|
Dear
Friends,
Several
of you have contacted me over the past few weeks to discuss a variety
of items being reviewed by the County Council. Here is a quick recap on some of the items I have
been working on.
·
The
County Executive released his budget on March 15th. Over the
next two months, the County Council will be reviewing the overall
County budget as well as the budgets for the school system, WSSC, and
Park and Planning. Details on the County budget can be found at
this website.
Budget Hearings will be held on May 3rd and 11th for the County
Budget and Board of Education Budget and on April 27th for the Park
and Planning Budget. All hearings are at 7pm in the County
Administration Building in Upper Marlboro.
·
On
March 16th, I voted with my Council colleagues
8-0 to oppose the County
Executive’s nomination of a new Planning Board Chair for Prince
George’s County. The existing Chair, Samuel Parker, will
remain, but could be replaced at a later date by the next County
Executive since his term has expired.
·
The
Glenn Dale, Lanham, Seabrook and Vicinity Plan was approved by The
County Council on March 16th. Zoning changes for properties
across from Vista Gardens Market place and at the Ivy Creek Site were
not approved. These changes would have increased the density
allowed by right at each site.
·
As
Chair of the Task Force looking into Youth and Gang Violence, I
presented the recommendations of the Youth and Gang Violence
Taskforce Report to the County Council in mid March. Details of
the findings of the report can be found here.
·
The
County will be updating its Stormwater Management Regulations per
state law in early May. As you may know, the State is strongly
considering weakening the existing storm water regulations which were
just passed two years ago and are only now starting to be
implemented.
·
The
County Council sent a letter to WMATA and Governor O’Malley opposing
the Metrorail and Metrobus service cuts. More details are
available here WMATA
.
At
the end of April, I will be holding a Town Hall Meeting and I
hope you will attend.
The Town Hall meeting will be on April
22nd from 7pm-9pm at Parkdale High School. At the meeting you will have the opportunity to
hear more about the County budget and my initiatives and meet
directly with Agency staff from the Department of Environmental Resources,
Department of Public Works and Transportation, Revenue Authority,
Park Police, and County Police Department. Also, in celebration of Earth Day, find out more
from County and individual homeowners on how to take advantage of tax
credits for solar and geothermal devices as well as other
environmental programs and opportunities in the area. Please RSVP for this event to Tina Butler at
ttbutler@co.pg.md.us.
Take care and
please call my office with any questions or concerns.
Eric
Olson
Council Member, District 3
(301) 952-3060
|
|
|
|
|
PLANNING PROJECT UPDATES and
LEGISLATION
|
|
Glenn Dale/ Lanham/Seabrook Master Plan
The plan was approved by the County Council on March
16th. Please call my office for more details, if needed. All
plans are available at Plans
and Projects.
New Carrollton TDOZ
A second public hearing on the plan was held on March
23rd. The plan will be finalized in early May. All
plans are available at Plans
and Projects.
Route 1 Sector Plan
The second hearing for the US 1 Sector Plan is scheduled
for April 6th in the Council Hearing Room (2nd Floor County
Administration Building, 14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive in Upper
Marlboro). Please remember that public comments must be
received no later than three days after the hearing for inclusion in
the public record. For more information, please contact my
office at (301) 952-3060.
Central Annapolis Road Corridor Plan
The final community meeting was held at the end of
January and a draft of the plan is now available for
comments. For more details on the plan, please visit Central
Annapolis.
Purple Line
The Maryland Transit Administration is reaching out to
communities along the Purple Line route to discuss their plans in
detail for the preferred alignment. Over the next two years,
detailed engineering will be completed and this spring the State
will apply to the Federal Government to gain the Federal Transit
Administration’s approval. For more information, please visit
www.purplelinemd.com.
|
|
|
|
ITEMS OF INTEREST
MORTGAGE
ASSISTANCE SCAMS|
During the
past few weeks my staff heard from several homeowners who were scammed
when looking for mortgage relief. On several occasions, the
homeowners paid individuals thousands of dollars to have their mortgage
modified only to find out that it had not been done. The problem
came after paying the companies--the homeowners tried to contact them
and found the telephone service had been disconnected. Getting a
mortgage modification does not cost you any money. If you
need assistance obtaining a modification you should contact a Certified
Mortgage Counselor. Here are a few in our area to choose
from: Maryland Hope Hotline 1-877-462-7555, ww.mdhope.org;
Greater Washington Urban League, Inc. 2901 14th St. NW,
Washington, DC 20009; Housing Initiative Partnership, Inc., 6525
Belcrest Rd, Hyattsville, MD 20782 www.hiphomes.org,
301-669-3835; Kairos Development Corporation, 5601 Old Branch Ave.,
Camp Springs, MD 20748, www.kairosgroups.org, 301-899-1180; Sowing
Empowerment & Economic Development, Inc. (SEED), 6201 Riverdale
Rd., Riverdale MD, 20737, 301-458-9808; and Roots of Mankind
Corporation, 4273 Branch Avenue, Suite 205, Temple Hills, MD 20748,
301-899-6800
CENSUS 2010
The Census
launches on April 1, 2010 and your participation is needed.
Please fill on the information sent to your home and encourage your
neighbors as well. The information provided is critical for
federal funding as well as for guiding political boundaries. For
more information please call (301) 952-4502 or visit the Census Bureau
website at http://www.census.gov/.
RIVERDALE PARK FARMERS MARKET
The Riverdale
Park Farmers Market will reopen on April 1, 2010 and continue every
Thursday until November. Initial market produce will include
early crops, bedding plants, strawberries, flowers, baked goods, eggs,
jams, and honey. Please visit their website for more information
at http://www.rpfarmersmarket.org/.
POETRY
WORKSHOPS FOR TEENS
Celebrate
National Poetry Month at the Xtreme Teen Slamfest. The Prince
George’s Arts Council, Creative Writing Alliance, and Lyrical Storm
have partnered to hold artistry workshops from April 1-April 29, 2010,
from 5:00pm-6:30pm at Berwyn Heights Elementary School (6200 Pontiac
Street in Berwyn Heights). This project culminates with a
Slamfest Poetry Show on April 30th at 6:00pm, also taking
place at the Elementary School. Please call (301) 277-1402 for
more information.
FREE TAX ASSISTANCE IN OUR COMMUNITY
- Community Tax
Aid, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that provides free tax
service to individuals with incomes up to $22,000 and families of
three or more persons with incomes up to $42,000. Service is
provided on a first come first serve basis at the New Carrollton
Library (7414 Riverdale Road in New Carrollton). The last
day is April 6th. For more information please call (301)
459-6900.
 Sowing Empowerment & Economic Development
(SEED) is providing free tax preparation services to low to
moderate income individuals and families. Trained volunteers
are available to assist customers every Saturday from
10:00am-3:00pm, and Wednesdays from 7:00pm-9:00pm until April 15,
2010. All services will take place at the Refreshing Spring
Professional Building (6201 Riverdale Road, Suite 211 in
Riverdale). For more information please call (301) 458-9808.
WASINGTON REDSKINS CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
The
Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation will provide one high school
senior with a $25,000 college scholarship. These funds will be
distributed throughout the winn ers collegiate career in increments of
$5000 annually. For further information please visit https://apply.collegesuccessfoundation.org/dc/.
Scholarship deadline is April 9, 2010.
RIVERSDALE MANSION EVENTS
Riversdale
Mansion is a National Historic Landmark built in 1807 by a Flemish
aristocrat. It is located in the heart of Riverdale Park (4811
Riverdale Road). This month Riversdale will host several events,
including: Riversdale Tavern Night, Saturday, April 10, 2010 at
8:00pm and Seasonal Selection, Young Green Plant Dishes, Sunday,
April 18, 2010 at 12:00noon.
For more
information please call (301) 864-0420.
PARTICIPATE
IN THE COUNTYWIDE COMMUNITY CLEANUP
The
Countywide Community Cleanup will be held on Saturday, April 24,
2010. Join with other residents in beautifying our
community. The County will provide gloves, bags, and vests and
will pick up the trash collected after the event. The deadline to
register is Wednesday, April 14, 2010. If your community is interested
in participating, please direct your application to Karla at (301)
883-6510 or (301) 883-5600. Supplies must be picked up on April
21, 2010 from 6:00pm-8:00pm at (8400 D’Arcy Road Facility, MOC
Building).
EARTH
DAY CLEANUP CELEBRATION
The
Anacostia Watershed Society will host the 40th Earth Day
River Cleanup Celebration on April 24, 2010. From 8:30-12:00noon
participants will assist in cleaning at multiple sites along the
Anacostia River, including several in our county. The celebration
begins at 12:00noon at the Seafarers Yacht Club (1950
M Street SE, Washington, DC) in DC and includes music,
exhibits and a free picnic. For more information and to register
please visit this website.
MARYLAND
DAY 2010
Maryland Day 2010
will be held on April 24, 2009 from 10:00am-4:00pm rain or shine on the
University of Maryland Campus in College Park. Join UMD in a
fun-filled FREE family day event with plenty of free activities and
entertainment. For campus directions or more information, please visit
their website at Maryland Day.
JUNIOR PARK RANGER PROGRAM BEGINS
The
Maryland National Capital Park & Planning Commission will host a FREE
Junior Ranger program on Saturday April 17th, May 8th,
and June 12th featuring educational activities. The
program starts at 11:00am at the Riverdale Neighborhood Playground
(6401 47th Ave in Riverdale Park). For more
information please contact Mary Ann Brownlow at (301) 864-2264.
ARTS FEST
The Riverdale
Park Arts Council presents the 3rd Annual Artsfest at the Queensbury
Road MARC Train Station in Riverdale Park. Come support local
artists and enjoy FREE music. Kids activities will be
provided. This event will take place on May 2, 2010 from
11:00am-6:00pm. For more information please their website at www.rpartscouncil.org.
|
