Mayor & City Council

MINUTES College Park City Council Meeting Tuesday, February 13, 2024 7:30 p.m. – 10:33 p.m. Hybrid Meeting In Person: Council Chambers of City Hall Virtual: via Zoom PRESENT: Mayor Kabir; Councilmembers Hernandez, Hew, Esters, Whitney, Mackie, and Rigg. ABSENT: Mayor Pro Tem Mitchell and Councilmember Adams ALSO PRESENT: Kenneth Young, City Manager; Bill Gardiner, Assistant City Manager; Janeen S. Miller, City Clerk; Stephanie Anderson, City Attorney; Robert Marsili, Director of Public Works; Frank Pacifico and Brian Barr, Assistant Directors, DPW; David Wigglesworth, Arborist; Steve Halpern, City Engineer; Michael Williams, Economic Development Manager; Dhruvak Mirani, Student Liaison; Gannon Sprinkle, Deputy Student Liaison. Mayor Kabir opened the meeting at 7:30 p.m. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Councilmember Hernandez attended an event at the Beltsville Fire Station about maintaining the County career staff. Councilmember Esters announced the monthly BDCA meeting. Councilmember Whitney said the County police are hosting a steering wheel lock give-away. Councilmember Mackie encouraged residents to participate in Black History Month exhibits and events. Mr. Mirani said the SGA is cosponsoring a presentation to student renters. PROCLAMATIONS AND AWARDS: Mayor Kabir read the proclamation for Valerie Woodall, who is leaving her position with the College Park City University Partnership after 10 years of service. County Council Member Eric Olson, State Senator Jim Rosapepe, UMD Vice President College Park City Council February 13, 2024 Page 2 for Administration and Finance Carlo Colella, and CPCUP Executive Director Susan Huffman also recognized Valerie for her accomplishments. Valerie made personal remarks. AMENDMENTS TO AND APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA: Motion by Rigg/Hernandez to add a letter in support of maintaining career staff at the Beltsville Fire Station to the Consent Agenda, passed 6-0 (Item 24-G-29). Motion by Mackie/Whitney to approve the agenda as amended, passed 6-0. COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE ON CONSENT AND NON-AGENDA ITEMS: Brendan Wray, resident: Support for 24-G-26. The RRFBs are necessary for the safe crossing of this potentially dangerous area. CONSENT AGENDA: A motion was made by Councilmember Esters and seconded by Councilmember Whitney to adopt the Consent Agenda, which consisted of the following: 24-G-26 Fund and Design a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon for SHA for Rhode Island Avenue at Greenbelt Road 24-G-27 Approval of amendments to the Mayor and Council Rules and Procedures 24-G-29 Add to the agenda: Approval of a letter to the County Executive and Prince George’s County Fire Chief in support of maintaining career staff at Beltsville Fire Station The consent agenda passed 6-0. ACTION ITEMS 24-G-17 Award of construction contract for College Park Woods Clubhouse Mr. Marsili introduced Frank Pacifico (Assistant Director, DPW) then reviewed the staff report and the recommended award for construction of the College Park Woods Clubhouse. Councilmember Hew asked about sustainable elements of the design. Mr. Marsili said that solar panels are feasible and will be addressed after the building is complete. Councilmember Rigg asked about land acquisition costs; he said we used Program Open Space funds to purchase the property; are we violating those conditions by building this building on the property? Mr. Marsili said there are opportunities for open space uses on other parts of the property such as a dog park or community garden. A motion was made by Councilmember Mackie and seconded by Councilmember Hew College Park City Council February 13, 2024 Page 3 to award a contract to Rainbow Construction Corporation of Waldorf, subject to review and approval of the City Attorney, for the construction of the College Park Woods Community Center and alternates work in the amount of $1,343,750. Comments from the audience: Bonnie McClellan, resident: She described this as a dream come true and said they have waited a long time to get to this point. The motion passed 6-0. 24-CR-01 Introduction of Charter Resolution 24-CR-01: A Charter Resolution Of The Mayor And Council Of The City Of College Park, To Amend Article III, “Mayor And Council”, §C3-6(B)(2), “Vacancies”; to add to the definition of a vacancy in the office of Mayor. Ms. Anderson reviewed the staff report and explained the amendment. A motion was made by Councilmember Rigg and seconded by Councilmember Esters to introduce Charter Resolution 24-CR-01, A Charter Resolution Of The Mayor And Council Of The City Of College Park, To Amend Article III, “Mayor And Council”, §C3-6(B)(2), “Vacancies”; to add to the definition of a vacancy in the office of Mayor. Mayor Kabir announced that the Public Hearing will be held on March 5, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. Presentation on the Tree Canopy Assessment conducted by SavATree: Mr. Marsili introduced David Wigglesworth (City Arborist) and Brian Barr (Assistant Director, DPW), then reviewed the staff report. He introduced Mike Galvin from SavATree. Mr. Galvin reviewed the PowerPoint. The report showed 38.7% tree canopy cover over the entire City. Tree canopy gain is a process; tree canopy loss is an event. The top three categories where the most significant tree canopy is located is on state, M-NCPPC and residential properties. There have been significant weather events with loss of trees since the data for this report was collected. Mr. Galvin said processes and technology have improved over time so it is hard to compare the old report to this report. Instead, they reassessed the 2009 data using the new technology in order to do an apples-to-apples comparison. In addition, the data availability is better now. They use both imagery and LIDAR. They use the most recent, free, LIDAR data which for this College Park City Council February 13, 2024 Page 4 report is from 2020. New data from 2023-2024 will be available in the next assessment and will capture loss from recent storms. Tree planning efforts and the impact of the tree ordinance were discussed. In 2023, 70 trees were planted on residential property; 90 trees were planted on City right-of-way. In 2023, 86 applications for tree removal were approved, 7 applications were denied, and 11 applications were withdrawn after they applied. Mr. Marsili said they will work with the City Attorney and enforcement staff to refine the process for dealing with the situation when a tree is removed without a permit. If tweaks to the ordinance are needed, they will come back to Council. Questions: How does our 38% tree canopy compare to similar cities? Mr. Galvin said it’s pretty good. Suggestions to enhance our tree canopy? Addressing loss on private property, which our current tree program does. Review the Tree Owner’s Manual on US Forest Service site for other opportunities for public education. There is a continuing need to communicate the tree ordinance to new residents. Include information in the Resident Information Guide and other means. Consider a video. Discuss tree banking opportunities. B. Discussion of revisions to the Revitalization Tax Credit Program Mr. Williams reviewed the staff report. No current applications pending.  Council interest in incentivizing developments that take extraordinary efforts to maintain tree canopy, affordable undergraduate student housing, purpose-built senior housing, redeveloping existing or blighted properties rather than cutting down trees, trade schools that provide paths toward jobs, day-care or developments that incorporate day- care.  How granular can we get with our tax incentives? Can it be one or two blocks? See map for eligible areas. Some of the districts were defined many years ago and we haven’t seen much activity. How can we attract developers for the smaller projects. Examples: o West side of College Park Metro Station – old post office, WMATA parking lot, industrial building o Budget Inn on Branchville Road - good location for affordable graduate student housing  Ways to ensure that the developer actually did what they said they would do. Expand reporting mechanisms.  Consider use of a “but-for” test.  Clarifications needed on application, under #4, Impact. Return to another Worksession. Refine application. Check whether amendments will be needed to the ordinance. College Park City Council February 13, 2024 Page 5 C. Legislative Review - Bill Gardiner, Assistant City Manager Do we want to take a position on SB 186 Alcohol Beverage License for a new class of beer, wine and liquor license for a cigar lounge that excludes them from indoor clean air requirements? Mixed opinions. No position. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Kabir/Rigg, add to Consent Agenda next week: sponsorship level for Branchville VFD anniversary 100 year anniversary at $15K. 6-0. COMMENTS: Councilmember Rigg gave an update on MWCOG Region Forward. Mayor Kabir discussed “EXEL” – the Excellence in Executive Leadership program. Councilmember Esters thanked City staff and Del. Peña Melnyk for helping with the RRFB efforts. [10:30 p.m. Hernandez/Rigg to extend, passed 6-0.] Mr. Mirani said we need to be thoughtful with our sponsorships. Mr. Young said “unruly social gathering” incidents are on the rise. This may have a budget implication. ADJOURN: Motion by Whitney/Hernandez, 10:33, passed 6-0. Respectfully submitted by Janeen S. Miller, City Clerk