Bowie council adopts supplemental budget and zoning changes, confirms appointment; several items approved by voice votes

The City of Bowie City Council on Feb. 3 approved several measures by voice vote, including a supplemental budget ordinance to cover higher-than-expected project costs, and an ordinance to align city zoning language with Prince George's County's rewritten zoning code.

Mayor Timothy J. Adams convened the meeting and the council moved quickly through the consent and old-business items. Finance Director H. Byron Matthews told the council the supplemental budget ordinance O02/25 was intended to appropriate funds for a set of projects that either exceeded their original budgets or were not included in the base FY2025 budget. Among the items Matthews listed were $185,000 for condominium bulk trash pickup, additional funding to replace vehicle No. 216 (insurance recovery received $216,106; staff sought an additional $313,100), $590,000 for resurfacing and road repair, $8,200 for an under-budget pole building purchase, $143,000 to complete a golf course driving-range contract and pay outstanding permit fees, $41,500 for a water-division low-lift pump design, and $286,000 for filter replacement that exceeded the prior appropriation.

The council approved the supplemental budget ordinance after staff said these items were needed in the current fiscal year and could not be delayed until the next budget cycle.

On land-use matters, Richard Hall, the city's new director of planning and sustainability, presented ordinance O0125, an update to the city's municipal zoning authority code to reflect changes in Prince George's County's rewritten zoning ordinance (CB015-22-24). Hall said the changes are largely clarifications and include provisions that let the city create a variance review board and allow the planning director some design flexibility for fences and walls; the city must adopt conforming language before the county's rewrite can be binding for local cases.

The council also approved a proclamation (P425) honoring Bowie resident David Iannucci on his retirement as president and CEO of the Prince George's County Economic Development Corporation and confirmed Destiny Parker's appointment to the Community Outreach Committee by oath.

Other routine consent-agenda items were taken together and approved; the clerk recorded no separate action on the individual proclamations on the consent agenda other than those read into the record. Council members raised and resolved procedural questions about the consent agenda during the meeting, and the body voted to reconsider and then re-approve the consent agenda before moving forward.

No roll-call vote tallies were recorded in the public audio for each item beyond the council's voice votes; the minutes will include the formal roll-call record.

Votes at a glance - Proclamation P425 honoring David Iannucci: adopted by voice vote (motion made and seconded; council responded 'aye'). - Appointment: Destiny Parker appointed to Community Outreach Committee and sworn in; motion made, seconded, approved by voice vote. - Ordinance O0125 (zoning code update to align with Prince George's County rewrite): adopted by voice vote. - Ordinance O02/25 (supplemental budget appropriation; multiple line items described above): adopted by voice vote. - Consent agenda: approved after motion to reconsider and subsequent voice vote. - Motion to adjourn to closed session under General Provisions —IG (consult legal counsel and pending litigation): approved by voice vote.

The council did not take separate recorded recorded roll-call votes in the audio for every listed consent/disposition item; the final minutes should show the formal recorded votes and any abstentions or negatives.

Ending: The council moved from those items to a series of presentations and staff updates that formed the substantive portion of the meeting, including an Old Town Bowie revitalization update, an environmental advisory committee annual report and the police department's FY2024 statistics and operational briefing.