Comments are by Councilmember Susan Whitney and are not approved or sanctioned by the City of College Park.

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CITY MANAGER’S REPORT

Mr. Young mentioned the upcoming special election for Mayor to be held on May 6. Details can be found online at https://www.collegeparkmd.gov/181/City-Elections.  He thanked residents who have already signed up for curbside food waste pickup.  The City has increased its collection from .5 tons to 2.5 tons.  The City is still researching the vandalism of the City Hall Building (letters removed from building).  Based upon video footage it is believed to have been juveniles.   He recognized March 14 as International Pi Day and Equal Pay Day.  

AMENDMENTS TO AND APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA 

Councilmember Whitney – Authorize the City Manager to approve up to a maximum of $10,000 per household ($50,000 in total FY23 funds) in emergency aid (food, shelter, rent, medical and dental expenses, transportation, utility bills) from the general fund contingency account (001-6510-510-8510) to assist current residents of the City of College Park. Added to Consent Agenda as 23-G-54.  

CONSENT AGENDA

23-G-51 Approval of an Animal Control Officer request for a letter of support for the grant application by Laurel Cats, Inc., Beltsville Community Cats (BCC), Bowie Citizens for Local Animal Welfare (Bowie CLAW), and Outlaw Kitties (OK) for funding under the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Spay and Neuter program –Bob Ryan, Director of Public Services

23-G-52 Approval of Education Advisory Committee recommendations for Public School Education Grants – Kiaisha Barber, Director of Youth, Family and Senior Services, and Carolyn Bernache, EAC Chair

23-G-53 Approval of Minutes from the February 21, 2023, meeting

23-G-54 Authorize the City Manager to approve up to a maximum of $10,000 per household ($50,000 in total FY23 funds) in emergency aid (food, shelter, rent, medical and dental expenses, transportation, utility bills) from the general fund contingency account (001-6510-510-8510) to assist current residents of the City of College Park. Added to Consent Agenda as 23-G-54. 

The Consent Agenda was unanimously approved.

ACTION ITEMS

23-CR-01 Introduction of a Charter Resolution to amend Article III, “Mayor and Council”, §C3-5, “Election” and §C3-6, “Vacancies”; and Article IV, §C4-2, “Registration of Voters”, §C4-3, “Supervisors of Elections”, and §C4-4,“Other Election Officials”; to change the date that a Petition for Candidacy for a Mayor or Council vacancy must be withdrawn to two days after said petitions are due, provide that voter registration for City Elections shall close 15 days prior to an Election; provide that Supervisors of Elections will be appointed or re-appointed on or before June 30 of a non-election year with two year terms to begin on July 1 of that year, remove the requirement that City elections be conducted as nearly as practicable to Prince George’s County Elections, remove unnecessary provisions, make non-substantive corrections, and clarify other provisions – Suellen Ferguson, City Attorney The Public Hearing will be held on Tuesday, April 11 at 7:30p.m. in the Council Chambers

23-O-04 Introduction of an Ordinance to amend Chapter 34, “Elections”, Article I, “General Provisions” §34-3, “Definitions”; Article II, §34-6, “Absentee Balloting”; And Article III, “Fair Election Practices”, §34-11, “Appointment Of Treasurer By Candidates And Political Committees”; To Redefine Ballot And Electronic Signature And To Define Mail-In Ballot, Reflect Maryland Law With Respect To Mail-In Ballots And Absentee Ballots, Accept Certain Signatures Electronically, Set A Time By Which Applications For Main-In Ballots Must Be Made, Make Provision That Qualified Voters Who Have Opted To Receive A Mail-In Ballot For Federal Or State Of Maryland Elections Will Automatically Receive A Mail-In Ballot For City Elections Without The Necessity Of Filing An Application and Clarify Who Can Be Appointed As A Treasurer For An Political Candidate – Suellen Ferguson, City Attorney. The Public Hearing will be held on Tuesday, April 11 at 7:30p.m. in the Council Chambers

PRESENTATIONS AND WORKSESSION DISCUSSIONS 

College Park City-University Partnership Annual Report Presentation: Richard Wagner, Chair; Susan Hartmann, Executive Director; Valerie Woodall, Associate Executive Director; Daniel Cunningham, Community Preservation Trust Executive Director 

Richard Wagner introduced members of CPCUP staff including Susan Hartmann, Valerie Woodall, Daniel Cunningham, Kendra McAbee, and Beth Wool.

Susan Hartmann provided a year in review for 2022. Staff has grown quite a bit; they have grown to 150% from a staff of two (2) to a staff of five. The partnership recently celebrated 25 years. CPCUP recently received a $150,000 grant to support the homeownership program. To date, grants for 78 homes have been awarded since the program launched. They have also received $1,293,000 from MD to connect the Trolley trail to the Riverwalk along Campus Drive. 

The partnership has also received $15.8 in federal, State and local funding to start the Community Preservation Trust.  

Ms. Hartmann also provided a 2023 outlook for CPCUP. She shared that the partnership will be looking for opportunities to expand the homeownership program, coordination to move forward with design and construction to make improvements with connection to River Walk. Work for the Community Preservation Trust will continue; they have completed the legal guidelines to allow homeowners to purchase, now they want to focus on educating residents and purchasing five (5) homes. Trolley Trail Day will resume on June 10.  It will be held across the length of the trolley trail (Hollywood to Hyattsville). She explained that the overall goal for the partnership is increasing connection and improving marketing of College Park as a top-tier college town. She thanked Council for funding which helped them to proceed with their work, including $155,000 in funding from the City. They have focused on offering benefits to staff, securing computers and software, auditing and putting legal processes in place.  

Councilmember Kennedy acknowledged the work of CPCUP and those serving on the advisory committee for the Community Preservation Trust including Maxine Gross, Robert Thurston, and Llatetra Brown Esters. 

Daniel Cunningham, Director of the Community Preservation Trust, talked about the many parts involved in putting the Trust together. He mentioned how the Trust must first buy a home and then sell a home with a discount on the price of the home. He talked about the importance of taking the time to do this work right. He said they were leaning on the expertise of the City and volunteers. He informed the Council the trust is registered with the state and for homes purchased through the trust there will be a 99-year lease allowing a right of first refusal.  

Major Discussion points:

• Low inventory of homes in College Park and questions about how the City can leverage the trust to increase inventory.
• Resuming the Trolley Trail Day event which will go from Hollywood to Hyattsville.  
• Question about extending the Trolley Trail into Lakeland and consulting with members of the Lakeland community. 
• The development of the Trust to initially purchase home and eventually develop homes, including blighted properties.  
• The possibility of increasing the funding for the homeowner assistance program as housing costs increase. The current grant of $15,000 can be used in conjunction with City and County funding. 
• The challenge of countering offers from investors.  

Update on the Restorative Justice Commission (45) – Kayla Carter, Racial Equity Officer

Ms. Carter Provided the charge of the commission – restoration and reconciliation of Lakeland. She introduced the Restorative Justice Commission (RJC) consultants Dr. Barbara Ceptus Schreiber, Ms. Leah Williams, and Ms. Claudia Barragan.  

The consultants explained how they have talked with members of the community to understand what they would like to see. Their framework is centered around restoring those who have been most impacted by what has occurred. Race and racism need to be considered as we go through this work.   Understanding how harm has led to other atrocities. Restorative Justice is a large concept/model that requires a foundational understanding.   

Key Points from RJC Report:

• Timeline: the first year there has been a focus on aligning commissioners with an understanding of the concept.  It is important to take the proper amount of time for the process. It is vital that people understand that restorative justice should be the lens through which to work all the time, not just for the purpose of this particular process.  
• The Commission has created three committees for volunteer participation: Community Engagement; Truth & Reconciliation, and Restorative & Transformative Justice.
• Participation in UMD MMC Course helped to challenge their understanding about the importance of establishing an RFP to identify a researcher.  
• When the consultants speak of Lakelanders they mean those directly impacted by Urban Renewal and their descendants.  When they speak of Lakeland they mean Lakeland in its original form.  
• After meeting held on December 19, they believed they needed to reframe the focus. 
• Success Criteria established by the City for the work of the restorative justice committee was if 60% of the city’s population is aware of the efforts and deem it is health for the College Park community as a whole. The consultants assert that this assessment does not center on those directly impacted by the harm of Urban Renewal.
• After the December 19 meeting, consultants added transformative justice to the goals of the commission.  
• There is a pressure that consultants and commissioners have felt around the issue of development. It is hard for transformative justice to occur where this pressure to develop the community.
• The engagement with the MMC Class to use Lakeland was viewed as a positive outcome. The class report will be shared soon.  
• Requests from the Restorative Justice Commission (RJC) included the replacement of the position held by the former mayor. A request was made to Mayor Pro Tem to serve, and she accepted the request.  
• The importance of working through ethos of the steering committee to ensure alignment of the City.  

Major Discussion Points:

• The challenge of receiving historic designation. How was District 3 able to receive historic designation without design guideline, but Lakeland has not? Response from historic society indicates there is nothing historic about Lakeland, although they do mention the Lakeland High School. Consultants have a meeting scheduled with the Historic Preservation Director.   The receipt of historic designation for communities of color have been a challenge.  
• Consultants shared their belief there were Lakelanders who applied to be part of the Commission who were not chosen. Councilmembers countered that a concerted effort was made to accept Lakelanders who applied and to recruit as many Lakelanders as possible. Councilmembers requested that the original applications be reviewed to ensure that was accurate. After the meeting, the records were reviewed, and it was confirmed that all applicants with a connection to Lakeland were appointed. 
• Acknowledgment for way the December 19 meeting was held not to pressure attendees, but to allow for their exchange.  Acknowledgement that Lakelanders may in fact be exhausted from years of advocating for themselves. 
• The researcher to be identified through RFP process is to focus on documenting the record of harm done in the community and making recommendations that address the harm.  
• Concern about the timeline of the work and hope that action can be taken while information is gathered. 
• Faster is not better, but the City does not need to wait until the restorative justice framework to start making change.  

C. Discussion and possible action on legislation (10) – Bill Gardiner, Assistant City Manager

Mr. Gardiners reminded Council that the end of the session is April 10.  Mayor Pro Tem asked Council if there were any bills that were pressing. 

Councilmember Adams –  referenced SB11 and asked that we oppose the bill. Ms. Ferguson said the bill does not apply to the City but will research further.   

After further research, Ms. Ferguson explained that SB11 will affect the City’s ability to set speed limits around school zones. Right now, a city can reduce their speed limit to 15 mph within a half mile of a school without a traffic study. Passage if SB11 would limit that to 500 feet.  Councilmember Rigg said MML is opposed to the bill.

Councilmember Adams expressed his belief the bill passed in the house unanimously. Council voted to give staff authorization to write a letter in opposition. 

Visioning Workshop for Economic Development – Michael Williams, Economic Development Manager; and Stan Wall, Principal; Rachel Waldman, Director; and Danno Lemu, Analyst; from HR&A Advisors.

Mr. Williams introduced council to the framework for a visioning plan, saying he would collaborate with UMD, CPCUP, TDC and residents.

Major Points from Report:

• Data analysis conducted to understand existing conditions in College Park. The data identified a growing and diversifying housing stock, limited homeownership opportunities, and significant future investments.
• Consideration of how College Park leverages its identity, tax yield as compared to similar municipalities, increasingly connected transit hub, and job base reliance on the University of Maryland (UMD).  
• The importance of diversifying employment base outside of UMD.
• Heavily concentrated office tenants show a need to maintain existing tenants and attract new tenants.  
• The City needs to expand economic development tools and role.  

Major Discussion Points:

• Need to focus attention on attracting and maintaining residents between the ages of 30-39.
• Need to find the right balance for our economic development and ensure the City has the proper infrastructure.  
• The importance of influencing improvement to education to retain residents.  
• The need to focus on attracting and maintaining smaller businesses.  The possibilities of a pop-up space.  
• Need to focus on commuters…”I come for…and I stay for….
• City does not do a good job of providing housing for young professionals or market-rate housing for those aging in place. Housing preservation done right is a community retention strategy.  When our communities are gone what are they (e.g., Lakeland and Old Town).  There is a need to work with PGC on zoning and planning to make sure we are on target.  
• We need to understand our opportunity to collect more tax revenue from businesses. The use of the revitalization tax credit could be an issue. 
• The need for community input during this economic development envisioning process. 
• The City should focus on its needs to determine its economic development tools.  
• The City should consider how to maintain its culture as it continues to grow.  Consider what make College Park special and continue those things through our growth. 
• The need to consider how and where to maintain greenspace in our community.  

COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE 

Ms. Maxine Gross, resident of College Park – wonderful to watch us at work.  Asked Council to consider the situation in Lakeland in the strictest sense.  Two thirds of the community is gone by action of this body. We should not compare Lakeland to other neighborhoods in the city; it is not an accurate comparison. She encouraged others to participate in the walking tour. It is one thing to see information on a piece of paper versus seeing it in person and understanding the impact. When you look at the economic development report, consider what it means for Lakeland. Their business community was decimated due to action of this body. How can that be rectified? We all need to look at things differently through the lens of restorative justice. You don’t need Lakeland to tell you how they have been impacted when you can see for yourself. There are things that you as reasonable, caring people can do moving forward.  

Click here to watch the video of the March 14, 2023 meeting. Click here to see the meeting agenda for March 14, 2023.

Click here to see the agenda for the City of College Park Mayor & Council Hybrid Meeting on March 21, 2023. Tune in, show up or share your thoughts/concerns about the following Presentations and Workshop discussions:

• Discussion of proposed Aging in Place Home Repair Program and Agreement with Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland
• Presentation of City Survey Results
• Discussion and possible action on legislation