Council Agenda: Pumphrey Parking, Budget Work and a New Clerk

Introduction of an ordinance on the Robert A. Pumphrey Funeral Home parking lot, a resolution establishing a panel to review the city’s charter and a review of the budget and the city’s Art in Public Places program are on the Rockville City Council’s agenda for Monday.

The council meets at 7 p.m. at . The meeting will be broadcast live on Rockville 11.

The meeting also will include a resolution designating Douglass A. Barber as the new city clerk. Barber, the former clerk of the City of Hyattsville, was . Today is his first day on the job.

Pumphrey parking

In a 3-2 vote on April 16, the council moved to reverse that was intended to allow to build a parking lot on property adjacent to the existing funeral home.

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The council is scheduled on Monday to get a first look at an ordinance that will finalize the reversal and blocking the parking lot construction.

The final vote is expected May 7.

The proposed lot drew 40 speakers at a public hearing on March 26 and generated .

Charter Review Commission

The council also is scheduled to vote on a resolution establishing a panel to review the city’s charter.

Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio recommended that the council establish the panel. Marcuccio has said that she would like the city to consider moving to staggered four-year terms for the mayor and council. She also would like the city to consider increasing the number of members of the council.

Moore is expected to offer a resolution calling for a panel of no more than 15 members from a pool of applicants with the mayor and each council member selecting three members. The resolution calls on the panel to examine the city election schedule, term lengths for the mayor and council and the number of members on the council. The panel would report to the council before the next year.

Moore previewed his resolution last week in .

Budget work

The council is scheduled to hold a work session on the city budget for fiscal 2013, which begins July 1.

This is the third work session held by the council. It will focus on the operating and capital budgets for the public works and community planning and development services departments.

A fourth and final work session is expected May 14 to complete work on any outstanding budget issues.

is $107 million. The proposed capital budget is $75.1 million.

A final public hearing is scheduled for May 7. Staff is recommending that the public record remain open for written testimony until May 17.

The council is scheduled to adopt the budget on May 21.

Art in Public Places

The council also is scheduled to discuss the city’s Art in Public Places program. The city’s Cultural Arts Commission is recommending that the council fund the program at a rate of $1 per capita in the fiscal 2013 budget—a cost $62,759.

The commission also is recommending the council revise the program, to improve communication between the commission and the council and to increase flexibility in how projects are funded and awarded.

In addition, the commission is recommending that the council make a $50,000 award to David Hess of Phoenix, MD to create and install a steel and stainless steel sculpture at the Gude Drive Maintenance Facility. The commission also is asking the council to issue a second call for entries for a $75,000 award for public art at the .

The council discussed both projects Oct. 3 but decided to delay any decision.

Correction: The original version of this article incorrectly stated that the council will take its final vote on the Pumphrey Funeral Home parking lot on Monday. Monday's agenda includes the introduction of the ordinance to set up the final vote on May 7. This version corrects the first and fifth paragraph. Rockville Patch regrets the error.