Mayor & City Council

WORKSESSION MINUTES College Park City Council Tuesday, May 7, 2019 Council Chambers 7:30 P.M. – 9:56 P.M. PRESENT: Mayor Wojahn; Councilmembers Kabir, Kennedy, Dennis, Rigg (arrived at 7:35 p.m.), Kujawa, and Mitchell. ABSENT: Councilmembers Brennan and Day. ALSO PRESENT: Scott Somers, City Manager; Bill Gardiner, Assistant City Manager; Janeen Miller, City Clerk; Suellen Ferguson, City Attorney; Bob Ryan, Director of Public Services; Gary Fields, Director of Finance; Terry Schum, Director of Planning; Miriam Bader, Senior Planner; Jill Clements, Human Resources; Alex Tobin, Student Liaison; Serena Saunders, Deputy Student Liaison (arrived at 9:11 p.m.). Mayor Wojahn opened the Worksession at 7:30 p.m. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT: Mr. Somers reported on Bike to Work Day, College Park Day, the Food Scrap drop-off program, updates to Duvall Field, the Night Out in College Park event, and the Duvall Field Visioning concept presentation. AMENDMENT TO/APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA: Add a letter to the Maryland Board of Public Works regarding the I-495/I-270 expansion (Kabir/Mitchell 5-0). Approve agenda as amended (Mitchell/Dennis 5-0). DISCUSSION ITEMS: 1 Review of Detailed Site Plan for EZ Storage on Branchville Road: Ms. Bader reviewed the staff report. The applicant is requesting approval to amend a previously approved DSP. The County Planning Board approved the project in 2016 with conditions, but the County Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement required a re-design due to new regulations. She reviewed the changes and the proposed conditions. Bradley Ferrar, Shipley & Horne and Craig Kittenger, Sienna Corporation: The applicant agrees to the conditions. To Consent Agenda next week. 2 Review of City Grants & Sponsorships policy: Mr. Fields reviewed the draft policy. Applications will be submitted to the Director of Finance who will refer them to the Grants Subcommittee. After evaluation, the GSC can either 1) propose for a Regular Meeting Consent Agenda, 2) propose for a Worksession discussion, or 3) recommend denial. Approval of the policy will also add $10,000 to the budget for sponsorship requests. Discussion of whether a 501(c)(3) is required – no, it is not a requirement because it can be costly/difficult for small organizations. Question about non-College Park based organizations - revise E3 to say, “organizations that do not provide services in the City.” Review of the timing - funds are paid in the following fiscal year. Funds should not go to College Park City Council Worksession May 7, 2019 Page 2 an individual who is running a small program. Revise policy and place on Consent next week. 3 Award of Contract for AIMS parking management software: Mr. Ryan reviewed staff report and discussed how this software will change parking enforcement administration. Applicants will apply for parking permits online but will still be mailed their hang tag. Don’t know how we will handle visitors passes. Hope to have this up and running before the fall semester rush (late August). On-line ticket payments will also be easier. This is a hosted solution. Customer can also submit adjudication paperwork on-line. To Consent Agenda next week. 4 Follow-up from March 5 Worksession on changes to City Code Chapter 138, Noise: Mr. Ryan reviewed the staff report. Staff recommends defaulting to the state code on construction noise and importing that language into our Code for easy reference. Special Event Permits: City Manager would approve. Council wants more information - provide the criteria and process for granting a special event permit. Remove Special Events Permits from the proposal for now to allow more time to study. See what information can be gathered at the ITGA conference. No changes to nighttime hours. Return May 28 to introduce (Kennedy). 5 Status of community garden on WMATA property south of Albion Road: Ms. Schum said the license agreement with WMATA is ready to be signed but we have learned a lot in the last year and wanted to bring this back to Council before moving forward. We said it would cost $4,000 to clear the property, build the fence and construct the garden plots. Now we have to follow a “mandatory referral” process for Park & Planning which requires an environmental investigation and site plan. We would have to hire a consultant. Staff has concerns about the location: isolated, no street parking, no water, no convenient access. We don’t have anything budgeted in FY 19 or FY 20. Would need to get cost estimates if Council still wants to move forward. In the meantime, there are still openings in the Old Town garden. Council: Tell WMATA we are not in a position to fund the community garden right now so request a delay in signing the agreement. Explore other options around the City, preferably City-owned land. ADD: Request from the Sierra Club to send a letter to the Maryland Board of Public Works on the Governor’s Traffic Relief Plan – proposed widening of I-270/I-495. This is on the BPW agenda for June 5. Council has gone on record in the past opposing the project. Letter to BPW on agenda next week. 6 Appointments to Boards and Committees: Melissa Day to EAC, Tessie Aikara to EAC. 7 Requests for/Status of Future Agenda items: None. COMMENTS: Can we advertise Census 2020 jobs on our website? County Council Member Tom Dernoga Town Hall. North College Park Community Association meeting. Calvert Hills Civic Association meeting. Lakeland Civic Association meeting. Student Liaison applicants. Dan Alpert and Julia Dickinson approved by SGA. Student Advisory Committee made an SGA College Park City Council Worksession May 7, 2019 Page 3 permanent committee. UMD Presidential Selection Committee has been identified – ways to provide input. ADJOURN: A motion was made by Councilmember Rigg and seconded by Councilmember Dennis to adjourn the Worksession and enter into a Closed Session to consider matters related to collective bargaining negotiations. With a vote of 6-0, Mayor Wojahn adjourned the Worksession at 9:56 p.m. ____________________________________________ Janeen S. Miller Date City Clerk Approved