Mayor & City Council

MINUTES College Park City Council Meeting Tuesday, January 16, 2024 7:30 p.m. – 11:06 p.m. Virtual Only PRESENT: Mayor Kabir; Mayor Pro Tem Mitchell; Councilmembers Hernandez, Hew, Esters, Whitney, Mackie, Adams and Rigg. ABSENT: None. ALSO PRESENT: Kenneth Young, City Manager; Bill Gardiner, Assistant City Manager; Janeen S. Miller, City Clerk; Stephanie Anderson, City Attorney; Jatinder Khokhar, Director of Public Services; Miriam Bader, Director of Planning; Jim Miller, Parking Enforcement Manager; Michael Williams, Economic Development Manager; Gannon Sprinkle, Deputy Student Liaison. Mayor Kabir opened the meeting at 7:30 p.m. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Councilmembers thanked the Department of Public Works for their snow removal efforts, and commented on the City’s various MLK Tribute events and the associated food drive. Councilmember Esters announced the BDCA monthly meeting on Thursday. Councilmember Mackie reminded people about the MLK food drive. Councilmember Adams commented on the Terps for Bike Lanes event. Mr. Sprinkle said he and Mr. Mirani were at the opening of the legislative session last week and are following several bills in the General Assembly. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT: Mr. Young said in addition to dealing with the snow event, DPW picked up trash and recycles on schedule. He said that City offices will open at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow. College Park City Council January 16, 2024 Page 2 AMENDMENTS TO AND APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA: Motion by Councilmember Mitchell, second by Councilmember Hew, to adopt the agenda as presented. The motion passed 8-0. COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE ON CONSENT AND NON-AGENDA ITEMS: David Dorsch, resident: Regarding the pedestrian signal to cross Campus Drive – he reported on his experience with this signal. Regarding 4619 College Avenue – the primary problem is the parking. If they use the garage it limits the amount of parking in front of the garage. He is concerned about the number of people that will be living there. Arelis Perez, resident: Regarding the elections - consider what the state of Maryland has done: They mail out to everyone asking if you want to receive mail ballots for elections. Public Comment was suspended due to the inappropriate nature of the last two comments. Mel Blain, Posh Cycling and Fitness: Asked about the business retention grants that were awarded last week to restaurants and wanted to know if other small businesses can apply. CONSENT AGENDA: A motion was made by Councilmember Mackie and seconded by Councilmember Esters to adopt the Consent Agenda, which consisted of the following: 24-G-11 Approval of a Letter to Maryland State Highway Administration Requesting Improvements to the Pedestrian Signal at Campus Drive and College Park Trolly Trail The consent agenda passed 8-0. ACTION ITEMS 24-G-12 Approval of a Declaration of Covenants by ZS 4619, LLC in favor of the City of College Park, for 4619 College Avenue – Suellen Feguson, Attorney for the City Ms. Ferguson said this is part of a settlement in a case where the owner of the property sued the City over the use of the property. This Declaration of Covenants amends a prior one. The initial Declaration allows 25 persons to reside at the property; we will have keys to the building and rooms, a list of the tenants and where they reside; the basement and attic will be closed off for the first two years; a resident manager will live at the property for at least two years to make sure the residents follow tenant rules and City Code; there will be no on street parking allowed; there is a limitation on the number of people who can be involved in any type of gathering to 15. If the DOC is not followed, the property reverts to the original occupancy of 16. College Park City Council January 16, 2024 Page 3 A motion was made by Councilmember Rigg and seconded by Councilmember Adams to approve the Declaration of Covenants and attachments in substantially the form attached as part of the settlement of ZS 4619, LLC vs. City of College Park. Councilmember Rigg reviewed the history with this property and said he is happy to see this draw to a conclusion. He is pleased with the negotiated covenants and hopes it will prompt some improvements to the property. Dave Dorsch, resident: Concerned with the number of people that will be in this building and the parking. The motion passed 8-0. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. 2023 Election debrief – Board of Election Supervisors John Payne (Chief) and Tina Batten. Mr. Payne and Ms. Batten reviewed the report to Council. Mr. Payne expressed concern about the expected turnover on the Board; said they were fortunate to have an excellent group of pollworkers who will be happy to return; said we were extremely pleased with the equipment we used; and said that despite our additional outreach efforts, voter turnout was poor. What worked that we want to maintain: well written procedures and training; preprocessing mail-in ballots in advance; increase the number of residents on the Permanent Vote By Mail list; continue to use sophisticated election equipment. Discussion:  Interest in hearing more about Ranked Choice Voting.  Regarding off-cycle elections: having our elections in odd years aids candidates who fall under the Hatch Act. It would be problematic for them to run if our elections were aligned with federal elections.  Promote PVBM list and consider not requiring those voters to vote a provisional ballot if they decide to vote in person (BOES will review this policy)  Assistance for first time voters. Consider a video on what the voter experience would be like.  Simplify and standardize our elections rather than continuing to try something new. Pick an approach and stick with it.  Consider fewer in person voting days to reduce BOES/staff fatigue and reduce cost.  What would a true vote by mail election cost? College Park City Council January 16, 2024 Page 4 B. Discussion of an incentive program to eliminate gas-powered leaf blower equipment – Janet McCaslin, Alexa Bely and Todd Larsen Ms. Bely and Mr. Larsen reviewed the PPT. This is a residential incentive program; it is not a prohibition, and it does not address commercial use of gas powered equipment. The commercial landscaping component is more complex. Caution/concern expressed about possible abuse of the incentives. Discussion of what other municipalities are doing. Initial funding is included in the current budget and additional funding will be included in FY ’25. Council consensus to proceed with the program as described. C. Review advisory board annual reports and workplans – Janeen S Miller, City Clerk Advisory board workplans that include financial and/or staff resources will be discussed during budget planning. Council wants to invite the Advisory Planning Commission (to discuss fence ordinance) and the Noise Control Board (to discuss their charge) to a future meeting. D. Discussion of Mayor and Council Rules and Procedures Ms. Anderson reviewed the staff report and commented on both the Rules and Procedures and the proposed Charter Amendment. Discussion of whether to allow public comment on Worksession items. Council is concerned about the amount of time this would add to the meetings. Move forward with: [10:30 p.m. Esters/Adams to extend the meeting, 8-0.]  Proposals in staff report (including companion Charter Amendment)  Consistent language re the extension of the meeting  Response is not expected to public comments E. Discussion of agenda items for January 25 Four Cities meeting hosted by College Park: Ms. Miller will draft the agenda and circulate. [11:00 p.m. Adams/Rigg to suspend the rules to continue the meeting, 8-0.] FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS  Presentation from County on ADUs College Park City Council January 16, 2024 Page 5 ADJOURN – A motion was made by Councilmember Mackie and seconded by Councilmember Whitney to enter into a Closed Session. Mayor Kabir read the closing statement: Pursuant to the statutory authority of Maryland Annotated Code, General Provisions Article § 3-305, the Mayor and Council will meet in a closed session after this meeting for the following purposes: 1) to consider the acquisition of real property for a public purpose, and 2) to discuss the appointment of individuals over whom the Council has jurisdiction. Mayor Kabir said the Council will not return to open session. With a vote of 8-0, the Regular Meeting was adjourned at 11:06 p.m. Submitted By: Janeen S. Miller, City Clerk Closed Session January 16, 2024 At the conclusion of the January 16, 2024 Council meeting, which was held over Zoom, a motion was made to enter into a Closed Session. Mayor Kabir read the Closing Statement: Pursuant to the statutory authority of Maryland Annotated Code, General Provisions Article § 3-305, the Mayor and Council will meet in a closed session after this meeting for the following purposes: 1) to consider the acquisition of real property for a public purpose, and 2) to discuss the appointment of individuals over whom the Council has jurisdiction. The Council will not return to open session. With a vote of 8-0, the Regular Meeting was adjourned at 11:06 p.m. The Closed Session commenced at 11:14 p.m. over Zoom. Present were Mayor Kabir, Mayor Pro Tem Mitchell, and Councilmembers Hernandez, Hew, Esters, Whitney, Adams, Rigg and Mackie. City Manager Kenny Young, Assistant City Manager Bill Gardiner, and City Clerk Janeen Miller were also present. City Attorney Stephanie Anderson and Arelis Perez attended a portion of the meeting. Mayor Kabir was the Open Meetings designee. The Council discussed the possible acquisition of a property for a public purpose. Council discussed a negotiating strategy, financing options, and possible uses of the property. The Council also discussed applications to fill vacancies on advisory boards. No action was taken. College Park City Council January 16, 2024 Page 6 A motion was made by Councilmember Mackie, and seconded by Councilmember Rigg, to adjourn the Closed Session, and with a vote of 7-0 (Councilmember Adams absent) the meeting adjourned at 12:09 a.m. on Wednesday January 17.