Happy AANHPI Heritage Month and Town Updates
AmyJean Chung Fry
Hello neighbors!
Happy Asian American, Desi American, Native Hawaiian, & Pacific Islander Heritage Month!
This month I encourage you to join me in taking time to learn more about the many different cultures, religions, traditions, and languages that this month celebrates. We are not a monolith.
This month, on Tuesday, May 28, at Hyattsville Library from 5:30-730 PM, come join me and many of my colleagues as we celebrate and close out AANHPI Heritage Month.
I hope you are staying dry on this wet 5th of May! Our family recently celebrated our 9th anniversary of being in Cheverly, and after reflecting on the past 9 years, I feel like time has flown by and I'm sure many of you can relate. Now that the nicer weather is here, we should be thinking about a block party!! (WHO'S IN?)
PLEASE GO VOTE!
This Thursday is our Town Meeting.
Prior to the meeting, there will be an ice Cream Social at 5 PM to meet the new Assistant Chief of Police.
After that, there is a Public Hearing for traffic calming at 7 PM in what is currently Ward 4, which will be the intersection of Ward 4 & 6 and will impact Ward 6 residents. Forest Road at Hillside Avenue is looking for a striped pedestrian crosswalk across Hillside and a raised pedestrian crosswalk across Forest Road. This is an area where there are high speeds and many young children walking and on bikes. That is a dangerous combo and asking our neighbors to slow down has not worked. If you have comments or feedback, please come to the public hearing which is both in person at 6401 Forest Road or via Zoom.
The Town Meeting will be held after the public hearing.
Other Updates:
Budget Season is upon us and while we work through our budget, I have two bits of good news to share
The Town of Cheverly received $1,688,000 from #TeamMaryland, our federal delegation, to go towards flood mitigation, which was greatly needed. As most of our neighbors know, we are plagued with water issues, much like the areas around us, and there are parts of our town that have been waiting patiently to get sinkholes and other repairs made. I'm grateful to Senators Cardin & Van Hollen and, of course, our very own Congressman Ivey. This is the second year in a row that our Administrative Team has worked very hard to go after funding to offset the costs that the Town has.
I'm excited to announce and thank our very own Delegate, Julian Ivey, for fighting to bring funds ($500K) to Cheverly. He knows that these stormwater issues are abundant and that, specifically, in Ward 6, we have homes that have not only been long awaiting a sound wall but that are currently seeing their priority being eroded by what is happening beyond their backyards. This state money will be going towards this, and the PW Team is currently working on a site summary so we can fully understand the scope of the work and what is ahead. There's a good chance we will need more money, so make sure to say a BIG THANK YOU and a pretty please when you see any of our State Delegation.
Our Admin, PW, and CPD Teams have been working very hard and collaborating with our federal, state, and county counterparts to ensure we are going after every dollar that may be available to assist in improving our town's infrastructure.
We continue to be in the midst of Budget meetings. Constant Yield Hearing is up and coming. Please make sure you are on News & Announcements to get updates.
Thank you to Ward 6 resident Doug Alexander. He's been advocating and assisting Cheverly Cats, which is a branch of A Cat's Life Rescue whose mission is to educate the community and safely get cats neutered and released. Through his advocacy and the advocacy of Cheverly Cats, they were able to receive funding to begin this pilot program in town. If you have issues with or you are a caregiver, I would encourage you to get in touch with Cheverly Cats. They can help you!
Hospital Hill
A meeting will be held on May 21, 2024, to discuss the Community-led survey. Please stay tuned for more information and details.
The Fiscal Impact Analysis is here, and you can watch a recording of the meeting here.
Connections
Council Member Garces and I have been working diligently to finally have a safe and accessible connection for Cheverly Station Apartments and our residents who live in an area that is geographically separated by tributary 4. This is something that was started with former Council Member Jenny Garcia, and through her advocacy and now ours, we are making headway. We will see a public path through Kilmer Park soon. What is a paper street will now be an accessible path, and I am excited and want to give a shout-out to our Team for working diligently to make it happen.
Woodworth Trail
I want to thank the residents who came out in concern of the Woodworth Trail. There is no threat to the Woodworth Trail. The town has been in conversation regarding its strategic plan, which includes potential land acquisition and connectivity. There are vacant lots that everyone in the town wants to keep as green space. This is a priority for all and the Town is actively looking for ways to fund the purchase of these parcels. That being said, we can not buy what the owners will not sell to us. The town and the council have made these parcels a priority, and we know how much our community has put into maintaining them (Thanks to Ward 6 resident Gabe Horchler and many others). Please know that we are monitoring the options closely.
Policies
One thing I have learned since becoming a public servant is that it is not uncommon to see government entities without guidelines, standard operating procedures, policies, or rules written down. This leads to a feeling of lack of transparency and ineffective governance.
Like many municipalities around us, we are playing catch-up, and our Team has done a really good job of tackling this issue, one after another. We are currently working on a facilities usage policy and an Advisory Committee policy. I want to take this moment to thank our Admin Team for putting in place the current building use policy, outdoor facilities permit process, and special events process and ensuring our Town advisory committees ARE in line with the Open Meeting Acts rules that apply.
Redistricting
The third and final reader to pass the redistricting ordinance will happen at Thursday's Town meeting!
The Mount Hope Commission (MHC) Board of Directors is accepting applications for Co-chair: Communications and Outreach. Your participation on the MHC Board will help us realize our vision for a just, fair, and loving community achieved by understanding our history and how it has shaped who we are today. By building an understanding that binds us together, we can acknowledge and reconcile our past, and mindfully build our future.
The MHC Board is a working Board. The role of the Co-chair: Communications and Outreach is to share the Commission’s work and findings through the development and delivery of educational and communication materials that promote the MHC’s events and special programming.
To learn more about the role and the MHC, please review the attached materials and our website at www.mounthopecommission.com . If you are interested in serving as the MHC Co-chair of Communications and Outreach, please return the attached application to mounthope...@gmail.com on or by May 10, 2024. Your application will be reviewed by the sitting Board, and you will be notified of its status on or by June 7, 2024. If you have any questions, you may send them to mounthope...@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you.
Upcoming Events
For more information about these and other events, check out the town newsletter/en Español
Ice Cream Social
Thursday, May 11
5:00 PM
Town Hall
Public Hearing Traffic Study Hillside/Forest Road
Thursday, May 11
7:00 PM
Town Hall
Town Meeting
Thursday, May 11
8:00 PM
Town Hall
Saturday, May 11
9:00am until Sold Out
Town Park Pavilion
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Public Safety Forum
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Pickleball Tournament
9:00 am - 3:00 pm
All Town Offices are Closed
A Reminder re: Communications
If you need immediate police assistance or want to report a crime in progress, please call 911.
If you need a police response that does not need to happen in a timely manner, please call the non-emergency line at 301.352.1200.The county dispatcher will send Cheverly police if they are on duty and available, or will send County police.