Meeting Round Up: Riverdale Park Town Council Worksession

Riverdale Park's Town Council held a work session Monday evening at town hall. They discussed various items regarding summer events in town as well as the agenda for the upcoming legislative meeting on Sept. 7.

• Mayor Vernon Archer said the Route 1 development booster event which was initially planned for October will now be moved to the spring - either March or April.
• Archer also said MNCPPC may be allocating $150,000 to revamp the old boys and girls clubhouse off 51st Avenue into a community center, but the item must be discussed further and funding must be available.
• Town Administrator Sara Imhulse said Riverdale Park Day has been planned for October 2 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Riverside Park. Unlike previous years, the event won't be held at the Riversdale House Museum because they will be construction a geothermal system in the fall.
• Police Chief Teresa Chambers reported that the speed camera located off Riverdale Road near Riverdale Elementary School has helped slow traffic since its initial installment. "At our highest we saw 116 violators during a day a month ago and on Aug. 25 there were only 16 violators," Chambers said.
• Chambers also reported that code enforcement has been looking into foreclosed homes and vacant homes reported in the area and have also taken noted of any illegal housing in the neighborhood.
• Mobile vendor placards are now available for mobile vendors - or ice cream trucks - that serve Riverdale Park. Vendors must come to the town office to receive the yellow placards to display in their trucks.
• Police and public works have looked into speeding off Lafayette Avenue as requested by Councilman Alan Thompson, Ward 2. However, they did not see as much speeding as expected. Chambers said they would look into the data collected to see if there was a pattern detected.
• Public Works Director Leonard Addison said trash will not be collected on Monday, Sept. 6 due to the Labor Day Holiday. The next regular trash pick up will be Sept. 9.
• Starting July 1, 2010, the frequency of Saturday drop off of bulk trash at the DPW facility will be changed from weekly to the third Saturday of each month, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. only.  The schedule over the next four months is as follows:  September 18, October 16, November 20, and December 18.

Editor's Note: There are a few items that were discussed Monday evening that have not been included in this note. I will follow up on those items with detailed stories this week.