Mayor & City Council

MINUTES Regular Meeting of the College Park City Council Tuesday, June 9, 2020 7:30 p.m. – 10:17 p.m. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, this was a 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; Bob Ryan, Director of Public Services; Terry Schum, Director of Planning; Kiaisha Barber, Director of Youth, Family and Senior Services; Gary Fields, Director of Finance; Jim Miller, Parking Enforcement Manager; Adam Rosenbaum, Student Liaison; Julia Nikhinson, Deputy Student Liaison. Mayor Wojahn opened the virtual Regular Meeting at 7:30 p.m. ANNOUNCEMENTS/COMMENTS: Councilmember Kabir announced a virtual community-police meeting next Monday to take resident input on how we can further improve relations between the community and law enforcement. He added that the North College Park Community Association would hold their monthly meeting as a virtual meeting on Thursday. Councilmember Kennedy noted that the Committee on Committees (Kennedy, Mitchell, Mackie and Wojahn) met earlier with Ms. Barber regarding the Youth Advisory Commission. They will return in September with proposals. Councilmember Brennan thanked staff for coordination with SHA on the MD 430/Greenbelt Road construction - two pedestrian refuges have been added. He added that tractor-trailers are consistently at LIDL between midnight and 4 a.m. and asked if staff can take a look. Councilmember Dennis announced the PGCPD District 1 Coffee Club tomorrow at 9 a.m. via Zoom and said after tomorrow they will begin their summer schedule: 2nd and 4th Wednesdays in July and August. Councilmember Mackie referred residents to the County website to see updates on what’s allowed/not allowed re the COVID-19 pandemic. Councilmember Mitchell discussed the situation with traffic back-up from Starbucks onto Cherry Hill Road and gave kudos to the Complete Count Committee for their virtual business roundtable. College Park City Council Meeting Minutes June 9, 2020 Page 2 Mayor Wojahn said that the UMD group housing numbers have been submitted to the census. He announced the new Mayor of New Carrollton, and said Berwyn Heights is also having elections. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT: Mr. Somers said the City turned 75 but due to COVID-19 we were not able to have our parade. Information about grant programs for COVID-19 assistance is on our website. The first round of virtual Strategic Plan focus groups was held on Saturday; the next opportunity is June 20. Mosquito spraying has been cancelled; the City and CBE will do some outreach on how to mitigate mosquitoes. The City’s 4th of July event has been cancelled. Councilmember Kabir asked whether the improvements to the intersection just north of Greenbelt Road/Rhode Island Avenue have been funded? The response was that the study was funded but not the design. Councilmember Kabir asked if a letter would help move it forward? Mr. Halpern will check. AMENDMENTS TO AND APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA • Motion by Councilmember Kabir seconded by Councilmember Kennedy to add a letter in support of “8 can’t wait” policing strategies to the agenda. Added as Item 20-G-113 with a vote of 8-0. • Motion by Councilmember Dennis seconded by Councilmember Day to add a discussion to the agenda tonight about a Community Town Hall meeting/public forum to take community input and to address community concerns re policing and other current events. Goal would be to develop a city-wide action planning going forward. Added as Item 20-G-114 with a vote of 8-0. • Motion by Councilmember Mitchell seconded by Councilmember Mackie to add to the agenda tonight a letter to UMD/PG County requesting a local COVID testing in conjunction with UMD. Councilmember Mitchell will prepare the letter. Added as Item 20-G-115 to the Consent agenda with a vote of 8-0. • Motion to approve the agenda as amended by Councilmember Dennis seconded by Councilmember Mitchell. Motion passed 8-0. PUBLIC COMMENT ON CONSENT AGENDA AND NON-AGENDA ITEMS Carol Macknis, resident: Provided positive comments on Saturday’s public forum on the Strategic Plan. She said College Park is not alone in having Post Office problems: Laurel and Berwyn Heights also report problems; perhaps we should work together. We should have parades. PUBLIC HEARINGS: A. Ordinance 20-O-08, An Ordinance Of The Mayor And Council Of The City Of College Park Amending Chapter 110 “Fees And Penalties”, By Repealing And Reenacting §110-1 “Fees And Interests” And §110-2, “Penalties”; And Chapter 151, “Permit Parking”, By Repealing And Reenacting §151-2, “Petition Requirements”, §151-4 Issuance Of Permits And § 151-6 Return Of Parking Permits; Refund Of Permit Fee And Loss Of Refund For Failure To Return, To Delete The Annual And Bi-Annual Permit Parking Fee In Residential Zones. Mr. Ryan said this ordinance will make changes to Chapters 110 and 151 to eliminate the residential permit parking fee of $10/year. No other changes are proposed to the permit zones or number of permits; this is just to eliminate the fee. Permit Parking is an effective tool to minimize overcrowded parking on residential streets, and any obstacle caused by the $10 fee will be removed. College Park City Council Meeting Minutes June 9, 2020 Page 3 Comments from the audience: Carol Macknis, resident: Spoke in support of the ordinance and discussed the optimum number of passes that should be made available so as not to overpark the street. Maxine Gross, resident: Spoke in support of the ordinance; permit zones are a necessity for certain neighborhoods. David Gray, resident: This is a valuable service for certain neighborhoods, and they should be charged. Otherwise, the cost is borne by every taxpayer, even those who are not using it. He is concerned about the license plate registration and what is being done with the data that is collected. You haven’t talked about that process yet and it needs to be addressed. Stuart Adams, resident: He doesn’t have a problem paying the $10 but understands some people have a concern about that. We need to think about encouraging positive action – is this meeting our strategic goals? There being no further public comment, Mayor Wojahn closed the hearing. PRESENTATIONS: Presentation on the City’s ClearGov financial transparency dashboard – Gary Fields, Director of Finance and Anna Balcora from ClearGov: Mr. Fields said this is the culmination of a 2-year process to find financial transparency software for the City website. We selected ClearGov and have worked with them for the last 6 months on developing this dashboard. Anna Balcora from ClearGov demoed the software. The site will be updated quarterly; it will go live immediately. Councilmember Dennis asked if a comparison with neighboring municipalities can be added? – Yes. Councilmember Kennedy asked them to clarify this is for a fiscal year – they will. Councilmember Kabir asked about the cost? Mr. Fields said the annual fee of $5,500 is in the budget. CONSENT AGENDA: A motion was made by Councilmember Mitchell and seconded by Councilmember Rigg to adopt the Consent Agenda, which included the following: 20-G-106 Approval of a request for a stop sign on Muskogee Street at Narragansett Parkway. 20-G-107 Approval of a request for a stop sign on Cree Lane at 51st Avenue. 20-G-108 Approval of a motion to postpone National Night Out to Tuesday, October 6; to change the August Worksession date back to Tuesday, August 4; and change the October Worksession date to Wednesday, October 7 after NNO. 20-G-109 Approval of a letter to Prince George’s County requesting prioritization of planning and design of Phases 2 and 3 of US 1 Reconstruction. College Park City Council Meeting Minutes June 9, 2020 Page 4 20-G-112 Approval of a letter to the State requesting funding for planning and design of Phases 2 and 3 of US 1 Reconstruction. 20-G-110 Approval of Minutes from the April 7, 2020 Worksession; and the April 7, 2020 Special Session. 20-R-15 Adoption of a Resolution extending the terms for advisory board members to August 15, 2020. 20-G-115 ADDED TO AGENDA: A Letter to Prince George’s County, the state of Maryland, and the University of Maryland requesting a local COVID testing site. Motion passed 8-0. ACTION ITEMS 20-R-16 Resolution in defense of Black lives and endorsing a commitment to enact policies that unequivocally defend Black lives and aim to undo the effects of systemic racism in College Park Mr. Gardiner said City staff have been participating in the Government Alliance for Race and Equity (GARE) project, sponsored by COG. The City team is chaired by Bill Gardiner and Kiaisha Barber. overview. Ms. Barber spoke about the Resolution. This was drafted in response to the Mayor and Council’s request to make a statement on systemic and structural racism that is plaguing our country and more particularly the black community. In drafting the Resolution, she drew upon her work with the GARE group. A motion was made by Councilmember Kabir and seconded by Councilmember Mitchell to adopt Resolution 20-R-16 that acknowledges structural racism and the resulting racial inequality in College Park and our country, and that commits the City to review its policies and actions to eliminate barriers to equality and to ensure all people have equal opportunity in College Park. Comments from the audience: Maxine Gross, resident: [Mayor Wojahn played the video submitted by Ms. Gross.] Ms. Gross said Council should adopt Resolution 20-R-16 in defense of black lives and aim to undo the effects of systematic racism in College Park. She asked Council to formally establish racial and social justice as guiding principles for the City of College Park and requested that the tenets of these philosophies be placed on the table each time a decision is made by the City. She continued that the City should take formal responsibility for the harm done to the Lakeland community and make a formal apology to the residents of Lakeland in its diaspora, and with them, carry out a program of restorative justice. She said the video reflected a taste of the community destroyed by the actions of the City of College Park. Rashida Tyler, resident: Ms. Tyler testified in support of 20-R-16, and additionally in support of the “8-Can’t Wait” policy proposals [next agenda item]. She supports the City sending letters to the five police agencies with jurisdiction in the City requesting stating support of the proposals. The City should create a local task force to review 9-1-1 data and police complaints; regularly provide citizens College Park City Council Meeting Minutes June 9, 2020 Page 5 with data about police complaints and use of force in College Park; and support any legislation that eliminates qualified immunity for police officers. Ray Ranker, resident: He echoed comments by Ms. Tyler and Ms. Gross. Council should consider a commission or other mechanism to dig deep into this, do important research, and come up with proposals. Councilmember Mitchell applauds the Council for this the first step. Sen. Will Smith is putting together a task force and we should have a similar local task force to examine these issues, perhaps as part of our Strategic Plan. Councilmember Kabir says this is just a few sentences but it is a small step in the right direction against all forms of racism and systemic bigotry. We should engage our community in a serious dialogue. He discussed the historic Lakeland Community and said we should do everything possible to restore the heritage of this community. A motion was made by Councilmember Rigg and seconded by Councilmember Mitchell to amend the Resolution by inserting the following language: • The Mayor and Council acknowledge and apologize for our City's past history of oppression, particularly with regards to the Lakeland community, and actively seek opportunities for accountability and truth-telling about past injustice, and aggressively seek opportunities for restorative justice. • Past practice and policy of the City of College Park have systematically disadvantaged black residents and the historically black community of Lakeland. The amendment passed 8-0. Mayor Wojahn discussed the importance of this moment and our next steps. He wondered whether, between the worldwide pandemic and this moment when, once again, the systemic, consistent and persistent racism and killing of black people has become so apparent, we would look back on this moment as the time our lives changed because of the pandemic or changed because of the murder of George Floyd and the related events. Moving forward, it will be up to each of us to ensure that the events of the last two weeks will have just as much impact as the pandemic on our daily lives. We should look at how much of a burden we put on our police to address all of our society’s failures. Who are we expecting to take care of our social problems right now? This is just the beginning of the discussion we need to have. He looks forward to hearing from our staff on the GARE project and having the discussion of next steps and how we move forward. He read the Resolution into the record. The motion passed 8-0. College Park City Council Meeting Minutes June 9, 2020 Page 6 20-G-113 Letter in support of 8 can’t wait. A motion was made by Councilmember Kabir and seconded by Councilmember Mitchell to send letters to the 5 police agencies with jurisdiction in the City in support of the 8 can’t wait reforms, which are: 1. Requiring officers to report unnecessary force used by fellow police officers 2. Restricting higher levels of force to be used only in extreme situations 3. Banning shooting at moving vehicles 4. Requiring officers to intervene to stop another officer from using excessive force 5. Forcing officers to exhaust all other reasonable alternatives before using deadly force 6. Requiring officers to give a verbal warning before shooting 7. Requiring officers to deescalate situations before they turn extreme/deadly 8. Banning chokeholds and strangleholds Comments from the Audience: Maxine Gross, resident: Encouraged Council to adopt this measure [hard to hear.] Ray Ranker, resident: In support of this motion and asked if we have any control over the police that we contract with. Mr. Somers said our contract officers follow the Prince George’s County General Orders. Councilmember Kennedy asked us to request a response from each agency about whether these measures are already in place or what their position is on enacting them. Councilmember Rigg said society expects our police departments to take on a lot of responsibility that is beyond law enforcement. They have a difficult job. We need to make sure we strike the right balance. The motion passed 8-0. 20-G-114 Discussion of a public forum/town hall to take community input on policing and racial disparity and to get input on how to address these matters going forward. A motion was made by Councilmember Dennis and seconded by Councilmember Day that Council work with staff to format a public forum to take input and gather ideas as we go forward to satisfy some of the resolutions that were made earlier tonight. Further discussions would hone and further identify goals, objectives and strategies to address some of the current social issues we face. There was no comment from the audience. Councilmember Day said we need to treat everyone with the respect and humanity of people who care about each other, and said we are a diverse community and a diverse Council. He discussed the concept of “reaction v. response” and said we have done a lot of reaction. It is time now for true College Park City Council Meeting Minutes June 9, 2020 Page 7 response and true actions to meet the needs of tomorrow. Defunding the police is a disaster waiting to happen. We need to work with our law enforcement agencies to get the solution right. It won’t happen overnight. He welcomes a town hall. The motion passed 8-0. 20-G-111 Approve a recommendation to the Prince George’s County Planning Board for approval, with conditions, of Detailed Site Plan 19068 for student housing development known as ‘The Standard at College Park’ located at 4321 Hartwick Road, and approval of a Declaration of Covenants. Ms. Schum reminded Council that there were two outstanding issues from last week’s Worksession: 1. the partial waiver of the County’s tree canopy requirement, and 2. the type/level of energy certification proposed: 1: The Applicant no longer needs a partial waiver from the tree canopy coverage ordinance. They now will exceed the requirement. The ordinance was amended to allow street trees along the right-of-way to be counted. They will go from 44 trees to 67 trees. Proposed condition #2 has been eliminated but they need to update their DSP to show these calculations. 2: LEED vs. NGBS. The Applicant proffered NGBS certification and provided a matrix to help Council understand the differences. Staff confirmed that Park & Planning has in the past accepted NGBS silver as an equivalent for LEED silver certification, in relation to Sector Plan requirements. Staff is not proposing any changes in conditions. Ms. Ferguson discussed the DOC. Two issues remained: 1) whether the Public Use Easement would be with the City or Park and Planning, and we have agreement on that. 2) The City’s standard provision referencing LEED. She said that the LEED decision is a Park and Planning decision, so it would not be appropriate for us to accept the substitute language from the applicant. Our standard language says, “LEED Silver or equivalent” and it will be decided by P&P. We can use our standard provision and add that the Applicant is requesting NGBS. She added that the developer must comply with all provisions of the DOC to get the tax credit. A motion was made by Councilmember Day and seconded by Councilmember Rigg that the City Council recommend approval of Detailed Site Plan 19068 with conditions in accordance with the staff recommendation and the Declaration of Covenants and Agreement in substantially the form attached. Chris Hatcher, on behalf of applicant, said that Ms. Ferguson’s representations that the applicant is in agreement with the conditions are accurate. The motion passed 8-0 College Park City Council Meeting Minutes June 9, 2020 Page 8 20-O-08 Adoption of Ordinance 20-O-08, An Ordinance Of The Mayor And Council Of The City Of College Park Amending Chapter 110 “Fees And Penalties”, By Repealing And Reenacting §110-1 “Fees And Interests” And §110-2, “Penalties”; And Chapter 151, “Permit Parking”, By Repealing And Reenacting §151-2, “Petition Requirements”, §151-4 Issuance Of Permits And § 151-6 Return Of Parking Permits; Refund Of Permit Fee And Loss Of Refund For Failure To Return, To Delete The Annual And Bi-Annual Permit Parking Fee In Residential Zones A motion was made by Councilmember Rigg and seconded by Councilmember Kennedy to adopt Ordinance 20-O-08. Councilmember Rigg reflected on some of the public comment we received on this item. We need a more thoughtful approach to parking in the City. This is an opportunity to delete one barrier to permit parking, but all residents would be paying for permit parking in certain neighborhoods. Mayor Wojahn asked what the marginal additional cost is of conducting a permit parking system without hang tags and permit fees. Mr. Somers said that is a separate discussion that will be held at a later date. Mr. Miller said the annual cost of the new AIMS software for license plate recognition is approximately $35-40K. This does not include maintenance and support after the first year. LPR is for reading tag information for the purpose of enforcing residential permit zones. The data are not shared with a 3rd party. The purpose is to make process of enforcing our neighborhoods more effective and more efficient. Some residents don’t like having a City hangtag. With LPR, nothing needs to be displayed. Mr. Somers said if the hang tag were eliminated, that’s a savings of about $18,000. If the City eliminates the $10 fee, that is a loss of $25,000. Mayor Wojahn asked if the LPR system has other benefits beyond the parking enforcement system? Mr. Miller said it could, depending on what we get. Councilmember Dennis said it takes a lot of residents in a neighborhood to put their minds together on a permit parking solution. This Ordinance is a step toward solving a bigger problem. Councilmember Kabir said there are mixed feelings about permit parking and acknowledged comment on both sides of the issue. He thinks dropping the fee will be easier on staff. Having the City absorb the cost is like a “for the common good” scenario. Councilmember Brennan spends a lot of time trying to address resident concerns about dense on-street parking, but there is often resistance to permit parking. One reason is the fee, but the other is convenience. As a City we subsidize things all the time for other services. We need to have a broader conversation about permit parking and enforcement options. Councilmember Kennedy said we are taking away a fee without knowing the full cost of the new program in the future. She would like to see the bigger financial picture associated with the next step. College Park City Council Meeting Minutes June 9, 2020 Page 9 Mr. Ryan said there has been a 1.5 FTE reduction in staff. We could add more neighborhoods in the future without having to add staff. Councilmember Mackie asked what is the obstacle: cost or inconvenience? Mr. Ryan has heard it’s the cost and having to remember to display the tag. He added that we already collect license plate information to issue the hang tag. Mr. Miller said regardless of the process, we still obtain the same type of information when a resident applies for a permit. The purchase of the software module is a one-time purchase; there is an annual maintenance/support cost. The parking enforcement vehicles will have to be outfitted with the LPR software. The motion passed 8-0. ADJOURN: Mayor Wojahn read the Closed Session statement. A motion was made by Councilmember Rigg and seconded by Councilmember Dennis to adjourn the Regular Meeting and enter into a Closed Session, and with a vote of 8-0, Mayor Wojahn adjourned the meeting at 10:17 p.m. CLOSED SESSION June 9, 2020 Pursuant to the statutory authority of the Maryland Annotated Code, General Provisions Article, Section 3-305, the Mayor and Council met in a Closed Session after the meeting on June 9, 2020 for the following purpose: To consider a matter that concerns the proposal for a business to locate in the State. At 10:17 p.m., at the end of the regularly scheduled Council Meeting, a motion was made by Councilmember Rigg and seconded by Councilmember Dennis to enter into the closed session. The motion passed 8-0 and after a recess the City Council began the closed session at 10:23 p.m. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, this was a virtual meeting. Mayor Wojahn was the designated Open Meetings trainee. The Mayor and all Councilmembers were present. In addition, the meeting was attended by City Manager Scott Somers, Assistant City Manager Bill Gardiner, City Clerk Janeen Miller, City Attorney Suellen Ferguson, and Planning Director Terry Schum. The Mayor and Council discussed a lease agreement and the possibility of a business locating in the City. No action was taken. ADJOURN: At 10:51 p.m., on a motion by Councilmember Kennedy and seconded by Councilmember Rigg, and a vote of 8-0, the closed session was adjourned. College Park City Council Meeting Minutes June 9, 2020 Page 10 CLOSED SESSION June 2, 2020 Pursuant to the statutory authority of the Maryland Annotated Code, General Provisions Article, Section 3-305, the Mayor and Council met in a Closed Session after the meeting on June 2, 2020 for the following purposes: To consult with Counsel to obtain legal advice; To consider a matter that concerns the proposal for a business to locate in the State; To discuss the appointment of individuals over whom this public body has jurisdiction. At 9:32 p.m., at the end of the regularly scheduled Worksession, a motion was made by Councilmember Brennan and seconded by Councilmember Mackie to enter into the closed session. The motion passed 7-0 (Rigg absent) and after a recess the City Council began the closed session at 9:39 p.m. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, this was a virtual meeting. Mayor Wojahn was the designated Open Meetings trainee. Mayor Wojahn and Councilmembers Kabir, Kennedy, Brennan, Dennis, Day, Mackie and Mitchell were present. Councilmember Rigg was absent. In addition, the meeting was attended by City Manager Scott Somers, Assistant City Manager Bill Gardiner, City Clerk Janeen Miller, and City Attorney Suellen Ferguson. The Mayor and Council discussed a lease agreement and the possibility of a business locating in the City. No action was taken. The Mayor and Council discussed appointments of individuals to advisory boards. No action was taken. ADJOURN: At 10:16 p.m., on a motion by Councilmember Kabir and seconded by Councilmember Brennan, and a vote of 7-0, the closed session was adjourned.