Comments are by Councilmembers Llatetra Brown Esters and Susan Whitney and are not approved or sanctioned by the City of College Park.

City Manager’s Report

Mr. Kenny Young announced the hiring of our new Racial Equity Officer, Raven Rodriguez. Rodriguez will begin working with the city on Monday, January 31st and is expected to attend the Council Worksession on Tuesday, February 1st to be introduced.

Consent Agenda Items

The following ten items were on the consent agenda:

• Approval of a letter to the Board of License Commissioners in support of liquor license renewals for establishments located in the city. 

• Acceptance of FY22 Maryland Heritage Areas Authority (MHAA) grant for $15,000 to enhance the Lakeland Walking Tour. 

• Acceptance of a $5,000 grant from the Prince George’s Arts Humanities Council (PGAHC) for Public Art Planning. 

• Acceptance of the Maryland Bikeways Program FY22 Shared Micro-mobility Station Improvements Grant for $54,080

• Approval of appointments to City Advisory Boards for the following individuals with terms to expire on June 30, 2024:
  • Mike Meadow – Advisory Planning Commission
  • Tina Batten – Board of Elections Supervisors
  • Susan Miller and Carson Peters – Education Advisory Committee
  • Carissa Janis – Seniors Committee
  • John Horowitz – Tree and Landscape Board

• Approval of the FY23 budget calendar as presented during the Council Worksession held on January 18, 2022, and approval to maintain the City’s Homestead Tax Credit rate of 0% for FY23 in order to provide residents with the maximum tax relief associated with this credit. 

• Approval of 2022 work plans from the following City advisory boards
  • Animal Welfare
  • Bee City USA
  • Committee for a Better Environment (CBE)
  • Education Advisory Committee (EAC)
  • Recreation Board/City Events Advisory Board (recent name change)
  • Seniors Committee
  • Tree and Landscape Board (TLB)

• Approval to extend the micro-mobility share contract with VeoRide to March 31, 2022. 

• Resolution of the Mayor and Council of College Park to authorize the City to participate in the National Proposed Settlement Agreement with Mckesson Corporation, Cardinal Health, Inc., and the Amerisourcebergen Corporation and in the proposed settlement agreement with Johnson & Johnson Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Ortho-Mcneil-Janssen Pharmaceutical, Inc., to resolve all opioids litigation brought by States and Local  Political Subdivisions against these Defendants and to authorize the City to negotiate and enter into an agreement between the State of Maryland and the City concerning the proceeds relating to the settlement of the opioids litigation. 
  
• Resolution of City Council of College Park to adopt the recommendation from the Advisory Planning Commission related to variance application number CPV-2021-09, 9726 51^st Place, College Park, Maryland recommending the approval of a variance to construct a driveway. 

Action Item

The one action item on the Work session agenda was the approval of a City letter to the Prince George’s County Council on the Preliminary Adelphi Road Sector Plan and Proposed Sectional Map Amendment.

• Councilmember Adams suggested strengthening comments related to UC-201. He specifically suggested that UC-201 south of the intersection with US-202 change to a park trail and shared used path. In addition, he suggested a park trail and shared-use path from the intersection of Guilford and Knox roads to the intersection of t-202 /t-203/t-206 at Mowatt Lane. 
• Terry Schum, Director of Planning felt that these changes to the City’s comments were feasible and made sense, and the Council unanimously approved the inclusion of Councilmember Adams’ recommendations.
• Council voted unanimously to approve a letter withcomments/recommendations to be sent to the Clerk of the Prince George’s County Council opposing the Preliminary Adelphi Road – UMGC Road-UMD Purple Line Station Area Sector Plan and requesting additional time for amendments to the plan.
• The Mayor and other members of the Council indicated that development near the new Purple Line station is important to allow for walkability and sustainability, but the plan, as written, needs to be improved to preserve natural green space such as Guilford Woods, consider the development of impervious areas and meet the needs of the university center.
• Click here to read the City letter that was sent to the Prince George’s County Planning Board and District Council on this matter on Friday, January 28^th. 

Closed Session

Council entered into closed session to consult with Counsel to obtain legal advice, consider matters related to collective bargaining negotiations, and to consider the acquisition of real property for a public purpose.

Click here to see the Agenda for the Council Meeting on January 25, 2022.

Click here to watch the recording of the Council meeting on January 25, 2022.

Click here to see the Agenda for the Council Worksession on February 1, 2022.