Meeting Minutes—April 11, 2024
North College Park Community Association (NCPCA)
Attendees:
In Person:
Alicea, David; Clary, Kamthorn; Hernandez, Jacob; Hew, Alan; Khokhar, Jatinder; O’Brien, Christine; Roan, Brian J.; Roop, Mary; Turley, David; Wray, Brandon
Online (names written as they appear in chat):
Kabir, Fazlul; Perez, Arelis; Peterson, Melissa;
Minutes Taken By:
Brian J. Roan, Secretary
Call to Order
President David Alicea opened the meeting by presenting the agenda and soliciting a motion to approve. Kamthorn Clary motioned to approve the agenda and was seconded by David Turley. The agenda was approved by vote.
Minutes
February – Mary Roop motion to approve. Seconded. Passed by vote.
March – Hernandez Motion – Kam second. Passed by vote.
President’s Report
President Alicea gave updates on the upcoming NCPCA board elections—there is one person running for the Vice President slot. Anyone wishing to run must nominate or be nominated by May meeting. He reminded the body that the coffee social has changed to monthly from weekly meetings. He also—as always—requested more committee members.
Vice President’s
Vice President Broughton did not come with any new updates beyond previous meetings. He will be stepping down in June.
Treasurer’s Report
SECU Checking Account: $1,972.35
SECU Savings Account: $334.44
Treasurer Peterson must be in good standing for the tax season to fully integrate backing information but has not yet filed her taxes. She reminded the body that they must be current and active dues paying members in good standing in order to run for office or vote.
She motioned to approve the expenditures of the April BBQ. Arelis Perez seconded.
Councilmember Jacob Hernandez asked if the event would be open to the entire community or just members. Treasurer Peterson said it would be available city wide. Mayor Fazlul said he was willing to post the event anywhere and even pass it on to city communication staff. The event will also be posted to Facebook and Nextdoor and through council communication channels.
A question was raised about a donation bin to collect nonperishable food items. This idea was addressed the day before in emails to Mayor Kabir and was agreed.
To summarize, the budget agreed on covers food and supplies needed for the BBQ, a food collection bin will be placed.
Flyers related to the BBQ will be produced to be placed next to flyers for the NCPCA to be displayed at the Hollywood Farmers Market.
Arelis made a motion to approve the expenditures, Secretary Brian J. Roan seconded. The motion passed by vote.
Secretary’s Report
Secretary Brian Roan gave updates regarding the events on the web site, the protocol for identifying oneself when speaking, and entering your name into the Zoom chat for identification purposes.
Development Committee Director Report
Director Brandon Wray noted that the Hollywood Sidewalk Project had been approved by MDOT, and construction could begin as soon as April. Duvall Field updates could begin as soon as May. The 52nd Ave sidewalk 60% design is on the city web site and the issue will be brought up for discussion at the April 16 city council meeting. The Autoville townhome project will likewise move forward.
Arelis Perez asked about updates on the Donan Enterprises project, which is the Autoville townhomes. The preliminary plan will go before council May 14 and May 21, tentatively.
Christine O’Brien was curious which side of the Hollywood Rd. the sidewalk would go. This will be the south side of the road, with crosswalks to the Hollywood playground. The designs are on the city web site.
Mayor Kabir said the south side was chosen before the estimate was lesser because of the placement of utility poles.
Christine O’Brien wanted to know if there were trees on that side of the street, and the mayor said he would check with the city engineers. A majority of the sidewalk will be on the city right of way, and then road will be narrowed.
Kamthorn Clary said that he was not aware of many trees on that side (he runs that road a few times a week).
CM Hernandez updated that Duvall Field will be delayed to June/July because bid documents needed to be updated to fix issues in the original plans.
Events Committee Update
Events Director Mary Roop announced the North College Park Cleanup on Saturday April 13 beginning at 9am at the corner of Edgewood and Rhode Island. The Hollywood Farmers Market, April 13 from 10am–2pm at the MOM’s parking lot. There will be new vendors and a food access coordinator. The North College Park BBQ will take place on April 27 at the VFW from 1pm–5pm. The College Park Parade will take place May 4 at 10am on Rhode Island Ave.
CM Alan Hew noted the trolly trail permaculture cleanup from 9am–noon on April 20.
Christine O’Brien announced that Arbor Day is April 26 and a tree will be planted in the city to replace trees taken down while updating a playground. This should take place around 5 o’clock.
Director Jatinder Khokhar, Director of Public Services for the City of College Park
CM Hernandez stated the Director Khokhar is the newest director replacing Bob Ryan.
Director Khokhar said he has just completed 3 months at the city. He said that the development in the area should be useful for creating more business. He gave background on himself; a electrical engineer, two children, a wife who works in the post office, both of his children are doctors. He has worked at an industrial power plant in India. Immigrated in 1990 to the United States. He worked as an inspector in Fairfax County. He is a certified electrical and plumbing inspector and building official.
He noted the coming metro stations which would spur transit related development that will challenge zoning and development.
His department does Code Enforcement. There are 10 code enforcement offices, 2 supervisory and then part-time officials on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings. Animal Control has one officer full time and a part-time officer will begin on April 15. Licensing and Permitting complements and supplements permits from the county. He noted he is working to build a better network with the county to help smooth the permitting process. Public Safety—we do not have a police department but we do have a contract police program with 14-15 contract police officers. Beginning in May there will be virtual public safety meetings to keep the community informed about public safety.
Director Khokhar brought literature to share with the body. He then opened the floor to questions.
Kamthorn Clary encouraged Director Khokhar to work on fixing the permitting process for home improvements by pulling those permits into the city. Director Khokhar agreed and ran down some of the hurdles in the system as it stands.
President Alicea said that NCPCA would be willing to help in any way possible.
CM Hernandez forwarded a question from a resident wanting to know if there was a good number for parking enforcement. Parking Enforcement is a division within the public services department —Jim Miller and Scott Osborne. Director Khokhar said to send an email to public services and that is the way to get a response.
CM Hernandez also asked for a rundown of the CityGov App tracking system. Director Khokhar said there were three ways to receive complaints: phone & email, ACELA, and through a Google system. He noted that inspection needs were growing with the increase in rental units. Director Khokhar encouraged anyone with knowledge to work with those who need it to learn how to use the systems in place for reporting issues.
CM Hernandez than asked about policing and public safety—”are we safe here in North College Park?” Director Khokhar noted the need to keep information cordoned in order to facilitate investigations. He then said that the city was the “safest place within Prince George’s County.” Calls are not ignored, concerns are shared with police officers. He stressed his desire for transparency and for residents to feel safety with services delivered based on equity and fairness in the system.
CM Hew asked about the philosophy on code enforcement, noting that of late infractions had been overlooked unless there was a direct complaint. Director Khokhar said that they are in the process of doing cross-training so that, e.g., a parking officer can log a code issue for a code officer to check up on. He stated he believed in transparency and respect when dealing with people who have infractions.
Arelis Perez asked about racial bias training for staff. Director Khokhar stated his commitment to DEI and its importance. He said he supported trainings and that we needed fairness, openness even outside of this specific line.
Mayor Kabir noted that the city does racial equity training among staff.
CM Hernandez thanked the director for his time.
Unscheduled Motions and Announcements
Mayor Kabir drew attention to the NCPCA and community being noted in the Washington Post. He also commended the NCPCA and community for their work saving the parade and the farmers market. Tomorrow, Friday April 12, there is a groundbreaking of the new community center in College Park Woods. Spring Cleanup events at Public Works for people to bring bulk trash, which will not be counted against the 20 item limit on individual homes. See city web site for details. The city opened a senior program office near city hall, 4508 College Ave, and this office will house 6 full time staff for the senior community. He also noted the need for resident feedback on the budget.
Kamthorn Clary gave an update on his Hey Hollywood event—a chance for neighbors to meet and greet. 21 responses for the event. He has budgeted $300 for the event and is looking to get permit and liability insurance for it to take place at a park. He is targeting September for the event. Kennis Termini brought up the lack of use of Duvall Field because of the lack of a certified food handler. A discussion followed with the councilmembers about this concern.
Secretary Brian J. Roan made announcements related to the farmers market and upcoming local council actions, including budget actions and student subsidy.
CM Hernandez also announced the coming vote on the Needs-based Student Housing Subsidy. He encouraged people to speak on the subsidy, to come in person, and make their voices heard. The budget is still in discussion—currently the rate proposed is 34.8-cents per hundred dollars for residential, and 40-cents for commercial. He solicited everyone to come out and be a part of the May 4th parade. CM Hew noted the need to increase participation. Kennis said that her daughters used to be in the parades but many of these organizations do not exist anymore.
CM Hernandez put forward an unscheduled motion to write a letter of support for the community garden. However a similar motion was made at the last meeting, so there was no need for this motion.
Call to Adjourn
David Turley motioned to adjourn the meeting. Kamthorn Clary seconded. The motion passed.