Mayor & City Council

MINUTES College Park City Council Legislative Dinner Monday, December 5, 2016 University of Maryland Golf Course Clubhouse 7:00 p.m. – 8:50 p.m. PRESENT: Mayor Wojahn; Councilmembers Kabir, Dennis, Day, Kujawa, and Cook. ABSENT: Councilmembers Stullich, Nagle and Brennan. ALSO PRESENT: Scott Somers, City Manager; Bill Gardiner, Assistant City Manager; Janeen Miller, City Clerk; Suellen Ferguson, City Attorney; Terry Schum, Director of Planning; Ryna Quiñones, Communication Coordinator; Chris Keosian, Student Liaison and Brandon Carroll, Deputy Student Liaison. GUESTS: County Council Members Mary Lehman and Dannielle Glaros, Senator Jim Rosapepe, Carolyn Brosch (Sen. Rosapepe’s office), Scott Peterson (County Executive’s office), Ryan Middleton (Sen. Cardin’s office), Eddie Pounds (City lobbyist), Anne Martens and Carlo Colella (UMD) and Bill Jorch (MML). 1. City’s Presentation: a. Mayor Wojahn opened the program by reviewing the City’s highlights and accomplishments listed in the Legislative book. He discussed upcoming initiatives including a new City Hall developed in collaboration with the University of Maryland. He said the City has four legislative priorities for next year: b. Councilmember Day discussed the design and reconstruction of US 1 and the need for targeted right-of-way acquisition. c. Councilmembers Kujawa and Cook discussed the need for increased municipal control of stormwater improvement projects in the City. d. Councilmember Kabir discussed the City’s request for a $150,000 state bond bill for Phase 2 of Duvall Field renovations, to include the fields and lighting. e. Councilmember Dennis discussed the City’s request for a $100,000 state bond bill for complete streets. 2. Senator Rosapepe: a. Regarding US 1: SHA agrees in principal on the R-O-W acquisitions and is negotiating with property owners. The City may need to take the initiative to get closure on some. The UMD’s strong support on this has been crucial. Stay united and focused to keep the project on track. b. Regarding Stormwater: This is also on MML’s agenda so maybe they can help. c. Regarding Duvall Field: He will put this request on the list but makes no promises – there are others as well. He confirmed that we are using Program Open Space funding, which we are. d. Regarding Complete Streets: He asked the City to provide more detail. e. The federal picture has changed with the election results. We can’t assume the federal role will remain the same as it has been, such as in the areas of health insurance, environmental regulations, transportation. There is more responsibility on us to state what is important to us and not take anything for granted. College Park City Council Legislative Dinner Minutes December 5, 2016 Page 2 f. Creation of a permanent coalition to promote the MARC Camden Line with Laurel and other stakeholders. Next meeting is December 13. Important to participate. 3. Bill Jorch, Maryland Municipal League: a. Presented MML’s 2017 Legislative Priorities: Highway User Revenues, coordination on state and local projects, and municipal collection of stormwater fees. 4. Council Member Mary Lehman: a. The timing for the Complete Streets project is good because the County has similar goals and has funding, but hasn’t gotten far on the project. She suggests asking for more – i.e., $250K - $300K – and engaging the County’s Department of Public Works & Transportation for matching funds. b. CR-85-2016 passed which will update urban design standards for metro stations as they develop to make them safer. c. Supports the Duvall Field request. d. She discussed her own initiatives: Urban Farming, taxi modernization and expansion of taxi cab stands. 5. Council Member Dannielle Glaros: a. Zoning Rewrite: approval expected end of 2017 b. Blue Ribbon Commission: impact of federal funds on the county. c. Comprehensive Housing Strategy: County will commission a study of all scopes of housing from affordable, senior, middle income. d. Regarding US 1: She urged us to think beyond Phase 1 and to start talking about Phases 2 and 3. She is concerned about the Cherry Hill Road improvements now listed as Phase 3. e. Regarding the College Park Woods Connector Trail: Parks & Rec has identified $1.7M to move that forward. The new playground is funded and will go under construction next year. The partnership of stakeholders made this happen. f. Trails are a priority for Parks & Rec more than building community centers. Consider expanding the bond bill request for Complete Streets to include trails to leverage additional funding. g. She triggered a meeting to discuss synchronization of lights on US 1. Concern expressed about how the synchronization needs to be restored after UMD games when the lights are manually controlled. 6. Ryan Middleton, Senator Cardin’s office: a. Decision on the FBI has been pushed back to next spring b. Infrastructure spending should be strong in the new administration c. Sen. Cardin is on the Foreign Relations Committee so Ryan is reaching out to community groups to stay in touch on immigration issues. If we know of any groups they can engage let him know. 7. Carlo Colella, UMD: a. Continue to build our partnership b. In this time of federal change it is important to express our values. UMD is strong on sustainability. c. Advocate for US 1 to become our Main Street like Wisconsin Avenue is in Bethesda. College Park City Council Legislative Dinner Minutes December 5, 2016 Page 3 8. Scott Peterson, County Executive’s Office: a. After 6 years in office, crime is down 40%, property values are up 60%, and school test scores are moving in the right direction. The Legislative Dinner concluded at 8:50 p.m. ____________________________________________ Janeen S. Miller, CMC Date City Clerk Approved