Minutes of Regular Meeting on March 13, 2014

Meeting began at 7:30 pm. Councilmembers Patrick Wojahn and Fazlul Kabir were present.

Presentations

Assistant City Manager

John Krouse introduced Bill Gardiner, the City’s new Assistant City Manager. This is a departmental level position and reports directly to the City Manager. Mr. Gardiner was Hyattsville’s mayor for 8 years and a former intern with the City of College Park. His focus areas will be legislation, sustainability, strategic planning and the budget.

Flyer

Members discussed the redesigned NCPCA flyer and gave feedback on it. The flyer has new graphics, expanded participation options, and uses an 8 1/2×14 page size. It still lacks a revised logo for NCPCA. Members decided to print 200 copies initially.

Good Neighbor Day

Gloria Blackwell, University of Maryland Director of Community Involvement, spoke to members about the upcoming Good Neighbor Day (Mar 29, 9-1:30). She said she is glad they decided to move the Good Neighbor Day event to northern College Park this year, where they have been welcomed by the faith community. The event will include a book festival, information table, cholesterol and blood pressure screening by Doctors Hospital, and a food drive. Projects will include removal of nonnative plant species, a food recovery network, and a workshop on sustainability (at the Methodist Church). They will work with the Community Partner Network on ways to buy solar energy in bulk.

Safety Concerns

Tammy, a nonmember, expressed safety concerns about behavior of nonresidents in the four tunnels area and asked for police support to address these concerns. Both Councilmembers agreed to coordinate with other jurisdictions to address this matter.

Announcements and Reports

On May 17, the North College Park Farmers Market will have its grand opening at Hollywood Shopping Center; volunteers are needed in many capacities. On Mar 15 at 10am at City Hall, the Committee for a Better Environment will hold a workshop on permaculture.

At 8:30 the meeting took a 10 minutes recess, during which snacks and beverages were served.

On May 11 from 7-8am will be the College Park Mothers Day 5K race, which will start and end at Hollywood Shopping Center; help is needed in multiple capacities, and there will be medals given. To facilitate snow removal park on the even side of the street when possible. The County run animal shelter, located in the southern park of the County, has a very high kill rate, and most adoptions are from homes in the northern part of the County, so the City is considering contributing funds to open and run an animal shelter in another area (the County does not want to fund it). The County pulled career staff from the Branchville Volunteer Fire Station one year ago, and BVFS has had trouble staying open due to the extra workload on its volunteers. The College Park Academy Board is looking primarily at the Terrapin Trader site, owned by the University of Maryland, as there are too many issues with the Al-Huda site; UM expects the City to contribute either funds or property, such as the Calvert Road school site, as its share. An announcement on the relocation of the FBI is expected in two weeks, with a final decision to be made in summer 2015.

President John Krouse reported he received a $50 donation from an investor who is not a NCPCA member and asked members’ advice if he should accept it. There were no conditions or expectations expressed in connection with the donation. Members expressed the opinion that the donation should be accepted.

Treasurer Jackie Pearce-Garrett reported a current balance of $1,316.64; no expenditures have been paid since the last meeting. There were no other officer reports.

Moved by John Krouse to extend the meeting beyond 9:30. Motion passed.

Moved by Chris Nagle/Patrick Wojahn: Adopt the minutes of NCPCA February 20 meeting with a minor correction; motion passed.

A short discussion took place regarding the NCPCA flyer, designed by John Krouse. Some edits were offered. A small number of copies will be produced for the College Park Book Festival on March 22 and Good Neighbor Day on March 29. The College Park Community Foundation offered to share table space with NCPCA for the flyers.

The meeting adjourned at 9:40 pm.

Submitted by Larry Bleau, Secretary.