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Last Night’s NCPCA Meeting Roundup

Last night we had a rather brief but productive NCPCA meeting at the Davis Hall.

Safety Report: As usual 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 this month compared to the similar numbers in the previous month. The Police now have a suspect relating to the incident at the St. Andrews Pl. Last Thursday, there was a burglary around the area of Lackawanna Ave and the Mangum Rd. – the suspect pretty much ransacked everything in the house. We had an stolen auto in the area – an warrant has been issued against suspect living in DC.

Reuse of WaPo Plant: Reps from the University of Maryland came over to update the reuse of UMD’s 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.  Around 150 employees will be located in the facility, however the UMD does not have any plan to transport them through shuttle service. There hasn’t been any traffic study on the impact of the move and the UMD does not have one in future. It will take around 1 to 3 years to complete the move. Mayor Andy Fellows added the City’s PILOT contract with the UMD does not include the personal property tax, as it used to get from the WaPo from its press equipments; the PILOT however include real estate taxes based on the real state. Bob Catlin said the City may lose as much as $175000 from the loss revenues.

NCPCA Funds: Members also 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 on concerts.

Budget Priorities: There was a brief discussion on the budget priorities. Due to anticipated loss of revenues / budget gap this year, the City is less interested in getting ‘Wish list’ as it used to get in previous years.

Dissolution: The dissolution motion was brought again, but was tabled later by another motion.