GREENBELT Nov. 5 News ReviewAn Independent Newspaper VOL. 82, No. 49 15 Crescent Rd., Suite 100, Greenbelt, MD 20770-1887 OCTOBER 31, 2019 Council Opposes Engraving And Printing Move to BARC by Diane Oberg The Greenbelt City Council 2018 Meeting tal hazards on the site, such as went on record opposing the Council held a worksession asbestos and lead paint, removing proposal to move the Bureau of with BARC and BEP represen- 23 abandoned buildings, erecting Engraving and Printing (BEP) tatives in February 2018, ac- a security perimeter and making to the Beltsville Agricultural Re- cording to a story in the Feb- any required improvements for search Center (BARC). The vote ruary 22, 2018 News Review. the intersection of Powder Mill at the October 28 council meet- As described then, the proposal and Edmonston Roads (MD 201). ing was 6-1 with Councilmember called for moving the BEP to Access would likely be from JENNIFER STERLING BY PHOTO Leta Mach opposed. She wanted a 100-acre site used for poultry Powder Mill Road. Franklin Park residents carve pumpkins. See pumpkin stories, to meet first with the agencies research. This area has been un- The plans called for an pages 8 and 11. before taking a position and was used since the 1990s. This site 800-space parking lot or above- concerned about the impact on is located between Powder Mill ground garage. Project Manager BARC if it had to continue to and Odell Roads. BEP would Chuck Davis of BEP told council Annual Fall Fest Continues bear the administrative costs of be responsible for cleaning up all the center on its own. known and unknown environmen- See BARC, page 21 Tradition of Autumn Fun by Kayla Kozak Este artículo está disponible ees before the festival had been en español en nuestra página open 15 minutes, with parked web www.greenbeltnewsreview. cars lining the sides of Hanover com. Parkway. By 2:30 p.m., nearly October 26 marked Green- every available spot was filled, belt’s annual Fall Fest at Schrom and the park had been trans- Hills Park, a Saturday afternoon formed into a hotspot of autum- full of fun and free events for nal activities. kids of all ages. This year, the parking lot was filled with attend- See FALL FEST, page 6 Election 2019 Options Remain for Voting Friday Through Election Day PHOTO BY LISA MILLS LISA BY PHOTO by Kathleen Gallagher Residents of Greenbelt Station enjoy Halloween festivities. As Election Day approaches, which is also open to all voters, most Greenbelt voters who still is still available through the be- need to cast a ballot are prob- ginning of next week. An appli- ably intending to go to their as- cation for an absentee ballot must Turner Updates City Council signed polling place on Tuesday, be submitted at the City Clerk’s November 5 between 7 a.m. and office in the Municipal Building 8 p.m. Nonetheless, at least by noon on Monday, November On New Schools and Zoning through Monday morning, there 4. A voter can fill out the ap- are still options for those who plication, receive the ballot and by Matthew Arbach might want or need them. vote on the spot. Otherwise, in District 4 County Council- attempted this. The school system mined to be in the most need at Early Voting continues at the order to be counted, the absentee member and Council Chair Todd has narrowed down the list of the moment. The goal is to build Municipal Building through Fri- ballot must be returned to the city Turner attended a Greenbelt City companies to four, who will bid six to eight middle schools over day, November 1 from 9 a.m. clerk’s office no later than 6 p.m. until 5 p.m. Absentee voting, Council worksession on Wednes- on a request for a proposal in the See VOTING, page 9 day, October 16 to give updates next couple months. The com- See TURNER, page 18 on topics such as recent legis- pany selected will be responsible lation and the developing P3 for all financing, construction and school construction plan. Clar- important maintenance such as ence Moseley, permits supervi- electrical and HVAC systems for sor for the county Department a period of roughly 30 years, af- of Permitting, Inspections and ter which the school system will Enforcement (DPIE), was present assume control of the schools. to inform on the status of that The school system will retain department. control of all other issues. Turner began by saying that Middle schools were deter- the county council is now at 11 members with six of them new to the council. With County Ex- ecutive Angela Alsobrooks also What Goes On being elected in 2018, Turner described 2019 as a year of tran- Sunday, November 3 sition and learning. Despite this, 1 to 3 p.m. Community Art he asserted that this has been a Drop-in, Community Center very successful session. Tuesday, November 5 The evening’s major topic of 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Greenbelt discussion was the state-autho- City Council Election rized plan to build and main- Thursday, November 7 tain new middle schools with a 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Free Pro- PHOTO BY EMORY HENSLEY EMORY BY PHOTO private/public partnership (P3). duce, Springhill Lake Elemen- The Eleanor Roosevelt High School Wind Ensemble is featured on NBC Morning News. See This will be the first time a ju- tary School. (Park on street.) story, page 16. risdiction in the U.S. has ever Page 2 GREENBELT NEWS REVIEW Thursday, October 31, 2019 Editorial Letters Policy During Elections Kudos for Great Fall Events The News Review reserves Thousands of fun-seekers attended the Fall Fest at Schrom Hills the right not to publish any Park on Saturday afternoon, October 26 and the Family Fun Fest letter submitted. Letters are at Springhill Lake Recreation Center. We were very impressed considered accepted when with both venues and the hard work and imagination shown by the published. city recreation department in planning these festivals. They were All letters must include the both highly enjoyable, high-spirited events, some of the best we letter writer’s name, physical have witnessed in Greenbelt in recent memory. Both festivals bring address and telephone num- together residents from all parts of the city. ber. All letters are subject to The number of children was impressive and if the Halloween editing for reasons of space, costumes they wore were any example, we can expect some stupen- libel, privacy, taste, copyright dous trick-or-treaters coming to our doors on Halloween. and clarity. These, and other Greenbelt festivals, are also a draw for many In an election year, the people from outside our city. Among the non-Greenbelters we News Review will not print a talked to, many expressed a desire to live here. letter raising a new issue the Congratulations to the combined efforts of Greenbelt Recreation, week prior to election day, Police, and Public Works, and all the individuals and organizations when no other party would who helped make these events the successes they were. Well done. have a chance to respond. Letters to the Editor Be Seen Pumpkin Volunteers lies who volunteered their time I enjoyed Pete Reppert’s Thank you to everyone who to provide much-needed sup- comic last week about reflective is still wiping pumpkin guts off port (Julian Adams, Susan Bar- tape so you can be seen on the their hands, picking candle wax nett, Windy Cooler, Paul Downs, streets. Until the sidewalks issue from their fingernails, flicking Greg Fisanich, Robert Goldberg- is resolved, I propose a haiku: seeds out of their truck beds and Strassler, Becky Hammer, Laura Wearing all dark clothes. washing mud off their boots - our Lising; and the Blacksten/Ottens, Walking in the street. At night. community came together once Connor, Ezzell, Jenkins, Lietz, Pick two out of three? again to create magical Pumpkin Littlefield, Maul/Chonczynski, Alan Duda, Lakeside Drive Festival events in all three Green- Mazursky, McLaughlin, O’Roark, (with no sidewalks) belt hubs: West, East and Center! Ossi, Platt, Saunders, Turner/ Our beautiful woods sure did look Bland, and Waters families). And lastly, thank you to my husband, University of Maryland Reporters Ward-District System great dressed up for the holiday! Special thanks to CHEARS, Erik Goddard, and our kids – I support Greenbelt taking on Chase, Emerson, and Leila – for University of Maryland students in journalism are writing for a Ward-District system for city Old Greenbelt Theatre, J Davis, the News Review. They are: India Afriyie, Margaret Attridge, David Rodney Roberts, Toby Delrahim/ your patience and support. elections. I believe in that system Amy Knesel Blumberg, Aneurin Canham-Clyne, Sara Chernikoff, Kaitlyn Cupelli, because Greenbelt has grown and Mid-Atlantic Walking Group, and Ben Curtis, Clara Longo de Freitas, Laura Franklin, Kayla Kozak, continues to grow to the point all individual donors for their Kaitlyn Levinson, Sean McGoey, Fatemeh Paryavi, Gracie Todd where we need wards-districts. gifts, which have cumulatively and Ivan Torres. Greenbelt is the only incorpo- funded this year’s events and will cover a large portion of next rated city in Prince George’s County that does not use this year’s festivities. model, which ensures that every An incredibly gracious thank section of the city gets a voice you to: CHEARS for their third Greenbelt on the city council. We could year of fiscal sponsorship, fund- adopt a model that has a split- ing, and physical support; Carolyn ward at-large system, where you Lambright-Davis for spearheading News Review the SHLRC carving; Melissa Eh- have three wards for all three AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER major sections and four at-large renreich for running the Schrom Hills walk; Anne Oudemans for council seats and from those Movies since 1938 15 Crescent Road, Suite 100, Greenbelt, Maryland 20770-1887 her continued enthusiasm and council at-large seats will come Old Greenbelt Theatre Phone: 301-474-4131; Fax: 301-965-8247 your mayor and mayor pro-tem.