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 Esters acknowledged the departure of many students and encouraged residents to give of their time, efforts, and contributions (if possible) to the various charitable organizations within the city, including the College Park Food Bank.
Councilmember Whitney congratulated the graduates of 2023, including SGA Liaison Andriessens.
Councilmember Mackie thanked the volunteers and the police for their help during University of Maryland’s (UMD) graduation.
Councilmember Adams congratulated the UMD Baseball team for winning the Big Ten championship.
Councilmember Kabir informed residents about the upcoming Memorial Day event on Monday, May 29 at 11am. This event marks the 30th anniversary of the City’s memorial dedication.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Former Councilmembers Catlin and Dennis attended.
PROCLAMATIONS AND AWARDS:
Farewell to Student Liaison Valerie Graham and Deputy Student Liaison Adrian Andriessens.
Mayor Kabir thanked the student liaisons for building a bridge between the university and the city. He acknowledged Ms. Graham for her work on the redistricting committee and presented gifts to both students.
SGA Liaison Graham thanked everyone for the year, which she described as interesting. She said she was awed by Mayor and Council’s passion and dedication to the city. Mr. Andriessens will be leaving the country for the next 9 months, while Ms. Graham will still be around.
AMENDMENTS TO AND APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
Motion to approve the agenda made by Councilmember Rigg, seconded by Councilmember Whitney
CONSENT AGENDA
23‐R‐09 Resolution authorizing operation of a speed monitoring system on Rhode Island Avenue between Greenbelt Road and Paducah Road, a residential highway with a speed limit of 35 mph or less, to the full extent of the hours allowed by state law.
23‐G‐84 Approval of submission of the College Park Livable Community Action Plan to AARP – Kiaisha Barber, Director, Youth, Family and Senior Services
23‐G‐85 Approve the installation of two commemorative benches in the College Park Woods neighborhood (exact location to be determined) in honor of former Mayors Alvin Kushner and Anna Owens in an amount not to exceed $6,500.
23‐G‐86 Approval of minutes of April 25, 2023, May 9, 2023, and May 16, 2023.
Motion to approve the consent agenda made by Mayor Pro Tem Mitchell, seconded by Councilmember Esters, the motion passed unanimously.
ACTION ITEMS
23-O-03 Adoption of Ordinance 23-O-03, FY ’24 Budget Ordinance – Gary Fields, Director of Finance
Mr. Fields said the Mayor and Council completed the five-month-long budgetary process. The budget ordinance indicates the budget was amended, but it was not amended; the inclusion of that language was an error and will be changed accordingly.
Mr. Fields included key highlights about the FY’24 budget. He said the budget was built on a real property tax rate of 30.18 cents, which is the same as last year, and for the first time in the City’s history, a commercial tax rate of 3 cents more. He referenced a document outlining property tax rates over the past five years. Since 2019, the residential personal property tax rate has decreased by 9.91%. Over that time, surrounding municipalities have maintained a flat rate rather than going with the Constant Yield Tax Rate [CYTR] as College Park did. In order to provide services and accomplish our strategic plan, staff has recommended the City not maintain the CYTR for FY’ 24.
Mr. Young thanked the Council for sticking through the budget process, saying it is one of the most important things we do as a body and that staff take it very seriously. The public hearing was already held.
Mayor Pro Tem Mitchell asked Mr. Fields what would happen if we just went with the 30.18 tax rate without the 3-cent increase for the commercial rate. Mr. Fields said there would be an approximate $515,000 deficit in the budget, this includes the grants proposed for students housing.
Mayor Pro Tem asked if the money could be used for something else should the grants for student housing not be approved. Mr. Fields said it could be used for something else but would require a budget amendment.
Mr. Young said we do not yet have an established student housing grant program. It will be in a future work session about the utilization of those funds. When asked if the budget required a super majority or a majority vote. City Attorney Ferguson said only a simple majority is required.
Councilmember Rigg said we have discussed the budget extensively. He referenced the chart provided by Mr. Fields as illustrative of our work. He said we made a tweak in order to create two programs, a still-to-be-developed student housing subsidy and money to help the city’s small businesses.
Mayor Pro Tem Mitchell expressed appreciation for Councilmember Rigg’s comments and appreciates the council for working together. She said she will be looking for a future agenda item sooner rather than later to discuss the proposed subsidy for students and economic development.
Mayor Kabir agreed and said he understood it may already be on a future agenda item.
7-0 – passed unanimously.
23-O-06 Introduction of an Ordinance to increase the salary for the Mayor to $15,000 per year, to increase the salary for a Councilmember to $10,000 per year, and to establish a separate level of pay for the Mayor Pro Tem at $12,500 per year. Salary increases will be effective after the next General Election. The Public Hearing will be on June 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers.
Ms.Way-Pezzutti said there was a work session held on May 16 to discuss Mayor and Council compensation and that increases were approved based upon comparisons to compensation in other municipalities. She said the Mayor and Council would like to increase stipend amounts, and staff would like to introduce a new payment schedule.
Councilmember Esters asked about the reason for the payment schedule change for Mayor and Council. Ms. Way-Pezzutti said the change is based upon when the new council is elected. They are paid in advance. Mr. Young said it also make sense logistically to pay the Mayor and Council on the same schedule as City employees. Mayor Pro Tem Mitchell made the motion to approve, seconded by Councilmember Whitney.
PRESENTATIONS AND WORKSESSION DISCUSSIONS
A. Presentation from Len Lucchi and Stephanie Anderson on the 2023 legislative session
Mr. Gardiner introduced Mr. Lucchi and Stephanie Anderson and briefly referenced their work during the recent State legislative session.
Mr. Lucchi said the 443rd legislative session was a different due to turnover in leadership and the return to an in-person session. Governor Moore was sworn in on day 8, had to present his budget on day 10, and then identify his cabinet.
The new administration was actively engaged in the legislative process. Moore’s Cabinet was directly involved in the creation of bills, which differed from his predecessor. Committee chairs are all appointees of the new presiding officers and represent new and younger leadership.
Mr. Lucchi said they started the session with the understanding that there would be a healthy budget surplus. However, the estimated cost of the Maryland Blueprint for Education increased by half a billion dollars, while projected revenues went down by half a billion, creating a $1 billion shortfall.
He pointed out that the Chair of the Budget and Appropriations and the Vice Chair of Senate Appropriations Committee are both College Park residents and that there will be $1.5 billion in the FY’24 budget and the following fiscal year for the North College Park Community Center.
Route 1 improvements are not directly in the budget. There is a new Transportation Secretary who can hopefully ensure it gets on the County’s list of priorities.
He highlighted the legalization of recreational adult cannabis use starting July 1 with a 9% sales tax. The initial bill had no tax revenue going to municipalities. The next version limited revenue-sharing in a way that would cut out smaller municipalities. the Maryland Municipal League fought to get 5% of the 9% tax to be shared between municipalities and their counties, but he said it won’t garner much revenue for the city.
As for legislation governing vehicular noise and speeding, two bills were introduced; they both passed one chamber, but not the other. Part of the issue is that the House has particular rules about county legislation. He said if we want this legislation to move forward, Montgomery County and Prince George’s need to work together for bi-county legislation to make it stronger.
Stephanie Anderson focused her part of the presentation on policy priorities.
She said SB382 will establish an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Taskforce to establish policy and recommendations.
HB182/SB335 got rid of unlawful declaration of covenants, allowing offensive language to be removed.
HB150 created loan programs for development of affordable and multi-family housing.
HB70, the Safe Access For All (SAFE) Roads Act of 2023 requiring the Department of Transportation to implement all possible incremental near-term safety improvements as soon as practicable if a new approved pedestrian or bicycle safety construction or improvement project is projected to take more than 12 months to complete.
She also mentioned state disaster and recovery funds and HB289 which established Maryland Forestry Education funds. Paid family medical leave was another big bill that passed this year. Advocates were concerned about local governments, and they wanted more time for municipalities to understand the impact of this law. They successfully pushed the start date back from October 24, 2023 to January 1, 2024.
College Park submitted over 40 letters of support, and over half of the bills supported by the City were approved.
Councilmember Esters asked about the need to create a pilot for noise and speeding cars since we know it is an issue throughout the region.
Councilmember Whitney asked if timing was the only hurdle in getting HB208 passed. They said that was the only issue they could discern. Mr. Lucchi said the City needs to be more strategic and make a lot more noise about the urgency of the program. Councilmember Whitney asked whether HB150 and SB156 would provide loans to redevelop existing affordable housing or only new development. Ms. Anderson did not have an answer but will follow up. Finally, she asked how sustainable communities are defined by HB706 Sustainable Communities/Business Façade bill. Mr. Young said we are considered a sustainable community and Mayor Pro Tem Mitchell said College Park has had the distinction since 2011.
Mayor Pro Tem Mitchell asked about the status of the Police Accountability Board and if we will see it moving forward.
Councilmember Rigg mentioned cannabis legislation. and asked if any regulation required the State to use the funds they receive from the sale of cannabis to provide mitigation funds or addiction support? Ms. Anderson said she was aware of support for small, minority-owned businesses to enter the industry and to address unequal enforcement of the law but is unaware of other strictures. Councilmember Rigg said he is from Colorado and believes many residents will see them as a nuisance businesses, saying that municipalities will have a lot of the issues to address.
Councilmembers Esters asked about legislation related to modified mufflers, specifically to regulate auto shops modifying the mufflers.
Mayor Kabir asked what happened to HB1333, which increases the fines for modified mufflers. Ms. Anderson said it never made it out of committee.
Councilmember Whitney asked if there has ever been any talk of having modified mufflers checked during emission tests.
Ms. Anderson said we need to find out what is happening in other jurisdictions to get legislations passed.
Councilmember Rigg asked about state law to cap the amount that municipalities can impose for civil citation to $1000. How can we start to have the conversation about raising this cap?.
REQUESTS FOR / STATUS OF FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
Mayor Pro Tem Mitchell asked if two items on the future agenda items needed to be kept on the list, the format of council meeting and discussion on AirBNBs. Ms. Miller said the only changes that are being made are the format of the hybrid meetings. At the time, we said we would revisit in 6 months. She said the work session on short-term rentals will be on July 6.
Councilmember Adams would like to add a Commemorative Bench for Richard Wagner.
Councilmember Rigg would like to add a discussion to reconfigure the position of Mayor Pro Tem.
Mayor Kabir would like to add the seating arrangement of the Council to the discussion of the Mayor Pro Tem position.
COMMENTS FROM THE MAYOR, COUNCIL, STUDENT LIAISON OR CITY MANAGER
Councilmember Mackie mentioned a recent Council of Government (COG) meeting for the Chesapeake Bay Policy Committee, saying College Park’s stormwater drain paintings were shared. She added there was a new one in District 4. She added that Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week is approaching and that Prince George’s County Public Schools has implemented an environmental awareness curriculum. She encouraged residents to enjoy the Chesapeake Bay and said one way to protect it is not to litter.
Councilmember Kennedy pointed out that Ms. Mackie chairs the Chesapeake Bay Policy Committee.
Councilmember Adams said May is Building Safety Month and thanked fire department, code enforcement and those working in building safety for their work.
Mayor Kabir said he attended two civic association events (Berwyn and Calvert Hills),the recent Arbor day event, and two bike events, including Bike with a Cop.
SGA Liaison Valerie Graham thanked the Mayor and Council for the wonderful opportunity over the past year.
SGA Liaison Adrian Andriessens thanked Mayor and Council for the experience.
Mr. Young thanked the SGA Liaisons for all they brought forward and wished them well. He said the City is having an issue with people taking the food scrap buckets because they think they are being abandoned. He asked the Mayor and Council to help to promote the program.
MEETING ADJOURN
Click here for the May 23rd meeting agenda. Click here to watch the video of the May 23, 2023, meeting (when it is available).
Click here to see the agenda for the City of College Park Mayor & Council Hybrid Meeting on June 6, 2023 (When it is available). Tune in, show up or share your thoughts/concerns about the following anticipated Presentations and Workshop discussions:
Discussion of lowering the speed limit (currently 35 mph) on Rhode Island Ave
Approval of Cooperation Agreement Regarding CDBG funding
Consideration of letter to M-NCPPC Parks and Recreation copying the County Council regarding the mandatory dedication of parklandDiscussion of closing the alley between 49th Ave. and Blackfoot Road to drive through vehicles
The College Park District 2 Digest 