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Politics & Government

Meeting Roundup: Town Council and Mayor May Get Paid, Lift Term Limits

Notes from the May 2 council meeting in University Park.

University Park's mayor and council met Monday night for their legislative session.

  • The proposed fiscal 2012 budget now includes an annual stipend of $10,500 for the mayor and $1,500 for each council member, according to Mayor John Tabori. Tabori said the $10,500 was “sort of in the middle” . He specifically referenced District Heights, saying he learned that the mayor there earns $14,000, and also gets a car and credit card. On the low end, he said other jurisdictions pay their mayors about $6,500. 
  • Tabori said Town Attorney Suellen Ferguson would also be looking into the legal basis of lifting the town’s term limits, as well as starting new terms on July 1. Tabori said the latter would preclude freshly elected members from having to vote on a budget he or she wasn’t involved in.
  • A town-wide dog walk through the streets of University Park looks set for June 10 after the council voted in favor of the Good Dog Club’s application. The event will stretch from 7 to 8:30 p.m., with a rain date of June 24. 
  • Councilman Lenford Carey gave his appraisal of the town’s electoral-outreach efforts, calling much of the signage aimed at promoting the elections on stop signs inadequate. “It took me awhile to find the notices of the elections,” he said. Town Clerk Amy Headley said there is no specific regulation over how large the signs need to be, but indicated she would make the signage larger next time around. 
  • On a separate note, Headley said her three-days-a-week archiving efforts are going “extremely well.” She said she recently discovered a 1926 map of the District of Columbia that included University Park on it. “So we’re going to (put) it online.” 
  • For his part, Public Works Director Mickey Beall indicated that the WSSC is replacing faulty pipes along Holly Hill Road. 
  • Beall also brought up the University Park playgrounds, saying the tot-lot may be in need of more wood chips after an inspection. According to Beall, the tot-lot was last replenished in October 2009. In response, the council passed a motion to move $2,000 from the town’s undesignated reserve fund to purchase more wood chips. 
  • The council also unanimously approved an application to repave an existing concrete driveway along the 4300 block of Clagett Road in Ward 5. 
  • An application to install a shed along the 6500 block of 41st Avenue was tabled during the meeting — this, after input from both the would-be shed owner, Aaron Rust, and a neighbor who lives nearby. “I don’t mind reducing the (roof’s) pitch if that will be a deal-saver,” said Rust, whose current plans include a wood shed with vinyl trim measuring roughly 16x10x13. Rust’s next move will include another visit to the county before submitting his final plans to the council.
  • At around 9:20 p.m., discussions over contract negotiations concerning University Park’s Street Repair and Maintenance Plan led the council to go into executive session, preventing any further reporting on the topic and meeting.
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