Nov
21
2021
College Park Turkey Trot
Thursday, November 25, 2021 | 9:00 am | Acredale Park
Join College Park parkrun, the City of College Park, Prince George’s County Parks and the University of Maryland at this Thanksgiving Day 5k along the beautiful Paint Branch Trail in College Park.
This is a free event; bring friends and family to join! Register at parkrun.us/collegepark; print out the barcode and bring it with you to the 5k.
DETAILS: bit.ly/collegeparkturkeytrot
Please note that by participating in City events, you acknowledge and assume all risks and liabilities including possible exposure to illnesses, including but not limited to COVID-19. Masks and social distancing are strongly encouraged.
Nov
20
2021
The City has recently announced the opening of our brand-new City Hall on December 6, 2021.
The address of the new City Hall will be 7401 Baltimore Avenue (between Knox Road and Lehigh Road).
City Departments of Administration, Finance, Human Resources, Planning & Community Development, and Public Services will be moving to the new building. Please note our new address 7401 Baltimore Avenue (between Knox Road and Lehigh Road), but office hours and phone numbers remain the same.
For more details click here.
[City of College Park]
Nov
19
2021
Tomorrow, Saturday, Nov 20th is the last Farmers Market for the season. The market has a full vendor line-up. Great day to stop by. Open from 9 am-1 pm at 9801 Rhode Island Ave College Park MD. In the MOM’s shopping center. Please stop by, and say Thank You to the wonderful vendors, and the market organizers for bringing this fantastic amenity to our neighborhood!!
Nov
18
2021
The Hollywood Walk group will have their second walk this Saturday, starting t 9 am. They will start at Gateway Park and head to the Farmers Market and Proteus Brews. They will probably take a route through the western side of Rhode Island. If you live on the eastern side of Rhode Island and would like to meet for the walk to Gateway Park, meet them at the corner of Lackawanna and Narragansett at 8:40 AM.
Photo Credit: The Diamondback News
Nov
17
2021
![The new County Council district map [Photo Credit: The Maryland Matters]](https://www.kabircares.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/pgco-redistrictingmap.png)
The new County Council district map. The finger-shaped area in College Park is added to District 1. Critics say this was to prevent a candidate from running in the upcoming County election. [Photo Credit: The Maryland Matters]
Not a single resident spoke in support of the new plan.
Council members Dernoga, Glaros and Ivey voted against the new map.
The changes that the County Council made to the latest map are pretty significant, and they are done without consulting or letting residents know. Some of the Council colleagues even didn’t know about these changes, until the vote was taken last month.
It’s a very bad idea for elected officials to pick up their own constituents, and unfortunately, this is exactly what the County Council did.
The new map has taken out the Autoville neighborhood in College Park from the west side of the current County Council district 1, but the Calvert Hills neighborhood is added to the south of district 1. No explanation was given for these changes. The only explanation residents have – to prevent a Council candidate from running in the upcoming County election. That candidate currently lives in the Calvert Hills, and he has been campaigning in District 3 for months. The county charter states a person must live in a district for at least one year prior to running in a primary election.
There are other candidates who were expected to challenge incumbents in 2022 who were drawn out of their districts. For example, Krystal Oriadha was running for a seat in District 7. She lost by 30 votes in the last election and had already started campaigning for the next. The new map would move where she lives in Seat Pleasant from District 7 to District 5.
The video of yesterday’s hearing should be available later today or tomorrow at https://pgccouncil.us/303/County-Council-Video under Available Archives and yesterday’s date.
Nov
16
2021
At tonight’s meeting, the Council will consider introducing ordinance 21-O-15 to amend, the City Code
(a) to eliminate weight and load capacity limits for vehicles that do not exceed 21 feet in length or 6 feet in width;
(b) to authorize the City Manager or designee to grant permission for a good cause to allow a prohibited vehicle to park on a City street for no more than 30 days; and
(c) to authorize the Advisory Planning Commission to hear and make recommendations to the Council with respect to requests for permission to park prohibited vehicles for longer than 30 days for a good cause; to amend City Code to define the good cause.
Currently, the City Council reviews ad approves the parking of prohibited vehicles on City streets. The longer and heavy vehicles will be still considered prohibited – the change will be that the approval will be made through the APC committee, instead of the City Council. The APC currently oversees variance applications of prohibited fences etc.
Nov
15
2021
Arelis Perez
At tomorrow’s City Council meeting, the Council will consider approving the nomination of north College Park resident Arelis Pérez as the recipient of the 2021 Jack Perry Award.
Ms. Perez is deeply committed to serving the community, which she has demonstrated by her commitment to equality, support, and representation. She has participated in neighborhood, civic, and municipal affairs to an extraordinary degree.
In 2020, Ms. Perez was a board member of the Complete Count Committee in College Park, which aimed to increase awareness about and motivate residents to respond to the 2020 Federal Census. She is a former Board of Election Judge for the city, where she administered voting procedures in her precinct and ensured a fair and accessible election for all eligible voters in College Park.
She is the current Board Commissioner Chair of the Housing Authority of the City of College Park (HACCP). She is a current Board Member of the College Park Seniors Committee which supports the development of a community-based, volunteer neighborhood network and identifies legislative priorities relating to the senior community.
Since 2020, she has served as the Vice-Chair of the AARP Livability Workgroup, providing effective strategies, initiatives, and programs that engage older adults in College Park.
She was the Former Board Treasurer and Member of the North College Park Community Association (NCPCA) which serves to strengthen the community and promote the interests of residents and homeowners.
She is a current Board Member and Treasurer of Neighbors Helping Neighbors (NHN-CP) which helps to create a community of volunteers to act as a safety net for aging residents to allow them to stay in their homes.
This past year has been a year like no other. Throughout the pandemic, Ms. Perez engaged the World Central Kitchen to provide healthy and generously portioned meals to our community. She recruited volunteers to deliver the meals to residents of Attick Towers and the Spellman House apartments.
She also drove seniors to appointments and continued meal delivery even after restrictions were relaxed.
[Delegate Joseline Penmelnik, City of College Park]
Nov
14
2021
Volunteers at the Hollywood Elementary School site (photo credit: UMD Office of Community Engagement)
I want to thank everyone who joined today to celebrate the 10th Good Neighbor Day and to do some fantastic service projects in College Park.
I had the opportunity to join a group at the Hollywood Elementary School to make a Little Free Library for the school children. Our team was able to build the library and put the post at the corner of the school. Unfortunately, our team didn’t have enough time to paint the library. That said, the team talked to the school about a future school project to get it painted in the coming weeks.
I always look forward to seeing this day that brings our long-time residents and the student residents together in one place and thus giving us a true sense of community.
My special thanks to President Pines, Vice President Carlo Collela, M-NCPPC Chair Hewlett for joining our Hollywood site and showing their support. #GNDTurns10
Nov
13
2021
Yesterday, the City published more data about last week’s election.
This includes the voter turnout in each district. According to statistics, a total of 1,536 voters voted in this yea’s election. The total number of voters in 2019 and 2017 were 2,092 and 2,648 respectively. This year’s City-wide voter turnout is 10.35%. The voter turnout was 12.51% in 2019, and 14.5% in 2017. You can see the historical voter statistics here on City’s website.
At this year’s elections, the Percentage Voting in District 1, 2, 3, 4 are 11.5% 8.5% 11.5% 8.0% respectively.
685 voters voted on Election Day.
The City mailed 13,579 ballot applications to active voters as of 8/31/21. The Post Office returned about 1,500 applications as undeliverable. Most likely, these voters do not live at the addresses anymore.
The City issued/mailed 1,095 ballots before the election day, however, it received 851 “valid” ballots by the deadline. Ballots returned by mail with deficiencies (i.e., in an Oath Envelope that was not signed, or without an Oath Envelope) were deemed invalid unless cured.
Voters dropped 471 ballots at 3 ballot drop boxes located at Calvert Road School (161 ballots), at Stamp Student Union (15), and at Davis Hall (295)
From the total number of votes cast in every district, I was able to calculate the % of votes cast for each candidate. Please see that below
| Votes for candidate | Total Votes | % of Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kabir (D1) | 564 | 595 | 94.7% |
| Kennedy (D1) | 386 | 595 | 64.8% |
| Catlin (D2) | 107 | 251 | 42.6% |
| Esters (D2) | 170 | 251 | 67.7% |
| Whitney (D2) | 164 | 251 | 65.3% |
| Adams (D3) | 275 | 478 | 57.5% |
| Day (D3) | 240 | 478 | 50.2% |
| Rigg (D3) | 377 | 478 | 78.8% |
| Mackie (D4) | 173 | 212 | 81.6% |
| Mitchell (D4) | 183 | 212 | 86.3% |
| Wojahn (Mayor) | 1312 | 1,536 | 85.4% |
Nov
12
2021
At this week’s meeting, the City Council approved a letter to the County Council opposing the new redistricting map that the County Council adopted on October 19, 2021. This new map continues to split College Park neighborhoods and damage the interests of our City. Please see here more on the new map here.
The letter states that the process by which a County Council majority has attempted to gerrymander the districts has damaged the public trust in the Council and has damaged the County’s reputation. Also, please consider testifying before the County Council’s November 16 meeting on the redistricting plan. You can now sign up to speak at the November 16th meeting about it here on County’s website.
Nov
11
2021
NCPCA – It’s Your Neighborhood Association
Today is the second Thursday of the month and thus the day when the North College Park Community Association will be having its November monthly meeting. Please see the full agenda below. The Zoom link and other information can be found here on NCPCA’s website: http://myncpca.org
7:00 Welcome & Review of procedures.
7:05 NCPCA officers’ reports & approval of October minutes.
7:15 Getting acquainted with the new City Manager, Kenny Young
7:45 County redistricting — possible motion
8:00 Development updates to include Sunnyside’s new park, the Endelman property, the Hollywood Streetscape, and a proposed project on Rt. 1.
8:20 Membership
8:30 Discussion about meeting formats and possible motion to request Davis Hall and other city buildings be re-opened
8:40 Announcements by elected officials and members (limited to 2 minutes each)
8:45 Practice questions for Christmas party trivia
8:50 New Business & Future Agenda Items
Nov
10
2021
Now that all the votes are counted, I want to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude for allowing me to serve you one more term. I’m truly humbled, honored, and grateful for having your support in this election.
Congratulations on the re-election of my colleagues Wojahn, Kennedy, Esters, Rigg, Mackie and Mitchell. Also, congratulations to Councilmember-Elect Whitney and Adams on your election. I look forward to working with you all. Let us also thank Council members Dennis and Day for their selfless service to the community over the years. Three of us started serving the Council together ten years ago, and I’ll dearly miss you in the next term. Finally, many thanks to former Council member Catlin for running a spirited campaign. Everyone is a winner in this election – so congratulations to you all.
Please note, no matter how you voted, I will remain at your service. So, please feel free to let me know in any way I can be of your help. I really enjoyed helping you all in getting things done and addressing your concerns – as much as I could, and I will continue to do so in my next term.
Please see below the final Election Results.
District 1
Kabir 564
Kennedy 386
Wojahn (Mayor) 511
District 2
Catlin 107
Esters 170
Whitney 164
Wojahn (Mayor) 224
District 3
Adams 275
Day 240
Rigg 377
Wojahn (Mayor) 399
District 4
Mackie 173
Mitchell 183
Wojahn (Mayor) 184
Nov
9
2021
Have some sunken pumpkins? Don’t toss them, compost them! Take your old pumpkins along with other accepted food scraps to one of our food scrap drop off locations. More information at www.collegeparkmd.gov/foodscraps. #MGWMonth
[City of College Park]
Nov
7
2021
Here are the initial results from today’s in-person voting.
The final vote counts including absentee and provisional ballots will be available next Wednesday, November 10th.
The City has mailed more than 1,000 absentee ballots. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to vote today. And congratulations to all candidates for running fantastic campaigns!!
District 1
Kabir 242
Kennedy 155
Wojahn (Mayor) 212
District 2
Catlin 55
Esters 84
Whitney 86
Wojahn (Mayor) 114
District 3
Adams 122
Day 112
Rigg 151
Wojahn (Mayor) 170
District 4
Mackie 72
Mitchell 75
Wojahn (Mayor) 79
Nov
7
2021
Vote College Park! Polls are open TODAY at 9 am – only at the College Park Community Center, 5051 Pierce Avenue, MD 20740.Please note – due to COVID restrictions, you won’t be able to vote at Davis Hall. Hope to see you at the CP Community Center! Voters from all districts will vote at the Community Center on Election Day.
Voters will elect the Mayor and all eight district Councilmembers. Polls are open from 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
For information about the candidates, visit our collegeparkmd.gov/elections.
Ballots cast today will be tabulated at Davis Hall after the polls close today. The official canvass, which includes the absentee (mail-in ballots) and validated provisional ballots, will be held on Wednesday, November 10, at Davis Hall. Due to COVID capacity restrictions, public access at Davis Hall may be limited, but both counts will be televised.
Election results will be certified at the Council meeting on Tuesday, November 16, 2021.
[City of College Park]
| 
Comments Off on Vote College Park!
Comments Off on Vote College Park!