Mayor & City Council

WORKSESSION MINUTES College Park City Council Tuesday, September 6, 2022 7:00 p.m. – 11:18 p.m. PRESENT: Mayor Wojahn; Councilmembers Kabir, Kennedy, Esters, Whitney, Adams, Rigg, Mackie and Mitchell. ABSENT: None. ALSO PRESENT: Kenneth Young, City Manager; Bill Gardiner, Assistant City Manager; Janeen S. Miller, City Clerk; Suellen Ferguson, City Attorney; Terry Schum, Director of Planning; Robert Marsili, Director of Public Works; Gary Fields, Director of Finance; Michael Williams, Economic Development Manager; Valerie Graham, Student Liaison. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT: Mr. Young reported on Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and highlighted the new 9-8-8 help line. A new restaurant, GrillMarx, has opened in The Hotel. The Shop College Park.Org website will soon become the College Park.Life website. Kudos to the UMD Chapter of Students United Against Sweat Shops for working to obtain a $15 minimum wage on campus. The Greater College Park RISE Zone application has been approved. Congratulations to City Clerk Janeen Miller for attaining the CERA Certification. AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA: • Remove agenda item 22-G-121 from Consent to correct a mistake to the August 3, 2022 minutes, Whitney/Esters, passed 8-0. • Approve the agenda as amended, Mitchell/Kennedy, passed 8-0. ENTER CLOSED SESSION: Enter into Closed Session, motion by Councilmember Kennedy, second by Councilmember Esters, at 7:08 p.m. Motion passed 8-0. RETURN TO OPEN SESSION: Return to Open Session at 7:59 p.m. ENTER SPECIAL SESSION: Motion to Enter Special Session, Mitchell/Esters, at 8:03 p.m. Motion passed 8-0. See Special Session Minutes for 22-R-10, 22-G-116, 22-G-117, 22-G-119, 22-G-120, 22-G-121, RETURN TO WORKSESSION: Motion to adjourn from Special Session, Whitney/Rigg, passed 8-0. College Park City Council Minutes September 6, 2022 Page 2 WORKSESSION DISCUSSION ITEMS: 1. Discussion with the College Park Housing Authority and Executive Director, Michelle Johnson, on use of ARPA funds set aside by the City: Mayor Wojahn said the City Council has set aside $1M of ARPA funds for repairs at Attick Towers and has asked how those funds will be spent. Ms. Johnson presented the PowerPoint. Attick Towers has 108 units on 8 floors and is dedicated to seniors and disabled persons. Occupancy rate is 88% (occupancy dropped during COVID). The CPHA is going through “repositioning” to leverage funds for either a substantial rehab of Attick Towers, or for demolition/rebuild. In order to achieve the status of “obsolescence” from HUD, the cost of repairs must be at least 65% of the “total development cost” (TDC). So far, they are at 80.6% TDC. They want to get this number as high as they can, so if HUD takes off points, they will still meet the 65% threshold. The analysis includes mold, asbestos, roofing, elevator, plumbing/pipes, cooling tower, fencing, safety and security. Once they apply for obsolescence, HUD will review the analysis and determine funding. Obsolescence means the building is obsolete, it does not necessarily mean teardown; it means they will get more funding from HUD. CPHA’s goal is to do a substantial rehab of the property. She reviewed the estimates they have received; the total is $934,000, with the largest amount for plumbing/pipes. Response to Council questions: • $2M grant from the state has not yet been expended but will be used on electrical systems, waterproofing, rehab of units and common areas. • They have not submitted the Section 18 Obsolescence Application to HUD yet because they are waiting on the environmental report from the County. It should be submitted in 60-90 days. • They feel it is most cost effective to do a substantial rehab. • They will share the final report of the analysis with the Council. • It cost more than $13K to remove trees damaged in storm. Insurance deductible is $152,000. • Requests from Council: written timeline once the application has been approved; notify the City Manager when the application has been submitted; total cost of current needs. • Use of state bond funds: the HA has 7 years to utilize the State Bond Bill which will be used for repairs. • The estimate does include the cost of a project manager or a construction manager • If not for ARPA funds and state bond bill, how would repairs be funded: Preference is for FHA debt 221d4 or 223f, coupled with the $2M grant and any other grants. Plan B is a 4% LIHTC and bonds, coupled with the $2M grant and any other grants. College Park City Council Minutes September 6, 2022 Page 3 • If it does not make financial sense to rehab the existing structure, what is the plan to replace? HA will move toward demolition. Open area in the back will be developed to house the existing tenants. If they do substantial rehab, they will do it by floor to keep residents in place. They are required to provide housing for any displaced person. • Use of $1M of City ARPA funds will fund repairs. ARPA Funds are time limited so keep us posted on the status of the application. Obligate by December 2024, spend by December 2026 • Zoning and environmental issues; reached out to neighbors: The HA is not obligated to do anything until after the application to HUD is approved. 2. Discussion with the College Park Airport Authority on Tailwind Air proposal for commuter air service between Manhattan and the College Park Airport – Dave Dorsch, Chair, Airport Authority Mr. Sommer, the Airport Manager, reached out to the Airport Authority about the proposal for commuter flights between Manhattan and College Park by Tailwind Air. He said the service would bring beneficial revenue to the airport. To allow this, a change is needed to the airport operating rules, Section 300-0, Paragraph E, that states, “Charter operators may inplane and deplane passengers and/or cargo at the College Park Airport. No passenger or cargo operations may be conducted to or from the airport on a regular scheduled basis.” The majority of the members of the Airport Authority supports this change. The airport is owned and operated by M- NCPPC and they are also in support. The request is for the City to send a letter of support. Mr. Sommer messaged Mayor Wojahn that Tailwind Air will delay the pilot for 45 days until late October because of questions from the TSA. Clarification that the request is to support a pilot program, not a permanent rule change. Question about the daily schedule: First flight would depart here at 6:55 a.m. and last flight would depart at 4:55 p.m. according to the Tailwind Pilot Proposal. Noise and restrictions to schedules will be a discussion point. Mr. Dorsch said helicopter noise is the worst. The Airport Authority will return with a report on the pilot program. Question about the security plans. Keep us posted on any new developments; we want to hear this news from the AA rather than the newspaper. The recommendation from Council to M-NCPPC will be for a suspension of the rules to allow for the pilot period. Council wants a report on the pilot period and public input before supporting any permanent rule change. The AA is requested to return to Council at the end of the pilot period. We need to see the language they are proposing to change. Agenda next week – Adams 3. Presentation of 60% Design Plans for Duvall Field – Kennedy/Kabir, postponed until next week due to the late hour, passed 8-0. College Park City Council Minutes September 6, 2022 Page 4 4. Review of DSP 21024, EcoGrads: The Planning Board date has been postponed because the County has requested an additional traffic study. Ms. Bader presented the PowerPoint. Discussion: Estimated Price per unit: 5-10% below SCION study. Plan to rent by the unit, not the bed. Less than $1,450 per bed. Marketed as Graduate housing. Delivery in 2025, take into account construction cost and inflation so can’t commit at this time. Square footage 550-650 sf per unit. Estimates 123 units, 256 maximum residents, some 2 beds, some 3 beds, some studios will have murphy beds. All will have full kitchens. A reduced unit footprint reduces energy consumption. As the building was reduced in height and parking was added they had to change their assumptions so the building should be below market rate but is not considered low or moderate income housing. Can’t guarantee that only graduates can rent. Want to be open to everyone. Why did they remove the Shuttle UM agreement? For economics. Instead they are offering a private carpooling app available on-demand to keep costs down. How can you market to graduate students and say its fine if undergraduates rent as well. Request to see the 3D model. 6 designated parking spaces for the café. Will residents be eligible for on street parking permits. That is not the City’s practice. Declaration of Covenants: 1) Does Council want to add anything? 2) How does the City ensure that the 5-10% below market will continue into the future? He cannot promise that. They hope to be able to, but can’t guarantee because of construction costs and inflation. Can’t commit to that. We would want to memorialize the “no renting by the bed” in the Declaration of Covenants. They can commit to that. 3) We need to see the parking agreement with Cambria, it would have to be a permanent agreement, not anything that would lapse in a few years. The Cambria parking lease agreement is not in perpetuity. They will have to pay for parking at the Cambria. The 50 spaces the agreement provides may not be needed, given the walkability of the project. 2 lease agreements: 1st is for construction, goes for 2 years. In 2025 they add 40 spaces. The lease agreements are month to month. District 2 Councilmembers expressed concern that only 10 spaces are reserved for construction because of probably overflow in the Berwyn neighborhood, and that there is not a more permanent solution to the parking problem. They have been told that parking at The Hotel would also be available, but there is a safety concern when parking is that far away. Request that they revisit the ShuttleUM issue. Path forward: still some issues to discuss between staff and applicant. We can place this on next week’s agenda but if the issues aren’t worked out we will postpone to September 27. ADJOURN: Rigg/Whitney, 11:18 p.m., motion passed 8-0. _________________________________________ Janeen S. Miller, City Clerk