Good Evening Ward 1 and other friends,
Today, Councilmember Honzak and I went to Montgomery Blair High School to celebrate the ten year anniversary of 16 & 17 year old voting and thirty year anniversary of non-citizen voting in Takoma Park with some voter registration and talking to students. The students were all very enthusiastic. We are hoping to go back next fall as our own elections near to get everyone excited to vote in our 2024 election.
Tomorrow morning (Wednesday November 8th), Takoma Beverage Company is hosting “Coffee with a Cop” from 9am-11am. I will head over there after dropping my son off at TPES. I hope to see some of you there.
City Council Meeting Agenda - Wednesday, November 8, 2023 7:30pm
In June the City Council passed a resolution on legislative priorities we suggested the Maryland Municipal League to adopt for the 2024 Maryland legislative session. Of the three priorities we put forward, the one that they adopted that reflects our request is “Expanding local revenue opportunities.” Our resolution specifically suggested options might include a percentage of sales tax or a portion of revenue generated by alcohol and tobacco sales, but I am hoping that MML might come up with other ideas as well. I think that the MML’s second priority of “Authorizing local tourism zones for statewide economic development” is in line with Governor Moore’s goals for Maryland based off of his speech at an MML meeting this October. The last priority the adopted was “Allowing trained staff to review speed camera citations.” I understand why this is helpful for municipalities that don’t have their own police departments. In those cities, they would be able to use speed cameras. I don’t know how helpful this would be for Takoma Park but will ask Chief DeVaul about it.
Our two priorities that MML did not adopt were (1) to address housing security and quality for low and moderate income residents and (2) to advance Vision Zero goals, which mostly deal with pedestrian safety. Those both remain priorities for me. I am looking forward to a conversation with our lobbyist and City Council about what else we might work on.
Director Jessica Jones will provide us with an update on the library construction timeline and budget. I appreciate how quickly the City staff has brought us an update. I am looking forward to a candid conversation about how we can deal with this financial challenge.
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