Doug’s Digest, Sept. 25th

Written By aj campbell

 We are officially up and running, accepting donations, and our yard signs and campaign button designs are underway.

Dear Ward 1 residents,

Yard signs are coming in next week, and you can request one on the website or send me a direct email to: doug4takoma@gmail.com.
Button designs are underway and we will distribute these to supporters as soon as we have them ready!

 Community Engagement

I am committed to open and transparent communication with constituents. Listening to your thoughts and concerns is vital to effectively representing our Ward. During the past week of City Council meetings, and individual meetings I have had with neighbors in the Ward, several issues have come to the forefront: 

  1. Reining in spending by the City—I have heard many comments expressing concern about City spending and questions of how we can address this issue. These comments have also led to conversations about the high property taxes we pay in Takoma Park. I remain committed investigating more on this and exploring innovative ways we can lower City expenditures while also providing some sort of tax relief. 

  2. Development proposals—The Edinburgh House and future plans for Hospital Hill are hot topics at the moment. The City hosted a presentation and Q&A with MHP, the developers of the Edinburgh House project, on Thursday 24th in the Community Center. I have heard concerns regarding the potential positive/negative impacts on parking, traffic, displacement of current Edinburgh House residents, safety concerns for children in the area and the overall change in aesthetics to Maple and Grant avenues. 

  3. Rent stabilization—This has been an ongoing discussion in and outside of Council meetings and it seems that many in the Ward are looking for more information on how this may impact not only renters, but also home-owning taxpayers. There is a lot interest in how the City Council will continue to debate this issue after the upcoming elections. 


 Meeting Overviews: 

 The main topics in the September 23 Takoma Park City Council meeting were:

  • FY27 Budget Amendment No. 2. This was a voting item. One resident focused particularly on the proposed $30,000 replacement reception desk at the Community Center, questioning the design costs, procurement process, bids, and whether insurance should cover some of the flood damage. Several councilmembers later said those were reasonable questions and wanted more documentation.

  • November 3, 2026 city election ordinance. The Council had a second-reading ordinance dealing with the upcoming city election. It was one of the two formal voting items that evening.

  • Takoma Park soccer program. This appears to have been one of the biggest discussions of the night. The Recreation Department proposed taking over or restructuring the long-running volunteer-run Takoma soccer program. Supporters said the program has grown from roughly 1,800 to 2,500 children, while a small group of volunteers is handling rosters, schedules, equipment, referees, field preparation, and other administration. They argued the current structure is no longer sustainable.
    There were also significant questions about the proposal, including the need for a full-time employee for a seasonal program, whether participation numbers and finances were sufficiently documented, the fact that about two-thirds of participants were said to be non-city residents, field and referee costs, and whether the city should initially operate it through a contract rather than permanent staffing. 

    This program is very beloved in the City and many speakers, even Councilmembers, shared their own personal stories of parenting children in the program. I also grew up in the program and was coached by Ed Wilhem, founder of TPNYS (Takoma Park Neighborhood Youth Soccer). Clearly, there is a lot of support for the program, however, there remain details to be discussed regarding the Recreation Department’s proposal before any funds are committed. 

  • Protections for transgender and gender-diverse residents. The other major scheduled work session was a resolution concerning city protections and support for transgender and gender-diverse residents. The agenda indicates this was being discussed that evening and was expected to return for a vote the following week.

  • Stop-sign cameras. The City Manager announced that 10 stop-sign cameras had been taken offline on September 16, listing locations on Maple, Lincoln, Takoma Avenue, Ann Street, Flower Avenue, and Erskine Street. A councilmember then questioned whether the city was legally required to publicize locations where cameras had been removed, noting that announcing inactive locations might affect driver behavior and therefore complicate the pilot program's before-and-after evaluation. 

Several concerns this brought me are related to the use of AI in our community and who has access to the information gathered by the cameras. As well, I have questions about the decision to take these cameras off line, even though they remain in place, and what cost will this incur on the City to relocate them and if that will yield more desirable driver behavior. 

  • Rent stabilization review. The City Manager announced an October 12 public meeting on the city's rent-stabilization policy review, where residents would hear about possible policy options and provide feedback to consultant RSG and city staff. Spanish and Amharic interpretation and Zoom participation were planned.

  • Affordable housing / Edinburgh House. Council and staff previewed an upcoming presentation by Montgomery Housing Partnership concerning redevelopment of 1713 Maple Avenue, Edinburgh House, to add affordable housing. 
    Though the presentation was informative and succinct, and those involved were open to questions and discussions, it seems that there are still concerns on the part of the Grant Ave. residents (which I mentioned above). The question I raised was related to studies determining how this added density of cars, which will be more than 100 on any given day, will impact the already congested traffic on Maple and Philadelphia Avenues. At the end of the session I spoke one-on-one with the expert in this field and she said that the models they have seen from the County indicate that the increase in traffic remains within the ‘acceptable’ threshold. She mentioned that the increased density would be negligible, though I am still skeptical how this will play out in the everyday lives of those traveling those roads at peak hours.

    There were also shorter items involving Economic Development Week, the upcoming Walk and Roll to School Day, the Folk Festival, a community 5K, disability-services concerns raised during public comment, and routine city announcements. 


You can watch the referenced meetings via these links:

Please stay connected for more updates on these and other issues of interest in the coming weeks!

Doug Glynn

doug4takoma.com

doug4takoma@gmail.com


aj campbell