WEEKLY BULLETIN
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April 26, 2019
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Happy Arbor Day! The City celebrated Arbor Day this morning at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Old Town. With the help of residents and the College Park Nursery School, we planted an American Linden tree and performed poems and a song to celebrate the occasion. The City also received its 2018 Tree City USA Award for the 30th consecutive year.
Thank you to all who attended and celebrated all things trees with us! Check out the video we made of the event, by
clicking here
.
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Jim Kowmas, dedicated City of College Park Youth, Family and Senior Services and the Lakeland STARs bus driver, died peacefully in his sleep early morning Sunday, April 14, 2019. He was 70 years old. During his five-year tenure with the City, Jim was always dependable and dedicated to doing everything he could for our City seniors.
Jim leaves behind 5 daughters and 13 grandchildren. The family is grateful that they had all gathered the day before Jim’s passing to celebrate their long-awaited family reunion, where they all had a wonderful time. His family is hoping to have an event celebrating Jim’s life this summer; the date is yet to be decided.
The City sends our deepest condolences to his family. Jim will be greatly missed.
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Community Garden Plots Available
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Attention gardeners! There are still plots available for the 2019 growing season in both of the City’s community gardens in Hollywood and Old Town. All College Park residents are eligible to rent a plot in either garden. If you’re interested, please contact the City’s Department of Planning, Community, and Economic Development at (240) 487-3538 or
planning@collegeparkmd.gov
. Remaining plots will go quickly!
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Purple Line: Temporary Lane Closures on River Road
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From Maryland Purple Line:
Beginning on or about April 19, 2019, throughout the remainder of April, temporary lane closures will occur along River Road between Campus Drive and Kenilworth Avenue. The work will take place from 7 AM - 5 PM on weekdays and weekends.
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Community Survey: Purple Line Housing Action Plan
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Mayor's Challenge for Water Conservation
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This Earth Month, join Mayor Patrick Wojahn in acting to reduce College Park’s water consumption and energy use by taking the Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation.
Visit
www.mywaterpledge.com
throughout the month of April to take a pledge to conserve resources around your home. Simple choices like shortening shower times, using reusable bags, and scooping pet waste make a difference.
College Park will be competing with other cities around the country to see which city can be the most water wise – your pledge could help us win! If our city has the highest percentage of participating residents taking the pledge, you will earn a chance to win prizes including $3,000 towards your home utility bills, home improvement store gift cards, and more. We’re all in this together!
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Office of the City Manager
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Negotiations continue on how best to divide ownership of the City Hall block once the City Hall project is complete. The City and the Terrapin Development Company (TDC) both currently own portions of the block, most of which is owned by the City. HR&A will complete an analysis of credits and debits associated with current and future ownership. The results will be utilized as part of a development agreement between the City and the University; the City Council will be asked to consider approving it at a future Council meeting.
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Department of Planning, Community & Economic Development
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Hollywood Gateway Park Project Update:
- Site work continues with construction of the ramp foundations. During excavation, an abandoned precast structure was encountered and removed. Shop drawings for the pavilion are under review and a meeting between the designers, contractor and fabricator was held to facilitate approval.
Hollywood Commercial District Streetscape Project Update:
- Utility records research, site investigations and surveys have been initiated. A tree inventory including species identification, size and condition of existing trees has been scheduled. Design work is approximately 5% complete.
2020 Census:
- The City’s Complete Count Committee met on April 22 to receive training from the regional office of the Census Bureau, which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Topics that were covered included purpose and goals, design and environmental changes, historically under-counted groups, response rates, uses for census data, outreach and promotion and confidentiality and privacy.
Transportation Action Guide for Urban Communities:
- Staff attended a presentation by M-NCPPC on this recently completed years-long project. The study was initiated due to concerns of municipalities along the Route 1 corridor about increased traffic associated with new development. The final product is a more general playbook of implementation strategies. View the report here.
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Department of Public Works
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Department staff installed a new roof on the Animal Shelter building this week and disposed/recycled old parking meters stored in City Hall basement.
Good news - water has been restored to the Hollywood Community Garden!
The Four-Cities street sweeper visited several neighborhoods including Sunnyside, Cherry Hill, Calvert Hills, Old Town, Berwyn, East Rhode Island, College Park Woods, and Autoville.
Since April 1, the food scrap drop-off program has diverted 713 lbs of food scraps from the landfill!
The final Clean-up Saturday is tomorrow, April 27 from 7:30 a.m. until noon.
- At last Saturday's clean-up event, we had 148 visitors to DPW including 81 residents who brought items for shredding. Residents also brought a range of materials such as brush, bulk trash, electronics and Styrofoam for recycling and donations for GreenDrop and Community Forklift. The Department sold 7.25 cubic yards of compost, 2 yard waste carts and 1 compost bin.
Request for Exemption from Adult Mosquito Control Services.
- The Maryland Department of Agriculture Mosquito Control Program will begin in late May. Any resident who wishes to have his/her property excluded from adult mosquito control pesticide applications by truck-mounted ultra-low volume (ULV) sprayers must fill out this form annually. Click here for application.
Spring is a great time to plant trees! If you would like a tree planted in the right-of way in front of your home, please contact Brenda Alexander to discuss options at 240-487-3595 or
balexander@collegeparkmd.gov
.
The City has a program to reimburse the cost (up to $150.00) of approved trees on private property called the Tree Canopy Enhancement Program (TCEP). Click
here
for more information and the application.
Sale ends Tuesday, April 30 for 25% off compost (pick-up orders onl). We are open from 7:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. this Saturday, April 27 for compost and mulch sales. The Department is regularly open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. for purchase and pick-up.
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For any information related to refuse, recycling, or other Public Works related items, contact the Department at: 240-487-3590 or
The Department is located at 9217 51st Ave.
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Items available to purchase from the Department:
50-gallon rain barrels for $72.
Click here
for more information.
Yard Waste Carts for City residents for $25.
Click here
for more information.
Backyard Composting Bins for $20 (City residents) and $40 (non-residents).
Click here
for more information.
SMARTLEAF® compost ($28 cubic yard) and wood mulch ($12 cubic yard) are available for pick up and delivery.
Click here
for more information.
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Weekly Highlights of Contract Police Activity
April 12 - 18, 2019
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4/13
Contract officer conducted a traffic assignment (Stop Sign Enforcement) at Saint Andrews Place and Duke Street. 3 citations and 4 warnings were issued.
4/14
Contract officers and District I patrol officers responded for a call for service for a citizen robbery in the 7300 block of Yale Avenue. During the incident 5 arrests were made for the citizen robbery.
4/17
Contract officer conducted speed enforcement at Campus Drive and River Road. 2 warnings were issued for excessive speed.
4/17
Contract officers responded to a call for service for skateboarders riding in the street and falling off the boards as though they were struck by a vehicle. 2 calls were received regarding this incident. Stemming from this incident 1 adult and 1 juvenile were placed under arrest. Use of Force Report was completed by the on-duty supervisor.
4/18
Contract officer conducted a traffic assignment (Speed Enforcement) in the 4900 block of Greenbelt Road. (27 citations were issued as the officer was operating the portable “Mobile Camera.”)
4/15
Contract officer stopped a suspicious vehicle and conducted a field interview in the 9100 block of Baltimore Avenue. Field Observation report completed with no charges being placed.
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Statistical Data and Issued:
MD State Citations: 56
Warnings: 103
Equipment Repair Orders: 17
Distracted Driving Citations: 0
Parking Citations: 2
Field Observation Report: 5
Youth Field Observation Report: 0
Citations in Lieu of Arrest: 0
Civil Citation: 0
Criminal Arrests: 2
DWS Arrest: 0
DWI Arrest: 0
Warrant Arrest: 0
Premise Checks: 7
Referral Student Code of Conduct: 0
Zone 1/Downtown Area Pedestrian Warnings: 19
Zone 1/Downtown Area Pedestrian Citations: 0
Zone 2/Berwyn-Lakeland Pedestrian Warnings: 2
Zone 2/Berwyn-Lakeland Pedestrian Citations: 0
Zone 3/North College Park Pedestrian Warnings: 0
Zone 3/North College Park Pedestrian Citations: 0
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Bike To Work Day
Friday, May 17, 2019
6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.
City Hall
4500 Knox Road
Get out your bicycles, because on Friday, May 17, the City of College Park invites you to celebrate bicycling as a clean, fun, and healthy way to get to work!
Take a break at the City Hall pit stop on your way to work for food, beverages, fun, and prizes. Register now, it’s free! Be one of the first 20,000 to register region-wide and receive a free T-shirt.
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1st Thirsty Thursday
Thursday, Ma
y 2, 2019
5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Join the City/University Community every FIRST Thursday (of most months) for 1st Thirsty Thursday! Eat, drink and have laughs with colleagues and neighbors!
This event is appropriate for children of all ages (1 to 101).
This month's event is at MilkBoy ArtHouse located in Downtown College Park.
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Green Housekeeping Workshop
Saturday, May 11, 2019
10:00 a.m. to noon
City Hall
4500 Knox Rd
Learn how to keep your household clean, green and healthy! Did you know that some cleaning products can be as bad for your health as smoking? Join us for a workshop highlighting best practices for greening your cleaning routine. Participants will learn easy and affordable ways to maintain healthy households.
Light refreshments will be served. Free parking. For more information to or RSVP, contact Todd Larsen at
toddlarsen_99@yahoo.com
.
Sponsored by the City's Committee for a Better Environment.
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Meetings at a Glance
City of College Park Mayor and Council Notice of Meetings
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Tuesday, May 7, 2019 - 7:30 p.m.
- Mayor and Council Worksession
Tuesday, May 14, 2019 - 7:30 p.m.
- Mayor and Council Regular Meeting
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