Greenbelt news review., November 25, 1954, Image 1

About Greenbelt news review. (Greenbelt, Md.) 1954-current

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Greeenbelt News Review
Published Every Thursday By The Greenbelt Cooperative Publishing Association, Inc., 9 Parkway, Greenbelt, Maryland
Vol. 19, No. 16 Greenbelt, Maryland, Thursday, November 25, 1954
Citizens At Budget Hearing Prefer
City To Keep Up Services, Taxes
By L J. Parker
Over 250 local citizens attended the public hearing on the pro
posed 1954 budget in the auditorium of the Community balding
last Monday night, and a large majority of them requested the
city council to maintain present services being duplicated by the
county. They asked for an increase in the public health depart
ment, and aproved the city’s proposal to place the garbage and
trash collection on a fee basis and agreed to the plan to put the fire
department on a volunteer basis.
The local library, subject of most
of the discussion, was considered
by most of the citizens too valuable
to the community to risk integrat
ing it with the county system.
Citizens favoring continued local
services declared that they were
attracted to Greenbelt by these
services and their loss would en
danger the “uniqueness” of the
community.
Also, the problem of lowering
the tax rate to accommodate fu
ture home-builders in the city was
questioned by many citizens who
felt the services provided by the
community should far outweigh
tax considerations in approving
loans for homes. A1 Herling, lo
cal resident, called PHA’g refusal
for loans part of a program to stifle
the growth of Greenbelt and de
stroy its attractiveness to the na
tion. Herling stated that the pres
ent administration considers
Greenbelt part of “creeping social
ism” and it would be pleased to
see the city’s services diminished.
Ben Rosenzweig, speaking for
Greenbelt Consumer Services, de
clared that the garbage and trash
item should permit the organiza
tion to contract for that service
privately, if they desire. Also, he
reminded the council that GCS had
agreed to accept the personal prop
erty tax of two percent last year
with the hope that it would en
courage more building in the city,
and that the group was dis
appointed.
Glenn Burrows, speaking for the
Greenbelt Citizens Association, de
clared that his group favored (1)
the continuation of services dupli
cated by the county, (2> volunteer
fire department, (3) retention of
present police service, and (4) a
review of present administrative
practices to reassign, reclassify
and combine many of the employee
duties to effect economies.
James Ott deplored the cleavage
in tax payments between war hous
ing, old Greenbelt, e/id new home
builders.
On the library problem, Prank
Perrazzolli stated that usage of
books far outweighed quantity.
Helen Dondy reviewed ,her table
which appeared in last week’s
News Review, asking whether the
small saving in taxes by using
county services was worth-while.
Abe Chasanow emphasize the
importance of a high tax rate when
related to selling homes or secur
ing loans for building new homes.
David Garin, calling for con
tinued city services, disclosed that
the county library system included
no fines for overdue books, and a
five-cents-a-day charge for recent
books.
Clay, speaking for the Greenbelt
Band, wanted assurance that some
sums in the budget were allocated
for that group.
Carolyn Miler asked that a
“compromise” be made on the tax
rate with the garbage and trash
item considered enough of a
budget reduction to satisfy all
parties concerned, and continuing
present services.
Ralph Webster urged council to
increase the item for the Youth
Center.
Jane Volkhausen cited the vast
difference in per-capita expendi
ture for recreation between the
county, the city, and the sum rec
ommended by recreation special
ists.
-30 Attend Analysis
Of Budget By GCA
At the Greenbelt Citizen’s Asso
ciation special meeting last Friday
in preparation for the November
22 budget hearing, the ins and outs
of tax reduction versus service
curtailments, if any, were thrashed
out. Thirty attended to hear
GCA’s Budget Committee's analy
sis of the City’s 1965 budget, an
analysis prepared by Helen Dondy
and Albert Berling.
Mrs. Dondy presented the analy
sis, and after three hours of facts,
questions, opinions and statements,
five resolutions were passed to be
conveyed to the City Council by
Glenn Burrows. Because the ef
fect on the high tax rate by cuts
in Health, Recreation and Library
services was considered very small,
the Association moved to accept
and endorse full service figures at
Budget A in these departments.
Another motion endorsed the
transfer of the city Fire Depart
ment to a volunteer Fire Depart
ment, under feasible conditions.
The third motion was a recom
mendation to Council to keep the
Police Department intact The
fourth favored a review of all city
department services in the inter
est of increasing efficiency without
reducing services. The fifth favor
ed elimination of the proposed cut
of the S7OO July Fourth promotion
figure.
It was noted, discussing Health
figures, that Prince .Georges Coun
ty used one nurse to 19,000 persons,
and that Greenbelt had a similar
ratio of a half-time nurse to 7,500
people. It was stated the City
Manager had originally recom
mended a full-time nurse to do her
own work plus welfare activities
she was now doing on her own
time. The Greenbelt PTAs were
asking for a full-time nurse, but
at the very least, didn’t want any
cut made in the half-time nursing
services already budgeted.
Library
Touching on the library prob
lem, comparisons were made be
tween Greenbelt’s 5% books per
resident and a far lowejr 1 county
library figure. Some Wondered
whether the quality off county li
brary books was up to ours here.
However, county libraries were
said to have the access as ours to
Baltimore’s Enoch Pbatt library
books. Mrs. Jean McCarthy, a li
brarian, said the question for
Greenbelt is WHEN to enter the
county library system. She said
the time isn’t now, even though
the county system is improving.
Isadore Parker reported that he
had learned that the County li
brary would be open as many hours
as ours, including Saturday hours.
He said per capita comparisons did
not necessarily mean Greenbelt
would not have as many books
available to them as before. The
county library, he went on, imposes
po fines for overdue books. Dave
Garen pointed out that the county
library requires a dime charge for
reserving new books, and five
cents a day thereafter, and that
these charges would offset the
budget saving fop many readers.
Recreation
Commenting on Recreation De
partment cuts, Mrs. Dondy re
AN INDEPENDENT MEWSPftPER
TWO PAGES
Because of the Thanksgiving
holiday this week, and because so
much copy came in too late for
publication, the NEWS REVIEW
was cut to two pages. Our apolo
gies to those whose stories unfor
tunately had to be omitted.
What Goes On ?
Friday, November 26 - Pickup
for St. Hugh’s Annual Bish
ops Thanksgiving Collection
through November 28.
Hebrew Services at 8 p.m. in
Home Economics room of
Center School at 8 p.m. Can
dlelighting time at 4:12 p.m.
Regular meeting of Greenbelt
Consumer Services, Inc. Board
at Co-op Drugstore in Tako
ma Park at 8 p.m.
? Sunday, November 28 - Church
Services:
Community Church: sermon,
“The Book of Books” by Rev
erend Hull, services at 9 and
11 a.m.
St Hugh’s Catholic Church:
Masses at 7:30. 8:30, 9:80 and
11 a.m.
Baptist Churc.h: sermon
“These Things We Believe” by
Dr. Crowder, service at 11 sum.
Methodist Church: sermon
“Present Day Mummies” by
Reverend Knock, service at
11 a.m.
Monday, November 29 - City
Council meeting at office over
Variety Store at 8 p.m.
Tuesday, November 30 - League
of Women Voters meets in
Homemaking Room of Center
j School at 8:15 p.m. to discuss
problems of financing public
school construction.
Wednesday, December 1- Try
outs for JCC production of
“South Persia” in social room
of Center School at 8 p.m. un
der direction of Mrs. Judith
Myerson.
Thursday, December 2 - Great
Books Group meets at 1-G
Westway at 8:30 p.m. to dis
cuss Books I and II of Plato’s
“Republic.”
Friday, December 3 - Meeting
of Greenbelt Veteran Housing
Board of Directors at Hamil
ton Place building at 8:15 p.m.
Saturday. December 4 - Annual
JCC Dance at American Le
gion Home from 9 p.m. until
1 a.m.
marked huge cuts had already been
made from 1953 to 1954. This earl
ier cut, she thought, is what made
it difficult to carry on a good pro
gram in 1954, and that this is what
led to the present proposed cut.
For the whole of Prince Georges
County there is a yearly Recrea
tion budget of $90,000, of which
$50,000 is for programs in fifty-two
communities. Each community is
entitled to about SIOOO. In Green
belt, the county summer play
ground used up S7OO, leaving less
than S3OO available from the coun
ty until June 30, ’55. The county
could provide little Youth Center
aid. The Youth Center would
henceforth be open two nights in
stead of three, and voluntary chap
erons would be needed.
Fire
Regarding the Fire Department,
it was established that converting
to a volunteer Fire Department
would not change city insurance
rates, since Greenbelt is already
classified by insurance companies
as though we had a volunteer sys
tem* Lars Bronstein said that the
Fire Department owns $60,000
worth of equipment consisting of
switchboard and alarm boxes
which the volunteer department
would not use, and that this will
cost $15,000 move. Also, in the
switchover, which he, as a member
of the Greenbelt Rescue Squad, fa
Vacant Land Sold To “Brook Haven
Bnilders; Houses Built In Spring
By Bernard Krug
The Greenbelt Land Improvement Corporation, a GVHC sub
sidiary, last Tuesday night sold 31 and a quarter acres of unde
veloped land to the Warner-Kanter Company, of Cincinatti, with,
a 3-month option to purchase the remainder of the land. Announce
ment was made that house construction “woud start in the Spring.
The action came during an ex-
Book On Greenbelt
Published NexfcWeek
(Ed. Note: The following is a
story released by the publisher of
a new book on Greenbelt. The
News Review’s own comments on
the book will be presented At a
later date.)
New York, N. Y. Mr. George
A. Warner, former mayor of
Greenbelt, Maryland ha* written &
social history of that famous plan
ned community, “Greenbelt: The
Cooperative Community,” to be
published November 30 by Exposi
tion Press, New York book pub
lishers. (Price: $3.50)
Greenbelt was launched by the
federal government in 1935 as an
experiment in community plan
ning. George A. Warner, one of
the original settlers, was the town
mayor during 1940 and early 1941.
In an easy and intimate style, Mr.
Warner recounts the complex
problems faced and solved by the
first residents of Greenbelt A
great deal has been written about
public housing, but there is prac
tically no comprehensive written
record of the effects of planned
community life upon its benefici
aries.
This is the dramatic story of how
the townspeople provided them
selves with better news coverage,
more adequate medical care, in
creased goods and services, ex
panded educational and recreation
al facilities and, most important,
the story of how they acquired
more tolerant community relation
ships. In order to solve their com
munity problems the townspeople
selected the cooperative approach.
They established a co-op health as
sociation, a co-op credit union, a
co-op nursery school, a co-op child
care center, a co-op kindergarten,
and a co-op to provide goods and
services at the lowest possible
prices. They recently formed a
nonprofit mutual-housing corpora
tion by which means they purchas
ed their model city from the fed
eral government. Since all their
organizations and business ven
tures are conducted on the basis
of one vote per member, it may be
said that Greenbelt and its insti
tutions are “of, by and for the
people.”
A native of Stockbridge, Massa
chusetts, George A. Warner moved
to Washington, D. C., in 1921 to ac
cept a position with the State De
partment. He married Claire E.
Pratt, of Pittsfield, that year, and
for the next seventeen years, they
made their home in Washington.
A daughter and twin sons were
born there, and Mr. Warner ob
tained his degree in business ad
ministration and held a number of
responsible positions in private in
dustry. The Warners moved to
Greenbelt on May 1, 1938, where
they remained until February, 1941,
when Mr. Warner was called to
Philadelphia to accept a position
with the Bureau of Supplies and
Accounts, Department of the
Navy.
vors, the city should be aware of
its responsibility for housing the
Volunteer Fire Department, and
seeing that the equipment is main
tained. The fire; trucks meet stan
dard requirements right now, but
sometime in the future they will
have to be replaced.
ecutive session of the organization
and resulted in a unanimous vote
for the sale to the Cincinatti con
cern. The sudden announcement
that the contract had been signed
came as a sharp surprise to two
Greenbelt residents, Ben Goldfaden
and George Panagoulis, who were
representing a Washington group
in negotiating for the land. Gold
faden and Panagoulis claimed, fol
lowing the Tuesday executive ses
sion, that GLIC had made a “verb
al agreement” with them to sell
them approximately the same
amount >of land for $35,000. They
asserted that the organization had
a “moral obligation” with them t®
consummate the deal.
The GLIC contract with Warner--
Kanter calls for an option until-
March 1, 1954, and allows until
April 1, 1954 for disposition of the
remaining land in a manner satis
- factory to QMC, P<*QDles Develop
ment Company, and PHA.
Following last Friday night’s
meeting ©f the GVHC board, the
GLIC group met and announced
that both Warner-Kanter and the
local group were to appear Tues
day night with definite proposals
to be considered.
available at that time was to the
effect that Warner-Kanter would
build houses on the land similar
to the “Brookhaven” home in Sil
ver Spring. The Goldfaden group,
on the other hand, wanted to pur
chase the land, subdivide it into
41 lots and sell them, similar to
lots sold by Lakeside Homeowners,
Inc.
GVHC Board Actions
Earlier Friday evening, the
GVHC board voted to increase the
fire and extended coverage insur
ance to cover replacement value
less depreciation. The new cover
age will cost about $3,000 extra in
1955 and will be effective on De
cember 1 of this year. The new
premiums will boost the yearly in
surance cost from the present
$10,500 to about $13,500. It was
decided to add the extra cost of
about 20 cents per month per mem
ber to the monthly charges.
Under the old plan, in case of
loss, GVHC would recover only its
investment in the house or houses
destroyed. The new plan would
pay GVHC the higher cost of re
placing the property under present
conditions.
OK’s Trash Plan
The board recommended that the
city deduct the trash charge from
the budget with GVHC collecting
the monthly fee of $1.50 for this
service. This plan, the board
agreed, would equalize the pay
ments for service received by
GVHC members.
Manager Campbell announced
that the Methodist Church plans
to dispose of its small chapel on
Woodland Way. Possible pur
chaser is the Boys’ Club. Other
wise, the church will dismantle the
building in the near future.
Other Actions
The board also:
(1) announced that the quarterly
meeting of members would be held
on December 8, 1954 in the Green
belt theatre;
(2) re-appointed Ralph Miller
chairman of the Nominations and
Elections Committee;
(3) voted $2.5Q0 for the repair of
garasre' roofs:
(4) voted $1,300 to assist in the
continuing campaign to lower fuel
costs.