CPCUP worked on College Park Academy, which will start this Fall
The members of the College Park City-University Partnership (CPCUP) came to the Council last night and spoke about its accomplishments in the past year and plans for the upcoming years.
Members of CPCUP has worked on 5 focus areas, namely: K-12 Education, Public Safety, Transportation, Housing/development and Sustainability
K-12 Education Task Force:
Though cognizant that all 5 of the above core strategies must be implemented simultaneously for optimum impact, the 2020 Vision Steering Committee and CPCUP Board, recognizing their resource limitations as well as the opportunities presented by the interests of local stakeholders such as PGCPS and UMD, determined that improving the quality and attractiveness of K-12 education in the University District would be our first priority.
In FY 2013, CPCUP accomplished the followings in the area of K-12 education:
1. Signed an agreement with PGBOE and obtained a 3 year charter to operate the College Park Academy.
2. Signed a 5 year agreement with Connections Education to provide an on line curriculum and related technical support to the Academy.
3. Created a school web site, accepted student applications, held parent information meetings, ran an admissions lottery and identified 300 student class of 2013/14.
4. Obtained a $500,000 State grant and a $100,000 Prince George’s County grant for the school.
5. Signed a 2 year lease with the Archdiocese of Washington to use St. Mark’s School on Adelphi Road as a temporary home.
The College Park Academy will open on August 19, 2013!
In FY 2014, the CPCUP will seek to establish an exceptionally high quality before and after school enrichment program. They anticipate that this will require creating and managing partnerships with UMD and a number of community organizations. They also intend to identify a permanent home for the College Park Academy somewhere in the City of College Park. This involves not only finding the right site or sites, but determining how to fund and implement any changes that are needed to make it suitable for the school.
Public Safety:
Within the broad vision established by the Steering Committee, the public safety task force developed a public safety sub-vision for the University District in 2020. Additionally 12 strategies were identified by the Task Force to achieve this vision.
In FY 2013, the University agreed to extend its Code of Student Conduct throughout the City of College Park effective July 1, 2013. This provides the community with another means of addressing the behaviors of those students who live in our community and who sponsor and/or engage in parties which exceed City noise ordinances.
Further, the University agreed to extend the concurrent jurisdiction of its police force to a number of new City neighborhoods: Lakeland, Crystal Springs, Calvert Hills, the Knox Box area and the area of relatively new high rise student apartment residences along the west side of Route 1, north of the University’S Founder’s Gate. The details of this are now being worked out with PGPD. The 2020 Vision Steering Committee and CPCUP applaud University President Wallace Low for taking both these critical steps
The FY 2014 goals include:
1. Expand the number of security cameras in our community along with concomitant 24 hour surveillance.
2. Integrate all our sworn officers (including UMPD, PGPD, City Contract Officers), 911 dispatch personnel and the new cameras into an effective and efficient system.
3. Expand efforts to educate all community residents about how they may respond to inappropriate illegal behaviors.
4. Explore the benefits of “safety ambassadors” to the safety of the University District and how they may be funded.
Transportation:
In FY 2013, CPCUP coordinated efforts to get our team’s priorities reflected in the governor and legislative transportation packages. The Legislature passed a transportation bill that adds two more cars to the MARC line, funded the next planning stage of the Purple Line and added $20,000,000 to improve Route 1.
Their FY 2014 Goals include Continue our team’s focus on:
1. Implementing the Purple Line,
2. Rebuilding Route 1,
3. Further improving MARC service,
4. Expanding pedestrian and bike infrastructure,
5. Expanding and improving the quality of the bus service serving City and Route 1.
Housing and Development:
UMD engaged Urban planner / consultant Mr. Omar Blaik to help develop a housing and development strategy in the University District consistent with the 2020 Vision approved by the City and UMD.
Sustainability:
The City is on track to get the 150 points needed to make College Park a “green” City.
Work-Live Program:
This successful program will close out after they sell our last remaining house. They sold two properties (a condo at 9808 47th Place and a house at 5100 Lackawanna Street) in FY 2013 and they purchased one (a house at 9609 47th Place). The property purchased in FY 2013 for $218,000 is now the last property they own, and will be renovated at an estimated cost of $79,000 and sold this fiscal year at market which is estimated to be $230,0000. They don’t anticipate purchasing additional properties for rehabilitation and resale.
Preliminary Financial Position Statement:
CPCUP’s Net Assets are projected to improve by $115,000 at the end of FY 2013 compared to FY 2012. This change results from an increase in funding in FY 2013 by both the City of College Park and UMD. Net Assets are projected to improve again in FY 2014 compared to FY 2013, though this will result solely from the activity of the Work Live College Park Program which is ending.
