Category: Public Works Page 1 of 12

City’s Public Works will be getting a new 2023 Aebi Schmidt All-Electric eSWINGO Street Sweeper for $353,957.97 to Intercon Truck of Baltimore, Inc.

The Council approved the contract at last Tuesday’s  meeting. The Council also awarded a second contract for the purchase of one (1) 2023 Crane Carrier Chassis and 25 Cubic Yard Loadmaster 25 cubic yard Split body packer for $379,045.00 to Grand Turk Equipment Co. Inc.

These two vehicles will replace an existing sweeper and a Split Body packer. Both vehicles have significant maintenance issues causing downtime, including body deterioration, and electrical and engine issues are at the end of their useful life.

The proposed electric compact sweeper will reduce annual diesel use by over 700 gallons and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. The compact sweeper will be comparatively quieter when operating and capable of sweeping tight and narrow areas in the parking garage.

Each year staff surveys approximately 52.2 miles of streets and rates them 1 to 10, with 1 being the best and 10 the worst. The plan is divided into 20 subdivisions. Streets are sorted by their rating and by their respective subdivision in which they are located.

Staff inspected and rated City streets in January and February 2023, and most were found to be in good condition. Specifically, 46.8 out of 52.2 miles (89.7%) were rated good (1.0 to 3.5), 5.4 miles (10.3%) were rated fair (4.0 to 5.5), and 0 miles (0%) were rated poor (6.0 to 10.0). It is City policy to keep streets below the rating of 5.0; 100% of street miles were rated below 5.0 for FY2024. See attached chart on “FY2024 Street Miles Vs. Pavement Index” for a graphical summary of how many street miles were rated at each index level.

Please note that this report reflects the acquisition of Rhode Island Ave in North College Park from Prince George’s County, the removal of segments of Rhode Island Ave Service Roads near Edgewood Rd that have been converted into pedestrian plazas, and the addition of Morgan Ln in Lord Calvert Manor.

The City is in Year 13 of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) water and sewer main replacement project program. The Edmonston Rd project in the College Park Estates and Yarrow
neighborhoods has been completed, and the roadway will be resurfaced after the sidewalk on the east side of the street is constructed.

The City continues to coordinate resurfacing efforts with Washington Gas. The utility completed multiple projects in the College Park Woods and Berwyn neighborhoods. Affected streets, including Limestone Pl, Dewberry Ln, St Andrews Pl, Tecumseh St, and 49th Ave have been resurfaced. In addition, Washington Gas has resurfaced Guilford Pl, the 5100- and 5200-Blocks of Kenesaw St, the 9200-Block of 48th Ave, and the 4800- and 4900-

Blocks of Niagara Rd. There are plans to replace additional services on Rhode Island Ave in Calvert Hills, on Norwich Rd in Old Town, and on 49th Ave and Edgewood Rd in Hollywood. We will continue to coordinate City’s pavement resurfacing program with WSSC and Washington Gas as this work progresses.

In the last 5 years, 15.5 miles of streets have been resurfaced: 3.1 miles by the City, 1.5 miles by Prince George’s County, 4.7 miles by Washington Gas, and 2.9 miles by WSSC. The remaining streets were resurfaced by a combination of utilities, private developers and the City.

Fourteen (14) streets, 2.8 miles, were rated 4.5. The FY2024 street resurfacing recommendation includes multiple streets with ratings of 4.5: Wichita Avenue, 48th Place, 49th Place, and Delaware Street.

Please contact the Department for further information.

[City of College Park]

MARTLEAF® Compost and Wood Mulch are available again at the Public Works facility.

• Compost is $28.00 per cubic yard, and wood mulch is $12.00 per cubic yard.
• Material may be picked up at Public Works on Mon.-Fri. between 8:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m or during Public Work’s clean-up days on October 8 and October 22, 2022 between 7:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
• You do not need to be a resident to purchase.
• Delivery is available through October and can be arranged for an additional fee – visit www.collegeparkmd.gov/CompostMulchDelivery to place an order. For further questions, please call 240-487-3593.

At last week’s meeting., the Council awarded a contract for the new Curbside Food Scrap Collection Program.

The goal of the program was to begin the process of diverting food waste from the landfill, which comprises of approximately 25% of discarded municipal solid waste, and to gauge the number of participants for possible expansion of the program. Food waste mixed with other trash disposed of at the landfill releases methane, a greenhouse gas, and takes up precious space at our landfill.

DPW has been managing several drop off locations and over the last three years, residents have dropped off and diverted over 75 tons of food scraps from the landfill. Diverting food scrap saves in tipping fees and provides the material for composting, which is a natural aerobic decomposition of organic matter into nutrient rich soil.

The City issued an RFP to advertise for the Curbside Food Scrap Collection Program. Staff recommends the award of this contract to Agricity for the new Curbside Food Scrap Collection Program

Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Mosquito Control Program

From late May through September, the City cooperates with the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) to identify and control mosquito populations with spraying and larviciding.

The program consists of:
LARVICIDING STANDING WATER: Treatments are made monthly by MDA personnel to known areas of standing water to control mosquito larva that will prevent development into adult moquitoes.
SPRAYING TO CONTROL ADULT MOSQUITOES: MDA has designated Wednesday night for adult mosquito spraying the city (when thresholds are met). Spraying will only begin after dark and may continue until midnight or later. If you see a truck in your community spraying during the day, please note that it is not from the State of Maryland. As a precaution, MDA advises residents to bring in pets, stay inside their homes and close their windows while the spray truck is in the vicinity. Please remain in your home for at least 30 minutes after the truck has left. If there are people outside when the truck passes by, MDA will not spray and will not return that night. Spray applications are made by truck-mounted ultra-low volume (ULV) sprayers. The spray schedule shifts, and the frequency will be determined by surveillance data collected and complaints received. This means that your neighborhood may or may not be sprayed.

In order for MDA personnel to spray, they will first survey the area of concern using traps and landing rate counts, (they may also request access to your property to place a trap for their survey). If mosquito count thresholds are met, they may make a control spray application in the neighborhood, but please be aware that they do not spray individual properties.

Request for Exemption from Adult Mosquito Control Services

Residents can request exclusion from the adult spray program by completing an exemption form annually and return it to:

Program Supervisor, Mosquito Control Section
50 Harry S. Truman Parkway
Annapolis, MD 21401

If you don’t have a printer, the local office for MDA Mosquito Control in College Park has offered to send residents a form via DocuSign. To request the form be sent to you via email, please send an email to skeetermd1.mda@maryland.gov.

West Nile and Zika virus are both transmitted by mosquitoes. To help control the mosquito population in your community, remember to tip anything that holds water on a weekly basis (birdbaths, old tires, plastic children’s toys, tarps, pet dishes etc.)

For permanent areas of standing water (ponds, rain barrels, etc.), mosquito “torpedoes” slowly and continuously release an insect growth regulator into the water that prevents adult mosquito development for up to 2 months. The City offers mosquito torpedoes for residents – more information can be found on our website www.collegeparkmd.gov/mosquitoes.