North College Park Community Association

Minutes of April 2023 Regular Meeting

Meeting Minutes—April 13, 2023

North College Park Community Association (NCPCA)

Attendees:

In Person: 

Brys Boughton; Mary Cook; Beth Forbes; Angelina (Angel) Frangos; Katerin Fuentes; Steven Halpern; Donald Hays; Alan Hew; Fazlul Kabir; Kate Kennedy; Angelina Lincoln; Catherine MacDougall; Dimi Mavalski; Ken Midkiff; Janet F. Morton; Jason Nunez; Christine O’Brien; George Papaspyrou; Melissa Peterson; Bob Ryan; Jennifer Valle; Jacob Vassalotti

Online (names written as they appear in chat):

Ellie’s iPhone; iPhone A; Ivan’s iPhone; Jason Ford; Kerry Snow; Maria Mackie, Councilmember; Michelle Ford; Sanmeet’s iPhone; Vrinda N; Fazlul Kabir

Minutes Taken By:

Brian J. Roan, Secretary 

Call to Order

President David Alicea brought the meeting to order and initiated the moment of silence. He then read the orders of the day for the meeting. 

Minutes

Secretary Brian Roan moved to approve the minutes for April. Angel seconded. Mary Cook offered a correction on Todd’s name. Motion carries with the correction.

President’s Report

President Alicea made his announcements to the body. 

  • He provided an update on the coffee social and invited people to come and bring friends every Sunday to Proteus Brews between 11AM–1PM 
  • The first Welcome Wagon deliveries were made on April 11, 2023 to the homes of 7 new residents. Anyone who would like to help with bags in the future was asked to email ncpcivic@gmail.com. 
  • North Hollywood Elementary school solicited help from NCPCA and the community for their spring cleanup. 
  • Updated the assembly on his work with TerpVets to provide care packages. This will take place April 21, 2023 at 4:30 in the Veterans Center on campus. 
  • Arbor Day tree planting will take place on April 28, 2023 at 6PM. The input of our body was used in making the decision for the tree placement. 
  • The city has approved our application for marching in the College Park Parade. A Google Form will be sent out to solicit volunteers to walk in the parade.
  • Officer nominations must be made at the next regular meeting, May 11, 2023.

Vice President’s

Vice President Brys Broughton provided his updates.

  • 2 new members have joined. 
  • 7 members responded to the March survey sent out to gauge people’s impressions of our organization. Survey breakdown will be sent out in email form. A summary of the findings will be sent out.

Treasurer’s Report

Treasurer Melissa Peterson provided a breakdown of the financial state of our association. 

  • The checking account has had no balance change $2,207.96.
    • New members have not paid dues.
  • Savings account has earned 10 cents in interest; $333.35.
  • IRS filings were made. 
  • 2022 financial report indicated a net income of $1,2207.87.
  • About $1,100 remains from the Welcome Wagon grant. 

Secretary’s Report

Secretary Brian Roan reminded people in the room to sign the sign-in ledger. 

  • Highlighted the newly designed website. 
  • Reminded people to introduce themselves when speaking for the benefit of the minutes. 

Bob Ryan, Director of Public Services, and PGPD Major Keleti, Manager of the Contract Police Program, Question and Answer Session

The speakers addressed the concerns brought up at the previous meeting about modified vehicles and mufflers. Bob Ryan reported that the two bills on the state level set to address these issues failed. Major Keleti reported the number of citations, warnings, and repair orders given. They opened the floor for questions. 

Treasurer Peterson asked if the fines increased with each violation. They do not. The citation fines are set by the state.
Don asked about the 75% drop in traffic stops from 2019 which, when put against the recent 40% increase, still puts us net down. Major Keleti mentioned the COVID impact on citations. Officers were told not to make stops. Criminal justice reform has also impacted traffic stops with relation to safety and community impact. The total agency is down 300 officers. Major Keleti cited stats from across the country to put the decreases in context.
Ron brought up the recent rash of vehicle wheel thefts, wondering how so many cars could be hit so quickly. Major Keleti estimated the time taken to steal 5 sets of wheels was 10 minutes. This is not a local issue, and the punishments meted out for these crimes are not enough to deter criminals. They addressed a second question about commercial vehicle parking. 

Councilman Fazlul Kabir raised the fact that a bill last year would have increased fines to $200, with increases for each nonpayment. This did not pass. The law regarding a noise camera was held up to allow time to gather more data about efficacy. 

Kerry Snow in the chat asked about whether or not police are scheduled to patrol Route One and Kenilworth. Major Keleti stated that stops are made on Route One, but police manpower is delegated to violent crime more than traffic. Bob Ryan noted that the city webpage has information about in-city police activity.
Angel questioned why a speed trap car was placed on 495 by White Oak, but we don’t have one by us to address the racing on the interstate. Major Keleti noted that 495 is controlled by the state and cameras must be placed in construction zones, per state law. Bob Syan noted that license readers and cameras exist at another road mentioned. Major Keleti then spoke about the recent street takeover incident at the Edgewood and Rhode Island intersection and the way the police handled it. The story resulted in a round of applause (it was a good story). 

Kerry Snow asked about the time of operation of speed cameras on Route One. They are on 24/7. Rhode Island Avenue speed cameras are set for school zone hours, but will become 24/7 soon. 

George Papaspyrou asked about cooperation with the state police, who have a barracks right down the street from where the street takeover took place. Major Keleti noted that officers are rarely in station, as they are out in the field. PG police coordinate throughout the state to tackle burnout and takeover groups. Another question was asked about arresting blocking cars in street incidents. Fines for blocking roadways are low and deniability for the offenders is high. Major Keleti noted that as voters we have the power to elect people to change laws. 

Secretary Roan asked people in the audience to respect the presenters and not hold loud side conversations, as happened during Bob Ryan and Major Keleti’s presentation. 

52nd Ave Sidewalk Project

Steve Halperin, City Engineer, and Beth Forbes, PE, made a presentation on the 52nd Ave. Sidewalk Project. This included possible layouts and placements of the proposed sidewalk.

Ron expressed concerns about the loss of the length of his driveway, as well as the need to dig out the sidewalks in the event of snow, in addition to the lack of use of current sidewalks. He requested a rethink of the project, or moving the sidewalk to the otherside of the road. In address of this, the committee stated that they have not yet looked at specific driveways, though they were aware that some driveways would need to be built because the houses sit below grade. 

Don agreed with Ron’s assessment about the current lack of sidewalk use among pedestrians. He stated that the lack of connection to any other points of interest makes this sidewalk seem like a poor value proposition, comparing the cost to the cost of hiring a contract officer with a vehicle for public safety. 

A member of the audience asked a question regarding the cost of the project, which is reported to be $1.5 million. 

Councilman Kabir says this project will be funded from Capital Improvement Project funds, not property taxes. Don rebutted that this is still taxpayer money. Councilman Kabir stated that the money may be from grants or other sources, though directly or indirectly this is still taxpayer money. 

Janet Morton, a resident of 52nd Ave, wanted to know who was calling for the sidewalks to be built. She noted that the build of the houses was not conducive to the ceding of front yard space in order to build a sidewalk. Steven Halperin brings up the Complete Street Project, which identified 52nd Ave. as a place in need of a sidewalk.

Mayor Pro Temp Denise Mitchell was acknowledged but yielded her time to Councilman Kabir. Councilman Kabir brought up studies done to identify ways to make the city more walkable and promised to send links to these studies to NCPCA for dispersal to the body. The foot traffic to the metro station was noted as a reason to build a sidewalk on this street—the choice was not random. 

A former councilmember recalled a workshop in the past where residents could come and mark their concerns regarding the Complete Streets project. This would have been in 2013/2014. 

Don spoke in favor of providing for sidewalk construction because they are needed in order to build us toward the future we want, citing the placement of the North College Park Community Center and the supposed need for it to be near sidewalks. Councilperson Kate Kennedy noted that this was still a very early stage of the process>

Steven stated that a questionnaire was sent out to the residents who would be affected, and what was heard back from the respondents was that the sidewalk was not welcome on property. 

The woman from earlier claimed she never received said questionnaire. Councilperson Kennedy mentioned that this was a reason why we had meetings like this to continue to get community input.

MPT Mitchell coached that we ought to listen to the residents directly impacted by these sidewalks. Her district had a similar proposal and no one she spoke with among them was in favor. 

Unscheduled Motions and Announcements 

No unscheduled motions are presented. 

Councilman Kabir announced a paper shredding event at Public Works on the weekend of April 15 & 16 from 8AM to 12PM.

Jason Nunez, Constituent Service Specialist with the County Councilman Tom Dernoga gave updates. 

Christine O’Brien made an announcement reminding people that April 22nd at 10:30AM Todd Reitzel (sic) will be doing an English Ivy removal. Also, the tree planting on Arbor Day, as mentioned in the President’s Report. Volunteers are welcome to sing a song, read a poem, or otherwise spread 

Meeting adjourns at 8:57 PM.