August 30, 2018


Dear Friends,

I hope you have had a good summer! Several private schools opened this week and all Prince George's County Public School students return to school on Tuesday, September 4. Please drive carefully and watch for our children walking to and from bus stops and school. Remember, both directions of traffic must stop for school buses when the red STOP sign is deployed. Visit the PGCPS Back to School webpage for information about bus stops, the Back to School Night schedule, and more.

The County Council reconvenes from recess on Tuesday, September 4. I anticipate September will be an incredibly busy month for the Council as we review dozens of pieces of legislation and continue the intense work on the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite legislation.

Committee of the Whole work sessions will be held in September to further the discussion and review amendments to the proposed  Zoning  Ordinance Rewrite legislation before the bills are considered for introduction and scheduled for a final public hearing. 

If you have not submitted comments on the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite legislation, now is the time! Please review the legislation and learn more on the Council's Zoning Ordinance Rewrite Portal. Friday, August 31, is the last day to submit comments online. After Friday, please send comments  directly to:  Clerk of the Council, County Administration Building, Second Floor, 14741 Governor Oden Bowie Dr., Upper Marlboro, MD 20772. Oral testimony to the amendments to CB-14 and CB-15 will be taken on September 4 and testimony to CB-13 will be heard on September 18. Sign up to speak on one or both of these dates by calling the Clerk's Office at 301-952-3600.

If you have driven anywhere between New Carrollton and Bethesda this summer you know that Purple Line construction has begun. Lane closures, sidewalk closures, detours will increase throughout the coming year. If you have not done so already, please sign up to receive Purple Line construction updates via text message or email. You can select which portions of the line you want to receive updates about. For example,  this update was sent on August 1 alerting residents to the full closure of Ellin Road on or about October 1, 2018. Sign up for updates in English or Spanish here. Construction will be painful, but in the end we will have an incredible light-rail system.

This morning representatives from Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission's Department of Parks and Recreation, Prince George's County Public Schools, the Town of Riverdale Park, and I joined Riverdale Elementary families to celebrate the opening of two new playground areas at and adjacent to Riverdale Elementary School. Thanks to a collaborative partnership, we delivered two beautiful recreation amenities for our students and the entire community. The larger playground will be dedicated to school student use during the school day and open to the community after school and on weekends and holidays. 

Do you know a rising high school sophomore, junior or senior who would benefit from a program designed to develop students' leadership capacity and civic engagement as well as provide them with action-based opportunity to promote positive change in our community? Encourage them to  apply to the  Leadership Prince George's Emerging Leaders Program before September 14. The $50 program fee (due upon acceptance) covers all the workshops and activities throughout the year. Contact leadershipprincegeorges@gmail.com with questions.

The red oval indicates the area within Glenridge Park where the new middle school will be built. Click the image to enlarge.
Progress continues to be made on delivering new middle schools for our children. Pending state funding, we are on track for students to begin the 2021-2022 school year in a brand new William Wirt Middle School, which will be built adjacent to the current building. (After the new school is built, the existing building will be demolished to restore playing fields to the site.) We are also on track to open a brand new middle school in Glenridge Park the same year. These schools will address critical infrastructure and capacity concerns. You can find links to the presentations from the various community and planning meetings for each school site 
here . Community meetings to review the schematic designs for each school will be scheduled for late September or early October.
 
As always, don't hesitate to reach out to a member of my staff or me if we can assist you in any way.

Together Strengthening our Community,
     



P.S. I'm active on social media! If you are, too, please engage with me on Facebook or Twitter.

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Are you looking to purchase a home? Do you know someone who is? Check out the  Prince George's County Purchase Assistance Program! Funded by the Housing Investment Trust Fund and administrated by the Revenue Authority, eligible home-buyers can receive up to $20,000 in 0% interest, deferred loans, which are paid back when the home is sold, transferred or ceases to be the primary residence of the buyer. 

Homeowners Can Receive up to $5,000 for Energy Grants through County Program!

The TNI Clean Energy Grant Program offers grants to qualified homeowners in the County's Transforming Neighborhood Initiative (TNI) locations to perform energy efficiency retrofits and/or install solar.

Contact your D3 Team
301-952-3060

CouncilDistrict3
@co.pg.
md.us
 
Wanda Brooks 
Citizen Services Specialist
-- 
Owen Kahn
Policy Intern
ojkahn@co.pg.md.us
-- 
Alvinia Kelly
Office Manager & Scheduler
arkelly@co.pg.md.us 
-- 
Thomas Mayah
Citizen Services Assistant
CouncilDistrict3@co.pg.md.us
--
Aimee Olivo 
Chief of Staff
-- 
Alina Smith
Latino Liaison
--
Alesha Wilson
Community Outreach & Special Projects Coordinator
aewilson@co.pg.md.us


If you have received this e-news from someone other than my office, and are interested in receiving this update directly, please email CouncilDistrict3@co.pg.md.us or call (301) 952-3060.