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 Hew thanked the NCPA for the Ice Cream Social held on Sunday, July 16 at Duvall Field.

Councilmember Mackie asked residents to stay tuned for upcoming meeting in College Park Woods. 

Councilmember Adam mentioned recent changes for FBI headquarters selection criteria, which helped to increase the likelihood of Greenbelt as a location. He acknowledged advocacy from the Governor and our state representatives that encouraged the change in criteria.  

Councilmember Rigg thanked staff for the return of a basketball court to Calvert Hills and recognized advocacy from UMD student residents for the court. He mentioned a “soft opening” as there are a few more finishes that need to be completed.  

CITY MANAGER’S REPORT

Mr. Young introduced the Mayor and Council to the city’s new grants coordinator, Rakhmel Rafi. Mr. Rafi, who has experience with small business management and obtaining grants for small business, expressed his enthusiasm to be part of the city.   

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Mayor Kabir recognized former Councilmember Maxine Gross.

 AMENDMENTS TO AND APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA

Councilmember Rigg made a motion to remove the Veoride action item from the agenda. 

Councilmember Hew  asked to move the early voting agenda item from the consent agenda to the action agenda.  

PUBLIC COMMENT ON CONSENT AGENDA AND NON-AGENDA ITEMS 

Mr. Haddad, resident of College Park – in favor of early voting and 2-year term limits. There has been mention of cost which will not hold up if the city wants to move forward.  If council members find it challenging to campaign, they can choose not to run. 

Anna Lee, small business owner –  new parking meters have resulted in more tickets. People do not want to download the app and do not know how to use the app. The city is deterring people from visiting. She called the city for assistance and thanked the staff who provided help. Although not intentional, it is a deceptive system that sends the message that we are an unwelcoming town.  She indicated 15-minute parking has been proposed in the past. She is currently negotiating a new lease to stay in the city but does not feel welcome.  

Jacob Hernandez, College Park resident –  thanked the NCPCA Ice Cream Social held on Sunday, July 16 at Duvall Field.  He asked the city to re-examine resident parking issues.  He received four (4) $35 within 5 days for parking outside of his house. He did not receive a reminder to update parking that expired at the end of June.  He asked the city to review the registration process, the frequency of ticketing, and the removal of city parking by city block.

Mayor Kabir said he was not the only person to contact us about parking recently. The mayor asked Mr.  Miller, Parking Enforcement Manager, to talk about the parking permit renewal process. Mr. Miller explained there is a mass email renewal notice. If residents do not provide an email, they should receive it by mail. At this time, when the messages go out they are sent by “No/Reply.”  The city is working to update it so they will show as being from the City of College Park. To date, the city has received eight (8) complaints from those who received tickets.  

CONSENT AGENDA 

23-G-108 Approval to change the date of the first Council meeting in November to Tuesday, November 7 (instead of November 8)

23-G-112 Award a publicly bid Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) contract #PR11-20 amendment #1 extended through October 31,2023, for Parks & Recreation Equipment to Playground Specialist,Inc. for the renovation of playground equipment at Calvert Hills, Old Town, The Mews, Davis, Hollywood, and Muskogee playgrounds to be funded from ARPA fund #120 included in adopted FY23 and FY24 budget in amount of $387,000.

The Consent Agenda, as amended, passed unanimously.

ACTION ITEMS

23-G-107 Approval of Early Voting for the November General Election: October 26 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Davis Hall and November 2 from 8:00 a.m. to 7 p.m. at City Hall

Janeen Miller, City Clerk, explained the Board of Elections Supervisors (BOES) brought up the idea of having early elections on Thursdays. The BOES and staff do not recommend having early voting days on alternating days because their experience has been that it confuses residents. 

 Judy Blumenthal, College Park resident – would like the city to consider having early voting on alternate days.  Individuals may have standing obligations on certain days of the week that may cause difficulty .

Kamthorn Clary, College Park resident – For having two different days for early voting.  Believes we need to have more options to encourage more voting.  

Jacob Hernandez, College Park Resident – any regressive action that inhibits voting is not a good look.  He considers it an honor to facilitate early voting.  

Councilmember Hew- thinks it is important to allow more days for residents to vote.  

Councilmember Kennedy – acknowledged the passion of those to vote but gives deference to staff who have many years of experience.  

Councilmember Mackie thinks offering voting on a different day would provide another data point, saying having variety is a good idea. Councilmember Esters – acknowledged staff and BOES for their work and mentioned the various options that are available include early voting, mail-in voting, and  election day.  She said she would defer to the input from the BOES about the days early voting should occur.

Councilmember Rigg– does not have a strong opinion and in those situations defers to those who have expertise.

SGA Liaison Mirani – believes that there should be alternate days offered to for voting because students might have classes or internships that happen every Thursday.

Councilmember Adams offered an amendment to have 2 early days, Thursday, 10/26 at Davis Hall and Tuesday, October 31^st at City Hall. Councilmember Whitney seconded the motion.

Maxine Gross, College Park resident – this is a time that the Mayor and Council can address the needs residents are bringing to them. 

Ruth Murphy, College Park resident– mentioned that October 31 is Halloween.

After public discussion of Councilmember Adams’ motion, Council voted and the motion failed unanimously.

Councilmember Hew put forward an alternate amendment to hold Early Voting on Wednesday, October 25 at Davis Hall and Thursday, November 2 at City Hall. The amendment was seconded and passed with a vote of 4 to 3. 

23-G-96 Approval of lease for St. Andrew’s Church Rectory – Kenny Young, City Manager and Suellen Ferguson, City Attorney

Councilmember Whitney asked if there was an estimate of the amount of property taxes the City would owe per the lease. Suellen Ferguson, City Attorney, said we should not owe taxes since the church is a non-profit and the City is using the space to offer community services.

Councilmember Esters asked how the cost of the monthly lease would be covered.  Mr. Young said it would be through the Capital Improvement Project (CIP) budget.  

Councilmember Mackie mentioned the ongoing mental health crisis and asked if mental health services be available to UMD students. Kiaisha Barber, Director of Youth and Family Services, said the center would be used for Senior Services and there was no plan to expand services to UMD students.  

Council voted to approve the lease with a vote of 6 in favor and abstaining. Councilmember Rigg abstained because he has been a member of the church for 15 years.

23-G-109 Approval of an amendment to the existing St. Andrews Church parking lot agreement increasing the permit fees, setting the number of parking spaces at 30, providing for a year-to-year term, and quarterly payments to the Church – Bob Ryan, Director of Public Services and Jim Miller, Parking Enforcement Manager

Councilmember Adams asked about the increase in cost for the parking spaces and whether that was intended to discourage employees at downtown businesses from driving.  Mr. Ryan said it is not intended as a disincentive. He said it will raise additional revenue for the church while helping the City cover its costs for clearing snow and maintaining the lot, which have gone up since the agreement was negotiated over 20 years ago.  

Councilmember Mackie thanks Mr. Ryan for clarification because she provided incorrect information to residents; she initially thought city vehicles would be parked in the space. 

Councilmember Hew asked how the cost of each parking space compares to other permit parking in the city. Mr. Miller said that some spaces in the city are permitted at $40 per month, but that those spaces are on City streets, maintenance for which is included in street maintenance budgets. Since this is on private property, it represents additional cost to the city.

Councilmember Esters referenced that special church events are prioritized over permitted parking and asked if the church could provide a calendar of events in advance, where possible, to assist with planning. Mr. Miller said a calendar has not been shared but that events are shared on a case-by-case basis. He said it has not been a problem over the years.

Maxine Gross, College Park resident –  has had the opportunity to listen to a young person lament about parking issues in the city.  She is happy to hear about the city seeking opportunity for more parking.  She urged the council to approve but consider the cost increase.  

Jacob Hernandez, College Park resident – paying for parking is not the easiest expense to plan for.  

23-G-110 Approval of wording for a ballot question asking voters if they support 4-year staggered terms for elected officials – Suellen Ferguson, City Attorney

Suellen Ferguson, city attorney, said the simplest question to pose is if residents are in favor of a 4 -year term.  

Councilmember Kennedy made the motion.  She disagreed with the simplification of language because she believed it is an opportunity to educate residents. 

Kamthorn Clary – believes the language should be concise so that it is clearly stated. It should also be clear as to what a yes or a no vote means.

Judy Blumenthal – spoke in opposition. Does not want the question to be posed. If a complete overhaul of the council occurs, it would be because voters wanted it, which would be a good thing. She agreed with SGA liaisons Mirani and Sprinkle given that students are probably the largest electorate.  

Maxine Gross, College Park resident – Not sure where this movement is coming from. We are not a huge city where there is a big learning curve.  It is not necessary for a four-year term for councilmembers to be effective.  We want them to remain close to the residents and two-year terms allow for that to occur. 

Jacob Hernandez, College Park resident – 2-year terms allow for radical accountability. 

Councilmember Rigg said he was a proponent of this because being a council member is demanding.  There is a struggle to maintain the responsibilities of the job and other aspects of one’s life.  

Councilmember Mackie said she thinks we should be mindful of what voters said in 2019 and that we shouldn’t make decisions by comparing ourselves to others municipalities since we have a lot of people moving in and out of city each year. She continued that, as a former election judge who had worked many elections, her experience is that wordy ballot questions confuse voters. She motioned to change the question to read, “Do you want to keep the Mayor and Council terms at 2 years each? Yes or No?

There were no seconds to the motion, so it died. Councilmember Esters said she had no strong feeling about the issue either way, there are pros and cons to each. Four-year terms may deter folks from taking on the commitment, while two-year terms require you to start campaigning practically half-way through your term and juggle other responsibilities. She said she has no problem with asking the questions and basing the decision upon what we hear from residents. 

Councilmember Adams said he appreciates an advisory question on the ballot, although the framing of this question does not sit the best with him. 

SGA Liaison Mirani –  supports the two-year term, but if we move forward, he asked that we include language that indicates that it is non-binding.  Suellen Ferguson, City Attorney, said she would not advise such language to be added as it may cause confusion.  Since the city cannot add language indicating it is not binding, he now does not support its inclusion on the ballot.  

Councilmember Hew – There is reason to consider a four–year term. There are often issues that council does not want to bring up during election times, which can slow City progress.  

Councilmember Whitney said she understood that at some point staff cannot provide as much direct assistance to councilmembers during an election, such as when councilmembers door-knocking are told about issues. Mr. Young said that during election time there is more scrutiny about what is delivered and how it is delivered. Ms. Miller said that should not interfere with constituent services.

Council voted 7-0 to move forward with the ballot question as amended in the Agenda Item.

Mayor Kabir noted that there was a discussion about scheduling a Town Hall after the results of the election come in to discuss and mentioned the SGA Liaison Mirani’s request that students be specifically invited to participate. 

23-O-07 Introduction of an Ordinance to amend City Code Chapter 184-18 and 184-24 and Chapter 110-1 to update the hourly parking rate to $2 and reflect that bills and coins will no longer be accepted as payment for parking meters; and Chapter 110-1 (referencing 151-4) to eliminate reference to the monthly parking programs in the downtown garage and add a reference to the St. Andrew’s parking lot permits

 Jim Miller, Parking Enforcement Manager, and Bob Ryan, Director of Public Services. The Public Hearing on this matter will be scheduled for Wednesday, August 2,023 at 7:30 p.m.

Councilmember Adams indicated that he and Councilmember Riggs received numerous comments and asked when it would appropriate to give input, hear from council as a body, and hear residents.  City Clerk Miller said the upcoming hearing would be the best time to hear from all parties. 

Motioned by Councilmember Adams, seconded by Councilmember Mackie. 

23-CR-02 Introduction of a Charter Resolution to amend the City Charter to remove the authority for Urban Renewal – Suellen Ferguson, City Attorney and Kayla Carter, Racial Equity Officer. The Public Hearing will be scheduled for September 5, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.

The city adopted urban renewal in the 1960’s but there is no objective to do so moving forward. 

Motioned by Councilmember Esters, seconded by Councilmember Whitney. 

WORKSESSION DISCUSSIONS

A. Agenda items for July 27 Four Cities meeting in Berwyn Heights

Councilmember Kennedy asked to add a speaker about the cannabis legalization. 

Mayor Kabir – funding for the remainder of Route 1 reconstruction.  He would like to ask the state to put the remainder of this project at the top of the priority list.  

Councilmember Adams – WMATA has put forth information about expanding lines. They are putting forward a plan to obtain federal funding. We should discuss to see if the Four Cities would like to support expansion in our area.  

REQUESTS FOR / STATUS OF FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

Councilmember Adams asked about the status of the discussion short-term rentals. Ms. Miller says it is tentatively on the future agenda list for September 12^th.

Councilmember Whitney asked for a revised listing of blighted and vacant properties for upcoming discussion.  Staff will consider and follow up.  

COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE 

Kamthorn Clary – Civic engagement is gas in his tank. Regardless of where you come from it is here. We should be able to share information with residents. 

COMMENTS FROM THE MAYOR, COUNCIL, STUDENT LIAISON OR CITY MANAGER

Councilmember Whitney  thanked staff for their work to put together event on Friday, July 14 that was rained out.  

Councilmember Mackie attended a recent COG meeting that focused on WMATA and economic growth in the area. 

Councilmember Rigg attended a recent planning meeting for International Town and Gown Association (ITGA) conference coming to College Park in early summer next year. He is on the subcommittee to put together the program and will gladly take ideas. He will provide periodic updates. He said there was strong consideration of using City Hall for a reception on the first night. He further inquired about the introduction of the ordinance on parking. Specifically, he asked if it was possible to have a work session on the topic. Ms. Miller said we can move the hearing or move forward with the hearing and then have a work session to discuss further.  

Councilmember Esters said we should have the discussion after the public hearing. That way we will hear public input.  

Councilmember Kennedy said she believed a presentation prior to the public hearing could be helpful. 

SGA Liaison Mirani thanked the council for changing one of the early voting dates.  He is hopeful that the city will do all they can to engage students in the conversation about 2-year and 4-year terms.  

SGA Liaison Sprinkle – thanked the council for their responsiveness to the early voting date.  Thinks 2-year terms are the best choice.  

City Manager – would like to apologize to the individuals who experienced challenges with the parking roll out. There were challenges with the vendor, but the City could have done a better job of communicating with residents on coming changes. 

The International Town and Gown Association (ITGA) conference will be June 4- 7 in College Park.  Mr. Young thanked Councilmember Rigg for his participation with the planning sub-committee. The event will be hosted during a time when hotels and restaurants in the city are in need of business.   

ADJOURN

Click here for the July 18^th meeting agenda. Click here to watch the video of the July 18, 2023, meeting (when it is available). 

Click here to see the agenda for the City of College Park Mayor & Council Hybrid Meeting on August 02, 2023 (When it is available). Tune in, show up or share your thoughts/concerns about the following anticipated Action Items, Presentations and Workshop discussions:

Presentations:

• Presentation by University of Maryland on UMD Master Plan and other allied items – Carlo Colella and Dannielle Glaros (40) 
• (23-G-111 pulled from June 18 meeting) Approval of a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Maryland concerning division of proceeds from VeoRide Bike Share system – Suellen Ferguson, City Attorney and Erik Valentine, Community Development Planner 
• 2023 Quarterly Financial Presentation – Gary Fields, Director of Finance 

Proposed Consent: 

• Approval of revisions to the Mayor and Council’s Rules and Procedures (6-month follow-up from the January 31st meeting) – Janeen S Miller, City Clerk 

Public Hearing: 

• Presentation of background and Public Hearing on 23-O-07, an Ordinance to amend City Code Chapter 184-18 and 184-24 and Chapter 110-1 to update the hourly parking rate to $2 and reflect that bills and coins will no longer be accepted as payment for parking meters; and Chapter 110-1 (referencing 151-4) to eliminate reference to the monthly parking programs in the downtown garage and add a reference to the St. Andrew’s parking lot permits. Following the Public Hearing, Council will discuss the Ordinance but will not take action at this meeting. 

Action Items: 

• Presentation on closure of Knox Road for Special Events and decision on next steps – Robert Marsili, Director of Public Works, and consultant 
• Discussion and Selection of Future Veo Parking Hub Locations -Erik Valentine, Community Development Planner 

Discussion items: 

• Consider an increase in grant value for the City of College Park New Neighbors Homeownership Grant Program for qualified law enforcement personnel – Miriam Bader, Director of Planning and Suellen Ferguson, City Attorney (20) 
• Update on Duvall Field (DPIE status, splash pad option) – Miriam Bader, Director of Planning and Robert Marsili, Director of Public Works (30) 
• Discussion of legislative priorities for the Legislative Dinner – Kenny Young, City Manager (15) 
• Amendment to the remainder of the Zoning chapter to conform to the County – Suellen Ferguson, City Attorney (15) 

Information Report: 

• Notification that Grants Coordinator is applying for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Community Parks and Playgrounds (CP & P) Program grant for a new play structure for 5–12-year-olds at the Calvert Hills playground. No match is required – Rakhmel Rafi, Grants Coordinator