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Gateway Park May Receive More Funding

At tonight’s worksession, the Council will discuss how to spend Program Open Space (POS) funds for the 2014 fiscal year. Chances are that the Gateway Park in Hollywood may receive more funding for its design and construction work.

The City has been notified that the FY14 Program Open Space (POS) allocation for Prince George’s County is $4,715,249.43 and College Park will receive $165,976.78 based on our 2010 census population. The City has opted to administer its own program and is required to submit proposed projects (annual program) through the Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) for approval prior to seeking approval from the State. Our project application is due to the M-NCPPC by June 21,2013.

Very little POS funding has been available in the last few years with no POS funding at all distributed by the State last year. We have been advised that this year’s allocation must be divided equally between acquisition and development projects. Development projects require a
25% local cash match.

Currently, the City has a balance of allocated POS funding as follows:

• Duvall Field $ 933,801
• Hollywood Gateway Park $ 147,723
• Route 1 Acquisition $ 575,571

The Duvall Field project continues to have a significant budget shortfall as the total cost of the project is over $5,000,000 and a developer contribution is needed in order to provide the match required to utilize the POS funding. On May 24, 2011, the City Council rescinded the application for acquisition of 8200 Baltimore A venue leaving the current balance allocated to Route 1 acquisition with no specific sites identified. The Hollywood Gateway Park project recently received authorization from the City Council to move forward but needs additional
funding to cover the expanded scope of the project including the acquisition of additional property (two vacant lots at 4705 Edgewood Road).

Council to Discuss Final Gateway Park Design Tomorrow

Gateway Park - View from Edgewood Road

In tomorrow’s worksession, the City Council will discuss the design elements of the Hollywood Gateway project and will decide if it should give staff go ahead to the final design phase of the project.

The City awarded a contract for landscape architecture and engineering design services to Flora Teeter and Whitney Bailey Cox and Magnani, LLC in the fall of 2012 for an eco-gateway park at the intersection of Route 1 and Edgewood Road. After that, they preparted conceptual design alternatives and a preferred design was selected by the Project Advisory Committee and presented to the North College Park Citizens Association. Flora Teeter/WBCM is seeking comments on the design plan from the City
Council prior to entering into the final design phase of the project.

The project’s site is very small (6,800 square feet) and is impacted by steep slopes, traffic, and noise and water runoff from Route 1. It also lacks a strong connection to the Hollywood neighborhood. Site assets include a high visibility location, access to public transportation and the potential to connect the site to 4ih Place through acquisition of a vacant lot next door (see Attachment 1, Site Context Map and Attachment 2, Site Analysis Diagram). The recommended design concept includes this site and pursues the theme of “Wind and Weather” (see Attachment 3).

In order to explore ideas for incorporating interactive, educational wind and weather features into the park, a brainstorming session was arranged with scientists and the Public Affairs office of the NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction. Many ideas were discussed including having a weather station, windmill, cloud machine, cisterns to make it rain, cloud identification, weather vane, sundial and art projects involving wind socks, wind chimes and whirligigs. The opportunities are quite promising and could possibly involve ongoing participation from NOAA and an active relationship with the Hollywood Elementary School.

The property owners to the west of the site, Allen Rackers and the State Highway Administration (SHA), have reviewed the design concept and been supportive. It’s the intention of the City to make improvements on their property with their permission. The City will seek funding from SHA for work (sidewalk and landscaping) within their right-of-way. A preliminary conceptual cost estimate has been prepared but this estimate will need to be updated as the design is finalized. There are also opportunities to seek funding from other sources such as the Chesapeake Bay Trust, Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Anacostia Trails Heritage Authority and National Endowment for the Arts. Program Open Space funding for acquisition of the vacant lot is currently available.

Flora Teeter also came to North College Park Civic Association meeting last month and presented their conceptual plan.

We’re expecting to have another presentation upon completion of the final design plans, specifications, construction cost estimate and maintenance estimate prior to the bidding phase of the project.

Please let me know if you have any comments about the project.

Weekend Activities – Maryland Day, Festivals, Outdoor Fun and More..

Its going to be a great weekend – for loads of reasons (Maryland Day, festivals, outdoor fun, etc.) . Here is more..

Today:

• On your marks! Start off at 8am with the Tortoise and Hare 5K Race at the Greenbelt Youth Center.
• Get set! Sprint off to the Mount Rainier-Gateway 5K at Mount Rainier City hall at 10am.
• GO! Go to Maryland Day from 10am to 4pm at the University of Maryland. Find us at McKeldin Mall and say hello!
• Maybe you are in for a slower pace today? The Montpelier Festival of Herbs, Tea, and the Arts is a great day among vendors for herbs, teas, handmade items, and more – or listen to music and play games. Lots of great kids activiteis too. Runs from 10 am to 4pm at Montpelier Mansion gardens.
• Also at 10am, at Bladensburg Waterfront Park are Kayak Lessons (sign up required) and Arts Drop In at College Park Community Center.
• Later in the day – at 1pm, you can have some Geocaching and Scavenger Hunt fun at Bladensburg Waterfront Park.
• If 1812 archeology is more your style, head out to Nottingham (south of Upper Marlboro on Croom Road) to see some of the finds made in this historic community as part of Archeology and the War of 1812.
• At 3pm, another performance of Following Sarah at Venus Theater Play Shack.
• At 5pm, its the return of the Anacostia River Pontoon Boat Tours (every Saturday and Sunday!) for a peaceful trip out of Bladensburg Waterfront Park.
• At 8pm, Following Sarah at Venus Theater Play Shack; Big River at Greenbelt Arts Center; and Dallas Black Dance Theater at Publick Playhouse.

Tomorrow:
This is a fuller Sunday than we are used to, but that’s ok! Start out early at 10am with Fishing 101 at Bladensburg Waterfront Park.

• At 2pm, we really get moving with: In Time of Roses (Theater) at CSPAC; Graduate Fellowship Chamber Ensemble (Music) at CSPAC; and the UMD Koto Ensemble (Japanese Music) at CSPAC.
• Also at 2pm, the National Wildlife Visitors Center has a program for those 8-10 about the Chesapeake Bay called – Down by the Bay.
• Still keeping things moving, at 3pm, Gavin Fallow with classical violin at the College Park Arts Exchange or catch the matinee of Following Sarah at Venus Theater Play Shack.
• At 4pm, the Dallas Black Theater returns for their last performance of the weekend at the Publick Playhouse.

[Courtesy of the Anacostia Trails Heritage Area]

Hollywood Gateway Park In Pictures

A representative from the landscape architect company Floura Teeter came to last night’s NCPCA meeting to present the conceptual design of the proposed Hollywood Gateway Park at the intersection of Route 1 and Edgewood Road. They will come to before City Council soon to discuss the plan further and finalize it. Once that happens, the construction is expected to begin in Fall this year. Please see some of the design renderings below and let me know if you have any comments or questions.

The developer also had a power point presentation with more information. You can review the power point here on our website.

(please click on the the thumbnails to see larger views)

Tonight’s NCPCA Meeting: JPI East and Gateway Park

NCPCA - It's Your Neighborhood Association

Today is the second Thursday of the month and is the day for our monthly NCPCA meeting.

Here are two important development items that NCPCA will discuss at tonight’s meeting:

7:35 Revised Development Plan for JPI East. The wooded land on Cherokee St. at US 1 was planned for apartments and retail, but the project has been stalled.   Now, a new developer will present details for a revised concept. Please see below a map showing the location of this development. I will make another post once I find more details of this development.

8:20 Hollywood Gateway Park. The City will demolish the small brick house at Edgewood Road and US 1 and build a landscaped park for public use.  Many themes have been considered for this park, but now the City is close to a decision… and wants your feedback. Please check my yesterday’s post on more about this development.

As always, meeting will start at 7:30pm at Davis Hall. See you all there.

Gateway Park Design to Get Community and Council Reviews

Hollywood Gateway Park - Wind and Weather Design

The much discussed Gateway Park at the intersection of Edgewood Road and Rhode Island Avenue will be finally presented to the community and the City Council.

To recap, City plans to demolish the existing house at the corner of Edewood and Route 1 and build an eco-park there. a group of residents and University of Maryland worked earlier to come up with a number of conceptual plans. At the end, a landscaping arhitecture and design farm “Floura Teeter” was awarded the contract. Please see here more about that contract.

Since then, Floura Teeter has met with a focus group of city residents to discuss a few conceptual designs. One of the designs, that appear to get most support is called “Wind and Weather” design. Please see above for a schematics of that design.

Here are a few features of the Wind and Weather design:

• “Gateway Park” Sign at the intersection of Route 1 and Edgewood
• Park entrance from Edgewood Rd near the intersection
• New trees along Route 1 to make buffer
• Sidewalk along Route 1 to be moved behind trees
• Screen and native planting around the exisiting properties on Edgewood Rd
• Slides and stairs in the park
• Pavillion with green roof from recycled house foundation. Cistern / rain barrel inside pavillion
• Community terrace – connected to 47th Place through entry walk
• Wind driven sculptures in the lawn

Representatives from Floura and Teeter are expected to be at North College Park Civic Association meeting tomorrow to present this and other designs. They are also expected to come before City Council soon to have their plan finalized.

City Receives $75K for Launch of Commercial Tenant Improvement Program

7/11 Store on Edgewood Road

The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development recently announced a total of $5.5 million in Community Legacy program awards to municipalities and community groups around the state for revitalization projects. Community Legacy provides flexible funding to local governments and community development organizations for essential revitalization projects in existing communities through activities that expand neighborhood business and job development, homeownership investment, and commercial revitalization.

As one of this year’s awardees, the City of College Park received $75,000 in grant funds for the formation of a Commercial Tenant Improvement Program that aims to attract high-quality tenants to fill vacant retail spaces. The program will offer reimbursable grants for leasehold improvements in the amount of 70 percent of the total improvement costs with a maximum of $25,000 per grant. In step with one of Community Legacy’s traditional, core goals to provide assistance to small businesses, the Commercial Tenant Improvement Program will target locally-owned and independent businesses that fill a void in the City’s retail environment such as an apparel store, coffee shop, full service restaurant, or health club.

Previous awards received by the City of College Park include $75,000 in February 2012 for the strategic demolition of blighted buildings on the Route 1 Corridor and $100,000 in October 2010 for the construction of the Hollywood Gateway Park at the intersection of Baltimore Avenue and Edgewood Road.

Community Legacy provides resources to assist local governments to do comprehensive community revitalization initiatives. It is a flexible resource to fill key funding gaps not being met by other State or local financing and to position older communities for increased private investment. The purpose of the City’s application is to provide an important tool to attract the type of retailers that many residents desire, reduce the number of vacant retail spaces, and fill gaps in the retail environment.

The City’s program will provide matching grants to small businesses for the costs associated with leasehold improvements including HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and windows. Grants will target locally-owned and independent businesses, specifically businesses that fill a void in the City’s retail scene. Applications to the program will be reviewed by staff members of the Department of Planning, Community & Economic Development in conjunction with the Maryland Small Business Development Center. Applicants will be required to provide detailed business plans, financial documentation, and lease terms. Funds are anticipated to provide assistance to approximately six to ten businesses.

The City Council will discuss the draft guidelines in the first January worksession. Once that is finalized, the City will have an application available and businesses may apply immediately. We ‘re hoping that the businesses should be able to apply by February.

We have not had a program similar to this in the past. This will be a new program that exists in other places around the Country, but not College Park.

OpEd: The Case for a North College Park Farmer’s Market

Kimberly A. Schumann and The Hawker

[Kimberly Schumann lives in Hollywood neighborhood of north College Park and is the editor of the online blogsite The Hawker, where she helps others about the ideas of the crafts and farmer's market circuit in the MD/DC/VA area. After she came across my last week's post on farmer's market in north College Park, she wrote this piece on her blog]

This is Kimberly Schumann of Niagara Rd. My neighbor forwarded me yesterday’s newsletter concerning the addition of a farmer’s market here in North College Park. I used to work the farmer’s/crafts market circuit, and now run The Hawker, a company devoted to helping connect the vendors and customers, and to further the development of such markets. I’ve worked at and have visited, many, many markets in various states. I’d very much like to have involvement in the development of a North College Park Market, and wanted to share my ideas about a market here.

I outlined the pros and cons of the two mentioned locations (MOM/REI vs. Duvall Field). In conclusion, I feel that the MOM/REI location would be a boon for local businesses, be most convenient for the customers and the vendors based on the parking/traffic situation, and that most people have to go to those businesses for their normal shopping routine.

MOM/REI
-7-11 has at ATM machine
-Already good foot traffic, so instant visibility for the market
-Sufficient parking
-Sufficient vendor space
-Roads here, especially with the new stop and walk lights, can better accomodate the increased car traffic
-Can cross sponsor events with the existing businesses
-The tree covered area over by the REI could be really nice for vendors
-There is restroom availability at MOM and REI
-Power and water availability via the state building and the local businesses
-Access to all the local businesses, such as the laundromat, the grocer, beauty parlors, restuarants…
-Nearby playground and basketball courts

Duvall Field
-Poor parking situation for vendors and customers.
-Farmers will have to park on the west side of the field, and therefore have to walk their equipment and goods around the fence, or throw their stuff over the fence. Farmers need to be able to park their truck right next to their stall area.
-It will destroy the grass
-NO ONE will attend if it’s raining due to the mud situation
-Markets will have to be coordinated with leagues concerning games, etc.
-Restroom, and hose water access through the vending building
-Playground

A market here in North College Park would help alleviate the added traffic heading downtown for the markets. I’ve only visited the Downtown markets a small handful of times because traffic down that way is a nightmare, and I haven’t been impressed with the selection of the vendors. Much of it obviously isn’t locally grown. I attend the Greenbelt Farmer’s market (Sunday Morning in Old Greenbelt), and sometimes the Riverdale Park Farmer’s Market (Thursday Afternoons) if I’m in the area. Like you’ve mentioned, for those of us who do not attend the markets at all due to traffic, etc, this would be great. It would also pull customers from Beltsville. There’s the George Washington Carver Market on Wednesdays, but that one basically serves the center’s lunch crowd. They do not get much outside foot traffic.

I love the concept of “resident farmers,” as I know a handful of them who would love to be able to sell their produce, but don’t have easy access to our other local markets.

I mentioned the idea of cross sponsoring events between the businesses. For example:
-MOM and the Market: A cooking/educational series. MOM already performs cooking demonstrations, has tire inflating events, etc.
-Mighty Healthy Pet has adoption events that are restricted in the store. This would allow them to have larger adoption events and provide them with much needed visibility.

Personally, I would like to see crafters and prepared food vendors at the market. This would also be an excellent gateway for special holiday markets (ie. gift centric holidays). There are many local crafters who are trying to break into the market circuit, and it’s very difficult. More markets help support our community and local economy. The Fenton Street Market in Silver Spring is an excellent example of markets directly injecting money into local businesses and providing crafters with a venue to sell their handmade wares. These markets help support people’s livelihood and dreams.

A excerpt from an article about the Fenton Street Market:
Market supporters say it benefits the local economy, drawing about 72,500 people annually and generating $1.9 million in annual revenue for neighboring businesses, according to a study commissioned by the market.

College Park is a growing and thriving community, and the addition of a Farmer’s Market here in North College Park would help both residents, vendors, and local businesses. I’d like to participate in any way that I can.

Council to Discuss Awarding Gateway Park Construction Project

Floura Teeter

A couple years ago, the City purchased the property at the Southeast corner of Edgewood Road and Route 1 with Program Open Space funds from the State, with the purpose of making the lot into a park.

This property has long been challenged and has faced significant turnover of both owners and renters, and has not found a purchaser for redevelopment as commercial property or anything else. As a result, the Council decided, based on input from the community, that it would be best to turn it into a park. The City formed a committee of residents to provide input on the property, and also held a contest with students from the U-MD Landscape Architecture school to put together some ideas for the project.

At long last, the City has put out a Request for Proposals to hire a designer to engage in a complete design of the park with input from the U-MD proposals and the resident committee. The designer will work with a Local Project Design Committee made up of residents, adjoining property owners, State Highway Administration representatives and City staff, to work with the consultant on the design.

The City has a budget of approximately $380,000 for the project, including funds from Program Open Space, Community Legacy grant funds, city reserve funds and a developer contribution from the Greenbelt Station project. The City received 10 bids, but many of the bids did not demonstrate the cross-disciplinary expertise to handle the complexities of the project, including expertise on topographical design, electrical engineering, and stormwater management.

The staff recommends working with Floura Teeter/WBCM, a joint venture designer and landscape architect. This was the most expensive bid submitted at $95,815 (compared to about $52,000 for the cheapest), but, in staff’s opinion, the proposal best demonstrated an understanding of the design challenges through the companies’ work in other projects and references through other projects. They’ve worked with the University of Maryland on some projects (including its new synthetic turf field and the Worcester Hall Green Space at Lot D) and received excellent reviews.

Staff does have reservations about the high cost and Floura Teeter has said they would review the cost proposal to see if they can cut costs. Still, this designer seems to have substantial experience in the type of environmental features that have been proposed for the Gateway Park.

Please let me know what you think about this project.

Gateway Park Funding Sources

Site of Proposed Hollywood Gateway Park

Recently, I came across a discussion on the Gateway Park  funding sources.

The Council adopted the agreement with the developer in the regular Council meeting held on March 27, 2012. Please see item #G-12-49 here in the agenda document about the agreement details.

The developer’s contribution was first noted in the City manager’s draft budget, which was released to public back in early April. The budget was adopted as final on May 22 following community input and public hearing. Please see at page# 360 of the draft budget here about the details of the project’s funding:

The City applied for the MHAA grant last year to support the development, but it appears that it has not received the grant (I’ll double check with City staff). The current FY13 funding for the project will come from Program Open Space (POS) fund and the Greenbelt South Core developer’s contribution.

The City is receiving bids for the contract which it will start looking into early next month.

City Asks Hollywood Gateway Park Project Bids

The Little House - The City plans to build the Gateway Park at this site using Community legacy fund

City has recently asked for bids for the final design and construction of Hollywood Gateway Park at the intersection of Edgewood and Route 1.

The site is an approximately 6,800 square-foot lot at the southeast corner of U.S. Route 1 and Edgewood Road that is zoned Commercial Shopping Center (C-S-C).

The City of College Park purchased the property using Maryland Program Open Space (POS) funds and plans to redevelop the site as an eco park and gateway to the City and the Hollywood neighborhood, with an ecological and educational theme.

The City worked with students in the University of Maryland’s Landscape Architecture program to develop design concepts for the site through a competition and nine student teams prepared drawings for the site and presented them to the community.

The City has a total of $380,000 currently available for design and site improvements and could phase construction, if necessary, while additional funds are secured for future phases. The City owns the site and will operate and maintain the park.

The bidders have until no later than Wednesday, June 6, 2012, at 2:00 p.m. to submit their proposals.

City Seeks Community Legacy Grants Again

The Little House - The City bought this house using Community legacy fund. It plans to demolish the house and build the Gateway Park at this site

For the past ten years, the City has been designated as a “Community Legacy” area based on the 2002 US 1 Sector Plan. This allows the City to receive certain development grants from the State.

In order to continue receiving grants like this, the City had to apply by April 10, 2012, to be designated as a “Sustainable Communities” area, or the designation would sunset on June 1, 2012. Although the State legislature extended this deadline to December 31, 2013, the staff intends to meet the original deadline.

Last year, at the August 2011 worksession, the Council decided to expand the designation from just the US 1 corridor to the entire City.

In this Wednesday’s council worksession, the City will discuss the consideration of a resolution adopting a Sustainable Community Plan.

To obtain a Sustainable Community designation, the City must show that the designated areas are in need of continued investment for revitalization.

Some of the past community legacy grants that the City has received have been for funding of the project to demolish vacant and abandoned buildings in the US 1 corridor and to build the Gateway Park on US 1 and Edgewood Road.

Beyond Visions: Challenges and Opportunities in Route 1 Development

Vacant building across Route 1 in north College Park (courtesy: Laura Evans)

This past Saturday, I attended the “Route 1 Site Specific Visioning Session” at the City Council Chamber. My sincere thanks go to our City officials, Terry Schum, Chris Nagle and Michael Stiefvater in particular, for organizing this great event. During the 3 hour+ event , residents had a chance to take a look at the properties across Route 1 that are potential targets for redevelopment and reuse. Residents also had a chance to share their ideas on a list of potential businesses that can go in those sites.

Route 1 is City’s main street and thus visioning about this important gateway isn’t quite new. The City planner, Terry Schum talked about how the Park and Planning started the first Route 1 sector plan back in 2002, when it changed Route 1 corridor’s zoning category from C-S-C (Commercial Shopping Center) to M-U-I (Mixed Unit Infill). This gave a rise of hope in the development of wide range of properties, from traditional businesses to residential units.

In 2009, the Park and Planning went further with Route 1 visioning strategy by drawing boundaries of areas across Route 1 and taking residents’ feedback on what can be done in those properties. The 2009 sector plan went through another major revision  with a set of amendments not so long after the first draft version was approved by the county council.

Since then, Route 1 hasn’t seen huge development, especially in the northern part of the city. True, it saw some some activities in the south with a few high rise student housing developments. Also, thanks to some 8.5 million dollar funding from the States, it will go through a phase of design and planning of street development, all in the south of Greenbelt Road.

Any such development in the northern side is not going to happen soon. As far as redevelopment of Route 1 properties are concerned, a weakened economy has contributed to a even weaker interest from the developer community to improve these properties. For example, one developer (JPI) who went through months of painful planning stage to develop a few properties in north College Park went bankrupt, and thus scrapping their plans to develop those properties.

There are however opportunities that we ought to pursue in these challenging times. While we should persistently work with the State and County officials to find more opportunities in developments, we also need to aggressively pursue the business and developer communities to market these opportunities. City’s economic development team needs to be strengthened further with the necessary tools they need in that pursuit.

Gateway Park Gets a Winning Design, But When Will it See the Light?

Eco Park competition - First place winner

The much debated Hollywood Gateway Park has finally seen a winning design.

The park, which is located at 4703 Edgewood Road is an approximately 6,800 square-foot lot at the intersection of U.S. Route 1 and Edgewood Road.

Zoned as Commercial Shopping Center (C-S-C), the City purchased the property using Program Open Space funds and plans to redevelop the site as an eco park and gateway to the Hollywood neighborhood.

The City worked with students in the University of Maryland’s Landscape Architecture program to develop design alternatives for the site through a competition and nine student teams prepared drawings for the site.

NCPCA approved the concept of the park design in 2009 and hosted the designs in last April.

You can view the drawings here.

The top 3 designs winners are: (1) Drummond (2) Laura Nic Sarah and (3) Aroom. Congratulations to all of them.

The resident design committee is still considering these proposals and other ideas submitted by residents to come up with a proposal.  The proposal will be available for review by the community and will be up for public discussion at a Council meeting sometime in the future.

The Council will decide tonight’s council meeting if it should spend any fund for the project this year. The City The staff’s recommendation was to allocate approximately $86,000 to allow for completion of the Hollywood Gateway Park, and the remaining amount (approximately $88,000) to be allocated to the Duvall Field renovation..

Council member Chris Nagle thinks it’s a “total waste” to spend funds on the park. She wants the entire POS fund be allocated in renovation of the Duvall Field.

Ms. Nagle counterpart in District 1 Patrick Wojahn disagrees. He thinks feel that the project should receive sufficient funding to enable a contractor to follow through on the design of the resident committee. “Although I understand that Councilmember Nagle opposes the Hollywood Gateway Park project, I feel that the resident sentiment, with considerable discussion, has been to move forward with the Gateway Park project.” – Mr. Wojahn said. He plans to introduce an amendment to Councilmember Nagle’s proposal to proceed with staff’s recommendation.

City Eyes Acquiring Four Houses on 50th Place, Then Backs Off

Houses on 50th Place - 'Not for sale!'

The City was considering acquiring four properties on 50th place (map below) across Duvall Field, according to the documents published on City’s website.

However, opposition against the plan forced the City to back off from having  such acquisitions. The City staff instead recommended to spend the the related funds on other Duvall Field or Hollywood Gateway Park related projects.

“It seems a while ago staff looked into the idea just to see what options were available. Staff were told by the owners there was no interest to sell and backed away at that point.” – says council member Afzali (Dist. 4)

The purchase would allow the City to expand Duvall Field’s existing boundaries towards east.

Each year the City of College Park receives an allocation of Program Open Space (POS) funds. The funds are generated from the real estate transfer tax and are proportionately distributed to the counties. The City has opted to administer its own program and is required to submit proposed projects through the Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) for approval prior to seeking approval from the State.

The City of College Park has been informed that its Program Open Space (POS) allocation for Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 is $174,774. Applications for acquisition and/or development projects must be submitted to the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC) by June 17, 2011. Eligible projects will be forwarded by M-NCPPC to the state for approval.

The City document says currently the City has allocated funds to two development projects: Duvall Field ($954,925) and Hollywood Gateway Park ($59,024).

A cost estimate of $520,000 has been prepared for the first phase of Duvall Field’s comprehensive renovation which involves the construction of a new concession building and storage area, with Americans with Disabilities Act compatible restroom facilities.

The City’s available budget for acquisition is $576,598. These funds had previously been set aside for acquisition of #1 Liquor (8200 Baltimore Avenue) and were pending approval by the Board of Public Works. Acquisition projects do not require a local match.

The City has several options for expenditure of its FY 12 POS allocation of $174,774. The City can put the entire amount toward acquisition, put the entire amount toward development for either Hollywood Gateway Park or for Duvall Field or allocate funding between these two projects in some combination or divide the funds between acquisition and the two development projects in various ways.

City Staff recommended taking advantage of the opportunity to allocate 100% of the FY12 POS allocation to development; allocating $86,475 to Hollywood Gateway Park based on available matching funds and the balance to Duvall Field ($88,299) in anticipation of receiving developer contribution matching funds.

Council member Nagle wants no funds be allocated in the Hollywood Gateway project. “It’s a total waste” – she says.

The City council will debate the allocation of the POS funds in tomorrow night’s council meeting.