Annapolis City Council examines affordable housing issues

A handful of residents went before the Annapolis City Council Monday to plead for affordable housing.

They questioned Mayor Mike Pantelides and the council about the lack of open space near Clay Street and a possible sale of Timothy House and Timothy Gardens, among other housing matters.

Vanessa Kirby-Foote read a letter by her son, Kalemba Kola-Peba, about what he described as a "housing Holocaust."

"Mr. Mayor, I don't believe you are that blind and I'm trying to believe you can't be that stupid," Kola-Peba wrote. "I look at myself first -- here I have two jobs and I cannot find a place that I can afford. The cost of living doesn't reflect on the salaries of a vast majority of people."

The council, which had heard a quarterly report from the Housing Authority of the City of Annapolis earlier in the meeting, listened to the residents and asked few questions.

Pantelides told residents he and other aldermen would soon tour Annapolis' public housing communities. Alderman Ross Arnett told the crowd that although the council works with the Housing Authority, the city government is not responsible for redevelopment of public housing.

"I really think we need to take some steps to clarify that misimpression," said Arnett, D-Ward 8. "That is the purview of the Housing Authority."

In other business at the meeting, which lasted about two hours, former city Transportation Director Richard Newell, who resigned on March 21, was honored with a resolution commending his work.

After the resolution passed unanimously, Newell, who was hired in 2010, thanked the council and his former co-workers.

"While you're recognizing me, I've got to tell you I'm honored to have been associated with you," he said.

The City Council unanimously approved three new members for the Board of Supervisors of Elections: Eileen Leahy, Clifford Myers and Arnold Smith.

Leahy and Smith were nominated by the Annapolis Democratic Central Committee, while Myers was nominated by the Annapolis Republican Central Committee.

Myers is a resident of Murray Hill and works for an automobile insurance company. Smith is the chairman of Annapolis' Housing Appeal Board. Leahy is a nurse practitioner in the field of dermatology.

The board organizes and officiates at city elections. The City Council delayed appointing new board members at its last meeting, despite a requirement in the City Code that a new board be appointed by the second Monday in April.

The council unanimously approved FreshFarm Markets' lease for its weekly farmers markets at City Dock. The lease calls for a $50 monthly fee from the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit. FreshFarm had requested a reduction in the cost of renting the public space.

The farmers market will begin on May 4 and run until Nov. 23.

The council held a public hearing for amending the city's fiscal 2015 Capital Improvement Program to provide $250,000 in matching funds for a new indoor firing range for the city police.

A $250,000 bond for the firing range was approved by the General Assembly this year. The bond requires matching funds from the city.

In other action:

- Alderman Fred Paone, R-Ward 2, introduced legislation amending bulk regulations for schools in Annapolis. Paone said the changes would allow for redevelopment of West Annapolis Elementary School.

- The council approved a shift of $80,000 from the city's contingency fund to the off-street parking fund. This stems from charges in fiscal 2013 when the Hillman garage switched to a different vendor, said Bruce Miller, the city's finance director.

- Alderman Kenneth Kirby, D-Ward 6, was served with papers related to a petition filed in county Circuit Court by Steven Conn, who wants Kirby's election voided due to alleged campaign finance violations. Conn, who lost to Kirby in the Nov. 5 general election, has also filed a defamation lawsuit against Kirby. The alderman was served at the beginning of the council meeting. Both cases are pending in Circuit Court.

- Four new firefighters were sworn in by the Annapolis Fire Department: Jeremy Hopson, Zairath Perez-Moore, Thomas Washington and Enrique Burke.