Mayor & City Council

WORKSESSION MINUTES College Park City Council Tuesday, April 21, 2020 7:30 p.m. – 10:24 p.m. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, this was a WebEx Virtual Meeting PRESENT: Mayor Wojahn, Councilmembers Kabir, Kennedy, Brennan, Dennis, Day, Rigg, Mackie and Mitchell. ABSENT: None ALSO PRESENT: Scott Somers, City Manager; Bill Gardiner, Assistant City Manager; Janeen S. Miller, City Clerk; Suellen Ferguson, City Attorney; Robert Marsili, Director of Public Works; Brenda Alexander, Assistant Director of Public Works; Terry Schum, Director of Planning; Miriam Bader, Senior Planner; Kiaisha Barber, Director of Youth, Family and Senior Services; Dan Alpert, Student Liaison; Julia Nikhinson, Deputy Student Liaison. Mayor Wojahn opened the virtual Worksession at 7:30 p.m. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT: Mr. Somers discussed the COVID-19 resource page on City website; College Park’s Census 2020 response rate is 35%; Campus Drive under CSX tracks is closed for Purple Line construction through August; Communications Coordinator Ryna Quinones had her baby and Gabi Wurtzel is filling in for her. AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA: A motion was made by Councilmember Mitchell and seconded by Councilmember Rigg to adopt the agenda. Motion passed 8-0. DISCUSSION ITEMS: 1. Detailed Site Plan for Wawa-College Park (DSP-19061) located at 10050 Baltimore Avenue) – Terry Schum and Miriam Bader: This project is a 1.47 acre site on the north side of the Holiday Inn parking lot. The development is for an approximately 5,000 square foot convenience store and 10-pump gas station. The developer is Roadside which is also the developer of the project directly to the north. Planning Board date is April 30. Staff recommends approval with conditions. Ms. Bader presented the PowerPoint and reviewed the conditions. For the applicant: Larry Taub, Ralph Bell, Brian Corcoran, Nathaniel Forman: Mr. Taub said we are very close on the conditions. They presented a proposal for the sidewalk connection. They want to maintain the full five-foot width of the landscape strip. Location of parking for bike/scooter share might indicate a certain type of bike station; he wants to be clear they are providing a location for parking of bikes/scooters, but they are not intending to provide a certain type of station. They have revised the architectural elevation and believe that has satisfied the requirement. College Park Worksession Minutes April 21, 2020 Page 2 Councilmember Kabir said some residents have concerns about a gas station at this location. He asked the developer to consider paying an impact fee for an improvement at the intersection of US 1 and Edgewood Road. Mr. Taub said they had not heard this request before and they are one-week away from Planning Board. The use is permitted by right. They consider this a high-quality development. He doesn’t see how it would be possible. Brian Corcoran added they have a vested interest in the proper functioning of the intersection so they would entertain future discussions with SHA. NCPCA sent a letter of non-opposition to the project. In response to questions about having a gas station at this location, Ms. Schum said there was no specific approval of a gas station there but since the property was zoned M-X-T in the early 2000s, a gas station is a permitted use. This site is part of the Central US 1 Corridor Sector Plan, but not part of the Development District Overlay Zone, which makes it a little different. Will there still be enough parking to accommodate the Holiday Inn? There is enough parking to accommodate their use and the shared parking exceeds the required number of spaces. To agenda next week (Kennedy). 2. Discussion of the Joint Development Agreement, the Parking Agreement, and Condominium Documents with the University of Maryland for the City Hall Project Mr. Somers said the City and University project teams have been meeting regularly on these agreements. Tanner Dudley from HR&A, the City’s consultant, reviewed the PowerPoint. These three documents are not final and are meant to be read in conjunction with one another. He described each agreement and the pertinent exhibits. Questions: • Was there any discussion of a pre-negotiated purchase price? No, not of the price itself, but there was negotiation regarding the CPI escalator of the University’s initial contribution. • Was there any discussion of a purchase of partial space, i.e., not the entire UMD space and/or the retail space? No, that would be subject to negotiation. • How would savings and overages be handled? It would depend on the line item in the budget. • Questions about the calculation of the different proportional shares. The initial value of the contribution of the land was based on the appraisals of the land, not the square footage of the land. This resulted in how much more the City was contributing than the UMD. This calculation was handled differently from the proportional use of the building which is based on square footage. • Explanation of how they arrived at the $2.33M contribution from the UMD to the City. • Question about what would happen if the UMD couldn’t move forward with the project. Ms. Ferguson said it is covered in the “Default and Remedies” section of the JDA. To agenda next week (Rigg). College Park Worksession Minutes April 21, 2020 Page 3 3. Discussion of establishing a Bee City USA Committee: Mr. Marsili reviewed the history and the staff report. Discussion of whether this should be part of CBE, TLB, or a standalone committee. Consensus was to follow the staff recommendation and make this a standalone Bee City USA committee. To Consent next week. 4. Discussion of establishing a Youth Advisory Committee: Ms. Barber reviewed the staff report. She added that we may also want to consider youth involvement in some of our existing boards. She recommended that Council review the source documents she provided. The City of Greenbelt’s committee is overseen by their Recreation Department. They address events in the City of Greenbelt and send letters to the Greenbelt Mayor and Council on various matters. What is the vision for the Youth Advisory Committee in College Park? They could serve as ambassadors for the City, could distribute information regarding the Census, provide the youth perspective on issues that impact them like crime prevention. The youth committee should have input in what role they want to play. Is this Committee also going to be advisory to the Council, like our other committees? The Committee-on-Committees will work with Ms. Barber to develop this further, especially the charge, and return at a future W/S. 5. Comments on the M-NCPPC Budget: Mr. Gardiner reviewed the staff report and asked for Council direction on priorities for this year’s letter. He reviewed previous requests. Mayor Wojahn spoke with County Council Member Dernoga today. Regarding the feasibility study for the north College Park community center: the County is waiting for the results of our recreational needs assessment. Given the uncertainties of the County’s budget in light of COVID-19, he suggested we focus on retaining funding for our current programs, like senior programming and the after-school program at YFS, rather than adding items. There was interest in remediation of the impacts of the tree cutting around the airport and whether they can involve the Army Corps of Engineers. The connectivity to the Calvert Park playground remains a significant priority. The intent behind the request to remove the fence around Lake Artemesia was not to remove only the barbed wire, but to remove the fencing entirely to increase beautification around this natural area, except where it is needed near the railroad tracks. There is currently nothing in the CIP for renovations to Hollywood Park. To Consent next week. 6. Requests for/Status of Future Agenda Items: A motion was made by Councilmember Kennedy and seconded by Councilmember Mitchell to add the following items to the agenda next week: College Park Worksession Minutes April 21, 2020 Page 4 • Approval of a letter in opposition to the request by WSSC for funds for relocation / infrastructure costs associated with the I-495 / I-270 expansion project. • Approval of a letter to our Congressional delegation in support of including funding for local governments in the COVID-19 stimulus package 3.5. • Approval of a letter to the Prince George’s County Council in support of Resolution CR- 7-2020 as proposed by Council Member Dernoga to re-establish a County Climate Action Plan and Sustainability Action Group. The motion passed 8-0 7. Mayor, Councilmember & Student Liaison Comments • Volunteers needed to help serve meals at Spellman House and Attick Towers. • Route 1 Mask Match for people who need masks • Student Liaison application is due on Friday ADJOURN: A motion was made by Councilmember Day and seconded by Councilmember Rigg to adjourn the Worksession, and with a vote of 8-0, the Worksession was adjourned at 10:24 p.m. ________________________________ Janeen S. Miller Date City Clerk Approved