North College Park Community Association (NCPCA) Meeting Minutes, October 8, 2026

Attendees:

In person:

Kamthorn Clary (president), Justin Leary (vice president), Susan Huemmrich (treasurer), Todd Reitzel (secretary), Miriam Kamel (Events Director), Nathan Arbach (District One County Council office), Dan Behrend, Miranda Bitting, Erika Chocolatl, Kerry Fisher (District 21 State Senator Jim Rosapepe’s office), David Folcher, Alan Hew (City Councilmember), Jude Hew, Fazlul Kabir (Mayor), John Krouse, Mary Lehman (District 21 State Delegate), Arelis Pérez, Mark Shroder, Joseph Tannir, Andrea Ulloa (Speaker Joseline Peñ
a-Melnyk’s office), Jacob Vassalotti (City Department of Public Works).

Online (names written as they appear in chat):

Jewel Harris (District 21 State Delegate Ben Barnes’s office), Jacob Hernandez (City Councilmember), Rakhmel (Rocky) Rafi (City Department of Public Works), Yusuf Sadiq.

Minutes taken by:

Todd Reitzel, secretary 

Call to Order

Clary called the meeting to order and reviewed the agenda, which was circulated last week. Huemmrich moved to approve the agenda, and Pérez seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Minutes

The group reviewed the September 10 meeting minutes. Pérez moved to approve them, and Kamel seconded the motion.

President Report

Clary noted the next NCPCA Coffee Social will be at Proteus Brews will be Sunday, November 8, 11am-1pm. He noted the debut of the meeting agenda email preview for active members and reported there have been updates to the NCPCA website and a revised layout, including an NCPCA Initiatives section.

The NCPCA still needs a developments director and a communications director. 

Vice President Report

Leary noted that Good Neighbor Day will be October 24. and will offer several projects in District 1 and at Lake Artemesia.

Treasurer Report

Huemmrich reported that we have $932.79 checking and $347.52 savings. No dues have been received in the last month.

Secretary Report

Reitzel reminded attendees to say their name before speaking, to help online attendees know who’s speaking and to aid taking minutes. He reported on the NCPCA September Update email, which was received by 209 persons, opened by 84, and clicked on by 23. He welcomes suggested items for the next update.

Development Committee

Leary reported that this week the City Council decided to acquire the 4916 Tecumseh Avenue property and considered funding the 51st Avenue – Branchville Road sidewalk project.

The US Route 1 Improvement Project is in its design phase consolidating all community feedback from earlier in the year.

Events Committee

Clary noted the weekly Hollywood Farmers Market Saturdays 10am-2pm. The City will hold its Rave at the Grave event for persons 21 years and older on Friday, October 23, 6-9pm at Duvall Field; it’s free with advance registration. The City’s Winter Wonderland will be Saturday, December 5, 3-7pm, at City Hall. WISE Connect continues to list activities on its website.

Edgewood Road Bike Lane Project

Shroder, who is chair of the City’s Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee, introduced BPAC members Dan Behrend and Joseph Tannir, and Department of Public Works GIS coordinator Jacob Vassalotti. BPAC has suggested the City include a bike lane when it repaves Edgewood Road.

Vassalotti summarized the project. The study area extends from 47th Place to Rhode Island Avenue study area. Edgewood Road was last repaved in 1997 and is scheduled for resurfacing this fiscal year, including curb and driveway apron reconstructions, and flashing RRFB crosswalk signals at 49th Avenue. The City is studying installing a bike lane on westbound Edgewood Road. Ensuring adequate pedestrian and bicycle facilities is part of the Complete and Green Streets plan approved by City Council in 2016.

Shroder noted 2 major benefits of a bike lane on westbound Edgewood: Cyclists are slowed going up the hill, and providing a bike lane would avoid cyclists impeding vehicular traffic. Also, narrowing the westbound road for the bike lanes should reduce speed, which would be beneficial to pedestrians. One downside is that wide vehicles may not be able to park on the street. Behrend noted that no bike lane is proposed for the eastbound side because there’s not enough width.

Krouse asked whether any changes at the Route 1 intersection would be made, and Vassalotti replied that’s up to the State since the City’s study area ends at 47th Avenue. Huemmrich asked whether school buses would fit in the narrowed lanes, and Vassalotti confirmed they would. Leary asked the width of the parking lane, and Vassalotti confirmed it’s 7 feet. Folcher noted that Edgewood is heavily traveled during rush hour; so slowing traffic would likely increase congestion. Chocolatl asked whether there would be bus stops, and Vassalotti confirmed the two at 49th Avenue will be upgraded to ADA standards. Reitzel asked how parking in the bike lanes would be discouraged, and Vassalotti noted bollards and staff enforcement will do this.

Clary asked where cyclists go at the top of the hill, and Shroder noted Route 1 will have bike lanes. Reitzel also noted cyclists can currently cross over Edgewood and then Route 1 to get to the shopping center. Kamel asked whether crosswalks will be updated, and Vassalotti confirmed they will. 

Kabir recommended that City staff share the study plans with the State Highway Administration. Reitzel suggested the City consider repositioning the 47th Avenue crosswalk from the east side of the avenue to the west side.

Clary thanked Vassalotti and encouraged any further questions or feedback be sent to the NCPCA inbox.

District 21 Update

Lehman reported that Speaker Peña-Melnyk arranged to add a 7th State House standing committee: the Government, Labor, and Elections Committee. Lehman chairs the Local government Subcommittee. Lehman reported on the Utility Relief Act of 2026, which provides savings for ratepayers and protects ratepayers, disallows extreme executive bonuses, and ensures large user costs cannot be passed on to other ratepayers.

Lehman recently attended a conference where local officials were advised, during data center moratoriums, to decide the preferred guardrails and legislate them before receiving any data center applications. Data centers consume high levels of resources such as electricity and water, and generate significant light and noise pollution. The Maryland Department of the Environment doesn’t currently have a permit for data centers and is looking for the Legislature to authorize this in 2027. Clary suggested we might require data centers to generate their own electricity. Hew noted this is called BYOCE, or Bring Your Own Clean Energy.

Lehman reported on legislation passed to prevent BARC or the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center from being rezoned, should they be sold by the Federal government. Lehman noted that the State cannot prevent the Federal government from using properties as long as they own them.

Kabir noted that the City will be recommending continued funding for Route 1 reconstruction and will be recommending requirements for affordable housing allocations in new developments.

Ulloa provided an overview of the State budget, which seeks to fill gaps due to Federal cuts: $1.7B to supplement SNAP, $14B to supplement Medicaid and the Maryland Children’s Health Program, $160M in temporary cash assistance, $384M in low income rental assistance plus additional funds for rural housing, $309M for energy assistance, $20M to erase the waitlist for the childcare scholarship program, $74M for Sunbucks, and $171M cap investments for Prince George’s County. There was also financial support for lots of local organizations, including those helping with immigration issues. The Legislature ended 287G agreements by local police with ICE and passed legislation prohibiting face coverings, limiting detention centers if not zoned appropriately, and protecting health and sanitary standards at existing detention centers.

Harris added that the last session involved no tax increases and achieved a balanced budget in compliance of State law. It provided $2B in the State’s Rainy Day Fund.

Unscheduled Motions

There were no unscheduled motions.

Unscheduled Announcements

Arbach reported that after the NCPCA September meeting he confirmed with the County Health Department that there is currently no increased risk of rabies in the County. Prince George’s lacks the ground and funding to participate in the same rabies vaccination via helicopter as Anne Arundel County does.

The General Election is on November 3. Early voting will take place October 22-29. Polling locations will be open 7am-8pm during both early voting and on Election Day.

The Division I Police’s Coffee Club is a place where citizens and police can work together to enhance our community and develop solutions to neighborhood challenges in the County. It’s held on Zoom on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays at 9am. The next meeting is October 14.

Kabir reported that College Park Day was successful despite the rain. He also reported that the Quantum World Congress was successful. The City will provide Public Works autumn cleanup days on October 10 and October 24, 7:30am-12noon.

Hew noted that the City has an opportunity to prepare for the energy, housing, and transportation needs of the FBI headquarters, of quantum computing, and other areas of growth. We might look to partner with groups who can help us plan for these.

The Another Look, Another World (Insect Art) Exhibition will be at the University of Maryland Mitchell Art-Sociology Building, Herman Maril Gallery, October 14 to November 6.

Hernandez noted that City elections will be next autumn and encouraged residents to consider running for office then. Also, if the State should decide to sell the Maryland Department of Labor Licensing and Regulation building, the City would need to decide its purpose: Would city own it or would partner with another owner? Hernandez plans to provide a readout of the Quantum World Congress; he wants to clarify what they aim to do and encourage them to involve the public. Hernandez also wants to identify what our environmental priorities should be, including assemblingexpertise and learn from them.

Pérez reported that Neighbors Helping Neighbors is seeking board members. Anyone interested should call 301-222-3434 or email coordinator@nhn-cp.org.

Clary noted our next meeting will be November 12, at 7:30pm.

Adjournment

Huemmrich moved for adjournment, Kamel seconded the motion, and the motion was approved unanimously.