[0:00] My eyes used to be good, but I can't see
[0:03] uh who signed in online. Do we have any
[0:06] other council members that are uh
[0:07] showing in that in the attendee list? Do
[0:11] we have any other council members in the
[0:13] attendee list? I can't see the screen
[0:14] out there.
[0:18] Okay, so we have three of us. We need a
[0:20] I just want to make sure we have a
[0:21] fourth.
[0:47] Okay, we can begin recording.
[1:33] All right, ladies and gentlemen, the
[1:34] town is now the time is now 7:04 and
[1:36] today's date is July 15th, 2026. And
[1:40] welcome to the stop sign program uh
[1:43] community forum.
[1:47] We have members of the community uh
[1:49] joining us today in the auditorium. And
[1:51] then we also got uh members online and
[1:54] we have our chief of police as well as a
[1:56] representative from Avio, the uh company
[1:59] that runs and administers the program
[2:01] for us. And um we've gathered here today
[2:04] because
[2:05] uh before implementing this program, the
[2:07] town did outreach, but we have heard
[2:10] concerns. And the purpose of tonight's
[2:13] forum is to explain why the town
[2:16] implemented the program in the beginning
[2:18] to answer questions about how it goes.
[2:22] You can't hear me.
[2:26] Okay.
[2:33] All right. Let's straight out a
[2:35] technical issue. Straight out a
[2:37] technical issue while we
[2:40] do that.
[2:45] And also I want to make sure see if
[2:47] folks at home can hear us.
[2:56] Is there someone online who's able to
[2:57] confirm if you can hear?
[3:00] Okay,
[3:00] >> I can hear you
[3:02] >> in the auditorium though. You can't hear
[3:04] me or is that better? That's better.
[3:07] Okay. Uh the purpose of tonight's forum
[3:10] is to explain why the town implemented
[3:11] the stop sign safety program, to answer
[3:14] questions about how it operates, to hear
[3:16] your concerns as residents, and to
[3:19] discuss whether changes should be
[3:20] considered. Uh our responsibility as
[3:23] your elected officials is not only to
[3:25] implement programs that improve safety,
[3:27] but also to evaluate them honestly. Uh
[3:29] [clears throat] when residents raise
[3:30] concerns, we have a responsibility to
[3:32] listen, to review the facts, and to
[3:35] determine whether adjustments make
[3:37] sense. I ask that everyone uh be
[3:40] respectful of everyone's views. Uh we
[3:42] may have different perspectives tonight
[3:44] on the program, but we share the same
[3:46] objective, and that is making for sites
[3:48] a safer place to live, to work, and to
[3:51] raise our families.
[3:54] Tonight's discussion is going to be
[3:55] divided into two portions. First, we'll
[3:57] give some information
[3:59] and we'll try to provide
[4:01] uh information that will may answer some
[4:04] of the questions that you have or it may
[4:05] help inform uh your question that may
[4:08] change. We're also going to
[4:12] at the uh after the presentation portion
[4:14] and answer some questions. We're going
[4:15] to open up the forum so anyone who's
[4:17] here or who's online will have the
[4:19] opportunity to ask a question or make a
[4:22] statement so we can get your feedback.
[4:24] Um, we wanted to do this outside of a
[4:26] regular meeting since those tend to be
[4:29] very long and about different topics
[4:30] tonight. This next hour is simply about
[4:33] uh stop sign and pedestrian safety in
[4:36] our community, where we are now, and how
[4:38] we move forward.
[4:44] So, firstly, I'd like to address that um
[4:46] the stop sign safety program was created
[4:48] in response to concerns raised by
[4:50] residents regarding drivers failing to
[4:52] stop at a particular intersection in
[4:55] town. The place we first heard uh
[4:57] complaints about was Synen Moakin. And
[5:00] those complaints were connected to the
[5:03] fact that it's frequently used by
[5:04] students walking to Forest Heights
[5:05] Elementary. And it's also located in an
[5:08] area where a lot of people walk to
[5:09] Bellers Park. This is a place where
[5:12] residents and families reg regularly
[5:14] walk and gather. In November 2023,
[5:19] the town conducted a pilot study at that
[5:21] intersection. And the results showed a
[5:24] significant number of stop sign
[5:25] violations happening over a 30-day
[5:27] period.
[5:29] To determine whether this was an
[5:30] isolated concern or if it was happening
[5:33] at other places in the community, the
[5:35] town conducted a second pilot study in
[5:37] 2025 at 11 intersections throughout
[5:40] forest heights. The research uh the
[5:43] results from that showed an average of
[5:44] approximately 3,800 stop sign violations
[5:47] per day across those locations.
[5:50] Uh the intended goal of this program has
[5:54] always been to improve compliance with
[5:56] stop signs, reduce dangerous driving
[5:58] behavior, and to make our streets safer
[6:01] for pedestrians, children, and all
[6:04] residents really, and to prevent
[6:05] accidents from happening.
[6:10] Now, before the citations began, the
[6:13] town took several steps to notify
[6:14] residents about the program and its
[6:16] implementation. Information was shared
[6:18] through two town newsletters, press
[6:21] releases, a newspaper notice, the town's
[6:23] communication channels, and there was a
[6:26] warning period that began part prior to
[6:29] enforcement.
[6:30] Even with those efforts, we continued to
[6:32] hear concerns from residents about how
[6:35] the program works, whether it's being
[6:37] administered fairly, and whether it is
[6:40] achieving its intended purpose. So
[6:42] rather than dismiss those concerns, we
[6:44] believe that it's important to create an
[6:46] opportunity for direct conversation with
[6:48] you, the residents. Tonight's an
[6:50] opportunity for us to answer questions
[6:52] and to discuss the program more.
[6:56] So, at this time, I'm going to turn it
[6:58] over to our chief of police, Chief
[7:00] Daniel Ruffin, to answer some basic
[7:02] questions about what constitutes a stop,
[7:05] what we've observed as being the correct
[7:08] stop, and what uh constitutes a
[7:11] violation.
[7:16] All right, how you guys doing tonight?
[7:17] So, what constitute a correct stop is
[7:21] when you stop before the actual line.
[7:25] Um, once you go over the line, that's
[7:28] when the violation is sent to us. So, I
[7:31] can share my screen real quick and I
[7:34] want to show you guys just a couple
[7:35] examples.
[8:17] So what we're looking for when we um are
[8:21] doing the violation is as we go through
[8:24] every single time that we are approving
[8:26] a violation, we have to look to make
[8:28] sure one they're going over the stop
[8:30] line and there's not stopping prior to
[8:32] the stop line. So if you look at this
[8:34] video and these are just different
[8:36] angles. If you go over the line, that is
[8:40] when the citation is issued. Um, there
[8:43] are times when you guys are getting the
[8:44] citation and it's the picture. If you go
[8:48] on to less drive safer and actually
[8:50] watch the video, if it goes over that
[8:52] line before you come to a complete stop,
[8:55] that's when the violation is sent to us.
[8:57] every single violation that we are I
[9:01] guess you would say approving, they are
[9:04] going over the stop line or we are
[9:06] literally watching every single
[9:07] violation to make sure that the person
[9:10] that is doing it isn't stopping at the
[9:13] line or hesitating before we approve any
[9:17] violation. And these are just a couple
[9:20] different angles of different violations
[9:23] that have been approved and why they are
[9:25] approved. Even though you see the brake
[9:27] light, they're going through the stop
[9:30] sign.
[9:32] >> Just just a moment. I know that we have
[9:35] >> these are the ones that
[9:36] >> Chief, just just one moment. I just want
[9:38] to set ground rules. I know that we may
[9:39] not agree on everything, but we are
[9:40] going to have a portion when members of
[9:42] the public can speak and you can share
[9:44] your opinion. I'm not going to stop you
[9:46] and I'm not going to refute what you
[9:48] say. So, if we can accept the ground
[9:50] rules, we'll get through tonight and
[9:53] we'll let people share how they feel,
[9:54] whether in support or if they feel
[9:57] differently.
[9:58] >> All right. So, back to what I was
[10:01] saying. So, for example, the the reason
[10:04] why you get the citation is because
[10:07] you're going over the stop line. It's
[10:10] not if you
[10:13] come up to the stop line and stop. The
[10:15] only way that it is triggering to for us
[10:18] to get the violation is once you go over
[10:20] that stop line, it triggers for us to
[10:23] come through. There are multiple
[10:24] different factors that are in place
[10:26] prior to it getting to us. Once it gets
[10:29] to us, every single citation is being
[10:32] reviewed prior to it going out to you
[10:35] guys to get the citation. Um, the last
[10:38] couple ones, I know the biggest
[10:40] intersection is this one that everybody
[10:43] has talked about, but when we have
[10:45] people that are out, especially going
[10:47] through the crosswalk, it's kind of hard
[10:50] for us to um go through there. So,
[10:55] that's this is Comanche Livingston.
[11:06] So that is how the citations are
[11:08] working. Now a complete stop is when you
[11:11] come to that stop line. You're
[11:13] completely stopping at the stop line.
[11:16] Your wheels have to stop prior to the
[11:20] stop line. Once they stop and then you
[11:23] proceed out, it will not get you a
[11:26] violation.
[11:29] » Okay, let's move to another question.
[11:31] There's a the summary of a lot of items
[11:33] that I know um residents have raised
[11:35] concerns about. So, we're going to go
[11:36] through and try to address most of
[11:38] those. Um one question we've heard is
[11:42] how do we know about the camera
[11:43] calibration and the accuracy of the
[11:47] cameras? And this is going to go to u
[11:49] who do we have online from AIO tonight?
[11:53] >> Hi. Uh my name is Ricky Sammon. am the
[11:55] community and customer success lead and
[11:57] I've got uh my colleague Wade Borman uh
[12:00] on the on the call as well. Um he is our
[12:02] program manager.
[12:03] >> Okay. So we've got uh Mr. Borman and Mr.
[12:07] Seaman. One of the questions we've had
[12:09] from residents is um why does it appear
[12:11] in a video that the vehicle is going
[12:14] faster than maybe a resident feels like
[12:15] they're actually moving in their their
[12:17] car? All right. And how do you calibrate
[12:18] the cameras and know that they're
[12:19] accurately uh depicting if a vehicle
[12:22] stops or is how it's moving through the
[12:24] stop sign?
[12:29] » Yeah, thank thanks thanks for that
[12:30] question. Um I'm going to see if my my
[12:31] colleague Wade might be able to take
[12:33] this one. Um Wade, if you're on. I know
[12:35] Wade was having some connectivity
[12:37] issues.
[12:40] » Y'all hear me? Okay.
[12:43] >> Yes.
[12:45] So we uh we have technicians out in the
[12:49] field and we have software engineers
[12:53] starting on the back end. So
[12:57] everything's okay and calibrate it.
[13:00] Basically
[13:02] the video
[13:06] judge
[13:08] video to the video it isn't sped up or
[13:11] manipulated if it were to be. We're
[13:14] still looking for a complete stop in the
[13:16] right area before the stop line.
[13:19] >> Does that make sense?
[13:20] >> Mr. Borman, one moment. We had uh some
[13:22] individuals walk in just as you started
[13:24] your answer. So, give me just one
[13:25] minute. Once they get seated, I'm going
[13:27] to have you repeat that so everyone gets
[13:28] a chance to hear.
[13:47] Okay, if you could give us that answer
[13:48] again on the calibration and how that
[13:50] works.
[14:04] Wait, you may
[14:05] >> you muted if you're
[14:14] » Mr. Borman, can can you hear me? You can
[14:16] go ahead and restate the answer.
[14:33] Okay. I'm not able to hear your audio at
[14:36] this time. Mr. Seaman, if you have the
[14:38] answer, you can give it now. If not, I'm
[14:39] going to go to another question and we
[14:41] may come back to this one.
[14:43] >> Yeah. So we have technicians that are
[14:45] out there every day um that are checking
[14:47] for the the actual hardware calibration.
[14:50] Um so that's the kind of the the first
[14:51] aspect of it. The second aspect of it is
[14:54] uh every single violation that comes in
[14:56] um our internal team uh they are
[14:58] reviewing um for any kind of calibration
[15:00] errors or issues or anything per
[15:02] violation. Um so as far as calibration
[15:05] goes uh it's twice daily for hardware.
[15:07] Um and then it is upon uh each violation
[15:10] um calibration check.
[15:15] » Okay. Another question we've heard is
[15:20] there was a warning period and during
[15:23] that period only warnings were supposed
[15:24] to be mailed out. Uh how many warnings
[15:27] were mailed out during the warning
[15:29] period?
[15:35] Let me see if this is also maybe an
[15:37] answer for my colleague Mr. Borman. I
[15:39] know he's having some connectivity
[15:40] issues as well.
[15:53] Give me one second. I may have the
[15:55] answer for you. I know Wade's trying to
[15:56] connect again.
[15:59] Apologies for the technical difficulties
[16:01] here, everyone.
[16:31] Okay. Um, if if we're able to uh punt
[16:34] this question, um, uh, my colleague's
[16:37] going to be, uh, trying to reconnect and
[16:39] see if we can get the answer. Um,
[16:41] apologies for that.
[17:46] Yeah, apologies for that. Um, if we can jump to the next question. Uh,
[17:52] my colleague is going to going to pull
[17:54] up that information. Um, again, sorry,
[17:56] he's having some connectivity issues. Uh
[17:58] on that
[18:03] » the next question um is could you
[18:05] explain the appeals process
[18:16] and Chief Ruffin you may have a better
[18:17] answer for this. I'm going to go to you
[18:19] on this one.
[18:20] >> All right. If you want to appeal your
[18:22] ticket, um especially a stop sign camera
[18:25] ticket, there are a couple ways that you
[18:26] could do it. Um one, if you go online
[18:29] and you are looking at it and you want
[18:31] to appeal it, you can bring it to us. We
[18:33] can look at it. However, the best way to
[18:35] appeal it is you everybody will get a
[18:38] court date. You take it to court and you
[18:42] the representative for AIO will be there
[18:44] and the judge will see the ticket and
[18:46] that is your way to say whether the
[18:49] judge is there. That's not us. That's
[18:51] not AIO making the decision. This is
[18:53] from the judge's point of view. If you
[18:55] have committed that violation, every
[18:58] single person has the right to go before
[19:00] the judge and appeal every single
[19:02] citation that they are given. Um if they
[19:06] have a if you want a court date and you
[19:09] want to go before the judge, you can
[19:11] appeal your um stop sign camera ticket.
[19:17] Yes, sir.
[19:21] I'm going to have a worship. Who's this?
[19:23] Council member uh I'm sorry, Kennedy. Is
[19:25] that you, sir?
[19:26] >> Yeah.
[19:27] >> Go ahead.
[19:30] » Because
[19:32] so only
[19:35] I guess we've already gone to court to
[19:39] contest some of these people.
[19:42] >> Yes, a lot of people have gone to court
[19:44] to contest it.
[19:52] » It depends on the judge. I can't say
[19:55] whether the judge will court call.
[19:57] Sometimes it's the violation or no court
[19:59] call. Sometimes it is. That's up to that
[20:03] system in order to make that um final
[20:05] decision.
[20:17] We have an unbudsment process where you
[20:20] can send it to the embuzzment officer
[20:22] and the embuzzment officer will get back
[20:24] in contact with you and then they will
[20:27] review your complaint and your situation
[20:30] and then they will let you know whether
[20:32] it's going to be cleared or if they're
[20:35] going to say no and then send you to
[20:38] court.
[20:41] When you call here, we will direct you
[20:43] to the embuzzment officer.
[20:49] No. So, the the
[20:52] Well, hold on. Just the reason why I did
[20:55] not answer it that way is because I want
[20:57] to make sure it's very clear. The AIO is
[21:00] a it's not just for forest heights. So
[21:03] every embuzzment for every municipality
[21:06] is different. So if we put the
[21:08] embuzzment information on that ticket,
[21:10] it wouldn't be for every jurisdiction.
[21:13] So that's why if you have a situation
[21:15] for the town of Forest Heights, we will
[21:17] direct you to the person that it needs
[21:19] to go to.
[21:24] So when you request a court date, you
[21:27] have the option um to either request a
[21:30] court date or if you call and ask us
[21:32] questions about it, then that's when we
[21:33] would direct you to the unbudsman
[21:35] officer.
[21:37] It's the request for the court dates on
[21:39] the ticket, but internally you can go to
[21:42] us for the unbudsment.
[21:49] When you're telling something that oh
[21:50] it's known, but how is it known? It's
[21:52] not on the ticket.
[21:53] >> Well, we can we can see if that's
[21:55] something we can add, but as of right
[21:57] now, the way it states, if you would
[21:59] like to do it internally, we would go
[22:01] through our unbudsman officer.
[22:04] Well, that's why we have the forum now,
[22:05] so we can make it clear for everybody.
[22:08] The forum where we're in now. Yes. Nope.
[22:13] The forum. So that's why we're here now
[22:15] so that we can answer all these
[22:16] questions and make sure it's clear to
[22:18] the public because we do want to make
[22:19] sure that the information is getting out
[22:20] to everybody. And we want to make this
[22:22] process as smooth as possible. I know
[22:24] sometimes it may be an inconvenience,
[22:26] but we're trying every way possible to
[22:29] rectify before you even have to go to
[22:32] court. And we will show you how to pull
[22:34] up your violation. We will show you how
[22:35] to look at it. We will show you what to
[22:37] do. But if you ultimately want to take
[22:41] it to court, every single person has the
[22:44] right to take it to court. Yes, sir.
[22:58] » We approve it. It is dispersed by AIO.
[23:02] It's mailing it to you. Yes. We don't
[23:06] mail it out.
[23:18] need to go to court.
[23:20] >> Absolutely. No, no, no, no, ma'am.
[23:25] You know, we will we will come through
[23:28] if there is an immediate emergency, we
[23:31] will actually pick up the phone, which
[23:32] we have done, and say, "Hey, let's go to
[23:34] let's drive safer together. we can watch
[23:37] the video. We will show you how to pull
[23:38] it up so that you can watch it along
[23:40] with us so we can show you how to do it.
[23:42] There have been many of people that have
[23:43] come down to the station and we will
[23:45] pull it up for you so that you can see
[23:47] it and then make your own judgment call
[23:49] at that moment as well. If you haven't
[23:51] received the call back from the
[23:52] unbudsman officer in a timely manner
[23:57] for those who are at home, I don't know
[23:59] if they can hear us since we're doing a
[24:01] virtual meeting. If you have a question,
[24:02] would you mind coming back to the uh
[24:04] podium to ask so that way someone has
[24:06] the same question, they can hear the
[24:08] answer.
[24:09] Or do we have a mic we can take to
[24:11] someone? I'm trying to see if we can
[24:12] make it easy.
[24:29] » Yes, ma'am.
[24:31] still speaking to you.
[24:32] >> No problem. Yeah. Okay. Okay.
[24:34] >> All right. My question is, you showed us
[24:36] the videos of people pulling up to the line. Yes, ma'am.
[24:41] >> The white line. So, you're telling me I
[24:43] shouldn't cross the white line
[24:46] >> or, you know, you grow up growing up
[24:49] driving up to that white line?
[24:50] >> No. That California stop, that
[24:52] California road, we can't do it here in
[24:54] Maryland. So what happens is what I what
[24:58] I the way that it works you have to your
[25:01] wheels have to stop prior to the white
[25:05] line. Now the question would be well I
[25:07] can't see right you have to that's where
[25:10] the merging comes in because what we
[25:12] don't want to happen most of the stop
[25:14] signs that we have are right before a
[25:16] crosswalk. So when you stop at that
[25:20] white line and your wheels come to a
[25:23] complete stop, meaning your car is
[25:25] driving and you feel that little shift
[25:27] back, then you're you have stopped. Once
[25:30] you stop, then you can merge out into
[25:33] traffic. But if your wheels are still
[25:36] moving, it will trigger for the camera
[25:41] to give you a citation because you have
[25:43] entered into that box and your wheels
[25:45] are still moving.
[25:49] Okay. In other words, I need to stop
[25:52] before the white line.
[25:53] >> Yes, ma'am.
[25:56] >> Not at the white line.
[25:58] >> Not on the white line. Before the white
[26:00] line.
[26:01] >> Before the white line.
[26:02] >> And if you are in behind someone that
[26:04] has already stopped, you still have to
[26:07] stop again
[26:08] >> at the white line.
[26:09] So, let's say you're
[26:10] in line and there's two cars. If that
[26:13] car in front of you stopped at the white
[26:15] line and you're behind them and you
[26:16] stop, just because you stopped doesn't
[26:19] mean you can run. You have to come to
[26:21] that stop sign again, stop, and then
[26:23] merge into traffic.
[26:26] >> Thank you. And to keep it fair and
[26:28] efficient, since we have the next
[26:30] meeting at 8 and to give each person an
[26:32] equal opportunity, I'll just limit the
[26:33] comments to two minutes. Thank you. Um,
[26:38] first I'm not complaining about the stop
[26:40] signs cuz people need to stop. Totally
[26:43] understand. I stopped at every stop sign
[26:45] now. Doesn't matter if it's in Forest
[26:47] Heights or not, if it has a camera or
[26:49] not. My only issue is you can barely see
[26:52] the lines.
[26:54] A lot of the lines need to be painted.
[26:56] You can't see them at night. Sometimes
[26:58] you can't
[26:59] >> Yes, ma'am. And they have the
[27:02] >> No, let's let this all continue. You
[27:04] have anything else?
[27:05] Yeah, that was basic. That was my second
[27:07] one about the lines. You know, I know
[27:10] that you guys were going through and
[27:11] painting some of them, but not all of
[27:13] them are painted. And before before you
[27:16] rolled this out, I feel like you should
[27:18] have painted made sure that the lines
[27:20] were painted,
[27:21] >> right? And I understand you gave a
[27:23] warning period, but the the lines wasn't
[27:26] painted after the warning period. And
[27:29] some of um some of the lines you
[27:33] couldn't even see. like that one on
[27:35] Quaid, you couldn't see the line. It was
[27:38] faded. And I understand that I had to
[27:41] stop and my nose couldn't be touching
[27:43] the line and all of that. I found that
[27:45] out later,
[27:46] >> but still the line wasn't there. The
[27:48] line wasn't it was merged with the
[27:50] street, so I didn't feel like that was
[27:52] fair, you know.
[27:54] >> Yes, ma'am. No, I I I understand. Yes,
[27:57] ma'am.
[28:00] » All right. I see I have someone online
[28:02] as the next person's coming up inside.
[28:04] you can come up. I'm going to take
[28:05] someone off uh line and someone can tell
[28:06] me the names. I can't see these names on
[28:08] the screen tonight, but I'll
[28:13] » Jonas Mitchell. Jonas Mitchell.
[28:16] >> I'm going to go to Mr. Jonas Mitchell.
[28:20] >> Hey guys, can you hear me?
[28:22] >> Yes, we can.
[28:23] >> Hey, so I actually have two Well, I have
[28:25] one question and then one more of a
[28:27] statement. The first question, when uh
[28:29] deciding to implement this program, I
[28:31] know there were 3,800 violations of like
[28:33] running the stop signs. Were there any
[28:35] incidents of of anything, you know,
[28:37] accidents, people getting hit, those
[28:39] types of things?
[28:43] We've had multiple um I would say within
[28:48] the last 6 months, we've had two
[28:50] pedestrians that have been struck um and
[28:52] hit at the crosswalks.
[28:56] Okay. Because I hadn't heard of those.
[28:58] Okay. And then my second uh more of a
[29:01] statement. So you mentioned uh so I'm
[29:03] assuming that you've heard it already
[29:04] that um as you're going to stop at the
[29:07] stop sign um that people can't see. And
[29:11] so I think it's almost unfair
[29:15] for anyone who's going to be driving
[29:17] through our neighborhood uh and there us
[29:20] as residents as well on the very first
[29:23] few instances because you say that it's
[29:25] best for you to stop at the line which
[29:28] is perfectly fine. Once you tell people
[29:30] that I think everyone would do it I
[29:32] don't think there there's going to be
[29:33] any issues there. The problem is that
[29:36] when you do go to stop at I know I live
[29:38] on Ottawa so going from Ottawa and
[29:41] turning towards Livingston and then
[29:43] stopping at Living uh Livingston or
[29:45] Comanche sorry so and then stop on
[29:46] Comanche going onto Livingston
[29:49] on both of those views you can't see the
[29:52] road right like you can't see what's
[29:54] coming through so I know most of the
[29:56] time on Comanche there's like a van or
[29:57] truck that's always there so it's really
[29:59] hard to see the traffic that's coming
[30:01] through and then when you stop right
[30:03] before you turn on Livingston, there's a
[30:05] tree that's there. So, you won't be able
[30:07] to see that either. So, for the vast
[30:10] majority of people who are coming
[30:11] through our neighborhood on the very
[30:12] first time, if they don't know anything
[30:14] about stopping specifically at that
[30:16] line, they'll stop, but still get cited,
[30:20] which I know I was, and still get cited
[30:22] even though they stopped. And I had that
[30:24] multiple times happened to me until
[30:27] eventually we figured out, oh, it must
[30:28] be the line. So, I don't know if there's
[30:30] a sign or something that we can put
[30:32] there specifically that says stop here,
[30:35] not just a stop sign. Everyone knows
[30:36] there's a stop sign and they're going to
[30:38] stop. But if you want people to
[30:39] specifically stop at the line,
[30:42] >> I think there should be an extra Sorry.
[30:44] There should be an extra sign that says
[30:46] stop here at the line.
[30:48] >> Thank you, sir.
[30:49] >> Yep.
[30:51] >> Miss Bracie,
[30:55] » hi. Um I I had the same concern about
[30:58] Comanche and Livingston and I noticed uh
[31:02] after 6 months just ahead of this
[31:04] meeting that uh Bush had been trimmed.
[31:07] Um but it's still
[31:11] doesn't take away from the fact that we
[31:12] still have to stop twice. First for the
[31:16] pose for the camera and second to see
[31:18] what's coming in either direction
[31:20] because you still cannot see everything
[31:22] coming in either direction on Comanche
[31:24] Drive in Livingston. My other concern is
[31:26] that I just recently got uh
[31:29] administrative fees for uh tickets from
[31:31] a while back. Tickets that I never
[31:33] received. I never received any uh uh
[31:36] late notices or anything. And I find it
[31:40] highly unlikely that I received all of
[31:43] my mail except Forest Heights uh uh stop
[31:48] camera tickets. So um those are my Oh,
[31:52] and also the ombbudsman. I I went to the
[31:55] office the other day to complain and she
[31:57] gave me the she told me to complain to
[31:59] the on busman and gave me an email
[32:01] address. I did email today and it came
[32:04] back saying no such address. So and plus
[32:08] she was not very happy that I even asked
[32:10] the question and that's my concern.
[32:13] >> Okay, I'll answer the two of them for
[32:16] you. The one for Comanche and
[32:18] Livingston. Why do you have to stop
[32:20] twice? If you look at the intersection
[32:22] at Comanche and Livingston, if you don't
[32:24] stop prior to merging out into traffic,
[32:28] you're literally stopping in the
[32:30] crosswalk. So, if someone is walking on
[32:33] that crosswalk, you're going to be in
[32:36] the crosswalk as somebody is walking um
[32:39] down Livingston Road. So, we do want you
[32:41] to stop at the stop sign. If you stop
[32:43] once and merge into traffic, you will
[32:46] not get a violation. It is when you run
[32:49] over the stop line and go into the
[32:51] crosswalk to emerge into traffic. That
[32:53] is when the um citation is issued. The
[32:57] reason why we could not um trim the tree
[33:00] fast enough because there are policies
[33:02] and procedures that we have to follow as
[33:05] a government before we can trim a tree
[33:07] on someone's private property. So, we
[33:10] went through those proper steps. We did
[33:11] everything we were supposed to do.
[33:13] However, even if the tree is there, you
[33:15] still have to stop at the stop line and
[33:18] you could merge into traffic and it will
[33:20] not give you a violation. As far as the
[33:22] unbudsment person or the fees, that's
[33:26] why we have the unbudsment person
[33:27] because those fees can be taken back if
[33:31] we see that we have made a mistake.
[33:33] That's what we're here for. Not saying
[33:34] that everything's perfect. Maybe the
[33:36] mail got lost. Something happened.
[33:38] That's why that is in place to make sure
[33:40] you don't assess fees that's not
[33:43] warranted for your violation. So if you
[33:45] have things like that and it's not
[33:47] working, I'll tell you now, you can
[33:49] email me and I'll make sure it gets
[33:50] there. But I just want to make sure that
[33:52] you understand if you have a fee and you
[33:55] say, "Hey, we have some late fees and I
[33:57] didn't get it." We can look and see,
[33:59] hey, when it was mailed out, when it was
[34:00] issued, any of those things, and make
[34:03] sure that every single citation is valid
[34:05] and we're not overcharging somebody. Our
[34:08] goal of the program is not to gain
[34:10] money. It is to reduce the amount of
[34:13] people that are driving through the stop
[34:16] signs because we have walkers. We
[34:18] usually have kids going to school. We
[34:20] have people in the neighborhood that
[34:22] like to walk and we see people that just
[34:24] run stop signs and it is dangerous
[34:27] because we do not want anybody to get
[34:29] hit. That's the goal of it.
[34:32] >> Thank you, Chief.
[34:34] And I I do have just one update as my my
[34:36] colleagues coming back online now. For
[34:38] the warning letters question, uh we sent
[34:40] out 1,910
[34:42] warning letters um over a 30-day period.
[34:47] » How many violations did you
[34:51] >> have during that period?
[34:52] >> Did we first get ju just a moment, Mr.
[34:57] uh Seaman? How many is that the number
[34:58] of violations there were that month?
[35:01] >> That's correct.
[35:05] Just to repeat the question or the
[35:07] statement, he was answering our earlier
[35:09] question about how many warning
[35:10] violations were sent out during the
[35:12] warning period. That was over a 30-day
[35:14] period.
[35:17] » That's correct.
[35:22] » How many tickets are have been issued
[35:25] roughly on average in the 30 days
[35:27] periods following the warning period?
[35:31] Um, let me see. I've actually I have a
[35:33] presentation here to kind of show the
[35:35] progress of the uh of the the actual
[35:38] program itself.
[35:42] Um, let's see.
[35:54] Sorry, I'm going to have to dig. Uh,
[35:57] give me just one second. And then the
[36:00] question was how many have been issued
[36:02] in total since the the beginning?
[36:05] >> Question was on average how many did you
[36:07] issue over a 30-day period? Is it a
[36:09] thousand or is it higher than that?
[36:18] Sorry, I've got the the presentation
[36:19] here that I was going to show you all.
[36:21] See if I can find the information.
[36:41] Um let's sorry uh per day
[36:49] uh around that that's going to be around
[36:51] 10,000.
[37:01] » That's on average.
[37:04] >> That's per month. Correct.
[37:14] » Okay. So, if you're going to bring
[37:15] presentation up and so some show some of
[37:17] the other data at this time.
[37:19] >> I can definitely do that. Yes.
[37:20] >> And I didn't forget. I know we got Miss
[37:22] Mau who has a question,
[37:24] a statement.
[37:27] And I also know there's another hand
[37:28] online.
[37:41] Is everyone able to see my screen?
[37:59] I'm sorry. Is everyone able to hear me
[38:02] as well?
[38:05] >> Yes, we can see it.
[38:07] >> Okay. Excellent. Um, sorry, there may be
[38:08] some connectivity issues there. Um,
[38:10] excellent. Okay. Um, well, thank you
[38:12] everyone uh again for for joining today.
[38:14] So, like I said, I'm Ricky Seaman. I'm
[38:15] the uh the new lead for community and
[38:18] customer success. Um and I wanted to
[38:20] talk to you guys uh all about the the
[38:21] program and kind of the the impact that
[38:23] the program has uh been having so far in
[38:25] forest heights. So um since the
[38:28] implementation um of this program um
[38:31] we've seen an observed violations
[38:33] decline across all deployments uh about
[38:35] around 55%. Um that is a change in
[38:38] behavior um which is exactly uh like the
[38:40] chief said uh exactly kind of what we're
[38:42] looking for um to to make safer streets
[38:44] really. We're looking for that
[38:45] behavioral change.
[38:48] Um so uh just a quick kind of uh couple
[38:51] updates with with us uh let's drive
[38:52] safer by AIO. Um uh you know we we have
[38:56] uh passed the HB364 which is a traffic
[38:59] safety. Um you know that's been
[39:00] instrumental in in passing uh these stop sign monitoring legislation. Prince
[39:04] George's County, Tacoma Park, Baltimore,
[39:06] kind of all over. Um and really 20 25
[39:09] 2025 to 2026 we've seen kind of this
[39:11] national movement of traffic and road
[39:14] safety not just in Maryland. Um, but we
[39:16] are also operating in Colorado, uh,
[39:18] Virginia, um, looking at other states
[39:20] right now, North Carolina, wrote, uh,
[39:22] Delaware as well. Um, and excuse
[39:25] [clears throat] me, uh, since 2025, um,
[39:27] we've had, um, an increase in about 70
[39:29] plus cameras or so. Um, and that also
[39:31] includes a 65% reduction, um, in uh, in
[39:36] unsafe stop sign running. That's it's a
[39:38] change in behavior. again
[39:41] um what kind of makes us different uh as a company uh working working with
[39:45] >> Mr. Mr. Let me let's do this. We have
[39:47] limited time tonight, so let's fast
[39:50] forward to the data that specifically
[39:51] talks about the foresights program.
[39:53] >> Perfect. That sounds great. Yeah, I no
[39:55] problem at all. Um, so uh just wanted to
[39:58] show you this here. These are the
[39:59] violations that are down 52% since uh
[40:01] the program has begun. You can see here
[40:03] on the left hand side uh 17,100 average
[40:07] uh weekly violations. Um that was in
[40:09] early January. uh this program has
[40:12] decreased uh the number of violations by
[40:14] 52% like I had mentioned before
[40:18] um you'll notice that there are high,
[40:19] medium and low. These high, medium, low
[40:22] in red, orange and blue uh these signify
[40:25] uh the egregious uh uh rather the
[40:28] egregiousness of the stop or lack
[40:30] thereof itself. Um so you can think of
[40:32] this as kind of speed, right? So the red
[40:35] are going to be those violations that
[40:37] are generally about around around 12 10
[40:39] miles an hour and up. Medium on average
[40:42] is going to be around let's say five to
[40:45] 5 to 10 miles an hour. Uh and then these
[40:47] blue ones are going to be kind of those
[40:48] lowle um kind of running through stop
[40:51] signs kind rules like the chief
[40:53] mentioned. Um and so you you'll see
[40:55] there's been a significant decrease as
[40:56] well uh in these high egregious
[40:59] violations not just in the program
[41:01] overall changing that behavior.
[41:05] All sites, there are 11 sites uh in
[41:07] Forest Heights. Um we have seen all
[41:09] sites uh go down sharply in the behavior
[41:12] um and the number of violations. Otto
[41:14] Street uh 67, Senica Drive 66, uh Kada
[41:18] Street 65, Comanche 65, Senica 64, and
[41:22] Otto Street Northwest at 64%. Again,
[41:25] it's a decrease in the number of
[41:26] violations significantly since the
[41:28] program started.
[41:31] Um, this has continued uh so again 55 55
[41:35] excuse me 57% all the way down to uh
[41:38] Woodland Drive at 24%.
[41:43] One thing to call out is that violations
[41:44] tend to ramp up through through the
[41:46] week. Um kind kind of makes sense. You
[41:48] know it's a Friday. Uh it's the highest
[41:49] day people are trying to get back home
[41:51] uh you know after after a work week. Um
[41:53] so these are just some of those stats
[41:54] there that I wanted to pull for you all.
[41:59] Um, weekdays peak. This is looking at
[42:01] kind of the the time for when we see the
[42:02] violations.
[42:04] Excuse me. Uh, weekdays tend to peak
[42:06] around 4 p.m. which kind of makes sense.
[42:08] You know, it's again the end end of that
[42:09] workday rush hour. Uh, people are trying
[42:12] to make it home. Uh, and then weekends
[42:14] tend to peak around 3 p.m. for for the
[42:16] violations.
[42:20] Um, so one thing I want to call out is
[42:22] who is actually getting cited for these.
[42:24] Um, so 98% of site citations go to
[42:27] drivers from outside Forest Heights. Um,
[42:30] just want to repeat that again. 98% of
[42:32] the citations that are issued in Forest
[42:34] Heights are not Forest Heights
[42:35] residents. Um, they are they are
[42:37] non-residents. Actually, Forest Heights
[42:39] residents are receiving only 2.2% of the
[42:42] citations that are being issued um in
[42:44] the municipality. That's around uh 1,00
[42:48] 1,300 1,290 or so citations um that are
[42:51] forest heist residents compared to
[42:53] 57,983
[42:55] citations non-residents.
[43:02] Um, so if we're looking at the most
[43:04] sighted drivers, uh, from nearby cities,
[43:06] um, this is just a graph here to kind of
[43:08] show you that, uh, Oxen Hill, Washington
[43:11] DC, for Washington. Um, a lot of cut
[43:14] through, uh, a lot of people driving
[43:16] through, um, and making up that, uh,
[43:18] that high, you know, majority of
[43:20] citations for forest sites. We can see
[43:23] forest sites down here compared to some
[43:24] of the rest of the, uh, the cited
[43:26] drivers at 2.2%.
[43:28] I'll leave this up here just for a
[43:30] second so you can see.
[43:38] Um so the resident share has held
[43:40] between around five uh 0 to 5% across
[43:43] the program. Um that's again kind of the the number of residents for four
[43:48] sites that are actually uh receiving the violations.
[43:53] And it's the uh it's consistently below
[43:55] 10% uh at every single site. That's at
[43:58] all all 11 locations where there are
[44:01] cameras
[44:03] uh for forest residents.
[44:05] Again, below 10% for every every site.
[44:11] And this is just the resident uh uh
[44:14] share continued.
[44:17] Now, uh one thing I want to call out is
[44:19] that most tickets are coming from really
[44:21] a small number of repeat offenders. Um,
[44:23] so if you're looking at this here,
[44:25] you'll see the number of of residents,
[44:27] you'll see the number of of
[44:28] non-residents. Uh, 975
[44:31] uh resident repeat offender tickets. Um,
[44:35] and then uh 17,741
[44:38] non-resident repeat uh tickets.
[44:42] So, the top takeaway here really is that
[44:43] plates uh with more than three tickets
[44:45] are a small share of drivers uh but but
[44:48] drive a disproportionate share of the
[44:50] citations.
[44:54] Um and again like I said like I said
[44:56] most citations kind of track back to
[44:58] that small group of repeat offenders. Um
[45:00] you can see this broken down here uh
[45:03] from the number of plates um the
[45:05] citations issued as well as waved. Um
[45:09] again that's kind of that that same idea
[45:10] that it's it's really just a large
[45:12] percentage is those repeat offenders.
[45:18] Um, one thing I want to call is that we
[45:20] wave repeat uh repeat tickets rather
[45:22] than pile them on. That's one thing that
[45:23] we do not do. We do not pile those on.
[45:25] Um, you know, you'll get a second
[45:27] violation within within those 13 days of a citation. Um, excuse me. We we we
[45:33] wave the repeat tickets rather than pile
[45:35] them on. a second violation within 14
[45:37] days of a citation or a third uh within
[45:40] third three days um isn't cited giving
[45:42] drivers that that really chance to kind
[45:44] of change their behavior which again is
[45:46] really the the goal of this program.
[45:49] >> Mr. Seaman, repeat that definition of
[45:51] what's waved and just say state kind of
[45:55] slowly.
[45:56] >> Yeah, sorry. Yeah. Um so we we we don't
[45:59] pile on the these these citations. So if
[46:02] you get her citation, you won't get
[46:03] another citation for another 14 days.
[46:06] You know, our goal, like the chief said,
[46:08] is not, you know, it's not moneyating.
[46:10] It's really to to make sure that
[46:12] >> you'll have a chance to to come back and
[46:13] say that.
[46:16] >> Continue, Mr. Seaman.
[46:17] >> Okay. Um, so yeah, so wanted to to call
[46:20] that out. So we don't we don't pile them
[46:22] on. If you get a citation, you won't
[46:24] receive another one for for 14 days. Um,
[46:26] that that's kind of the goal to change
[46:28] those that behavior there.
[46:31] Um, and then lastly, just want to call
[46:32] out that, you know, we we do community
[46:34] engagement. We do have tech support.
[46:36] Anyone have has any questions. Uh, we do
[46:38] have support in English and Spanish. Um,
[46:40] you can call us at any point in time for
[46:42] our our customer support. You can email
[46:43] us at at any time. Um, and we can help
[46:46] you with any questions, walk you through
[46:47] payments. If you have questions about
[46:49] court, scheduling, contestation,
[46:51] whatever it is, um, you can go ahead and give us a call. We're here to really
[46:55] try to try to make this a a smooth and seamless process. So,
[47:00] Okay,
[47:02] on that last point, I need some
[47:04] clarification. You don't get another
[47:07] citation within 14 days if it's at the
[47:09] same intersection or just within the
[47:11] system in four sites.
[47:13] >> Uh that that should be within the the entire system within Forest Heights.
[47:17] Let me let me confirm with that with my colleague really quick though. Uh
[47:20] Wade, if if you had any second uh
[47:23] >> you guys hear me?
[47:24] >> Yeah, I know you're having some trouble.
[47:25] There you go.
[47:26] >> Can you hear me? Okay. Hi everyone. Um,
[47:28] so for the repeat offender, I do want to
[47:31] correct it's
[47:34] 10 days and then 3 days after that and
[47:37] it is for the whole Forest Heist system.
[47:39] So if you've gotten a violation in
[47:42] Forest Heights, then that begins.
[47:48] Did that answer the question?
[47:51] >> I don't understand the second half. You
[47:53] said 10 days and then you said then 3
[47:55] days after that,
[47:56] >> right? So then it goes we we still give
[47:58] grace for every 3 days in the system as
[48:01] well after that initial 10day.
[48:09] » It sounds like we'll need that uh policy
[48:12] somewhere we can read and review. And it
[48:14] doesn't make sense on the face of it uh
[48:15] to most of us in the room.
[48:17] >> Okay.
[48:18] >> But let's get some more information on
[48:19] that to understand exactly how that
[48:21] works.
[48:22] >> Sounds good.
[48:23] >> All right. I'm going to open it back to
[48:24] uh questions. We have Miss Mau before we
[48:27] went to the presentation.
[48:30] Um,
[48:31] did I say the right name?
[48:37] All right, I'll turn on my timer. Hi
[48:39] everyone. Good evening. My name is Tracy
[48:41] Mau. I live here in Forest Heights and I
[48:42] serve on the beautifification committee.
[48:44] I share the town's goals of safer
[48:46] streets, which is exactly why I'm asking
[48:48] us to reconsider this program. Let's
[48:50] start with the number that the town gave
[48:52] us. 976 violations on one day at
[48:55] Livingston and Route 10. That's a
[48:57] thousand drivers who are failing. These
[48:59] are not bad people. And I would like to
[49:00] also contest the data that they're
[49:02] presenting as those people who are
[49:04] coming here are not residents are people
[49:06] who are delivering our groceries, who
[49:07] are delivering our medicine, who are
[49:09] providing us needed services. So I don't
[49:12] want to punish them either. These are
[49:14] the fact that there's so many violations
[49:16] means that this is an engineering
[49:18] problem, not a problem with the drivers.
[49:21] and also who pays. A flat fine is
[49:24] regressive by design. $40 is nothing to
[49:26] some households and a missed bill to
[49:28] others, cascading into late fees, court
[49:31] costs, lost licenses for the neighbors
[49:34] who have the least cushion. That's not
[49:35] safety. That's tax for being poor. And
[49:38] where does the money go? Obio. They only
[49:41] profit if the violations continue. So
[49:43] what is their point of calibrating
[49:46] correctly or doing anything else to
[49:48] actually bring these violations down? I
[49:50] want to know what the I want the
[49:52] contract published so we can see how the
[49:53] revenue is split and where this where
[49:56] our share is being spent. Privacy. These
[49:58] pylons record everyone who passes. The
[50:01] company's data centers are self-reported
[50:03] and unodudited and the footage is owned
[50:05] by the town. So residents deserve to
[50:07] know how long it's kept and who can
[50:09] access access it. I would also like to
[50:12] bring up another point. Let's not jump
[50:14] on this bandwagon just as the rest of
[50:16] the country is jumping off communities
[50:17] across the United States. Red, blue,
[50:20] big, and small are cancelling these
[50:22] surveillance contacts. Dozens of
[50:23] localities have pulled their cameras
[50:25] over exactly these concerns. Data shared
[50:27] without consent. Footage sent to who
[50:29] knows where. Systems sent and grow into
[50:31] something that residents never agree to.
[50:33] I'd like clarifications on which signs
[50:36] are marked. Transparency where the data
[50:38] is being stored, publish the contract,
[50:40] and consider sliding scales or other
[50:42] ways for people to pay these fines.
[50:44] Thank you.
[50:45] >> Thank you, Miss Mo.
[50:47] Could I get someone to let me know the
[50:49] next name that's online? I see
[50:53] Mr. Hammet. Uh, I will begin your two
[50:56] minutes. Thank you. You can unmute.
[50:59] >> Yes, sir. Good evening. Um, Marcus Ham,
[51:01] Senica Drive. I'd like to know to her
[51:04] point, how much revenue has been
[51:06] generated thus far from these tickets,
[51:09] and how is the town planning on spending
[51:12] that revenue?
[51:15] » I'll let uh Mr. Seaman or Mr. Borman
[51:18] answer in just a moment, but first I'll
[51:20] state that yes, the program does
[51:21] generate revenue. Um, however, the town
[51:24] does not budget for or rely on this
[51:25] revenue. And
[51:28] the way that the state law works is that
[51:29] it's designed to be used for pedestrian
[51:32] safety improvements. So, part of
[51:34] tonight's meeting and hopefully the
[51:36] continuing discussion around this is
[51:38] what are the needs that we have that can
[51:40] be addressed uh by the funds that are
[51:42] raised. And I've also heard uh in direct
[51:46] conversation with some individuals that
[51:48] they think it's going to go like to to
[51:50] the police department, but this is
[51:51] specifically about on the ground like
[51:54] walking, crosswalks, signage, lighting.
[51:57] Uh we're trying to see if it can be used
[51:59] for sidewalks or curbway improvements,
[52:01] things that residents have been asking
[52:03] for for a long time and that contribute
[52:06] directly to making the streets safer. Uh
[52:10] now I'll go to Mr. Seaman or Borman who
[52:12] has to the to answer on the amount of
[52:14] revenue that's been generated so far
[52:16] with the program.
[52:17] >> Hi everybody. Um so the revenue number
[52:21] for the town has brought in $433,426
[52:27] and in the legislation it has to be put
[52:30] into public safety. So it's written into
[52:34] the legislation that all funds collected
[52:36] have to go back to public safety. So,
[52:39] like uh Mr. Jackson was saying,
[52:42] sidewalks,
[52:44] crosswalks, painting, speed bumps,
[52:47] things like that.
[52:53] » Okay, next question. Um, sir, you'll
[52:56] have two minutes.
[52:57] >> I just have two quick statements. Uh,
[52:59] one, how much money was made by Avio in
[53:03] the past however months it's been
[53:04] running
[53:06] from our from our town? The violations
[53:09] in our town,
[53:11] >> Avio has made $44,54
[53:14] >> as pure profit. Correct. They just set
[53:16] up the systems and let them run.
[53:18] >> Uh, we have a lot of hardware to
[53:19] maintain and software to maintain.
[53:21] >> And how often do you send your people
[53:23] out to recalibrate? You said every day.
[53:26] We have software engineers checking
[53:28] daily and then hardware. But
[53:29] >> you have people on the ground here
[53:31] actually physically checking the cameras
[53:33] that they're not moved that they're
[53:34] still marked because there's two cameras
[53:35] in our neighborhood that are not clearly
[53:37] marked right now.
[53:38] >> What do you mean by marked? I'm sorry.
[53:40] >> As in there's a camera here. Please
[53:42] stop. As in it's not properly marked.
[53:44] And I the intersection I'm referring to
[53:46] is 210 in Livingston.
[53:48] >> Okay.
[53:48] >> Right where Henry's food is. Soul Food.
[53:51] It is impossible to legally go north on
[53:53] 210 now because of the 3-se secondond
[53:55] arrow and the stop sign and people line
[53:59] up there. And y'all don't know this
[54:00] because y'all are a big company and
[54:01] y'all actually aren't here. But us who
[54:03] live here, 210 is impassible and has
[54:05] been made more dangerous because of the
[54:06] stop sign camera. If that first person
[54:09] is turning left, that second person
[54:10] needs to follow them in order to catch
[54:12] that light. If not, there's two
[54:14] different types of traffic coming
[54:15] towards them when they are trying to
[54:16] turn left into it. And if you stopped at
[54:19] that light, other cars behind you just
[54:21] go around you and run the light anyways
[54:22] and go in front of you. So you've
[54:24] actually made the intersection more
[54:25] dangerous. Thank you.
[54:32] » So we're we're happy to replace the sign
[54:34] if the sign's missing. As far as the
[54:35] traffic engineering of an intersection,
[54:37] I would have to defer to a traffic
[54:39] engineer.
[54:42] » Let's go to the next uh hand that's
[54:44] raised online.
[54:48] Uh, Miss Caress Mitchell.
[54:53] » Hi, I'm Long.
[55:00] » We heard you for a moment now. I I can't
[55:02] hear. I don't know if you went on mute.
[55:03] I
[55:03] >> I heard the council member. I didn't
[55:04] know if I needed to stop or not.
[55:06] >> Yes, you Yes, you can begin.
[55:08] >> Okay. Um my I'm a resident of Livingston
[55:11] on Ottawa Street for 15 years and I just
[55:14] wanted to say my largest concern is that
[55:17] I've seen people speed when we had speed
[55:19] bumps on speed humps and no speed humps
[55:22] on Ottawa Street and nothing has changed
[55:24] in the past 15 years over the repeat
[55:26] offenders. But it feels like the
[55:28] residents who are trying to stop are
[55:30] being penalized if we have two stop
[55:32] signs on either side of our street to
[55:34] even go to work each day. My family has
[55:38] received 50 tickets at 5903 Ottawa
[55:41] Street since February. So, I would love
[55:43] to refute what they are saying about the
[55:46] violations because I'm considering
[55:49] moving out of the neighborhood if I have
[55:50] to spend $2,000 a year on parking
[55:53] tickets because my income will never
[55:55] reflect that if we keep having
[55:57] violations. And some of them are school
[55:59] buses. So, I would love to know if PG
[56:00] County is paying for whether school
[56:02] buses are running stop signs or not as
[56:04] well because it feels like we are being
[56:06] penalized as residents more than anyone
[56:08] else. And that's just going to keep
[56:09] gatekeeping our community in a row, not
[56:11] allowing revenue to come into Forest
[56:13] Heights.
[56:21] » Let's go to the Is there anyone else
[56:22] inside the room who would like to ask a
[56:25] question? Let's go to the next
[56:31] Uh, I see there's someone whose name is
[56:34] Samsung online. I I don't know who whose
[56:36] name it is, but you can come offline and
[56:38] >> Hi, that's me. Can you hear me?
[56:41] >> Yes, we can.
[56:42] >> I'm Carolanne Prather. I live on Quaid
[56:44] Street
[56:45] >> right at the stop sign where the one
[56:47] camera is. Um,
[56:51] but my issue that I'm going to speak of
[56:53] is my husband had an idea where you're
[56:56] coming off of Comanche
[56:59] as well as off of Arapjo onto Livingston
[57:02] where it is difficult to get through
[57:04] that stop sign into the traffic or from
[57:07] Livingston where you can't even if you
[57:09] now that the bush has been or the tree
[57:11] has been trimmed, you still can't see
[57:14] far enough down once you stop at a full
[57:17] stop behind that white
[57:19] to see traffic coming to get out into
[57:21] the road. Why don't we spend some of
[57:23] that money that we're getting from us
[57:26] ticket
[57:28] ticketer people who put stop lights up
[57:31] traffic lights at those two places at
[57:34] Livingston and Arapjo and at Livingston
[57:38] and Comanche.
[57:46] Well, I guess we can look into that as
[57:47] part of today's conversation. U, it's
[57:49] not something we had thought about
[57:50] before. We can look into it and we're
[57:52] trying to gather ideas and we'll be
[57:54] taking the feedback, discuss um any
[57:57] potential changes or modifications.
[58:00] Uh or just what we do next. Let's put it
[58:03] that way. We discuss what we do next
[58:04] after tonight.
[58:05] >> There is a stop sign. I mean, there is a
[58:07] light, traffic light at Birwood and
[58:10] Livingston.
[58:13] We should have one. We should have those
[58:14] stop lightss.
[58:19] » Thank you. Uh I see council member
[58:21] McDonald online with a comment.
[58:25] >> Yes. I just have one quick comment.
[58:28] Thank you for um coming and sharing with
[58:30] us this information. and I represent
[58:32] Ward 1. And my question is
[58:35] from a program perspective, what rate
[58:39] determines success
[58:42] in in making the adjustments in terms of
[58:44] the cameras going away?
[58:54] It sounds like a question for the
[58:55] council. Does does Avio have a
[59:00] percentage or is there a recommended
[59:02] threshold where you know it seems like
[59:04] missions accomplished or where we
[59:06] consider temporarily decommissioning
[59:09] cameras or what like what maybe it's a
[59:11] question for the council and I think we
[59:13] can maybe talk about and discuss some
[59:15] benchmarks uh for success if safety is
[59:18] what we're aiming for. We know we won't
[59:20] get to 100%.
[59:24] Mayor, I'm asking AIO from their
[59:27] experience,
[59:29] [clears throat]
[59:29] >> what has been the rate that determines
[59:32] the cameras being removed from areas
[59:36] where change behavior has taken place.
[59:41] >> So, we don't have any set percentage.
[59:44] This is a pilot
[59:46] program in PG County. the legislation
[59:49] has that is a four-year pilot and we do
[59:52] send the county data every year and they
[59:54] will probably ultimately make that
[59:56] decision of what is an acceptable
[59:59] is this program working or it's not. But
[1:00:02] to uh the mayor's point, like I would
[1:00:04] love to know what the council and mayor
[1:00:05] and what the residents would find maybe
[1:00:07] an acceptable percentage like when we
[1:00:10] have found success. But all from our
[1:00:12] perspective, the the lower it gets the
[1:00:14] better. And if we're still seeing trends
[1:00:17] go down, they're still working.
[1:00:23] » I see another hand up. Uh can someone
[1:00:26] tell me that name?
[1:00:30] What's the first name? Oh, Levelin
[1:00:32] Hamlet. Hammet, excuse me.
[1:00:34] >> Hi. Um, so yeah, I am just curious about
[1:00:39] uh what he said about the two things.
[1:00:42] One that the tickets we would have
[1:00:45] tickets um within uh either three or 10
[1:00:50] day time frame. I have 25 tickets in
[1:00:52] front of me right now. Some are from the
[1:00:53] same day. Some are one I have one in
[1:00:56] particular from 2:50 PM and one from
[1:01:00] 12:54 the same day and I have them all
[1:01:02] in my hands right now looking at them
[1:01:04] not the repeat notices but the actual
[1:01:07] tickets.
[1:01:08] >> Um and so there's that and then I
[1:01:11] appreciate what the lady said earlier
[1:01:14] about like what are we going to do about
[1:01:15] a payment plan because like what am I
[1:01:18] supposed to do like I got 25 tickets
[1:01:21] right here.
[1:01:23] So, for the first question, obviously
[1:01:25] that sounds like our mistake. If you
[1:01:26] could please give us a call at support
[1:01:28] or uh give Ricky or myself an email, we
[1:01:32] can help you sort that out. Uh it sounds
[1:01:33] like something went wrong. Obviously,
[1:01:35] that's not something we're we're trying
[1:01:37] to have happen. And your second question
[1:01:40] is all citations, you know, you can
[1:01:43] contest in court. A lot of times judges,
[1:01:46] you know, also don't like stacking
[1:01:49] citations. So, uh, sometimes there's
[1:01:51] leniency and that's the best course of
[1:01:53] action for that kind of situation.
[1:01:58] » Could you give the the phone number so
[1:02:00] those in the room and those online can
[1:02:03] have it? You might be getting a lot of
[1:02:04] calls tomorrow.
[1:02:06] >> Sure. One sec. I'll drop it in the uh
[1:02:07] messages if that works.
[1:02:10] Just need a second to pull it up.
[1:02:26] and and so so that it's on recording as
[1:02:29] well. Supportsafer.com.
[1:02:33] Phone number is 8556556621.
[1:02:40] I can repeat that because I know that
[1:02:41] was kind of fast. support at
[1:02:43] let'safer.com
[1:02:45] 8556556621
[1:02:51] and it's regular business hours um I
[1:02:56] believe 8 8 to 4 or 9 to 9 to5.
[1:03:02] All right, ladies and gentlemen, uh we
[1:03:05] do have another regularly scheduled
[1:03:06] meeting that starts at 8 tonight, but I
[1:03:07] do want to thank everyone who's come in
[1:03:09] person and who's joined online for your
[1:03:10] questions, for your statements.
[1:03:15] So,
[1:03:16] we are going to continue the
[1:03:17] conversation. We wanted to schedule
[1:03:19] tonight's meeting because uh the time is
[1:03:22] of the essence and we wanted to start
[1:03:24] the conversation as soon as possible.
[1:03:25] So, based on what I've heard tonight,
[1:03:29] we have several questions before us.
[1:03:33] One of them is, does the current
[1:03:35] enforcement policy reflect the town's
[1:03:37] public safety goals? Another question
[1:03:39] is, are there policy adjustments that
[1:03:42] would improve public confidence while
[1:03:44] maintaining safety?
[1:03:46] And the last one,
[1:03:50] if I can if I can finish, I just want to
[1:03:52] make sure I summarize what we've talked
[1:03:53] about tonight. This is not the last
[1:03:54] conversation. The last question, it
[1:03:56] sounds like I've heard uh is there's two
[1:03:59] questions. What does success look like?
[1:04:00] And then two, under what circumstances
[1:04:03] should the program continue, be
[1:04:04] modified, be paused, or conclude. Those
[1:04:07] are the questions before the community
[1:04:09] and the council. Uh we'll be continuing
[1:04:11] the conversation about what the program
[1:04:13] looks like next. And we thank you for
[1:04:15] coming out, voicing your honest
[1:04:17] feedback. We've uncovered that there are
[1:04:19] some real issues and we want to address
[1:04:22] them and then we want to look at what we
[1:04:23] do going forward. So, thank you.
[1:04:27] >> Um I'm sorry. Could someone send out the phone number? I wasn't able to write
[1:04:32] it down. The phone number that he
[1:04:34] mentioned.
[1:04:38] » We need the phone number one more time
[1:04:39] if we could. If you could, uh, Mr.
[1:04:42] Borman.
[1:04:43] >> Sure. Of course. Uh,
[1:04:46] 855
[1:04:49] 655
[1:04:53] 66
[1:04:55] 21.
[1:05:08] All right, ladies and gentlemen, this
[1:05:09] concludes the uh stop sign community
[1:05:13] safety forum. We're going to close this
[1:05:15] meeting out and go to the next uh
[1:05:17] regular town meeting which starts at
[1:05:18] 8:00 p.m. has a separate link. Thank you
[1:05:21] for joining us tonight.
[1:05:23] >> Thank you everyone.
[1:05:25] And so,