Last updated 12/14/2004
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2004
December 2004

Ethics Ordinance December 14, 2004 The Town Council is scheduled to vote on the revised ethics ordinance at the December 15, 2004 Town Meeting (PDF Format) (HTML Format).

Acting Police Chief  December 14, 2004 Sergeant Michael Eubank has been appointed acting Chief of Police.

Senior Citizens December 14, 2004 The Forest Heights Police Department has prepared a form for senior citizens to voluntarily file that provides emergency contact and medication information (PDF format). The information on the form would be used by the FHPD and other first responders in case of an emergency. The form should be delivered or mailed to the Forest Heights Police Department, 5508 Arapahoe Drive, Forest Heights, MD 20745. Please contact the Forest Heights Police Department on (301) 839-3712 regarding information about the form. Sergeant Eubank has been appointed acting Chief of Police.

Youth Events December 14, 2004 The Town will host a Santa's Workshop (PDF Format) (JPG Format) from 12 noon to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 18, 2004 for children age 4 to 11. Teenagers are invited for an event to celebrate the holidays (PDF Format) (JPG Format) later that evening from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.


October through November 2004

Town Treasurer November 30, 2004 The Town Council approved the appointment of Dennis Bobo of Pearman Bobo & Fuse, a tax accounting & auditing consulting firm, as the Town Treasurer. The new Treasurer will be formally sworn in at the December 15, 2004 town meeting.

Town Treasurer November 20, 2004 The Town Council will meet at 6:30 p.m., on Tuesday, November 30, 2004 to consider the appointment of a Town Treasurer.

Town to Host Thanksgiving Lunch November 20. The Mayor and members of the Town Council invite residents of the Forest Heights Community to join them in a Thanksgiving lunch on Saturday, November 20, 2004. Your are asked to contact Gloria Wallace on (301) 839-3712 if you plan to attend. Click here to view invitation in (PDF Format) (JPG Format).

Shooting on Ottawa Street Addendum November 10, 2004 A District 4 detective reported to us that the victim survived the shooting and is expected to recover. No arrests have been made to date. (See also report below dated October 31, 2004 for more details.)

Second Town Council Meeting November 6, 2004 Town Clerk Bonita Anderson announced that Forest Heights Town Council will meet on November 8, 2004 at 6:30 p.m. in the Municipal Building. The meeting is needed for the Council to consider approving a grant application for upgrading handicapped access to the Municipal Building. The Council will also give further consideration to the Town's strategic plan.

Council Workshop Meeting November 1, 2004 The Town Council met to discuss a number of items, including: 
Introduction of a strategic plan - Council discussed the draft strategic plan that had been introduced by Councilman Wiggers. Mayor Paula Noble noted that the Town's lobbyist, G.S Proctor & Associates was already working on developing funding for the repair of the Town's streets. The consensus among Council members was that the road program would be a high priority for the Town.
Buyout of a contract for public works uniforms - The Council discussed the possibility of buying out the contract with UniFirst and instead giving the public works employees an allowance for cleaning their uniforms.
Public ethics ordinance - The Charter and Ordinance Committee distributed the latest draft of the revised Article 14 Town ethics ordinance. Committee Chair George Wiggers announced that that Committee planned to introduce the ethics ordinance revision (PDF Format) (HTML Format) at the November 17 Town meeting. At that point, the Council could amend the proposed changes, but the final vote on the ordinance would not take place until the December Town meeting. Councilwoman Beck announced that she intended to oppose the revision to Article 14.
Update on the street repair project - It was announced that Oscar Baca, who had previously conducted a survey of the condition of the Town's streets in early 1971, had again surveyed the streets and revised his estimates from $1.98 million in 2001 to $2.33 million. Most of this increase is due to inflation in construction costs, although Mr. Baca had informed the Town Administrator that some of the streets had further deteriorated since 2001.
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application - Town Administrator Farrar distributed a draft CDBG application, which would apply for additional funds to bring the Municipal Building into Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance. The CDBG is a Federal program administered through the Prince George's County Department of Housing and Community Development. Some comments were provided on the draft application.
Lawsuit by Myles Spires - At the request of Councilwoman Joyce Beck, the Council discussed the lawsuit filed by Mr. Myles Spires against the Town of Forest Heights and various Town officials (PDF Format) (HTML Format). Mayor Noble indicated that it would be premature for the Town to take any defensive action because the Court had not yet acted on the filing.
Farewell to Chief Sewell - Upon adjournment of the workshop meeting, Mayor Noble asked those in attendance to take some time to say farewell to Chief Sewell. His last day of service to the Town is Friday, November 5, 2004. [Mayor Nobel's letter accepting Chief Sewell's resignation (PDF Format).]

Town Treasurer Resigns November 1, 2004 Mayor Noble accepted Town Treasurer Diane Starkey's resignation effective November 5, 2004. Ms. Starkey had been serving as Town Treasurer since July 30, 2004.

Shooting on Ottawa Street October 31, 2004 About 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 31 a Forest Heights resident was shot several times near the corner of Ottawa Street and Terrell Avenue. According to bystanders, the victim was wearing a bullet-proof vest at the time of the shooting. The incident is under investigation by the District 4 Prince George's County Police.

Town Meeting October 20, 2004 Chief of Police, Bernard Sewell III, tended his letter of resignation to the Mayor while his family was in attendance. His resignation, effective two weeks from October 20, 2004, expressed personal and family reasons for his departure. In it, he expressed he was grateful for the honor of serving in one of levels of the law enforcement profession and having served as the Forest Heights Police Chief. Chief Sewell's resignation can be read by clicking here in (PDF Format) (HTML Format).

The Charter & Ordinance and Ways & Means Committees reported that they had additional work to do before completing their work on a revised ethics ordinance and for the possible annexation of commercial areas into the town.

A representative of PEPCO gave a presentation on consumer purchasing competitively priced electricity. He suggested going to the Maryland Public Service Commission's website http://www.psc.state.md.us/psc/ to obtain more information on companies licensed to sell electricity in Maryland.

Town Council Workshop Meeting October 18, 2004 A number of important issued were discussed at the Council's workshop meeting, including the development of a Strategic Plan for the Town, a proposed letter to the owners of the Eastover shopping center for possible annexation into the Town, a proposed change to the Town Ethics Ordinance, and an update to the street repair program. Two other items, a discussion on Robert's Rules of Order and a proposed resolution on quarterly financial reporting were deferred for discussion at a future workshop meeting when more information became available.

Councilman George Wiggers presented a draft Strategic Plan for the Town which would list Town infrastructure and programs that are in need of upgrading, repair or improvement. This plan would be used by the Town government in seeking grants and setting priorities for projects to improve the Town's infrastructure and services to citizens. The concept is that the Council would adopt the plan in the near future as a statement of the Town's needs, and would be a publicly available document. Town citizens, through their elected Council representatives, could ask to have projects added to the plan. A copy of the draft is available here in (PDF Format) (HTML Format). Council President Lynn Barnes, who was chairing the workshop meeting, agreed that the Council would target for adopting a plan in November.

The annexation of the Eastover shopping center and adjacent commercial properties was proposed as a way of increasing the tax base of the Town. The draft letter that was reviewed by the Council indicated that the Town would provide several services to the shopping center if incorporated into the Town, including close access to the Town government and nearby police services. The letter also suggested an abatement or phasing in of Town real and personal property taxes as a way of easing the tax increase that would result from the annexation. Councilwoman Beck raised questions about the abatement or phasing in of the taxes and a citizen raised questions about the possible increased cost to the Town for providing services to the annexed area.

The Committee on Charter and Ordinances presented a draft annotated ordinance (PDF Format) that would substitute for the current Ordinance Article 14 Ethics Law. The proposed revision would eliminate the Town's ethics commission for investigating complaints on ethics violations, and turn the process over to the Town Attorney. The revision would also simplify the wording of the ordinance as well as increase the penalties for violation of the section on ethics in the Town's Charter. In the discussion on this proposal, Councilwoman Joyce Beck raised two concerns: (a) handling of complaints would pass from a volunteer Ethics Commission which does not cost the Town money in salaries, to a paid attorney who would bill the Town for legal services in processing complaints, and (b) the change could possibly create a conflict of interest between the Town Attorney and the Town's Mayor and Council members to whom the Attorney serves. As an alternative, Councilwoman Beck suggested that the current Ethics Commission be retained, but that an independent counsel be hired to support their work.

The Council noted that Oscar Baca was reviewing the the estimates of street repair costs that he did for the Town in 2001 so that the Town could begin to implement such work.

Connected Communities Agreement Signed October 4, 2004 In a meeting near the historic mile marker laid by Pierre L'Enfant in 1792 at Md. 210 and Southern Avenue, District of Columbia Mayor Anthony Williams and Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson signed an innovative agreement of police cooperation between the District and Prince George's County. Under this agreement, a number of both Prince George's County and DC metropolitan police officers would be deputized as Federal Marshals so that they would have arrest authority on both sides of the D.C. - Prince George's border. The agreement was made possible by the involvement of the U.S. Marshall for the District of Columbia, George Walsh.

Mayor Noble, who participated in the ceremony, said that the Forest Heights Police Department would continue their cooperative arrangment with the District 4 Prince George's County police, and the Town of Forest Heights would benefit from the increased security and crime prevention resulting from the Connected Communities agreement. A copy of the program and press release is available in PDF format by clicking here.

June through September 2004

Meeting on Proposed Parole and Probation Office September 28, 2004 PG County Council Chair Tony Knotts is sponsoring a meeting (Flyer in PDF Format) on a proposed Maryland Division of Parole and Probation local office to be located at 5410 Indian Head Highway (at the intersection with Livingston Road across from the McDonald's). The hearing will be held in the Glassmanor Community Center, 1101 Marcy Avenue, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday, September 30, 2004.

Forest Heights Mayor Paula Noble has gone on record in a letter (PDF format) to Mary Ann Saar, Secretary of Secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) as opposing locating the parole and probation office at that site, specifically noting that "having approximately 1,120 offenders filtering in and out of our community is not what we had in mind." More information about the proposed DPSCS local office is found in a letter (PDF Format) from DPSCS to Tony Knotts.

Bond Hearing Canceled September 14, 2004 The Public hearing on the Forest Heights $2 million bond issue, that had been rescheduled for Wednesday, September 15, 2004, has been canceled. The Town Treasurer, Diane Starkey, was informed yesterday by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) that the bond underwriters had declined to accept the Town's loan application. The DHCD indicated they would continue to assist in finding alternate forms of infrastructure financing for the Town.

September 1, 2004  The Proposed Resolution 9-04, THE TOWN OF FOREST HEIGHTS, MARYLAND INFRASTRUCTURE BONDS can now be downloaded by clicking here: (HTML Format) (PDF Format).

August 31, 2004 The Public hearing on the Forest Heights $2 million bond issue, originally scheduled for Wednesday, September 1, 2004, has been rescheduled to 7:00 P.M. on Wednesday, September 15, 2004 at 7:00 P.M. at the Municipal Building. This public hearing will occur one hour before the regularly scheduled Town meeting on that day.

Public Hearing on Bond Resolution The Town Council will conduct a Public Hearing on September 1, 2004 at 6:30 P.M. in the Municipal Building in considering a proposed issuance of $2 million of public debt to cover the cost of road repairs and reconstruction within the Town of Forest Heights. The official notice of the public hearing can be downloaded by clicking here: (PDF Format) or (HTML Format).

Also available here is a summary of the February 2001 Boca Report which contained an analysis of the cost of repair and reconstruction work for the Town's streets. The entire report is available in a 4 MB PDF file, but regrettably we cannot support a file that large at this time on the forestheights.biz website. If your e-mail server can support receiving a 4 MB file, we would be happy to e-mail a copy to you. Send your request to newseditor@forestheights.biz. Otherwise, we can provide a limited number of copies on a CD-ROM disk. Some paper copies of the report may be available at the Municipal Building. In addition to the report summary, we are providing here a copy of a street map of  the Boca report's color coded recommended priorities for conducting the repair and reconstruction work (PDF Format) (JPG Format).

Appropriations for current year draw-down of the bond issue proceeds were included in the Town's FY2005 budget (PDF Format) (HTML Format) passed at the June 16, 2004 Town meeting (see news article below).

The Town has invited written comments on the proposed resolution. These comments should be submitted to the Town at 5508 Arapahoe Drive, prior to September 1, 2004.

Town Council Passes Record Budget and Increase in Utility Taxes At the June 16, 2004 Town meeting, the Forest Heights Town Council passed a record budget of  $1,625,552, surpassing by $840 thousand the FY2004 amended budget published in the March 2004 edition of the Forest Heights News (PDF Format). The published FY2004 amended budget, however, does not include what appear to be additional FY 2004 appropriations approved by the Town Council in an unpublished amendment found in Council Resolution 6-04.

Town Council to meet June 14, 2004 Because business was not completed at the June 7, 2004 meeting (see story below), the Council will meet again at 6:30 p.m. on June 14 to finish its review of the proposed Town budget.

Public Hearing on Town Budget The public hearing on the Town Budget was finally held prior to the Town Council Workshop meeting on June 7, 2004. A number of Town citizens attended the hearing and provided a number of comments on the budget. Former Mayor Kemp Cook, who was one of the citizens in attendance, noted however, that it was difficult for the citizens to provide meaningful comments because of the minimal amount of information provided to the citizens in the form of the budget summary published in the Forest Heights News. Mayor Noble responded that she was just following the practice of former administrations, but she said more details would be made available to citizens in the future.

Immediately prior to the public hearing, Mayor Noble swore in the last member of the Forest heights Ethics Commission, Which now consists of Myles Spires, Chairman, and members Anne Reifsneider and Marvin Redmond.

June 7, 2004 Council Workshop Session As the Council was about to transition from the public hearing to its regular workshop session, Myles Spires, Chairman of the Forest Heights Ethics Commission (FHEC) requested an immediate closed session of the Council so the FHEC could conduct an investigation of an alleged criminal misdoing which surfaced from a statement of a Council member during the public hearing. The Council then voted unanimously to close the session to accommodate the FHEC investigation. No further public business was conducted that evening. The FHEC has subsequently issued an advisory opinion based on the finding of its investigation.

April to May 2004

Public Hearing on the Town Budget Canceled   The May 2004 edition of the Forest Heights News announced that there would be a public hearing regarding the 2005 Fiscal Year budget on May 27, 2004. However, after a discussion by the Mayor and Town Council at the May 19, 2004 Town Meeting, Mayor Noble announced that the public hearing would be rescheduled to provide for a two week notice of the meeting, and to provide time for the Mayor to present a proposed budget to the Town Council. Mayor Noble said she would present a budget to the Council at its June 7, 2004 workshop meeting.


Municipal Curbside Recycling Agreement  The Town Council voted to continue the curb-side pick-up recyclable household waste. Under this program, a $40 annual fee per household is charged to each homeowners tax bill. This fee is a component of the $70 itemized Solid Waste Service charge that appears on homeowners PG County tax bill. Recycling is a voluntary program in which the Town is participating.


MNCPPC Police Presentation  Captain Steve Tucker of the PG County Division of the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC) police department gave a presentation at the Town meeting regarding his agency's program. There are two MNCPPC parks in Forest Heights: Bell Acres Park off North Huron Drive on the west side of town, and Forest Heights Neighborhood Park at the end of Shawnee Drive and beginning of Terrell Avenue on the east side of town. He said that his agency has police jurisdiction in MNCPPC parks in Prince George's County, including the streets and sidewalks leading up to the parks. He encouraged citizens to call his agency on 301-459-3232 if they observe any illegal or suspect activities in the parks (emergency calls). For non-emergency matters he suggested calling 301-429-5253. If you do not have their emergency number available, dial 911, mention that the incident is occurring in a park, and the dispatcher will route the call appropriately. For further information, visit their website at http://www.pgparks.com/info/police.html.


Town Website  The Town Council approved the development of a Town website at the May 19, 2004 Town meeting. The cost of developing the website was stated to be $300, and would be subsequently maintained by the Town Clerk. [When the Town's website is operational, we will provide a link to that site.]  A preview to the contents of the Town's website can be obtained by clicking here.


Police Report  At the May Town Meeting, Police Chief Bernard Sewell briefed the Town residents on the crime situation in the Town. He said that the crime situation is "good," meaning that the crime rate is low. He also stated that the Police Department is almost up to its authorized staffing level, with only one position remaining to be filled. He apologized for a "typo" in the May 2004 edition of the Forest Heights News in which the page 6 article on parking regulations indicated that vehicles parking on the left side of a one-way street should have their right-hand wheels within 12 inches of the curb. He said it should have read the left-hand wheels within 12 inches of the curb. He stressed that the enforcement of the parking regulations is a safety issue in the Town and he hoped that Town residents and their guests would comply with the rules.


Town Clerk  It was reported at the May Town meeting that the Town Clerk is seriously ill. We hope you will join us in praying for her speedy recovery.


Town Election Results
Town election results: The following are the results of the May 12, 2004 elections for Forest Heights Council seats as announced by Election Board Chairwoman Shirley Peters:
Ward I: George Wiggers 19; write-in candidates Robert Barnes 3, Abigail Eason 2, Lylia 1
Ward II: Cliff Atkinson 25; write-in candidate Roger Smith 1
Ward III: Larry Stoner 50, Taunya Hines 19


Town Council Votes an 82% increase in the Town's Property Tax Rate At the April 21, 2004 Town meeting, the Mayor and Town Council introduced and approved several resolutions, including Resolution 4-04 which "increased by $0.21 from $0.256 to $0.466" the Town's real property taxes. A more detailed discussion on this resolution can be found on the Budget and Finance page of this website.


The other resolutions approved by the Council are:


RESOLUTION NO. 2-04, A RESOLUTION TO APPROVE ESTABLISHMENT OF LINES OF CREDIT FOR THE TOWN OF FOREST HEIGHTS. This resolution enable the Town to establish credit accounts with local stores to facilitate Town employees to make purchases for supplies needed in connection with their work for the Town. The resolution also authorizes a VISA card for use by the Mayor and Council Members "for travel related to Town business." (PDF Format)

RESOLUTION NO. 3-04, A RESOLUTION TO ESTABLISH A BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE TOWN OF FOREST HEIGHTS RETIREMENT PLANS. This resolution is in response to a recommendation by the current plan's Trustee and Records Managers that a more formal review board is needed to ensure that the Town's employees pension plan is competently managed and ensures adequate funding for their retirement benefits. (PDF Format)

RESOLUTION NO. 5-04, A RESOLUTION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCING PROGRAM. This resolution is related to bond financing, and would permit the Town to participate in a program run by the Maryland State Department of Housing and Community Development. See additional discussion of this resolution on the Budget and Finance page of this website. (PDF Format)

Town Elections  The following Town residents have announced for Council seats for the May 12, 2004 Ton election: George Wiggers, Ward I; Clifton Atkinson, Ward II; and Taunya Hines and Larry Stoner (incumbent) for the Ward III seat. The candidates statements can be found in the April edition on the Forest Heights News or on the Voting & Elections page of this website.

Special Meeting of the Town Council  The Mayor and Town Council met in an unannounced meeting on Monday, April 12, 2004 at 6:30 P.M. The meeting was not posted in front of the Municipal Building or at any of the street entrances to the Town. According to the Maryland Attorney General's Manual on the Open Meetings Act, page 17, the public body must give "reasonable advance notice of the meeting." It also states that "Unless some unusual circumstance makes it impracticable to do so, the public body should give a written notice that includes the date, time and place of its meeting." Furthermore on page 18, the manual states "The Act does not mandate any particular period of advance notice. Undoubtedly, the General Assembly recognized that sometimes meetings have to be held on short notice. The rule of thumb, given the policies of the Act, is that notice of a future meeting should be given as soon as is practicable after the body has fixed the date, time, and place of its next meeting. If events require the prompt convening of a previously unscheduled meeting, the public body would be well-advised to provide immediate oral notice to reporters who are reasonably thought to be interested, and a written notice should be posted in the customary public place as quickly as possible. Impromptu meeting or not, the Act’s 'procedures must be followed ... [for] any session of a public body that is within the scope of the Open Meetings Act.'”

According to Council President Lynn Smith Barnes, the Town met these requirements by announcing in the January 2004 edition of the Forest Heights News that "Council will meet every Monday, times will be posted. If no time is listed, please call the Town Hall on that Monday."

At the beginning of the meeting, Councilman Ross made a motion to close the meeting in order to discuss personnel issues involving the Town Clerk. On a voice vote, the motion passed and the Council went into a closed session.