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

Click here to watch the video of the City of College Park Mayor & Council Meeting held on May 21, 2024. By going to this link, you are able to watch the discussion of specific agenda items you are interested in. If you have questions about Council actions and discussions, please email us at lbesters@collegeparkmd.gov and swhitney@collegeparkmd.gov.

CITY MANAGER’S REPORT

Mr. Young said the Hollywood Merchants Meeting would be held on Wednesday, May 29 at Proteus Bicycles. The rescheduled Building Safety Month event will be held on Friday, May 31 at City Hall. The annual Memorial Day event will be held on Monday, May 27 at 11 am at the Veteran’s Memorial located at Baltimore Ave and Greenbelt Road. 

Councilmember Rigg offered a heartful goodbye to our SGA liaisons and asked if there was any further action needed to appoint the incoming liaisons. Ms. Miller informed Council there was no further action to be taken. She explained that Council helped to interview candidates, but SGA finalized the selection. 

Councilmember Whitney asked for updates regarding repeated reports of rabid raccoons in District 1. Mr. Young said he and other members of staff had a recent meeting with Prince George’s County and State staff who will be reviewing protocol and making sure it is followed appropriately. He said there were missteps related to protocol. Usually, a press release would only have occurred if someone had been bitten by a raccoon. The State would not have reported these recent incidents. In other words, the number of rabies incidents is not abnormal; it just seems so because the county has been reporting cases that should not have been reported.

Ms. Quiñones said we will be working with the state and the county to develop an informational video to help reassure the community. She said spring and summer are normally when there are more rabies cases. The county wants to be cautious and make sure the community is safe.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Former District 2 Councilmember Maxine Gross and Bob Catlin 

PROCLAMATIONS AND AWARDS

Presentation of ceremonial grant checks to local public schools – Kiaisha Barber, Director of Youth, Family and Senior Services

Ms. Barber recognized the EAC members for their work.  Representatives from University Park Elementary School, College Park Academy and Cherokee Lane Elementary accepted grants in person and shared aspects of the programs the city grant will support. Buck Lodge Elementary was not present so the grant was accepted on their behalf. 

Recognition of “If I Were Mayor, I Would….” outstanding essayists – Kiaisha Barber, Director of Youth, Family and Senior Services

Noah Heffler from Hollywood Elementary presented his essay which focused on his desire to ensure community safety, make bigger and better schools, pay teachers more, and build more community centers. 

Proclamation for Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week (June 1-9)

Farewell to Student Liaison Dhruvak Mirani and Deputy Student Liaison Gannon Sprinkle

Mayor Kabir recognized the SGA liaisons for their work and contribution over the past year. Mr. Mirani thanked Mr. Sprinkle for their partnership and friendship. He said they sought to make the position more substantive. He asked the council to consider providing SGA Liaisons with the same information given to Council. Mr. Sprinkle acknowledged Mr. Mirani and their work over the past year. He said he looked forward to serving as the Vice President of the SGA and said he would still be around. 

Incoming SGA Liaison Erica Otte and Deputy SGA Liaison John Fahmy were welcomed. 

PUBLIC COMMENT ON CONSENT AGENDA AND NON-AGENDA ITEMS

Jericho, resident – commented on the community center in College Park Woods. He said the center had two tiny meeting rooms and bathroom and needed more space. He asked for picnic tables to be added outside of the center. 

Veronica, resident  – asked for more space for the community center and said she would like to see more things added for kids to have fun, so they are not bored.

CONSENT AGENDA 

24-R-02 Resolution to dissolve the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute Committee and consolidate the functions under the City Events Advisory Board – Bill Gardiner, Assistant City Manager

24-G-83 Approval to exercise Option Year One of the Current Miscellaneous Concrete Maintenance and Asphalt Resurfacing Contract CP-24-01 with NZI Construction Corporation in the amount of $800,000 -Steve Halpern, City Engineer

24-G-85 Approval of FY 2024 ARPA grants of $75,000 each to Berwyn Heights Volunteer Fire Department & Rescue Squad, Branchville Volunteer Fire Company (pending receipt of application) and College Park Volunteer Fire Department – Gary Fields, Director of Finance

24-G-86 Approval of minutes from the May 14, 2024, meeting.

Motion to accept Consent Agenda made by Councilmember Esters, seconded by Councilmember Rigg. 

PUBLIC HEARING AND POSSIBLE ACTION:

24-G-84 Petition request for Traffic Calming in the 4900 Block of Iroquois Street

Mr. Halpern, City Engineer presented the agenda item. In fall 2023 a petition was submitted and then validated. The traffic study was conducted in April 2024. Neither warrant was met to install traffic calming, but there is nothing the precludes the installation of traffic calming.

Councilmember Hew asked why the straightaway wasn’t chose as the location for the traffic study. Jacob Vassalotti, GIS Coordinator, said there are a number of factors that must be considered when choosing locations, including the ability to secure the equipment.

Councilmember Rigg asked if the right-of-way allows for the installation of a sidewalk. (Adequate, but not sure if in street or behind curb)

Councilmember Hernandez asked if a traffic study does not warrant the installation does that mean calming cannot be done. He shared his understating of other areas where studies did not warrant installation, but traffic calming measures were put in place. Ms. Vassalotti agreed,. 

Ashwin Bhouraskar, resident-  it is a narrow single-block street and residents fear an accident involving an adult, child or wildlife. He saidpeople may use it as a speedway since it is one of the few streets without speed bumps. It is also a blind corner. He feels that if the traffic study cable had been placed toward the middle of the street, they would have gathered a more accurate reading. Many residents work from home, so they witness speeding on the road. They fear they are waiting for an accident to happen. He asked that the data be triangulated with input from residents.

Jim French, resident – opposed to putting a speed bump in the area. He has lived there for 30 years, but speeding has not been an issue. There is on-street parking, but speeding has rarely been an issue. He said speed humps creates more wear and tear on your car and more noise. 

Councilmember Hew motioned to delay this item until the June 11 Council meeting, seconded by Councilmember Rigg. Hew said many residents could not attend the Council meeting but would be back by June 11^th. 

ACTION ITEMS:

24-O-02 Adoption of FY 2025 Budget – Gary Fields, Director of Finance

Mr. Fields asked Council to adopt the ordinance as amended. He said the current ordinance reflects the discussions and an amendment which reduced the residential and commercial tax rate. He confirmed that the City has complied with city and state policies. 

Mayor Pro Tem Mitchell made the motion to adopt the budget, seconded by Councilmember Whitney. 

Mayor Pro Tem Mitchell thanked the city manager, Mr. Fields, and staff for their work on the budget. 

Councilmember Rigg said it was a tough budget year and thanked everyone for their work, saying we got to a place of compromise.  

Mayor Kabir thanked staff for their work and input and said our services have gone up in price. 

Councilmember Esters acknowledged all for their work, but thanked Mr. Field for his responsiveness and providing Council with all they needed. 

Councilmember Mackie thanked colleagues and acknowledged Councilmembers Adams, Mitchell, Hernandez, and Whitney for their efforts to bring us to a compromise.  

Councilmember Hew thanked colleagues for working to lower the tax rate. He also thanked the staff and Mr. Fields for their work. He acknowledged this as the first time taxes have been raised in 10 years. 

WORKSESSION DISCUSSIONS

Discussion of Rhode Island Avenue between 193 and Edgewood Road: follow up to prior traffic study (bike lanes, speed limit, driver behavior) – Steve Halpern, City Engineer

Mr. Halpern acknowledged Lenhart Traffic Consulting for their assistance. He said the Complete and Green Streets project was adopted in 2016. From 2018-2021, the city entered into negotiations with County to acquire Rhode Island Ave.  In November 2021, the agreement was executed that transferred Rhode Island Ave to the city. Improvements to date include authorized construction of the Bike Lane Project (September 2022); speed and volume study (October 2022); Speed Limit Reduction and Crosswalk Compliance Study to determine if speed limit could be lowered; Council authorizing the speed limit on Rhode Island Ave between Paducah and University be lowered from 35 mph to 30 mph (June 2023); completion of the Bike Lane Project (December 2023); the city conducting a public survey for community feedback regarding the Protected Bike Lane Project (March 2024); and the city conducting a follow-up Speed Limit Reduction and Crosswalk Compliance Study (April 2024).

Based upon survey results, additional improvements residents would like to see include fully protected bike lanes, flexpost removal, police and camera enforcement, roundabouts, and raised crosswalks. Mr. Halpern said the costs of additional improvements are estimated from $500,000 to $1 million. He said that roundabouts and raised crosswalks are an option. 

Brian Swick, Lenhart Traffic Consulting, – The follow-up study was for the city to continue to monitor the speed limit until there is crash study data available. The FHA has moved away from previous guidance and encouraged engineers to consider pedestrian safety and other necessary factors. 

Councilmember Whitney said the improvement in yield rates at RRFBs was promising but was still significantly less than 100%. That combined with a consistent, yet low # of extreme speeders is concerning. She also expressed the need for more protection for cyclists, suggesting a continuation of bollards away between intersections, saying she still sees motorists stopped in the bike lane. She also commented on the need for additional enforcement, saying she often sees motorcycles and mopeds using the bike lane.

Councilmember Adams agreed about more protection for cyclists and asked that the Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee consider safety along this roadway. He also asked for additional consideration of the right turn at the bottom of Rhode Island onto University. 

Councilmember Esters said she appreciated the roadway changes that have improved driver behavior. She asked for data to be gathered for the pedestrian beacon across from Attick Towers. 

Councilmember Mackie asked about bollards and whether people would drive over them. She travels on this road often and finds that people are still speeding.

Councilmember Hernandez said there has been a huge difference from 35-30. However, there is difficulty when making a left.  He asked about ways to improve the flow of traffic on Rhode Island. 

Councilmember Hew – Thanked Engineering for the improvements. He shared a resident concern about crossing east to west on Rhode Island Ave since hedges that impair sightlines. He said the first bollard when making a right causes drivers to veer into oncoming traffic. Mr. Halpern said the bollards were set to encourage drivers to reduce their speed to 5 miles per hour. They can adjust some of the flexposts. Mr. Hew asked if it would be possible to put up a stop light that only operates during rush hour. Mr. Halpern said he would look at the state requirements for installing such devices. 

Councilmember Esters said she disagreed with her colleagues about making left turns on Rhode Island being more difficult. It has always been difficult to make a left. Since the speed limit has been lowered, it is a bit easier. She said she anticipates ongoing issues related to traffic, as we only have two roadways to travel north and south in the city. 

Councilmember Rigg said he read the report and believes things are good. He’s not sure we should dig so deep as inexperienced council members. He cautioned that any changes we make could impact Baltimore Avenue. 

Review of College Park Parade – Ryna Quiñones, Communications and Events Manager

Ms. Quiñones said the parade was two weeks ago. The date was chosen to allow for participation and held earlier in the day as not to conflict with Berwyn Heights Day. The city paid bands to participate in the event. The weather caused no-shows and attendance was down to 1500. The cost for the parade was about $70,000 (this includes staff time both during and after work hours) Promotion began in January. The event is challenging both in terms of volunteers and participants. We hold it during the school year to encourage participation. We would like to do events that build community and engage residents. 

Councilmember Hew expressed disappointment with the cancellation of the Farmers Market on the day of the parade and suggested holding the Farmers Market in another area of the Hollywood Shopping Center. Ms. Quiñones said the parade staging is challenging as people are still utilizing the shopping center and we need to make sure they are safe. She said it would be difficult to plan two events on the same day. 

Councilmember Hernandez thanked city staff for making the parade work. Outreach is hard no matter what you are doing. It is even harder to get folks to participate in the parade. Appreciates the use of social media but felt the parade signs were small and put out too close to the event. He asked about placing a banner across Rhode Island Ave. How many attendees were present in previous years? Should we have volunteers dedicated to the planning process? Ms. Quiñones said the numbers of participants were similar to last year and the year it was introduced on July 4. She said this year there were 500 participants. Mr. Hernandez said he hopes we can continue this and that he appreciated the Latino groups that were involved this year.   

Councilmember Adams said he agreed with much that was said and appreciated the great work done by the staff. He said he recognized holding the parade is tough. He mentioned a major fundraising event held on the same date that District 3 residents attended. He said we need to consider the outcomes desired from this event and if we should look at other ways to engage residents. 

Councilmember Esters said the parade was nostalgic for many people, but we have not seen the participation we would like to see. She asked how the cost compared to other events like Friday Night Live. Ms. Quiñones said Friday Night Live cost $25,000 for 5 events where there are 500-850 in attendance. She suggested consideration of an alternative program in North College Park to engage residents.

Mayor Kabir suggested we identify ways to get the community more involved with the planning and suggested a parade committee. 

Councilmember Whitney said there is already an events advisory committee. She mentioned the involvement of Eleanor Roosevelt students in planning events in Greenbelt and asked if we have help from students at College Park Academy and University of Maryland. Ms. Quiñones said we do outreach to various schools, and we do get their participation. Councilmember Whitney suggested Friday Night Live North.  

Councilmember Rigg suggested that we get out of the Parade business. He can’t think of any way to justify that. With all due respect to residents, it seems it is not worth pulling this off. Things are different these days. It would be pragmatic to find another way to serve the residents of that part of the city. Staff are worn out afterwards. 

Councilmember Mackie said she does not want to micromanage because staff are much more adept to determining what we do. If something is not working, we need to reconsider what we are doing. 

Mayor Pro Tem Mitchell asked us to consider the goal Community engagement looks different in each area. We need to decide what we want to do moving forward. It needs to be intentional and definitive. 

Councilmember Hew said he was talking to residents about what the parade was like before. A resident shared the photos from 1978. It would be nice to see a challenge of the before and now to drum up interest. Saw a lot of teens in the pictures. He asked if we are asking schools to include bands and teams. Ms. Quiñones said the request was made to a number of schools as far DC and Montgomery County. Kevin went to Comic-Con, but they struggled to get participants. 

Councilmember Hernandez said after hearing the body, he is open to discussing how we move forward. Recommends keeping any alternative options in this part of the city. 

Mr. Young said we need to be cautious of mission creep; things that are not built into the budget. He also said we do not have many places for a banner on Rhode Island. He concluded by saying we need to give staff more credit for what they have considered and let them be the professionals they are. 

Councilmember Adams asked about the timeline for the completion of Duvall Field. Mr. Young said we will not know until we have had an opportunity to complete the RFP process. Councilmember Adams would like any cost savings we may see from the parade added to Duvall field, if possible.

Mayor Pro Tem Mitchell asked Ms. Quiñones to give an update of what things would look like in September. Ms. Quiñones said it would be difficult to provide an update by that time. Mr. Gardiner said we can have an update about Duvall Field by the end of the calendar year. 

Strategic Plan quarterly review and FY 2025 Annual objectives – Bill Gardiner, Assistant City Manager Mr. Gardiner gave an overview of the City’s Five-Year Strategic plan with annual objectives. 

He mentioned various accomplishments, including the implementation of GoGov, setup of Davis Hall to allow for hybrid meetings, the consideration of live-streaming council meetings on social media, and work on the Lakeland Neighborhood plan. Mr. Gardiner asked that thoughts and comment on annual objectives that should be included be shared during the meeting or via email. He said the Strategic Planning process will begin again next year. The council will be asked to review and follow up on objectives that will be brought to council in June for next year. 

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

Councilmembers commented on recent Washington Council of Government Meetings, attending the second event in the Restorative Justice Series, and Bike to Work Day.

SGA Liaison Mirani thanks Council and staff for the opportunity to serve, and SGA Deputy Liaison Sprinkle said he will be working for Councilmember Olson over the summer.

City Manager cautioned Councilmember to be mindful of emails that appear to be legitimate. He encouraged Councilmember to inform staff of anything they may see that may seem out of the ordinary. 

MEETING ADJOURNED

Click here to see the full agenda for the City of College Park Mayor & Council Hybrid Meeting on June 3, 2024 once it is available. Tune in, show up or share your thoughts/concerns about the following anticipated Consent Agenda and Action Items, and Workshop discussions proposed to be on the agenda that may interest District 2 residents. Please contact us as soon as possible if you need accommodations to participate in a meeting, including language translation:

DISCUSSION:

Discussion of Detailed Site Plan application for LV Collective Project Turtle

Discussion of Economic Development