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 can 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. Fields gave the City Manager’s report on behalf of Mr. Young who was out of town. He said the Department of Public Works will hold Clean up days on Saturday, October 12 and Saturday, October 19 at Davis Hall from 7:30am – 12pm. On those days, residents can bring bulk trash for disposal. Shredding will be offered on October 12. You must be a College Park resident to participate.
PNC Bank, in conjunction with the city’s Department Economic Development, will kick off their financial education series at the branch located on Baltimore Ave. Please see this flier with a QR code to sign up or contact Michael Williams, Director of Economic Development at 240-487-3506.
Ms. Paulette Richardson the City’s long-serving court-appointed violation review official, has passed suddenly.
Mayor Kabir announced College Park Day on October 5.
PROCLAMATIONS AND AWARDS
AMENDMENTS TO AND APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
Motion by Councilmember Adams to move 24-G-130 to the Consent Agenda from the Action Item Agenda, seconded by Councilmember Hernandez. Council voted unanimously to approve the amendment.
PRESENTATION:
Ethan Sweep, Community Liaison for Congressman Glenn Ivey
Mr. Sweep said Congressman Ivey has been busy with constituents in District 4. This summer they contributed money to address a variety of community issues including gun violence and safer streets. He said Congressman Ivey’s office can serve as liaison to dealing with federal offices and encouraged people to reach out.
Mr. Sweep mentioned the Congressional App Challenge – each member of Congress receives submissions from middle and high school students in their district and chooses those apps that could be beneficial to society. The deadline for consideration is October 24, 2024. Once chosen by respective Congressmembers, individual apps will be submitted into a national competition.
Congressman Ivey’s office is accepting nomination applications to the military service academies, including the US Military Academy in West Point, New York; US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD; US Airforce Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado; and the US Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point New York. Applications are not accepted for the Coast Guard. He may nominate up to 10 nominations. Although nominations are required, they do not guarantee acceptance.
See information on the Congressman’s website under Services. The Service Academy nomination application deadline is October 18, 2024.
Mr. Sweep briefly discussed Community Project Funding which allows Congress to submit applications for earmarks to the Appropriations committee. Congressman Ivey’s office will begin accepting applications after they receive information from the Appropriations committee early next year. Ideas for projects can be shared with Mr. Sweep. He plans to come back early next year to share details.
Councilmember Whitney asked if an entity that applied last year was not accepted, could they apply again. Mr. Sweep said they could.
CONSENT AGENDA
24-G-127 Approval to install a Stop Sign on Limestone Place at DePauw Place – Jacob Vassalotti, GIS Coordinator and Steven E. Halpern, City Engineer
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 Size and Staffing, which regulates staff/child ratios for daycares and
childcare centers
24-G-130 Approval of the appointment of Jennifer Avelar to the Education Advisory Committee.
Motion by Councilmember Hernandez to accept the Consent Agenda, seconded by Councilmember Mackie. Approved unanimously.
PUBLIC HEARING AND POSSIBLE ACTION:
24-O-05 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 – Trace Clayton, Finance Office Manager and Stephanie Anderson, City Attorney
Ms. Anderson provided a brief overview concluding that now payment of the trash fee now must be done at the same time as the rental property fee. – Stephanie Anderson
Motion by Councilmember Adams, seconded by Councilmember Esters
24-O-06 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
Mr. Fields provided a quick overview stating the budget amendment ordinance was introduced at the September 10th City Council meeting and reflected amendments by the Council. He said adoption of the ordinance was to be considered after the public hearing.
Councilmember Adams asked him to comment on lost revenue recovery, specifically asking why we would not keep money in the general fund rather than moving the money toward salary and benefits.
Mayor Kabir said he appreciated the information sent to the Council including information about the reserves, which are declining. Mr. Fields indicated that reserves will be above the required 25%.
Mr. Dave Dorsch, resident, expressed concern about giving money to students including those who live in the apartments and said they do not have to go to University of Maryland. Why do we do this? There are better ways to use our money rather than just giving it away to students at the University of Baltimore.
Councilmember Adams said that residents get thousands of dollars off their property taxes from the Homestead Tax Exemption, he would like to move forward an issue regarding childcare.
Mr. Adams said he would like to more forward an amendment to push back the proposed ARPA spending for food service from FY25 and FY26 to FY26 and FY27. Mr. Field provided clarification that the current proposal reflected that wish. He acknowledged that the summary provided in the introductory paragraphs of the Ordinance was confusing but stated that if the Ordinance passed as proposed, food service support would total $155 thousand for FY25, $150 thousand each for FY26 and FY27. Adams’ motion was not seconded.
Councilmember Adams said he could not vote for the ordinance because the proposal was different than what he understood coming into the meeting.
Motion by Councilmember Esters, second by Councilmember Hernandez and was passed with a vote of 6-1.
WORKSESSION DISCUSSIONS
Agenda items for the October 24 Four Cities meeting in New Carrollton.
Council suggested the following agenda items for the upcoming Four Cities meeting in New Carrollton:
- Update from Greenbelt on MAGLEV
- Invite Mr. Earleyh from Prince George County to talk about the tax deferential.
- North County Animal Shelter
- Status of the staff cuts for the fire stations
- Increase of Municipal fines in accordance with the county
REQUESTS FOR / STATUS OF FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
Councilmember Mackie would like to have the city engineer lead a study on city road safety. She has already spoken to the engineer and city manager.
Councilmember Adams would like to add an agenda item to look for grants for childcare. He is aware of residents paying 30% of their income.
Councilmember Hew would like to revisit the item to discuss furniture on property yards. The city attorney has been working on it and it will be on an agenda in October.
COMMENTS FROM THE MAYOR, COUNCIL, STUDENT LIAISON OR CITY MANAGER
Mayor Pro Tem Mitchell thanked residents who expressed concern about postal services. She spoke with a member of their staff who would be willing to discuss concern. Councilmember Esters asked if USPS has been invited to come to speak to Council in the past and suggested an invite be extended
Mayor Pro Tem recently attended the National League of Cities (NLC) to talk about affordable housing. She attended a COG board meeting to discuss upcoming elections and security breaches. She also attended the recent PGMA meeting where storm water management and funding to support mitigation were discussed.
Councilmember Whitney mentioned her attendance at a recent meeting to discuss the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay beyond 2025.
Councilmember Hernandez expressed thanks to Senior Advisory Committee for submitting a recent request to the city. He encouraged other committees to reach out to if they have requests. He mentioned College Park Day on October 5 and asked residents to be aware of the Spotted Lantern Fly.
Mayor Kabir acknowledged the journalism students attending the meeting.
Ms. Otte, SGA Liaison, asked for students to participate in Good Neighbor Day scheduled for October 26, 2024.
Mr. David Dorsch, resident, mentioned that College Park Day will be held at College Park Airport.
Councilmember Hernandez informed residents that the deadline to apply for the senior tax credit is October 1, 2024.
MEETING ADJOURNED
Click here to see the full agenda for the City of College Park Mayor & Council Hybrid Meeting on October 1, 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:
Accessory Dwelling Units and Missing Middle Housing Strategies Presentation, Lakisha Hull, Planning Director of Prince George’s County Planning Department- Miriam Bader, Director of Planning
Stop sign monitoring systems – Jatinder Khokhar, Director of Public Services and Stephanie Anderson, City Attorney
24-O-07: An Ordinance of the City of College Park 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
24-G-129: Approval for staff to send a letter of support to the State Highway Administration for protected bike lanes on reconstructed portions of Baltimore Avenue.
The College Park District 2 Digest 