GREENBELT News ReviewAn Independent Newspaper VOL. 80, No. 24 15 Crescent Rd., Suite 100, Greenbelt, MD 20770-1887 MAY 4, 2017 Greenbelt Station Transportation Woes, Budget and Beer at Council by Diane Oberg At its April 24 meeting, the developers, Woodlawn Develop- The Bus route. However, the City Council discussed the sud- ment Group, had for months been county requires that at least 10 den discontinuation of the Green- in negotiations with the county people must take The Bus each belt Station shuttle to the Metro about providing service, while day in order for it to continue. station, adopted two changes to giving no notice of this potential Ard noted that staff has asked the city’s building code, held the change to Greenbelters. Woodlawn to reconsider their first public hearing on the budget Trullinger asked the city to do decision but had not yet gotten and introduced an ordinance that whatever it can to get Woodlawn a response. would allow the Greenbelt Farm- to reinstate the shuttle. She also reported that the path ers Market to add beer and hard In addition to the cost con- to the Metro station should be cider to its tastings. cerns, Trullinger said The Bus is ready by the end of this summer. PHOTO BY MELANIE GRIFFIN BY PHOTO Shobha and Bill Duncan of Greenbelt join the crowds at the Greenbelt Station less convenient for residents. It However, City Planner Jessica Climate March in Washington, D.C. on Saturday April 29. Joseph Trullinger of Greenbelt does not run a loop around the Bellah reported that Woodlawn is Station came forward to report community as the shuttle did and, finding that the soil in that area on residents’ concerns over the although it is now running every is not adequate to support the sudden replacement of the free 15 minutes, residents have been asphalt trail and is working to Paper Holds Firm on Ad Rates: shuttle to the Greenbelt Metro told that after the Safe Track dis- resolve that issue. She said she station with a new route for the ruptions are over it will run only will convey to Woodlawn that the Color Free, Nonprofits Boosted county The Bus service, costing every 40 minutes. In addition, Cherrywood Lane section of the by Cathie Meetre $1.25 each way. Residents were The Bus has more limited hours trail should be the priority over not informed of the change until than the shuttle did. the Branchville Road section. In a bold move, this newspa- munity – readers, advertisers and late in the final day of service. Later in the meeting, City Franklin Park per has implemented substantial the paper itself. Unlike a com- He said that bus stop signs have Manager Nicole Ard reported that Ray Gordon urged council changes to its advertising policies mercial newspaper, which would not yet been installed. Woodlawn is contributing $8,000 to do whatever it could to stop and practices. This redesign of have gleefully pocketed the in- These changes, he said, leave for July to December of this year, stores in Greenbelt from selling ad policy utilizes savings from creased profits, the News Review residents paying more for less ac- and $17,000 over the next two recently decreased printing costs resolved to share these savings cess to Metro. He noted that the years toward the cost of running See COUNCIL, page 10 and co-opts additional funds from (and more). the operating budget of the paper The committee’s charter was to revamp and rationalize rates. to a) make it so nobody paid This will provide a new and more for the ad they get now, sustainable advertising baseline b) create a rate structure that New Cell Phone Tower Dominates – with no rate increase to any was objective and easy to apply advertiser. The primary results consistently and c) accomplish Heated Discussion by City Council are: no fee for color, no change this in a sustainable and fiscally in standard and tier advertising responsible manner. This tall or- by Diane Oberg rates, no change to the non-profit der involved extensive analysis of rate, extension of non-profit rates costs, projections of income and Judging by crowd size, the into the PGCPS’s general budget, meeting were adequate. A num- to fund-raising events and a re- no small measure of angst. topic of greatest interest to resi- not to ERHS. ber of nearby property owners, duction in the cost of inserts. Color Rates dents at the April 24 City Coun- The tower is proposed to including the three Greenbelt It’s not often that there’s an The paper will no longer cil meeting was clearly the pro- be installed close to Greenbelt East residents on council (Mayor opportunity for everybody to win. charge a fee for color. The paper posed construction of a T-Mobile Road between the parking lot and Emmett Jordan and Councilmem- But a chance came up for this began experimenting with col- cell phone antenna tower on the Greenwood Village. It would be bers Judith Davis and Edward newspaper recently and it will ors other than the time-honored grounds of Eleanor Roosevelt 105 feet high and placed upon a Putens) said that they did not benefit readers, advertisers and Historic Greenbelt Green about High School (ERHS). Council site that is higher than the school receive notification. the paper itself. With a more 18 months ago and introduced unanimously approved motions building and is one of the highest Another major issue is the economical rate for printing the a surcharge for those advertisers to send a letter expressing their points in Greenbelt. This would location and height of the tower. paper, there came the opportu- electing full color – which was concerns to Milestone Communi- increase its visibility in other ar- The mock-ups presented by the nity to re-examine advertising generally limited to four pages cations, which would install the eas of Greenbelt. Milestone has company show the tower loom- rate structure and policy. An of the paper, only three of which antenna, and to send additional posted more information about ing high over nearby houses. advertising committee of Diane were available to advertisers. letters to County Executive Rush- the proposal at roosevelthswire- The tower will be closer to some Oberg, Sylvia Lewis and JoEllen At that time, the paper didn’t ern Baker and Chief Executive less.com. homes in Greenwood Village Sarff, ably assisted by the paper’s really expect to cover the ad- Officer Kevin Maxwell of Prince Council and residents pres- than to the school building itself. accountant, Mary Halford, was ditional cost with color fees but George’s County Public Schools ent had several concerns about Also frustrating to council charged with using this leeway was cautiously hopeful that some (PGCPS). Council was to col- the proposal. First was about the and residents are the limited op- where it would do the most good laborate with staff to refine the community meeting to be held the tions for fighting placement of for the entire News Review com- See PAPER, page 9 draft letter to Milestone and the following evening in Seabrook. the tower on ERHS land. City letters to Baker and Maxwell. Council questioned whether this Attorney Karen Ruff noted that The ERHS tower would be location and the means used by What Goes On one of many authorized under the company to announce the See CELL TOWER, page 11 Sunday, May 7 an agreement between PGCPS 9 to 11 a.m., Women’s Bicycle Social Ride, New Deal Café (See and Milestone. The school board city ad for details.) has approved the contract but is not involved in the selection or 1 to 3 p.m., Community Art Drop-In, Community Center review of tower sites. Monday, May 8 The tower would have three 5:30 p.m., Youth Advisory Committee, Community Center vertical supports upon which 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., Grief Counseling Support Group, Municipal several large signs would be Building placed. As an example, Milestone 7:30 p.m., ACE Student Awards Reception, Municipal Building showed a photo of a tower in- 8 p.m., City Council Meeting and ACE Student Awards, Municipal stalled at Corkran Middle School Building, Live on Verizon 21, Comcast 71 and 998, and streaming at in Anne Arundel County, which greenbeltmd.gov/municipaltv has panels showing the school Wednesday, May 10 mascot, the name of the school 7 p.m., Budget Worksession with Recognition Groups, Community and three panels each containing Center one letter of CMS. Under the agreement between ., Advisory Planning Board, Community Center 7:30 p.m the PGCPS and Milestone, the 7:30 p.m., Zero Waste Circle, Public Works school system would receive 40 Eleanor Roosevelt High School Thursday, May 11 percent of the revenue generated Proposed Marquee Tower, as it 6:30 p.m., Forest Preserve Advisory Board, Municipal Building by the tower. These funds will go would be seen from nearby houses PHOTO SIMULATION COURTESY OF MILESTONE COMMUNICATIONS OF MILESTONE COURTESY SIMULATION PHOTO Page 2 GREENBELT NEWS REVIEW Thursday, May 4, 2017 Editorial City Notes Street Maintenance/Special FOP Vote Should Be Quashed Details crew removed defective concrete at the outdoor pool, set We are concerned about the method by which the Greenbelt anchors for lifeguard chairs and Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) recently took a vote of no con- repaired a walking surface by re- fidence in Acting Chief Tom Kemp. We further believe that such painting the decorative area next a vote was an inappropriate vehicle in which to inform council of to the kids pool.