Meeting Minutes—September 14, 2023
North College Park Community Association (NCPCA)
Attendees:
In Person:
David Allen; Jennifer Argueta; Guillermo Argueta; David Alicea; Brys Braughton; Kamthorn Clary; Mary Cook; Ariel Haber; Jacob Hernandez; Alan Hew; Fazlul Kabir; Catherine Macdougall; Ron Midkiff; Christine O’Brien; Melissa Peterson; Todd Reitzal; Mary Roop; Jon Rolph; Kennis Termini; David Turley
Online (names written as they appear in chat):
Celia Anklesaria; Kate Kennedy; Arelis Perez; Kelly Reinke
Minutes Taken By:
Brian J. Roan, Secretary
Call to Order
President David Alicea brought the meeting to order and began with a recitation of the history of Branchville. He then read the orders of the day.
Minutes
The meeting minutes from June were put forward for approval by the body. The motion to approve was made and seconded and the motion passed.
President’s Report
President Alicea provided an update on the coffee socials taking place every Sunday at Proteus Brews from 11am to 1pm. He then briefly summarized the ice cream social and thanked Vice President Brys Broughton for his work organizing it. He then made the assembly aware of County Councilman Tom Dernoga’s planned town hall on Sunday, September 17 from 10am to 11am at Proteus Brews. Finally, he expressed the intention of the NCPCA to host a candidate forum for Distrct 1 city council candidates at the next NCPCA regular meeting.
Vice President’s
Vice President Brys Broughton reported that we received 5 new members over the summer. He also reported that we were moving to MemberPlanet as a new membership management system. The hope is that this will be fully onboarded by September 30, 2023. The platform will cost 4%, the total of its processing fee.
Treasurer’s Report
Treasurer Melissa Peterson gave an accounting of the financial state of the NCPCA SECU checking and savings account ($2,146.14 and $323.85 respectively). She mentioned that rapid growth required the movement to a membership management system and that the board will be reconciling needed dues in the coming month. She also delineated what dues-paying members gain as opposed to non-dues-paying attendees. Finally, she prepped the assembly for the coming vote on the ice cream social reimbursement.
Secretary’s Report
Secretary Brian J. Roan was not in attendance due to prior obligations. President Alicea gave updates on changes made to the web site to improve function and accessibility. He also reminded the membership to state their names before speaking to allow for easier recording of minutes and to let members know who had the floor.
Ice Cream Social Reimbursement
Arelis Perez moved to approve the reimbursement of funds used to put on this event from the SECU checking and savings account. The motion was seconded and no debate followed. The motion passed.
Call for Committee Directors and Volunteers
President Alicea announced the founding of three committees to help serve the NCPCA and its mission in the community—Developments Committee, Events Committee, and Finance Committee.
Developments Committee: To keep the association apprised of developments around the community and the city at large that may affect the neighborhood.
Events Committee: To establish social events and volunteer opportunities.
Finance Committee: In February/March this committee will go over the books and put together a budget for the next NCPCA year.
President Alicea asked interested parties to reach out to him for consideration for nomination and voting for director positions during the next meeting. NCPCivic@gmail.com
(Arelis Perez raised her hand and mentioned that she registered as a new member and this would need correction.)
Treasurer Peterson noted that directors of committees would be aided by the Board.
Introduction to New Councilman Alan Hew
Councilman Alan Hew, who was appointed to the vacancy following Mayor Kabir’s election, introduced himself to the assembly. He said he was honored to serve and was here to address issues and hear concerns.
Announcements from County Representative
Mary Cook addressed the assembly with updates from Tom Dernoga’s office.
Tires can be disposed of at the public works salt dome at 11900 Montgomery Rd. Beltsville, MD from 8am to 1pm on October 7, 2023. A document shredding day will take place at Beltsville Academy, 4300 Wicomico Ave. Beltsville, MD from 8:30am to 11:30am on October 28, 2023. She encouraged potential participants to arrive early. She also emphasized the Proteus Brews town hall with Councilman Dernoga on Sunday. She also made a plug for Council Connections, a publication on Prince George’s County politics. It is put out online every week.
Unscheduled Motions and Announcements
President Alicea solicited unscheduled motions from the assembly.
Arelis Perez asked of Mary Cook if there was an update about the Prince George’s County elderly tax credit. Mary Cook said that those who filled out the application ought to have gotten an acceptance notification. There is a web site where one can check one’s status and those who are eligible will be reached in 4–6 weeks and those who aren’t will be informed. People waiting to hear should pay their bill and they will receive a refund if they receive the credit. Mary Cook said she would supply the web site when she had access to it.
Someone asked for a distinction between the elderly tax credit and the homeowners tax credit. Mary Cook stated that you could apply for both, but could only receive 20% total tax credit. She said it never hurt to try both.
President Alicea then solicited further announcements. Christine O’Brien, chair of Tree and Landscape Board, reminded the assembly of Good Neighbor Day, October 21, 2023. She will be leading a project in North College Park. Volunteers will be removing english ivy from trees on Muskogee and Narragansett. Tree planting will also take place in Old Town. Many other activities will be taking place, and she asked people to take a look and volunteer what for what they could.
Todd Reitzel announced that the University of Maryland School of Music will be throwing a concert for the benefit of the College Park Food Bank Sunday September 24, 2023. Donations can be made online or in person.
Councilman Alan Hew announced that on October 2, 2023, an event at the College Park Aviation Museum called Latinas in Aviation will take place from 10am to 4pm. On October 7, 2023, College Park Day will take place at the Aviation Museum from 12pm to 6pm. The American Legion will host Be The One, a veteran suicide awareness event from 12pm to 4pm.
Mary Cook said that Congressman Glenn Ivy will be at City Hall September 16 from 10am to 11am.
President Alicea solicited other announcements and none came.
Call to Adjourn
Before adjourning, President Alicea reminded those interested in being a director or part of a committee to reach out for consideration for nomination. Arelis Perez motioned to adjourn the meeting.
Someone then asked if anyone in the seats wanted to talk about anything. Arelis Perez asked for the question to be repeated and people seated in attendance were again asked if they had anything to discuss.
Someone asked if 30 minutes was a standard time for the meetings. Vice President Broughton said it was usually longer, and mentioned that items that had been intended needed to be canceled. Treasurer Peterson pointed out that this was the first meeting following our summer hiatus. There would be more to report out on in the future.
Arelis Perez asked if the Association could distribute a flier from Neighbors Helping Neighbors to the membership in order to recruit more volunteers. President Alicea said this could be done.
Treasurer Peterson reiterated a question from the room about whether there was a forum or bulletin board online for discussions. Treasurer Peterson mentioned the Facebook page, where people could comment on posts made by the Association. A Nextdoor group is being created that will have a forum. Someone in the assembly mentioned a web site community board. Treasurer Peterson drew attention to minutes from previous meetings for context for those who desire them. Nextdoor will be coming in the next month or so. Arelis Perez brought up the bulletin board in the back of the Greenbelt metro station. Other bulletin boards for posting events exist throughout the neighborhood. The metro board is operated by Public Works.
There was a request to make a motion to adjourn, but President Alicea noted that more hands were raised.
Ron Midkiff brought up the proposed sidewalk in his neighborhood. Regarding a survey he undertook, he reported only 3 of 14 respondents reported being made aware of the sidewalk. He brought up the lack of a discussion with the community about the sidewalk. He asked what was going on and why this project was happening sans input from local stakeholders. Councilman Hew asked to address this. He mentioned mail that went out. Treasurer Peterson asked if the previous meeting of the NCPCA counted as a ‘forum’ for this issue, because the structure of these meetings doesn’t allow for the best execution of that. It could not, in that case, count as the city forum. Councilman Hew said he was working on having a meeting with residents in order to better explain what was happening and address misconceptions. He made a point to say previous communication was not effective and he wanted to address that. Someone asked if the sidewalk was still up for discussion or if a decision had been made. Councilman Hew said the funding had been allocated. General discord followed. Concerns were raised at the sidewalk would cause a loss of street. Councilman Hew said he didn’t have all the answers but would try to find the people that did. Discord followed again. Another member of the assembly brought up how the sidewalks that exist are unmaintained and unsafe to walk on for most strollers and carts and bikes. This will be adding to the problem. Another person said city efforts to reach residents were not good enough. To this person, even bad outcomes are more acceptable if communication is initiated from the start. Another person mentioned the obligation to dig out the sidewalk after a snow and the lack of maintenance the city is currently employing on extant sidewalks. Mayor Fazlul Kabir mentioned that sidewalk maintenance requests should be made through College Park Connect. Members of the assembly mentioned how codes related to sidewalks result in increased burden on homeowners.
Vice President Broughton thanked those who came to the meeting for being active and letting our representatives know their thoughts on the city development. He noted that those who desired should put down their names and numbers on the sign-up sheet for our Development Committee. He mentioned that he was also living in a house that would be affected by the sidewalk, and was excited to form a Development Committee to serve the community.
President Alicea asked if anyone in the room had any further announcements or motions.
David Turley mentioned how no one uses the sidewalk that has been in front of his house since it was built. He mentioned the burden on residents to maintain their sidewalks post-storm. He said that the city ought to fully repair sidewalks that exist before making new ones. They ought to survey for overhanging branches. It is an unfair burden on homeowners. City right-of-way trees are the most problematic trees with relation to the sidewalks, according to him. Mayor Kabir brought up the city work on streetlights, even though Pepco maintains the lights. Engineers from the city checked to see which lights were not working to proactively aid citizens. The conversation turned back to the distinction between taking people’s property and narrowing the street, neither of which seemed preferable to those who spoke. Councilman Hew said he would have an engineer come out with a measuring device and video the results. Parking concerns were brought up, and someone in the assembly posited the idea that the idea behind this initiative was to get people to get rid of their cars. Another person expressed concerns about turning on a narrower street. Councilman Hew offered that questions and comments should be held until experts could be brought in to answer questions, which made someone ask, again, why this discussion was not had before. Mayor Kabir brought up the previous meeting that happened at the NCPCA meeting, though a member of the assembly mentioned that following that meeting nothing happened. Treasurer Peterson pointed out that the changes in design to move the sidewalk into the street to save people’s driveways came from that meeting. Another member of the assembly said that engineers can show a nice picture but it is not the same as the reality of the impact or how it will turn out in the end. Councilman Hew brought up that street width is required for emergency vehicles. Another member of the assembly asked for a mechanism for reviewing the approval of the sidewalk. Councilman Hew said he was working on that; the member asked again to be told clearly if there was a mechanism for ending the sidewalk. Another member of the assembly asked if an audit could be done. Is reversal possible? Mayor Kabir said there was an approval process, but he would need to check to see if that funding had been approved. The member of the assembly once again asked if there was a way to reverse approval. Councilman Hew said he wanted to provide people with enough information. He then said he wanted to have someone at this meeting to talk about it, but was informed there was not enough time on the agenda for it. Once more a member of the assembly asks if the decision has been made, with another asking if it has, can it be reversed? Vice President Broughton asked that the assembly not think of whether this was a yes or no question, but a moment to talk about what is happening; he brought up the adjustments made from the last meeting. Mayor Kabir addressed the petition that had been forwarded to the council. A member of the assembly said that other councilpeople from other districts ought not to have a vote on this. Mayor Kabir said that he had been pushing to have a community forum; on this particular item the council always votes on things such as this. David Turley brought up the city’s wasteful spending on previous projects and how this appears to be an extension of that. Another member of the assembly said that the sidewalk that exists are unsafe and uncomfortable. She said that the city was pushing out residents through these decisions. The conversation turns to investor-owned properties. Another member of the assembly mentioned that items of accessibility and competing needs need to be real and actual, not just aesthetic. The Mayor talked about other initiatives in process to increase accessibility. The conversation turns back to investors buying property. The Mayor discussed programs in place to try to increase owner occupancy.
President Alicea asked for any other input on the issue. He solicited a motion to adjourn. The motion was put forward, seconded, and the meeting adjourned.