CHEVY CHASE VILLAGE BOARD OF MANAGERS MARCH 8, 2021 MEETING

STAFF REPORT

TO: BOARD OF MANAGERS FROM: SHANA R. DAVIS-COOK, VILLAGE MANAGER DATE: 3/4/2021 SUBJECT: PUBLIC HEARING: DRAFT BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JULY 1, 2021 (FY2022)

Background The Board held its work session to review the Village Manager’s initial draft budget on February 22, 2021. The full detailed draft budget and draft Capital Improvements Program (CIP) were posted to the Village website prior to the work session. To-date, no comments have been received regarding the draft budget, however, one budget request has been submitted by the Friends of Chevy Chase Circle for a donation toward two of their capital projects totaling $47,000 (attached).

Budget Documents No changes have been made to the proposed budget since your work session, however, at the request of Board Treasurer Gary Crockett we have created the following two documents to reflect the change between the FY2021 operating and capital budgets:

• First Draft FY2022 Operating & Capital Budget Summary, with % difference from FY2021 • FY2021 vs. FY2022 Capital Budget Comparison

FY2022 Budget Process

• The Board is scheduled to hold two Public Hearings on the draft budget: o Monday, March 8 regular monthly meeting o Monday, April 12 regular monthly meeting • An explanatory memo regarding the budget will be drafted by Board Treasurer Mr. Gary Crockett and included in the April issue of the Crier. • The Board will adopt the FY2022 operating and capital budget and the real estate and personal property tax rates during the Village’s Annual Meeting on Monday, April 19.

Board Action Requested Unless there are amendments to the proposed budget, no formal Board action is required at this time and the enclosed budget summary will be included in the April issue of the Crier.

Attachments First Draft FY2022 Operating & Capital Budget Summary, with % difference from FY2021 FY2021 vs. FY2022 Capital Budget Comparison Donation Request from the Friends of Chevy Chase Circle Village Contribution Policy General Funds and SafeSpeed Budgets Combined Summary Proposed FY2022 TOTALS I. Revenue FY2022 % Difference from FY2021 Income Tax 3,000,000 0.0% Property Tax 1,001,667 0.0% Investments & Misc. Income 35,500 -72.0% Cost Recoveries/Grants 395,300 58.0% SafeSpeed Citation Revenue 650,005 -7.0%

Total Revenue 5,082,472 0.0%

II. Costs

A. On-going Programs Personnel Operations Total

Department Services Police 1,814,367 410,050 2,224,417 1.8% Communications 413,830 27,720 441,550 4.6% Public Works 688,215 518,073 1,206,288 2.7% General Government 750,484 161,090 911,574 3.1% Professional Services 0 100,000 100,000 0.0%

Facilities, Fleet, & Infrastructure Village Hall 116,975 116,975 1.5% Parks, Trees, & Greenspaces 260,488 260,488 4.0% Lights 40,000 40,000 0.0%

------Subtotal 3,666,896 1,634,396 5,301,292 2.5%

Surplus/Draw on Reserves (218,820)

B. Capital Projects

Equipment Computer Server 10,000 Public Safety Technology 20,000 Police Cruisers 90,000 Public Works Equipment Purchases 52,000 Public Works Vehicle Purchases 192,000

Projects Sidewalk Maintenance 4,500 Street Maintenance 50,000 Streetlight Upgrade 5,000 Municipal Storm Drain System 250,000 Belmont Ave. Extended Buffer Drainage Project 60,000 ------Subtotal 733,500 -7.6%

Total Costs 6,034,792 1.2%

Surplus/Draw on Reserves (952,320)

Projected Reserves 11,926,756 Chevy Chase Village FY2021 vs. FY2022 Capital Budget Comparison

Projects:

Projected to Notes Budgeted Proposed be Spent FY21 FY 22 FY 21 Ongoing maintenance of sidewalk. Annual costs are increasing as trees mature, their Sidewalk Maintenance Program (Ongoing) $3,500/yr. $3,500 $4,500 roots impact adjacent sidewalks, which have to be reset/repaired to address potential trip hazards. Street Maintenance & Repair Program Ongoing maintenance costs for roadways $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 (Ongoing) and associated curbs. No upgrades were performed in FY21. Ongoing cost has been reduced in Streetlight Upgrades (Ongoing) $10,000 $0 $5,000 anticipation of a systemwide upgrade by Pepco. Planning and permitting is expected to be Municipal Storm Drain Project $330,000 $40,000 $250,000 completed in FY21 with construction in FY22. Public Safety Technology & Equipment Placeholder for possible expenditures to $20,000 $0 $20,000 (Ongoing) aid public safety efforts Buffer $0 $0 $60 New project in FY22

Expenditures:

Budgeted Spent Proposed Notes FY21 FY21 FY22 General Government Equipment: Replacement of the accounting server Village Computer Server(s) $10,000 $0 $10,000 deferred from FY21 to FY22. Vehicles: Replaced as scheduled, well-under budget; General Government Vehicle Replacement $40,000 $23,000 $0 and received $7,500 for sale of the vehicle that was replaced. Public Safety Communications Equipment: Police Radios $30,000 $28,200 $0 Vehicles: Marked Police Cruiser (x1) $0 $46,000 Replacement deferred from FY21 to FY22. Unmarked Surveillance Vehicle $0 $44,000 Replacement deferred from FY21 to FY22. Public Works Equipment: Leaf Vacuums (x1) $0 $0 $52,000 Replacement of the older of two units. Replaced as scheduled, well-under budget. Tractor $48,000 $22,600 $0 The former skid steer loader that was replaced was traded in for $22,000. Vehicles: Pick-up Trucks (x1) $0 $0 $42,000 Due for scheduled replacement. Replaced as scheduled, under budget. The Medium-duty Dump Trucks (x1) $120,000 $111,000 $0 truck that was replaced has not yet been sold. Rear-load Trash/Yard Waste Truck $0 $0 $150,000 Due for scheduled replacement.

Chevy Chase Circle Preservation and Protection of a Local Landmark

Two Projects for Consideration by the Chevy Chase Village Board of Managers: A Request for Funding

As submitted by: Friends of Chevy Chase Circle, Inc.

March 8, 2021

Friends of Chevy Chase Circle: Request for Donation

Since 2014, the Friends of Chevy Chase Circle, Inc., (FoCCC), a local volunteer organization working with the , has had a very specific mission:

To renew, beautify, maintain and protect Chevy Chase Circle, a historic landmark and a gateway to the Nation’s Capital.

Towards this mission, FoCCC has been highly successful. Here is a partial list of our accomplishments to date:

• Six new Willow Oaks and one Sugar Tyme Crabapple planted • Dozens of feet of new wood benches installed • A beautiful display of 2600 tulips planted each spring • “Mulch rings” around each oak tree making for healthier trees and a more manicured look for the Circle • A landscaped design of perennial plants and grasses in the “traffic splitters” laying north and south of the Circle • New lane markers and traffic patterns around the Circle through the work we initiated with the District’s Department of Transportation (Ddot) and Maryland’s State Highway Administration (SHA) • Continued maintenance of the two traffic splitters and the mulch rings at a cost of $6100 per year since 2017

Now, we have come to a historical juncture and there are two capital improvement projects pending that would make a tremendously positive difference to the Circle and the environs of the Village in terms of safety and aesthetics. One project is the addition of lights to the fountain and the second is a re-design and upgrade of the four flowerbeds that surround the fountain.

Both projects are outlined for you here:

2 PROJECT ONE: Installing Lights in and Around the Fountain

Why Now?

For many years, the rehabilitation of the Circle’s central feature has been on the NPS’s deferred maintenance list. For years, the deteriorating fountain has been passed over for other projects. But in 2019, Federal funding became available to take the first step in realizing a renovation of the fountain: An engineering firm was hired by the NPS. Now, after a year of work, a plan for renovating the fountain is in hand and it is “shovel-ready”. Just this spring, planning has moved into the “construction planning stage”.

The Department of the Interior has allocated nearly $1milllion in funds for this infrastructure project. It is anticipated that work may begin as soon as Fall 2021 or Spring 2022. A new basin, new pumps, new drains and a new electrical system will be part of the rehabilitation. But not lights. The lighting is considered an “add-on” and per the Crawford Consulting Services’ “Cost A Estimate” that we were asked to obtain and pay for by the NPS, the total cost of adding nine lights to the interior of the fountain and six lights surrounding the base of the fountain is $40,893.

What Has Been Spent So Far and What is Needed?

Undaunted, in 2018, in anticipation that one day the NPS would find the funds for the renovation of the fountain, FoCCC hired a lighting designer and an engineering firm to develop a lighting plan for the interior of the fountain and the surrounding basin. The plan included nine lights that would be submerged in the interior of the fountain to light the water plume and six lights that would sit on plinths outside the flagstone plaza focused on the fountain’s basin. After extended work with the NPS, in the spring of 2020, the plan developed by the FoCCC was brought to the Commission of Fine Arts and won approval. This past fall the NPS fully incorporated our lighting plan into the anticipated renovation of the fountain. Supported by community donations, the total expenditure made by FoCCC for this lighting design and engineering phase was $18,433.50.

A very generous $20,000 has been committed to the $40,893 needed for the lighting project by the /NPS Superintendent Julia Washburn.

3 Another $21,000 is needed to ensure that the “add-on” lighting, initiated and supported by the community, is part of the fountain’s renovation.

Requested Donation: $21,000

As part of the design plan, FoCCC held a “mock-up” of the lighting in October of 2019. This is what the lights in the fountain and at the base are anticipated to look like.

PROJECT TWO: Renovating the Flower Beds

Why Now?

In 1994, Barbra Price, a Chevy Chase Village resident, under the aegis of the Chevy Chase Historical Society, and with an outpouring of support by the community and local retailers, brought new landscaping to the Circle. With the cooperation and aid of the NPS, white-blooming azaleas were installed and ten crabapples trees, 300 rose bushes and a variety of bulbs and perennials were also added. But today, many of those roses have been lost to accidents and flooding and none of the original bulbs and companion plants still exist. After some 25 years of wear, tear and neglect this landscaping is in need of replacement.

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In addition, we have an opportunity now to coordinate our efforts with the newly designated “Chevy Chase Main Street”* that will bring a new aesthetic to the retail corridor. Efforts are also now underway to renovate the historic bus terminal just south of the Circle in DC and the property at 9 Chevy Chase Circle. Our plans for the new look on the Circle are aimed at off-setting long term maintenance costs, bringing color and four season beauty to our neighborhood landmark while protecting a community treasure in a way befitting the community and the times.

What Has Been spent so Far and What is Needed? Through a generous, $10,000 donation provided by the Garden Club of Chevy Chase, this spring FoCCC has been able to initiate Phase One of the garden renovation on the flower beds surrounding the fountain. In preparation for the hoped-for new installation of plants, the soil will be amended, the ivy eradicated, the azaleas severely cut back and most importantly, in an effort to save the remaining roses, all will be trimmed and mulched and some will be transplanted to bare spots and better locations within the beds.

An upgrade and a new design for the Circle’s flowerbeds are critically needed. We have a preliminary design in hand that incorporates seasonal color with a selection of easy care perennial plants. A spring display of daffodils will replace the annual show of tulips, eliminating a recurring expense, and plants will be “bunched” to provide significant color swatches and easy viewing from passing vehicles and pedestrians.

Requested donation: $26,000

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This sketch was provided by Guy Williams of DCA Landscaping Architects. Plants are grouped according to colors along expanded borders of the beds.

Additional Reasons These Projects are Important to the Village

Protecting, enhancing and renewing the Village’s green space has always been a point of pride and certainly, a priority. This has been evident in the Village’s willingness to purchase and maintain Western Grove Park, to donate to Somerset School’s playing field and in the outlay of funds for the dog park. Making more green space available to Villagers makes sense.

For nearly 100 years, at nightfall, the fountain has disappeared into the dark and accident after accident on or near the Circle has demonstrated that additional safety measures are needed. FoCCC spear-headed the effort to bring all of the Circle’s stakeholders to the table and through our efforts, Ddot and SHA have coordinated their plans for the Circle. Last June’s newly paved, painted and re- designed Circle is the result of years of work with various state agencies, NPS, the Village’s Shana Davis-Cook and Chief Fitzgerald. Adding lights to the Circle’s

6 fountain is another safety measure that is needed. While the interior fountain lights will only be on when the fountain is on, the six exterior lights aimed at the basin will assure that the fountain is lit and visible 365 days a year.

FoCCC sees these projects as providing a direct and material benefit to all Village residents.

For the two projects, we are asking for a total of $47,000.

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As outlined below, we have carefully ensured that our request conforms to the Village’s stated criteria for Donation requests:

The Six Criteria for Evaluating Donation Requests Per the Village’s Contribution Policy: Our Response

1) The contribution will provide a direct and material benefit to a significant number of Village residents….

By virtue of its history….. The Circle and its iconic example of landscape architecture is a significant landmark which shares its name with Chevy Chase Village. Not only is the Circle the historic gateway to the Village but it was also conceived and designed by the Village founders as the central hub of the community. This past summer the Village Board addressed that history directly by drafting and then adopting a Resolution to change the name of the Fountain’s namesake. Because of that effort and others like it, legislation is now moving through the 117th Congress to do just that. This bespeaks to Village history and not the general public.

By virtue of its central location within the Village….. Villagers use the Circle as a guide for navigation and giving directions. It abuts the Village’s boundary with DC so most residents cannot avoid using the Circle’s

7 roadways multiple times a day because it provides for one of the few options for entering and leaving the Village. It is Village residents who benefit far more from the appeal and the proximity of the Circle than the general public of Montgomery County and the District.

By virtue of the Village’s continuing efforts to provide green space and amenities to the Village residents….. The Circle’s green space is more accessible to Villagers. The Villagers enjoy the Circle’s towering trees and central fountain and without question, a well-tended, colorful green space adds to the psychological well being of a community. Adding lighting to the fountain and around its basin will not only add to its beauty but more importantly, it will aid in negotiating the Circle by night. This will add another layer of safety to the neighborhood’s streets and Villagers are clearly the prime beneficiaries. . 2) The contribution will support a capital improvement or other extraordinary need of a public institution, program or facility as distinguished from supporting a current operating budget.

The addition of lighting to the fountain and new landscaping to the Circle qualify as capital improvements by any legal or financial definition. It is clearly distinct from an operating budget.

3) The contribution will supplement and not supplant funds from the requestor’s primary funding source.

A very generous $20,000 has been committed for the lighting project by the Rock Creek Park/NPS Superintendent Julia Washburn but another $21,000 is needed. In other words, a donation to FoCCC for the fountain’s lighting would supplement not supplant NPS’s funding. The $26,000 needed for the new landscaping would provide for a new design and the installation of new perennial plantings that will bring all-season color and interest to the Circle. A $10,000 donation has been made to FoCCC to initiate Phase One of this project. Phase Two entails initiating a new design, the

8 installation of new plants and a reconfiguring of the existing beds. None of these funds would go to any routine Circle maintenance, now or in the future.

4) The contribution is important to the success of the project.

The contribution from the Village is critical to the success of the project for a variety of reasons. FoCCC was asked to pay $40,893 by the NPS to cover the cost of adding nine lights to the interior of the fountain and six lights surrounding the base of the fountain. This figure is in addition to the $18,433.50 that FoCCC has already spent on the design and engineering of the lighting plan. NPS identified $20,000 to contribute to this project by NPS but another $21,000 is needed. This “partnership” approach is not uncommon. In 2018 when the benches in the Circle were re-made at the cost of about $30,000, NPS came to FoCCC and asked for half of those funds. FoCCC complied by using funds generously donated by the community. The Village Board was not asked for a contribution. The timing of this project is specifically tied to the Federal budget and its timeline. The Department of the Interior initiated the years long rehabilitation planning for the fountain in 2019 and it is now complete. They have a blueprint in hand. The project has moved into the construction-planning phase. The Federal government has allocated nearly $1milllion for this project but the lights are an “add-on” and were not part of the initial concept for rehabbing the fountain. Fortunately, FoCCC understood the community sentiments in favor of lighting and chose to take on this project solely for the intrinsic benefits it will bring to this community. Lighting will not only enhance the aesthetics of the Circle but more importantly, the safety of the roadway around the Circle. Conversely, the lighting project will be crippled without the Village funding and sadly, an opportunity for a historic addition to the fountain will be missed as the lighting is tied to the renovation. As to the landscaping project, it will be hampered and stalled indefinitely in the absence of the $26,000 requested from the Village. We have an opportunity now to coordinate our efforts with the newly designated “Chevy Chase Main Street” that will bring a new aesthetic to the Connecticut retail corridor and the efforts now underway to renovate the historic bus terminal just south of the Circle in DC.

9 Our plans for the new look are modest and are aimed at offsetting long term maintenance needs while enhancing a community treasure. 5) The request must be made by a Village resident.

All of the FoCCC officers who are requesting this contribution are residents of the Village. They are as follows: Ruth Robbins, President Gerri Carr, Vice-President Lisa Sanders, Treasurer Valerie Grace, Secretary

6) The recipient of the contribution must be a governmental or quasi- governmental entity or a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(C) of IRS Code…

FoCCC, Inc. is a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c) and has been since its founding in 2014. ###

Additional Options and Suggestions for Management of the Donation

In the years of 1998-2000, Chevy Chase Village contributed services to the maintenance of the Circle by mowing the lawn on the Circle. The Town of Chevy Chase assisted as well before the mowing went back to the NPS in 2003. An “in- kind” donation would be one very limited way to help. In this case, picking up the maintenance on the north triangle and thus freeing some funds for additional Circle maintenance by FoCCC would help off-set some expenses but only approximately $1000 per year.

Because the NPS is now in the construction planning stage for the renovation of the fountain, NPS has asked that we provide our share of the cost of the lights as soon as possible and preferably by April 1. (NPS only came to us the on February 19th to make this request.) Given the Village’s budget cycle, we can work with the NPS and provide some flexibility here if needed.

10 As to the new flowerbeds, installation of new plants in the Circle’s flowerbeds is dependent on the successful execution of Phase One renovation this spring. Moving ahead with a full and timely renovation of the garden will not be feasible without Village funding in either the fall of 2021 or the spring of 2022.

This is the first time FoCCC has asked the Village for a direct donation. Up until now, the Village has provided a crew to help water the north triangle when it was first installed in 2017. Also, until the pandemic put us all on Zoom, the Village Board graciously allowed us to use the Village Hall for our FoCCC quarterly meetings.

Since the launch of FoCCC, Inc. in 2014, we have raised significant funds on our own. We have also been the recipient of a $50,000 donation from the Chevy Chase Land Company. Those funds are now earmarked for specific projects or have already been spent on a range of projects and improvements. No money has gone to paid staff or anything but the bare minimum to keep FoCCC a viable organization. If funded, our goal is to move ahead with the projects outlined here and then go to the wider community to establish funds for maintenance and an endowment. Consequently, in the future we will continue to supplement the work of the NPS, provide needed maintenance, and ensure that the Circle remains a true centerpiece of our neighborhood.

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Other Information and Materials:

The Friends of Chevy Chase Circle, Inc., is made up of a 14-member board with eight members from Maryland and six members from DC, including an elected commissioner from DC’s ANC3g, the local neighborhood organizing body.

We would be happy to provide any additional materials including the October 2020 Cost A Estimate from Crawford Consulting Services, the FoCCC design plan for the fountain lighting reviewed by the Commission of Fine Arts and any financial data or records that you require.

*The Chevy Chase Main Street program serves the businesses, organizations, and individuals who live, work and play along the Connecticut Avenue corridor in DC. Its programs provide

11 direct technical assistance to local businesses and also plan local events and promotions that draw people to the neighborhoods, create volunteer opportunities, and connect stakeholders.

Respectfully Submitted, Ruth Robbins. President March 8, 2021

(With the able assistance of Lisa Sanders, Gerri Carr and FOCCC consultant, Lou Mosberger)

FriendsofChevyChaseCircle.org

(A chart outlining costs, responsible parties and timing follows here.)

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