Upcoming City of Greenbelt Dog Park Work Session (May 29, 2019)

On Wednesday, May 29, 2019 at 8:OO PM in Room 201 at the Community Center (15 Crescent Road), there will be a City Council Work Session on the possibility of building a Dog Park in Old Greenbelt. At the last Dog Park work session, which took place in 2018, the City Council decided that the following sites would be under consideration: Greenbelt Lake Dam, Northway, and Valley Stream Park.

The work session agenda and meeting packet were added to the City of Greenbelt calendar on May 24th. The agenda includes a link to a map of the proposed sites (with their dimensions) that includes two new sites: open area off Lakecrest Drive (between lake and forebay), and Indian Creek off Branchville Road (Greenbelt Station).

https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/…/Map_of_Pr…

It is really important that interested residents show up at this work session and show their support for this project.

Pet Expo Block Party on Saturday, June 1, 2019

The Pet Expo Block Party will take place on Saturday, June 1, 2019 from 10 AM-2 PM on Hanover Drive near the Greenbelt Dog Park (7200 Hanover Parkway).

Once you turn onto Hanover Drive from Hanover Parkway, you will be directed into the parking lot across from the Greenbelt Dog Park. The rest of Hanover Drive will be blocked off and filled with  tables and booths representing animal-related organizations and businesses.

The SPCA/Humane Society of Prince George’s County will be providing rabies and distemper shots ($10 each), and microchipping for $25.  There will be pet assessments, give-aways, games, food, snow cones and more.  The City of Hyattsville Police K-9 unit will provide a demo. The Greenbelt Community Animal Response Team and the Greenbelt Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) will be there to provide comfort stations for you and your pets. If you don’t already have an emergency plan, including “go bags” for your family and pets, CERT will have materials available to help get you started.

Well-behaved dogs on leash are welcome.  Caution: the weather can make this event very hot for your dogs. Be sure to monitor them so they do not become overheated. Bring water with you for your dog and make sure your dog doesn’t burn its paws on the asphalt. BTW, these are good tips for any summer event.

 

 

 

 

Roberts Rules of Order: When A Member Can Interrupt A Speaker

 

An earlier Members United post discussed attending the GHI Annual Meeting on May 9, 2019.  The post mentioned that the meeting will be run using Roberts Rules of Order and noted that a parliamentarian, who is an expert in Roberts Rules of Order, will also be at the meeting.  Finally, a link (see below) to more information about Roberts Rules of Order was also provided:

https://www.boardeffect.com/blog/roberts-rules-of-order-cheat-sheet/

In this post, we will take a closer look at some of the motions that members can make by  interrupting a speaker, rather than having to wait to be recognized.  These motions do not require a second, nor are they debatable.  In some cases, the Chair of the meeting decides what action is taken next.  For a Point of Inquiry, the inquiry is answered.  In other situations, a majority or two-thirds vote decides what happens.  A brief discussion of each of these procedures follows.

Prince George’s County’s Third Pet Waste Management Summit

Did you know that just one (1) dog can produce 248 pounds of dog waste a year?  If you multiply that number by 151,000, the number of registered dogs in Prince George’s County,  you are talking about 37,448,000 pounds of dog waste per year.

About 60% of dog waste is picked up.  The remaining 40% translates into more than 40,000 pounds of poop left on the ground each day in Prince George’s County.  In other words, more than 40,000 pounds of untreated raw sewage daily.  What do you do to encourage people who do not pick up pet waste, to do so?

Save The Date (April 23, 2019): Public Workshop on Widening I-495 at Eleanor Roosevelt High School

What?

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) State Highway Administration (SHA) are holding Public Workshops at Eleanor Roosevelt High School on the widening of I-495 and I-270.

When?

Tuesday, April 23, 2019, first session starts at 6:30 PM, second session starts at 8:30 PM.

Work Session Between GHI Board of Directors and Prince George’s County Council Members

Work Session Attendees and Purpose of the Work Session

On Thursday, March 28, 2019, the GHI Board of Directors hosted a work session with the Honorable Todd Turner, Chair, Prince George’s County Council and our District 4 Representative, the Honorable Mel Franklin, At-Large County Council Member, and the Honorable Calvin Hawkins, At-large County Council Member.  Greenbelt City Council Member Colin Byrd and City of Greenbelt Department of Community and Planning Director Terry Hruby attended the work session.  Two members of the GHI Audit Committee and several GHI members also attended.  The purpose of the work session was to introduce GHI to these County Council Members and to discuss issues of mutual interest.

GHI Board President Steve Skolnik used this meeting to share information with the County Council Members about GHI, to provide a brief history of GHI, and to provide an overview of the GHI Homes Improvements Program (HIP).  In discussing HIP, he emphasized that the $25 million dollar project would not require GHI to obtain loans as GHI’s replacement reserves program has sufficient funds to cover the cost of the project.

Zoning, Pipes,Yard Beautification, and Bicycles Discussed at the January 17, 2019 GHI Board Meeting

The January 17, 2019 GHI Board meeting not only had a very full agenda, but included several items that could potentially have long-lasting effects on the cooperative.  These items include:

• Member comments on the GHI Zoning Task Force’s (ZTF) proposed Neighborhood Conservation Overlay Zone (NCOZ),
• A  discussion of next steps for the replacement or relining of  water supply and waste pipes for masonry and frame homes,
• A review of the 2018 Community Beautification Program (CBP) and the GHI Yard Solutions Task Force recommendations for the 2019 CBP, and
• The GHI Bicycle Committee’s  recommendation for a change to GHI parking rules to accommodate bicycles.

Please note that there were other agenda items addressed during the GHI Board meeting which are not discussed in this article. 

Notes from the September 20, 2018 GHI Board Meeting

Note: The following is a summary of key issues discussed at the GHI Board Meeting on September 20, 2018.  This summary is followed by a brief discussion of some of the other items on the agenda.

Key items discussed at the Board meeting included:

• Proposed GHI Bylaw Amendments, and
• Review of the Communications Committee’s Report

Proposed GHI Bylaws Amendments

The Board of Directors voted 6 to 2 to send two proposed bylaw amendments to the membership for a 30-day comment period prior to submitting the amendments to the membership for a vote at the next annual membership meeting.  Board members voting in favor of this action were Skolnik, Brodd, Hess, James, Watkins, and Seely, with Holland and Jones voting against.  Kapfer was excused.

Notes from the August 16, 2018 GHI Board Meeting

Note: The following is a summary of key issues discussed at the GHI Board Meeting on August 16, 2018. This summary is followed by a brief discussion of some of the other items on the agenda.

Key items discussed at the Board meeting included:

• Review of the ARC’s Proposed “Forever Homes” Flyer;
• Finance Committee’s Recommendations re: GHI’s Replacement Reserves Plan;
• Board Consideration of the 2017-18 Audit Committee’ s Recommendation; and
• Review of the Updated Strategic and 12-Month Action Plan Reports.

Review of the ARC’s Proposed “Forever Homes” Flyer

Lola Skolnik, Chair of the Architectural Review Committee (ARC) attended the meeting to discuss a new project to encourage members to view their homes as Forever Homes.  The idea behind the project is to encourage members to make changes to their homes that allow them to live in one home through changing life stages. To help publicize this effort, the committee developed a flyer asking members to share what they have done to their homes to accommodate their changing needs.

Afternoon Session of the 2018-2019 Board of Directors Strategic Planning Work Session

For more information about the meeting, read Mo Hamilton’s coverage of the morning session.

Focus of the Afternoon Session

Following a lunch break, the GHI Board of Directors, the Audit Committee and the General Manager agreed that the remaining items to be discussed included a review of the annual strategic actions plan (the Plan), review of the two to five year goals and objectives and an exercise in long-range thinking.  There was some concern that there might not be enough time to cover all these items so the group decided to focus on the annual strategic action plan first.

The work session facilitator for the afternoon session was Becky Roberts, CPF, PMP who is the President of Catoctin Consulting, LLC .