Meeting Minutes—November 9, 2023
North College Park Community Association (NCPCA)
Attendees:
In Person:
David Alicea; Jaclyn Bruner; Jeffery Clark; Donald Hays; Alan Hew; Jacob T. Hernandez; Fazlul Kabir; Todd Reitzel; Brian J. Roan; Laura Rogers; David Turley; Judy Wang; Brendan Wray
Online (names written as they appear in chat):
Brys Boughton; Angel Frangos; John Krouse; Melissa Peterson; Diana Sisson
Minutes Taken By:
Brian J. Roan, Secretary
Call to Order
President David Alicea brought the meeting to order. He opened the meeting with a brief history of the Hollywood neighborhood. He then read the orders of the day.
Minutes
David Turley motioned to approve the October minutes. Donald Hays seconded the motion. No corrections were offered, and the motion passed with a vote.
President’s Report
President Alicea announced the hours of the Proteus Brews coffee social on Sundays from 11AM-1PM. He then reiterated the need for more committee members to serve on the committees that were formed during the previous meeting. President Alicea then thanked those who submitted questions for the October candidate forum.
Vice President’s
Vice President Brys Broughton announced that the process of moving into the new management system was still ongoing. He will be reaching out to members to ensure their status is set and their dues are collected.
Treasurer’s Report
Treasurer Melissa Peterson reiterated the advantages of being a dues-paying member. She also noted that dues are still being collected. Budgets and grant proposals are in process for the purpose of throwing a spring barbecue. She also solicited input from members in the form of a survey to be sent out in the new year regarding merchandise for members to purchase.
Treasurer Peterson gave a disclosure of the financial health of the NCPCA:
SECU Savings Account: $334.05
SECU Checking Account: $2,101.15
Jeffery Clark motioned to accept the Treasurer’s report. Jacob Hernandez seconded. The motion passed.
Secretary’s Report
Secretary Brian Roan requested that members state their name when they addressed the assemblage to facilitate notetaking. In addition, he asked that those in the chat write out their full name for attendance purposes.
Development Committee Director Report
Director Brendan Wray reported that he met the community development planner and he received the following items:
52nd St. sidewalk project is under discussion and the city will be holding community discussions with date and times to come.
The Sunnyside playground will be getting a bike rack.
The current community garden at Rhode Island and Edgewood is under an agreement that will be terminating next year. North College Park is looking for a community garden space, and the development planner noted a location north of Davis Field playground. Of this space, he noted that the pros were a drainage pond and the openness and sun coverage. However, the site is not centralized to North College Park.
Director Wray asked that anyone with input or feedback reach out to him at NCPCivic@gmail.com.
Todd Reitzel asked whether the triangle at Narragansett Pkwy was ruled out, and Director Wray noted that the planner ruled that a spot more out of the public eye might be more acceptable to the residents because community gardens are not often well kept. Mayor Fazlul Kabir noted that surrounding neighbors should be informed to gauge their concerns about parking. Jeffery Clark asked about fencing, and Councilman Alan Hew answered that a fence would be put in for deer and other possible intrusions. Mr. Clark also brought up considerations related to water conveyance. He also asked about the size and number of plots, but this had not been decided yet. The garden would be city owned and maintained, with the city building the raised beds and providing mulch. Volunteer work would be used for much of the construction and upkeep—potentially as part of Good Neighbor Day.
Events Committee Director Report
Mary Roop was on vacation, but President Alicea gave her report. Holiday tree decorating will be done at the corner of 52nd St. and Narragansett on December 9 at 11AM. There will be decoration-making and refreshments provided by Proteus Brews.
At the December 14 NCPCA meeting there will be a community potluck and a white elephant gift exchange. 2024 events will include a chili cookoff, community barbecue, and the College Park parade.
District 1 Representative Introductions
Councilman Alan Hew began by introducing himself and noting his thanks to the community for electing him. He noted his interest in building relationships with the people in the community to learn their needs.
Councilman-elect Jacob Hernandez expressed his excitement and noted the efforts of his friends and family that helped him to win. He said he is working to meet as many people as he can and is trying to spent time learning before jumping into action. He laid out his vision of how he will interact and learn with the community to serve it.
President Alicea opened the floor up to questions, but none were forthcoming.
Councilman Hew, drafting off of Councilman-elect Hernandez mentioning the FBI’s decision to move to Greenbelt, noted that it will be important for North College Park to be at the table during discussions regarding this development. He noted that feedback would be important for the community to have its voice heard.
Mayor Kabir stated his belief that North College Park would potentially be positively affected by the movement of the FBI into the area due to homebuying and the use of commercial spaces. He noted that concerns to the community were the reflection of light and noise and the casting of shadows. While the city had been advocating for this decision, he recognized the concerns.
Councilman-elect Hernandez noted that everything takes time and he thought that the development would bring better police resources and better infrastructure.
Donald Hays brought up that code enforcement should be increased to help to bolster neighborhood desirability. He noted that Suitland has not benefited from the Census Bureau. Mayor Kabir floated the idea of grants for agents to encourage homeownership by possible incoming agents. President Alicea asked about how those grants are being advertised, and Mayor Kabir stated that web site navigation would be updated. Discussion opened up to float out ideas for messaging these grants. Related to possible developments, Mayor Kabir noted that the city will push the GSA to the NCPCA for input.
Unscheduled Motions and Announcements
Jeffery Clark asked about the 52nd Ave sidewalk project. Mayor Kabir said that construction will start in the spring and take 3-4 months.
David Turley asked about ways for neighbors to receive Welcome Wagon packages. President Alicea noted that the Welcome Wagon Committee needs to be reformed. However, he had welcome bags in his car and would hand one off.
Jaclyn Bruner provided an update regarding the water at Hollywood Elementary School, soliciting help. Some PGCPS schools do not have access to drinkable water. Dora Kennedy only has one bottle filler and receives some disposable bottles. During a meeting with Jonathan Briggs she was told Hollywood Elementary School had drinking water. Her son’s teacher said that they could not use their fountains, but after checking with administration was told that the fountains were usable. This highlighted to her a lack of communication and messaging. Digging needs to be done to hold county officials accountable for the status of the school drinking water. When asked if the supposedly safe fountains were actually safe, Jaclyn Bruner noted that she was not sure. Some of the confusion might be from changing standards, but this still falls under PGCPS purview. Councilman-elect Hernandez asked who the stakeholders were, and Jaclyn Bruner told him about the school safety officer. Pandemic challenges also added to the confusion because of loss of legacy knowledge. Councilman-elect Hernandez asked if the NCPCA could send a letter, though Jaclyn Bruner said it might not be the time. There is still uncertainty regarding what is known and what should be asked for. The discussion continued with people offering suggestions and asking questions and Jeffery Clark asked if this could be a scheduled agenda item. Jaclyn Bruner once more asked for data-driven individuals to help with disentangling the data.
President Alicea said that he would work to create a future agenda item to address this topic in greater detail.
Todd Reitzel – The College Park Food Bank will be holding their turkey drive for the next two weeks—4PM–6PM on Friday the 10 and 17. They will be accepting frozen turkeys, turkey breast, and chicken. This will bolster Thanksgiving food distribution Saturday November 18 from 9:30AM-11AM. Volunteers for distribution could be used every Saturday.
Secretary Brian Roan announced the clothing drive run by the Shmidt Spirits distillery with pickups taking place at the Hollywood Farmers Market from 9AM–1PM.
Councilman-elect Hernandez asked that people thank Veterans on November 11 for Veterans Day. He also directed attention to the ceremony at the Veterans Memorial on Saturday, November 11 at 11AM.
Councilman Alan Hew also noted that leaf collection had begun and directed people to the web site for more information. Winter Wonderland is December 2 from 4PM–8PM at the City Hall Plaza.
Call to Adjourn
Secretary Roan motioned to adjourn. Donald Hays seconded. The motion passed. 8:54PM.