Comments are by Councilmembers Llatetra Brown Esters and Susan Whitney and are not approved or sanctioned by the City of College Park.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS/COMMENTS – MAYOR, COUNCIL, STUDENT LIAISON
Councilmember Kabir mentioned the turkey donation drive by the College Park Food Bank and drop-offs both November 11th and November 18th. He mentioned the North College Park Community Association (NCPCA) meeting to be held on November 10 at 7:30pm. He concluded by mentioning the Coat Drive the City is sponsoring with the One Warm Coat organization from November 16 – December 6.
Councilmember Kennedy mentioned Election Day and thanked the voting polls workers for their time. Mayor Wojahn also acknowledged those working the voting polls.
Councilmember Esters also thanked voting polls workers for the important work and mentioned having previously served as an elections judge and understanding their very long day. She also mentioned the upcoming Lakeland Civic Association (LCA) to be held on November 10 at 7pm.
Councilmember Rigg saidd the elections did not go smoothly at Ritchie Coliseum, which opened two hours late. As a result, many individuals had to go to other polling areas to cast a provisional ballot. He said the City sent a message to the Prince George’s Elections Board about concerns experienced during the primary held in July. Unfortunately, we have not heard back as of yet. Mayor Wojahn reiterated the concern about the challenges at the election polls.
Councilmember Mackie reminded residents that November 9th is the last day to register for Good Neighbor Day (GND) and that people must register to participate. She also mentioned the Veterans Day event sponsored by the City and Veteran Memorial Committee (VMC) and asked for any veterans feeling alone or suicidal to call for help.
Councilmember Mitchell thanked Mr. Rigg for bringing up the issues about the polling places and noted her Good Neighbor Day project to be held at Attick Towers.
Mayor Wojahn mentioned the Veterans Day Ceremony to be held at the American Legion on Friday, November 11. He mentioned that Frank Underwood, Corporal and Chaplin at the Branchville Volunteer Fire Department, will provide remarks and be celebrated for his service. He also mentioned that IKEA would host a breakfast for Veterans Day. He thanked the mayor of Madison, Wisconsin for hosting him to watch the Terps football team play the Badgers in Madison. He said the Terps gave it their all, but the Badgers prevailed. He said he felt welcomed by the community of his alma mater and informed Mayor Rhodes Conway that her gift basket is on the way.
CITY MANAGER’S REPORT
Mr. Young mentioned the virtual presentation on the Discovery District Trail sponsored by County Councilmember Danielle Glaros. He also acknowledged the Food Scrap program which will begin on Tuesday, November 15.
PROCLAMATIONS AND AWARDS
Municipal Government Works Month
AMENDMENTS TO AND APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
Councilmember Kennedy moved to add 22-G-160, enforcing no-right-turn-red restrictions at Edgewood Road and Rhode Asland Avenue during school hours.
Councilmember Esters asked to move 22-G-151 to the Action Agenda to allow for her to abstain due to her recent appointment to the Finance Committee for the College Park Food Bank.
Councilmember Rigg added 22-G-159 approving funds for holiday decorations at City Hall to the Consent Agenda. Councilmember Rigg asked to add 22-G-158 to the Consent Agenda.
The revised agenda was unanimously approved as amended.
CONSENT AGENDA
22-G-149 Award an emergency expenditure not to exceed $89,285.00 and authorize the City Manager to sign a contract to hire a contractor to fabricate and install a new ornamental safety barrier fence around the perimeter of the 5th floor walls of the Municipal Parking Garage – Robert Marsili, Director of Public Works Motion By: To: Second: Aye: Nay: Other:
22-G-151 Approval of additional ARPA grant funding in the amount of $125,000 ($25,000 each) to five local food service delivery organizations: 1) Meals on Wheels of College Park; 2) College Park Community Food Bank; 3) Community Meals Program at College Park United Methodist; 4) Route 1 Communities Care; and 5) Helpers to Good, Inc. – Gary Fields, Director of Finance
22-G-153 Approval of the Fourth Amendment to Contract CP-21-05 with NZI Construction Corporation in the amount of $84,393.00 for construction of a Basketball Court at the southwest corner of the Calvert Hills Playground in substantially the form attached – Steve Halpern, City Engineer
22-G-154 Approval of minutes from the October 11 Regular Meeting; the October 18 Work session; the October 18 Special Session and October 25, 2022, Regular Meeting.
22-G-158 Approval of City Legislative Priorities for the 2023 General Assembly Session – Bill Gardiner, Assistant City Manager
22-G-159, Approval of funding for holiday decorations for City Hall
22-G-160, Approval for enforcing no-right-turn-red restrictions at Edgewood Road and Rhode Asland Avenue during school hours.
The Consent Agenda was unanimously approved.
ACTION ITEMS
22-G-151 Approval of additional ARPA grant funding in the amount of $125,000 ($25,000 each) to five local food service delivery organizations: 1) Meals on Wheels of College Park; 2) College Park Community Food Bank; 3) Community Meals Program at College Park United Methodist; 4) Route 1 Communities Care; and 5) Helpers to Good, Inc. – Gary Fields, Director of Finance
Mr. Fields did not have any prepared comments but said this is funding that these organizations need. Councilmember Mackie made the motion and Council Whitney seconded. Councilmember Mackie said these organizations are dealing with food disparity and we need to continue supporting them.
The item passed with 7 yes votes and 1 abstention from Councilmember Esters who serves on the Finance Committee for the College Park Food Bank.
22-G-155 Award ARPA funds for the hospitality industry to 8321 COLLEGE PARK HOTEL LLC, t/a Cambria Hotel at College Park in the amount of $150,000, subject to 8321 College Park Hotel, LLC entering into the American Rescue Plan Act State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Beneficiary Funding Agreement with the City in substantially the form attached – Michael Williams, Economic Development Manager
Councilmember Mackie made the motion and Councilmember Esters seconded. Councilmember Mackie indicated that the operative word was “rescue” and it was important that we use funds to rescue businesses that experienced loss due to the pandemic.
Ms. Ferguson, City Attorney, informed Mayor and Council that The Hotel edited the agreement. Some adjustments requested were not acceptable, but those that were acceptable were included in the information provided.
Council voted unanimously to approve the grant.
22-G-156 Award ARPA funds for the hospitality industry: $350,000 to GrillMarx UMD, LLC’s Restaurant in the amount of $350,000 allocated through Loss of Revenue provisions of the ARPA program subject to GRILLMARX UMD, LLC entering into the American Rescue Plan Act State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Beneficiary Funding Agreement with the City in substantially the form attached – Michael Williams, Economic Development Manager
Mr. Williams informed Council that this was discussed this last week and there were no changes.
Councilmember Kabir asked Mr. Williams to clarify where the monies were coming from to provide to GrillMarx. Mr. Williams indicated the funds will be provided using the loss revenue provision in the ARPA funds guidelines.
Mr. Young indicated that anything under general government services can be used at the discretion of the City that can make decisions about the best use of those funds.
Councilmember Adams asked how the City plans to deal with similar businesses that might come to the City asking for funds. Mr. Young said there are several businesses in the pipeline. He described the application process as exhaustive and indicated that awards will depend upon money that is left. Councilmember Adams indicated this could open the flood gates for others who seek to open businesses in the City and seek funds. He understands that funds are contingent upon availability and has some concerns about the funding amount for GrillMarx and what that means for future businesses. Mr. Young indicated he and Mr. Williams are working with the County and the State for potential funding that may be available to encourage other businesses to come to College Park.
Councilmember Mackie asked for clarification about where money for GrillMarx is coming from. Mr. Young explained the $10 million Loss revenue provision that allows flexibility for the City to use the funds. Councilmember Mackie understands that we need a nice place for people to eat in the City. Given the explanation but with a bit of hesitation, she would like to move forward. Mr. Williams reiterated that funds for The Hotel at th eUniverity of Maryland and The Cambria Hotel at College Park did demonstrate pandemic-related losses, so their grants would come from the regular ARPA funds.
Councilmember Mitchell thanked the City for their work in supporting businesses. She also acknowledged residents who had questions and wanted to let them know the funds are a one-time support and were fully vetted. Councilmember Kabir said he supports businesses coming into the City and knows GrillMarx is a high-quality business, but he’s concerned because the proposal calls for using lost revenue funds that could be used for other purposes. He said he’d be happier with different numbers, saying he will abstain rather than voting no.
Councilmember Kennedy called for a roll call.
Kabir – Abstained
Kennedy – yes
Esters – Yes
Whitney – Abstained due to her employment
Riggs – Yes
Mackie – Abstained
Adams – Abstained
Mitchell – Yes
Ms. Ferguson indicated that we have 4 abstentions and 4 yes votes. Not sure that we have a path forward in this situation. We will table it until the attorney can check further and come back during this meeting.
When Council returned to the item, Ms. Ferguson said that the Mayor could not vote to break the tie, which he could only have done had the abstaining members instead voted no, which Councilmember Whitney did not have the option to do.
Councilmember Adams asked that $250,000 be offered instead of $350,000. He suggested that the other $100,000 could be offered to GrillMarx at a later date at the discretion of staff if it did not interfere with offering funds to other businesses.
Councilmember Kabir indicated that he would be supporting the suggestion from Councilmember Adams.
Councilmember Rigg moved that we fund the grant at $249,999 now with the other $101,000 be granted at a later date as determined by staff. Mitchell seconded the motion. Councilmember Rigg encouraged his colleagues to simply vote no if they oppose something, rather than abstaining.
College Park resident Mary King said she was surprised at comments concerning this issue. Some Councilmembers suggested that because the item had already been in work session, it should be mostly decided when brought to the regular meeting. She said that, seeing as though residents don’t have the opportunity to comment during work sessions, that approach would diminish the comments that residents make. She said the purpose of ARPA funds is to help businesses hurt by the pandemic. She hopes the comments against the proposed were valid and hopes Council takes them into consideration.
Councilmember Adams said he had spoken to multiple residents and shared his suggestions with other members of Council. Mr. Williams expressed his disappointment with what was happening as he has been working on the proposal for some time.
Mayor Wojahn asked Councilmember Adams what triggered the suggested amount, and he said there was not specific trigger; he just chose an amount. He also asked what conditions Adams envisioned would need to be met in order for the other $100 thousand to be released.
Councilmember Kennedy brought forward an amendment to the amendment that specified that, if by 1/1/23, no other viable (as determined by staff) businesses were to step forward with a request for funding from the City, the other $101 thousand would released to GrillMarx.
Councilmember Esters indicated that she would support the adjusted amount in order to allow some level of funding to move forward. However, she indicated that what was happening felt arbitrary to her. She also said that the ARPA funds have been available for some time, and it is the responsibility of business to apply. She felt the work of staff was being disregarded.
The Mayor expressed frustration that the current voting rules can stall process and inhibits the mayor from weighing in when the Council is split, saying he would like to see us move forward but understands it is an iterative process and he appreciates that we can work through issues to come to compromise.
The Council voted to move forward with the amendments as stated with a vote of 7 in favor and Councilmember Whitney abstaining due to her employment.
Councilmember Kennedy said although the discussion was intense, she was proud of us for governing.
22-G-157 Award ARPA funds for the hospitality industry to THE HOTEL AT UMCP, LLC, dba The Hotel at the University of Maryland in the amount of $300,000, subject to THE HOTEL AT UMCP, LLC, dba The Hotel at the University of Maryland entering into the American Rescue Plan Act State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Beneficiary Funding Agreement with the City in substantially the form attached – Michael Williams, Economic Development Manager
Mr. William said that nothing was changed from the previous discussion on this item, but the beneficiary agreement was added. There were no questions. Councilmember Kabir made the motion that was seconded by Mr. Adams.
Mary King is a College Park resident who disagrees with the funding of $300,000 because she feels it is too much. She added that the Hotel had already received a Cares grant from the City.
Councilmember Mitchell asked if we could clarify whether or not the Hotel had received a Cares grant from the City.
The motion was amended to ensure that the granting of money to The Hotel would only occurred if they had not previously receive grant funds from the City. Staff confirmed that The Hotel had not receive Cares monies. Mayor Wojahn asked for the maximum amount of money a business could have received from Cares funding. Mr. Fields indicated the maximum award would have been $25,000.
It was decided with a vote of 7 for and 1 abstaining (Councilmember Whitney due to employment) that the grant would be distributed to The Hotel were it confirmed (which happened after the motion to amend was made and voted in) that The Hotel had not already received funds from the City via the Cares Act.
22-O-11 Introduction of Ordinance 22-O-11, an ordinance of the Mayor and Council of the City of College Park to amend Chapter 69, Purchasing Procedures, to increase the dollar limit of expenditures (contracts) that require a full bid process and that the City Manager is authorized to award instead of the Mayor and Council from $30,000 to $150,000 and to include a reporting requirement – Suellen Ferguson, City Attorney Public Hearing Date: December 13, 2022
Ms. Ferguson explained that the request is for bid and purchase authority be extended to the City Manager and increased from $30,000 to $150,000.
Councilmember Whitney asked if the City Manager entered into an agreement and, upon being notified of that agreement, the Council had concerns, what actions Council could take to oppose entering into the contract. Ms. Ferguson said that presumably, the city manager would hold off on continuing with an agreement were the Council to express concern. She said the city manager answers to Council. The assumption is that there would be further consideration before moving forward.
Councilmember Kabir asked if it wouldn’t be too late to oppose an agreement once it had already been executed. Ms. Ferguson explained that she approves all of the contracts, and they all have a provision for “termination for convenience” in them. If Council had serious concerns, the City could exercise its right to terminate the contract for convenience.
Councilmember Kabir stated that he was ok with moving forward with the ordinance but would like to see the $150,000 threshold be lowered.
Councilmember Kennedy moved to approve introducing the ordinance, saying she thinks the question is going to be the dollar threshold. She suggested conversations be had between now and the December hearing and that Council should come back with amendments if need be. She said we always complain that things move slowly, but that in order to speed things up, we need to give the City Manager permission to move faster. She thinks we should move forward with the full $150 thousand.
Councilmember Esters seconded the motion. The public hearing will occur on December 13, 2022.
22-O-12, an Ordinance of the Mayor and Council of the City of College Park, to amend City Code §§38-4, ”Definitions”, 38-11, “Conflicts of Interest”, and 38-15, “Required disclosure by City elected officials and candidates to be City elected officials”, to conform to the changes required by the General Assembly – Suellen Ferguson, City Attorney Public Hearing Date: December 13, 2022.
Ms. Ferguson informed Mayor and Council that various changes have occurred to the State ethics code and the city is required to adopt these changes into the City Ethics code. She noted that this also includes gifts made to the Maryland Municipal League (MML)
GENERAL COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE
Ms. King, resident of College Park, mentioned the 4/4 vote from Council and the abstaining voters doing their job. She said it worked as it should have, and the rules should not change.
Councilmember Kennedy said that she was proud of us tonight, although it was tough. She said she was proud of us for being able to move forward.
Mr. Young mentioned that the ordinance for redistricting is coming up, and he wanted to know when we should adopt. Mayor Wojahn acknowledged that redistricting plan is to be adopted by the end of the year.
MEETING ADJOURNED
Click here to see the work session agenda for November 8.
Click here to view the Mayor and Council Work Session held on November 8.
Click here to access the Mayor and Council Meeting agenda scheduled for November 15.
The College Park District 2 Digest 