Mayor & City Council

MINUTES Regular Meeting of the College Park City Council Tuesday, November 10, 2020 7:30 p.m. – 9:25 p.m. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, this was a virtual meeting PRESENT: Mayor Wojahn; Councilmembers Kabir, Kennedy, 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; Gary Fields, Director of Finance; Bob Ryan, Director of Public Services; Jim Miller, Parking Enforcement Manager; Kiaisha Barber, Director of Youth, Family and Senior Services; Julia Nikhinson, Deputy Student Liaison. Mayor Wojahn opened the virtual Regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Councilmember Kabir discussed yesterday’s neighborhood watch training. He added that the North College Park Community Association will hold their monthly meeting on Thursday. Councilmember Dennis announced the PGPD District 1 Virtual Coffee Club tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. Councilmember Mitchell thanked staff for last week’s “Continuing the Conversation” Public Forum #3 on race relations. A City book club for women will be starting in January. County Council Members Glaros and Dernoga are providing a free meal distribution for senior citizens. Councilmember Mackie acknowledged the Good Neighbor Day event on Saturday and thanked the Board of Election Supervisors for conducting the Special Election. Councilmember Rigg announced that the County is holding a virtual town hall regarding the September 10 flooding event on November 12. Mayor Wojahn said the College Park Community Food Bank is accepting donations of turkeys for Thanksgiving. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT: Mr. Somers gave an update on the CARES Act COVID assistance grants; the Veterans Day observation in the time of COVID; and the Tree and Landscape Board Virtual Forum November 18 to discuss the proposed urban tree policy. College Park City Council Meeting Minutes November 10, 2020 Page 2 PROCLAMATION: Mayor Wojahn read the proclamation for Small Business Saturday. AMENDMENTS TO AND APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA: A motion was made by Councilmember Rigg and seconded by Councilmember Mitchell to add a closed session to tonight’s agenda; passed 7-0. The agenda was approved as amended with a motion by Councilmember Mitchell, seconded by Councilmember Mackie, 7-0. PUBLIC COMMENT ON CONSENT AGENDA AND NON-AGENDA ITEMS: None PRESENTATIONS: A. Quarterly Financial Presentation: Mr. Fields reviewed the financial presentation for the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2021. The new Economic Development Department has been moved under the City Manager and appears in General Government. We have spent almost $400,000 in COVID related expenditures, most of which should be reimbursed. We have received some Hotel/Motel tax revenue. This financial statement incorporates the budget amendment. B. Lakeland Heritage and Restorative Justice - Maxine Gross, Director, Lakeland Community Heritage Project: Ms. Gross introduced herself and provided details about her own Lakeland heritage. She played a video then read a statement by Mr. Richard Douglas, a Lakeland resident. She discussed concepts of restorative justice, which are posted on their website: https://lakelandchp.com/ . Building on the passage of Resolution 20-R-16 passed by the Mayor and Council on June 9, 2020, they propose the creation of a Restorative Justice Commission to focus on the harm caused to the historically African American community of Lakeland. She hopes this is the beginning of strengthening our community through racial healing. Councilmember Dennis discussed an upcoming virtual event on November 19 titled, “The Lakeland Spirit: Through Digital Footprints” presenting the story of Lakeland. Mayor Wojahn asked for this topic of the Restorative Justice Commission to be added to a future Worksession. CONSENT AGENDA: A motion was made by Councilmember Day and seconded by Councilmember Rigg to adopt the Consent Agenda which consisted of the following: 20-G-172 Approval of Minutes: August 11, 2020 Regular Meeting; October 6, 2020 Worksession; October 13, 2020 Regular Meeting; October 20, 2020 Worksession. The motion passed 7-0. College Park City Council Meeting Minutes November 10, 2020 Page 3 ACTION ITEMS: 20-G-173 Consideration of a resident request to park a prohibited vehicle at 9500 52nd Avenue. Mr. Miller provided the overview and described the request. The applicant, Mr. Cevallos, is not on the Zoom meeting although he was invited. The City Code allows residents to submit requests to the Mayor and Council for exemptions from the prohibited vehicle ordinance. Councilmember Kabir said 52nd Avenue and Iroquois Street are both narrow. He asked if the applicant reached out to his neighbors. Mr. Miller is not aware of any outreach. Councilmember Kabir said that for permit parking and traffic calming applications a petition requirement must be met. Has this been considered for exemption requests? Mr. Ryan said that would require an amendment to the City Code. Councilmember Kabir asked if we could allow the applicant to park the trailer on the street but require that he only park in front of his house. Mr. Miller suggested this would be best on 52nd Avenue. Mr. Miller added that Council has previously approved two trailers to park on the street just a block to the north. We have never posted signage on a public roadway to reserve a spot for a personal vehicle. A motion was made by Councilmember Kabir and second by Councilmember Kennedy to approve the exemption for Mr. Cevallos to park the trailer on the street but to require that he only park it in front of his house on 52nd Avenue. Councilmember Mitchell raised the question of “good cause” and asked if we are setting the bar for future requests in other neighborhoods. Ms. Ferguson said “good cause” is a general term and can be offset by other conditions that could be present. Council has approved these requests in the past and each one has a different fact pattern. Councilmember Rigg said it would be good to hear from the applicant about good cause. He asked how heavily parked the street is. Mr. Miller said it is possible that Mr. Cevallos would not find a parking spot in front of his house in the evening. He added that we are seeing a growing number of work trucks parked overnight in the City. Comments from the audience: Mary King, resident: She supports the motion and that the applicant be required to park the trailer in front of his residence. She thinks it should be tabled until the applicant can appear to answer questions. Michael McClellan, resident: We could create a utility area somewhere in College Park where people could pay rent to park these types of vehicles and keep them off the residential streets. Councilmember Kennedy said staff should speak with the applicant to make sure they understand the condition. She appreciates the diversity of the neighborhood and some residents do need to park vehicles like this and we need to make allowances for them to do so. College Park City Council Meeting Minutes November 10, 2020 Page 4 The motion passed 6-0-1 (Councilmember Rigg abstained because the applicant wasn’t here to provide good cause.) Councilmember Mitchell wants to make sure that the applicant is present at meetings when these requests are heard. Councilmember Kennedy thinks this could be an intimidating process and we could also provide the opportunity for the applicant to provide written testimony. 20-G-174 Approval of Public School Education Grant Awards Ms. Barber presented the recommendations of the Education Advisory Committee for the public school education grants. She reviewed the staff report and the three tiers of grants that are available. She noted an error in the report - University Park Elementary School did submit a grant application which will be reviewed next week and presented to the Mayor and Council in the near future. She reviewed the six grant awards for consideration tonight. Councilmember Kabir asked if our neighboring cities and towns follow suit and contribute to the public schools. Ms. Barber said she can try to find out. He would like to explore other ways that we can help College Park students more directly. Councilmember Rigg questioned the statistic for Hyattsville Middle School and thinks that more than 5 students from College Park attend that school, including one of his children. It is the performing arts magnet school for the northern part of the County. Councilmember Mitchell asked if we can get a mid-year report about what the schools are doing. Councilmember Mackie would like us to make educational opportunities available to all of our students. A motion was made by Councilmember Rigg and seconded by Councilmember Mitchell to award the FY 21 education grants as written. There were no comments from the audience. The motion passed 6-0-1 (Councilmember Day abstained because he is on the Board of the College Park Academy and his wife is on the EAC). 20-G-175 Approval of additional modifications to the COVID-19 Small Business Assistance Grants Program and Emergency Assistance to Families & Individual Program Mr. Fields discussed the modifications outlined in the staff report. These are being proposed to spend as much of our CARES Act allocation as possible before the December 15 deadline. College Park City Council Meeting Minutes November 10, 2020 Page 5 Councilmember Kabir asked if we have looked at helping on-line businesses. Mr. Somers said any business can submit an application and show how they have been impacted. Mayor Wojahn asked if we can use these funds to enable outdoor dining. Mr. Somers thinks that heat lamps are an eligible expense and added that we will push this information out. Councilmember Kennedy asked if this increase will allow us to spend all of the money that has been allocated to us. Mr. Somers added that staff has done a projection to come up with this recommendation, but that we can come back to Council if we need to. A motion was made by Councilmember Kennedy and seconded by Councilmember Rigg to approve the two modifications to the COVID-19 Small Business Assistance Grants Program (increasing the total amount of the grant from $15,000 to $20,000; and paying the balance of the grant(s) in a lump-sum) and the modification to the Emergency Assistance to Families and Individuals (increasing the total grant from $5,000 to $8,000) as recommended by City staff. There were no comments from the audience. The motion passed 7-0. 20-G-176 Approval of a total of $50,000 grants to food service delivery organizations, to use remaining funding allocation from the CARES Act for food delivery services Mr. Fields said we have an additional $50,000 in the CARES Act funding to distribute by the deadline. Staff recommendation is to provide additional grants of $20,000 each to Meals on Wheels and the College Park Food Bank and $10,000 to Route 1 Communities Care. A motion was made by Councilmember Rigg and seconded by Councilmember Mitchell that the City Council approve grants in the amounts specified to: Meals on Wheels ($20,000); College Park Community Food Bank ($20,000); and to the Route One Communities Care Project ($10,000). There were no comments from the audience. The motion passed 7-0. Mr. Somers recognized and thanked Tracey Clayton for supervising the CARES Act COVID Assistance grant programs. ADJOURN: A motion was made by Councilmember Mackie and seconded by Councilmember Mitchell to adjourn into a Closed Session. Mayor Wojahn read the closing College Park City Council Meeting Minutes November 10, 2020 Page 6 statement: Pursuant to the statutory authority of the Maryland Annotated Code, General Provisions Article, Section 3-305, the Mayor and Council of the City of College Park will meet in a Closed Session tonight for the following purposes: To receive legal advice from the City Attorney; To discuss the proposal for a business to locate in the State. He added that the Council will not return to public session after the closed session ends. The motion passed 7-0 and the regular meeting adjourned at 9:25 p.m. _____________________________________ Janeen S. Miller Date City Clerk Approved CLOSED SESSION November 10, 2020 At 9:25 p.m., at the conclusion of the Regular Council Meeting, a motion was made by Councilmember Mackie and seconded by Councilmember Mitchell to adjourn into a Closed Session. Mayor Wojahn read the closing statement: Pursuant to the statutory authority of the Maryland Annotated Code, General Provisions Article, Section 3-305, the Mayor and Council of the City of College Park will meet in a Closed Session for the following purposes: To receive legal advice from the City Attorney; To discuss the proposal for a business to locate in the State. The motion passed 7-0. Mayor Wojahn said the Council will not return to public session after the closed session ends. At 9:30 p.m. the Mayor and Council convened in Closed Session. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the meeting was held virtually. Mayor Wojahn was the Open Meetings trainee. Mayor Wojahn and Councilmembers Kabir, Kennedy, Dennis, Day, Rigg, Mitchell and Mackie were in attendance. In addition, the meeting was attended by City Manager Scott Somers; Assistant City Manager Bill Gardiner; and City Attorney Suellen Ferguson. The City Manager and City Attorney updated the Mayor and Council and answered questions about the status of a lease agreement. The City Attorney provided legal advice. No action was taken. A motion was made by Councilmember Rigg and seconded by Councilmember Mitchell to adjourn the Closed Session, and with a vote of 7-0, Mayor Wojahn adjourned the meeting at 10:03 p.m. College Park City Council Meeting Minutes November 10, 2020 Page 7 CLOSED SESSION November 4, 2020 At 8:26 p.m. on Wednesday, November 4, at the conclusion of the Council Worksession, a motion was made by Councilmember Mitchell and seconded by Councilmember Day to adjourn the Worksession and enter into a Closed Session. Mayor Wojahn read the Closing Statement: Pursuant to the Maryland Annotated Code, General Provisions Article, Section 3-305, the Mayor and Council will meet in a Closed Session for the following purposes: To consider a matter that concerns the proposal for a business or industrial organization to locate, expand, or remain in the State, and to consult with legal counsel to obtain legal advice. The motion passed 7-0. Mayor Wojahn added that the City Council will not return to public session after the Closed Session. At 8:30 p.m. the Mayor and Council convened in Closed Session. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the meeting was held virtually. Mayor Wojahn was the Open Meetings trainee. Mayor Wojahn and Councilmembers Kabir, Kennedy, Dennis, Day, Rigg, Mitchell and Mackie were in attendance. In addition, the meeting was attended by City Manager Scott Somers; Assistant City Manager Bill Gardiner; City Attorney Suellen Ferguson, and City Clerk Janeen Miller. The City Manager and City Attorney updated the Mayor and Council and answered questions about the status of a lease agreement. The City Attorney provided legal advice. No action was taken. A motion was made by Councilmember Day and seconded by Councilmember Kabir to adjourn the Closed Session, and with a vote of 7-0, Mayor Wojahn adjourned the meeting at 9:16 p.m.