Mayor & City Council

MINUTES Regular Meeting of the College Park City Council Tuesday, June 13, 2017 Council Chambers 7:30 p.m. – 10:16 p.m. PRESENT: Mayor Wojahn; Councilmembers Kabir, Nagle, Brennan, Dennis, Kujawa and Cook. ABSENT: Councilmembers Day and Stullich ALSO PRESENT: Scott Somers, City Manager; Bill Gardiner, Assistant City Manager; Janeen Miller, City Clerk; Suellen Ferguson, City Attorney; Terry Schum, Director of Planning; Miriam Bader, Senior Planner; Steven Halpern, City Engineer; Chris Keosian, Student Liaison; Julianne Heberlein, Deputy Student Liaison. Mayor Wojahn opened the meeting at 7:30 p.m. Announcements: Councilmember Kabir said there are two opportunities to comment on the Hollywood Streetscape plans: at the Hollywood Farmers Market on Saturday and at a meeting tomorrow night at the Youth and Family Services building. Councilmember Brennan announced the Berwyn District Civic Association meeting on Thursday at Fishnet. He discussed the activities of the Seniors Committee. Councilmember Dennis announced the next meeting of the Coffee Club at Jason’s Deli and the summer schedule. Councilmember Cook announced the delivery of the Truck 12 Aerial Ladder to the College Park Volunteer Fire Department and the commissioning event on June 24. City Manager’s Report: Mr. Somers gave updates on the Duvall Field project, the DPW Modular building, and the Old Parish House, which is reopening on July 1. He announced a Save The Date for College Park Day which will be on Saturday, October 7 from 11 – 4 at the College Park Aviation Museum. Acknowledgements: Mayor Wojahn recognized Chris Gill, Chair of the Advisory Planning Commission, and Rosemary Perticari, recently appointed to the Seniors Committee. Proclamations and Awards: Mayor Wojahn read the proclamations for the Food Recovery Network and Immigrant Heritage Month. Amendments To And Approval Of The Agenda: A motion was made by Councilmember Kabir and seconded by Councilmember Brennan to add Field Use Requests from Berwyn Baptist Church and Holy Redeemer CYO to the Consent Agenda (item 17-G-86). The motion passed 6- 0-0. A motion was made by Councilmember Nagle and seconded by Councilmember Kujawa to College Park City Council Meeting Minutes June 13, 2017 Page 2 add an item to the agenda for the reduction of scope of design for Hollywood Gateway Park (17- G-88). The motion passed 6-0-0. Motion to approve the agenda as amended (Nagle/Kujawa) passed 6-0-0. PUBLIC COMMENT ON CONSENT AND NON-AGENDA ITEMS: David Dorsch, 4607 Calvert Road: Thanked Council for the volunteer reception last week. Asked about the status of the guardrail in front of the Cornerstone. Would like the Council to allow seniors 65+ to park for free in the City. There have been a lot of secret meetings regarding purchase of property for a public purpose; before the Council purchases any property, there should be an open meeting to see if a majority of the citizens agree. Regarding newspaper boxes: many are empty and it makes the City look shabby if they are abandoned. Whose responsibility is it to make sure abandoned boxes are removed? PUBLIC HEARINGS A. Oral Argument on appeal of APC recommendation in CPV-2017-01 for 9407 48th Avenue: See transcript prepared in lieu of minutes. A motion was made by Councilmember Cook and seconded by Councilmember Kabir to remand the case to the APC. The motion passed 6-0-0. B. Public Hearing on petition request for traffic calming on Nantucket Road between 51st Avenue and Rhode Island Avenue: Mr. Halpern reviewed the staff report. The two warrants for traffic calming – traffic volume and traffic exceeding the speed limit – were not met. The geometry of the road would not prevent installation of a speed hump. Mayor Wojahn called for public comment on the petition request. No one was present to testify on this traffic calming petition. C. Public Hearing on petition request for traffic calming on 47th Place between Hollywood Road and Lackawanna Street: Mr. Halpern reviewed the staff report. The two warrants for traffic calming – traffic volume and traffic exceeding the speed limit – were not met. The geometry of the road would not prevent installation of a speed hump. Mayor Wojahn called for public comment on the petition request. Carol Cranford, 9612 47th Place: There are no sidewalks and lots of kids on this street. Cars cut through from Lackawanna to the Post Office on Hollywood Road and go flying down the street. In her 35 years there, 3 cars have been hit. She is concerned about the kids going to the bus stop. She would prefer two speed humps, but one is better than none. John Bartoli, 9723 48th Place: He lives nearby and knows this road because it is the shortcut he and others take because it is the only road without any speed humps. It also has a blind hill. He agrees it is dangerous for pedestrians and thinks it needs to have a speed hump. Council asked Mr. Halpern to provide a diagram of where speed humps are on nearby streets. Mr. Halpern added that it is a short street and only one speed hump would fit. College Park City Council Meeting Minutes June 13, 2017 Page 3 D. Public Hearing on 17-O-06, Emergency Ordinance Of The Mayor And Council Of The City Of College Park Amending Chapter 1, “General Provisions”, By Enacting Article II, “Required Public Notice”, §1-4, “Public Notice Required By City Charter” To Determine The Additional Methods For Giving Public Notice When Required By The City Charter: Ms. Ferguson said Council recently adopted changes to the Charter, and one of those changes was that Council would set by Ordinance the means by which the City would provide public notice. This Ordinance accomplishes that, and the only reason it is called an “emergency ordinance” is to synchronize the effective dates between the Charter change and the Ordinance. Mayor Wojahn invited public comment. There was no one present to testify. Mayor Wojahn closed the public hearing. CONSENT AGENDA: A motion was made by Councilmember Dennis and seconded by Councilmember Brennan to adopt the Consent Agenda, which consisted of the following: 17-R-09 Approval of a Resolution amending the membership requirements for the Education Advisory Committee to require City residency for appointees with the exception of the UMCP appointment 17-G-77 Minutes from the Regular Meeting of May 9, 2017; May 16, 2017 Special Session. 17-G-86 Approval of Field Use Requests by Berwyn Baptist Church and Holy Redeemer CYO The motion passed 6 – 0 – 0. ACTION ITEMS: 17-G-78 Consideration of petition request for traffic calming on Nantucket Road between 51st Avenue and Rhode Island Avenue A motion was made by Councilmember Kabir and seconded by Councilmember Nagle to approve the installation of a speed hump on Nantucket Road between 51st Avenue and Rhode Island Avenue and to direct the City Engineer to site and install it at his discretion. Councilmember Kabir said he understands that the traffic study did not warrant the speed hump but there were a few occasions noted where speeding occurred. Councilmember Kujawa asked if the residents knew they could attend the public hearing tonight. Councilmember Kabir acknowledged that no residents were present tonight but they did comment to him about this matter. Ms. Miller added that a public hearing notice was mailed to all residents of the street. College Park City Council Meeting Minutes June 13, 2017 Page 4 The motion carried 5 – 1 -0 (Councilmember Kujawa opposed). 17-G-79 Consideration of petition request for traffic calming on 47th Place between Hollywood Road and Lackawanna Street A motion was made by Councilmember Nagle and seconded by Councilmember Kabir to approve the installation of a speed hump on 47th Place between Hollywood Road and Lackawanna Street and to direct the City Engineer to site and install it at his discretion. Councilmember Nagle said it is important to the residents who live on this street to have traffic calming there. The motion carried 6-0-0. 17-O-06 Adoption of 17-O-06, Emergency Ordinance Of The Mayor And Council Of The City Of College Park Amending Chapter 1, “General Provisions”, By Enacting Article II, “Required Public Notice”, §1-4, “Public Notice Required By City Charter” To Determine The Additional Methods For Giving Public Notice When Required By The City Charter A motion was made by Councilmember Nagle and seconded by Councilmember Kabir to adopt Emergency Ordinance 17-O-06, An Ordinance Of The Mayor And Council Of The City Of College Park Amending Chapter 1, “General Provisions”, By Enacting Article II, “Required Public Notice”, §1-4, “Public Notice Required By City Charter” To Determine The Additional Methods For Giving Public Notice When Required By The City Charter. There were no comments from Councilmember Nagle or the Council. The motion passed 6–0–0. 17-G-80 Approval, with conditions, of Preliminary Plan of Subdivision 4-16022 for the Riverside Subdivision Ms. Schum reviewed the staff report and the six conditions. She said last week we were trying to negotiate a payment for bike share in advance of what is required in the bicycle pedestrian impact study, but we are not likely to get support for that at the County level. We were able to get in condition #6 information about the addition of bike share facilities along with the bus shelters when the next Detailed Site Plan occurs. Due to the changes in the regulations the previously conditioned road improvements are no longer required and the bonds will be released. A motion was made by Councilmember Kujawa and seconded by Councilmember Kabir that the City Council recommend approval of 4-16022, Riverside Subdivision, with the following conditions: College Park City Council Meeting Minutes June 13, 2017 Page 5 1. Require any new Detailed Site Plan for development beyond the existing development on Lots 10, 12, 13, 14 and 18 to submit a traffic signal warrant study for the intersection of River Road and Rivertech Court and to construct the traffic signal, if warranted, as directed by Prince George’s County. 2. Prior to signature approval, provide a plan for the proposed Art Park on Lot 10 (which includes the location of the existing bike share station). 3. At the time of Detailed Site Plan for development on Lot 10, show a bike share station located near the intersection of River Road and University Research Court, subject to modification by the operating agencies. 4. Prior to signature approval, provide an exhibit that shows shared-lane markings along the entire length of University Research Court north of River Road and on River Road between Campus Drive and Kenilworth Avenue, unless modified by the appropriate operating agency. 5. Prior to release of any bonds securing road improvements required pursuant to Preliminary Plan 4-89228, complete installation of the shared-lane markings. In the event that the appropriate operating agency will not permit the shared-lane markings to be painted on the existing pavement of River Road, the shared-lane markings shall not be required along River Road and release of the existing bonds shall not be affected or delayed. 6. At the time of Detailed Site Plan, provide an exhibit that illustrates the location and limits of off-site improvements that address adequate pedestrian and bikeway facilities in an amount not to exceed $68,407.50. These improvements may include the installation of two bus shelters at existing stops along Paint Branch Parkway or bike share facilities in the TDOZ, or alternative off-site improvements, after consultation with the Town of Riverdale Park, the City of College Park and the appropriate operating agencies. Comments from the audience: Tom Haller, attorney for the applicant: They are in agreement with the six conditions noted. The question last week was whether the County would be able to incorporate them. He spoke with the trails coordinator, Fred Schaffer, about the BPIS improvements. Staff was concerned that the BPIS improvement that was recommended was for bus shelters, and that there may be a better use of those funds when they are required to be paid. The County’s condition is written that if there are better improvements identified at the time of Detailed Site Plan they can be substituted, and we will add that the determination of the appropriate facility will be made in consultation with the City of College Park and the Town of Riverdale Park to make sure the improvements best address the pedestrian needs at the time the money is required to be spent. With that understanding, they are in support of the conditions. The motion passed 4-1-0 (Nagle opposed, Cook absent from the dais). College Park City Council Meeting Minutes June 13, 2017 Page 6 17-G-81 Approval of the Fiscal Year 2018 Program Open Space Allocation Councilmember Kabir noted there are a lot of people in the audience who are here to speak about Gateway Park, and asked if we can take public comment on all of the motions at once. Mayor Wojahn said we can consolidate public comment, and identified what the three motions would be. A motion was made by Councilmember Kabir and seconded by Councilmember Nagle the City Council designate its Fiscal Year 2018 allocation of Program Open Space funds in the amount of $192,800 to the Hollywood Gateway Park project. Comment from the audience: Ari Diacou, 4801 Niagara Road: Supports. It would provide the needed sidewalk and progressive stormwater practices. Susan Huemmrich, 4900 Indian Lane: Supports. She likes the design. So much time and energy have already been spent-don’t be swayed from this goal. Chris Gill, 5117 Kenesaw Street: Supports the proposal; it is an investment in our community. Kate Kennedy, 9730 51st Avenue: Supports. The “gateway” idea is the key to this project; it will beautify the area. Christina Toy, 5215 Palco Place: Supports. This would be a perfect addition to north College Park; the current situation is an eyesore. Eric Eldritch, 4719 Niagara Road: Supports. Green spaces are important; we need another one on Route 1 to counter the “corridor of horror.” Paulette Little, Lackawanna Street: Supports. This is long overdue; we need something to revitalize north College Park. Philip Aronson, 5020 Odessa Road: Supports. We need this amenity. With all the time and money spent so far it would be foolish not to continue. Rosemary Perticari, 4910 Muskogee Street: Supports. You might as well spend the $43,000 to get an attractive and useful park. If you downsize it you will take away all the things that are interesting. Mark Shroder, 4909 Muskogee Street: Supports. It is a tough lot but this is a solution. If you don’t move on this tonight you will have a permanent vacant lot. John Bartoli, 9723 48th Place: He was originally against the proposal, but now agrees wholeheartedly with the plans. It is difficult to find enough sidewalks and places to rest as he walks through the neighborhood. Spending this additional money is a no-brainer. College Park City Council Meeting Minutes June 13, 2017 Page 7 Councilmember Nagle commented on the City’s process on deciding what to do with open space money. She would like to have more time to explore options; at this point, Hollywood Gateway Park is all we can do. The motion passed 6-0-0. 17-G-83 Approval of a contract amendment for construction administration services for Hollywood Gateway Park A motion was made by Councilmember Kabir and seconded by Councilmember Nagle that the contract with Floura Teeter Landscape Architects and Whitney Bailey Cox and Magnani, LLC, a joint venture, be amended to include construction administration services in the amount of $43,968 for Hollywood Gateway Park. Councilmember Kabir commented that this is needed because the design of the project has been completed and we are moving into construction. It is normal to have a contract for construction administration. It wasn’t included before because we didn’t know what the design would look like. This is less than 3% of the project cost and it makes sense to move forward. Councilmember Nagle proposed to add the words “for up to” $43,968. Ms. Schum said that staff has no objection and Councilmember Kabir agreed to add those words to the motion. Councilmember Brennan said construction management services are an anticipated cost and asked if rather than amending the budget to include this, shouldn’t we be exercising an option to provide construction management services. Ms. Schum said it could have been included in the scope of work in 2012, but we had no idea what this park would become and were asking our designers to look at conceptual design services. We didn’t have any idea what the scope of the project would be, so it would have been difficult for them to bid on it at the time. This amendment is for construction administration, not construction management, which is different. We need our current designers to provide this service because it is their plan, they will represent us, to guarantee the project gets built according to the plans provided. She discussed other examples of construction management v. construction administration and said this is fairly routine. Councilmember Brennan asked staff to consider including contract administration services in future contracts so Council is not put in this position again where they are revisiting an approved project. Ms. Schum and Ms. Ferguson said it is possible to recognize the need for project management at the outset and to set funds aside. Ms. Schum added that this is one of the more complex projects she has worked on with a lot of moving parts. Councilmember Kujawa asked about the schedule; when will the three-month period start. Ms. Ferguson said we will draft an amendment to the contract to make sure there is sufficient time for this to happen and it will be part of the overall construction schedule. Councilmember Nagle feels this should have been put out to bid and we didn’t necessarily have to go with the same contractor. She is concerned that the contractor will be over-tasked because they are also working on the Hollywood Streetscape project. College Park City Council Meeting Minutes June 13, 2017 Page 8 Vote on the motion that the contract with Floura Teeter Landscape Architects and Whitney Bailey Cox and Magnani, LLC, a joint venture, be amended to include construction administration services for up to $43,968 for Hollywood Gateway Park. The motion passed 6-0-0. 17-G-88 Motion to reduce the scope of the Hollywood Gateway Park project A motion was made by Councilmember Nagle and seconded by Councilmember Cook that the Council consider reduction in the scope of design for the Gateway Park. Councilmember Nagle apologized for the miscommunication that if the $43,000 wasn’t spent the park would be dead. She said we all want to see the park finished, and we want the corner to look better than it does now. She said she believes no one would have decided to move forward knowing it would cost $1.5M in the end. She is asking Council to move forward in a fiscally responsible manner so the project can be completed as expeditiously as possible by reducing some of the elements in the current design while remaining the green elements. Flora Teeter prepared an estimate of $800,000 for construction, but it hasn’t gone out to bid so it might cost more. She would like to have a discussion about what elements we want to see in the park and an agreement about where the cost ends. There are other projects we might want to see Program Open Space used for. Ms. Schum said based on Council direction provided in May 2017, the pavilion is being redesigned, and lot lines are being redrawn and the 2 plats are being recorded. The plans are being updated now in anticipation of going out to bid in July. In May 2016 design options were provided to the Council and the decision was to move forward with the project as it stands today. It would not be ADA accessible without the acquisition of the additional lot. Council can look at those options again but that would be a redesign, with a different set of permits and plans, and will cost more money, because we would have to stop and restart. Councilmember Nagle is mostly interested in a redesign of the pavilion and doesn’t think it would involve new permits. Eric Eldritch, 4719 Niagara Road: The pavilion is a defacto community center; please don’t cut costs at this point, let’s get this built. Kimberly Schuman, 4801 Niagara: Her concern about reducing the scope is the loss of the educational elements. We want to attract more homeowners; by providing an education component it will help attract more people. Councilmember Brennan said he has heard clearly that a park needs to go at this location, but the Council was surprised by the price tag of $1.5M that was presented last week. This Council has a duty to spend granted monies responsibly and it is appropriate to return to the Worksession table and talk about value engineering, not to diminish the value of this, but to appropriately spend the funds. He asked the City Manager if we can entertain a Worksession to rescope and College Park City Council Meeting Minutes June 13, 2017 Page 9 prioritize the project to keep a reasonable timeline and potentially redirect some of these funds to other projects. Mr. Somers said the next Worksession is July 5 and we can move somethings around if they want to hold that discussion. If the education component goes away, we risk losing the Chesapeake Bay Trust grant. We need to spend those dollars before September 27 but if the education component goes away, that grant becomes moot. Ms. Schum said she would need to advise the consultant tomorrow to stop work on the project to not incur additional expenses. The CBT grant will be difficult to keep in either scenario so we might need to write it off. Cost escalations often occur when we have these delays. Mr. Somers and Ms. Schum reviewed cost estimates at various points in the 10-year history of the project. Councilmember Cook said if she had known the project was going to cost $1.5M, she would not have voted for it in 2008. Councilmember Kujawa called the question. The motion passed 6–0–0. The vote on the motion passed 5–1–0 (Kabir opposed) 17-R-10 Approval of a Resolution to Adopt Rules and Procedures Related To Candidates’ Events A motion was made by Councilmember Dennis and seconded by Councilmember Kabir to adopt Resolution 17-R-10, a Resolution to Adopt Rules and Procedures Related To Candidates’ Events. There were no comments from the audience or the Council. The motion passed 6-0-0. 17-G-82 Support for CB-26-2017, Healthy Vending Requirements Mr. Gardiner provided an overview: This is County legislation that would require vending machines on certain County property to vend food and beverages that meet certain requirements, and would enable municipalities to piggy-back on county contract to make it easier for us to find vendors that would provide our machines with food that meets the healthy vending standards. A motion was made by Councilmember Cook and seconded by Councilmember Dennis that the Council authorize the Mayor to send a letter to the Prince George’s County Council stating the City’s support for CB-26-2017. Councilmember Cook said this is a step in the right direction. College Park City Council Meeting Minutes June 13, 2017 Page 10 There were no comments from the audience. Councilmember Nagle appreciates the thought behind this but it seems like an odd thing to legislate. The motion passed 5-0-1 (Nagle abstained). 17-G-85 Approval of a cooperation agreement between Prince George’s County and the City of College Park regarding Community Development Block Grant Urban County Qualification Ms. Schum reviewed the staff report. Staff recommends opting-in to the County’s Community Development Block Grant Program for 2018-2020. We need to sign the agreement by the end of the month. A motion was made by Councilmember Nagle and seconded by Councilmember Kujawa that the City execute a Cooperation Agreement with Prince George’s County to participate in the Community Development Block Grant Program and HOME Investment Partnerships Program for federal fiscal years 2018-2020. The motion passed 6-0-0. 17-CR-02 Introduction Of A Charter Amendment To Extend Municipal Voting Rights To Non-Citizens A motion was made by Councilmember Nagle and seconded by Councilmember Brennan to introduce Charter Amendment 17-CR-02, an amendment of Article IV, Voting and Elections, §C4-1, Qualification of Voters, and §C4-2, Registration of Voters of the City Charter to allow non-citizens to vote in City elections and to authorize a supplemental voter list. Mayor Wojahn said the Public Hearing will be held on July 11, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers. 17-G-84 Appointments to Boards and Committees A motion was made by Councilmember Brennan and seconded by Councilmember Dennis to reappoint Joseph Theis to the Ethics Commission, appoint Ben Flamm to the Committee for a Better Environment (pending receipt of his application) and to reappoint Peggy Wilson as the UMCP member to the Education Advisory Committee. The motion passed 6 – 0 – 0. College Park City Council Meeting Minutes June 13, 2017 Page 11 ADJOURN: A motion was made by Councilmember Kujawa and seconded by Councilmember Dennis to adjourn the meeting. With a vote of 6-0-0, Mayor Wojahn adjourned the regular meeting at 10:16 p.m., and said the Council would not be meeting in a Closed Session tonight ____________________________________________ Janeen S. Miller, CMC Date City Clerk Approved Pursuant to §C6-3 of the College Park City Charter, at 11:46 p.m. on June 6, 2017, during a regularly scheduled meeting of the College Park City Council, a motion was made by Councilmember Brennan and seconded by Councilmember Kabir to enter into a Closed Session to consult with Counsel on a legal matter. The motion passed 6-0-0 and the Council entered into the closed session at 11:49 p.m. Present: Mayor Wojahn; Councilmembers Kabir, Nagle, Brennan, Dennis, Kujawa, and Cook. Absent: Councilmembers Day and Stullich Also Present: Scott Somers, City Manager; Bill Gardiner, Assistant City Manager; Suellen Ferguson, City Attorney; Janeen Miller, City Clerk. Topic Discussed: The City Attorney informed the City Council about a request to amend a lease agreement. Action Taken: None. Adjourn: A motion was made by Councilmember Brennan and seconded by Councilmember Kabir to adjourn the closed session, and with a vote of 6 – 0 – 0, Mayor Wojahn adjourned the closed session at 11:54 p.m.