[0:36] >>[ NO AUDIO ]
[0:43] >>[ ROLL CALL ]
[1:16] >>Mayor, you have a quorum.
[1:17] >>Thank you, Mr. Grin and
[1:18] Diet. Okay, folks,
[1:19] let's do the Pledge of
[1:20] Allegiance all together. I
[1:21] pledge allegiance
[1:25] to the flag.>> And to the
[1:26] Republic
[1:27] for which it stands.
[1:29] >>Under God, indivisible,
[1:32] with liberty and justice
[1:34] for all.
[1:37] >>Thank you. Can I get a motion
[1:38] to approve the agenda,please?
[1:41] >>Second.
[1:42] >>It's been moved and seconded.
[1:43] All in favor?
[1:44] >>Aye.
[1:47] >>Any opposed? Any extensions?
[1:50] The ayes have it. Okay, public
[1:51] comment.
[1:54] >>We'll go to the attendees.
[1:56] If you have a public comment,
[1:57] please use the raised hand
[1:58] feature now. You will have two
[2:00] minutes to speak. Please state
[2:01] your name and the ward you live
[2:04] in right now. First, we'll go
[2:05] to Michael Borman. Michael, you
[2:07] should be able
[2:08] to unmute yourself. There it
[2:10] is.
[2:13] >>Good evening. My name is
[2:14] Michael Gorman. I live in Ward
[2:15] 5. First of all, I want
[2:17] to just begin
[2:18] by saying a thank you to the
[2:20] mayor and the council and the
[2:21] city staff. These are,
[2:23] I guess you could say, kind
[2:24] of crazy times. And I'm happy
[2:25] to give a shout out
[2:26] for government service. Now,
[2:28] what I'd like
[2:30] to say today is pretty simple.
[2:32] Please, please, let's run a
[2:35] balanced budget going forward.
[2:37] And when I say balanced budget,
[2:39] I mean balanced, not
[2:43] by dipping into the city
[2:44] savings accounts. I realize
[2:46] that's not the proper
[2:47] accounting terminology. The
[2:48] general fund or all those
[2:49] accounts that we set aside
[2:52] to have money just in case
[2:53] something terrible goes on.
[2:54] Dipping
[2:55] into that is not what I mean
[2:57] by running a balanced budget.
[2:59] And also not
[3:00] by raising taxes. We're already
[3:01] paying a lot of taxes. I don't
[3:03] think it should be necessary
[3:04] to raise taxes. Now, I do
[3:08] realize that a lot of planned
[3:10] expenditures can't be backed
[3:13] down from now, and that that
[3:14] probably means that some
[3:16] of the things we'd really like
[3:18] to do even more than the
[3:20] planned expenditures will have
[3:21] to not do them because you
[3:22] can't back down from these
[3:23] planned expenditures. So I
[3:25] don't know,
[3:26] maybe we won't be able
[3:27] to do as nice a spruce up of
[3:29] Driscoll park as we would like.
[3:31] But I think it's very important
[3:33] to run a proper balanced budget
[3:36] going forward. And I. Yeah. So
[3:39] that's all I have to say. And
[3:40] thanks again to all of you
[3:42] for all you do.
[3:48] >>Next, we'll go to Michael
[3:49] Bonds. Michael, you should be
[3:51] able
[3:52] to unmute yourself.
[3:53] >>Okay. Can you hear me?
[3:54] >>Yes, we can.
[3:56] >>Awesome. Good evening,
[3:57] mayor and council members. My
[3:59] name is Mike Bonds. I live in
[4:00] Ward 3 on Carnaby Street. So
[4:03] to just echo some of what the
[4:04] previous gentleman said,
[4:06] I understand that for the last
[4:07] year and then especially
[4:09] with budget season approaching,
[4:10] there's been a lot of scrutiny
[4:12] regarding our finances
[4:14] from the public. And
[4:15] of course,
[4:16] I also understand that
[4:17] with all the changes
[4:18] down the street with the
[4:19] federal government and then all
[4:21] the budget shortfalls we have
[4:22] above us
[4:24] at the state level and
[4:25] at the county level,
[4:27] it might be trickier this year
[4:28] of budgeting. But
[4:30] like you said,
[4:31] I do believe that Hyattsville
[4:32] should commit
[4:33] to passing a budget for FY26
[4:34] that doesn't draw so heavily,
[4:36] heavily on the carryover money
[4:39] from the general fund as we
[4:42] have in the previous years.
[4:44] But we also need
[4:45] to just commit to having those
[4:46] deep conversations that we need
[4:47] to about whether we need the
[4:50] things that are in this budget
[4:54] and future budgets, like,
[4:55] does it really meet our needs
[4:57] to have a huge upgrade
[4:58] to a new park,
[5:00] or might it just be better
[5:01] to do some small,
[5:02] meaningful improvements
[5:04] to what we have? And also,
[5:09] I would say we need to commit
[5:12] to maximizing transparency,
[5:14] break out as many line items in
[5:15] our budget as we possibly can
[5:17] so we know exactly where our
[5:19] money is going and possibly
[5:23] even be innovative by releasing
[5:25] some raw budget data, like a
[5:27] spreadsheet or a CSV file or
[5:29] something like that. So if we
[5:30] are interested as residents,
[5:32] we can do our own analyses
[5:34] of this data instead of having
[5:36] to look for a budget book. And
[5:37] the data is, like,
[5:38] unselectable. And if you look
[5:40] at, like, our neighbors,
[5:41] College Park, Greenbelt,
[5:42] Bowie, they seem
[5:44] to have no issues doing a lot
[5:45] of things that we've seen
[5:47] to be struggling with. And I
[5:48] don't think there's any reason
[5:50] we can't do what they do
[5:52] at least as well as they do,
[5:53] if not better. So thank you
[5:56] for your time.
[6:02] >>Next we'll go to Melissa
[6:04] Schweizger. Melissa, you should
[6:07] be able to unmute yourself.
[6:08] >>Good evening,
[6:09] mayor and council and staff.
[6:11] Thanks, as always,
[6:12] for being here. Really
[6:13] appreciate you 100%. Echo the
[6:14] previous two comments
[6:18] about fiscal realism. We can't
[6:19] keep spending
[6:20] beyond our budget. Wanted
[6:22] to speak very quickly
[6:23] on HCC244,241 and 247. Those
[6:25] are the things you're looking
[6:27] at about AI. I'm transferring
[6:30] 208 and the Landry property.
[6:33] I'm not going to comment
[6:34] on whether I agree
[6:35] with these or not,
[6:36] but I'm just concerned that
[6:37] none of these have any fiscal
[6:38] impact. And two
[6:39] of these are action items.
[6:40] You're being asked
[6:41] for basically
[6:42] to sign a blank check
[6:43] on the transfer of 208 and
[6:45] on the landing property. We
[6:46] know that the city staff did
[6:48] have an analysis done. They
[6:50] identified potential
[6:51] improvements to 208. They
[6:53] actually contracted
[6:55] with a consultant to to cost
[6:57] out some
[6:58] of those improvements. So
[7:00] there's no reason there can't
[7:01] be a cost there. They've
[7:02] identified some pilot AI tools.
[7:03] They've been doing research. I
[7:05] think you as a council really
[7:06] deserve
[7:08] to have a financial estimate,
[7:10] especially when you're being
[7:11] asked to approve.
[7:13] To approve these Items
[7:16] on the AI HCC 244. I'm glad
[7:19] to see that the city is looking
[7:23] at developing guidelines
[7:24] for AI. It's super important.
[7:26] But I'm very concerned that
[7:28] they're proposing to pilot
[7:29] before they actually develop
[7:31] the guidelines. And our cities
[7:33] aren't even using AI. Hello,
[7:34] Lamppost is AI. Stop sign
[7:35] cameras by Avio are using AI.
[7:39] So let's be honest,
[7:41] we're already using it. And
[7:43] it's not just a tech issue.
[7:44] There are major ethical issues.
[7:46] So I would like to see this
[7:47] committee called an AI
[7:49] committee and not just an it.
[7:51] It's not about a system or a
[7:53] tool or a technology. It's
[7:54] about how we as humans use it.
[7:56] And those ethical issues need
[7:59] to be front and center. Thanks
[8:00] so much.
[8:05] >>Next we'll go to Giovanni
[8:09] Luca Campelia. You should be
[8:12] able to unmute yourself. Yes.
[8:14] Can everyone hear me? Yes, we
[8:17] can. Perfect. Thank you very
[8:22] much, Mr. Mayor and Council
[8:25] members. I wanted just to give
[8:26] a quick public comment
[8:30] regarding my zoning variance
[8:31] request, which is
[8:32] on the consent agenda
[8:33] for today's meeting. This is
[8:34] just a small project that me,
[8:39] as a resident of Ward Number
[8:40] 2, together
[8:41] with my wife put forth
[8:43] to develop the third floor
[8:47] of our house,
[8:48] which is an old property on
[8:50] 4100 Hamilton street
[8:53] at the corner between Hamilton
[8:54] street and 4131st Avenue I
[9:00] understand that as part
[9:01] of the consent agenda,
[9:02] there is no discussion
[9:03] for this project. But
[9:05] in case I wanted
[9:06] to mention.
[9:07] >>That, I believe my architect,
[9:08] Mr. Tom.
[9:09] >>Hammond, is also available
[9:10] during this meeting. Again,
[9:11] thank you very much for the
[9:13] consideration and I look
[9:14] forward to hearing from you.
[9:17] Thanks. Next we'll go to
[9:21] Daniel Lang. Daniel, you should
[9:22] be able to unmute yourself.
[9:28] Good evening and thank you
[9:30] mayor,
[9:31] council and city employees
[9:32] for your dedicated commitment
[9:33] to our community. My comments
[9:35] are specifically around the AI
[9:37] presentation that is today I
[9:40] reviewed the presentation,
[9:42] excited that Hyattville is
[9:43] taking steps towards AI. Just
[9:45] have a few points of emphasis
[9:47] and questions or items that I
[9:48] wish are considered
[9:50] during the presentation
[9:52] in the future adoption events.
[9:54] In reviewing it, exciting that
[9:56] it still included the phrase
[9:58] dei. That's a plus. But then
[10:01] also noted that when we are
[10:04] working with AI and developing
[10:06] those tools, we're working with
[10:08] a tool that not only performs
[10:09] mechanical processes
[10:11] but cognitive ones as well.
[10:12] It's fundamentally different
[10:13] than other technological
[10:15] technological advances. And I
[10:16] see that there's a guardrail
[10:18] to prohibit use of PII in this.
[10:20] >>But I do think it needs to.
[10:22] >>Be even much stronger than
[10:24] that. Ensuring that the data is
[10:27] entered is properly stored and
[10:29] controlled on servers that the
[10:31] city controls, which may have a
[10:33] substantial impact to the
[10:35] budget and a substantial cost
[10:37] associated with it. And I do
[10:39] see that there are elements
[10:40] of self correcting mechanisms,
[10:42] but we also need to ensure
[10:43] of regulation
[10:45] of destructive capabilities
[10:47] of the tools to make sure that
[10:49] it is still ethical and fair.
[10:51] There was a mention
[10:53] of only using biased data sets,
[10:55] although I do think it is
[10:57] rather difficult slash
[10:58] impossible to come up with a
[11:00] data set that isn't biased. So
[11:03] curious what measures will be
[11:04] put in place to establish
[11:06] equitable and just decisions.
[11:08] Myself and another volunteer
[11:10] at the Hyattsville Library,
[11:12] Yumiko Joins, are hosting a
[11:14] computer skills program in
[11:16] March at the Hyattsville
[11:17] Library. One
[11:19] of the sessions we do plan.
[11:20] To host is around Responsible
[11:21] Uses of Generative AI. For
[11:23] anyone who might be interested
[11:26] in that. Thank you.
[11:31] >>Next we'll go to Daniel
[11:33] Broder. Daniel, you should be
[11:34] able to unmute yourself.
[11:36] You'll hear me. Yes, we do.
[11:38] Cool.
[11:40] >>Good evening, Hyatt's Phil.
[11:42] Dan Broder, Ward 2 I want
[11:44] to make a comment about the AI
[11:46] presentation and I am making
[11:49] this comment both as a resident
[11:52] of Hyattsville and as somebody
[11:55] who works professionally with
[11:57] AI and is getting his doctorate
[12:00] in AI. This may do not spend
[12:06] money on this. This is the
[12:08] wrong approach to adopting AI
[12:11] for the municipal government.
[12:13] There are no guardrails
[12:14] in place prior
[12:16] to the procurement of AI. It is
[12:19] running concurrent
[12:21] to the procurement. This is the
[12:22] wrong approach. People's safety
[12:24] when it comes to their privacy
[12:25] for particularly data that
[12:28] might be handled
[12:30] by the police department needs
[12:31] to be protected
[12:33] before any sort
[12:35] of pilot is put into place.
[12:37] This does not require spending
[12:38] money on this project.
[12:42] Furthermore, if the City of
[12:44] Hyattsville would need
[12:46] to stand up equipment to
[12:47] isolate data storage or
[12:48] processing that would run
[12:51] completely contrary to the
[12:53] city's environmental goals,
[12:54] data centers are projected
[12:59] to absorb 9% of total US power
[13:01] in 2030. Do not do this this
[13:07] way. If you need
[13:09] to automate a city service,
[13:11] there are plenty of free open
[13:14] source quote unquote AI ways
[13:17] to do so,
[13:18] but wide scale adoption of a
[13:20] buzzword towards privacy
[13:22] problems that may not need
[13:25] solving, particularly in an
[13:26] environment where the city is
[13:27] losing lots of money,
[13:30] is a really bad idea.
[13:33] Finally, just want to shout
[13:34] out all the Hyattsville
[13:35] residents who made it out
[13:37] to the President's Day protest
[13:39] yesterday and expand Ranked
[13:41] choice voting in Hyattsville,
[13:42] please. Thank you.
[13:48] >>Next we'll go to Cheryl
[13:49] Aguiar. She'll be able to
[13:51] unmute yourself.
[13:55] >>Thank you. Good evening
[13:58] Council members and Mayor
[13:59] Crossling.Thank you
[14:01] for the opportunity
[14:02] to speak today. I'm Cheryl
[14:03] Aguilar and I'm here as the
[14:04] founding director of the Hope
[14:06] center. For Wellness, a mental
[14:07] health agency focused on
[14:09] holistic healing and as a
[14:10] community partner in the City
[14:12] of Hyatt Mental Health Program
[14:13] which was spearheaded here
[14:15] in these meetings and led by
[14:19] Councilwoman Schrub and
[14:20] supported
[14:21] by the entire council and the
[14:23] Mayor, so thank you so much.
[14:24] Now we have In Wellness with
[14:26] Thrive a program that is really
[14:27] thriving as a pilot program
[14:28] in our community.
[14:29] In recent months, In Wellness
[14:31] with Thrive has conducted
[14:34] countless intake sessions
[14:35] with children,
[14:36] youth and parents and I get to
[14:38] hear firsthand the many
[14:39] stressors affecting their
[14:41] mental health see. Seeing their
[14:43] immediate relief upon accessing
[14:45] free. Bilingual services both
[14:46] in person and virtually
[14:48] after weeks months
[14:50] of searching
[14:51] for support is a testament
[14:53] of the program's impact. This
[14:55] initiative not only provides
[14:56] critical mental Health services
[14:58] to the city's most vulnerable
[15:00] residents who are facing
[15:01] trauma, anxiety and depression,
[15:02] but it also offers hope,
[15:04] healing and a profound sense
[15:05] of being heard,
[15:07] seen and understood. In our
[15:09] Art space programs, young
[15:11] people have explored and
[15:12] processed critical issues of
[15:14] adolescent development such as
[15:16] identity and self esteem, and
[15:17] our sessions have supported a
[15:19] sense
[15:20] of connection and belonging.
[15:21] And in our individual therapy
[15:22] sessions,
[15:23] our therapists provide vital
[15:25] one on one and family support
[15:27] to community members navigating
[15:29] gun violence, family conflict
[15:31] and the isolation of feeling
[15:32] different challenges that have
[15:34] identified in in today's
[15:36] political climate access
[15:38] to mental care is urgent, that
[15:41] demand is growing and the need
[15:42] is undeniable. You have already
[15:44] led the way in this arena,
[15:47] so thank you for championing
[15:48] mental health already for the
[15:49] City of Hyattsville. As the
[15:51] devastating impact
[15:52] of federal cuts to Lifeline
[15:54] programs unfold, your continued
[15:56] support ensures that children
[15:58] and families in highest of
[16:00] income ensure our immigration
[16:03] status, retirement receive the
[16:04] care they need and deserve.
[16:05] Thank you for continuing to
[16:06] Support this initiative.
[16:16] >>Next, we have Bradley
[16:17] Phelps. Bradley, you should be
[16:18] able
[16:19] to unmute yourself.
[16:20] >>Hello, I'm Bradley Phelps
[16:21] from Ward 2. Thank you, Mayor
[16:22] and council members
[16:23] for your time
[16:24] in public service. My public
[16:25] comment is
[16:26] to reiterate concerns raised
[16:27] by previous public comments
[16:28] about artificial intelligence
[16:30] that is not outlined
[16:31] in the presentation
[16:32] to be given later tonight. As
[16:33] the presentation slides point
[16:34] out, there are risks
[16:36] to using AI. We also know and
[16:37] must consider carefully the
[16:39] known costs of AI. It requires
[16:41] a large amount of computational
[16:43] power and therefore a large
[16:45] amount
[16:46] of energy and electricity,
[16:47] often at data centers. Some
[16:48] estimates claim that ChatGPT
[16:50] may use one to two orders of
[16:51] magnitude more electricity than
[16:53] a conventional Google search.
[16:55] Additionally, these data
[16:57] centers frequently consume
[16:58] large.
[16:59] >>Amounts of water to cool
[17:00] their computers.
[17:02] >>As AI and applications
[17:03] for AI
[17:04] for local governments improve,
[17:06] they will hopefully become more
[17:07] efficient and tailored,
[17:09] demanding only what is required
[17:10] in terms of computational power
[17:12] and energy for a given task.
[17:14] But due to its recency
[17:17] on the public stage and lack
[17:19] of transparency
[17:20] within the field,
[17:21] the city should move forward
[17:23] under the assumption that AI
[17:25] uses a lot of power and a lot
[17:26] of water. In a state where we
[17:30] 1. Import nearly 20%
[17:31] of our electricity. 2. Are
[17:33] trying to build
[17:34] out more renewable energy. 3.
[17:35] Are trying to retire fossil
[17:38] fuel electricity generation
[17:39] sources. 4. Are also trying to
[17:42] electrify vehicles and
[17:44] buildings, including in
[17:45] Hyattsville. We must carefully
[17:48] interrogate any new demand
[17:49] source for electricity
[17:50] in the state, including
[17:51] at the municipal level.
[17:53] In short, I ask that the city
[17:55] and council strongly weigh the
[17:56] energy, water and other
[17:58] environmental costs of AI as it
[18:00] develops a city policy.
[18:02] Additionally, Hyattsville can
[18:03] also raise this concern
[18:05] to the Gov AI Coalition. And
[18:08] the Gov AI Coalition can push
[18:09] the AI industry to take energy
[18:11] and environmental consideration
[18:13] seriously. Thank you for your
[18:14] time and consideration.
[18:21] >>Next we have Gopi Dokai. You
[18:25] should be able to unmute
[18:26] yourself.
[18:27] >>Great.
[18:28] >>Thank you.
[18:29] >>Can you all hear me?
[18:30] >>Yes, we can.
[18:31] >>Okay. Awesome. Good evening.
[18:33] My name is Gopi Dokai. Thank
[18:35] you so much for your time,
[18:37] council members and mayor and
[18:39] hearing all of our concerns
[18:42] out. I'm a resident of Ward 3
[18:43] in Gateway West. I'm also a
[18:45] candidate for Ward 3 City
[18:46] Council
[18:47] in this election cycle. My
[18:49] comment is around the park that
[18:53] is being voted on later
[18:56] during this meeting. That's
[18:58] in Gateway west is community.
[19:01] Currently it's a private park
[19:03] and I just wanted
[19:05] to voice my support for this
[19:07] becoming a city and public park
[19:09] so that the entire Hyattsville
[19:11] community can enjoy this. I
[19:13] know when several
[19:16] of us were first looking at
[19:17] Hyattsville as a place
[19:18] to call Home.
[19:20] >>We were attracted to the fact
[19:21] that.
[19:23] >>The city had a really strong
[19:24] sustainability plan and a plan
[19:26] to make it a walkable community
[19:28] and a place where lots of
[19:30] different public spaces could
[19:31] be.
[19:32] >>Offered for community to
[19:34] gather.
[19:35] >>And by making this into a
[19:39] public park and having it taken
[19:41] over by the city,
[19:43] I believe that it can continue
[19:45] on with this vision. Thank you.
[19:53] >>Next we go to Tatiana Lubik
[19:58] Valanovic. You should be able
[19:59] to unmute yourself.
[20:02] >>Yes. Hi, good evening, I am
[20:05] Tatiana Tanya Krubyk Lulanovik
[20:08] from World5. I hope
[20:09] to meet you sometime
[20:10] in person. Right now,
[20:14] I believe that I'm one
[20:17] of many residents like we heard
[20:19] here that are very concerned
[20:22] about our city budget. So
[20:23] that's the bottom line. Our
[20:25] general reserve fund was
[20:27] depleted
[20:29] in just last two years from 26
[20:32] million to 16 million. That's
[20:37] 39% drop. And that has
[20:41] to stop. And the city council
[20:45] got email from me with more
[20:47] percentages that showed that
[20:50] even we had good revenue
[20:53] income. Still, the city just
[20:55] spent much more. And we all
[20:58] like services. But if we ask
[21:00] our residents what they pick,
[21:02] do they pick things. Fiscal
[21:03] responsibility,
[21:05] over trimming, servicing,
[21:07] getting services
[21:09] under control,
[21:11] they will pick up probably,
[21:14] you know, fiscal
[21:18] responsibility. I hope that
[21:21] anyone who disagree
[21:23] with that can tell me. But what
[21:26] we heard today is that we are
[21:27] for budget related to AI
[21:32] presentation that we had today.
[21:36] The city already started
[21:37] collecting very expensive
[21:40] report proposals. There are 20
[21:45] of them. The report will cost
[21:48] $50,000. There is no price tag
[21:53] for AI implementation,
[21:56] which is very boring,
[21:57] not even broad assessment. So I
[22:01] agree with many other
[22:03] presenters.
[22:04] >>Who mentioned other aspects
[22:06] of AI implementation.
[22:09] >>But the cost is just too
[22:13] high. That's it. Thank you for
[22:14] your attention.
[22:23] >>Next we have Irene Marsh.
[22:24] Irene, you should be able
[22:25] to unmute yourself. Yes.
[22:30] >>Did that work?
[22:31] >>Yeah, we hear you. Okay.
[22:32] >>Okay.
[22:34] >>I too am very concerned about
[22:35] our budget and the way we have
[22:38] been failing
[22:40] to meet deadlines related
[22:41] to audits.
[22:42] >>And so forth, and just paying
[22:44] money.
[22:45] >>For one consultation
[22:47] after another. All this money
[22:50] going out there and then the
[22:51] prospective expenses
[22:54] of doing AI, which we may not
[22:57] benefit from very.
[23:00] >>Much, and just that we are
[23:01] spending.
[23:02] >>Money we do not have. And if
[23:04] I did this with my money,
[23:06] I would be living
[23:07] on the street.
[23:08] >> So I hope there will be a
[23:09] >>Way to cut back on our
[23:11] expenses.
[23:13] >>And not run up more and more
[23:14] debts. Thank you.
[23:19] >>Okay, go back
[23:20] to the attendees. If you'd
[23:22] like to make a comment, please
[23:23] use the raised hand feature
[23:31] now. Last call, Mr. Marshall,
[23:34] you should be able to unmute
[23:35] yourself.
[23:37] >>Mayor and council members,
[23:39] my name Is Marshall.
[23:40] >>I'm in board four.
[23:42] >>While I too have budget
[23:43] concerns, mine are for
[23:45] different reasons. I am
[23:47] extremely concerned that in
[23:49] this.
[23:50] >>City'S steadfast and hard
[23:53] position on continuing
[23:54] to be a sanctuary city,
[23:56] that it will cost us great sums
[23:58] of funding and money. And my
[24:02] concern is if that happens,
[24:04] that means taxes are going to
[24:05] go up.
[24:06] >>My taxes have gone up every
[24:08] year.
[24:09] >>Since I've lived here and
[24:10] they continue
[24:11] to rise. I cannot continue to
[24:13] pay more and more tax and the
[24:16] last thing I want to do is have
[24:17] a tax increase related
[24:20] on the position of sanctuary
[24:21] cities.
[24:23] >>I cannot. I've never been a
[24:24] fan of this.
[24:25] >>City becoming a sanctuary
[24:26] city. Most of you have been on
[24:28] the council a while know that
[24:29] aside from.
[24:30] >>My personal position,
[24:32] for the, for the.
[24:33] >>Good of this entire city,
[24:34] you have got
[24:35] to protect the bottom line.
[24:37] And the way you do that is.
[24:38] >>By budgeting good,
[24:39] by budgeting in a very
[24:41] responsible manner and also by
[24:43] managing your money well.
[24:45] >>If you're going to operate
[24:48] in a form that is going
[24:50] to cost every taxpayer
[24:52] in the city more money,
[24:53] that.
[24:54] >>Does not work for anyone.
[24:56] >>It doesn't even work for all
[24:57] of you. The next thing I want
[25:00] to talk about has to do
[25:01] with city staff,
[25:03] particularly dpw
[25:05] but the city staff as a whole.
[25:07] We have had several snow events
[25:09] and what I've seen personally
[25:11] in this city is a response that
[25:15] is heads and shoulders
[25:16] above other places I've been
[25:18] in this area. Not only did we
[25:20] have snow last week on what was
[25:23] my trash day.
[25:24] >>But my trash was also
[25:26] collected and.
[25:27] >>My snow was plowed.
[25:28] >>Most places don't get that.
[25:30] So thank you to the city
[25:31] for their work. That's all.
[25:38] >>Last call in the attendees.
[25:40] If you'd like
[25:41] to make a comment, please use
[25:42] the raised hand feature.
[25:48] Seeing none. That concludes
[25:51] public comment. Thank you very
[25:52] much. Mr. Grunendife. Mr. Are
[25:54] you here?
[25:57] >>Hello everyone. I am here. I
[26:01] apologize for jumping
[26:03] on a little late. We had
[26:06] another meeting. I'm going to
[26:07] share my screen if that's okay.
[26:22] Let me see. Okay. Okay.
[26:28] >>Can you see that?
[26:33] >>Can you see that? Yes, that
[26:34] shared. Okay, great. Okay,
[26:36] listen, actually
[26:37] before I begin though,
[26:38] there was a lot
[26:39] of discussion on,
[26:40] on AI and I do want to just
[26:43] clarify just a few things and I
[26:46] know that's,
[26:47] that's a discussion that's
[26:48] going to come up later and
[26:49] Laura will add additional
[26:51] commentary to that, but she and
[26:52] I attended a conference
[26:53] at the International City
[26:54] Managers Association. When we
[26:56] attended that conference,
[26:58] we learned that a lot
[26:59] of municipalities around the
[27:00] country had been using
[27:02] generative AI for decision
[27:03] Making and. And
[27:06] to gain efficiencies and
[27:08] to get to do, you know,
[27:11] evaluate data, data sets. So we
[27:14] were very interested in that.
[27:15] Laura volunteered
[27:16] to take the lead on that and
[27:18] to come back and try to learn
[27:19] what other cities are doing.
[27:21] So I do want to be clear,
[27:22] we are not investing any money
[27:23] at this time. We are
[27:25] in the exploration phase. This
[27:26] is a part
[27:28] of us just being transparent
[27:29] with the community and
[27:30] with the council. And we just
[27:32] want to let you know that we
[27:33] are exploring, we are
[27:34] benchmarking, we are seeing
[27:35] what other cities are doing.
[27:36] We are not
[27:37] in a place where we're using,
[27:39] where we're putting any money
[27:40] and investing any money
[27:42] into this. We want
[27:43] to use how. We want to
[27:44] understand how we can use data,
[27:45] how we can make more informed
[27:48] decisions. We know that it is
[27:49] very important that we do our
[27:51] due diligence because we are
[27:52] absolutely sure that there are
[27:54] risks that may be associated
[27:55] with this, including security
[27:56] risk, environmental concerns.
[27:58] So again, we want
[27:59] to be transparent. We're
[28:01] looking into this. We wanted to
[28:02] let you know that we found that
[28:03] other cities
[28:04] across the country are using it
[28:05] for public safety, traffic
[28:06] management, service delivery,
[28:08] urban planning and development,
[28:09] environmental management,
[28:11] emergency response. So we saw a
[28:13] list of things.
[28:14] >>That other cities were doing.
[28:15] >>We just said it's time to
[28:17] explore this and see what it.
[28:23] Whether or not Laura will talk
[28:25] about that a little more.
[28:27] Anytime we invest money,
[28:28] we have to bring it back
[28:30] to this council. And we are
[28:31] very clear about doing it and
[28:35] very transparent. We come back
[28:36] to this community council and
[28:37] we let them know if we've
[28:38] identified something, we will
[28:39] tell them the risks associated
[28:40] with it, if there are any,
[28:41] and then we will ask
[28:42] for the funding for this. So
[28:43] please do not be concerned that
[28:45] we are moving out,
[28:47] spending money to do anything
[28:48] with AI other than explore and
[28:50] putting in a framework so that
[28:52] if we do decide,
[28:53] we will have that work
[28:55] in place. So I did want
[28:57] to just clarify that. So I'm
[28:58] going to start
[29:00] with the very first slide.
[29:02] See, is this thing moving? Are
[29:05] you seeing the next slide?
[29:09] Something's going wrong here.
[29:12] Can you see the agenda slide?
[29:13] >>Yes, yes.
[29:14] >>Oh, good.
[29:15] >>Okay,
[29:16] so let's move it.
[29:17] >>All right, so this is,
[29:18] this is how. These are the
[29:19] areas that we'll cover. All
[29:20] right, the next one, I do want
[29:21] to shout
[29:22] out our police department,
[29:24] but. And I thank you for those
[29:26] of you who gave compliments
[29:27] to the. The staff. Both DPW and
[29:29] the police have been working
[29:30] very hard. And
[29:31] in this particular one,
[29:33] I do want to just shout out,
[29:34] many of you saw Kelly
[29:36] Hernandez, she was
[29:37] on several news channels. You
[29:38] can see Fox, Fox 5, 7 News, and
[29:41] D.C. now we show. We frequently
[29:44] showcase our officers. And then
[29:45] they work and the work that
[29:47] they do on social media and
[29:48] on our websites and all
[29:50] of these news outlets. Pick
[29:51] this particular one up. You
[29:53] know, Kelly just,
[29:55] she works very hard, as all
[29:56] of our officers do, and we are
[29:58] really, really proud of her.
[30:00] And the work that she did,
[30:02] going into a burning car and
[30:03] rescuing a motorist whose.
[30:06] Whose legs were
[30:07] at least thought
[30:09] to be broken. Not sure how the
[30:11] outcome of that. Chief, are you
[30:12] on if there's anything to add
[30:13] about Kelly?
[30:16] >>No, ma'am, that's it. The
[30:18] driver's legs were broken,
[30:19] but other than that, that's it,
[30:20] ma'am. Thank you.
[30:21] >>Very good. All right. Thank
[30:22] you. So I did want
[30:23] to just acknowledge that.
[30:26] Okay. And next, once again,
[30:28] our police officers were in
[30:29] Rosa Parks Elementary School
[30:31] last week doing reading
[30:33] with the. With the students.
[30:34] They moved through. They were
[30:36] there about two hours. We had a
[30:37] really good time. And the kids,
[30:39] you could see in that picture
[30:40] to the far right,
[30:41] the kids were giving hugs
[30:43] to the police officers. And
[30:44] of course, they loved seeing
[30:46] Lindsey there as well. So just
[30:47] want to shout
[30:50] out our officers. Another
[30:51] program that Sandra and
[30:53] Shakira sponsored. And Jeff
[30:55] Ulysse, our interim director
[30:58] of economic development, and
[31:00] Sandra were the panelists,
[31:02] and they talked
[31:03] to this international group
[31:04] of visitors. These visitors
[31:05] come probably twice a year
[31:06] from different countries.
[31:08] We've had Asian countries,
[31:09] Africa all over. This time it
[31:10] was Middle east and North
[31:12] Africa. They wanted
[31:14] to hear examples
[31:15] of successful partnerships. So
[31:17] we appreciate Jeff and Sandra
[31:19] for leading that. Many
[31:21] of the staff attended. Mayor
[31:22] Carlton was there as well. And
[31:24] this particular session,
[31:25] they want to focus
[31:26] on human rights, poverty,
[31:27] financial support,
[31:28] volunteerism,
[31:30] and just what we're doing for
[31:32] youth and countering extremism,
[31:34] trafficking and violence,
[31:35] as you can see there. So very
[31:37] successful meet,
[31:38] meet and greet. Children and
[31:41] youth again doing some good
[31:43] things over there
[31:44] in the youth center. The drop
[31:46] in center meets three nights a
[31:49] week. In this last class, last
[31:51] week they had a cycling class
[31:53] from Kristen Fajardo and they
[31:55] learned all about safe cycling
[31:56] and other benefits
[31:58] to cycling. And he raffled two
[32:00] bikes. So two of our youth who
[32:02] attended were able to leave
[32:03] for the afternoon
[32:05] with new bikes. And last second
[32:09] to last slide. We've got a few
[32:10] events coming up. We've got the
[32:12] taste of black history. That's
[32:13] going to be this Thursday the
[32:14] 20th. And over in at Flavors
[32:18] in Ward 3. And we have a
[32:21] financial literacy session that
[32:23] is for Youth in grades 6
[32:25] through 12 who attend school
[32:26] here in the city of
[32:28] Hyattsville. So those. Look
[32:30] for those two events coming up.
[32:32] And then I'm going
[32:33] to talk. I'm going
[32:35] to hand this off to Ron
[32:36] before I go
[32:37] through the weekly offerings.
[32:38] This is just a quick audit
[32:40] update. We are in. We are
[32:42] thrilled that we finally got
[32:44] 23 in. So he's got it
[32:45] in hand. It's pretty thick.
[32:47] He's going through it and we
[32:49] should be able to.
[32:51] To get that thing out of here
[32:52] within the next two weeks.
[32:53] Ron, you want
[32:54] to take this one?
[32:55] >>Thank you, City
[32:57] Administrator. Yes, thank you
[32:59] so, so much. Good evening,
[33:01] council and citizens. Did I
[33:05] lose you?
[33:06] >>No.
[33:07] >>Okay, great, great. Yes,
[33:09] Just a quick update. Just kind
[33:10] of following behind City
[33:12] Administrator Douglas. Yes. So
[33:14] I have the final draft of FY23.
[33:16] >>We are a couple weeks
[33:19] behind plan schedule to
[33:20] complete and file.
[33:22] >>What I didn't take
[33:23] into consideration, what.
[33:24] >>I didn't know was the current
[33:26] outgoing CPA firm staff was
[33:28] out the first.
[33:30] >>Two weeks of January.
[33:32] >>So that pretty much put us
[33:33] behind a couple weeks.
[33:34] >>But again, I'm confident that
[33:37] we can complete FY23 and I get
[33:39] that submitted to the state,
[33:42] hopefully within the next.
[33:43] >>Two weeks or less.
[33:45] >>As I mentioned before,
[33:46] as we talked
[33:47] about previously,
[33:49] we do have a new firm. We
[33:50] issued a request
[33:52] for proposal come back in
[33:53] November. We selected
[33:55] Solinskoff and Axel Ride.
[33:57] >>There will be Axelrod.
[34:00] >>They will begin working
[34:01] on FY24. They're going
[34:03] to be contracted
[34:04] to complete FY24, 25 and 26. I
[34:08] anticipate, my hope and
[34:09] anticipation is that we
[34:11] complete 23, get 24 completed
[34:13] by spring and spring,
[34:18] early spring.
[34:19] >>And by the time we complete
[34:20] fiscal.
[34:21] >>Year 25, 25 is due October
[34:24] 31 by state law and hopefully
[34:27] by the end of the year, if not
[34:28] completed.
[34:29] >>At least close to completion
[34:30] for FY25.
[34:32] >>So we're getting there.
[34:35] Typically you can only get one
[34:36] audit done a year. But on.
[34:37] On top
[34:39] of the other requirements
[34:41] for the charter, for the.
[34:42] For the treasurer,
[34:43] in the process of also crafting
[34:44] the FY26 budget. So I want
[34:47] to thank everyone
[34:48] for their support. We continue.
[34:49] My staff and I will continue
[34:51] to put forth the effort
[34:52] to be transparent and,
[34:54] and again. And we take all of
[34:56] the comments very seriously and
[34:57] we continue to try
[34:59] to be more. Just try to be
[35:00] diligent and get all the
[35:02] financial information due to
[35:03] this legislative body as
[35:04] required. Thank you.
[35:06] >>Yeah. And our new auditing
[35:07] firm is ready to go, so Ron
[35:09] said that they're anxious
[35:10] to get started,
[35:12] so we're ready as well. Okay,
[35:14] thanks, Ron. So I'm gonna just
[35:15] go through weekly offerings.
[35:17] We've got the seated yoga
[35:18] class, that's for older adults
[35:20] and that's every Wednesday
[35:21] from 10 to 11. And then we also
[35:23] have the free Zumba class,
[35:24] that's Wednesdays four
[35:26] to five. We have winter
[35:27] creative mind sessions. You can
[35:29] see the dates here.
[35:30] But they're starting in
[35:31] January. They started in
[35:32] January and they'll go
[35:34] through March 11th. And then
[35:35] English sessions are on
[35:37] Tuesday. Spanish sessions are
[35:38] Thursdays, same time, 10 to
[35:42] 11, 11:30, rather. Got some
[35:43] committee meetings coming up.
[35:45] We've got code compliance on
[35:46] February 19th this week
[35:48] tomorrow. Education facilities
[35:50] task force is this Thursday.
[35:52] And education advisory
[35:54] committee meeting is next
[35:58] Monday the 24th. And then we've
[36:00] got the cert team, that's
[36:01] Wednesday, tomorrow evening
[36:03] right here in the building.
[36:04] Fields permit meeting. It's
[36:06] about that time now for people
[36:07] to start getting information
[36:08] on getting field permits. Camp
[36:09] coach in training. That that's
[36:11] open now for registration. So
[36:13] for anyone that wants
[36:16] to sign up. Actually, I think,
[36:18] Sandra, correct me,
[36:19] I think it doesn't open
[36:21] until the 20th. So that's when
[36:22] they can start signing up,
[36:23] Correct?
[36:25] >>Yes, that's actually it will
[36:27] open the application
[36:28] on the 20th for the coaches and
[36:30] then the 20th with also open
[36:32] spring and summer camps
[36:35] registration for the little
[36:36] ones.
[36:37] >>Perfect. All right,
[36:38] then we've got Narcan training
[36:39] this Thursday as well here at
[36:41] the city building. I mentioned
[36:43] Taste of Black History. And
[36:44] then finally Partner Care
[36:45] Partner support group
[36:47] on the 21st. And Narcan
[36:51] training. Narcan training in
[36:53] Spanish again, that's Friday.
[36:56] And Parent child dance party
[36:58] Saturday. This Saturday, Plant
[37:00] propaganda workshop is Sunday
[37:03] the 23rd. And lunch and Learn
[37:05] workshop rec desk, tutorial
[37:07] for older adults and
[37:09] for caregivers. And that's
[37:11] going to be on Monday the 24th.
[37:13] Okay, I'm going to stop share
[37:16] and take any questions you may
[37:17] have for me.
[37:19] >>Colleagues,
[37:20] comments or questions. Mr.
[37:25] Shagla, thank you.
[37:26] >>I don't need an answer
[37:28] on this now. I don't expect you
[37:29] to necessarily have one,
[37:31] but I just want
[37:32] to put a plug in. I've heard
[37:33] from several constituents
[37:34] asking about the status of the
[37:36] parade and if and when we may
[37:39] bring that parade back. Desire
[37:41] to have it come back. So don't
[37:44] want to put you on the spot,
[37:48] but maybe I'm curious to know
[37:50] too what the long term planning
[37:52] is related to the parade.
[37:54] Thank you.
[37:55] >>Okay, thank you. And yes,
[37:56] I cannot answer that
[37:57] at this time. We have had
[37:58] discussions
[37:59] on it because there is a lot
[38:01] of staff time involved
[38:02] in that. A Lot
[38:03] of planning and a lot
[38:04] of coordination. So we have had
[38:05] discussions about it. I don't
[38:07] know that we have actually come
[38:08] to a decision
[38:10] on whether we'll be able to
[38:12] bring it back this year or not,
[38:13] but I do. I will get you an
[38:15] answer on that after we have
[38:16] another meeting.
[38:19] >>All right, does anyone else
[38:21] have any questions or comments?
[38:25] Okay. Seeing none. I believe we
[38:26] have a presentation is
[38:28] on the.
[38:32] >>Absolutely. And that will be.
[38:36] I think Leslie's going
[38:37] to open that up,
[38:38] and I believe Hal's going
[38:39] to present.
[38:40] >>Good evening,
[38:41] mayor and council. We are going
[38:43] to give you an update
[38:45] on where we are currently
[38:46] with 3505 moving towards
[38:51] substantial completion.
[38:53] Deputy Director Hal Metzler is
[38:55] here to present this to you.
[38:57] Hal, are you there?
[39:02] >>Yes, I am here. All right,
[39:04] let me share my screen and
[39:05] we'll get started.
[39:06] >>Awesome.
[39:07] >>Thank you.
[39:25] >>All right. Good evening,
[39:26] mayor and council. I am here
[39:28] to give you an update on the
[39:31] Hyattsville Public Safety
[39:32] building project. The 3505
[39:34] Hamilton street adaptive reuse
[39:37] project,
[39:39] the new police station. It's
[39:40] had a number of names
[39:41] over the years,
[39:43] but we mostly just call it
[39:44] 3505. So we. Let me move to the
[39:50] next slide here and just kind
[39:51] of give everyone a little
[39:52] background of how we got
[39:53] to where we are currently. It
[39:56] started back in 2010 when the
[40:00] city acquired 3505 Hamilton
[40:02] street in 2011, there was a
[40:07] space utilization study that
[40:09] looked at all of the city's
[40:11] buildings and kind of, you
[40:13] know, gave the city a kind
[40:15] of a plan of how
[40:16] to move forward with some of
[40:18] the properties that the city
[40:22] owned. In May of 2015, the
[40:25] council passed a motion
[40:29] to authorize to proceed
[40:32] on moving 3505. Excuse me.
[40:34] On moving the Hyattsville
[40:35] Police Department to 3505
[40:36] Hamilton Street. From there,
[40:40] the city hired the city project
[40:42] manager, which was myself at
[40:44] the time still the project
[40:46] manager for this project. And
[40:48] from here on out,
[40:51] I know a lot more about what's
[40:52] going on. I wasn't able
[40:54] to find a whole lot
[40:56] of information on some
[40:57] of the previous background,
[40:58] but from here out, this is
[41:01] everything I have worked on.
[41:02] In the spring of 2016, we
[41:05] solicited an RFP
[41:10] for an engineering firm
[41:11] to design the building, and JMT
[41:13] was selected as that firm and
[41:17] approved by the council. In
[41:19] April of 2016. We did our first
[41:25] kind of initial concepts of the
[41:27] building and the project and
[41:29] how it could work
[41:30] in that space. Came up
[41:33] with some initial estimates
[41:35] for the project, and it was
[41:37] decided that we needed
[41:40] to just look at some
[41:41] of the other options for where
[41:44] the where the city services
[41:46] could be relocated. So we did
[41:49] do an evaluation of additional
[41:51] locations where the police
[41:53] department could be relocated
[41:55] and where the city
[41:57] administration offices could be
[41:59] located. We did evaluate
[42:01] options where they could both
[42:04] be co located and separate
[42:06] locations. And we did present
[42:08] that information to council.
[42:10] In February of 2017, it was
[42:13] decided to continue with the
[42:15] 3505 location and the council
[42:19] again voted in May of 2017
[42:24] to proceed with this reuse of
[42:25] 3505 Hamilton street
[42:28] over the next several years.
[42:30] From between May 2017 and the
[42:35] spring of 2022, our team was
[42:38] working on all
[42:40] of the engineering, the design,
[42:42] the permitting and the
[42:45] solicitation of the project,
[42:47] which was
[42:48] like many things affected
[42:51] by the pandemic,
[42:53] which did put some delays
[42:54] into the process, especially
[42:57] the permitting process. We
[42:59] finally got it out to bid
[43:02] in the fall of 2021. And
[43:06] in the spring of 2022, we
[43:10] selected Whiting Turner as the
[43:12] best option
[43:14] for the construction
[43:15] of the project. They provided
[43:17] the best value to the city and
[43:19] the council approved their
[43:23] contract in. It did take us a
[43:25] couple months to get a contract
[43:26] negotiated and was finally
[43:30] signed in July of 2022 and we
[43:32] held our groundbreaking in
[43:34] September of 2022. For those of
[43:38] you that were there or weren't
[43:39] there,
[43:40] just got a quick little video
[43:42] of our ceremony here
[43:45] to celebrate the beginning
[43:46] of the project. I know some of
[43:51] you could probably see yourself
[43:55] in the video and we definitely
[43:57] got a lot
[43:58] of video and pictures
[44:00] to share as we go
[44:03] through closing
[44:04] out this project here. The
[44:08] project began construction
[44:10] shortly after that
[44:11] groundbreaking and it has
[44:12] continued continuous
[44:15] through today. Last year in
[44:18] 2024, we did have to come back
[44:20] to council first in January
[44:24] to get authorization
[44:25] for a change order to combine
[44:28] the security and it portions
[44:30] of the project into the
[44:32] Whiting Turner contract. It was
[44:34] originally broken out
[44:36] into multiple vendors and due
[44:40] to some lessons learned,
[44:41] we decided it was best
[44:43] to combine that all under
[44:45] Whiting Turner to give the city
[44:48] the best product and best
[44:51] protection for that work.
[44:53] Again, we. Once that work was
[44:56] authorized, we did have
[44:57] to come back a second time
[44:59] for some general conditions.
[45:01] And that general conditions
[45:03] just covered all these. All the
[45:05] minor changes
[45:06] to the project that occur
[45:07] in this type
[45:09] of adaptive reuse. There's
[45:10] always, you know,
[45:12] unknowns that come up. There
[45:15] was some additional work that
[45:16] needed to be done to
[45:17] accommodate the security and
[45:18] it. And that was what was
[45:20] approved in July of 2024.
[45:24] They've been continuing
[45:25] to work and I just wanted to
[45:27] Give everyone a quick update on
[45:29] the progress and then we'll
[45:31] talk about the schedule for
[45:34] going forward. I got a number
[45:36] of photos here. I'm going
[45:38] to go through them kind
[45:40] of quick and just kind of show
[45:43] everyone where we've been and
[45:44] where we're. Where we're going
[45:46] with this. This is the first.
[45:47] Many of you might remember that
[45:49] we have this great mural that
[45:50] was commissioned by the bank
[45:54] back when the bank was first
[45:57] opened. We did take this out.
[45:59] We did have it restored. And
[46:02] Mr. Igali here, the gentleman
[46:04] on the left, is the original
[46:05] artist that painted this
[46:08] painting. I believe it was
[46:10] in the 60s. He is still
[46:13] with us. He did a great job
[46:16] of working with his team to
[46:18] clean up and restore this
[46:20] painting and repair some damage
[46:21] that was done just over time
[46:24] and where it was located in
[46:27] case people never saw it or you
[46:30] don't remember. This is kind
[46:31] of what the lobby looked like
[46:33] when we started the building.
[46:36] And now you can see we've kept
[46:37] a lot of these original details
[46:39] and appearance
[46:42] in this lobby and wanted
[46:44] to really kind
[46:45] of keep that feel going. Just
[46:48] another quick view of the lobby
[46:50] here and we're looking at the
[46:52] area that is now the new
[46:54] community room for.
[46:56] For this building. And we feel
[46:58] this is going
[47:00] to be a great space. Could be
[47:01] very similar to the Prangley
[47:02] Room. It's going to provide a
[47:04] great meeting room and a great
[47:05] option for the public
[47:09] to gather on that side
[47:14] of the city. We did want
[47:15] to show this. This room is one
[47:16] of my favorite rooms. It was
[47:18] one
[47:19] of the original bank president.
[47:20] President's office
[47:22] with all this great paneling.
[47:24] And if some of you saw it,
[47:25] I couldn't find a picture.
[47:26] But some of the paneling had
[47:27] just been damaged
[47:29] over the years. There were a
[47:30] lot of splits and cracks. And
[47:31] they did a great job of kind of
[47:34] restoring the original look and
[47:36] feel of this space. And this
[47:37] is. It's going
[47:40] to be a great room. When you
[47:41] get to come see it next,
[47:42] I want to kind of move up
[47:44] to the third floor. This is
[47:45] another great change that that
[47:47] occurred. You can kind of see
[47:48] on the picture on the.
[47:50] On the left and then
[47:52] on the right. The left was what
[47:53] it kind of looked like. And the
[47:54] right is the progress
[47:56] of the demo. We had. They had
[47:58] built out all these walls,
[48:02] these kind of knee walls
[48:04] to there. They are required
[48:05] by code
[48:06] to give some head protection
[48:08] to the ceiling. And the bank
[48:10] had built them out this way,
[48:11] which, as you can see, kind
[48:13] of made it very dark. He had
[48:14] these
[48:15] like long little hallways
[48:16] to get down to the windows.
[48:18] And we were able
[48:20] to open those up and you know,
[48:24] use some, some built
[48:26] in furniture to, to provide
[48:27] that head protection. And we
[48:29] did that everywhere up here on
[48:32] this third floor and you know,
[48:33] open the space up,
[48:34] we got a lot more natural
[48:36] light, which was one of the,
[48:37] the very important things.
[48:40] Buildings. The, the current
[48:41] department, if you know
[48:42] about it, half the offices are
[48:44] closets and storage rooms that
[48:45] were converted. Many
[48:47] of them don't have windows.
[48:49] And you know, for,
[48:51] for people's mental health,
[48:53] it's, you know, having access
[48:55] to sunlight was really
[48:56] important. And so we were,
[48:58] we're glad we were able
[48:59] to kind of open up a lot of
[49:00] these windows and get a lot
[49:02] more natural light
[49:03] into these spaces. Likewise
[49:06] these pictures here, it looks
[49:08] like the light is on, but these
[49:11] are actually solar tubes. So
[49:13] that is natural sunlight that
[49:14] is brought in
[49:16] through a skylight in a series
[49:18] of reflective tubing
[49:20] to bring that natural light
[49:21] into the space. So rooms that
[49:24] didn't have an exterior window
[49:25] did get some solar tubes
[49:26] to kind
[49:27] of help bring that natural
[49:29] light into the space. These
[49:32] next couple slides are just
[49:34] kind of showing some of the
[49:36] great improvements that have
[49:38] been made so that the police
[49:41] staff can do their job better.
[49:43] This is the evidence processing
[49:46] area. If you saw it
[49:47] in the current station. It's
[49:48] again basically a converted
[49:51] closet with a countertop on
[49:52] some cabinets and an old postal
[49:55] mailbox that they use
[49:57] to secure their evidence. Here
[49:59] now there's room for officers
[50:01] to process evidence as that
[50:03] comes in and then put it into
[50:05] these secure lockers so that
[50:06] there's a better chain
[50:07] of evidence
[50:11] for the evidence that comes in.
[50:12] And when the officers need
[50:14] to go to court, they've got a
[50:16] much better process to document
[50:20] where the evidence was.
[50:24] Likewise, we have this great
[50:25] new space. This space is just
[50:29] for evidence processing.
[50:31] Again, they're currently
[50:33] in a very small,
[50:34] cramped room that is not
[50:36] really, wasn't ever really
[50:38] built as a lab. It was just a
[50:40] corner of an office that kind
[50:42] of got converted to a space.
[50:44] And now we've got an actual lab
[50:47] that is built
[50:49] to those particular standards.
[50:55] Next, I just wanted to kind
[50:58] of go over our communication
[50:59] space a little. This is another
[51:00] great resource for the city.
[51:02] You know, we, we planned this
[51:04] new communications room that's
[51:07] in this suite where there's
[51:08] offices, there's a break room,
[51:10] there's lockers,
[51:11] there's a locker room, there
[51:13] will be a bathroom so our
[51:14] communications staff can have
[51:16] everything they need and be
[51:19] in their space. So if something
[51:20] does happen, there's an
[51:22] emergency, we need
[51:26] to get folks Back
[51:27] to their stations in a hurry.
[51:29] They're not elsewhere
[51:31] in the building. They're able
[51:32] to kind of do what they need
[51:34] to do and stay in their space
[51:36] for those emergency situations.
[51:40] This is just
[51:42] to show you as we build out the
[51:45] space this far wall here is
[51:48] going to be our video wall
[51:51] which will. Right now we have a
[51:52] couple TVs mounted
[51:54] on the wall. They do an okay
[51:57] job, but you know, we're going
[51:58] to have a video wall built here
[51:59] so that they can monitor all
[52:00] the citywide cameras and all
[52:01] the building cameras. As all
[52:04] these facilities get completed,
[52:06] all the cameras from all of the
[52:09] city's buildings will feed
[52:10] into this, into this building
[52:13] and our dispatch staff will be
[52:14] able to monitor all the cameras
[52:16] that are, that are
[52:19] in the city. And then just an
[52:21] example of the workstations.
[52:23] These are purpose built
[52:30] workstations which are a lot
[52:31] better than the currently kind
[52:32] of cobbled together desks and
[52:34] workstations that the staff
[52:38] have. It will provide a much
[52:40] more comfortable working
[52:42] environment
[52:44] for the dispatchers who are on.
[52:46] The chief will correct me,
[52:48] but I believe they're on 12
[52:49] hour shifts. So we need
[52:50] to make sure that they can,
[52:52] you know, work comfortably and
[52:56] work productively
[52:57] in these spaces. And that's
[53:00] what, you know,
[53:01] these consoles will allow.
[53:05] It's been a long time
[53:06] since we've seen this,
[53:07] but this is what the,
[53:08] the building used
[53:10] to look like. For those of you
[53:11] that might not be familiar or
[53:13] remember kind of, kind
[53:15] of what it looked like. It, you
[53:18] know, they, they, you know,
[53:21] they had the old 80s style
[53:23] sign. You know, the, there was
[53:26] just, you know, some lack
[53:27] of maintenance that happens
[53:29] with an older building,
[53:31] including this giant ramp
[53:32] in the front that was not up
[53:35] to current ADA codes. And you
[53:38] can see here we've got a much
[53:41] more kind of inviting plaza
[53:44] to welcome folks in. There'll
[53:47] be a memorial wall
[53:49] on the left, the flags. The
[53:50] ramp is kind of built
[53:52] into the, into the plaza. So
[53:55] it's not, you know, just kind
[53:56] of, you know, sticking out
[53:58] into the sidewalk. It's, it's
[54:00] kind of part of the,
[54:01] the whole landscape. And this
[54:03] is a really nice, going to be a
[54:07] really nice welcoming feature
[54:09] for, for the building. What's
[54:13] coming up next is that in
[54:18] March 2025, Whiting Turner is
[54:19] planning to work
[54:21] with the county to get our
[54:23] temporary use and occupancy
[54:25] permit which will get us to the
[54:27] substantial completion portion
[54:28] of the project. Substantial
[54:30] completion. And the temporary
[54:32] use and occupancy means that we
[54:34] can start scheduling things
[54:35] like installation
[54:37] of furniture and installation
[54:38] of the communications
[54:39] Equipment while Whiting Turner
[54:41] kind of wraps up some
[54:43] of the smaller items, some
[54:45] of the outside items,
[54:46] the parking lot, things
[54:50] like that, we're anticipating
[54:52] by May 2025, we'll be working
[54:54] on the punch list items. And
[54:56] that's just all those final
[54:59] little, you know, repairs, you
[55:02] know, any, anything that got
[55:04] nicked or damaged. The walls
[55:05] get scuffed. That's what the
[55:07] punch list is for. We have our
[55:10] inspection and commissioning
[55:12] teams that will be checking
[55:14] everything out. They'll make
[55:15] sure all the outlets work,
[55:17] they'll make sure the H Vac
[55:18] system is up and running
[55:19] properly. And anything that
[55:20] needs
[55:21] to be done will be completed
[55:22] during this punch list phase.
[55:24] The nice thing is that once we
[55:25] get to the punch list phase, we
[55:27] can start scheduling the
[55:29] occupancy by the Hyattsville
[55:30] Police Department and start
[55:34] moving staff over. Once we get
[55:35] down to this point
[55:36] of the project. And then
[55:40] August 2025, we anticipate the
[55:43] final completion and acceptance
[55:46] of the project. This date could
[55:49] be moved up,
[55:50] but we anticipate that the
[55:51] August 2025 is kind of the
[55:53] latest that this will occur.
[55:55] And once we get
[55:57] to final completion, Whiting
[55:59] Turner will be be done
[56:01] with their, with their work
[56:04] on the project. They'll turn,
[56:06] I'll turn all the keys and
[56:08] everything back over and the
[56:10] building will be fully ours to,
[56:11] to occupy and use. So
[56:13] with that, are there any, any
[56:16] questions I can answer?
[56:18] >>Thank you. Mr. Metzl, can you
[56:20] stop sharing your screen,
[56:22] please? Thank you. Council
[56:24] members. Questions? Comments?
[56:30] Seeing none. Great
[56:32] presentation, Mr. Metzler.
[56:34] >>Thank you everybody.
[56:38] >>Okay, we have another
[56:39] presentation, Artificial
[56:40] intelligence.
[56:42] >>Oh my goodness. I guess
[56:43] everybody's holding all the
[56:45] questions for me.
[56:46] >>Absolutely.
[56:47] >>That's great.
[56:48] >>Hands are going up now.
[56:49] >>Awesome. Let me share my
[56:52] screen and we'll get started.
[56:54] Hopefully you can see my
[56:56] screen. So. Good evening,
[56:57] mayor and council
[56:58] of residents. First off,
[56:59] I just want to thank everybody
[57:00] for the interest
[57:01] in this presentation. That is
[57:03] definitely good to see. So
[57:05] tonight we're here,
[57:06] we're going
[57:07] to take a high level look
[57:08] at AI, how it's developing in
[57:09] local government work and what
[57:10] it could mean for
[57:12] Hyattsville. As Tracy
[57:13] mentioned, just
[57:15] to give you some backstory
[57:16] on how we got here,
[57:17] this started for me and Tracy
[57:18] back at last summer's
[57:20] Municipal League conference
[57:21] where AI was just starting
[57:23] to get serious attention. Fast
[57:25] forward from there to last
[57:26] September at the
[57:28] International City Managers
[57:29] Conference Tracy and I
[57:30] attended. AI was just
[57:32] everywhere, so nearly vendor
[57:34] every conversation it was
[57:36] coming up so. And
[57:38] beyond all that hype, there was
[57:40] a common theme that also kept
[57:41] Coming up. So curiosity mixed
[57:44] with a level of apprehension.
[57:46] And I want to say that I get
[57:49] it. AI can absolutely feel
[57:50] intimidating and there are
[57:51] definitely real risks
[57:52] in using it. So the reality is
[57:54] though, that the technology is
[57:55] here and it's not going away.
[57:57] So that is why we think it's
[57:58] important
[58:00] to proactively address this use
[58:01] in our city. So with that,
[58:03] let's get to it. This is the
[58:05] agenda that we'll cover
[58:06] in the presentation. We're
[58:07] going to first look
[58:09] at some basics to ensure that
[58:10] we're speaking the same
[58:11] language about AI,
[58:12] common terminology and
[58:13] functions, and then we'll
[58:14] review some high level benefits
[58:16] and risks of AI, as well as
[58:18] existing guidance and best
[58:19] practices. Finally, we'll
[58:21] finish up
[58:22] with some recommendations for
[58:23] Heizo. So first up,
[58:24] the future is now. AI is
[58:27] rapidly evolving, it's rapidly
[58:28] expanding. I've seen at least
[58:30] 10 commercials
[58:31] during the last Super bowl
[58:33] about AI. And what you'll see
[58:34] on the next few slides are some
[58:36] common tools that are
[58:38] incorporating AI. So Google
[58:39] search and translate. I don't
[58:40] even think I turned this on,
[58:42] but now I get the AI overview
[58:43] whenever I Google something.
[58:45] Social media algorithms have
[58:47] been a thing
[58:48] for quite some time now. The
[58:50] Domino's Pizza Chatbot, my kids
[58:51] love that. So that place orders
[58:53] with domino pizza now plenty
[58:56] of smart home devices, Alexa,
[58:57] all of that stuff. Your live
[59:00] traffic navigation that is
[59:01] avoiding you out
[59:03] of high traffic area,
[59:04] the face ID on your phone and
[59:06] Siri. So just a few examples
[59:07] there. So what exactly is AI?
[59:10] So just kind
[59:13] of laying it out. So we have a
[59:15] common definition here. So it's
[59:17] technology that mimics human
[59:18] learning and can complete
[59:21] tasks, automate processes,
[59:22] recognize and predict patterns,
[59:23] solve problems and generate
[59:24] content. So there's several key
[59:25] areas
[59:27] of AI listed here. I'm going
[59:28] to briefly try and go over them
[59:29] and I'll try and share a real
[59:30] world example making it
[59:32] relatively simple and hopefully
[59:33] easy to understand each
[59:34] of these areas. So first off,
[59:35] machine learning,
[59:37] that is teaching machines
[59:38] to learn
[59:39] from data and improving
[59:40] over time. So an example
[59:42] of this is your Netflix
[59:43] recommendation system. So
[59:44] Netflix looks
[59:46] at your watch history, your
[59:47] viewing patterns and then it
[59:49] suggests shows and movies that
[59:50] you might like based on your
[59:52] previous likes and watches,
[59:55] natural language processing.
[59:57] So that's helping machines
[59:58] understand and respond
[1:00:00] to human language. So a good
[1:00:01] example
[1:00:02] of this one are voice
[1:00:03] assistants like Siri or
[1:00:05] Alexa. My kids love asking
[1:00:06] Alexa first thing
[1:00:07] in the morning,
[1:00:09] what's the weather today? And
[1:00:10] when you're asking Alexa that
[1:00:11] processes your speech, it's
[1:00:13] understanding what your intent
[1:00:14] is with the question, it's
[1:00:16] retrieving that weather data
[1:00:18] and it's responding
[1:00:19] with an answer
[1:00:20] in a natural language. Then
[1:00:22] there's computer vision,
[1:00:23] which is enabling machines to
[1:00:25] interpret and analyze visual
[1:00:26] images or videos. An example
[1:00:28] of that that we've had
[1:00:31] for some time now is Google
[1:00:32] Photos face recognition,
[1:00:34] or if you use Amazon photos,
[1:00:35] or if you use iPhone photos,
[1:00:36] that face recognition. So that
[1:00:38] is where photos can
[1:00:39] automatically detect and
[1:00:41] categorize people
[1:00:42] in your pictures, allowing you
[1:00:44] to search for your mom or your
[1:00:45] kid's name and find all the
[1:00:46] images featuring them, even if
[1:00:48] they're taken years apart. And
[1:00:49] finally robotics,
[1:00:51] which is using AI
[1:00:52] to control machines
[1:00:53] to perform tasks. So an example
[1:00:55] of that are those robot vacuums
[1:00:56] that clean your homes. They map
[1:00:58] the environment, they detect
[1:00:59] obstacles, and they learn good
[1:01:01] cleaning paths
[1:01:02] over time. I mean,
[1:01:04] another good example of that
[1:01:05] one I think everybody's
[1:01:06] familiar with are the self
[1:01:08] driving cars that we hear
[1:01:11] about. So when we talk
[1:01:13] about AI, there are typically
[1:01:14] two types that we're speaking
[1:01:15] of. There's predictive AI and
[1:01:17] generative AI. So predictive AI
[1:01:19] uses previous examples or
[1:01:20] system data
[1:01:21] to predict those outcomes. So
[1:01:23] that example I gave earlier
[1:01:25] about your Netflix queue is one
[1:01:27] example. Others are your email
[1:01:28] filters. So sorting those
[1:01:30] messages
[1:01:31] into your priority inbox, your
[1:01:33] spam, your promotional folders,
[1:01:34] those are all based on looking
[1:01:35] at previous patterns.
[1:01:38] Generative AI or gen AI is
[1:01:40] probably the one that you've
[1:01:41] heard people talk
[1:01:43] about most lately. Genai uses
[1:01:44] large language models,
[1:01:46] LLMs and machine learning to
[1:01:47] analyze data and produce new
[1:01:48] content. So that new content
[1:01:50] can include text,
[1:01:52] images and even audio. So the
[1:01:53] most well known example that
[1:01:56] you've probably heard of is
[1:01:57] ChatGPT,
[1:01:58] but there are definitely others
[1:02:00] out there. So why do we care
[1:02:01] about AI? Let's talk
[1:02:03] about it. So let's take a few
[1:02:05] minutes just to review the
[1:02:06] benefits as well as the risks
[1:02:07] and then look
[1:02:09] at some use cases
[1:02:10] for local government
[1:02:13] for benefits. It is definitely
[1:02:14] pretty clear that AI
[1:02:16] at least has the potential
[1:02:17] to be transformative. So AI
[1:02:19] tools can help us enhance
[1:02:21] efficiencies, improve services,
[1:02:22] make those database decisions,
[1:02:23] and these tools can encourage
[1:02:25] modernization and innovation.
[1:02:27] And what we've seen are that
[1:02:29] even relatively simple AI
[1:02:32] tools, things like the AI.
[1:02:34] Oops, sorry, jumped ahead. So
[1:02:37] even things
[1:02:39] like the AI note taker,
[1:02:41] that can really increase
[1:02:43] efficiencies, save time and
[1:02:44] potentially reduce costs. So I
[1:02:46] am someone who spent a good
[1:02:48] portion of my career here in
[1:02:50] high school writing council
[1:02:52] meeting minutes and I can't
[1:02:54] imagine what a time saver,
[1:02:55] potentially something
[1:02:57] like that could be on that. So
[1:02:58] staff can focus
[1:02:59] on other priorities. What we're
[1:03:00] also seeing is that many of the
[1:03:01] tools that local governments
[1:03:02] are already using are starting
[1:03:04] to introduce AI tools
[1:03:05] into their existing platforms.
[1:03:07] So just a small example
[1:03:08] of this one,
[1:03:10] although we see more and more
[1:03:11] of them every day,
[1:03:12] I received an email from Zoom
[1:03:14] just the other day introducing
[1:03:15] their built
[1:03:17] in AI companion tool. So we can
[1:03:18] see that the benefits
[1:03:20] of AI tools can be significant.
[1:03:21] But while we consider them,
[1:03:23] we also of course have to look
[1:03:25] at the flip side and talk
[1:03:27] through some
[1:03:28] of the risks as well. So I
[1:03:29] definitely want to be clear
[1:03:30] here that AI use has risks and
[1:03:31] potential ethical implications.
[1:03:33] So I've listed out a few
[1:03:35] of them here. We'll just kind
[1:03:37] of briefly go over them. The
[1:03:39] bias and discrimination so AI
[1:03:41] models can perpetuate existing
[1:03:42] biases in data. So when the
[1:03:45] data that's being used
[1:03:47] with the AI models is biased,
[1:03:49] those biases can also get baked
[1:03:50] into the results or decisions
[1:03:52] generated by AI, further
[1:03:54] perpetuating those biases and
[1:03:56] discrimination and causing
[1:03:57] further harm. So that is
[1:03:59] definitely a significant risk
[1:04:02] that there Privacy concerns. A
[1:04:03] few people mentioned this
[1:04:05] earlier. It's definitely a good
[1:04:06] point. The use of ChatGPT is a
[1:04:08] good example
[1:04:09] of how privacy concerns can
[1:04:10] come into play with Gen AI.
[1:04:12] When you use Chat, GPT or
[1:04:13] similar model,
[1:04:15] every text you put
[1:04:17] into that model is sent to an
[1:04:19] AI system which then processes
[1:04:20] that information
[1:04:22] to generate the response. So if
[1:04:23] you're sharing personal
[1:04:25] identifying information when
[1:04:27] you're using these tools, there
[1:04:28] is a risk that that information
[1:04:30] could be stored, analyzed,
[1:04:31] or even accessed by humans
[1:04:33] on the other side of the model
[1:04:35] for training or improvement
[1:04:36] purposes. So that is a serious
[1:04:37] risk. And we've seen other
[1:04:39] local governments kind
[1:04:42] of straight out ban the use of
[1:04:44] personal identifying
[1:04:46] information with those types
[1:04:47] of models. Hallucinations. So
[1:04:50] those are incorrect or
[1:04:51] misleading results generated
[1:04:53] by AI. AI doesn't actually
[1:04:55] think like a human does. It
[1:04:57] just predicts words or patterns
[1:04:59] based
[1:05:00] on the data it's seen before.
[1:05:02] And sometimes when it doesn't
[1:05:04] have that right information,
[1:05:05] it can fill in those gaps with
[1:05:07] either made up or incorrect
[1:05:09] answers, but present them
[1:05:11] to the users as facts. And so
[1:05:13] that's called an AI
[1:05:15] hallucination. So one example
[1:05:17] we see lots of cities who are
[1:05:19] using website chatbots now is
[1:05:21] if you ask the website chatbot
[1:05:22] who is the mayor of Hyattville
[1:05:24] and the AI for whatever reason
[1:05:25] didn't have up
[1:05:26] to date information on that, it
[1:05:28] might just make up a name
[1:05:29] admitting that it didn't know.
[1:05:31] So the answer seems real,
[1:05:32] but it's completely false. So
[1:05:34] that is something that can be
[1:05:35] dangerous when you're using AI
[1:05:37] for public services and
[1:05:39] transparency challenges. So
[1:05:41] black box problem, what that
[1:05:43] is, that is difficulty in
[1:05:45] extreme explaining AI
[1:05:47] decisions. So that occurs when
[1:05:49] you have an AI decision making
[1:05:50] process that is so complex
[1:05:52] on the inside that it makes it
[1:05:54] difficult for an individual
[1:05:55] to explain how the model got
[1:05:56] to the decision. So we can see
[1:05:57] the data input and we can see
[1:05:59] the output,
[1:06:00] the decision that comes out
[1:06:01] of the model,
[1:06:02] but we can't see what happens
[1:06:04] in between and we can't explain
[1:06:05] it. So this lack
[1:06:08] of transparency can lead
[1:06:09] to a lack of public trust and
[1:06:10] of course, frustration. The
[1:06:12] last two potential
[1:06:13] for overreliance on AI, risk
[1:06:15] of reducing oversight. So AI
[1:06:17] of course relies on data. It
[1:06:19] can be prone
[1:06:21] to hallucinations. If we reduce
[1:06:23] human oversight and we lose
[1:06:25] that human fact checking,
[1:06:26] we're setting ourselves up for
[1:06:28] more risk there and potentially
[1:06:29] harmful decisions. Of course, I
[1:06:31] think everybody here has
[1:06:32] probably heard concerns
[1:06:34] about job displacement because
[1:06:36] of AI. These are all valid and
[1:06:37] significant risks and things
[1:06:39] that we can't overlook as we
[1:06:40] consider the use of AI. Okay,
[1:06:45] so how are cities using AI? So
[1:06:47] I want
[1:06:49] to provide a few examples here
[1:06:50] of the different ways that
[1:06:52] cities are using AI. These are
[1:06:54] just a way for us to kind
[1:06:56] of get a feel for the landscape
[1:06:58] here. I'm not advocating
[1:07:00] for any of these tools,
[1:07:01] but just a way for us to
[1:07:02] consider how some cities are
[1:07:03] using them. So
[1:07:04] under the umbrella
[1:07:05] of public safety,
[1:07:06] some cities are using AI
[1:07:07] to analyze crime reports,
[1:07:08] identify those patterns and
[1:07:09] look at those patterns
[1:07:10] to focus crime prevention
[1:07:12] in their city. Other cities are
[1:07:14] using AI for emergency response
[1:07:16] optimization, using things
[1:07:18] like drones to assist
[1:07:20] in search and rescue missions
[1:07:22] in order to speed up and
[1:07:23] prioritize emergency response.
[1:07:26] In the public works arena,
[1:07:28] we're seeing AI tools being
[1:07:29] used
[1:07:30] to plan trash pickup routes, to
[1:07:32] provide the shortest and most
[1:07:34] time time efficient routes. So
[1:07:35] saving you gas,
[1:07:37] saving you staff time. And then
[1:07:38] there are also tools like smart
[1:07:40] street lighting that dims
[1:07:41] lighting when no one is around
[1:07:43] to save energy and brightens up
[1:07:44] when pedestrians or cars pass
[1:07:47] by. So then to monitor
[1:07:54] for problems
[1:07:56] before they become an
[1:07:57] emergency.
[1:07:59] For resident services,
[1:08:00] we're seeing many communities,
[1:08:02] as I mentioned earlier,
[1:08:03] starting to use AI chatbots
[1:08:05] to provide quick answers
[1:08:06] to common questions
[1:08:07] in multiple languages. We're
[1:08:09] also seeing those AI
[1:08:10] translation and transcription
[1:08:11] tools which can improve meeting
[1:08:13] accessibility as well. And
[1:08:16] finally listed on here,
[1:08:17] some cities are using AI tools
[1:08:18] to process and improve permits
[1:08:20] as well. So these are just some
[1:08:22] of the use cases. I'm sure that
[1:08:23] I've just scratched the surface
[1:08:24] here. And there's probably a
[1:08:26] lot more moving forward
[1:08:30] with AI. So let's take a quick
[1:08:31] look at what guidance exists,
[1:08:33] what resources are available
[1:08:34] for Hyatt School and what best
[1:08:36] practices that we should
[1:08:37] consider as we look towards
[1:08:38] developing some guidelines
[1:08:39] for our city. So starting
[1:08:42] at the Federal level, in
[1:08:43] October 2023, President Biden
[1:08:45] issued an Executive Order of
[1:08:47] Safe, Secure and Trustworthy
[1:08:49] Development and Use of AI.
[1:08:50] That order directed agencies to
[1:08:52] create policies addressing AI
[1:08:54] risks and opportunities.
[1:08:56] However, in the flurry of
[1:08:58] executive orders that we've
[1:08:59] seen over the last month,
[1:09:00] President Trump revoked that
[1:09:01] executive order from 2023 and
[1:09:03] rescinded all policies
[1:09:04] developed under it. So really
[1:09:06] rolling back some would have
[1:09:07] been some established
[1:09:09] guidelines and safeguards that
[1:09:10] were in place. This 2025
[1:09:12] executive order directs federal
[1:09:13] agencies
[1:09:14] to develop an artificial
[1:09:15] Intelligence action plan
[1:09:17] within 180 days. That 2025
[1:09:19] order seems
[1:09:21] to be a little bit more focused
[1:09:23] on speed, speed and removing
[1:09:25] barriers and less focused on
[1:09:27] establishing oversight
[1:09:30] mechanism. So that's what's
[1:09:31] happening right now
[1:09:32] at the federal level.
[1:09:33] On the state level, I have
[1:09:34] to apologize for doing
[1:09:35] Maryland wrong here. I
[1:09:37] incorrectly stated that there
[1:09:38] is no state guidance and that's
[1:09:39] just not true. So I will
[1:09:41] quickly summarize what's going
[1:09:43] on at the state level and when
[1:09:44] we post this presentation
[1:09:45] on the website, I can
[1:09:46] definitely update that info.
[1:09:48] So in 2024, January
[1:09:49] of last year, Governor Moore
[1:09:51] signed an executive order
[1:09:52] providing guiding principles
[1:09:53] for AI use. Those principles
[1:09:54] include fairness, equity,
[1:09:56] innovation,
[1:09:58] security and transparency.
[1:10:00] That order also established an
[1:10:01] AI sub cabinet
[1:10:03] to develop an AI roadmap
[1:10:04] for the state. This roadmap was
[1:10:06] published just last month in
[1:10:09] January and has been submitted
[1:10:10] to the General Assembly. Some
[1:10:12] key parts of Maryland's
[1:10:13] strategy include ensuring that
[1:10:15] state has good data,
[1:10:16] foundations,
[1:10:18] supporting state agencies in
[1:10:19] their experimentation and
[1:10:21] possible adoption
[1:10:22] of AI technologies, and
[1:10:24] significantly training the
[1:10:26] state workforce to understand
[1:10:27] AI risks and opportunities
[1:10:30] beyond the federal and the
[1:10:31] state guidance. Looking
[1:10:33] at what guidance is out there
[1:10:34] for local government, there are
[1:10:35] many professional organizations
[1:10:36] such as ICMA and NLC that are
[1:10:38] stepping up
[1:10:40] to also provide access
[1:10:41] to trainings and best practices
[1:10:43] for local governments. There
[1:10:45] are also some cities that have
[1:10:46] been at this for a while. So
[1:10:48] we've been able
[1:10:49] to benchmark and look
[1:10:50] at other cities like New
[1:10:52] York, Boston, San Jose,
[1:10:53] for example,
[1:10:54] who have really good AI
[1:10:55] policies in place right now.
[1:10:59] Taking us back
[1:11:01] for just a minute to that city
[1:11:02] managers conference I mentioned
[1:11:03] that Traci and I attended last
[1:11:04] year. One
[1:11:06] of the keynote speakers
[1:11:07] at the conference was
[1:11:08] from the Gov AI Coalition.
[1:11:10] The Gov AI Coalition was
[1:11:12] started by the City of San
[1:11:13] Jose in 2023 with the goal
[1:11:15] of creating a network
[1:11:16] of local government officials
[1:11:18] for the purpose
[1:11:19] of sharing knowledge, best
[1:11:20] practices,
[1:11:21] policies and use cases
[1:11:23] for AI and local government.
[1:11:24] We just joined this coalition
[1:11:26] just the other week and our
[1:11:27] membership gives us access
[1:11:29] to all of those resources as
[1:11:30] well as a seat on the many
[1:11:32] committees and work groups that
[1:11:33] they have exploring the
[1:11:34] responsibilities
[1:11:35] of AI and public sector. It's
[1:11:37] pretty exciting. I think this
[1:11:38] is going
[1:11:39] to be a great resource
[1:11:40] for the city and as a bonus,
[1:11:42] it is also a free resource
[1:11:44] for us. So that is fantastic.
[1:11:45] In the time that I've been
[1:11:49] researching AI, a number of
[1:11:51] best practices have come up
[1:11:53] again and again. Just looking
[1:11:55] as we benchmark and we look at
[1:11:56] what other communities we've
[1:11:57] seen similar best practices
[1:11:59] that keep coming up. So I just
[1:12:00] want to take a few minutes as
[1:12:01] we consider what this could
[1:12:03] look like in Heightsville
[1:12:04] to take a look
[1:12:06] at what best practices we see
[1:12:07] on each one. So adopting a
[1:12:09] citywide AI policy or
[1:12:10] guidelines, so making sure that
[1:12:12] the city establishes clear
[1:12:13] guidelines encourage that
[1:12:15] innovation and efficiency while
[1:12:17] still mitigating those
[1:12:19] significant risks. I think it's
[1:12:20] really important that we've
[1:12:22] seen that the policy has to be
[1:12:23] flexible because things are
[1:12:25] changing so quickly so it can
[1:12:27] be regularly updated
[1:12:28] to keep pace
[1:12:29] with the advancements
[1:12:30] in this area. Protecting
[1:12:32] personal data so I mentioned
[1:12:33] that earlier, some cities are
[1:12:34] prohibiting the use of personal
[1:12:36] identifying information. Any
[1:12:37] generative AI prompt human
[1:12:39] in the loop. So this goes back
[1:12:43] to making sure that you have
[1:12:45] all content that is generated
[1:12:48] by AI reviewed by a human. So a
[1:12:50] human doing that fact check and
[1:12:51] review
[1:12:52] of the content generated. So
[1:12:54] that is really treating the
[1:12:55] content that AI is generating
[1:12:56] as a draft and making sure that
[1:12:58] as the person who's generating
[1:13:01] that content, you as the person
[1:13:03] are always responsible
[1:13:04] for that final product.
[1:13:06] Promoting public transparency
[1:13:09] so making sure that city
[1:13:10] policies or guidelines are
[1:13:12] published
[1:13:14] on the city websites,
[1:13:15] disclosing how AI tools are
[1:13:16] being used by the city,
[1:13:17] requiring disclosure
[1:13:19] of AI use. So some cities are
[1:13:20] requiring that so that you
[1:13:21] provide citations if you've had
[1:13:23] AI assist you
[1:13:25] in creating work. And then this
[1:13:28] last one,
[1:13:29] which I thought was really
[1:13:30] interesting, was reviewing
[1:13:31] contract and vendor use
[1:13:33] of AI, because I don't think
[1:13:34] that's something that we've
[1:13:35] really been thinking much
[1:13:36] about here. So, you know,
[1:13:39] it's not just the city's use
[1:13:41] of AI, but all of the contracts
[1:13:42] and vendors that we work with
[1:13:44] could potentially be using AI.
[1:13:46] And so I think it's important
[1:13:48] for us
[1:13:49] to take a look and what we see
[1:13:51] in the cities that have adopted
[1:13:52] these factors. Best practices,
[1:13:54] take a look at what their
[1:13:56] vendors policies are regarding
[1:13:58] AI and potentially including
[1:14:00] language in your contracts
[1:14:01] with vendors to address AI. We
[1:14:04] got a few more to go
[1:14:06] through here. Training
[1:14:07] employees is obviously really
[1:14:09] important. It's incredibly
[1:14:10] important,
[1:14:11] especially now that this is new
[1:14:12] for everybody. So making sure
[1:14:14] that everybody has basic AI
[1:14:15] literacy, understands data
[1:14:17] security, understands the bis,
[1:14:20] the benefits and the risks
[1:14:22] of AI starting small. So we've
[1:14:25] seen this in several
[1:14:27] jurisdictions where as they're
[1:14:29] kind of dipping their toe
[1:14:31] in this area, they're piloting
[1:14:32] low risk AI applications first
[1:14:33] before scaling up, focusing
[1:14:35] on data quality. So bad data
[1:14:36] in, bad data out. So ensuring
[1:14:38] that data used
[1:14:40] with AI is accurate,
[1:14:41] unbiased and comprehensive,
[1:14:42] promoting equity and inclusion.
[1:14:44] So
[1:14:46] in cities we see a best
[1:14:47] practice
[1:14:48] of incorporating equity review
[1:14:49] into the process and evaluation
[1:14:50] of AI systems. So
[1:14:53] to address any potential issues
[1:14:55] of bias and addressing and
[1:14:57] promoting our core values
[1:14:58] of diversity,
[1:14:59] equity and inclusion. Engaging
[1:15:01] stakeholders, so leaning in
[1:15:02] on experts
[1:15:03] from other jurisdictions. This
[1:15:05] is where I think Gov AI
[1:15:06] coalition is going
[1:15:07] to be really valuable for us
[1:15:08] and making sure that we involve
[1:15:10] residents as well as employees
[1:15:11] and council members in both
[1:15:12] plans and implementation. So
[1:15:13] this is one of those steps,
[1:15:15] just actually talking
[1:15:16] with you guys about AI and then
[1:15:19] establishing feedback loops,
[1:15:20] so scheduling regular
[1:15:21] evaluations, adjustments
[1:15:22] to AI guidelines and
[1:15:23] adjustments
[1:15:25] to systems as well. So those
[1:15:27] are all great best practices
[1:15:28] that we've seen
[1:15:30] in other jurisdictions. Okay,
[1:15:32] so we've talked
[1:15:33] about benefits, we've talked
[1:15:34] about risks, we talked
[1:15:35] about guidance and resources.
[1:15:37] So now let's take a moment to
[1:15:38] just continue consider what a
[1:15:39] framework
[1:15:40] for implementing AI and Hyatt
[1:15:42] spoke could look like. So first
[1:15:45] off, starting with kind of
[1:15:46] like our mission and goals, I
[1:15:47] think it's pretty clear that we
[1:15:48] want to encourage AI tools that
[1:15:50] can deliver better, more
[1:15:51] efficient and equitable
[1:15:53] services to our residents. We
[1:15:54] know that in order
[1:15:57] to use AI we have to develop a
[1:15:59] strategy that aligns with the
[1:16:00] city's values and our goals and
[1:16:03] considers the needs and
[1:16:04] expectations of all
[1:16:06] of our stakeholders. And we
[1:16:07] know that in order
[1:16:09] to do this, we have
[1:16:11] to create a framework for the
[1:16:12] responsible use and ethical use
[1:16:14] of AI in order to mitigate all
[1:16:15] of those risks. So overall,
[1:16:17] the guiding principles mission
[1:16:19] for the use of AI in
[1:16:21] Hyattsville is that it really
[1:16:24] has to be centered
[1:16:25] on ethical, responsible,
[1:16:27] thoughtful and deliberate
[1:16:30] strategy. With that said,
[1:16:34] so proposed framework begins
[1:16:36] with the establishment
[1:16:38] of an internal IT committee.
[1:16:39] So this committee is actually
[1:16:42] something that we've been
[1:16:43] talking about
[1:16:44] for a while internally really
[1:16:45] in the context of our
[1:16:47] procurement policy and not AI
[1:16:48] specifically looking at that
[1:16:50] to review AI purchases.
[1:16:52] But we'd also like to be able
[1:16:53] to use this on our departmental
[1:16:55] committee because it is so
[1:16:56] important to hear from all
[1:16:57] of our departments,
[1:16:59] departments to meet regularly
[1:17:00] to develop guidelines for
[1:17:01] Hyattsville. We'd also
[1:17:02] like those committee members
[1:17:04] to participate in the gov AI
[1:17:05] committees and working groups,
[1:17:06] conduct needs assessments and
[1:17:08] really talking
[1:17:09] with our departments,
[1:17:10] the people that are working
[1:17:11] in our departments, to
[1:17:12] determine what departments and
[1:17:14] services that we have that
[1:17:15] could potentially benefit
[1:17:17] from AI tools, evaluate and
[1:17:19] recommend AI tools and monitor
[1:17:22] those pilot programs. So our
[1:17:24] hope is that we plan to have
[1:17:25] this commitment committee kick
[1:17:27] off
[1:17:28] within the next month or so.
[1:17:29] At the same time, we've got
[1:17:30] to build capacity in our staff
[1:17:31] by training them on AI. Last
[1:17:33] week, a few of us attended a
[1:17:34] virtual ICMA training
[1:17:36] on AI and we'll be looking
[1:17:37] for additional opportunities
[1:17:38] to train staff on that basic AI
[1:17:40] literacy as well as more
[1:17:42] technical training for those
[1:17:44] staff members who are more
[1:17:45] directly involved with AI. And
[1:17:46] that will just have
[1:17:48] to be an ongoing effort
[1:17:50] for us. Throughout this
[1:17:51] presentation I mentioned the
[1:17:52] importance
[1:17:53] of data a few times across.
[1:17:55] Quality of data is incredibly
[1:17:56] important when using AI tools.
[1:17:59] So the city recently issued an
[1:18:00] RFP for data assessment
[1:18:02] analysis. I want
[1:18:04] to be clear that the issuance
[1:18:06] of this AI, of this RFP
[1:18:08] actually wasn't directly
[1:18:09] related to AI. Where it came
[1:18:13] from was a 2024 council budget
[1:18:15] initiative submitted on behalf
[1:18:16] of the Race and Equity Task
[1:18:17] Force
[1:18:18] for a program data analyst
[1:18:19] with the goal of increasing
[1:18:21] data based decision making
[1:18:23] in the city. I listed it here
[1:18:24] on this roadmap
[1:18:26] for next steps. Just because
[1:18:27] the importance of data,
[1:18:28] with the respect
[1:18:30] for AI tools and the importance
[1:18:32] of us to really like refine our
[1:18:33] database decision making is,
[1:18:36] while not directly tied
[1:18:39] to AI, it is so important
[1:18:40] to that path
[1:18:41] for AI and having AI readiness.
[1:18:43] So if we're going
[1:18:45] to do anything with AI,
[1:18:46] it definitely ties
[1:18:47] to data and we need
[1:18:48] to have a good handle
[1:18:49] on our data. So that RFP was
[1:18:51] issued in January
[1:18:53] of this year. We just received
[1:18:55] all the submissions. There was
[1:18:56] a bid opening today and we
[1:18:57] anticipate an award for that
[1:19:03] in March. Another best practice
[1:19:05] that we've mentioned is that we
[1:19:06] want to use in Hyattsville is
[1:19:08] public transparency. So
[1:19:09] ensuring that the public has
[1:19:11] transparency into the city's AI
[1:19:13] guidance and the use
[1:19:14] of AI tools. So
[1:19:15] on this front, we plan
[1:19:16] to update our website
[1:19:18] with information
[1:19:19] on the city's use of AI, share
[1:19:21] the guidelines when they are
[1:19:22] drafted by the IT committee and
[1:19:23] provide a public listing of
[1:19:24] what AI tools the city is
[1:19:27] using. So I put a photo up
[1:19:29] on here. It's a great example I
[1:19:31] found of a website. It's
[1:19:33] Lebanon, New Hampshire. You
[1:19:35] can't see it too well
[1:19:37] on here. I do encourage you
[1:19:38] to check out their website
[1:19:40] because I think they're doing a
[1:19:41] good job. They very clearly
[1:19:43] identify the AI tool,
[1:19:44] what departments are using the
[1:19:46] tool, the purpose, the
[1:19:47] implementation data and their
[1:19:48] impact analysis of the tool.
[1:19:50] And when they have tools that
[1:19:52] they retire,
[1:19:54] are no longer using on there,
[1:19:56] they very clearly label that
[1:19:58] and kind of archive that. So
[1:20:00] there is a history on there as
[1:20:02] well. I just think it's a great
[1:20:03] model for us. In the spirit
[1:20:05] of starting small,
[1:20:07] which was one of those best
[1:20:08] practices that we had, we're
[1:20:10] also suggesting that we begin
[1:20:12] to pilot low risk AI tools this
[1:20:14] spring and summer. Tools that
[1:20:18] have limited scope, no impact
[1:20:22] on privacy, they're not using
[1:20:23] personal identifying
[1:20:25] information, they're easy
[1:20:27] for the public to understand
[1:20:29] what the use cases and what the
[1:20:30] benefits are. And these tools
[1:20:31] would not be involved
[1:20:32] in decision making. So that is
[1:20:33] what I mean when I'm talking
[1:20:34] low risk. So some tools that
[1:20:37] we're currently considering are
[1:20:38] AI powered language translation
[1:20:41] and transcription and AI
[1:20:43] meeting note takers. So I heard
[1:20:45] earlier there were a couple
[1:20:47] of questions regarding costs
[1:20:49] for these programs,
[1:20:51] and I'll just kind of lay
[1:20:52] out what I know about cost for
[1:20:54] these two particular ones right
[1:20:56] now. So the cost for AI
[1:20:57] language translation is
[1:20:58] approximately $12,000 for 100
[1:21:00] hours. So what would that
[1:21:03] cover? That would cover about
[1:21:05] the 60ish hours that we spend
[1:21:06] in council meetings every year.
[1:21:08] If you can believe it's 60
[1:21:10] hours as well as community
[1:21:12] meetings and events. The nice
[1:21:14] thing about this particular
[1:21:15] tool is unused hours roll over
[1:21:17] to the following year if we
[1:21:18] decide to continue
[1:21:20] with the service. And then this
[1:21:22] service in particular is
[1:21:23] actually potentially a
[1:21:24] replacement for our existing
[1:21:25] closed captioning services,
[1:21:27] which are approximately the
[1:21:29] same cost but do not provide
[1:21:32] the translation features or the
[1:21:34] captioning for community
[1:21:35] meetings and events. As far as
[1:21:38] costs go
[1:21:39] for AI meeting note takers,
[1:21:40] those can vary. I mean,
[1:21:42] to be honest,
[1:21:44] I haven't done much digging
[1:21:45] into this right now. I've seen
[1:21:46] ranges from $8 to $22 a month
[1:21:48] per user, just depending
[1:21:49] on the features. So that is
[1:21:50] something I think our AI
[1:21:51] committee
[1:21:52] to tackle and look into.
[1:21:54] There's definitely some work
[1:21:55] to be done here in terms of
[1:21:56] refining what these initial
[1:21:58] lower risk AI programs look
[1:21:59] like as well as costs
[1:22:01] associated with them.
[1:22:02] But we hope
[1:22:04] to have some tools,
[1:22:05] an initial pilot in place
[1:22:06] by spring or summer this year.
[1:22:08] And of course you Know, a big
[1:22:09] part of a pilot is monitoring
[1:22:11] and evaluating what the results
[1:22:13] are and using that
[1:22:15] to inform us as we work
[1:22:17] on guidelines. So the last
[1:22:18] piece here as we kind of go
[1:22:20] through this framework is
[1:22:21] drafting and bringing back
[1:22:23] forward to council and the
[1:22:24] public guidelines for the use
[1:22:25] of AI in Heightsville. So right
[1:22:28] now I anticipate that this
[1:22:29] would come back to council
[1:22:30] in the fall or winter. Give the
[1:22:32] IT committee a little bit
[1:22:33] of time
[1:22:34] to get up and running, get some
[1:22:35] training and we have time
[1:22:36] to dig
[1:22:38] into the landscape as a team.
[1:22:42] Okay, so that was a lot
[1:22:43] of me talking
[1:22:45] at you. I just want to close
[1:22:46] with an acknowledgment that AI
[1:22:47] is going to continue
[1:22:49] to integrate in our daily lives
[1:22:51] whether we're ready
[1:22:53] for it or not. It's here. I
[1:22:55] think we'd like to see
[1:22:57] Heightsville take a proactive
[1:22:58] approach here so we can both
[1:23:00] benefit from the technology and
[1:23:01] actively mitigate risks as well
[1:23:03] as ensuring that our public is
[1:23:04] informed on this. So I
[1:23:07] definitely appreciate
[1:23:08] everybody's time tonight. I'm
[1:23:09] happy
[1:23:10] to answer any questions. Thank
[1:23:11] you.
[1:23:12] >>Thank you Ms. Reams,
[1:23:14] colleagues, questions,
[1:23:15] comments. Mr. Shagri.
[1:23:23] >>Thanks. You know we had a lot
[1:23:27] of comments
[1:23:29] on this and you know,
[1:23:32] several concerns raised related
[1:23:34] to cost and energy usage. I
[1:23:35] thought you know all of those
[1:23:40] comments that we heard are,
[1:23:42] were insightful. I,
[1:23:44] you know I haven't paid for any
[1:23:46] artificial intelligence
[1:23:48] application use. I find that a
[1:23:51] lot of the like Googling and
[1:23:53] various things that I do are
[1:23:54] now just kind
[1:23:55] of it's becoming integrated
[1:23:57] into it and I, you know from a
[1:23:59] city function where these
[1:24:00] applications come will probably
[1:24:02] be like you said,
[1:24:03] like note taking. I have been
[1:24:08] in Zoom meetings that have an
[1:24:11] AI note taker. They seem to
[1:24:12] work pretty good and I would be
[1:24:15] interested in kind
[1:24:16] of using that, that Gov
[1:24:18] platform to sort of advocate
[1:24:20] for smarter, less energy
[1:24:23] intensive AI technologies and
[1:24:25] applications. It seems like
[1:24:27] with the Deepseek app that's
[1:24:35] out right now that was built
[1:24:36] for 5 million and uses very
[1:24:38] little energy, that some of
[1:24:40] these systems are probably
[1:24:42] grossly over engineered and use
[1:24:44] up more resources than is
[1:24:46] necessary. And that is a
[1:24:47] problem right now. That's a
[1:24:49] problem in Maryland
[1:24:50] with people's energy bills.
[1:24:52] That's a problem
[1:24:56] with you know, really spiking
[1:24:57] demand right now related
[1:25:01] to a lot of artificial
[1:25:03] intelligence and data center
[1:25:05] applications and how we sort
[1:25:06] of advocate for more
[1:25:07] responsible technology. There
[1:25:08] is something I'm interested in
[1:25:10] but you know, on a, on a simple
[1:25:11] and also cost I think you know,
[1:25:17] we don't want to get
[1:25:18] over committed in terms
[1:25:20] of what the expense for, for
[1:25:23] some things might be. I know
[1:25:24] there isn't any proposals
[1:25:25] on the table now,
[1:25:26] just a general thing
[1:25:27] to be mindful of. In general,
[1:25:30] if it's something that is kind
[1:25:31] of drudgery and kind of
[1:25:32] monotonous work that we don't
[1:25:34] want to have a human creative
[1:25:36] component to. I'm thinking
[1:25:38] of minutes,
[1:25:40] possibly translation. You know,
[1:25:43] I'm thinking about like
[1:25:46] searching. I frequently do
[1:25:47] this. I go
[1:25:48] to our interface and I search
[1:25:49] through old minutes. And that
[1:25:52] process is kind of clunky. You
[1:25:53] know, you miss some stuff if
[1:25:54] your search isn't just right
[1:25:56] things to improve these
[1:25:58] services and free up people's
[1:26:02] time to do more engaging and
[1:26:05] interesting things. I'm
[1:26:06] generally supportive of that.
[1:26:07] So that's it
[1:26:08] for me.
[1:26:09] >>Thank you. Ms. Dry.
[1:26:13] >>Yes, I just wanted
[1:26:15] to add that currently the
[1:26:17] Police and Public Safety
[1:26:18] Committee is looking at AI
[1:26:23] policy as it concerns policing
[1:26:24] technology because it's
[1:26:28] something that, you know, I
[1:26:30] think we really want public
[1:26:38] feedback on. You know,
[1:26:39] right now it, it's something
[1:26:40] that, you know,
[1:26:41] we're not using
[1:26:42] like say the generative AI for,
[1:26:43] but there is a lot out there.
[1:26:44] So I think we're trying
[1:26:45] to look.
[1:26:46] >>At a sort of like holistic
[1:26:47] policy.
[1:26:48] >>And obviously as we're
[1:26:49] looking at the stop sign
[1:26:51] cameras and things like that,
[1:26:52] there's a lot
[1:26:55] of AI already built
[1:26:56] into those technologies. So,
[1:27:00] you know, if I would.
[1:27:02] >>Even though there's going to
[1:27:03] be an.
[1:27:05] >>Internal committee, I would
[1:27:06] really like
[1:27:07] to see that committee sort of
[1:27:09] like either branch out
[1:27:10] into some of the committees,
[1:27:13] the committees that we already
[1:27:15] have, like the Police and
[1:27:16] Public Safety Committee or
[1:27:17] maybe the Race and Equity
[1:27:19] Task Force or code compliance,
[1:27:20] to take some of these issues
[1:27:24] to our engaged residents
[1:27:27] to really get a handle
[1:27:30] on what the, you know,
[1:27:31] where the residents are.
[1:27:32] >>So.
[1:27:36] >>That, yeah, that we get a
[1:27:37] really comprehensive policy.
[1:27:40] >>I think that's a great idea.
[1:27:43] >>Thank you. Mr. Mr. Edmond,
[1:27:47] thank you. A couple questions
[1:27:49] and forgive me if I missed it,
[1:27:51] I was trying to track along
[1:27:53] with what, Ms. Reams, you.
[1:27:55] >>Were sharing along with what
[1:27:56] I've seen.
[1:27:58] >>Our residents saying and
[1:27:59] trying
[1:28:00] to jive all that together
[1:28:03] for the committee. Did you say
[1:28:04] who will be on.
[1:28:06] >>It as far as not necessarily
[1:28:08] names but position wise. Wise.
[1:28:09] Like is it always going
[1:28:12] to have a seat for the IT
[1:28:13] manager and.
[1:28:15] >>Is it going to be that kind
[1:28:17] of setup or is that still being
[1:28:18] worked out?
[1:28:19] >>Yeah, I mean, I,
[1:28:20] of course it would have a seat
[1:28:21] for the IT manager. I mean, our
[1:28:22] hope is that we would have
[1:28:24] representation from all
[1:28:25] of the departments. You know,
[1:28:27] I think we're still kind
[1:28:28] of figuring out, I think, you
[1:28:29] know, there's a lot of just
[1:28:30] like there's interest
[1:28:32] in the public. I feel
[1:28:33] like there is interest
[1:28:34] in staff in this too,
[1:28:36] at all levels of staff. So I
[1:28:37] think we still got
[1:28:38] to figure that
[1:28:39] out who are the right people
[1:28:40] to get on it. Certainly it,
[1:28:41] that's a no brainer. But also
[1:28:42] making sure that we have all
[1:28:44] the departments represented.
[1:28:46] >>Okay.
[1:28:48] >>And then the expenditure
[1:28:50] around the data collection or I
[1:28:52] guess I don't want
[1:28:53] to misrepresent it,
[1:28:54] but the data rfp.
[1:28:56] >>That'S out when that comes
[1:28:59] time to make that decision and
[1:29:00] award it and pay. Was that
[1:29:02] money already in the budget
[1:29:04] this year?
[1:29:05] >>Yeah, that's a great
[1:29:06] question. So that initiative,
[1:29:08] as I mentioned,
[1:29:10] it was a council initiative.
[1:29:11] It was added I think sort of
[1:29:12] at the tail end
[1:29:13] of the budget last year. And so
[1:29:15] the allocated funds to that,
[1:29:16] it's $50,000. That was the
[1:29:19] budget for that. We have
[1:29:21] received a number
[1:29:23] of proposals. I, you know, the
[1:29:25] evaluation team hasn't even had
[1:29:26] a chance
[1:29:27] to open them up and look
[1:29:29] at them yet.
[1:29:30] But I think there's something
[1:29:31] like 18 or 19 proposals that
[1:29:32] we've received. And you know,
[1:29:33] the costs could range anywhere
[1:29:35] in between that budget. So we
[1:29:37] will do our typical thing that
[1:29:39] we do with all the RFPs. We
[1:29:40] will evaluate them and then
[1:29:41] come back
[1:29:42] with a recommendation
[1:29:43] for award.
[1:29:45] But is a budgeted cost at this
[1:29:46] moment.
[1:29:47] >>Okay.
[1:29:48] >>And if I could add one point
[1:29:49] of clarification,
[1:29:51] they did do the bid opening
[1:29:52] this morning, but they're
[1:29:54] in the evaluation process.
[1:29:56] They'll be beginning that the,
[1:29:58] the data analyst was a proposal
[1:30:00] and I believe Laura said this
[1:30:01] in her presentation,
[1:30:02] but I'll just clarify. Race and
[1:30:05] Equity committee came forward
[1:30:06] and essentially said that they
[1:30:08] needed some assistance because
[1:30:10] part of what that that plan,
[1:30:12] our Race and equity plan is,
[1:30:14] is to look at the data
[1:30:16] from several areas, housing,
[1:30:18] community policing,
[1:30:19] et cetera. And so they needed a
[1:30:21] data analyst and they requested
[1:30:23] that of this body and you all
[1:30:24] approved it. So that's where
[1:30:25] that came from.
[1:30:28] >>And I just. Yes, thank you
[1:30:30] for that refresh.
[1:30:32] >>I remember Mr. Hava and I
[1:30:33] talking
[1:30:34] about that towards the tail end
[1:30:36] of that meeting. I'm glad it's
[1:30:38] coming back. And I remember,
[1:30:40] I guess thinking about our
[1:30:42] resident and community concerns
[1:30:43] around the budget. We always
[1:30:45] said, well, how do we make
[1:30:46] decisions if we don't have a
[1:30:47] good handle
[1:30:48] on data?
[1:30:50] >>So I guess to reiterate
[1:30:51] to those.
[1:30:52] >>Listening, this is a first
[1:30:53] step, a.
[1:30:55] >>Key step and to get into more
[1:30:56] data informed decision making
[1:30:57] by your officials and
[1:31:03] policymakers. Thank you, Mr.
[1:31:04] Redmond. Colleagues, are there
[1:31:06] any other questions? There we
[1:31:07] go. Mr. Salem, thank you.
[1:31:09] >>The first thing I want
[1:31:11] to say is thank you to Deputy
[1:31:15] City Administrator almost a
[1:31:16] Deputy Cliff, Deputy City
[1:31:18] Administrator Laura Reams. I
[1:31:23] know that this is not your
[1:31:24] field, but I also know that
[1:31:26] when you set your mind
[1:31:28] to something and you wrap your,
[1:31:30] your hands and your brain
[1:31:31] around it, that we have
[1:31:33] outstanding results. Always
[1:31:34] thinking
[1:31:35] of non citizens voting,
[1:31:37] thinking of, you know,
[1:31:38] a number of the initiatives
[1:31:39] that you voted on and I'm glad
[1:31:41] that this is one that's
[1:31:42] in your portfolio. First thing
[1:31:44] is that I will remind the
[1:31:47] community Hyattsville was
[1:31:49] officially incorporated in
[1:31:52] 1886. That means our city is
[1:31:54] older than the the car. Ford
[1:31:58] didn't start mass producing
[1:32:00] vehicles until 1913. And I'm
[1:32:03] sure that if we dug
[1:32:04] into records, we had
[1:32:05] to come up
[1:32:06] with a vehicle use policy.
[1:32:08] Computers were not broadly
[1:32:09] accepted until 1953. So I'm
[1:32:11] sure if we dug
[1:32:12] in the records, Hyattisville
[1:32:13] had to come up with a computer
[1:32:14] usage policy and the Internet
[1:32:16] wasn't broadly accepted until
[1:32:18] 1991. And I'm sure that if we
[1:32:19] dug in our records, we have
[1:32:21] to come up with an Internet
[1:32:22] usage policy. And here we are
[1:32:23] roughly 40 years later. And I
[1:32:26] think that it's,
[1:32:27] I think that it's a no brainer.
[1:32:31] We need an AI usage policy. So
[1:32:34] this committee is necessary.
[1:32:36] Even if we didn't need a usage
[1:32:38] policy
[1:32:40] within the city and staff,
[1:32:42] which I don't think anyone
[1:32:44] could doubt that any reasonable
[1:32:46] person could, we would still
[1:32:48] need an AI procurement policy.
[1:32:50] Because even if we decided
[1:32:52] to stick our heads in the sand
[1:32:53] like it sounds
[1:32:54] like some people want to do,
[1:32:55] the rest
[1:32:57] of the world isn't doing that.
[1:32:58] And every tool that we use,
[1:33:02] as Director RAM has mentioned,
[1:33:04] every tool that we use,
[1:33:06] they're all rolling out their
[1:33:07] AI features and we would still
[1:33:08] need a policy on which
[1:33:09] of those tools we would use and
[1:33:11] under what circumstances we'd
[1:33:13] be permitted to use them and
[1:33:18] how we would use them. So I
[1:33:19] think, you know, the idea that
[1:33:20] we would wouldn't move forward
[1:33:21] in this arena is just, I don't
[1:33:23] know, it's beyond me.
[1:33:25] But we have to,
[1:33:26] I'm glad that we have,
[1:33:27] I think we have the right
[1:33:29] person to do it and I think
[1:33:31] that it should be a IT
[1:33:34] committee as it's described,
[1:33:36] not just an AI committee,
[1:33:39] because I think we have
[1:33:40] to be forward looking. If we
[1:33:42] see how rapidly technology has
[1:33:44] changed, even in just the 10
[1:33:46] years that I've been
[1:33:47] on council, having an IT
[1:33:49] committee is something that
[1:33:50] I've always thought that we
[1:33:51] should have. So it's so that we
[1:33:53] can set, you know,
[1:33:54] get advisement
[1:33:55] from the many professionals
[1:33:56] in our community who work
[1:33:57] in IT on setting and adopting
[1:33:58] appropriate technology
[1:34:00] policies, period, in the city
[1:34:03] of high school, but also
[1:34:04] to manage the adoption
[1:34:05] of several
[1:34:07] of the changes that's going on.
[1:34:09] So I am pretty content with
[1:34:11] this presentation. I applaud
[1:34:13] the effort. I never thought
[1:34:14] that I would sit through a
[1:34:16] presentation where we were
[1:34:17] talking
[1:34:18] about language model and all
[1:34:19] of the, the technical terms
[1:34:20] that you use. And I'm glad that
[1:34:22] you braved your way
[1:34:23] through it. And, yeah, I'm
[1:34:24] happy and I'm looking forward
[1:34:25] to supporting this.
[1:34:27] >>Thank you, Council
[1:34:28] President Solomon.
[1:34:30] >>Are there any other questions
[1:34:32] or comments, Mr. Mr. Harbor?
[1:34:34] >>Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And
[1:34:36] thank you, Deputy City
[1:34:39] Administrator Reims,
[1:34:41] for the presentation. I think,
[1:34:43] as other council members have
[1:34:44] stated before me,
[1:34:47] I look forward to seeing the
[1:34:50] city embrace this new frontier.
[1:34:52] At the same time, I think it's
[1:34:55] important that we proceed
[1:34:58] with caution. So making sure
[1:34:59] that that committee is
[1:35:00] in place,
[1:35:02] that that committee can come up
[1:35:03] with some recommendation
[1:35:05] in terms
[1:35:06] of if and when we are going to
[1:35:08] adopt some specific AI tools,
[1:35:10] what criteria should we be
[1:35:12] looking at, knowing exactly how
[1:35:14] they handle the data
[1:35:17] after work. So those are the
[1:35:18] things that I want us to kind
[1:35:20] of like develop
[1:35:22] before we put any specific tool
[1:35:24] in place. So having our
[1:35:27] selection criteria and ethical
[1:35:30] on that line
[1:35:32] for how we want things to go,
[1:35:34] I think that's what I have
[1:35:35] to say. Thank you.
[1:35:36] >>Thank you, Mr. Harper. Any
[1:35:37] other question,
[1:35:38] comments or questions
[1:35:39] by anybody? Ms. Douglas?
[1:35:41] >>Yeah, I just, I just wanted
[1:35:43] to make one quick point. We do
[1:35:44] already have the IT committee
[1:35:46] established, but as Laura said,
[1:35:48] we, we are trying
[1:35:51] to morph that into some
[1:35:52] additional departments. So,
[1:35:53] for instance, at this point,
[1:35:55] Finance, Finance, the police,
[1:35:58] DPW, and one person from
[1:36:00] administration who are very
[1:36:01] knowledgeable
[1:36:02] in technology are
[1:36:04] on that committee. So we have
[1:36:05] reps from each
[1:36:07] of those departments.
[1:36:08] But as we now add AI
[1:36:09] into this, and now Laura's
[1:36:11] become a part
[1:36:12] of this committee, it will
[1:36:13] morph a little bit and have a
[1:36:14] few more members. So I do want
[1:36:15] to just make sure. We've had
[1:36:16] the committee probably for
[1:36:17] about eight months. So I just
[1:36:19] wanted to make, make that clear
[1:36:21] that this committee will,
[1:36:22] will now pick up AI.
[1:36:24] >>Thank you, Ms. Douglas, and
[1:36:27] thank you, Ms. Re,
[1:36:28] for the presentation. Okay,
[1:36:32] we're going to move on now
[1:36:33] to appointments. Vice
[1:36:36] President Wozczak, are you
[1:36:37] here?
[1:36:44] >>Get off guard there. One
[1:36:45] moment, please.
[1:36:53] >>Open to appointments. If you
[1:36:54] want to do consent.
[1:36:59] >>Do you have it? Ms. Marse?
[1:37:00] >>Working on it.
[1:37:01] >>It crashed.
[1:37:03] >>I can transfer it to Mr.
[1:37:04] Solomon if you'd like.
[1:37:05] >>Yes, please.
[1:37:08] >>Mr. Solomon.
[1:37:11] >>Appointment 7A appointments
[1:37:12] to CO.
[1:37:13] >>Wait one second. Can you turn
[1:37:14] your mic up a bit?
[1:37:19] >>I can. I can try to talk
[1:37:20] louder. I don't think I can
[1:37:22] turn my mic.
[1:37:23] >>Okay. Okay.
[1:37:24] >>All right. 7A. Appointments
[1:37:25] to the CO Compliance Advisory
[1:37:26] Committee. I move that the
[1:37:27] mayor council approve the
[1:37:29] reappointment of Ian fay
[1:37:30] to the CO Compliance Advisory
[1:37:31] Committee for a term
[1:37:33] of two years ending on
[1:37:34] February 18, 2027. 7b.
[1:37:39] Appointment to high school
[1:37:40] environment committee. I move
[1:37:41] that the mayor Council approve
[1:37:43] the appointment of Ryan Newman
[1:37:44] to the highest bill
[1:37:46] Environment committee
[1:37:47] for A term
[1:37:48] of two years ending February
[1:37:49] 18, 2027. 7c. Appointment
[1:37:50] to heights Phil. Health,
[1:37:51] Wellness and Recreation
[1:37:52] Advisory Committee. I move that
[1:37:53] the mayor council approve the
[1:37:55] reapportment of Britney Miller
[1:37:57] to Height Phil. Health,
[1:37:58] Wellness and Recreation
[1:37:59] Advisory Committee for a term
[1:38:00] of two years ending February
[1:38:02] 18, 2027.
[1:38:06] >>I said second. I'm sorry,
[1:38:07] who was that? Thank you. It's
[1:38:10] been moved. And. And seconded.
[1:38:11] All in favor? Any opposed? Any
[1:38:17] abstentions?
[1:38:19] >>Thank you.
[1:38:21] >>The ayes have it, Mr.
[1:38:22] Solomon. Consent agenda
[1:38:25] consent.
[1:38:26] >>8 A Schedule A budget work
[1:38:27] session for February 26, 2025.
[1:38:29] A move that the mayor council
[1:38:30] schedule an
[1:38:31] in person budget work session
[1:38:32] for February 26, 2025 at 7pm
[1:38:34] to be held at the City
[1:38:36] Municipal Building. 8B. Zoning
[1:38:39] variance request V8. 20V8924
[1:38:40] 4100 Hamilton street in
[1:38:44] Hyattsville. I move the city
[1:38:46] council authorize the mayor
[1:38:48] to send a letter of support
[1:38:49] to the board of Zoning Appeals
[1:38:51] for the subject property at
[1:38:53] 4100 Hamilton Street,
[1:38:54] Highsville v. 80 924. The
[1:38:55] purpose
[1:38:56] of the zoning variance is
[1:38:58] to request is to request it
[1:39:00] to be. Is to request is
[1:39:05] to validate existing. The
[1:39:07] purpose of the zoning variance
[1:39:08] request is to validate existing
[1:39:11] conditions. A lot width at the
[1:39:12] building line side street yard
[1:39:13] depth and waiver of accessory
[1:39:15] building location requirements
[1:39:16] enable the construction
[1:39:18] of a third floor addition on an
[1:39:20] existing three story single
[1:39:21] family dwelling. Sorry
[1:39:23] about that 1.8C. Disbursement
[1:39:24] of FY25 Thrive Grant Awards. I
[1:39:26] moved that the mayor council
[1:39:27] authorized expenditure of
[1:39:29] $8,993 to support the grant
[1:39:30] proposals recommended
[1:39:32] from the Hyatville Health,
[1:39:34] Wellness and Recreation
[1:39:36] Advisory Committee and listed
[1:39:37] in the attached memo
[1:39:39] for dissemination of the FY25
[1:39:45] Thrive grants. That is all.
[1:39:46] >>Second.
[1:39:47] >>I'm sorry, who was the
[1:39:48] second? Okay, thank you. It's
[1:39:49] been moved and seconded. All in
[1:39:50] favor?
[1:39:52] >>Aye.
[1:39:54] >>Any opposed? Abstentions.
[1:39:59] Okay. Seeing none. Action
[1:40:00] items, Mr. Solomon.
[1:40:02] >>Action items. Not a roadway
[1:40:04] transfer. MD 208 Hamilton
[1:40:06] Street. I move that the mayor
[1:40:09] and council authorize the city
[1:40:12] administrator to execute the
[1:40:13] roadway transfer agreement
[1:40:14] of MD 208 Hamilton street
[1:40:15] between the city of
[1:40:16] Hyattsville and Maryland
[1:40:17] Department of Transportation,
[1:40:19] State Highway Administration.
[1:40:21] >>I know that's your baby. You
[1:40:23] got the champagne? Did you pop
[1:40:25] it yet?
[1:40:26] >>Well, I'm gonna wait
[1:40:27] for the word.
[1:40:30] >>Okay. It's been seconded by
[1:40:31] Ms. Straub. Ms. Taylor.
[1:40:41] >>Yes. Good evening, Mayor and
[1:40:42] council. Thank you
[1:40:43] for the opportunity to speak
[1:40:44] on this roadway transfer. It's
[1:40:47] been a long journey. I'm gonna
[1:40:49] briefly talk
[1:40:50] through the history, just
[1:40:52] for those of you that may not
[1:40:53] be as familiar
[1:40:54] with this process. So back
[1:40:55] in late 2021, the council
[1:41:00] authorized the city
[1:41:01] administrator and staff
[1:41:03] to begin negotiations with M.
[1:41:07] SHA to start talking
[1:41:08] about the transfer
[1:41:09] of ownership of the segment
[1:41:11] of Hamilton street between
[1:41:13] Queens chapel Road and 38th
[1:41:15] Avenue. Since that time,
[1:41:17] you've been working
[1:41:19] with the SHA District 3 office
[1:41:22] to evaluate different scenarios
[1:41:23] of a transfer, develop
[1:41:26] conceptual plans and just get
[1:41:29] the state on board
[1:41:31] with our vision
[1:41:32] for that transfer process. Had
[1:41:34] many setbacks
[1:41:36] during that process. Namely,
[1:41:39] there was significant turnover
[1:41:40] in staff in the District 3
[1:41:42] office. So that was a major
[1:41:44] delay
[1:41:46] in the negotiation process in
[1:41:49] 2022. Luckily, through our
[1:41:50] persistence and collaboration
[1:41:52] with the District 3 office,
[1:41:54] we were able to come
[1:41:56] to a mutual understanding. And
[1:41:59] the District 3 engineer
[1:42:01] initiated that transfer process
[1:42:03] with MDOT's real estate office
[1:42:06] in April of 2023. I believe
[1:42:11] at that time we were under the
[1:42:14] impression the transfer process
[1:42:16] would take approximately six
[1:42:18] months. Obviously it took a
[1:42:20] fair bit longer than that.
[1:42:22] But we continued to follow up
[1:42:24] with them, Both the District 3
[1:42:26] office and the real estate
[1:42:28] office, and ultimately got a
[1:42:30] draft transfer agreement in
[1:42:32] January of this year, which.
[1:42:34] Which we've shared
[1:42:36] with you as part
[1:42:37] of the packet here. Let's see,
[1:42:41] what else do I have?
[1:42:43] Ultimately, we decided
[1:42:44] to do an as is transfer. That
[1:42:50] was a recommendation from the
[1:42:52] district engineer and part
[1:42:55] of our assessment. They were
[1:42:59] generally in support of the
[1:43:01] conceptual designs and the
[1:43:03] vision that we were presenting
[1:43:04] to them,
[1:43:06] but they were very transparent
[1:43:07] with us that if the state were
[1:43:09] to complete some of the
[1:43:12] conceptual design improvements,
[1:43:13] that that transfer process
[1:43:15] could take upwards of 10 years
[1:43:17] to complete. So ultimately it
[1:43:21] was. It was decided to move
[1:43:24] in this direction.
[1:43:27] Additionally, I'll remind
[1:43:29] everyone that the transfer
[1:43:31] agreement does not include the
[1:43:33] traffic light
[1:43:35] at the intersection of
[1:43:37] Hamilton and 38 strikes. If.
[1:43:39] If we were to proceed
[1:43:40] with this transfer agreement,
[1:43:43] that signal would continue
[1:43:45] to be Owned and maintained by
[1:43:46] M. SHA we would not take over
[1:43:48] the operation and maintenance
[1:43:51] of that signal. Let me see if I
[1:43:54] have anything else. I think
[1:43:56] those are. Those are the high
[1:43:58] points there. Leslie and Hal, I
[1:44:00] don't know if you have any
[1:44:01] additional context. Thank you.
[1:44:03] >>Ms. Roby. I called you
[1:44:04] by your first name, So I
[1:44:06] apologize. Ms. Riddle.
[1:44:07] >>Thank you. Thank you.
[1:44:11] Taylor. Mayor and council.
[1:44:13] This is as Mr. Solomon has his
[1:44:15] champagne ready. A long time
[1:44:17] coming. I know there had been a
[1:44:19] public question
[1:44:21] about budget as is. There is no
[1:44:24] cost to the city
[1:44:25] for this transfer. This is
[1:44:28] in writing. And this,
[1:44:30] of course, any improvements
[1:44:32] that we do that. The street is
[1:44:34] in good shape. The street was
[1:44:36] redone just a few years ago.
[1:44:38] But anything that we do will
[1:44:40] have to come back to this body
[1:44:42] for approval. I know there are
[1:44:44] some safety measures certainly
[1:44:45] we'd like to take
[1:44:47] into account, but that is where
[1:44:49] we are. I think Taylor
[1:44:51] represented it well. Hal, do
[1:44:53] you have anything additional?
[1:44:57] >>No, nothing. Nothing else
[1:44:59] additional right now.
[1:45:01] >>Thank you. Thank you, Mary.
[1:45:02] Thank you, Council.
[1:45:04] >>Thank you very much.
[1:45:05] Council, any questions? Mr.
[1:45:08] Dennis, sorry I jumped
[1:45:11] in front of Mr. Solomon, but
[1:45:13] I. I was. Thank you.
[1:45:15] >>Thank you for all the work
[1:45:17] that's.
[1:45:18] >>Been going into this. Can
[1:45:20] someone explain
[1:45:21] to me the consequences,
[1:45:23] I mean. Or not associated
[1:45:26] with not taking
[1:45:28] over the intersection. It seems
[1:45:32] like that a lot of. A lot
[1:45:34] of concern is over safety
[1:45:36] at an inner.
[1:45:37] At the intersection. We won't
[1:45:40] have that intersect. So like,
[1:45:42] does this hamstring us
[1:45:44] in our abilities
[1:45:47] to make this like.
[1:45:50] >>Oh, I like.
[1:45:51] >>So this seems
[1:45:54] like it's better than the.
[1:45:56] Than nothing. But also like
[1:46:01] it's still somewhat not as.
[1:46:02] >>So they will own the
[1:46:04] signalization. Council member
[1:46:05] DENNIS we own the roadway. So
[1:46:07] in conjunction
[1:46:08] with state highway,
[1:46:09] we certainly have some leverage
[1:46:11] to be able to improve that
[1:46:13] intersection considerably. I
[1:46:16] think that's the crux of it.
[1:46:17] We own the roadway. They own
[1:46:19] the signalization. We don't own
[1:46:21] any signals. Just so know.
[1:46:23] >>Oh, I know. And okay. So we
[1:46:28] would still be able to
[1:46:30] potentially promulgate some
[1:46:32] safety improvements
[1:46:34] with that question. It's. It's
[1:46:36] just the signalization that
[1:46:38] they. So if we wanted to do a
[1:46:41] protected intersection for.
[1:46:43] For instance, that would be
[1:46:45] something that could be
[1:46:46] considered
[1:46:47] at that intersection. Yes.
[1:46:49] >>As long as we had state
[1:46:50] highway or 38. Right.
[1:46:52] Approval, then yes,
[1:46:54] that is feasible.
[1:46:56] >>Okay. Thank you.
[1:46:57] >>Absolutely.
[1:46:59] >>Some.
[1:47:03] >>I wanted to. I wanted
[1:47:06] to say thank you to. To
[1:47:10] Leslie, to How. To Taylor,
[1:47:15] for your hard work on this. I
[1:47:19] think this means a lot
[1:47:21] to our community. You guys were
[1:47:23] out there for the meetings and
[1:47:25] I don't know how many times
[1:47:27] they yelled and screamed at us
[1:47:28] about not being able
[1:47:29] to do anything about state,
[1:47:30] about that road because it was
[1:47:32] a state road and wanted us
[1:47:34] to take this on. And I
[1:47:35] appreciate you guys
[1:47:38] for actually taking it
[1:47:39] on and getting it
[1:47:40] across the finish line. One
[1:47:41] name that I did want
[1:47:42] to mention,
[1:47:43] because I know this was held up
[1:47:44] for a very long time,
[1:47:45] but we figured, well, we had
[1:47:46] to wait
[1:47:47] until our thumbs and figure
[1:47:49] out what the state was doing.
[1:47:50] But delegate Nicole Williams,
[1:47:51] who this year is serving as
[1:47:54] chair of the Prince George's
[1:47:55] delegation, I happened
[1:47:58] to speak to her right
[1:47:59] before she was going
[1:48:02] into a meeting with State
[1:48:04] highway, and I said, hey,
[1:48:05] we got something that's held up
[1:48:06] with them. She was like, no,
[1:48:07] no, no. I want
[1:48:09] to know everything
[1:48:11] about it right now, because I.
[1:48:12] I'm coming up with a list
[1:48:13] of things that they need
[1:48:14] to do immediately. And so I'm
[1:48:15] glad that she took this. She
[1:48:17] added this to her list. And it
[1:48:18] literally looks like, like,
[1:48:19] you know, a month
[1:48:20] after she had that meeting,
[1:48:21] like, they came back
[1:48:22] to us and this was. This was
[1:48:23] moving, moving along. So I'm
[1:48:24] appreciative to her as well.
[1:48:27] And yeah,
[1:48:28] I think that when we talk
[1:48:30] about the east, west divide,
[1:48:31] this is one
[1:48:32] of those things that, you know,
[1:48:33] I don't think there's a story,
[1:48:35] darker contrast sometimes in
[1:48:36] our city than leaving one side
[1:48:38] of Hamilton street, crossing
[1:48:41] over 38th and entering the
[1:48:42] other side. Even, you know,
[1:48:44] when it comes to Christmas
[1:48:45] lights, we've mentioned
[1:48:47] in the past. So I think that
[1:48:48] this would be extremely useful
[1:48:50] tool for many things, but also
[1:48:51] in healing that divide and look
[1:48:54] forward to the next motion
[1:48:56] to take over the next part of
[1:48:57] Hamilton Street.
[1:48:58] >>So thank you. Well, I don't
[1:49:00] appreciate you not sharing that
[1:49:01] champagne with all of us. Just
[1:49:03] saying.
[1:49:05] >>So I'm doing a dry
[1:49:06] February, so I can't even drink
[1:49:08] it myself. I can only pour it
[1:49:10] and cheer to those who wish to
[1:49:11] partake.
[1:49:12] >>What are you gonna do?
[1:49:14] You're not gonna feed you the
[1:49:15] dog,
[1:49:16] are you?
[1:49:17] >>Absolutely.
[1:49:19] >>Ms. Wazat.
[1:49:20] >>Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
[1:49:23] >>So I have a few questions.
[1:49:24] >>I heard Director Riddle say
[1:49:27] that Hamilton was recently
[1:49:29] refreshed by sha. So first I
[1:49:31] just wanted to ask a few
[1:49:33] additional questions on that.
[1:49:36] What aspects of the roadway did
[1:49:37] they recently maintain? Like,
[1:49:40] was it the. The road surface,
[1:49:43] the striping? I think there are
[1:49:46] sharrows on there,
[1:49:47] the shared arrows
[1:49:49] for cyclists. Did they do
[1:49:51] anything with the lighting, the
[1:49:53] walkways that are not
[1:49:55] continuous right now or other
[1:49:57] streetscaping? Like, what was
[1:49:59] their investment in the street?
[1:50:01] >>So there was it was actually
[1:50:04] wssc. They replaced the water
[1:50:06] main in the center
[1:50:08] of the road. I think it was
[1:50:09] about four or five years ago.
[1:50:10] That was a complete full
[1:50:12] replacement of the full depth
[1:50:13] patch as well as the top
[1:50:15] coating of the street. So that,
[1:50:17] you know,
[1:50:19] lasts quite a long time. There
[1:50:23] were certain intersections
[1:50:25] where the sidewalk was updated
[1:50:26] for ADA compliance. There are
[1:50:29] some sidewalks that need
[1:50:30] to be taken care of, that need
[1:50:32] to be reconfigured and fixed.
[1:50:33] Those are on our radar. We will
[1:50:35] bring that back to council
[1:50:37] at some juncture. Taylor,
[1:50:41] anything to add? Al?
[1:50:45] >>No, no. The, the one thing I
[1:50:47] did want to add is that as you
[1:50:50] mentioned, WSSC did rebuild the
[1:50:51] road and they went basically
[1:50:54] all the way from the entrance
[1:50:57] at Driscoll park all the way
[1:50:59] to Ager Road and I believe
[1:51:02] across Jager Road going towards
[1:51:03] Metro. They put a new 16 inch
[1:51:05] water main there. So they did a
[1:51:06] very thorough reconstruction.
[1:51:09] >>Of the, of the asphalt curve
[1:51:11] to curb.
[1:51:14] >>Okay, great. And do we have,
[1:51:16] I know you said we've looked
[1:51:17] into this, but do we have an
[1:51:19] estimate right now
[1:51:20] for the cost of installing a
[1:51:21] continuous walkway or sidewalk?
[1:51:23] Because I know that's been one
[1:51:26] of the main complaints that
[1:51:27] people have is that the
[1:51:28] sidewalk starts and stops and
[1:51:30] starts and stops. So do we have
[1:51:32] an estimate for that project?
[1:51:34] >>So we have a concept design
[1:51:35] at this juncture that we share
[1:51:37] with State highway, but we do
[1:51:38] not have a cost estimate.
[1:51:39] Again, we will bring that back
[1:51:41] to council in the near future.
[1:51:42] >>And if we accept this road,
[1:51:44] then that cost is on us.
[1:51:47] >>That's correct.
[1:51:48] >>Okay. And also how much do we
[1:51:51] anticipate that it would cost
[1:51:53] us to maintain this road? So
[1:51:54] when we think
[1:51:56] about street thing and the
[1:51:57] like that we do on all
[1:51:58] of our other roads,
[1:52:00] how much does it cost us to, to
[1:52:02] maintain this specific stretch
[1:52:04] of road?
[1:52:05] >>So quite honestly,
[1:52:06] we've been doing it all along.
[1:52:08] It's a blip on the radar of
[1:52:10] State Highway. And so we push
[1:52:12] the snow, we sweep the road,
[1:52:13] we pick up the trash. Some of
[1:52:16] that is considered maintenance
[1:52:18] by State Highway. So honestly
[1:52:20] it's nothing to add
[1:52:23] to things we already do. So
[1:52:25] it's a wash as far as cost. I
[1:52:29] mean, it wouldn't get done if
[1:52:31] we didn't do it. That's pretty
[1:52:33] much it. Now, they would
[1:52:34] eventually come
[1:52:36] through and plow it,
[1:52:37] but we plow it because it's one
[1:52:39] of our main arterials and it's
[1:52:41] adjacent to our roadway.
[1:52:42] >>Okay.
[1:52:44] >>And then my final question
[1:52:46] is, would there be any benefit
[1:52:49] or any dis. Benefit
[1:52:50] to the people who actually live
[1:52:52] on this road, like, what will
[1:52:54] they experience that might be
[1:52:56] any different in a positive or
[1:52:57] negative way?
[1:53:01] >>So positive, positive. You
[1:53:02] know, we can fix all the
[1:53:04] existing sidewalks that have
[1:53:05] some trip hazards. We can make
[1:53:08] sure we're already taking care
[1:53:09] of the trees. That's, that's
[1:53:11] just part of it. I think
[1:53:13] in a. I, I honestly,
[1:53:15] council member wise,
[1:53:17] I can't think of anything
[1:53:18] negative.
[1:53:19] >>Taylor.
[1:53:20] >>Hal.
[1:53:22] >>So I, I know currently
[1:53:23] there's,
[1:53:24] and this is not something
[1:53:26] we've, we've spoken about,
[1:53:27] there's some issues
[1:53:28] with flooding
[1:53:29] on the roadway when there's,
[1:53:31] when there's, you know,
[1:53:32] weather events. And that's
[1:53:33] definitely something that we
[1:53:35] want to look at. Would be a
[1:53:36] major improvement.
[1:53:38] >>Yeah, I was going
[1:53:40] to add that the biggest benefit
[1:53:41] for the city and the residents
[1:53:43] on that street is that the city
[1:53:45] can and is typically more
[1:53:47] responsive than state highway
[1:53:48] will be. You know,
[1:53:51] the state can take anywhere
[1:53:53] from five to seven years just
[1:53:56] to design a sidewalk
[1:53:57] replacement project and get it
[1:53:59] funded. Whereas, you know,
[1:54:01] we don't need that length
[1:54:03] of time to make something
[1:54:04] like that happen. And you know,
[1:54:05] in this road, especially
[1:54:07] since WSSC resurfaced,
[1:54:08] it is so far down
[1:54:11] on the state's list of roads
[1:54:12] that need attention that we
[1:54:14] probably wouldn't see them do
[1:54:15] anything major on that road
[1:54:19] for another 10 plus years
[1:54:20] easily.
[1:54:23] >>Okay, thank you.
[1:54:25] >>Okay. Excuse me. How many
[1:54:27] questions do you have, Mr.
[1:54:28] S.H.
[1:54:30] >>I got a couple. Go for it.
[1:54:32] And, and may. And I hope none
[1:54:34] of them have already been
[1:54:36] asked. I had a little technical
[1:54:37] glitch for my computer powered
[1:54:38] down in the middle
[1:54:39] of this Q and A. So my
[1:54:41] apologies in advance if this is
[1:54:43] duplicative,
[1:54:46] but couple questions. So, you
[1:54:48] know, one of the discussions
[1:54:50] was negotiations and
[1:54:53] negotiations for the terms of
[1:54:55] this transfer and there was
[1:54:57] discussion of Maryland State
[1:54:58] Highways making some
[1:54:59] improvements prior
[1:55:01] to the transfer, but that would
[1:55:02] extend the required time
[1:55:04] to make the transfer. And I
[1:55:09] know we don't have a cost
[1:55:11] estimate
[1:55:12] for our desired improvements.
[1:55:14] We've got a concept design,
[1:55:16] but you know, we kind of know
[1:55:17] about how much a linear foot of
[1:55:19] sidewalk costs or how much it
[1:55:20] takes to put
[1:55:22] in a street light or something
[1:55:24] like that. Was it ever broached
[1:55:26] with Maryland State Highways to
[1:55:29] rather than make the
[1:55:31] improvements to transfer the
[1:55:34] land and transfer along
[1:55:35] with the land, some
[1:55:36] of the amount
[1:55:37] of those anticipations,
[1:55:40] anticipated improvements was
[1:55:41] that asked of Maryland State
[1:55:42] Highways and did they respond
[1:55:44] to that?
[1:55:45] >>At one juncture we had talked
[1:55:46] about that, but it, it was
[1:55:48] at the very beginning when we,
[1:55:50] we were looking at working with
[1:55:53] our consultant and doing a
[1:55:55] concept plan at this point.
[1:55:56] It's not
[1:55:58] on the table and it's.
[1:56:00] >>Not on the table
[1:56:01] at this point. Oh, go ahead.
[1:56:03] >>I'm hoping to add
[1:56:05] to that. I, I think I recall,
[1:56:06] Leslie, when that was a part
[1:56:08] of the conversation. One
[1:56:09] of the, the trip hazards on
[1:56:10] that is that that will require
[1:56:12] an appropriation also from,
[1:56:14] from the General assembly,
[1:56:15] which was something that we had
[1:56:16] not worked
[1:56:18] on previously and hadn't.
[1:56:19] Hasn't been any
[1:56:20] of our legislative requests
[1:56:22] since that time period.
[1:56:23] >>That is correct.
[1:56:24] >>And, and on a reimbursable
[1:56:25] basis that they were not
[1:56:27] interested in doing at the time
[1:56:28] because it was not a very high
[1:56:29] priority for them.
[1:56:32] >>Well, you know, although I
[1:56:34] think we could manage the road
[1:56:36] better and it sounds like
[1:56:37] in a lot of ways we already are
[1:56:39] managing the road. It doesn't
[1:56:40] really feel
[1:56:42] like we're getting, you know,
[1:56:43] we're taking this long term
[1:56:45] maintenance responsibility for
[1:56:47] a road that you already
[1:56:48] described as kind
[1:56:50] of an afterthought to them that
[1:56:52] something they'd probably
[1:56:54] rather not be responsible
[1:56:56] for and we're taking it over
[1:56:58] without really anything
[1:57:01] from them other than giving it
[1:57:04] to us. And it just,
[1:57:06] it just feels like there could
[1:57:07] have been opportunities there
[1:57:09] for a better, a better bargain
[1:57:10] for the city. But you said
[1:57:12] those negotiations that, that
[1:57:14] ship has sailed. I can't
[1:57:15] remember exactly what words you
[1:57:17] used, but you said there were
[1:57:18] some early deliberations
[1:57:20] to those ends,
[1:57:21] but nothing recent. And could
[1:57:22] you elaborate a little bit more
[1:57:24] on those monetary discussions?
[1:57:27] >>Certainly.
[1:57:29] >>I mean this was again,
[1:57:30] this has been in negotiations
[1:57:32] for me for years. We did meet
[1:57:35] with state highway a number of
[1:57:37] times and there was talk about,
[1:57:41] you know, they're assisting or
[1:57:46] giving us money or financing.
[1:57:50] And at this juncture they said
[1:57:52] we're going
[1:57:54] to give it you as is.
[1:57:55] Certainly we could go back
[1:57:57] to them, but I think that the
[1:57:59] state is probably not
[1:58:01] in the best positions
[1:58:04] to allocate money
[1:58:06] to this stretch of roadway
[1:58:08] because it's so small, pal.
[1:58:11] >>Yeah, I did want
[1:58:12] to add one item
[1:58:13] to that as well,
[1:58:15] is that this goes back
[1:58:16] to a frequent discussion we
[1:58:18] have with things highway is
[1:58:20] that they through. And I'll be
[1:58:23] honest, I don't remember which,
[1:58:25] which state law it is. But by
[1:58:27] state law they require the city
[1:58:29] to perform maintenance
[1:58:31] on the sidewalks
[1:58:33] on state roads in the city.
[1:58:35] And if they consider it a
[1:58:36] maintenance activity,
[1:58:38] they're not going to pay
[1:58:40] for it regardless of whether we
[1:58:41] own the road or take it
[1:58:43] from them. And it's a,
[1:58:45] it's a frequent issue we have
[1:58:46] with them because we feel
[1:58:47] like there's, there's
[1:58:48] like sections
[1:58:49] of sidewalk where it needs
[1:58:51] to be reconstructed. And to us
[1:58:52] that's not a maintenance
[1:58:54] activity,
[1:58:55] that's a construction activity.
[1:58:56] And there's no clear guidance
[1:58:58] in the state law or the,
[1:58:59] or MDOT's policies
[1:59:01] of what the definition
[1:59:04] of maintenance versus, you
[1:59:06] know, reconstruction is. So
[1:59:08] that's, I think where we kind
[1:59:10] of end up here is that, you
[1:59:12] know, if they consider all this
[1:59:14] a maintenance activity,
[1:59:15] they're, they're not going
[1:59:17] to give us anything. Anything
[1:59:19] for that.
[1:59:21] >>Okay. Yeah. You know,
[1:59:24] I don't know how I'll vote
[1:59:26] on this. I like the idea
[1:59:27] of us getting it,
[1:59:29] but I do feel like it's not
[1:59:32] necessarily a great deal
[1:59:34] for us, you know, and that
[1:59:37] in assuming this long term,
[1:59:39] you know, although it's
[1:59:41] in good shape now,
[1:59:42] that asphalt is going to need
[1:59:43] to be repaved, we are assuming
[1:59:45] longer term costs for,
[1:59:47] for doing this. And we already
[1:59:48] know the reason we want it is
[1:59:50] because the road isn't really
[1:59:52] in the condition we want it
[1:59:54] to be in. And so we're
[1:59:57] anticipating making
[1:59:59] infrastructure improvements and
[2:00:01] also the long term maintenance,
[2:00:05] but we haven't got them
[2:00:06] to give us anything
[2:00:08] but the road, which is in their
[2:00:10] financial interest and no
[2:00:11] longer want
[2:00:13] to maintain anyways. So I do
[2:00:17] have, I do have just kind
[2:00:18] of some concerns about that.
[2:00:22] The. So
[2:00:23] about the intersection.
[2:00:25] There's three, you know,
[2:00:28] three or four roads. It's a
[2:00:30] standard four way intersection.
[2:00:31] And
[2:00:33] of those four roads that
[2:00:35] connect at that intersection,
[2:00:38] we own three of them
[2:00:40] at this point,
[2:00:42] is my understanding.
[2:00:43] But we're not taking ownership
[2:00:45] of the signal. And is that
[2:00:46] because we didn't want it or
[2:00:48] they wouldn't give it to us?
[2:00:51] Or could you elaborate further
[2:00:52] on that?
[2:00:53] >>They own the third leg of 38
[2:00:56] and we don't manage signals and
[2:00:58] they wouldn't give it to us.
[2:01:00] So that's pretty much it.
[2:01:03] >>So we asked them and they
[2:01:04] said, sorry,
[2:01:06] we won't give you that. I mean,
[2:01:08] is there a protocol for that if
[2:01:11] we own three quarters of that
[2:01:12] intersection?
[2:01:16] >>One thing I can add to that
[2:01:18] is currently we only own two
[2:01:19] legs of that road. We would own
[2:01:20] three if, if you agree
[2:01:22] to take this on.
[2:01:24] >>Right, right, understood.
[2:01:25] >>Generally, municipalities
[2:01:27] don't own traffic signals.
[2:01:30] Again, I believe there is a.
[2:01:34] It's been a while
[2:01:35] since I looked this up, but I
[2:01:36] believe there's a state law
[2:01:37] that requires them to be owned
[2:01:39] by either the county or the
[2:01:40] state. I don't believe hardly
[2:01:43] any municipalities
[2:01:45] like ours own a traffic signal.
[2:01:47] You know, Baltimore City does,
[2:01:49] and the counties generally do,
[2:01:51] but I don't believe any Other
[2:01:52] municipalities own them. So we
[2:01:53] wouldn't,
[2:01:54] they wouldn't give it
[2:01:55] to us and,
[2:01:56] and we wouldn't take it over
[2:01:57] because we wouldn't have the
[2:01:58] infrastructure to, to maintain
[2:01:59] that.
[2:02:01] >>And we didn't ask.
[2:02:05] >>Okay. Because to Sam's point,
[2:02:06] a lot
[2:02:08] of the safety concerns are
[2:02:09] right at that intersection.
[2:02:12] The backups that are caused
[2:02:13] by that intersection,
[2:02:15] the blocking of roads,
[2:02:16] driveways, the fact that it
[2:02:19] doesn't give you a walk signal
[2:02:21] when you want to cross,
[2:02:24] you got
[2:02:25] to push a button and wait
[2:02:27] for a full rotation
[2:02:28] to get a walk signal. They're
[2:02:29] just. They don't give you that
[2:02:31] automatic walk option when
[2:02:34] you're waiting there. Various
[2:02:35] things that I think the city
[2:02:40] would be interested
[2:02:41] in improving but.
[2:02:43] But it sounds like a lot
[2:02:45] of those things will be
[2:02:46] off the table.
[2:02:51] But my last comment,
[2:02:52] and this goes to a lot
[2:02:54] of the public comments,
[2:02:56] I would have liked
[2:02:57] to have seen a cost for the
[2:02:59] improvements. I know we did a
[2:03:01] study. It wasn't included
[2:03:02] in the packet. There was public
[2:03:04] comment related
[2:03:05] to what the results
[2:03:07] of that study were. We got a
[2:03:09] concept plan. I don't know.
[2:03:12] Did Pannoni deliver the full
[2:03:18] package for that contract is
[2:03:21] that we got. Because I asked
[2:03:23] for it and all I got was one
[2:03:25] single sheet.
[2:03:29] >>That.
[2:03:30] >>Had some lines on it.
[2:03:31] But was there like a,
[2:03:34] a broader deliverable to what
[2:03:36] Panoni did for that?
[2:03:42] >>I don't believe so. Hal.
[2:03:43] Hal, you probably know the
[2:03:45] answer to that. I don't believe
[2:03:47] so. I think you all authorized
[2:03:49] us to go up to 100k,
[2:03:51] but I don't think we asked
[2:03:52] for them
[2:03:54] to go any further in, in
[2:03:55] until we were able to determine
[2:03:57] whether we were able
[2:04:01] to obtain the road. So I don't
[2:04:02] think we ever got anything
[2:04:03] further than that. I. We did
[2:04:04] not get caught cost estimates
[2:04:05] at this point.
[2:04:06] But there were things
[2:04:07] from a safety perspective,
[2:04:08] crosswalks that we've asked
[2:04:09] them to do. We've walked this
[2:04:10] road, probably Councilman
[2:04:11] President Solomon, you may
[2:04:13] remember, but I think we
[2:04:14] started walking this road in
[2:04:15] 2017, pointing out all
[2:04:17] of the things that needed
[2:04:18] to be repaired and fixed. So
[2:04:21] each, each time we do anything
[2:04:23] on this road, we'd have
[2:04:25] to bring it back to you all.
[2:04:26] We have to do this within, you
[2:04:27] know, within whatever what
[2:04:29] we're able to,
[2:04:30] financially able
[2:04:31] to absorb each year. So it's
[2:04:33] not like we'll take it
[2:04:34] over and then go out and start
[2:04:35] making all the repairs
[2:04:36] immediately. We've got to do an
[2:04:37] assessment and we will ask them
[2:04:39] for cost estimates etc,
[2:04:40] and then come back
[2:04:41] to this body
[2:04:42] with the repairs that we need
[2:04:43] to have made. Hal, I don't want
[2:04:45] to speak. Speak for you or
[2:04:46] Leslie or, Or Taylor. Is that
[2:04:47] accurate?
[2:04:49] >>Yeah, yeah, that's. That's
[2:04:51] accurate. The other piece
[2:04:52] of this is, I mean,
[2:04:54] you're looking
[2:04:55] at not just the intersection
[2:04:59] at 38th and Hamilton. You're
[2:05:00] looking at the crosswalk. That
[2:05:02] is a crosswalk with no, you
[2:05:04] know, no flashing beacon,
[2:05:06] no pedestrian safety,
[2:05:08] which is right across
[2:05:10] from the park and right across
[2:05:11] from 3505. So, you know, we, we
[2:05:14] realize that there'll be some
[2:05:17] level of investment, but
[2:05:18] with a concept plan,
[2:05:21] I don't think either Hal or
[2:05:22] Taylor, I want to put a number
[2:05:24] on that because it would be,
[2:05:26] you know, it again, concept
[2:05:30] plan and a good number. I'm
[2:05:33] not. And we are not willing
[2:05:36] to do that until we have better
[2:05:38] information.
[2:05:40] >>The concept that we prepared
[2:05:43] was to kind
[2:05:46] of see what was feasible
[2:05:48] for that section of road. And
[2:05:50] then we, we did share that
[2:05:52] with State highway because when
[2:05:53] the negotiation started back
[2:05:55] in like 2021, they. They did
[2:05:56] give the option and they looked
[2:05:58] at all three options of them
[2:06:00] making improvements and keeping
[2:06:01] the road, them making
[2:06:03] improvements and giving the
[2:06:05] road to the city and them just
[2:06:06] giving the road to the city
[2:06:07] with no improvements. So that's
[2:06:10] what the concept was developed
[2:06:13] for, was to kind
[2:06:15] of give them a sense of what we
[2:06:17] think could happen there and
[2:06:19] what we would like to see, but
[2:06:22] it's not a concept that's ready
[2:06:23] to go
[2:06:24] to engineering design yet. We
[2:06:25] would have to re. Review it.
[2:06:26] We'd have to look
[2:06:28] at what's changed
[2:06:29] in the last four or five years
[2:06:31] since it was developed. We
[2:06:33] would have to have some
[2:06:34] community meetings and get some
[2:06:35] input on what some of the
[2:06:37] safety features are and where
[2:06:39] they're located. So it's not
[2:06:40] ready to have an estimate
[2:06:42] at this time. It's just this is
[2:06:44] what we think could. Could. We
[2:06:46] could do to make these safety
[2:06:48] improvements,
[2:06:49] but it wasn't close to being a
[2:06:51] final design yet.
[2:06:52] >>And I think the other piece
[2:06:54] of this is we've waited
[2:06:55] for years for the state
[2:06:56] to get back to us. I mean,
[2:06:58] Taylor was on, you know,
[2:07:00] consistently reaching out
[2:07:01] to the state, consistently
[2:07:03] saying, do you have something?
[2:07:04] Oh, no, it's with it's
[2:07:05] with our real estate people.
[2:07:07] So when we finally got this
[2:07:09] offer back and it's like, okay,
[2:07:11] well, let's discuss this
[2:07:12] with council, let's bring it
[2:07:14] to action. Let's, you know,
[2:07:16] do what we believe is the right
[2:07:17] thing, I think,
[2:07:18] for our residents and the
[2:07:19] safety of people,
[2:07:21] pedestrians. I mean,
[2:07:23] the state's not going
[2:07:24] to do this. That's just it.
[2:07:29] >>My final question is related
[2:07:32] to like the biggest issue,
[2:07:34] and we've heard about this,
[2:07:35] it's in our traffic study and
[2:07:36] other things is the
[2:07:38] discontinuous sidewalks,
[2:07:40] sidewalks broken,
[2:07:42] breakup and all along there.
[2:07:43] And it's a,
[2:07:44] it's a popular route to get
[2:07:45] to the metro is. Did we
[2:07:49] determine whether we have the
[2:07:51] right of way
[2:07:53] to build those if we want
[2:07:54] to make contiguous sidewalks
[2:07:56] along both sides
[2:07:59] of the road there, or do we.
[2:08:02] Are we unclear whether that
[2:08:04] right away will come
[2:08:05] with this transfer?
[2:08:08] >>I mean,
[2:08:09] I think we have ample right
[2:08:10] of way. It's a fairly wide
[2:08:12] street, so even if we have
[2:08:14] to come into the
[2:08:16] around private property and
[2:08:18] into the existing street, we
[2:08:19] have more than ample clearance.
[2:08:21] But how.
[2:08:24] >>Yeah, there, as Lizzie
[2:08:27] mentioned, there is generally
[2:08:28] very wide right of way.
[2:08:29] There's only one location where
[2:08:30] there's two houses
[2:08:31] near the intersection
[2:08:32] with 36th Avenue, basically the
[2:08:37] edge of the asphalt. So that
[2:08:39] would be the only, you know,
[2:08:42] kind of difficult connection
[2:08:44] for us to make. We have
[2:08:45] to look
[2:08:47] at what's available space wise.
[2:08:49] Panoni did include that
[2:08:51] in their concept, but, you
[2:08:52] know, we'd have to look
[2:08:53] at that final, you know,
[2:08:55] once we kind of get that,
[2:08:57] we get the survey from State
[2:08:59] highway and they give us the
[2:09:00] final plats
[2:09:01] to see exactly what would fit.
[2:09:03] But generally the rest
[2:09:04] of the areas, there is room
[2:09:06] for us to, to finish those,
[2:09:08] those sidewalk segments. It's
[2:09:10] just that 1, 1, 2 property area
[2:09:12] that's a little,
[2:09:14] little challenging
[2:09:16] for us.
[2:09:17] >>Okay, thank you.
[2:09:19] >>Thank you, Mr. Shelby. Mr.
[2:09:20] Solomon.
[2:09:21] >>I, I was just going
[2:09:23] to assist staff
[2:09:24] with providing some responses.
[2:09:28] The first thing is just on,
[2:09:29] on the cost. I think that. Do
[2:09:32] you know, do we have. We don't.
[2:09:33] Do we have estimates for any.
[2:09:34] For cost
[2:09:36] on any parcels that we don't
[2:09:37] own in the city of
[2:09:39] Hinesville, Any projects
[2:09:40] on land that we don't own? Do
[2:09:41] we have any estimates?
[2:09:42] >>No.
[2:09:44] >>Exactly. And so I think that
[2:09:45] the request to,
[2:09:47] to have an estimate
[2:09:49] at this point is just outside
[2:09:50] of the scope
[2:09:51] of work that we assign
[2:09:52] to our staff members, which is,
[2:09:54] you know,
[2:09:55] we can't estimate a project
[2:09:56] until we have something
[2:09:58] to do that estimate.
[2:10:00] On the second portion
[2:10:02] of the estimate Is, well,
[2:10:03] what would it cost
[2:10:04] to rebuild the roadway? Well,
[2:10:06] the roadway was. Was rebuilt
[2:10:08] and so we wouldn't have a cost
[2:10:11] estimate on what it costs
[2:10:12] to rebuild again
[2:10:14] until we start to determine
[2:10:15] that it's deteriorated
[2:10:16] to a point that we would need
[2:10:17] to rebuild it. As staff
[2:10:19] mentioned, four years ago, when
[2:10:20] this road did have significant
[2:10:23] issues and we were struggling
[2:10:24] with how to convince State
[2:10:27] highway to rebuild this road,
[2:10:31] they told us that this was such
[2:10:32] a low priority
[2:10:34] on their list that even
[2:10:35] in that awful condition,
[2:10:37] it still would be 10 to 20
[2:10:38] years before they got around
[2:10:40] to it. And luckily,
[2:10:42] I think we had the assistance
[2:10:43] of then County Councilwoman
[2:10:45] Tavares who was able to get
[2:10:47] over to WSSC and say, hey,
[2:10:49] what do you guys. What can you
[2:10:50] guys do? And they decided that
[2:10:52] they had to do some work
[2:10:53] on that street. And that's the
[2:10:54] only way that it got
[2:10:56] to a point now. But the point
[2:10:57] that it is now it's rebuilt.
[2:10:59] So you wouldn't have an
[2:11:00] estimate on a rebuilt road
[2:11:01] until it starts
[2:11:02] to deteriorate again. And then
[2:11:03] you need to go in and look at
[2:11:04] it and correct me if I'm wrong,
[2:11:06] but I imagine this is how the
[2:11:07] process goes, then you need
[2:11:08] to go look at it and see how
[2:11:09] much that costs. Right now we
[2:11:10] can say that maybe eight years
[2:11:11] down the road, but who knows,
[2:11:12] maybe the roadways are done so
[2:11:15] well that, you know,
[2:11:17] we don't have a problem until
[2:11:18] 10 years down the road.
[2:11:20] But it wouldn't be until we got
[2:11:21] closer that we saw the roads
[2:11:23] had deteriorated
[2:11:24] to a point that we needed
[2:11:25] to investigate how much
[2:11:27] of a cost to do the
[2:11:28] replacements that we would have
[2:11:30] an estimate on that. So I.
[2:11:31] Yeah, I'm sorry. Go ahead.
[2:11:32] >>You good?
[2:11:33] >>Yep.
[2:11:34] >>Thank you, Mr. Solomon.
[2:11:35] Okay, so we got another comment
[2:11:37] and then we're going to. I'm
[2:11:39] going to have
[2:11:40] to ask a question
[2:11:41] on this one, Mr. Hava.
[2:11:43] >>Thank you, Mayor. I just
[2:11:45] wanted to thank staff
[2:11:47] for bringing this forward and
[2:11:49] for seeing this one through.
[2:11:52] I'm happy and glad that we
[2:11:55] finally get in there and that
[2:11:57] council will approve this. I
[2:12:00] think, yes, there are going
[2:12:02] to be costs associated
[2:12:03] with this,
[2:12:04] but the bottom line, for me,
[2:12:06] it's a quality
[2:12:07] of life and a safety issue
[2:12:09] for those residents who live
[2:12:11] around there. For people who
[2:12:13] patronize the park,
[2:12:15] for people who work
[2:12:17] through and from the Metro, the
[2:12:18] intersection at Hamilton and
[2:12:20] 38, I think it's relatively
[2:12:22] safe. At least there is a
[2:12:24] traffic signal there that you
[2:12:25] can use.
[2:12:27] >>Yes.
[2:12:28] >>There is no dedicated turn
[2:12:29] signal, but
[2:12:30] with us taking over,
[2:12:32] I think it's going
[2:12:34] to facilitate that conversation
[2:12:35] with state highway
[2:12:37] to tell them hey, could we
[2:12:39] improve this signalization here
[2:12:41] to have that dedicated turn.
[2:12:42] But
[2:12:45] at least if they don't do it,
[2:12:46] we can make the, you know,
[2:12:47] hard on the ground improvement
[2:12:50] that we can. I think this is
[2:12:51] just. We should be happy
[2:12:55] about this and I'm glad
[2:13:01] to see that we finally taken
[2:13:03] over what should have been done
[2:13:05] a long time and that those
[2:13:07] residents along the corridor
[2:13:09] will receive the same services
[2:13:10] that we receive
[2:13:13] in our neighborhood road. So
[2:13:15] that's all I had to say
[2:13:16] in terms of comment on this.
[2:13:18] And I hope that we can also get
[2:13:20] the remaining segment Queen
[2:13:22] Chapel to Eder because there's
[2:13:25] work to be done there as well.
[2:13:26] >>Thank you.
[2:13:27] >>Thank you, Mr. Har.
[2:13:29] Colleagues. It's been,
[2:13:31] it's been moved and seconded.
[2:13:33] All in favor?
[2:13:34] >>Aye.
[2:13:40] >>Any opposed? Are there any
[2:13:41] extensions? Okay, the ayes have
[2:13:46] it. Mr. Solomon.
[2:13:53] >>Resolution 2025 02,
[2:13:55] Dedication of Parcel 5, a
[2:13:57] recreational facility
[2:13:59] of landing property
[2:14:00] to the city of Heightsville for
[2:14:01] public use. I move that the
[2:14:02] mayor and the city council
[2:14:04] adopt Resolution 2025 02,
[2:14:06] formally dedicating Parcel 5, a
[2:14:09] 20447 AC parcel of which
[2:14:13] includes a recreational
[2:14:16] facility and a. Oh, I'm sorry,
[2:14:21] I read that 86 acre woodland.
[2:14:22] >>I think you're drinking that
[2:14:23] same pain.
[2:14:27] >>Got weird. To be used and
[2:14:29] maintained as a public
[2:14:31] recreational park. So
[2:14:32] for the record,
[2:14:35] that should say a 2.0447 acre
[2:14:36] parcel playground.
[2:14:38] >>Is there a second
[2:14:39] for this?
[2:14:41] >>Second?
[2:14:43] >>Okay, it's been moved
[2:14:44] in second. Mr. Ulysse. Good
[2:14:47] evening Mayor, Council,
[2:14:49] Council, thank you for
[2:14:52] to discuss this today. I want
[2:14:54] to also thank council member
[2:14:56] Wozik and council member
[2:14:58] Redmond for their facilitation
[2:15:00] of conversation regarding this
[2:15:02] of this park as well as the
[2:15:05] other council members who I'm
[2:15:07] sure feel the questions
[2:15:08] regarding the dedication
[2:15:09] of this park was before the
[2:15:10] council and this body December
[2:15:12] 2nd of last year to provide the
[2:15:14] council refresher. This project
[2:15:16] has been a long time in the
[2:15:19] making. I believe this project
[2:15:20] received planning board
[2:15:22] approval back in 2018. And at
[2:15:23] that point the project itself
[2:15:25] was split into two phases.
[2:15:28] This project included the
[2:15:30] construction of 331 single
[2:15:31] family attached townhouses.
[2:15:35] And that project within the
[2:15:37] first phase included
[2:15:40] construction of 200 units as
[2:15:44] well as the parcel V. So I'll
[2:15:47] correct council president
[2:15:48] Solomon actually is council
[2:15:51] parcel V as opposed
[2:15:53] to parcel five
[2:15:56] within that parcel it includes,
[2:15:59] as mentioned in motion, 0.86
[2:16:01] acre of an acre preservation
[2:16:05] area as well as on site
[2:16:08] recreational infrastructure
[2:16:09] which includes master plan
[2:16:11] multi use trail, a straight
[2:16:13] Shaded overlook structure
[2:16:16] with amphitheater seating,
[2:16:18] essentially two shaded
[2:16:20] structures play area which
[2:16:23] includes preschool equipment as
[2:16:25] well as three bike racks,
[2:16:27] two pet waste stations, 16
[2:16:30] benches distributed throughout
[2:16:32] the entire parcel and
[2:16:34] vegetative landscaping as well.
[2:16:37] We initially had essentially as
[2:16:39] a result of the December 2
[2:16:43] council meeting and discussion
[2:16:45] on this,
[2:16:47] we conducted a first inspection
[2:16:49] on January 30.
[2:16:51] In that inspection we were able
[2:16:54] to produce short punch list of
[2:16:56] items which include central
[2:16:59] remediation of deadwood within
[2:17:02] the woodland preservation area,
[2:17:03] repair replace
[2:17:06] of a playground spinner, looks
[2:17:07] like they had some loose pieces
[2:17:10] and maybe some broken pieces
[2:17:12] at the bottom of it as well as
[2:17:14] repair and replace a mirror
[2:17:15] panel also
[2:17:17] on the playground looks
[2:17:21] like it had small imperfections
[2:17:22] on there that needs
[2:17:23] to be replaced as well. Result
[2:17:25] of the December meeting also
[2:17:27] allowed me
[2:17:28] to provide presentation
[2:17:30] to our Youth Advisory
[2:17:31] committee. This project itself
[2:17:33] is adjacent to Northwestern
[2:17:36] High School where we've had a
[2:17:38] lot of discussions regarding
[2:17:40] how the high school and
[2:17:43] students as well as community
[2:17:44] can collaborate and work
[2:17:47] together throughout the school
[2:17:49] year. So we were able
[2:17:51] to provide the youth Advisory
[2:17:52] Committee with a presentation
[2:17:54] regarding the dedication of
[2:17:56] this park parcel. I'll
[2:17:57] reiterate as well,
[2:17:58] this parcel as a result of this
[2:18:00] development project is not an
[2:18:01] obligation or the council has
[2:18:03] no obligation to accept. But it
[2:18:05] was discussed and I believe
[2:18:07] there is a certain desire
[2:18:09] to move forward
[2:18:10] with the acceptance
[2:18:11] of this.
[2:18:12] >>The Youth Advisory Council
[2:18:13] provides comments as.
[2:18:14] >>Well where
[2:18:16] in general they are in support
[2:18:17] in support of accepting this
[2:18:18] parcel and playground. They
[2:18:20] provided comments
[2:18:21] on conditions that they would
[2:18:25] like
[2:18:27] to see such as a four foot
[2:18:29] fence around the perimeter
[2:18:31] of the playground equipment,
[2:18:32] continued conversations
[2:18:34] with the PG County Public
[2:18:35] school system regarding a
[2:18:37] pedestrian pathway and
[2:18:40] essentially some reinforced
[2:18:41] fencing
[2:18:43] around the parcel area as well.
[2:18:45] Through our review and
[2:18:48] through the initial after the
[2:18:50] initial inspection and punch
[2:18:52] list items which are amenable
[2:18:55] by the developer and has agreed
[2:18:56] to provide either replace and
[2:19:00] or repair the broken material
[2:19:03] infrastructure as well as
[2:19:05] to take care of and complete
[2:19:07] the remedial work associated
[2:19:09] with the woodland preservation
[2:19:12] area. So we have come to a
[2:19:14] point now where we've produced
[2:19:16] a punch list item punch list of
[2:19:19] items that the developer has
[2:19:20] agreed to to complete. So it's
[2:19:22] before the council now to.
[2:19:24] >>See if there's a desire
[2:19:25] to move.
[2:19:27] >>Forward with dedication
[2:19:28] through and via resolution.
[2:19:30] Thank you. Ms. Riddle, do you
[2:19:33] want
[2:19:34] to add anything?
[2:19:38] >>Thank you Mayor Crosline.
[2:19:40] Thank you Jeff. We staff is
[2:19:42] in support of this. I think it
[2:19:44] provides an amenity
[2:19:46] on that side of the city of
[2:19:48] Hyattsville that we do not
[2:19:49] have. It's a well constructed
[2:19:53] Park. We have done multiple
[2:19:55] inspections. I think we've
[2:19:57] accommodated
[2:19:59] for the upcoming budget
[2:20:01] for this park,
[2:20:02] so we've done that again,
[2:20:05] I think this is a very well
[2:20:07] constructed, lovely amenity
[2:20:10] for this area of the city of
[2:20:11] Hyattsville.
[2:20:13] >>Thank you, colleagues. Any
[2:20:17] questions? Comments? Going
[2:20:26] once, Going twice. Thank you so
[2:20:28] much. Okay, it's been moved.
[2:20:29] It's been seconded. All
[2:20:32] in favor? Aye. Aye.
[2:20:33] >>Aye.
[2:20:35] >>Opposed? Abstentions? Seeing
[2:20:40] none. The ayes have it. Okay,
[2:20:42] we are down
[2:20:44] to council dialogue. Anyone
[2:20:45] have anything they want
[2:20:46] to want to address or say
[2:20:47] to the community,
[2:20:48] this is the time. Raise your
[2:20:50] hand. Mr. Dennis. Thank you,
[2:20:53] Mr. Mayor. I just wanted to
[2:20:55] remind everyone that the most
[2:21:00] dangerous thing we do
[2:21:02] on a daily basis is get
[2:21:03] behind a car, get
[2:21:04] behind a wheel and drive a car.
[2:21:07] While we're doing that,
[2:21:08] we should avoid engaging in
[2:21:12] activities that would otherwise
[2:21:13] distract us from the very real
[2:21:15] responsibility that we need
[2:21:18] to take, that we take
[2:21:22] by getting behind the wheel and
[2:21:24] operating a vehicle. And I just
[2:21:29] really stress that it's much
[2:21:33] better to arrive somewhere a
[2:21:35] little bit late than to take a
[2:21:42] call or use your phone while
[2:21:48] driving. It's an unnecessary
[2:21:53] risk, and it still boggles my
[2:21:54] mind that people. People
[2:21:57] continue to take that risk,
[2:21:58] put themselves, their loved
[2:22:00] ones, and other people
[2:22:04] on the street
[2:22:06] at risk regularly. Thank you.
[2:22:12] Thank you, Mr. Dennis. Mr.
[2:22:13] Redmond. Thank you, sir.
[2:22:16] For those. I think, you know,
[2:22:18] we're entering the budget
[2:22:20] season, and thank you
[2:22:21] in advance for residents
[2:22:22] for speaking out, out, getting
[2:22:24] engaged, asking questions. One
[2:22:26] of the things that we. I was
[2:22:29] always trained at work was if
[2:22:31] you offer feedback, think three
[2:22:32] things.
[2:22:34] >>That makes it useful,
[2:22:35] making it timely.
[2:22:36] >>Making it actionable,
[2:22:37] making it accurate. As we
[2:22:39] engage
[2:22:40] in these conversations. As a
[2:22:41] community, I invite and I.
[2:22:43] >>Even challenge residents when
[2:22:45] offering feedback.
[2:22:47] >>You know, help us, help us
[2:22:50] better.
[2:22:51] >>Understand what it is you
[2:22:52] want to see more
[2:22:53] of or less of. Saying cut the
[2:22:55] budget or making it balanced,
[2:22:57] sure. We will work towards
[2:22:59] that.
[2:23:00] >>If there's something you want
[2:23:01] to see.
[2:23:02] >>More or less of, tell us
[2:23:03] that,
[2:23:04] too.
[2:23:05] >>I think that's the piece
[2:23:06] that, you.
[2:23:07] >>Know, will really be helpful
[2:23:08] as we move forward.
[2:23:09] >>If there are programs you
[2:23:10] want us.
[2:23:11] >>To reinvest in or invest
[2:23:12] more, that's great.
[2:23:13] >>We want to hear it.
[2:23:14] Obviously, if there are
[2:23:15] programs you feel.
[2:23:16] >>Aren'T you necessarily as
[2:23:17] useful? We
[2:23:18] like that feedback as well. So
[2:23:19] I invite residents,
[2:23:20] when giving this.
[2:23:22] >>Feedback to us, tell us a
[2:23:23] little more than just cut the
[2:23:25] budget or make it balanced.
[2:23:30] Thank you. Thank you, Mr.
[2:23:31] Van. Mr. Shadley?
[2:23:36] >>Yes, thank you. A couple
[2:23:37] of comments. I'll go. I'll lead
[2:23:41] with budget because that's what
[2:23:44] was just brought up. You know,
[2:23:47] there are a lot of concerns
[2:23:51] with budget and we do,
[2:23:53] there are there is cause
[2:23:57] for concern with budget. I do
[2:23:59] think that it's good that we
[2:24:00] are setting up this audit
[2:24:01] committee. I do think that will
[2:24:02] be kind of inject some kind
[2:24:03] of closer attention
[2:24:05] into the matter.
[2:24:08] But I think the you know,
[2:24:11] I've said this on the dais
[2:24:13] before and I've said it to city
[2:24:16] administrator and city
[2:24:18] treasurer and really everybody,
[2:24:21] that one of our big problems
[2:24:23] in my estimate with the budget
[2:24:25] is that we never come close
[2:24:30] to spending what we budget.
[2:24:34] And so we're projecting
[2:24:38] expenditures that exceed
[2:24:40] revenues by significant amounts
[2:24:43] and that doesn't materialize.
[2:24:47] And I think a consequence of
[2:24:49] that is that we don't have a
[2:24:50] real accurate budget or idea
[2:24:52] of what we're really going
[2:24:55] to spend. And it strikes me
[2:24:58] that other jurisdictions may be
[2:25:00] more accurate in forecasting
[2:25:02] what they're spending
[2:25:03] in a given year. So our
[2:25:06] treasurer has said that he's
[2:25:10] going to work on maybe giving
[2:25:11] us a more accurate and maybe
[2:25:13] this comes down
[2:25:15] to all department heads, too,
[2:25:16] and what that budget looks
[2:25:17] like,
[2:25:18] but a more accurate reflection
[2:25:20] of what our expenditures will
[2:25:24] be at the time that we're
[2:25:25] in the budget cycle. The other
[2:25:29] point or the other announcement
[2:25:31] I wanted to make March 1, 4
[2:25:35] to 6pm at the Mennonite
[2:25:39] Hyattsville Mennonite Church.
[2:25:44] We're going to be screening a
[2:25:48] documentary film on the push
[2:25:50] for rent stabilization
[2:25:52] at the county level. And then
[2:25:54] we're going
[2:25:56] to have a discussion
[2:25:58] with panelists, including
[2:26:01] myself, on rent stabilization
[2:26:03] in Hyattsville and next steps
[2:26:07] to Knyatville. So of course,
[2:26:08] council members, city staff,
[2:26:11] you all be getting an invite
[2:26:14] from me. If you hadn't heard
[2:26:15] about it,
[2:26:16] you're hearing it now. You'll
[2:26:17] probably hear more
[2:26:18] about it. I encourage you
[2:26:20] to come. It'll be shared,
[2:26:21] probably community table and.
[2:26:22] >>It'Ll be.
[2:26:25] >>East West Highway, 4 to 6pm
[2:26:28] March 1.
[2:26:29] >>Thank you. Ms. Wasa.
[2:26:35] >>Yeah, Mr. Shively fell off.
[2:26:39] Okay. So I wanted to ask if we
[2:26:42] could focus a little bit more
[2:26:45] on the upcoming council meeting
[2:26:46] that is
[2:26:48] about budget priorities. And I
[2:26:49] know this is normally council
[2:26:51] dialogue when council talks,
[2:26:53] but I wondered if I could ask
[2:26:58] either our city administrator
[2:27:00] or deputy city administrator to
[2:27:03] describe again the format that
[2:27:05] that meeting will take
[2:27:07] to encourage residents
[2:27:08] to attend,
[2:27:09] because we've been getting a
[2:27:11] lot of inquiries
[2:27:12] in our email and live
[2:27:14] on the street when we go out
[2:27:16] grocery shopping and such
[2:27:18] asking us about budget. So I
[2:27:20] wondered if you could just
[2:27:22] Tell us again,
[2:27:24] what will that meeting look
[2:27:25] like if a resident were
[2:27:26] to show up?
[2:27:27] >>Well, to be honest
[2:27:29] with you, Ms. Walsack, this is
[2:27:30] council dialogue. I'll allow
[2:27:32] Ms. Douglas, if she. If she
[2:27:34] wants to give us the answer to
[2:27:35] that.
[2:27:38] >>Yes. I don't know if Laura is
[2:27:40] still on. She has. Who is going
[2:27:42] to speak. Speak each night. So
[2:27:44] I don't have that in front
[2:27:46] of me, but essentially this
[2:27:48] will be similar to the format
[2:27:49] that we did last time,
[2:27:50] which is a roundtable format.
[2:27:52] The feedback that we got from
[2:27:54] the council was that it was too
[2:27:56] much in one night. So,
[2:27:57] for instance, you spend time
[2:27:59] with DPW and then you spend
[2:28:00] time with police, Community
[2:28:03] Services, and it was just
[2:28:04] taking too long to try
[2:28:05] to ask all the questions,
[2:28:06] particularly as we had a lot
[2:28:08] of new people
[2:28:09] at that first one that we did,
[2:28:11] new council members. So this
[2:28:13] time we're dividing the staff
[2:28:16] up so that DPW and police will
[2:28:18] be on two separate nights and
[2:28:20] they'll be at a table. And so
[2:28:22] they will just talk
[2:28:23] about the priorities, the
[2:28:25] things that they are currently
[2:28:26] working on,
[2:28:27] the things that are projected
[2:28:29] to be or projected for FY26,
[2:28:33] and the goals and objectives
[2:28:35] of the department. So it's just
[2:28:37] an opportunity
[2:28:39] to ask a little more,
[2:28:40] a few more questions up,
[2:28:41] up close and personal
[2:28:42] for the council. If residents
[2:28:44] attend that meeting,
[2:28:45] typically they are observing,
[2:28:48] so they're not in the position
[2:28:51] to ask the questions, but they
[2:28:52] can sit and observe and take
[2:28:55] notes. Laura, I don't recall
[2:28:57] the dates and who's
[2:28:58] on which date. I know Laura is
[2:29:00] working those details.
[2:29:01] >>Yeah. So we have two budget
[2:29:05] roundtable meetings. So the
[2:29:07] first will be on Monday,
[2:29:09] February 24, and the way that
[2:29:11] we've split it up that night,
[2:29:12] we will have dpw,
[2:29:14] but DPW focused
[2:29:15] on operations. So we're
[2:29:16] actually splitting DPW
[2:29:17] on two different nights,
[2:29:19] operations one night and then
[2:29:20] projects the other night, just
[2:29:21] to allow ample time
[2:29:23] for conversation there. So that
[2:29:26] Monday we'll have DPW
[2:29:28] Operations, Community
[2:29:29] Services, Clerk Election and
[2:29:30] Council Communications,
[2:29:32] Finance and Parking. So there
[2:29:36] will be the director for each
[2:29:37] of those departments, along
[2:29:38] with one or two
[2:29:39] of their employees able
[2:29:41] to speak to, you know,
[2:29:43] what they're planning for, the
[2:29:44] budget,
[2:29:46] the projects that they have
[2:29:47] on their plate, all
[2:29:48] of that kind of stuff. And then
[2:29:50] on Wednesday, February 26, we
[2:29:51] have the DPW projects
[2:29:52] on that night, the Police
[2:29:55] Department, Community Business
[2:29:57] and Economic Development, HR
[2:29:58] and the Administration
[2:30:00] Department.
[2:30:01] >>Thanks, Laura. So would it be
[2:30:02] possible for you
[2:30:04] to add those departments to the
[2:30:05] page that's called
[2:30:10] hyattsville.org 922finance so
[2:30:13] that people can look
[2:30:15] on there and kind
[2:30:16] of see which departments are on
[2:30:18] which night so that they can
[2:30:20] decide if they have to come
[2:30:22] to just one of those,
[2:30:24] which night they would like to
[2:30:25] come.
[2:30:26] >>We sure can.
[2:30:27] >>Thank you very much. Yeah,
[2:30:28] and I'm just looking forward to
[2:30:29] seeing people there because
[2:30:30] again, like council member
[2:30:31] Redmond said,
[2:30:33] it would be great to hear
[2:30:34] specifically what people are
[2:30:35] interested in prioritizing
[2:30:36] because as we know, a budget is
[2:30:37] a priority setting document.
[2:30:38] It's a strategic plan
[2:30:41] with numbers in it. So we
[2:30:42] really need
[2:30:44] to know what people want us
[2:30:45] to focus on and what people do
[2:30:46] not want us
[2:30:48] to focus on. I also wanted to
[2:30:50] acknowledge the young people
[2:30:52] who are working with waba,
[2:30:54] the Washington association of
[2:30:56] Bicyclists, to advocate
[2:30:58] for bike racks at
[2:31:00] Northwestern. The Youth
[2:31:01] Advisory Council is really
[2:31:03] interested in working
[2:31:04] with the WABA youth to try
[2:31:06] to get bike racks at
[2:31:08] Northwestern. If you can
[2:31:09] believe it,
[2:31:10] we have a high school
[2:31:11] with no bike racks. So there
[2:31:14] are high schoolers who are
[2:31:16] bravely riding their bikes
[2:31:17] for school and locking them
[2:31:18] to fence posts, poles and
[2:31:20] fences,
[2:31:23] and they don't feel very secure
[2:31:24] about where they're parking
[2:31:26] their bikes. So they would
[2:31:28] really like if the adults could
[2:31:29] get together and find a way,
[2:31:33] you know, from the city, pgcps,
[2:31:34] Northwestern, the county, and
[2:31:38] any community organizations
[2:31:40] that are interested
[2:31:41] in getting some bike racks put
[2:31:43] at the high school. So I just
[2:31:45] wanted to acknowledge Dan
[2:31:47] Barron, a resident who brought
[2:31:49] this to our attention because
[2:31:50] he heard the young people
[2:31:52] talking about it. And I wanted
[2:31:53] to acknowledge the Youth
[2:31:54] Advisory Council members
[2:31:56] for kind
[2:31:57] of putting an exclamation point
[2:31:58] at the end of that request.
[2:32:00] They do, in fact, see a need
[2:32:01] for safer,
[2:32:02] more secure bike parking. They
[2:32:03] do see a need for that parking
[2:32:04] to be in a centrally
[2:32:06] conveniently located spot or
[2:32:09] spots on campus so that they
[2:32:12] can get quickly to class. And
[2:32:14] in addition to that,
[2:32:16] I know we talked a lot about
[2:32:17] road maintenance and road
[2:32:18] projects tonight. They would
[2:32:19] like to see better bike
[2:32:21] infrastructure near their
[2:32:22] school and a better speed limit
[2:32:24] similar to what they have over
[2:32:25] by the College Park Academy.
[2:32:27] If you have not been
[2:32:29] over there in Riverdale park,
[2:32:32] please take some time
[2:32:34] to walk, bike or drive over
[2:32:35] by College Park Academy and see
[2:32:37] the incredible walking and
[2:32:39] biking infrastructure and the
[2:32:41] livable speed limit that they
[2:32:42] have set over there. It really
[2:32:44] is encouraging young people
[2:32:45] to walk and bike
[2:32:46] to school.
[2:32:48] >>Thanks, Ms. Wasa. You know,
[2:32:51] it might be an interesting
[2:32:55] thing that when the, when the
[2:32:57] committee comes together and
[2:32:58] they have have thoughts
[2:32:59] like this, that they can
[2:33:00] actually make a presentation
[2:33:01] to the council
[2:33:02] at some point.
[2:33:03] >>Yes, that would be great.
[2:33:04] >>Mr. Salman, thank you.
[2:33:06] >>I just, I wanted to. I didn't
[2:33:09] get a chance
[2:33:10] to say thank you to. To
[2:33:11] Officer Hernandez. Her
[2:33:14] accomplishments were mentioned
[2:33:15] earlier. I. I felt
[2:33:16] like we should
[2:33:17] at least recognize her
[2:33:18] on the dayas. But also I want
[2:33:20] to say thank you to Lisa
[2:33:22] Walker, Hap and the Girl
[2:33:25] Scouts who dropped off.
[2:33:27] >>You got your cookies. We
[2:33:28] can't see it.
[2:33:30] >>Yes, there we go. I gotta
[2:33:31] shake it up. It's AI.
[2:33:32] >>It goes.
[2:33:33] >>It goes.
[2:33:35] >>Google campaign.
[2:33:36] >>They dropped off Valentine's
[2:33:39] treats for the council
[2:33:40] at the city building. So if you
[2:33:42] haven't stopped by
[2:33:43] to get yours, I'd say get it.
[2:33:44] This was my dinner tonight as I
[2:33:45] sat
[2:33:46] through the council meeting,
[2:33:47] so it did go to great use.
[2:33:49] But thank you for thinking
[2:33:50] of us this Valentine's day.
[2:33:52] >>Very good, Ms. Drop.
[2:33:55] >>Thank you. So I wanted
[2:33:57] to thank all
[2:33:58] of the residents who reached
[2:34:01] out to inquire or to apply
[2:34:02] to the audit committee. So
[2:34:05] hopefully those applications
[2:34:07] are rolling in. I can't wait
[2:34:09] to read all
[2:34:10] of them.
[2:34:11] >>So.
[2:34:12] >>Gotten a lot
[2:34:13] of calls and emails. So
[2:34:14] hopefully we'll be getting that
[2:34:15] committee off the ground soon
[2:34:16] since that term 2023 audit is
[2:34:18] imminent.
[2:34:20] >>So I don't think I've ever
[2:34:22] been so excited for such a big
[2:34:23] document.
[2:34:24] >>That I had to read with so
[2:34:25] many numbers.
[2:34:27] >>But there, there we are.
[2:34:30] >>That's my boring midlife
[2:34:33] right now. But anyway, so,
[2:34:34] yeah, thank you everybody for,
[2:34:36] for being so involved and I do
[2:34:38] really hope that we get
[2:34:40] residents coming
[2:34:41] to those sessions at,
[2:34:42] on the 24th and the 26th
[2:34:44] at 7pm to, you know,
[2:34:46] to help us through this, this
[2:34:48] budget process.
[2:34:49] >>So that's all.
[2:34:50] >>Thank you.
[2:34:51] >>Thank you, Ms. Treb. Mr.
[2:34:52] Harbor.
[2:34:55] >>Yes, thank you. I'm going
[2:34:56] to start
[2:34:57] by saying the same thing
[2:34:58] Consul Member Salman said
[2:35:00] earlier. Thank you, Ms.
[2:35:01] Walker. And the Girl Scout for
[2:35:03] the cookies. I have not pick up
[2:35:05] mine yet,
[2:35:07] but don't eat cookies
[2:35:08] for dinner. Okay, you can have
[2:35:10] them for this. So
[2:35:12] on a serious note,
[2:35:16] I heard a lot of comments
[2:35:17] about budget. Yes, we need
[2:35:18] to work on that. We need
[2:35:20] to be realistic. The one thing
[2:35:22] I can say, you know,
[2:35:24] probably I heard Council
[2:35:27] Member Shabli's comment. I
[2:35:30] wouldn't say that it's the
[2:35:33] Treasury's fault that we don't
[2:35:34] get the numbers accurate
[2:35:36] because most of the time what
[2:35:37] the treasurer is doing is
[2:35:39] plugging in things. So what I
[2:35:40] will do here is just kind of
[2:35:42] like invite our department
[2:35:45] to really focus
[2:35:46] on what they can chew on
[2:35:48] because I have the feeling that
[2:35:51] sometimes we plan for a lot of
[2:35:53] projects and we don't have the
[2:35:54] manpower
[2:35:56] to execute those projects. So
[2:35:58] be realistic as you identify
[2:36:00] your priorities. And that also
[2:36:02] goes to us council members.
[2:36:06] Let's be honest
[2:36:08] with our proposal,
[2:36:09] with things that we want staff
[2:36:11] to work on and really see. Can
[2:36:13] all of these be accomplished
[2:36:16] within the next 12 months?
[2:36:18] Considering existing projects
[2:36:20] that are already there,
[2:36:21] maybe this could be the year
[2:36:24] to kind of like have a freeze
[2:36:27] on new project and just try
[2:36:29] to see what we can do
[2:36:31] to clear the existing backlog
[2:36:34] of project. Let's think
[2:36:37] about that. Aside from that,
[2:36:39] let's continue to stand with
[2:36:42] our neighbors who might be
[2:36:45] experiencing difficult times,
[2:36:47] job related,
[2:36:49] immigration status related. We
[2:36:52] are a caring community. Let's
[2:36:54] make sure that everything,
[2:36:57] everyone is welcome here and
[2:36:59] then we stand with them. Thank
[2:37:00] you.
[2:37:02] >>Thank you, Mr. Harbour. And I
[2:37:04] would like to thank all
[2:37:08] of you and especially our staff
[2:37:09] for the amazing work that you
[2:37:10] do day in and day out
[2:37:13] for our city. And I want
[2:37:15] to just like Ms. Strapp just
[2:37:18] mentioned, encourage everyone
[2:37:21] to come on the 20, 24th and the
[2:37:23] 26th to hear how their money
[2:37:25] has actually been being spent
[2:37:27] and what the projects are that
[2:37:30] they're being spent on. And
[2:37:31] like Mr. Harbour just
[2:37:33] mentioned, you know,
[2:37:35] there are. We have some tough
[2:37:36] things going on
[2:37:38] in our country right now,
[2:37:39] and we're going to probably
[2:37:40] experience some tough times
[2:37:41] in the near future. So it's a
[2:37:43] time for us understanding,
[2:37:46] but not grandstanding. Okay?
[2:37:49] So let's all just do what we
[2:37:51] can to understand how things go
[2:37:53] and understand how each other
[2:37:54] think. And we work together
[2:37:56] with our community. So thank
[2:37:58] you very much. Can I get a
[2:38:00] motion to adjourn, please?
[2:38:01] >>Don't move.
[2:38:02] >>Second.
[2:38:04] >>It's been moved. It's been
[2:38:05] seconded. All in favor?
[2:38:07] Anybody opposed to this? Are
[2:38:12] there any extensions? Okay.
[2:38:15] Good night. Hyattsville.