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 September 24,  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

The deadline to support applications for the City’s Needs-based student housing subsidy program was September 15. The City received 133 undergraduate student applications and 225 from graduate student applications for a total of 358 applications.  The City will perform a lottery, and 60 applications will be chosen for undergraduate students and 60 applications will be chosen for graduate students. All student recipients will receive notification from the City before a check is issued to their landlords.  

The City is working in collaboration with PNC Bank to offer financial seminars. The kickoff of the PNC financial education series will be on September 18 at 11 am at the College Park PNC branch located at 7230 Baltimore Ave. Sign up at CollegePark.gov/finance series or contact Michael Williams, Director of Economic Development at 240-487-3506.

There will be a pre-application neighborhood meeting on September 19 at 6:30 pm at City Hall Community Room to discuss the rezoning and redevelopment of a student housing development called College Park Towers on Hartwick Road.

The City’s signature event, College Park Day will be held on Saturday October 5 at the College Park Aviation Museum. The free event will feature food, fun, activities and music. 

PRESENTATION:

Ms. Angela Rodriguez provided a brief history of the Ms. College Park competition and introduced the current Ms. College Park, Elena Arguetta, to give her term report. Ms. Arguetta acknowledged Ms. Rodriguez as the founder of the Ms. College Park Competition.  

Ms. Argueta, who was crowned on September 24, 2023, grew up in College Park attended more events than any other Ms. College Park. She is currently pursuing an associate’s degree in nursing from Prince George’s Community College.  

Ms. College Park Pageant has been in existence for over 30 years. She thanked the Mayor, American Legion, and Councilmembers. Mayor Kabir acknowledged Ms. Arguetta as the first Ms. College Park born and raised in College Park.  

The 32nd Ms. College Park will be introduced at the end of September.

AMENDMENTS TO AND APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA

Councilmember Riggs made a motion to remove the Ms. College Park presentation from the agenda as it already occurred, seconded by Councilmember Whtiney.

Councilmember Hernandez made a motion to move the Business Retention items from the Consent to Action Item agenda.

PUBLIC COMMENT ON CONSENT AGENDA AND NON-AGENDA ITEMS 

None

CONSENT AGENDA 

24-G-123 Approval to create and distribute a Request for Proposals (RFP) for three grants of up to $10,000 each for Adult Social Sports Programs for College Park Residents – Kiaisha Barber, Director of Youth, Family and Senior Services

24-G-124 Approval to Submit a Grant Application to the Environmental Protection Agency for the Upper Paint Branch Resilience Project, Requesting $20 Million Under the EPA Community Change Grant Program – Rakhmel Rafi, Grants Coordinator

Councilmember Esters made the motion with a second by Councilmember Mackie. The Consent Agenda passed unanimously.

ACTION ITEMS

24-O-07 Introduction of an Ordinance to amend City Code Chapter 179 to remove the City Forester position from the City Code/Tree and Landscape Board –Robert Marsili, Director of Public Works and Stephanie Anderson, City Attorney (Public Hearing scheduled for October 8).

Mr. Marsili introduced an ordinance to remove the city forester from the code and replace it with the city arborist.  

Motion by Councilmember Whitney, seconded by Councilmember Esters.

24-G-126 Approval of the nomination selection Committee for the Business of the Year Award – Michael Williams, Director of Economic Development

Mr. Williams said the nomination subcommittee would have four members from the City Council.

Council Hew asked if businesses that had previously received the award could be selected. Mr. Williams said any business operating in the City would be eligible for the acknowledgement. 

Councilmembers Esters, Hew, Mackie and Rigg will serve as the nomination committee.   

Motion by Councilmember Mackie, seconded by Councilmember Adams and approved unanimously.

24-G-117 Approval of Parameters/Guidelines for the City’s Business Retention and Attraction fund – Michael Williams, Director of Economic Development

Mr. Williams said this was as the fourth meeting on the subject,  

Councilmember Hernandez asked if a smaller business would be eligible to contribute a smaller percentage of start-up costs as they often have greater needs. He asked that smaller businesses be given a boost.  

Councilmember Adams said that he believed Councilmember Hernandez was asking to increase the amount of the grant. 

Mr. Young said that the cap of the grant is $30,000 because the City Manager has spending authority for up to $30,000. 

Councilmember Rigg asked Mr. Williams for a definition of small business he felt comfortable with. He said would be willing to give the City Manager the authority to increase the amount for small business, saying we should defer to the Economic Director and City Manager’s expertise.  

Councilmember Esters agreed with Councilmember Rigg about giving Mr. Young and Mr. Willaims the opportunity to use their discretion, but said we need to be consistent and not appear to be arbitrary in making these decisions.    

Councilmember Adams said we have worked to carve out funds based upon requests. He trends toward the way we have done things rather than what we are working toward. 

Councilmember Hernandez thanked colleagues for helping to get closer to consensus. He said he would like to give the strongest discretion of decision making to the Economic Development and City Manager but would like to monitor the program.

Councilmember Esters asked that as part of the application we ask for the number of employees who reside in College Park.

Councilmember Whitney said she would like the application to include a question about the range of employee salaries.

Councilmember Hew said we should request a breakdown of part-time, full-time, and seasonal employees. 

Councilmember Whitney said it would be nice to put this to bed and asked if the Council felt comfortable with $60,000 authorization. Councilmember Hernandez said he was not comfortable with the proposed authorization amount.  

Mr. Young said we look at where opportunity lies, and explained this is not the only program the city operates. He said they need the flexibility to work through the details with applicants to bring forth good applicants. 

Councilmember Hernandez asked for suggestions for moving. Mr. Young said we can table the item and bring suggestions back for consideration.  

WORKSESSION DISCUSSIONS 

Literacy Program Recommendations at Hollywood Elementary School – Kiaisha Barber,

Director of Youth, Family and Senior Services

Ms. Barber provided a brief overview.  She said for the past three fiscal years, the Mayor & Council has included in their budget $40,000 for tutoring at Hollywood Elementary School (HES) and funded the Literacy Lab which had to conclude their work in early 2024. Principal Johnson reached out asking for the funds in the budget to fund Amplify Tutoring.  

Dr. Sullivan, Associate Vice President of Amplify Tutoring, said Amplify Tutoring is based on research done at Stanford University. At Hollywood Elementary, sessions with consistent online tutors are offered 3 times a week and tutors work with 4 students each. Last year they worked with a total of 24 students. The Education Advisory Committee (EAC) saw a full presentation from Dr. Sullivan and voted to approve the use of funding currently in the budget.  

Councilmember Whitney asked how this is different from the online tutoring services already offered by the City? Ms. Barber said Amplify is a more individualized approach that is embedded in the school day.  

Councilmember Rigg asked why Prince George’s County Public School (PGCPS) did not provide another year of funding for Amplify. Mr. Carlos, Johnson, HES Principal, said the county brought it to the schools but did not provide the funding for the 24/25 school year. He went on to say the major benefit of the program will be for the multilingual students. Principal Johnson said he did not know why it was not funded.  

Ms. Barber said based upon the data shared by Dr. Sullivan, Amplify has been successful. Ms. Anna Doebereiner, HES reading specialist, agreed that Amplify has been successful. There has been outreach to PGCPS, but they have yet to respond.  

Councilmember Mackie disclosed she attended the EAC meeting when Amplify did their presentation and said she was impressed with the program’s success in just 4 months. She said she hoped we could do this. She said when children can read, they can succeed.  

Councilmember Hernandez asked who the program targeted. Principal Johnson said it is targeted toward multilingual learners.  Councilmember Hernandez asked how many students attend HES.  Principal Johnson said 301 students currently attend, 278 of which are multilingual. He added if the school does not receive the funding, there would be a negative impact on the students.  

Motion to accept the request made by Councilmember Hernandez, seconded by Councilmember Mackie.

Discussion with the Board of Election Supervisors on election matters: Ranked Choice Voting, Vote 16, and Vote By Mail – Yvette Allen, City Clerk and Board of Election Supervisors

Ms. Yvette Allen, City Clerk, introduced the discussion and Susan Huemmrich, Chief Election Supervisor, provided the report which detailed Board of Election Supervisors (BOES) recommendations on Ranked Choice Voting, Extending voting to 16-year-olds, and Vote by Mail.  

• Ranked Choice Voting is challenging and would require a substantial promotion campaign. The suggestion is to revisit when there are multiple candidates for seats.

• To extend the vote to 16-year-olds, voters would have to satisfy the same criteria as other voters. The BOES would not recommend opening it up beyond those who meet the criteria. The City would need to update the code and work with the County to get information. The Center for Democracy at UMD would be enthusiastic about helping us.  This change would require a robust promotional campaign. Based upon the last Census, the city has approximately 315 16–17-year-olds. The BOES would need guidance from the Mayor & Council by January to proceed.  

• The BOES recommends voting by mail as a method to increase voter participation. All registered voters would receive a ballot by mail. The process would increase the cost of the 2025 election but the BOES believes there would be an increase in trust and participation.  

Ms. Huemmrich said BOES burnout is a reality. In 2023, they had to execute 2 elections during the same year. She said on average, voting day is a 16-hour work day, and it is hard to get volunteers to give that much time.  

Ms. Huemmrich broached the issue of fraud concerns as it relates to voting by mail. She said paper ballots would be mailed to voters weeks before voting days, and each ballot can be tracked. She said   there are now fewer voters on the rolls due to ballot cleanup efforts.  

In conclusion, Ms. Huemmrich said Rank Choice Voting is not recommended at this time,  extending the vote to 16-year-olds is feasible, and vote by mail would increase voter confidence and turnout.

Councilmember Adams asked for data regarding the Mayoral race. 

Ms. Ruth Murphy, BOES member, did the data analysis and said the Mayoral candidates were not separated.  However, she is willing to tease out the data and provide it to Council.  

Councilmember Adams would like to know if there are jurisdictions who use Rank Choice on particular positions. He acknowledged the heavy burden of two elections. 

Mayor Pro Tem Mitchell asked if the BOES can consider information from the state report on rank choice voting. 

Mayor Kabir asked Mr. Young if the state has given any input about Rank Choice Voting.  

Councilmember Mackie asked about analysis of cost for charter changes. She also asked if we know the number of 16-year-olds who have a valid driver’s license. Ms. Allen said we do not know. Ms. Huemmrich said the 300 referenced in the report are based upon census information.  When the County sends the voter rolls, we can request those names from the County.    

BOES member Tania James  has worked on the state board of elections for 24 years. She said voter registration can be done at the MVA, saying 16 year-olds can register in the State of Maryland but can only work the polls, not vote.  

Mayor Kabir asked for costs associated with a charter change.  Ms. Allen said it would cost approximately $2,000, which is the cost to place an announcement in the Washington Post.  

Councilmember Rigg asked if the BOES examined whether 1617-year-old voting promotes lifelong voting behavior. He also asked if the city clerk has talked to other city clerks in cities where the vote has been extended to 16-year-olds.  

Ms. Huemmrich said we do not have a central College Park high school. She said The Center for Democracy at UMD would like to get involved in the city elections. They are offering paid interns to help with the process, but there have been no discussions about the process. She said there are those who may question the ability of 16–17-year-olds ability to take their vote seriously.

Ms.  Murphy said there are students in PG and Montgomery county have a chance to vote for their student representative on their respective school board.   

Councilmember Hernandez asked if we have data that speaks to 16-17 olds vote and if they exercise their right to do so.  

Councilmember Whitney said she is in favor of 16–17-year-olds voting. It is a good habit to get into. She asked Ms. James about her mention of the school ID being used and what would verify residency in College Park. Ms. James said a voter list from the state for residents in College Park would verify residency and their school ID may be acceptable. Ms. Huemmrich said the answer to the question may exist in the City Charter.  

Councilmember Adams asked about feasibility. It sounds as if we would defer to the state and county for verification. It sounds like we would promote education. 

Mayor Pro Tem Mitchell said MML was informed that the County BOE would not support municipalities, and we may be in a situation where there will not be support (voter rolls, etc.…) after March 2025. Ms. Allen says that MML is confident that there should be support through 2026.  

Councilmember Whitney asked about the 20% increase in voter participation. What is it based upon? Ms. Huemmrich said it was based upon the return of mail ballots during the Covid election.  

Councilmember Esters asked if the estimated increase in cost due to mail voting included 1 day of in-person voting. Ms. Huemmrich said it did.    

Councilmember Hew asked if anyone receiving a mail-in ballot would have to register by a certain time. Mail-in voting would cut into campaign time. Ms. Allen said we would continue with the election timeline.  

Councilmember Mackie asked if they had any ideas of how up to date the voter rolls are.  

Councilmember Adams asked that we consider this moving forward. 

Mayor Kabir conducted a straw poll on the issue of extending the vote to 16-year-olds. The vote was 5/3 in favor. 

Listening Sessions in the Park – Bill Gardiner, Assistant City Manager

Mayor Kabir asked staff to explore setting up neighborhood meetings in each district. Staff proposed listening sessions that would not have the same formality as a regular council meeting. The City of Laurel, which has a strong Mayor form of government, has held meetings in the park. Mayor Kabir expressed interest in listening sessions to bring the government close to the residents.  

Councilmember Esters said she was confused by the need to hold such meetings when councilmembers already meet with residents during civic association meetings and other meetings they may host.  

Mayor Pro Tem Mitchell suggested that we consider the schedules of the civic associations and have the Mayor and Councilmembers attend meetings outside of their districts.  

Councilmember Rigg said we do not have issues hearing from residents. It is our student residents who may not hear from us often, and this could provide an opportunity to meet with those individuals.  

Councilmember Hernandez said he was appreciative of staff support for neighborhood meetings.  

Councilmember Hew said he has come across a few people who did not know their councilmembers. He said he welcomes the chance to gather socially and connect residents with councilmembers.

REQUESTS FOR / STATUS OF FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

Councilmember Adams inquired about a few items he added in August that have yet to make it to the agenda.   

COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE 

None

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

Councilmember Hernandez thanked Mayor Kabir, Mayor Pro Tem, and other Council colleagues who supported the Greenbelt Fire Department.  He thanks the North College Park Civic Association (NCPCA) for coordinating the recent Hey, Hollywood event.  

Councilmember Hew attended the University of Maryland (UMD) Environmental Justice symposium and was in attendance to support a recent event to host a group of young professionals from Southeast Asia. 

MEETING ADJOURNED

Click here to see the full agenda for the City of College Park Mayor & Council Hybrid Meeting on September 24, 2024, when 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:

Proposed Consent Agenda

24-G-128 Approval for staff to send a letter to the 21st District Delegation

requesting a review of Md. Code Regs. 13A.16.08.03 – Group Sizeand Staffing, which regulates staff/child ratios for daycares and

childcare centers

Public Hearing and Possible Action

Ordinance of the Mayor and Council to amend City Code Chapter 119-9 Fees and waivers, to conform the City Code with operational practice regarding when the payment of the refuse collection fee for a rental property must be paid – 

Tracey Clayton, Finance Office Manager and Stephanie Anderson, City Attorney

An Ordinance of the Mayor and Council of the City of College Park to Amend the Fiscal Year 2025 Operating and Capital Budget of the City of College Park, Maryland (Amendment #1) –Gary Fields, Director of Finance