Mayor & City Council

MINUTES Regular Meeting of the College Park City Council Tuesday, January 11, 2022 7:30 p.m. – 9:58 p.m. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, this was a virtual meeting. PRESENT: Mayor Wojahn; Councilmembers Kabir, Kennedy, Esters, Whitney, Adams, Rigg, Mitchell and Mackie. ABSENT: None. ALSO PRESENT: Kenneth Young, City Manager; Bill Gardiner, Assistant City Manager; Janeen S. Miller, City Clerk; Yvette Allen, Assistant City Clerk; Suellen Ferguson, City Attorney; Terry Schum, Director of Planning; Teresa Way- Pezzuti, Director of Human Resources; Robert Marsili, Director of Public Works; Bob Ryan, Director of Public Services; Michael Williams, Economic Development Manager; and Student Liaison Megha Sevalia; Deputy Student Liaison Hayden Renaghan. Mayor Wojahn opened the virtual Regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Councilmember Kabir announced the passing of long-time community member Peggy Kane. He asked the City to advertise the County’s distribution of COVID-19 test kits. Councilmember Esters announced the Lakeland Civic Association meeting and Monday’s program in tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Councilmember Whitney announced the new District 2 Digest blog she and Councilmember Esters are hosting: cpdistrict2digest.com. Councilmember Adams announced how the public can comment on the Adelphi Road Preliminary Sector Plan. Councilmember Rigg announced a Prince George’s County Public Schools tele-town hall on health and safety of returning to in-person learning. Councilmember Mitchell commented on the great job of snow removal by DPW crews and announced Founder’s Day for Delta Sigma Theta. Mayor Wojahn echoed the comments about how well the City’s DPW crews did in clearing the recent snow. College Park City Council Meeting Minutes January 11, 2022 Page 2 CITY MANAGER’S REPORT: Mr. Young announced the Prince George’s County School Board Transformation Task Force meeting on January 12. PROCLAMATIONS AND AWARDS: Mayor Wojahn read the proclamation in tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. AMENDMENTS TO AND APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA: A motion was made by Councilmember Kabir and seconded by Councilmember Mitchell to add item 22-G-07, “Don’t Block the Box” legislation, to the Consent Agenda. The motion passed 8- 0. A motion was made by Councilmember Mitchell and seconded by Councilmember Mackie to approve the agenda as amended. The motion passed 8-0. PRESENTATION: College Park Neighborhood Stabilization and Housing Trust by Councilmember Kate Kennedy, Chair, Neighborhood Preservation and Development Committee, College Park City University Partnership. Councilmember Kennedy reviewed the PowerPoint. The ask is $3M from ARPA funds. Discussion followed. The committee looked at programs in Burlington, VT and Baltimore. They are working through the financial models now. They are trying to raise $9-$10M. It will take several years for the program to make an impact. They are also thinking about student affordable housing. Trust homes should meet and maintain a certain standard. The owner is buying a prepaid ground lease with obligations that protect the Trust. There are certain target neighborhoods but it will depend on housing inventory. Role of CPCUP – as a community development corporation they will serve as the vehicle to launch the program but will not run it. They may come back in the early years with a request for operating funds until the program is sustainable. The City will have representation on the Trust. Property tax is the responsibility of the homeowner but there is no PMI. Discussion about what happens if the owner defaults on the mortgage. Discussion about a certain blighted property. Importance of transparency and oversight by the City. Reach out to people in the Lakeland Diaspora and their descendants to tie this in to Restorative Justice. Consider incentives for green initiatives. How will the financial model respond to fluctuations in the market. Is there an option for collaborative student housing in the future? This is a preliminary conversation to receive the Council’s feedback. They will return with more detail in a few weeks. CONSENT AGENDA: A motion was made by Councilmember Esters and seconded by Councilmember Mitchell to adopt the Consent Agenda which consisted of: 22-G-01 Approval of minutes from the October 18, 2021 Emergency Special Meeting; the October 19, 2021 Worksession; the October 26, 2021 Regular Meeting; the November 9, 2021 Regular Meeting; the November 16, 2021 Regular Meeting/Worksession; and the January 4, 2022 Worksession. College Park City Council Meeting Minutes January 11, 2022 Page 3 22-G-02 Approve the appointment of Kenneth A. Young, City Manager; William F. Gardiner, Assistant City Manager; and Gary Fields, Finance Director; as the City’s representatives to the Board of Directors for the Council of Unit Owners of One College Park Condominium, effective January 11, 2022, for a term of three years from the first annual Membership meeting of the said Board. 22-G-03 Authorize the City, on an interim basis, to pay its share of the operating expenses of the One College Park Condominium (City Hall) to a bonded operating account in the name of Lincoln Property Management, LLC, the property manager for the building, until such time as the Board of Directors is appointed and functional, pursuant to an agreement that is subject to review and approval by the City Attorney 22-G-04 Approval of a letter to Prince George’s County requesting funding for a sidewalk on Rhode Island Avenue between Paducah Road and Sunnyside Avenue in north College Park. 22-G-05 Approval of Council appointments to MWCOG committees. 22-G-07 Letter in support of HB 0137 Vehicle Laws – Intersections – Prohibited Acts ADDED (Don’t Block The Box” legislation) The motion passed 8-0. ACTION ITEMS 22-G-06 Approval of an amendment to the CP-21-03, Duvall Field Park Design contract with KCI Technologies, Inc., to include a flood plain area study as required by Prince George’s County DPIE, for a lump sum fee of $35,000.00 Ms. Schum began by saying that this was brought forward in response to a request by the County’s DPIE to conduct this study. The request from DPIE was not anticipated in the original scope of services for Duvall Field. The County is asking us to study a much larger area than Duvall Field. Engineer Stephen Jerrick has been in conversations with the County to see if the requirement can be waived. The County may be willing to reconsider the requirement to do a larger flood plain study; it is still TBD. We would like to get Councill’s approval to amend the scope of work in the contract with KCI in the event the study is still required by the County. Mr. Jerrick said we should know in a couple of weeks. Project timeline - 60% design will come back in early March. Councilmember Adams thinks we should do more than just meet the minimum requirements of the Code. College Park City Council Meeting Minutes January 11, 2022 Page 4 Mr. Young said the scope of work for the City-wide hydrology study will be on next week’s agenda. A motion was made by Councilmember Kabir and seconded by Councilmember Kennedy that the amendment to CP-21-03 be approved in the amount of $34,399 in substantially the form attached, if a waiver for the work is not obtained from Prince George’s County Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement. The motion passed 8-0. Discussion of January 22 Council Advance/Orientation: Mayor Wojahn announced that the remainder of the January Council meetings will be held virtually due to resurgence of COVID. Discussion of how to proceed with the January 22 Council Advance. Split the agenda to spend 3 hours on Zoom and postpone the rest for in-person at a later date. Possibility of March 5th depending on status of COVID. ADJOURN: Mitchell/Rigg, 8-0, 9:58 p.m. _____________________________________ Janeen S. Miller Date City Clerk Approved