At last night’s meeting, the City Council voted on an Ordinance, authorizing the acquisition, ownership, jurisdiction, control and maintenance of Rhode Island Avenue from Paducah Road to Greenbelt Road from Prince George’s County. Thank you all for your important input on the proposal. There are many benefits of the City’s ownership of this segment of […]
City Election Sunday, November 7, 2021 | 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Although the City election is still several weeks away, you should decide soon how you plan to vote. You have two options: by Absentee Ballot, or in person at the Poll. The City will not offer Early Voting this year. By this time, you should have received applications for absentee ballots. […]
At tonight’s City Council meeting, the City announced the appointment of Kenneth “Kenny” Young as its new City Manager. Mr. Young’s tenure starts with the City begins on September 27, 2021. Mr. Young brings to the City more than 25 years of progressive local government and private sector experience. Mr. Young has a wealth of […]
In north College Park, the City has invested in two major projects along Rhode Island Avenue, namely the Hollywood Streetscape Project and Rhode Island Avenue Buffered Bike Lane Project. These two projects prompted a discussion with Prince George’s County Department of Public Works and Transportation about the transfer of the road from the County to […]
After many months of work on “Zoning Rewrite”, the County has proposed a streamlined zoning map for the entire county. For a few areas of north College Park, especially in the Hollywood Commercial district and the areas along Route 1, some of the proposed changes are concerning. For those living near the Edgewood and Rhode […]
The enactment of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), and specifically the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (LFRF), has provided the City with significant funding to be used to help the City, its local businesses, families, and individuals recover from the major negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The City’s total ARPA funding is […]
At last night’s worksession, the College Park City Council kicked off a discussion about the decennial redistricting of College Park. This year, the census redistricting data will be released in August and then in September, with different formats. In general, the redistricting process could involve the following steps, and could take 9 months: (a) Discuss […]
At last night’s meeting, the City Council approved the Strategic Plan One-Year Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) for FY22. After the five-year OKRs were approved by Council previously, City staff prioritized and created one-year objectives for six of the 10 five-year OKRs. Each department has developed OKRs that contribute to accomplishing the one-year objectives during the […]
Tomorrow, the City Council will meet at a special session with a purpose to confirm and ratify the Mayor and Council’s termination of the employment of Natasha Hampton as City Manager, effective June 1, 2021. The City Council packet on this item reads the following: In January 2021 the City engaged Baker Tilly to facilitate the […]
At tomorrow’s meeting, the Mayor and Council will make a proclamation in recognition of many contributions to Jack Robson for his myriad contributions to the City for over four decades. Jack was appointed to the Supervisors of Elections for College Park in May 1994, becoming the Chief Election Supervisor in 1997. Jack was also appointed […]
The City, on behalf of itself and the University of Maryland, issued a Request for Proposals for the furniture that will be required for use at the new City Hall/University Office Building. Eight bids were received, Price Modern was chosen as the preferred bidder. The bids did not include pricing for ancillary furniture, such as […]
In 1969, an urban renewal project was initiated for the area through a $5.7 million grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Older dilapidated houses on the outskirts of Lakeland were torn down and much of the land was purchased by the city of College Park. Unfortunately, many of Lakeland’s African American community […]
At last week’s Council meeting, the City Council discussed the final draft of the 2021 – 2025 Strategic Plan and the path forward as we transition to execution. The plan was developed using inputs from community and stakeholder focus groups, as well as community and staff surveys to identify the wants and needs expressed. The […]
The proposed student housing project “The Hub” at 4210-4220 Knox Road has requested the City to make a recommendation to the Prince George’s County Council that The Hub student housing project be exempted from the imposition of the school facilities surcharge. The County imposes a school facilities surcharge on new residential development. Housing for the […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought so many changes and challenges to the lives of our neighbors. That said, I wish you and your families for a prosperous new year in 2021. In North College Park, we hope to see some of the ongoing projects getting completed in the new year. After many years of delays, […]
Dr. Fazlul Kabir is a five-term City Council Member of the City of College Park District 1.