Meeting began at 7:35pm.  Mayor Andy Fellows, Council members Patrick Wojahn, Marcus Afzali and Bob Catlin were also present.

Prince Georges Co. Police COPS Ofc. Sarita and Ofc. Taylor briefed the members on the recent crime incidents in the neighborhood.  The number of break-ins has gone down significantly compared to the similar numbers in the previous month.  The Police now have a suspect relating to the incident at St. Andrews Pl.  Last Thursday, there was a burglary around the area of Lackawanna Ave and the Mangum Rd. – the suspect ransacked everything in the house.  The area also had a stolen auto – an warrant has been issued against suspect living in DC. She said the COPS officers would be interested in coming to a future NCPCA meeting to make a presentation on the basic  Observation Skills course.

Gloria Blackwell, Assistant to the VP of Community Relations, Mr. Frank Brewer, Associate VP of Facilities Management, and Carlo Flow, Director of Capital Projects, from the University of Maryland updated members on their purchase and reuse of the Washington Post plant on Greenbelt Road. The new location will support the East Campus development and will thus save 22.4-acre forested area near Comcast Center known as the Wooded Hillock. The University will use the space to relocate facilities currently housed on East Campus to clear space for a 38-acre development that will include shops, a music hall and graduate student housing. The new facility will include the Campus Mail Facility, Shuttle-UM and maintenance shops, greenhouses, warehouses, motor pool and shops.  Around 150 employees will be located in the facility at its peak; however the UMD does not have any plan to transport them through shuttle service. There will be 288 parking spaces. There has not been any traffic study on the impact of the move. It will take around 1 to 3 years to complete the move. Mayor Andy Fellows added that The City has reached a Payment in lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement with the University that will make up for lost real estate taxes on the property however it does not include the personal property tax, as it used to get from the Washington Post from its press equipment; the PILOT, however, will be based on the assessed value of the commercial property and can fluctuate. Bob Catlin said the City may lose as much as $175,000 from the loss revenues.

President Larry Bleau reported he appointed Mark Shroder as Vice President and Mohammed Taluckder as Treasurer, wrote a letter to Board of Licensing Commissioners opposing the issuance of a liquor license for Azteca Restaurant/Bar, reviewed and corrected the membership roster, prepared a financial report for 2009, prepared a handout on Roberts Rules, and posted correspondence letters to the web site. VP Mark Shroder reported that NCPCA currently has 100 households with 171 voting members. Treasurer Mohammed Taluckder reported that the ending balances in PNC Bank and Chevy Chase Bank are $667.53 and $1,120.00 respectively.

Moved by Patrick Wojahn and seconded by Larry Marcu, the January 2010 minutes was approved.

Members discussed the use of NCPCA funds. Suggestions included spending on improving acoustics at the Davis Hall, community get together / refreshments / ice-cream socials, picnic and concerts.  Members will consider ideas and vote on a use of funds at a later meeting.

There was a discussion on the priorities of the upcoming FY2011 City budget. Council member Patrick Wojahn commented that due to anticipated loss of revenues / budget gap this year, he will not be submitting a ‘Wish list’ himself. He also said to generate more revenues, the City may raise the residential parking permit fees and the user fees (e.g. charges to landlords to inspect each rental unit), which have not been raised for a while. Mayor Andy Fellows said the top priority in the FY2011 budget will be to maintain essential services. Bob Catlin said the City currently has 4 million dollars in reserve. He also said the recent garage that the city built in downtown has 40-50% occupancies for the hourly parking and 50-60% for monthly parking. The budget issues can be revisited again at the March meeting.

Moved by Marcia Booth and seconded by Leslie Booth, the dissolution motion was brought to the floor: ”Dissolve NCPCA and let its members decide the use of its funds, since it does not reflect all citizens of the north College Park”. Moved by Peter Lakeland and seconded by Mark Shroder: “Table NCPCA dissolution motion” – the motion to table passed.

Patrick Wojahn announced the Envision Prince Georges meeting on 20 March 9:30 am – 3:30 pm at the Lanham Sports and Learning complex.  Residents need to pre-register at www.envisionprincegeorges.org in order to attend the March 20 M-NCPPC town hall meeting. Marcus Afzali announced a public hearing on the City’s draft strategic plan for the next five years at the City Hall on March 2, at 7:00pm.

Moved by Peter Lakeland and seconded by Leslie Booth, Adjourn the meeting.  Motion passed, and the meeting was adjourned at 9:10pm. 

Respectfully submitted by Fazlul Kabir, Secretary