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During a special meeting of the District V Coffee Club on Jan. 27, Prince George's County residents challenged County Executive Jack Johnson and Police Chief Roberto Hylton to bring down truancy rates, create jobs and direct more resources to neighborhoods in the county's rural areas.

Johnson's and Hylton's presence at the Clinton-based community group's meeting — held at the District 5 police station in Clinton — drew a crowd of more than 50 residents from communities throughout south county. Before taking questions, Johnson credited Coffee Club facilitator and Clinton community activist Dorothy Carolyn Lowe with organizing the event.

"My boss, Ms. Lowe, told me I needed to be here," he said.

Improving the county's economic outlook topped the list of residents' concerns. Johnson told the crowd he hoped to reduce the county's $80 million deficit by finding new revenue sources within the budget — not necessarily by raising taxes, he added — and improving public perception of the county in order to attract new employers, among other things.

"It's a slow process," he said, adding he doesn't expect to see dramatic economic growth for at least 10 years.

In answer to a question from Clinton resident Les Greenberg about how the county plans to improve infrastructure around Joint Base Andrews, Johnson said he is committed to bringing rail-based transit across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. At previous community meetings, county planners have promoted extending Metro's Yellow Line from Northern Virginia to stations around Andrews.

Suitland High School PTA President Rhonda Chandler asked Johnson about rumors she had heard that state education officials were not competing for money from the U.S. Department of Education's "Race to the Top" fund. States can submit education reform proposals to secure a piece of the $4 billion President Obama set aside a few weeks ago.

Johnson told her the Prince George's County delegation to the General Assembly is "pushing for it," but said he did not know whether the state would make the deadline.

Continuing the discussion on schools, Clinton resident George Cooper asked why it was so easy for his high school-aged grandson to slip out of school during the day.

"Why can't doors be locked down ... put cameras at doors and put alarms on the doors," he said.

Although Johnson said he would support retrofitting high school buildings with more surveillance cameras to monitor doors, Hylton added he thinks school administrators need to be held accountable if students are walking out.

"We don't want to put handcuffs on these kids. ... It takes all of us to work together," he said.

Brandywine resident Tony Zanfordino trekked up to Clinton to ask whether more resources could be directed to the county's southeastern rural tier, where police and fire stations are often overstretched to cover wide swaths of territory.

Zanfordino said he was pleased with Hylton's response that his office is considering a plan to split police District 5 into two separate districts. Requests to the police department for more information on a possible split were not returned by press time.

"I thought it was a good, open dialogue," he said after the meeting.

The meeting was also attended by three of at least five candidates who have announced plans to run for the County Council District 9 seat in the Nov. 10 election; incumbent Marilyn Bland (D-Dist. 9) of Clinton cannot run for reelection due to term limits. Candidates present included Clinton resident Tamara Davis Brown, Marlton resident Mel Franklin and Clinton resident Catharine Taggart-Ross, who is a co-facilitator of the District V Coffee Club.