Looking Ahead: Cybersecurity, facade grants
September 16 meeting to address proposed land use legislation, cybersecurity contracts, $90,500 of grants to Ward 1 businesses, and almost $1M in city contracts
As the Hyattsville city council summer break draws to a close, elected officials are set to consider new legislation, potential land use powers, grants to ward 1 businesses, and almost $1 million in new contracts and purchases at a Monday evening meeting on September 16, 2024. The agenda discloses that Hyattsville had a “cybersecurity incident” late last month necessitating an emergency contract with two separate firms. The agenda does not currently indicate any presentation of the fiscal year 2022 audit, which also does not appear on the city’s finance page.
Proposed local land use governance
The city council is scheduled to vote to support draft legislation giving local governments in Prince George’s County, like Hyattsville, the ability to wield some power in local development decisions. Currently, Hyattsville can express opinions on proposed developments to the county planning board and county council, but has no direct power to stop or approve proposed buildings. If approved, the city council authorizes Tracey Douglas, city administrator, to send a letter of support for the draft legislation to Hyattsville’s state delegates.
According to agenda documents, “Hyattsville does not currently have the staffing or logistical infrastructure to manage land use decisions.” The documents go on to say that the city has a city planner, and would need to hire a land use attorney, among other additional staff, “to manage land use decisions independently,” either by hiring those staff directly or through partnerships with other municipalities.
Cybersecurity incident prompts legal support, IT forensics
According to agenda documents, Hyattsville “detected suspicious activity” on a city computer on August 29 and turned off internet service in the main city building on Gallatin Street, which is also currently undergoing renovations. The city turned service back on just over a week later on September 9, and retained BakerHostetler, a law firm, and FTI, a consulting firm, for “cybersecurity incident response, [information technology] forensic analysis, legal and communications support.” Now, the city council is scheduled to approve those emergency contracts, which the agenda documents say are eligible for insurance reimbursement.
Facade improvements in ward 1
The city council is slated to approve $90,500 to five businesses as part of the Commercial Facade Improvement Grant, which is funded with money from the state. All five addresses are in the arts district area of ward 1. Proposed recipients include:
Anacostia Trails Heritage Area, which inhabits a city-owned building with a lease through December 10, 2025
Art Works Now, which is leasing its building through at least May 31, 2027 from a Silver Spring for-profit development company called White Angelica
5126 Baltimore LLC, a Hyattsville for-profit landlord for Prime Restaurant
Mt. Hermon Lodge Preservation Project LLC, a recently-formed Maryland entity with a reported purchase agreement on the property (the masonic lodge next to King Park), which is currently owned by One Seventy Nine Temple Holding Corporation
Hyattsville Community Center, which appears to be owned by Hyattsville Seventh-Day Adventist Church, according to agenda documents1
Legislation, contracts, and opioid money
City council is scheduled to approve a $530,000 contract with Douron for furniture in the new police headquarters on Hamilton Street. It was not clear from agenda documents whether this would be paid for through the capital projects budget, as furniture is typically a capital expense since it is used for multiple years, or if it would be paid for with general fund budget money or another funding source. According to the last available audited numbers, which are about three years old, the capital project fund had a deficit balance of negative $17 million, and unaudited numbers first released last month show continued capital spending that appeared to outpace state funding and new debt.2
Monday’s meeting agenda includes the final reading and adopting for an ordinance authorizing stop sign cameras in school zones and discussion of a draft rent stabilization ordinance. Hyattsville Ordinance 2024-004 — Stop Sign Monitoring Systems in School Zones — is required before Hyattsville can petition the county for stop sign cameras, according to the agenda packet. The legislation comes after two children were killed by a driver while walking to Riverdale Elementary and subsequent changes to state law giving local governments the option to add stop sign enforcement cameras in school zones.
The consent agenda also includes appropriating approximately $45,000 from the National Opioid Settlement Funds to the FY 2025 special revenue budget. The funds have to be used for opioid remediation, according to agenda documents, and the city plans to use them to offer Narcan training in Spanish and fund outreach through “Hyattsville Cares” days and First United Methodist Church, as well as potential collaboration with the county health department.
Finally, the consent agenda includes the following contracts and purchases, which together with the furniture contract total $965,667:
$190,000 for the first year of a contract with Adirondack Tree Experts for citywide tree maintenance, renewable for up to five years and sourced through a competitive process that received one response
$65,000 to JMT for engineering and other professional services for the Spot, paid for with a state grant originally for a parking garage on the site, but later modified
$47,674 for a police SUV to replace a totaled vehicle, paid for with insurance proceeds according to agenda documents
$40,000 for the first year of a contract with Professional Lawn Maintenance Services for leaf collection, renewable for up to five years and sourced through a competitive process that received one response
$35,000 to Greenman-Pedersen Inc for third-party permit review services for the Spot through their existing contract with the city; Greenman-Pedersen has also provided permit review services for the new police headquarters on Hamilton Street and the teen center on Nicholson Street, according to agenda documents
$33,893 to Motorola Service Agreement for a one-year renewal maintenance contract on the existing police communications system
$13,000 to Moore Construction for electrical installation of a digital message board at Kirkwood Apartments; the message board itself was funded with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money approved by council in July 2023
$11,100 to GameTime for replacement playground equipment at Deitz Park
No new audits released
Hyattsville has released no new audits since the FY 2021 audit in April 2024. At the July 15 city council meeting, city treasurer Ron Brooks said that the FY 2022 audit, which is almost two years late, would be completed in the “first week of August or before” and that the FY 2023 audit would be complete in “mid-September.” Cindy Zork, city communications manager, said in an August email that Brooks then expected the FY 2022 audit to be finished in September. Last October, Brooks told the state Joint Committee on the Management of Public Funds that he expected the FY 2022 audit to be finished by the end of 2023.
Houses of worship (churches, synagogues, mosques, etc) usually do not have to file form 990
With the necessary caveat that Hyattsville’s auditors have repeatedly warned of accounting problems that may make these unaudited numbers unreliable
Thank you for explaining the proposed land use legislation. I read the agenda this afternoon and was not sure what the down-the-road implications were, and am still not sure if it is for the better or worse over that of having the county make land use decisions (which often seems random or otherwise favors the developer). In other words, since at least three-tenths of the City Council members have trouble figuring out how to fill out their financial disclosure forms as recently discovered by Route One Finance, then they really should not be making complicated decisions beyond proclamations and colors of buildings.
The lack of any recent approved audits is a problem. Are we are missing a few million, is that the problem? Do City staff need to look under the cushions of the old furniture to find the money so that so we can buy the new, or is there another problem here? The City Council and Hyattsville taxpayers should definitely be worried.
Per the Maryland Office of Legislative Audits,
"If a local government does not comply with the audit report filing requirements,
State law provides that the Comptroller of Maryland, on notice from the
Executive Director of the Department of Legislative Services, may order the
discontinuance of all moneys, grants, or State aid to which the local governments
are entitled."
How much are we losing because of our inability to produce audits for the last three years? In effect, will Hyattsville taxpayers end up literally paying the price because City staff cannot produce approved audits?
If they close Deitz Park for three years I swear