Mayor & City Council

City of College Park Continuing the Conversation: Town Hall on Community and Race Relations June 30, 2020 7:00 pm Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, this was a virtual meeting. Present: Mayor Wojahn; Councilmembers Rigg, Kennedy, Mackie, Dennis, Day, Kabir, Mitchell. Moderator: Dr. Bonnie Thornton Dill, Dean, College of Arts and Humanities, Professor of Women’s Studies. Guests/Panelists: • Dr. Joseph Richardson, UMD Professor of African-American Studies and Anthropology • Deputy Chief George Nichols, PG County Police (on behalf of Interim Chief Hector Velez) • Capt. Katina Gomez, Asst Commander, PGPD District 1 • Chief David Mitchell, UMDDPS • Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk, 21st District • County Council Member Dannielle Glaros, District 3 • County Council Member Calvin Hawkins, At-Large • Rachelle Wakefield, UMD Junior, President, Black Student Union • Taylor Green, UMD Senior, Student at the Office of Diversity and Inclusion • Dr. Fannie Featherstone, City resident • Rashida and Demetri Tyler, City residents Staff: Scott Somers, City Manager; Bill Gardiner, Assistant City Manager; Kiaisha Barber, Director of Youth, Family and Senior Services; Bob Ryan, Director of Public Services; Janeen S. Miller, City Clerk; Adam Rosenbaum, Student Liaison. Mayor Wojahn opened the discussion by reading the following acknowledgement: There are times in the history of the City where we have fallen short of the goal of equity. He hopes tonight is part of our effort to acknowledge that and to do better. We are here tonight to listen. We want your ideas and feedback and hear from you where we might have fallen short and how we can do better. Mayor Wojahn introduced the moderator, Dr. Bonnie Thornton Dill. Dr. Thornton Dill gave opening remarks and invited the panelists to introduce themselves. Topics of discussion: Law enforcement perspective and response to “8 Can’t Wait.” UMD Police Department budget. Police reform/police policies/task force. Continuing the Conversation June 30, 2020 Page 2 Diverting some funds from police budgets to fund mental health support. UMD/Campus support for mental health issues. Security/safety on campus. Request for data about police stops/arrests aggregated by race; post on ClearGov. How to help all of our students feel safe. How can the City take concrete restorative action for the harms that have been caused in our history. Example of disparate City resources/treatment between Lakeland and Berwyn neighborhoods. City participation in the MWCOG Government Alliance on Race and Equity (G.A.R.E.) program. How do police build trust with communities that have a long list of trauma and exclusion? Funding violence prevention and intervention programs. Prince George’s County 2-1-1 Community Services hotline Black community is still struggling from Lt. Collins’ murder. What does healing look like, for students, for community members, and how can our representatives help engage in that healing? Conclusion: Mayor Wojahn said this was the first of many ongoing conversations that will continue in various ways. He thanked everyone for bringing thoughts, ideas, hearts and minds to the conversation tonight. The Town Hall concluded at 9:05 p.m.