FOCUS ON SAFETY Cottage City on alert after house fire. A-4
The Gazette
SPORTS: DeMatha golfer takes over leadership role on a young Stags team. B-1
NORTHERN AND CENTRAL PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNT Y
NEWS: Greenbelt honors educators at annual awards ceremony. A-5
DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Thursday, March 12, 2015
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County seeks input on $2B schools plan n
New maintenance report tageted for late May BY JAMIE ANFENSON-COMEAU STAFF WRITER
KIRSTEN PETERSEN/THE GAZETTE
Duane Plumley from the Laurel Department of Public Works shovels salt in the back of a truck March 4 before a snowstorm the next day. City officials said roads have been treated with 1,818 tons of salt, calcium and sand to handle the first 14 storms of the season. The stock was exhausted prior to the March 5 storm.
A new process for evaluating and rating school system facilities is under development to help Prince George’s Public Schools prioritize over $2 billion worth of deferred maintenance. “It does seem overwhelming, but if you can break it down into manageable pieces, it can be done, if there is a will, and if the public has a will,” said Sarah Woodhead, PGCPS director of
capital programs, during the first of three public hearings, held Tuesday at Charles H. Flowers High School in Springdale. A final public meeting is scheduled March 19 at Northwestern High School in Hyattsville. Jay Brinson, project executive for Washington, D.C.,based project management firm Brailsford and Dunlavey, said a final master plan prioritization report is expected to be completed by the end of May, with drafts released to the school system in late April. Woodhead said the school
See SCHOOLS, Page A-6
Snow, ice pile up in Laurel budget Towne Centre could add liquor store to retail mix n
Residents say city has handled winter weather well BY
KIRSTEN PETERSEN STAFF WRITER
Frequent snow and ice storms pushed Laurel significantly over its snow budget this year, but residents say the extreme weather does not mean the city must expand the budget in future years. Rob Ferree, director of the Laurel Department of Public Works, said 1,076 man hours and 1,818 tons of salt, calcium and sand were necessary to handle the first 14 storms of the season, not including the most recent snow storm March 5. This work has cost the city $173,603, pushing the department $65,861 over its original snow removal budget, Ferree said. “We pretreat all the roads in Laurel so
the ice does not stick to the pavement,” Ferree said. “[We] constantly reapply a salt mixture so everyone can get around and be safe.” The deficit will be balanced with $88,000 in unanticipated highway user revenues, which include motor fuel tax, titling taxes, vehicle registration fees and rental car sales taxes, said Michele Saylor, director of the city’s Department of Budget and Personnel Services. The revenues may be able to cover the cost of the March 5 storm as well, although the total cost of handling that weather event has not been determined, Ferree said. Additional funds to cover any further deficit have not been identified, Saylor wrote in an email to The Gazette. Mike Walker, 44, of Laurel said snow removal has been excellent this year and adding more money to the budget next year should not be necessary.
“This year is extreme,” Walker said. “If they budget every year as if this year is typical, they’ll over budget.” The city has exceeded its snow budget only two other times in recent years, in 2010 and 2014, and expenditures did not exceed $50,000 in 2012 or 2013, Saylor wrote. Saylor wrote that the city would not over-budget for snow because funding needs in other areas of the budget are more immediate. “We need to provide funding for a few storms, but it’s a tough balance with the uncertainty of the weather and resources being spread over all the department budgets in order to provide services to the citizens and property owners,” Saylor wrote. The snow removal budget expands based on increases in employee pay scale and the cost for salt, Saylor wrote.
See SNOW, Page A-6
Project focused on life in Hyattsville Residents can use Instagram account to share their lives for a week n
BY JAMIE ANFENSON-COMEAU STAFF WRITER
Hyattsville resident Lonna Hays is channeling her love of social media and her city to create an online venue for residents to share a glimpse into their lives in Hyattsville. “I love Instagram, and I love Hyattsville, so I thought, why not?” Hays said. “This will be a great way for people to share what they love about living in Hyattsville.” Instagram is an online social media site that allows users to
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upload and share photographs taken with mobile phones through a downloadable application, according to its website. Hays said she enjoys using social media, including Instagram, Facebook and online blogs and listservs. “I love to see people’s lives and what they do,” Hays said. “I particularly like Instagram because the pictures always come out very nice and pretty, and it’s a very positive place.” Hays said she came up with the idea after seeing a similar community photo project, @ wethepeopleDC. Hays said the way it will work is that Hyattsville residents can sign up to use the @OurHyattsville handle for a week. During
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See PROJECT, Page A-8
Legislature considers license for off-sale purchases at Laurel mall n
BY
KIRSTEN PETERSEN STAFF WRITER
Shoppers visiting the Towne Centre at Laurel can check every item off their grocery list, but if it’s beer, wine or liquor, they must go elsewhere. That could change this year if the General Assembly votes to add a liquor store to the retail mix.
“I think it’s a good idea. It will bring more people to the area,” said Laurel resident Jodi Fouchler, 31. State Sen. Jim Rosapepe (D-Dist. 21) of College Park and members of the Prince George’s County Delegation are sponsoring a bill that would replace one of the Towne Centre’s six Class B-DD liquor licenses, which can be awarded to restaurants, with a Class A license for a liquor store. Ten retailers in Laurel currently have a Class A liquor license,
See LIQUOR, Page A-6
College Park wants WSSC update help Homeowners, renters say sewer water flooded homes last year n
BY
KIRSTEN PETERSEN STAFF WRITER
LONNA HAYS
One of the first photos posted to the @OurHyattsville Instagram community project: Hyattsville resident Lonna Hays (top, center) with (from left) Esther Hays, her son, and Misty Carlyle at Busboys and Poets in Hyattsville.
TEAM’S TRIUMPH Coach sparks Boys & Girls Club program revival, reintroduces basketball.
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Volume 18, No. 11, Two sections, 20 Pages Copyright © 2015 The Gazette Please
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After a series of “five-year storms” caused flooding in dozens of College Park homes, residents and Prince George’s County officials say communication between the community and the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission needs to improve to prevent future losses. Some residents living in the Calvert Hills neighborhood say sewer water came up from their
toilets and flooded their basements during a sudden storm June 10, 2014. John Rigg, the president of the Calvert Hills Citizens Association, said residents dealt with a similar issue in June 2009, nearly five years to the day of the most recent flooding, and another time before that in 1998. WSSC spokeswoman Ayoka Blandford said although there was flooding throughout the county that day, most were storm drain events, meaning that non-WSSC water entered homes. Blandford said the WSSC does not notify residents every
See WSSC, Page A-6