Mayor & City Council

WORKSESSION MINUTES College Park City Council Tuesday, March 19, 2019 Council Chambers 7:30 P.M. – 10:06 P.M. PRESENT: Mayor Wojahn; Councilmembers Kabir, Kennedy, Day, Rigg, Kujawa, and Mitchell. ABSENT: Councilmembers Brennan and Dennis. ALSO PRESENT: Scott Somers, City Manager; Bill Gardiner, Assistant City Manager; Janeen Miller, City Clerk; Suellen Ferguson, City Attorney; Terry Schum, Director of Planning; Kacy Rohn, Community Planner; Dan Alpert, substitute Student Liaison. Mayor Wojahn opened the Worksession at 7:30 p.m. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT: Mr. Somers reported on US 1 roadwork and lane closures; said the public hearing for 19-O-05, the bulk trash ordinance, has been postponed; talked about the compost sale; and announced Brunch with the Bunny. AMENDMENT TO/APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA: • Remove item #4 – Day/Mitchell 6-0. • Observe a moment of silence tonight in recognition of the terrorist attack in New Zealand • Switch Items #2 and #3 • Approve agenda with amendments Rigg/Day 6-0. The Mayor and Council observed a moment of silence to remember the victims of the terrorist attacks in New Zealand. Councilmember Kabir expressed the community’s appreciation for the police officers who went to the mosque after the event in New Zealand occurred. DISCUSSION ITEMS: 1. Discussion of a new bike share / scooter program: Terry Schum, Kacy Rohn and David Allen, Director of UMD DOTS: Ms. Schum reviewed the staff report. Our current bikeshare program is near the end of the 3-year contract and has been very successful. Zagster now offers a truly dockless system called Pace with upgraded bikes which is more flexible. UMD subsidizes student memberships. Pace comes at no cost to the City or UMD; Zagster retains the revenue. They are seeking sponsorships (advertising) to help subsidize the program. Council discussed need for additional bicycle racks City-wide; staff will address. Council interested in moving forward. Bring Pace contract back in the future. Discussion re scooters: Council expressed safety concerns and want to move slowly. Should there be a cap on the number of scooters? Do we have the appropriate infrastructure? Explore permit fee and cost per scooter. Can we use the fee to build out the infrastructure for safe use? Update rules about trail use. Review our trails and our complete streets plan. Work with UMD to craft a pilot scooter program with caution and safety as the priority. College Park City Council Worksession March 19, 2019 Page 2 2. Follow-up to Mayor and Council Retreat in January: Mr. Somers reviewed the notes from the Council Retreat. There was some confusion about the meaning of the dots during the retreat exercise and he is seeking clarity on priorities. Next Steps from Page 6 of Zelos report: 1. Worksession – tonight 2. Conversation about priorities – tonight 3. Onboarding new ideas – Update to Council rules after next election. 4. Focus on the ends rather than the means – Funding for a new 5-year Strategic Plan. Do the resident survey first so it can inform the SP. 5. How to address parking lot list, which includes: a. How to prioritize items: Subcommittee to develop a form to provide background for new agenda items that are requested so Council has enough information to help them decide whether to add an item. What resources are needed, how much time it would take, what is the expected outcome. b. Greenspace Policy – Council request for special training on greenspace, urban development, density, urban planning, to help them understand development planning. Potential New Areas of Focus from Page 6 of Zelos report: 1. Enhanced communication outreach – budget discussion and future W/S 2. City Cable Channel – is this moving forward? 3. North College Park Community Center – not moving forward. Conduct needs assessment first. 4. Education around human trafficking – withdrawn. Discussion: How does Prince George’s County do their retreat? How to on-board new ideas when staff time is needed to help figure it out – catch 22. Refrain from adding additional items once an agenda is set. 3. Approval to enter into a contract for on-call engineering services: Ms. Schum reviewed the staff report and discussed the desire for an on-call engineering firm to bid on certain projects where engineering services are needed. Examples: complete streets, grant projects, Rhode Island Avenue. Having a firm on-call will streamline the process. We can ride a Montgomery County contract to lock in the rates. When a job comes up we will get a proposal from the contractor, then decide whether to use them; we are under no obligation. Any contract over $30,000 would need Council’s approval. Approval on consent next week. 4. Discussion of a proposed amendment to HB 225 (School Facilities Surcharge - Exemptions - Transit Oriented Development - Workforce Housing) that would add a student housing exemption to the County school facilities surcharge on new development -- Removed from agenda. 5. Discussion of legislation – None. 6. Appointments to Boards and Committees: • Matt Dernoga, CBE • Kennis Termini, AWC College Park City Council Worksession March 19, 2019 Page 3 • Cameron Thurston, BOES 7. Requests for/Status of Future Agenda items – None. 8. Mayor and Councilmember Comments – Women’s History Month, NLC Conference, Rev. Jenkins of Embry AME Church is retiring. 9. City Manager's Comments – None. ADJOURN: A motion was made by Councilmember Rigg and seconded by Councilmember Day to adjourn the Worksession, and with a vote of 8-0, Mayor Wojahn adjourned the Worksession at 10:06 p.m. ____________________________________________ Janeen S. Miller Date City Clerk Approved