CASB Sept. 10, 2015 Meeting Minutes 

CASB board members present: Duff Durkin (president and meeting moderator), Steve Lord (treasurer), Patrice Murray (secretary), Norman Constantine (at-large). Not present: Terry Rogers (vice president) The meeting was called to order the Pointer Ridge Elementary School at 7:05 p.m. In addition to the Board members, residents signed in on the attached form, including local leaders Mayor Fred Robinson and City Council members Ike Trouth and Dennis Brady. Staff from Maryland state delegate Joseph Vallario’s office also attended.

Board Updates
• CASB has discussed holding general meetings every other month instead of every month.
• Next meeting is tentatively scheduled for November 12th
• By the next meeting, by laws for the CASB will be completed
• The board will be asking for dues in the coming months, likely at the next meeting

SHA Study on Devonwood Drive & Hall Road
• At previous meetings, concerns were expressed about the lack of visibility, speeding and overall safety concerns at this intersection
• SHA (state) officials who conducted the study acknowledged the poor visibility but said there were no improvements that could be made because wall at the northeast corner of the intersection cannot be moved.
• They will make striping improvements on Hall Road at that corner

Mitchellville Road Improvements
• Members of the county’s Public Works Dept. attended the July meeting and stated they would check into the sinkhole and drainage issues as soon as possible.
• The very next day after the meeting (July 10) work crews were out on Mitchellville and addressing the sinkhole problem.
• A new drainage system was installed and the problem seems to be fixed
• Also on the CVS side of the road the drainage issue was addressed
• There were new questions about sidewalk installation along Mitchellville Road. It was reported that Hifazat Ahmad, County Department of Public Works, is addressing that issue
• The crosswalk at Mitchellville Rd. @ Mount Oak Rd. will be addressed by WSSC, which will fix the road when the gas line work is completed
• Traffic light issue at Mitchellville & Mount Oak - still seems to be a problem. Follow up needed.
• Traffic light issue at Mitchellville & Excalibur – there should be a study done. No study was going to be scheduled until school reopened.
• Residents expressed continued concerns with potholes on Mitchellville.

Pointer Ridge Plaza Update
• Duff provided updates on Pointer Ridge Plaza, including that the board met with Jim Farrell, Rappaport Company Executive Director of Leasing and Brokerage, in early August. Board members had an extensive conversation with Jim and he shared the attempts that he had made to various businesses and addressed a number of the board’s questions.
• Dollar Tree has signed a lease for the former CVS space once had. They should open within the next 4-6 weeks.
• A beauty supply store has rented another space in the plaza next to Subway
• Rappaport has reached out to grocery stores, however with the approval of a Super Walmart at Mill Branch Crossing, no deals have been made
• There was discussion about possible options: a bowling alley or roller skating rink; offsite campus spaces for Bowie State University or University of Maryland; ethnic shops

Update on Central Avenue
• Will be patched by winter; paving by next year. Hall Road improvements are planned for Spring 2016.

Activities Updates
• – Duff discussed the Speed Awareness Day we had on Friday, July 10th.
• Residents came out and held signs advocating safe driving in the community.
• The City Police Department gave warnings and tickets that day.

Citizen concerns and questions
• There was an extensive discussion about schools and community values. Improving the schools would improve the ability to attack stores to the plaza.

Action Items
• The group requested an invitation be extended to the Principal of Pointer Ridge Elementary School for the next meeting
• Education focus at the next meeting
• When is the city scheduling curb repairs?
• Timing of traffic lights on Route 301 between Central Ave. and 197
• Issues with traffic backups on Route 301 Southbound, north of 50

Announcements
• Improvements to the Hall Road train crossing are included in the FY 16 budget Repairs to the Central Avenue (Route 214) are scheduled for FY17

Meeting minutes submitted by Patrice Murray and Duff Durkin