Page Title

Text Box: COUNCIL DISCUSSES OXFORD ROAD POSITION By Sophie Keefer The town council last month considered if it should offer an official position on the National Park Service proposals to alter the traffic pattern for entering and exiting Glen Echo Park. Mayor Debbie Beers said that she was not sure the town has an official opinion on which the council could agree. She said the town attorney was looking into the matter of who owns Oxford Road -- the park or the town. In her view, she said, it shouldn’t matter who owns the road; if the park is creating a problem, they should pay for a solution. Town Councilman Dan Macy said that the town would only need to take a position if it disagreed with the position taken by the park and that he was personally opposed to the park’s second option, in which traffic past the entrance intersection would have to be controlled by a NPS employee with a mobile barrier. Mayor Beers said that the second option was problematic because Oxford Road is a snow emergency route, in an agreement by the town with FEMA that was entered into following the 1996 snow storm. Councilman Steve Matney also noted that option two is problematic because heavy vehicles must use Oxford Road to enter the Town. The mayor agreed to send an e-mail to the park about these two points (snow route and use by heavy vehicles).

Text Box: COUNCIL STILL GRAPPLING WITH BIDDING ORDINANCE By Sophie Keefer Mayor Beers explained at last month’s town council meeting two changes she had made to the draft competitive bidding ordinance: to change the number of required suppliers from five to three; and to address the situation if no bids are received after publication, i.e., that the town can then solicit bids any way it sees fit. The second point was the subject of a great deal of discussion. The mayor said she was concerned that for smaller contracts, publication would not attract bids and the town would left without a way to hire contractors. Councilman Steve Matney noted that based on his experience with state and local government contracts, competitive bidding could involve calling a number of contractors from a list, such as that of the Better Business Bureau, and obtaining bids for a minimum number of them. The mayor suggested rewriting the ordinance to provide an either/or option: either publication in a newspaper

Text Box: TOWN BUDGET HEARING Tuesday, May 30, 7:30 p.m. All residents are encouraged to attend.