North College Park Community Association (NCPCA) Meeting Minutes, January 8, 2026
Attendees:
In person:
Kamthorn Clary, Todd Reitzel, City Councilmember Alan Hew, Nathan Arbach (County Councilmember Dernoga’s office), Mary Roop, Mary Cook.
Online (names written as they appear in chat):
Arelis Perez, Mayor Fazlul Kabir, City Councilmember Maria Mackie, City Councilmember Denise Mitchell, Niraniana Krishnan, Erin Meyer.
Minutes taken by:
Todd Reitzel, Secretary
Call to Order
Clary called the meeting to order and reviewed the agenda. Clary moved to approve the agenda, Perez seconded the motion, and the agenda was unanimously approved.
Minutes
The group reviewed the December 11 meeting minutes. Reitzel noted that Maria Mackie’s name needs correction. Clary moved to approve the minutes as corrected, Reitzel seconded the motion, and the minutes were unanimously approved.
President Report
Clary noted that NCPCA coffee socials will continue to be the Sunday before each NCPCA monthly meeting. There are vacancies for Treasurer, Development Committee Chair, and Events Committee Chair, and Clary would like to hear from any interested members.
Clary followed up on the December discussion about filling the vacated Shoppers Food Warehouse, by providing some input from Perez:
Affordable Grocery Advocacy Questions:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bBJRyhDdPxOUJtvbnbbhVtSsetwQkgA1/view
College Park Affordable Grocery Talking Points:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e9_EgaJ1yptXE8zOrBXLB6nnd5R0OVAW/view
Clary provided a spotlight on the City’s Education Advisory Committee, which seeks to support, strengthen, and promote the schools that College Park students attend. The committee has at least 9 voting members, each on 3-year terms. It currently meets every third Monday.
Vice President Report
Perez highlighted the City’s tribute to Reverend Martin Luther King Jr; details are at collegeparkmd.gov/mlk. This will include a food drive through January 30 to benefit the College Park Community Food Bank and a City Hall poster exhibit on Dr. King’s life.
The City is seeking input for its FY2027 budget at collegeparkmd.gov/budgetfeedback.
The City Council will hold February 3 and 24 meetings and a February 10 work session Feb 10; the Council will be considering ranked choice voting.
The City’s Lunar New Year celebration will be February 21
Taste of College Park will be January 16-25; details are at collegepark.life/restaurantweek.
The City of College Park is encouraging residents to take advantage of the EmPOWER Maryland energy saving programs by providing a $100 City reimbursement for residents who complete an ENERGY STAR assessment; details are at collegeparkmd.gov/empowergrant.
City Council will consider a Proclamation for Muslim American Heritage Month at its January 13 meeting.
Neighbors Helping Neighbors needs volunteers who are at least 21 years old, willing to have a background check, and have a flexible schedule. The organization also needs 6 board members. Contact at nhn-cp.org/contact.
Treasurer Report
For Melissa Peterson, Clary reported a SECU Checking Account balance of $1,182.76 and a SECU Savings Account balance of $336.53.
Development Committee
Clary noted the projects lists on the City Department of Planning website at collegeparkmd.gov/planning. This includes a link to a College Park Development dashboard.
Events Committee
Clary noted there will be a Ranked Choice Voting Day at The Board and Brew on January 21 7-9pm.
Clary also noted that WISE Connect activities for seniors are routinely updated at www.wisecities.us.
Clary noted that the store closed November 8 because owner UNFI sought to focus its business on distribution rather than retail. The store had ranked high in sales. In a 1-mile radius of Davis Hall, the only grocery stores are Lidl, MOM’s Organic Market, and Mundo Latino Market; so there’s an opportunity for an anchor grocer that is open extended hours.
Hollywood Shopping Center
Clary introduced a discussion with details about the shopping center. It was built in 1967 and offers 49,193 sq ft of retail space. It contains 13 retail slots 10 of which are currently occupied and offers 200 parking spaces. It also hosts the Hollywood Farmers Market. Average daily traffic on Rhode Island Avenue is 14,851. It is owned by the Carrollton Development Group and is managed by KLNB. There is a property description with demographics at klnb.propertycapsule.com/p/retail-real-estate/College+Park-MD-20740/hollywoodshoppingcenter
Clary presented a Q&A conducted with KLNB vice president Mai Vo. Q&A topics were level of leasing interest, vacancies, potential renovations, and types of businesses sought.
The group discussed the shopping center. There’s concern about attracting businesses but also about keeping them, including whether rent may be too high and whether a large existing tenant has veto power over new tenants. The City has arranged for or advocated for a number of surrounding investments that should bring more foot traffic, including the Hollywood Streetscape, the Hollywood Farmers Market, and the planned North College Park Community Center. It was noted that KLNB seeks experienced businesses with capital, which may be unrealistic for the market, and KLNB may also be seeking rent levels not supported by the market, particularly given the shopping center’s age and unrenovated condition. Compared to College Park Marketplace, which is more modern and has more traffic bigger brands, Hollywood Shopping Center is more local.
The City launched a Vacant and Blighted Properties Committee in 2024 to explore ways to improve property utilization rates. The Committee is looking to create a database of vacant properties and may discuss a tax on them. Current tenants report paying for snow removal, security cameras, and maintenance of landscaping planters, but get no snow removal rebates, outdated security cameras, and no planter maintenance. Tenants must handle their own HVAC and plumbing, and the parking lot striping is quite faded. There are constant vacancies, and the community receives accounts of small businesses being turned down to lease. City involvement seems to be important and acting on VBPC’s recommendations may be essential to improving conditions at the shopping center. There is concern that the owner may find it more financially beneficial to take a loss on the vacancies. There had been a business association in the past, and pursuing that might also be helpful going forward. What can be done to ensure the shopping center becomes a vibrant hub of activity?
Clary encouraged the group to send him any further questions for KLNB.
Unscheduled Motions
There were no unscheduled motions.
Unscheduled Announcements
The Police Citizens Academy starts again January 26, a weekly program over 14 weeks.
The North College Park Community Center is in the design/build proposal stage; MNCPPC issued clarification letters to bidders this week, giving them 1 week to respond, and proposal review will be February 23.
There will be a County FY2027 budget listening session at Kingdom Fellowship AME Church in Calverton; residents can speak in person or can email comments. Details at www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/departments-offices/county-executive/community/fy-2027-budget-listening-session.
MNCPPC will hold an open house subregion 1 minor plan amendment update on January 21, 6:30-8:00pm, at the Laurel Beltsville Senior Activity Center. This update includes Konterra and BARC. Details are at pgplan.org/subregion1.
The next MNCPPC Neighborhood Planning Academy runs March 4 to April 15. Applications are open through January 31. Details are at https://academy.pgplanning.com.
The District 1 Council office offers D1 and senior newsletters. To sign up, contact the office athttps://pgccouncil.us/149/District-1—Dernoga.
The pedestrian/cyclist path on Rhode Island Avenue north of the Beltway is almost finished. The Duval Field project on track to finish this summer.
There will soon be a community meeting to discuss Route 1 reconstruction north of Greenbelt Road.
There will be a celebratory fundraiser for new Maryland House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk at 4pm on January 10 at La Curva Restaurant Tex Mex Bar & Grill, 5810 Greenbelt Road.
Adjournment
Clary noted the next meeting will be Thursday, February 12, at 7:30pm.
Clary moved for adjournment, Room seconded the motion, and the motion was approved unanimously.