
College Park City Hall
We will have a brief Council meeting tonight, including a presentation on the clean-up of the Low-level Radiation Burial Site at BARC. After the presentation, the Council will likely consider whether to take a position on the clean-up. Please let us know if you have comments. Also, don’t forget, College Park Day is this Saturday! We hope you have a chance to come out, it will be from 11 am-3 pm at the College Park Community Center in Lakeland. Finally, just a note, this is our last Council meeting for the month of October, since next Tuesday is the 5th Tuesday of the month.
This is our agenda for this week’s regular meeting:
1.PRESENTATION ON THE CLEAN-UP ACTIVITIES OF THE LOW-LEVEL RADIATION BURIAL SITE AT BARC. Between the 1940’s and 1980’s, the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC), utilized a site at the along Cherry Hill Road to bury low-level radioactive material, such as gloves, plastic syringes, vials, paper, animal carcasses and organic and non-organic fluids. This site was licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, formerly the Atomic Energy Commission). BARC used 46 pits, each of which was 10’x12′ and 10 feet deep. Although BARC states that the material does not have any public health impact on nearby residents, this area is now an area of concern in BARC’s Superfund National Priorities Listing issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. BARC has requested that the NRC grant permission for it to clean the site. A representative from BARC will be at the meeting on Tuesday night to discuss the clean-up and answer questions.
2. CONSENT AGENDA – Approval of a purchase from Johnson Truck Center of a 37,700 Gross Vehicle Weight Rating 2013 Freightliner Salt Spreader and Snow Plow in the amount of $148,482.
The Council will adopt the approval of purchase of a Freightliner Salt Spreader and Snow Plow in the amount of $148,482 for City’s Department of Public Works. Public Works currently has six medium duty size dump trucks that have V-Box spreaders and 10′ wide snow plows for winter use. Four of the six trucks have liquid de-icing tanks that allow Public Works to mix liquid with the salt for easier and faster snow removal from the streets. Public Works needs another medium size snow plow truck to add to its fleet to better help them during snow events. Earlier, Staff recommended that the City of College Park purchase from Johnson Truck Center, one 2013 Freightliner M2 1 06 chassis with a Henderson dump body, a Henderson V-Box Spreader with a pre-wet system and a Henderson 10′ snow plow in the amount of $148,482.00. This expense would be charged to the current CIP account 925061- Vehicle Replacement Program–which currently has funding in the amount of $284,466.00. A second expenditure of approximately $28,000.00 will be forthcoming for College Park’s share of the new Four Cities Street Sweeper. If the order is placed now, Public Works should be able to have both the truck and equipment built and delivered to them by mid-January 2013. If the order is placed in November, the City will have to wait until mid-March 2013 for delivery, after the snow season usually ends.
3.12-G-114 – SUPPORT OF DETAILED SITE PLAN 10028 FOR THE MARYLAND BOOK EXCHANGE PROPERTY SUBJECT TO CONDITIONS AND THE APPLICANT ENTERING INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY. The Council has previously expressed unanimous opposition to two previous site plans that the developers of the Maryland Book Exchange mixed-use student housing and retail project presented. The project is now scheduled to go back before the District Council for review, and the developer has presented a new proposal to the Council that is significantly scaled back and includes a step-down to three stories 100 feet before Yale Ave. The developer has also made a number of architectural revisions to address other concerns that the Council raised. Although the residents of Old Town and City staff still have some concerns about the project, it is significantly improved from the earlier proposals, and the Council will consider a resolution in support of the project. The support will be subject to a number of conditions, including the developer’s adherence to a number of the requirements in the Resolution passed by the Prince George’s County Planning Board and that the developer otherwise amend the proposal to reflect the agreed-upon design. Read more »