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Dear Friends,
I wanted to share a few updates with you and wish
you the very best this holiday season. On December 1, 2009,
the County Council elected a new Chair and a new Vice-Chair for the
upcoming legislative year. I have been appointed Chair of the
Council’s Transportation, Housing and Environment Committee.
In addition to the passage of my bill to restrict
items that can be pawned in the County, which I highlighted in the
last enewsletter which
can be viewed here,
I wanted to share two important code enforcement changes that were
recently passed by the County Council. The County Council
passed legislation to shorten the length of time required to appeal
a zoning violation issued by the county from 30 to 5 days (CB-20-2009).
This Fall, we also passed legislation to increase the civil
monetary fines for zoning and housing code violations
(CB-12-2009). For instance, fines for a zoning violation
shifted from $50 to $250. And, for repeat violations by the
same violator, the fines also increased—second violations shifted
from $100 to $500. Together, these two pieces of legislation
will assist the County in urging code violators to address problems
more quickly.
This Winter my staff and I will be walking more communities
with information on County permits, parking regulations, code
enforcement, important county phone numbers, and recycling.
The information is provided in English and Spanish and is also
available on my website, if you would like to print out a copy for
yourself or share one with your neighbors.
Finally, I wanted to let you know that our District
3 Administrative Aide and Office Manager, Patti Pounds, retired on
November 30th. She had worked for the County
Council for 30 years and we wish her the very best. Her
successor as Administrative Aide, Office Manager and Scheduler is
Tina Butler. Tina lives in District 3 in Landover Hills and
brings a great deal of experience to the position. Her email is ttbutler@co.pg.md.us. Please join us in welcoming her!
Similar to last year, I have included some local
organizations who will be assisting neighbors in need this
year. I hope you will join me in assisting some of these
organizations. The need is great this year. Take care
and if you need any assistance, please call my office.
Eric Olson
Council Member, District 3
(301) 952-3060
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 ITEMS OF
INTEREST
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REMINDER-VACUUM LEAF PICKUP CHANGED
Just a reminder that the County is no longer
conducting vacuum leaf pickup. Instead, all communities in
the county are being asked to bag their leaves for leaf pickup. If
you live in a municipality, please follow your town’s leaf policy.
This policy change applies only to communities whose leaves the
county handles. I understand that Department of Public Works
and Transportation (DPW&T) distributed this information a few
months ago and announcements have also been printed in the paper,
but we are finding out that some people in the community may be
unaware, so if you could help share this information, I would
appreciate it.
DPW&T requested this change for several years
now, in part to save money, but also because it allows the
department to have their staff assigned to other critical
tasks. This May, given the County's fiscal situation, the
vacuum leaf pickup was discontinued. In the past, several
Council Members, including Councilman Olson, have been able to keep
vacuum leaf service in the budget. Unfortunately, it was not
possible this year. For more information, please contact
Public Works at (301) 883-5600.
JOBS WITH U.S. CENSUS
The United States Census 2010 has full-time and
part-time jobs in a variety of positions available for qualified
individuals. To apply or receive more information please call
1-866-861-2010 or visit www.2010censusjobs.gov.
FAMILIES IN NEED
The Department of Social Services is looking for
families in need this holiday season. If you require
assistance or know of any families who need assistance, please call
the Department of Social Services at (301) 909-7000 or my office at
(301) 952-3060.
YOUTH LEADERSHIP
The Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program invites youth ages 12-18 to join
their aviation based leadership program. Youth develop
leadership skills, learn about aviation, and participate in search
& rescue missions as part of the program. The College
Park Squadron meets on the first Monday of each month from
7:00pm-9:00pm at the Hap Arnold Center
(1985 Cpl Frank Scott
Drive in College Park). For more
information visit www.MDcap.org or call
1-800-FLY-2338.
WINTER RIVERDALE FARMERS MARKET
The Riverdale Park Farmers Market will be open this winter for the
first time. Several venders will be taking pre-orders for
delivery on Saturday at the Riverdale Park
Town Center adjacent to the MARC
station. To find out more about the location of the market and all
of the vendors, please visit Farmers
Market-Riverdale or email Jim Coleman at rpkfarmmkt@gmail.com.
H1N1
VACCINATION INFORMATION
The County is providing H1N1 shots and has recently
expanded its vaccination clinics. Please visit Flu Vaccincations for the most
up-to-date information.
P L A N N I N G P R O J E C T U P D A T E S
and L E G I S L A T I O N
CENTRAL
ANNAPOLIS ROAD
The Central Annapolis Road Corridor Sector Plan & Sectional
Map Amendment community meeting will be held on December 9, 2009
from 7:00pm-9:00pm. This event will be held at St. Mary’s
Church-Burgundy Room (7207
Annapolis Road in Landover
Hills). At this meeting, you will have the opportunity to
share your thoughts on the preliminary design concepts and sector
plan recommendations on pedestrian safety, urban design, economic
development, public safety, community facilities and parks, and
transit. For more details on the planning process and for meeting
information, please visit Annapolis Road.
PURPLE
LINE
The Maryland Transit Administration is reaching
out to communities along the Purple Line route to discuss the plans
in detail for the preferred alignment. Over the next two
years, detailed engineering will be completed and this Fall the
state will apply to the Federal Government for to gain the Federal
Transit Administration’s approval. For more information,
please visit www.purplelinemd.com.
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ENJOY
THE COMMUNITY
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Santa
Arrives-December 5th
Come watch Santa Claus fly into the College Park
Airport and have your picture taken with him on December 5, 2009
from 12:00noon-4:00pm. For more information please call (301)
864-6029 or visit www.collegeparkaviationmuseum.com.
Marietta House Museum December 5th and 12th
On December 5th and 12th from 5pm-7pm, see Marietta’s
rooms transformed into scenes from some of your favorite fairytales,
nursery rhymes and children’s stories. The program will delight
children of all ages! No reservations necessary and the fee is
$5/person. The Marietta House is located at 5626 Bell Station Road
in Glenn Dale. For more information, call 301-464-5291.
Christmas Trees for Sale
The Berwyn Heights Volunteer Fire Department will hold
its annual Christmas Tree fundraiser. They are located at 8811 60th Avenue
in Berwyn
Heights,
phone: 301-474-7866. Trees may be purchased from 10:00am –
9pm, 5-8 ft. Frazier Firs and Scotch Pines, price range $40-$50.
Annual Fruit Sale
Fundraiser
Glenn Dale Volunteer Fire Association will hold its Annual Fruit
Sale Fundraiser (oranges, grapefruit, tangelos, tangerines, apples,
pears, pecans) from December 9-12th from 11am-8pm during
the week and 9am-8pm on Saturday at the Glenn Dale Firehouse at
11900 Glenn Dale Blvd Glenn Dale, MD. For more information,
please call (301) 805-2400.
Riverdale Park Festival of Lights & Holiday Market December 12th
Please join the Town of Riverdale Park for their
annual Festival of Lights & Holiday Market. The Holiday
Market features unique gifts; Christmas trees and wreaths; live
music; free photos with Santa; fresh pressed apple cider; kids’
games; and face painting. The event will be held at the Riverdale Park
Town Center
(6200 Rhode Island
Avenue in Riverdale Park)
from 12:00noon-8:00pm. From 5:30-8:30pm in the evening, elves
will lead a sing along on free trolley tours of the neighborhood’s
holiday decorations followed by a candlelight tour of Riversdale House Museum.
Bring a canned good or non-perishable food item as a
donation. Trolleys depart from the Riverdale Park MARC
station and Riversdale
House Museum. For more
information, please visit http://www.riverdaleparkmd.info/.
Riversdale House
Museum-December 27th
Come in and relax in the warm glow of candlelight at
Riversdale on December 27, 2009 from 6:00pm-9:00pm, 4811 Riverdale Road
in Riverdale
Park. The
evening will include period music, guided tours, and open fire
cooking. Admission is $5 for adults and free for children
under 12. Refreshments are included with
admission. Call (301) 864-0420 for more
information or visit www.pgparks.com.
DONATIONS and
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Christian Life Center in Riverdale Park
is accepting donations for food baskets. Donations need to be
received prior to December 19th. Approximately 120
food baskets will be distributed on December 19th beginning at
10:00am. Baskets will be given on a first come first serve
basis. Donations can be dropped off at the church house
carport at 5600 Taylor
Road in Riverdale Park.
Toys, coats as well as food (cans/boxes and turkeys/chickens) will
be accepted and are needed. Contact Pastor Slye at
301-404-0515 for more details.
Pregnancy Aid Center in College Park is accepting
donations (diaper, formula, rice and beans) and in need of
volunteers on December 11th and 12th to help
pickup toys for distribution to children. The Center is located at 4809 Greenbelt Road
301-345-9325.
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