wanted to bring this up for conversation and discussion and then um

[45:27] we would use that as the final framework and again um with a desire not to push

[45:33] this off to um September. um if we had the final framework, if this is what

[45:39] council was okay with, we would draft this and do a final vote um at at the

[45:44] retreat if that's something that council wished to do.

[45:49] » So, thank you for that overview of the pilot project. Council, any comments or

[45:55] questions regarding the um proposed payment?

[46:00] » I have a question. >> I have a few, but I'll let Go ahead,

[46:03] Council Member Dixon. Thank you, Madame Mayor Brian. Um, in

[46:08] regards to

[46:11] um what happen if a if a property sold to

[46:16] another owner, how would how would that affect um the pilot? Would it be does it

[46:22] does the pilot still stay in effect? >> Great question. Um that would be

[46:27] language that would be included in the contract. Typically, it stays with the

[46:30] property, not the owners. um in in my experience

[46:34] » and this is a full 30 years, right? >> Correct.

[46:38] » Okay. And did you mention how how does the 600 unit deter figure determined?

[46:44] Did you mention that how it was determined? So, the $600 unit, $600 per

[46:52] unit, um to be honest, was determined uh before I got here, but it is essentially

[46:58] it the idea behind it was um to kind of find a middle ground between what um

[47:05] what Hamlet Woods was proposing um which was 50% um reducing it but still

[47:12] allowing the project to go forward. Um and I think at the time when it was

[47:15] originally proposed um they had built their financial model around receiving

[47:20] um a certain level of of uh relief in

[47:25] taxes. And so um yeah, so this I think is that attempt at meeting the middle

[47:31] ground. >> So council member, this is to tag on to

[47:35] that. So when they came to the meeting a year or two ago, they were specifically

[47:39] advocating for more financial support from the town. Um, we did not agree to

[47:46] that. We said we could be open and discuss what the town could do, but they

[47:50] were trying to get their financing together. So, the numbers you see here

[47:54] about how their financing is stacked through Prince George's County Housing

[47:58] Investment Trust Fund loan, all those things, those loans that you see in the

[48:02] um first paragraph >> that those are the things that they

[48:05] worked on to line up their financing. Okay. And then in going to the county,

[48:10] the county passed legislation CR--036 2023 giving them authority to also give

[48:18] them that 50% tax relief. And so given that the county the county's budget is

[48:25] not Bladensburg's budget, so we cannot afford a 50% you know reduction in that

[48:31] revenue um from taxes. I think what veto and Mr. would put together here

[48:38] compromising saying we can't go as low as 500. We could potentially consider

[48:43] 600 per unit because now our services have increased. This is a rental. Sorry,

[48:50] my sinuses are on 1,000 right now. >> The um services that the town is

[48:56] offering are now what they cost two or three years ago. That's one. Number two,

[49:01] we're now doing apartment rental inspections that are led by code

[49:04] enforcement. That is another level of service that we're providing. Typically,

[49:09] whenever there's multifamily housing in the town, cost for service for public

[49:13] safety goes up. Same thing for emergency services for the fire department. So,

[49:19] the reason we can't go as low as what they're asking for in this first column

[49:24] » is because those services come at a cost to us

[49:28] » and we can't provide them at a deficit. And so I think and veto you know he's

[49:34] good with these numbers. Mr. Tanelli I think and Mr. Wood did a good job of

[49:38] saying what we can do is offer you 10 or 2% for years 1 through 10. We can go up

[49:45] to 3% for you know years 11 through 20 and then the escalation would be 4% for

[49:51] years 21 to 30. And then they just broke out. Here's what we would get over the

[49:56] 30 years on our formula versus their formula. Our formula, yes, they would be

[50:03] paying 1.5 almost 1.6. >> Mhm.

[50:07] » But when you look at the services that they're getting over 30 years, it more

[50:12] than justifies us coming in at that rate to negotiate.

[50:17] Does that sort of help? >> Thanks. Mhm.

[50:20] » And and the other absolutely everything that the mayor said and typically these

[50:24] are these are agreed to at the outset. And so that's why you see all the

[50:29] breakdown of where they're receiving the dollar amounts because normally this

[50:34] kind of looks more like a credit enhancement agreement. Um and so that

[50:38] helps with the lending on the private side to see that um government entities

[50:43] are are backing this project. So, um I think that was the original thought, but

[50:48] they were still able to get the financing needed to to make this project

[50:51] a reality. >> So, will the pilot will it cover the um

[50:58] public safety and code enforcement?

[51:03] » Over overall, >> yeah.

[51:05] » No. >> No. Okay.

[51:06] » No. But any new development >> typically doesn't. That's

[51:12] » Yeah. when you're looking longterm, that's why you always want that balance

[51:15] of businesses and and other things that are that are not going to drive up calls

[51:20] for service um versus uh certain residential.

[51:26] » Thank you. Back to you, Madame Mayor. >> Thank you.

[51:30] » And just to clarify though, when you say it won't cover services, so with the

[51:35] owner proposed amount, right, >> that would not be enough. No. to justify

[51:41] » right >> the services that we would still have to

[51:44] provide we'd be operating at a deficit. So at least

[51:48] » we're coming in flat. It's not a revenue generator obviously but at least it

[51:53] helps to cover those services for the apartment inspections annually any work

[51:58] that has to be done by public works the public safety services that they're

[52:02] going to get and even you know we contribute to the fire department to

[52:06] help offset their expenses. And so ambulance runs, firet truck runs, all of

[52:11] that. We're helping um to just cover ourselves with those investments. So,

[52:17] » thank you so much. That will give the residents more clarity. Thanks.

[52:21] » I think so. Um any other comments or questions from award two council

[52:27] members? It's been a long time coming, so it's

[52:31] good to see they're getting closer to actually completing the construction.

[52:35] And I will admit, I snuck up in there uh curiosity. I had to see it. I was like,

[52:41] it it's supposed to be ready this summer. Um and they're close. They're

[52:45] close. So, I look forward to the um the grand opening. Um and then Mr. Wood is

[52:52] so for this um for a formal vote from council. Do we

[52:57] have this on the 7:00 agenda or do we need to amend it to add this for

[53:01] approval or does it need to go back to Suellen first?

[53:04] » No. Um, so there is uh specific language that Swellen and a couple of pieces that

[53:10] Swellen and Veto are are finalizing. Um, so I pulled it from the 7:00 agenda. Um,

[53:17] I have a draft resolution, but I want to make sure it's right. So, um, it will

[53:23] come back before you. Um, but now that I know that this is exactly

[53:28] what council is good with, we can memorialize that in the resolution.

[53:34] And then the only challenge is I know they are very anxious to get decisions

[53:39] sooner rather than later, but typically anything financial the council has to

[53:43] vote on at the 7:00 p.m. council meeting. So

[53:48] » that yeah, not unless we did a separate meeting, but that's why we don't do

[53:54] financial decisions in the work session. It's always in the actual council

[53:58] meeting. So, just want you to be mindful of that so we can figure out if there's

[54:02] a separate meeting that we need to call. Even if it's via Zoom to resolve this,

[54:08] we wouldn't be able to do it at a retreat. It would have to be a formal

[54:11] meeting that's called to, you know, address that.

[54:15] » Okay. >> And not a work session, an actual

[54:18] » council meeting. Okay. >> Just want to mention that.

[54:22] » Thank you. >> No worries. And while you're off mute,

[54:25] did you want to touch on the next uh the previous item, the gloves up, guns down

[54:30] grant? >> Oh, uh yes. Sorry, I skipped over that.

[54:35] Um just wanted to provide council an update. Um we're really excited with the

[54:40] progress. There was a kickoff in uh in June. Um there is a camp coming up in

[54:48] the first week. >> Thank you. Yes. was like, "Wait a

[54:53] minute. Blank dates are all Yeah. blurring together." Um, so, um, we know

[55:00] that this has been, uh, a labor of love. So, a major thanks to the chief, to, uh,

[55:06] Alicia who's been kind of spearheading it, to our our county partners and other

[55:11] municipal partners, um, and merging this with, um, some, uh, funding that we

[55:17] received from the state, uh, a grant for $78,000.

[55:21] Um and for all of the volunteers um that are uh that have gone through the

[55:27] fingerprinting process um to participate with our young people. Um just to give

[55:33] an update, it will be uh twice a week um starting in I believe September. Um, and

[55:41] we're hoping to have uh a total of I believe it's 80 young people. 40 people

[55:47] for um great 40 people >> right now there's 19 signed up.

[55:52] » Microphone chief. >> Uh yes, right now um there's 19 youth

[55:58] that are signed up and there's six additional spots. So I think they're

[56:01] doing 25. >> Oh, 25. Okay. Sorry. I was like 80

[56:04] sounds like a lot. Um 25. of half at the

[56:12] um why am I blinking? I'm thinking stadium armory, but it's not stadium

[56:16] armory. Um >> the Salvation Army. Thank you. Um and

[56:21] the other half of the students um will be um at the county. Um the idea is that

[56:27] uh obviously those that are specific Bladenberg residents um would able to

[56:33] would be um here at the Salvation Army. Obviously, it's a little bit closer. Um,

[56:39] and so we're excited about the progress that um that this program is making and

[56:45] just wanted to know if there are any specific questions that council might

[56:48] have um that we'd be able to to bring back and answer or any discussions.

[56:53] » Perfect. Thank you for that overview. Chief First Corin, any additional

[56:58] context you want to add to that? Yes, just that the uh boxing clinic is

[57:04] going to be from the 27th to the 31st at the Salvation Army and then the year-

[57:08] round program is going to start September 14th and run until June 30th

[57:12] of 27. Um we're going to be using Prince

[57:16] George's County Police Department District 3 as one location and over here

[57:20] on Edmonston Road at the Salvation Army and then there's also a gym that we'll

[57:24] be using for the program itself. Is the district three location Barlo

[57:30] Road or is that okay? Got it. Any questions from the council council

[57:34] member Brown? >> Thank you.

[57:36] » So, uh, interim chief. So, give me those dates again. You said September the

[57:42] » September 14th, 2026 through June 30th, 2027. That's that's the actual program.

[57:47] » Ah, okay. >> The clinic starts uh next week. That's

[57:50] going to be >> uh just the boxing clinic itself, but

[57:53] the program runs a year long. >> Ah, okay. What are the age group, Chief?

[57:58] » I'm not sure of what age it starts at. I know when we went for the kickoff at the

[58:03] PAL program, there were really young kids up to I think up to 18. Um, so we

[58:09] had the kickoff for this in the registration at the at the PAL boxing

[58:13] program that the county had. >> What percentage of um young people from

[58:18] Bladesburg signed up? Do you know? >> I don't know the percentage.

[58:23] » Okay. Thank you. Any other questions? Council member

[58:26] » BR in transportation, their parents will be responsible for transporting them.

[58:32] » Yes, we're not transporting them. >> Okay.

[58:35] » Uhuh. Council member Blunt, have you all had the pleasure to meet um Shirley

[58:39] Lenn? >> That was my question.

[58:42] » I haven't, but I know that that they've been in talks to have have him and some

[58:47] others talk to the kids. I went on a tour of the uh Salvation Army,

[58:52] » which I met the staff down there. It was nice. And then I went up to the gym

[58:56] where they're doing it at and the guy that's running the gym seems like he's

[58:59] perfect for for this to work with the youth. They have a lot of experience.

[59:06] » Can we just be notified if there's Sugar Ray Leonard sightings or Keith coming to

[59:12] a particular session? I felt something over here when that question was raised.

[59:17] So, we need to make sure. >> I went to school with

[59:21] » Okay. Gotcha. You know how old I am? Salvation Army. A big space for this.

[59:27] Like the space is kind of

[59:34] » Okay. >> Oh, my mic is on.

[59:38] » You couldn't hear the chief, Mr. Gray? >> No.

[59:41] » Chief, they couldn't hear you. Can you repeat the light? Can you repeat

[59:44] everything or

[59:49] » basketball bags and and the ring set up in there?

[59:54] And that's just one of the couple locations.

[59:59] » Exciting times and just look forward to the impact of giving kids an alternative

[1:00:05] activity, something that's productive and teaching them not to resort to

[1:00:10] violence in the street. just, you know, putting that energy somewhere

[1:00:14] productive. So, look forward to being able to come and check it out once it

[1:00:17] gets underway. Uh, at this time,

[1:00:24] » so, um, Chief was saying there's a clinic coming up and then after that,

[1:00:28] the actual session starts in September. Do you want to give those dates one more

[1:00:33] time, Chief? >> Yes. The clinic is the 27th of this

[1:00:36] month until the 31st at the Salvation Army. And then the uh the program itself

[1:00:43] is September 14th, 2026 through June 30th, 2027. And the times for that 5:30

[1:00:49] p.m. to 7:30 p.m. >> So 27 in September.

[1:00:54] » The the 14th of September through through June of June 30th of 2027.

[1:00:59] » What's the time for this month? The 27th.

[1:01:02] » The the 27th. Let me check. I have the uh

[1:01:07] » it might be in the report because I think you had information about it in

[1:01:12] your uh monthly report, Chief. >> Yes, I have the flyer. I'm just It's my

[1:01:18] computer's not bringing it up. >> All right, we will get that information

[1:01:22] to you. We're going to keep moving. Uh the next item is under financial

[1:01:26] business for consideration for the council tonight is uh the decisions for

[1:01:31] grant and scholarship program recommendation. So with that uh we'll

[1:01:35] turn it back over to the town administrator.

[1:01:38] » All right. I will not speak too much on this. Uh this is more for council. Um

[1:01:45] and I believe there should be um an Excel spreadsheet in your binders. Um so

[1:01:54] this is bringing back the conversation we had in June around

[1:01:58] um a number of our grant applicants. Um and the recommendation from Rey was that

[1:02:07] this year um the three applicants that applied for the uh educational

[1:02:14] scholarship um did not necessarily meet the criteria. Um, so we could roll that

[1:02:20] money into this pot, which would take the total uh amount available for um

[1:02:28] grants and grants uh to $15,000 um which would leave us about $3,000 shy

[1:02:37] of the total request um if all nine applicants were funded at approximately

[1:02:43] $2,000. Uh, so we just did a little rubric um as

[1:02:50] a conversational piece for you guys. Uh, and I will turn it over.

[1:02:55] » So, we've been looking appreciate the rubric. Um, one thing

[1:03:00] that I wanted to note is one of the groups, I know they scored a 3.7, but I

[1:03:06] would consider um, swapping out GH with Good Intentions because Good Intentions

[1:03:14] is based in the port towns. We did get to see their youth program in action

[1:03:19] last year and they really made a huge difference in the lives of those

[1:03:23] teenagers. I mean, things that we take for granted were very impactful for

[1:03:27] them. Just thinking about when they took the kids out on the river and how many

[1:03:31] of them grew up in this area and never even had been in that kind of experience

[1:03:36] and got to see their community in a whole different way and opened up to the

[1:03:41] sciences um through that connection with AWS. So I think that would be my

[1:03:46] recommendation that we do Carrison um particularly given their support for

[1:03:51] immigration issues and what some of our residents are facing. They're an

[1:03:56] important partner. Anacostia Watershed Society, another great partner. Eco

[1:04:01] City, it goes without saying, tremendous partner. Um, End Time Harvest

[1:04:05] Ministries, which will allow us to touch the youth. We lead by example is helping

[1:04:11] us touch the youth, but also older residents as well. And then, um, uh,

[1:04:17] where is it? Good intentions. So that gives us one, two, three, four, five,

[1:04:24] six. Am I good with my math or did we go

[1:04:28] over?

[1:04:32] » I think we're good. We needed six.

[1:04:37] So, we're essentially swapping rank one and

[1:04:44] seven on the um top sheet.

[1:04:51] Does that putting it out there, but council, let me know your thoughts.

[1:05:00] » I did hear some grumblings about the tiny print. I'm just saying. I'm just

[1:05:04] the messenger. It was fine.

[1:05:08] » I'm just the messenger. Don't shoot the messenger, Brian.

[1:05:15] » I don't know who said it. Look, I don't know who said it.

[1:05:22] » Heard through. >> I heard through the grape vine. Oh. Oh,

[1:05:26] I'm sorry. It was both ways. I don't, Mr. Wood. I have no idea. I can neither

[1:05:32] confirm nor deny.

[1:05:35] Noted, mayor. Noted. Thank you. I will uh take that under advisement moving

[1:05:40] forward.

[1:05:56] » Thank you, Governor. That's exactly what I

[1:05:58] » paper. I like it. It was very sustainable. Thank you, council member.

[1:06:02] What? >> We're a green community. I'll do my

[1:06:04] best.

[1:06:11] » You want me to run them back one more time

[1:06:14] » or you think you got them all? Okay. So, we've got Carrison

[1:06:19] and then AWS

[1:06:23] Eco City Farms >> End Time Harvest Ministries.

[1:06:29] We lead by example and then good intentions foundation

[1:06:40] » and the ones you didn't mention on that. >> Yeah.

[1:06:44] » Because we we would have to pull money from somewhere else to be able to cover

[1:06:48] all of them. Yeah. >> And we just don't have the funding. But

[1:06:53] still we're doing more than we have previously. So still making a good

[1:06:57] impact. She is. >> All right. Copy that. Thank you.

[1:07:04] Thank you, Mayor and Council. So, I'll send that out and we'll notify

[1:07:08] um the recipients and move forward >> and then in the 7:00 meeting, we'll just

[1:07:14] need to do the formal vote. >> Yep.

[1:07:16] » Sorry. Sorry, Mr. Gray. And we'll just do the formal vote in the uh 7:00

[1:07:22] meeting since it's a financial um decision of the council.

[1:07:27] » Okay. for for the ones that didn't make it. We we have our discretionary funds.

[1:07:32] Can we give money to the Okay, great. >> Oh, and speaking of, has there been an

[1:07:38] allocation of the FY26 discretionary funds? Because if not, we need to do

[1:07:43] that at the next meeting as well. >> Yeah,

[1:07:48] » we Yes. >> So,

[1:07:52] » yes. >> Okay.

[1:07:54] » Yes. >> Okay.

[1:07:56] Got it. All right, we will wrap this up quickly so we have time to prepare.

[1:08:02] Um, any other comments or questions regarding the scholars, the grants?

[1:08:07] Okay. All right. So, with that, we have come to the end of tonight's agenda.

[1:08:11] Council, is there a motion to adjurnn? >> I move.

[1:08:14] » Moved by council member Dixon. Is there a second?

[1:08:16] » A second. >> Seconded by council member Blunt. Any

[1:08:19] comments or questions before adjournment?

[1:08:22] Hearing none, I'll call for the vote. All in favor, let it be known by the

[1:08:25] saying of I. I. Any nays? The eyes have it. We're adjourned. And the time is

[1:08:31] 6:40. Thank you.

Work Session July 13, 2026

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