The City of College Park and Prince George’s County have been working to set their budgets for the upcoming fiscal year. As part of this process, they have been evaluating potential adjustments to real property tax rates. College Park’s rate for fiscal
By Heather Wright
John van Hagel is credited with founding the nation’s first food bank, in Phoenix, Ariz., in 1967. Lois Jones, who lives next to Greenbelt Park, and representatives from about a dozen area churches weren’t far behind as they met in November 1968, in the Berwyn Presbyterian Church (BPC) library. Spurred on by their desire to help residents in need during the upcoming holiday season, they
The rain on Memorial Day weekend could not have come at a better time for 5-year-old Mary Clare Schneider. Her soccer game was cancelled, and she got to do something that she had been looking forward to for years: the College Park
parkrun. Official results show Mary Clare as one of 25 firsttimer runners, but that’s just one piece of her story.
Mary Clare had been a regular at the free, weekly 5K run/walk events since she was a toddler. She started out riding in her stroller, then she’d walk or run, and even volunteer. But she had
to be four years old to officially participate.
By the time Mary Clare turned four, the pandemic was upon us, and live parkrun events were on hold. Undeterred, she registered and got her own parkrun barcode. Mary Clare became a regular in the virtual College Park parkrun events, along with
her parents and older sister, Samantha. She completed 50 virtual 5K events over the past year.
The family creatively embraced their virtual runs. One week they planned a route that took them through Luray Caverns. On Easter, the girls painted small rocks
Last year, in the middle of the pandemic, I moved from California to Maryland to take on my new role as director of the College Park Aviation Museum. When I arrived, I had the opportunity to walk through the gallery and read all the exhibit panels and learn about the history of the museum. I was in awe of how significant College Park was in national aviation history.
One airplane caught my attention, the Curtiss JN-4D Jenny. I knew of its importance during World War 1 and soon learned that the airplane played a major role in the establishment of the U.S. Airmail Service. As I began to discover more about that chapter in aviation history, I came across a picture, from 1919, of a local flight crew. The inner historian in me got excited. The picture included both African Americans and Caucasians, which piqued my interest. Being aware of the racial disparities in aviation at that time, I was curious to learn more about the young Black gentlemen in the photograph. Who were
they? What were their names? What community were they from? And how did they end up being part of the airmail crew at College Park Airport?
I reached out to Vi Sharp Jones, who lived in Lakeland and is one of the community’s historians. My initial inkling was that the gentlemen would be from Lake-
When Rick Borchelt was 6 years old, he stole his first pair of binoculars. Little did he know he’d go on to study science professionally, devoting paycheck after paycheck to the perfect pair of Swarovski Optiks.
The College Park resident is director for communications and public affairs at the Department of Energy’s Office of Science. He migrated to College Park from his family home in the Ozarks in the late ’70s to pursue graduate studies at the University of Maryland.
“I explore nature, particularly in and around our natural areas here, like Artemisia, Patuxent,
Governor Bridge,” Borchelt said during a presentation he gave on May 22 as part of the Route 1 Corridor Conversation series.
In fact, he had been birding at Patuxent just two days prior, Swarovskis in hand.
On that breezy spring day, Borchelt tucked his National Geographic guidebook into the pocket of his khaki vest and pointed toward the layered oaks and maples surrounding the wildlife center.
“This is what College Park used to look like,” he noted. Borchelt explained that development is a key factor leading to habitat loss throughout the region. As developers clear stands of native trees, birds lose
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their homes and food sources. When construction winds down, developers often replant with non-native shrubs and trees.
Borchelt also noted that homeowners are wary of having large trees near their homes, for fear that they could fall and cause damage.
“If you want birds, you have to take risks,”he said.
During his presentation, Borchelt said that homeowners can take small steps to save the birds. He underscored that pesticides are harmful, as are cats (he recommends keeping them indoors). He encouraged homeowners to plant more bird- and caterpillar-friendly trees, like
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Circulation: Copies are distributed monthly by U.S. mail to every address in College Park. Additional copies are distributed to popular gathering spots around town. Total circulation is 9,600. CPH&N is a member of the National Newspaper Association.
land, due to the community’s proximity to the airport. Vi was able to confirm they were indeed from Lakeland and provided me with their names; Charles J. Johnson, Hans Hill, Paul Hill, George Brooks and Bernie Brooks are among the crew in the picture. They would have been either mechanics or couriers, or perhaps groundskeepers at the airport.
In searching our archives, I have not found additional information on the crew. The U.S Postal Museum is conducting additional research about them, and I am looking into records at the National Archives as well. Violetta Sharp Jones has helped tremendously and is continuing her search to learn more, too. I hope to share more information about their roles at the College Park Airport and share their stories in our airmail exhibit.
Kevin Cabrera is a public historian and director of the College Park Aviation Museum.
beeches and tulips.
“You want to layer your yard in shrubs and mixed plants, not lawn,” he said. “I’m the one who comes around and scavenges your Christmas trees when you throw them out at the end of the year, before the city comes to steal them and make mulch.”
Residents said they admire Borchelt’s dedication to wildlife and to educating the community about natural habitats that support native animals in our region.
“Rick and I live in the same neighborhood,” said Mary Anne Hakes, who works with Explo-
rations on Aging in College Park. “Someone will frequently post pictures of birds, butterflies, snakes or insects, and Rick can usually identify them all and direct us to websites for further information — he even sends bird call recordings.”
T. Carter Ross, who works with Hyattsville Aging in Place, which helped organize Borchelt’s appearance on May 22, also appreciates Borchelt’s work.
“He [does] a fantastic job of highlighting the ecology of our backyards and how important what we plant is for birds and the bugs they feed on.”
This spring brought us Brood X, the billions of periodical cicadas that haven’t seen the light of day for 17 years. Whereas annual cicadas appear each summer throughout the world, periodical cicadas are native to the Eastern U.S., only, and emerge cyclically on a 13- or 17-year schedule, depending on the brood.
University of Maryland (UMD) graduate students and professors studying periodical cicadas launched a project to educate the general public about this brood. Calling themselves the Cicada Crew, the team is offering presentations and has a website (cicadacrewumd.weebly.com).
Brood X is one of 15 broods of periodical cicadas, each with its own distinct geographical location. This brood is primarily found in most of Maryland (except the Eastern Shore), D.C. and Northern Virginia.
The brood’s emergence is so infrequent, localized and spectacular that the BBC is filming these cicadas, right here in College Park, for a documentary about American flora and fauna. One of the filming locations is near the home of Dr. Karin Burghardt, who is an assistant professor of entomology at UMD.
Burghardt said that College Park’s unusually cool and dry weather this May delayed the cicadas’ emergence. Soil temperature must reach 64 degrees before cicadas can emerge, and rain also serves as a prompt.
Dr. Mike Raupp, professor emeritus of entomology at UMD and a member of the Cicada Crew, said that the cicadas will likely be emerging through June. Once they complete their life cycle, the ground will be littered with their larvae casings and bodies.
Raupp noted that having millions of dead cicadas has an upside.
“They give back to every other creature,” he said. “They’re going to fertilize those trees. Plants ... are going to get a nutrient input.”
“There’s evidence that they could be doing good things for people’s gardens as well,” Burghardt added.
However, the thin bark of immature trees can be harmed when female cicadas deposit their eggs. According to the Cicada Crew website, female cicadas lay 400 to 600 eggs after mating.
Nymphs hatch, drop out of the trees and burrow underground, where they suck sap from tree roots and mature for 13 or 17 years.
In their emergence year, the cicadas dig out of the soil, grow wings, and climb trees to mate and repeat the cycle.
That there are billions, and possibly upwards of a trillion cicadas in Brood X serves a specific purpose; it is a survival strategy called predator satiation. Their emergence causes a food frenzy, with snakes, birds, squirrels, rodents, and other insects (even wasps) going to town. Many dogs love them, and even people chow down. But what’s many millions down the gullet if there are many millions more? The species survives.
Raupp explained why periodical cicadas are found only in the Eastern United States, noting, “There are only panda bears in Asia. There are only giraffes in Africa. And that’s why there are only periodical cicadas … in the Eastern United States. It’s simply where they evolved.”
While some of us may not be thrilled by the thought of millions of big insects, even harmless ones, invading our spaces, Raupp said he personally gets most excited by making others excited about them.
“There’s gonna be romance, courtship, wicked sex; it’s gonna be birth, death” he said. “It’s gonna be better than watching an episode of ‘Game of Thrones,’
and you can do it in your backyard!”
Burghardt agrees, adding her scientist’s perspective to the experience: “It’s just an amazing thing when we see a portion of life that has been hidden from us. It’s an emblem of all the things that we’re not paying attention to around us.”
If you’re just not keen about this whole thing, though, both Burghardt and Raupp suggest you simply leave town. You could head to the Eastern Shore
or simply flee the Eastern U.S. entirely.
And for adventurous folks who are embracing the emergence, cicadas are edible!
“We had like a soft-shelled cicada right off the tree … tastes kind of like bok choy,” said Damien Nunez, a member of the Cicada Crew.
No matter one’s outlook, Brood X has arrived and is making its mark. In a way, their timing is almost symbolic.
“We’ve just come out of COVID. There’s an interesting parallel,” Raupp noted. “They’re taking their soil mask off; we’re taking our COVID mask off.”
tion and expanding the project north of University Boulevard, and developing an infrastructure plan that serves bicyclists. This year, the bulk of our work in the transportation and mobility category will focus on advancing plans for a riverwalk along the east side of Paint Branch, between Metzerott Road and Baltimore Avenue, and including connections to the Paint Branch Trail. This project addresses environmental restoration and includes features that engage pedestrians with the water and existing landmarks. In addition, we will review existing plans for walkways and bike lanes and consolidate them into a cohesive whole. We will pay particular attention to increasing east-west connections throughout the city. In the area of public health and safety, we will focus on enhancing cooperative efforts by the city, the university and other agencies to support and further our community’s needs in these areas. As part of this effort, we will underscore the importance of the university’s student code of conduct and maintain the expanded jurisdiction of the university’s police force. As we focus on education, we
will seek to enhance K-12 opportunities, including expansion of
All information is current as of June 6.
Free yoga by the lake. Enjoy a free yoga class at Lake Artemesia. Saturday mornings through Sept. 25, from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. Meet near the restrooms. To register, visit pgparks.com/calendar. aspx?CID=22 and click on the date of your choice.
Neighbors CONNECT. This grassroots volunteer organization supports the health and wellbeing of seniors through acts of kindness, assistance with transportation and shopping, and by promoting social events. For more information, call 301.864.5267 or email connectporfavor@gmail. com
Route 1 Corridor Conversations. Join Barbara Johnson of Hyattsville’s ArtWorks Now for an exploration of the many ways art supports our well-being. Free virtual program. Saturday, June 26, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Register at hyattsvilleaginginplace.org/ programs-and-activities/ corridor-conversations
Support College Park’s Senior Citizens. Meals on Wheels College Park needs licensed drivers, and all are welcome to volunteer for flexible slots on weekday mornings. Fill out an application at mealsonwheelsofcollegepark. org or call 202.669.6297.
College Park Community Library Book Club. The library’s book club meets on July 13 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. to discuss e Midnight Library, by Matt Haig. For more information, email Carol Munn at donkinc@msn.com
Virtual Book Club. The College Park Arts Exchange book club will discuss Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art, by Rebecca Wragg Sykes, on June 15 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. and In the Country of Women, by Susan Straight, on July 20. Join in by sending your RSVP to info@cpae.org
Hollywood Farmers Market. Located in the parking lot of the Hollywood Shopping Center, the market is open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
College Park Farmers Market at Paint Branch Parkway. Farm stands, local vendors and more. Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 5211 Campus Dr.
OpenBarre. College Park’s fitness studio is now offering daily inperson classes and virtual classes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. For more information, go to openbarrestudios.com
Support Today’s Hair!
A fire has left College Park’s family-owned shop out of commission, but you can help owners Pola and Sokha survive this hardship. Schedule an at-home cut by texting Pola at 240.476.1620. Donate to their renovation efforts at gofundme.com/f/ help-pola-and-sokhaendure-2021. As of press time, Today’s Hair is within $4,000 of their goal!
Numi Yoga. Daily livestreamed yoga sessions; outdoor classes meet Tuesdays at 7 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 10 a.m., weather permitting. For more information and to register, visit numiyoga. com
Virtual Farming Meetings: The University of Maryland Extension, Prince George’s County, offers a variety of programs, including small farm basics. For more information, go to extension.umd.edu/ news-events/events
Free Friday Night Family Film. Visit the College Park Aviation Museum on July 16 for a free movie at 6 p.m. Museum admission at a special discounted rate ($2) beginning at 4 p.m. A food truck will serve dinner for purchase, and games will be available. Email jamie.jones@pgparks.com for more information.
Plein Air Challenge. Join a professional artist at the College Park Aviation Museum for a creative workshop outdoors. June 12 and July 10 from 11 a.m. to noon. $25 for residents and $33 for nonresidents. All materials including canvas, paint and brushes will be provided. For more information, email jamie.jones@pgparks.com
Food Assistance Available. Help by Phone Ltd. operates food pantries across Prince George’s County, with locations at Berwyn Presbetyrian Church, on Greenbelt Rd., and University Baptist Church, on Campus Dr. If you would like to schedule a pickup this week, call
301.699.9009, Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Live Dance Fitness Classes. Join music theater dancer and choreographer Samantha Fitschen on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 7:45 a.m. $5 fee. For more information, visit cpae.org
Friday Dance Workshops. Join instructor Karen Stewart, of Jessie’s Soul Line Dancers, every Friday from 10 to 11 a.m. for step-bystep instruction and dance along to soul, gospel and pop music. For more information, go to cpae.org
Saturday Tap Dance Workshops. Free virtual tap workshop with instructor Elizabeth Gardner every Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. For more information and to register, email info@cpae.org
Yarrow Civic Association. Membership is free. For more information, email Wendy Kelley at wendybird85@yahoo.com
College Park Estates Civic Association. For more information, email Ray Ranker at rayranker@ gmail.com
West College Park Citizens Association. Membership is open to all residents of West College Park over age 18. For more information, email Suchitra Balachandran at cp_woods@yahoo.com
Berwyn District Civic Association. The BDCA meets virtually each month. For more information, email president@myberwyn. org; to register for meetings, go to myberwyn.org
Lakeland is one of the oldest of the communities that comprise present day College Park; this historically Black community traces its beginnings back to 1891. Lakeland is bordered by Berwyn House Road to the north, Lakeland Road and Pierce Avenue to the south, 54th Street to the east and Baltimore Avenue to the west.
The purpose of Lakeland Civic Association (LCA) is to foster a strong sense of community and responsible citizenship. The association also coordinates efforts with city and county government agencies to achieve common goals. The LCA’s vision statement focuses on five aspects of life in Lakeland: revitalization and redevelopment, transportation, education, public safety and sustainability.
The association traditionally meets monthly, except for July and August (during the pandemic, they have met virtually a few times). The association hosts two social events each year: a community picnic in conjunction with National Night Out, which is on the
first Tuesday in August, and a Christmas tree lighting in December. Robert Thurston, who is currently president of the association, fondly remembered a past event, an octogenarian celebration honoring Lakeland’s seniors. He said that they had to keep raising the age limit to keep it manageable because they had so many senior residents.
In addition to Thurston, current officers are Anita Wolley, secretary, and Maggie Johnson, treasurer. Membership is open to all residents of Lakeland, and residents who are not members are welcome to attend meetings and events. Owners and proprietors of businesses and churches in the community may also join as non-voting members. The membership fee is determined yearly by majority vote.
“Participation and activism is important. The more that [residents] are involved, the more issues can be addressed.” Thurston stated. To get more information on becoming a member, meeting schedules or upcoming events, email the association at retajt@verizon.net.
North College Park Community Association. Currently holding meetings by teleconference. For more information, email ncpcivic@gmail.com or visit www.myncpca.org
Lakeland Civic Association. For meeting and registration information, email Robert Thurston at retajt@verizon.net
Old Town College Park Civic Association. For more information and to add your name to the listserv, email Kathy Bryant at kbryant20740@yahoo.com
Calvert Hills Civic Association. For more information, email calverthillscitizensassn@gmail. com or Rose Greene Colby at rgreencolby@gmail.com
The College Park Aviation Museum recently held what it hopes to be its first of many tarmac tours. On Saturday, May 15, the museum welcomed guests aged 18 and older to explore the historic College Park Airport, the oldest continuously operated airport in the world. Museum staff introduced visitors to the airport’s history, including the many firsts in aviation that took place there. Several planes took off over the course of the morning, as well.
Clad in reflective safety vests, participants took a one-mile walk up and down the tarmac with Kevin Cabrera, the museum’s director, and Public Programs Manager Jamie Jones. The tour was Cabrera’s idea. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, events that typically were held indoors at the museum had been streamed online for months; the tarmac tour allowed for an in-person experience, outdoors, with safe social distancing. The museum hadn’t offered this kind of tour before, so the event was a new frontier for the museum. As the group walked, Cabrera educated and entertained participants with stories about the airstrip.
“History has been made in this airfield, as have many firsts in aviation,” Cabrera said of the airport, which is adjacent to the museum.
The Wright brothers demonstrated their famous military flyer at the College Park Airport in 1909. They nearly sold their new aircraft to France, but instead sold them to the U.S. Army Signal Corps, establishing the U.S. as the first country to own military planes. The Wrights did not generally make their flight attempts public, though they demonstrated their military flyer for the full U.S. Senate. They also wanted a relatively private location where they could teach the military how to use the flyer. College Park was chosen because of its relative solitude, at the time, as well as for its flat topography.
Though the U.S. later moved military flight operations to Texas and then San Diego, the airport remained fully operational and has been a popular spot for hobbyist pilots ever since. Some governmentowned aircraft are stationed at the airport, as is the Prince George’s County police helicopter.
While many of the landmarks of the original airport have been removed over the years, some still remain. The original hangars are long gone, with evidence suggesting that they were destroyed in a fire, but the footprints of where they once stood are still present, and Cabrera noted them on the tour. Also remaining is a large compass rose; it indicates the direction of magnetic north, in 1918 (magnetic north has changed since then). Even as some old markers remain, the airport has grown significantly in its more than 100 years of operation, and now features paved runways and a beacon that collects weather information.
For a small facility, the College Park Airport has played a large role in aviation history. It was home to the first regular airmail service flown by the postal service. It is now home to the 1941 Stearman N8NP that Gus McLeod flew in the first open cockpit flight over the North Pole, in April 2000. McLeod donated his plane to the museum shortly after that famous fight.
And the airport is continuing to make history, even today. In October 2021, the airport plans to host an event to honor the first Latina pilots in aviation
history, who are flying in from as far as Germany to teach and take part in a day of special programming.
Cabrera hopes to do more tarmac tours in the future, including tours for younger guests.
“What I love about this tour is that it gets you a firsthand experience of the airport and the
history that occurred there,” he said at the end of the inaugural tour. “[It] combines the modern with the old, because you get to experience modern planes and the history of aviation from the past.”
The museum is open to visitors from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day except Monday.
City, the Mayor and Council established a standing Bee City USA committee.
Did you know that the City of College Park is now an official Bee City USA City?
The City was officially recognized as a Bee City, USA affiliate on March 8, 2021. College Park joins over 245 affiliates in 43 others states working to help conserve native pollinators by increasing the abundance of native plants, providing nest sites, and reducing the use of pesticides.
As part of the City’s commitment to becoming a pollinator-friendly
This committee will advocate for enhanced pollinator habitat on public and private land, encourage the reduction or elimination of the use of pesticides, support the incorporation of pollinatorconscious practices in City policies and plans, host pollinator awareness events (like our Ultimate Pollinator Bingo of College Park), and build lasting partnerships within the community to support pollinators.
Native pollinators in College Park include dozens of small, harmless native bee and wasp species, butterflies, moths, ants, and certain beetles and flies.
To celebrate our native pollinator friends, the City is hosting a fun and family-friendly backyard Pollinator
Bingo for Pollinator Week. Pollinator Week is celebrated annually across the country (and the globe) during the third week of June! Details of our fun activity are below!
The Bee City USA Committee is inviting all City residents to celebrate this year’s Pollinator Week with a safe and fun family-friendly activity to learn about pollination and protect our local pollinators: the ULTIMATE POLLINATOR BINGO OF COLLEGE PARK!
Three lucky participants will even win a bee hotel just by submitting their bingo card!
1. Download the Pollinator Bingo card at www.collegeparkmd. gov/pollinators. The card can be downloaded as a pdf and printed, or can be used
as image and marked on any electronic device.
2. Do the activities in the bingo card to cross the boxes.
3. Once you have filled a bingo line or a full card, take a picture of your team and/or the card, and post it to the City’s social media accounts using the hashtag #PollinatorWeekCP.
• Facebook: City of College Park, MD
• Twitter: @collegepark_md
• Instagram: @collegeparkmd
• An online form is also available at www. collegeparkmd.gov/ pollinators.
All entries must be submitted between June 18 through June 25, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. Winners will be selected and notified in July 2021. More information about our Bee City and Bingo is available at www. collegeparkmd.gov/pollinators.
Please join City Elected Officials, Police, Department of Public Services staff, and your neighbors from all around the City, for an informative monthly community meeting.
The June meeting will be taking place on Monday, June 14 at 7:30 p.m. via zoom. Zoom link: https:// zoom.us/j/96168994626.
This community meeting will discuss city-wide crime statistics, recent incidents of public interest, neighborhood watch tips, and special public safety related topics.
To facilitate city-wide participation, these will be virtual meetings that you may join in from your home.
Please invite your neighbors so that this useful information may be shared throughout the City.
The newly formed City of College Park Office of Economic Development (OED) was established in August of 2021 for the purpose of creating and implementing strategies intended to positively impact the local economy and community residents.
The primary function of economic development is to expand the City tax base by new attracting new businesses and employment opportunities, expansion of existing businesses, diversifying the business base and promotion of City assets to increase visitor and tourism related activities. A thriving business community enhances the quality of life for current residents and future generations.
For all City economic development updates and information, please visit www.collegeparkmd.gov/ econdev where you can check out the latest “Brief Economic Facts” and “The Business Beat.”
Read about the changes planned for this year’s election!
The City of College Park will hold its municipal election for the office of Mayor and all eight district Councilmembers on Sunday, November 7, 2021, from 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. at the College Park Community Center. The Mayor and Council decided to hold the City’s General Election on Sunday this year in an effort to increase voter turnout. Voters who typically work Monday through Friday often find it hard to get to the polls on a weekday and may find a Sunday election more convenient.
WHERE
Rather than having multiple polling locations on Election Day, voters from all districts will vote at the College Park Community Center this year. The City is mindful of health concerns about group gatherings due to COVID, so for everyone’s safety, there will be only one polling location. The Community Center is large enough to keep voters and pollworkers safe and is centrally located in the City.
You may vote at the poll on Election Day or vote by absentee ballot. Many voters prefer the
convenience of absentee voting, so we plan to mail applications for absentee ballots to all registered voters in September. Applications will also be available from our website and City offices. The applications and ballots may be returned to a secure ballot drop box or through the US Mail.
Stay tuned for regular updates on the fall election in The Municipal Scene, the College Park Here and Now newspaper, and on our Website (www.collegeparkmd. gov/Election).
This fall, College Park voters will elect the Mayor, who is elected at-large, and eight district Councilmembers, two from each of the four Council districts in the City.
College Park uses a petition process to qualify candidates. Candidates for the office of Mayor must collect the signatures of 20 qualified voters from each Council district. Candidates for the office of Councilmember must collect 25 signatures from the qualified voters in their district.
At the time of taking office, which will be December 14, 2021, the Mayor and each Councilmember must be 18 years old. To qualify as a candidate, the individual must be a citizen of the United States, a current registered voter in the City, and must have been domiciled in their respective district (for a Councilmember candidate), or in the City (for a Mayoral candidate) for at least one year immediately preceding the date of qualification.
The Mayor must continuously reside in the City for the full twoyear term. Each Councilmember must continuously reside in their respective district for the full twoyear term.
Candidacy packets with the petition forms and other required paperwork will be available on August 1, 2021 from the City website, or from City offices with advance notice. Forms must be submitted by Wednesday, September 15.
For more information about voting in the City, or running for office, please contact the City Clerk, Janeen S. Miller, at 240-487-3501 or jsmiller@collegeparkmd.gov.
In May 2020, the Mayor and Council passed Ordinance 20-O02, to amend City Code Chapter 119, “Refuse, Solid Waste and Special Trash” and Chapter 110, “Fees and Penalties.” It changes how bulky trash is collected, sets fees for collections of an excess number of items, and sets penalties for violations. The changes go into effect on July 1, 2021.
This Ordinance made changes to bulk trash collection and includes the following provisions:
For a single-family, owneroccupied residence: Up to four (4) bulky refuse collections per calendar year, with a maximum total of 20 bulky refuse items, will be free of charge to the resident.
For a single-family rental property that pays for City trash services: Up to four (4) bulky refuse collections per calendar year, with a maximum total of 29 bulky refuse items, will be free of charge.
For quantities and/or frequency more than stated above, a $20 collection fee per item over the allowable number of items will be imposed. A waiver may be available for a major extenuating circumstance on a limited basis.
All bulky refuse collections must be scheduled in advance and the caller must identify the quantity and type of items when scheduling a collection.
Bulky refuse items must be set out neatly for collection and separated by type. Department of Public Works staff will provide guidance when you make your appointment.
The City collects four different types of special trash by appointment on Thursdays and Fridays. Different trucks are assigned to each category. Please source separate items into:
• Bulk Trash: furniture, carpet, large bulky items, lumber with nails bent, fencing, etc. Mattresses and box springs MUST be wrapped in plastic to be collected. All material must be less than five (5) feet long and weigh less than 75 lbs.
• Appliances & Metals: Appliances include stoves, air conditioners, refrigerators, washers, dryers, dishwashers, hot water heaters and ovens and have a $20 fee per item for collection. Metals include bikes, grills, file cabinets and radiators.
• Electronics for Recycling: computers, printers, keyboards, microwaves, modems, gaming consoles, etc. TVs and Monitors have a $20 fee per item.
• Brush, Branches, and Logs: All woody material must be bundled and tied in bunches no longer than four (4) feet in length, up to two (2) feet in diameter and no more than 50 lbs. Or material can also be placed in City approved containers or bags. Individual branches cannot be wider than four (4) inches in diameter while logs must be cut into 12 inch lengths that are no more than 12 inches in diameter (a maximum of 25 logs will be collected per pickup).
For more information about bulk trash collection and the changes, please visit www.collegeparkmd. gov/specialcollections.
Many bulk trash items can be recycled or donated and diverted from the landfill. The City’s website has lots of information about reuse opportunities for unwanted items in good condition. This*can include furniture, building materials, clothing, cars, batteries, paint, and so much more. Visit www.collegeparkmd.gov/reuse for details.
Thursday, June 17, 2021 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. zoom.us/j/91402043108
This webinar will cover the primary mosquito pest to homeowners, the Asian Tiger Mosquito. Virtual attendees will learn about its
Nominate
In February 2013, the College Park City Council established an award in recognition of Councilman John Edward “Jack” Perry.
DUVALL FIELD PARK DESIGN
Wednesday, June 16, 2021
7:00 p.m. | Zoom Meeting
RSVP to tschum@collegeparkmd.gov and a meeting link will be emailed
Wednesday, June 16, 2021 7:00 p.m. | Zoom Meeting RSVP to tschum@collegeparkmd.gov and a meeting link will be emailed
At this meeting, the City’s consultant, KCI Technologies, will present three conceptual design alternatives for consideration. Your input is needed to help select a preferred concept plan for further design. Please attend and share your thoughts about what you would like to see and do at Duvall Field.
Please check the project page on the City’s website for previous plans, reports and updates at www.collegeparkmd.gov/duvallfieldproject.
At this meeting, the City’s consultant, KCI Technologies, will present three conceptual design alternatives for consideration. Your input is needed to help select a preferred concept plan for further design. Please attend and share your thoughts about what you would like to see and do at Duvall Field.
Please check the project page on the City’s website for previous plans, reports and updates at www.collegeparkmd.gov/duvallfieldproject.
For
Information about Mosquito Spraying/Larvaciding and Tips to Reduce them in your Yard!
The City of College Park cooperates with the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) to identify and control mosquito populations. Larviciding treatments are made by MDA personnel to known areas of standing water to control mosquito larva by preventing development into adult mosquitoes. MDA spraying to control adult mosquitoes can occur June through September. Wednesday is the designated night when spraying for adult mosquitoes may occur in College Park. MDA doesn’t spray individual properties; they drive on streets with truck mounted equipment to treat neighborhoods that meet established thresholds. MDA has initiated a new mosquito complaint procedure; go to the following link and provide your information https://www.doit.state.md.us/ selectsurvey/TakeSurvey. aspx?SurveyID=740Kl54#.
Any resident who wishes to have the frontage of their property excluded from adult mosquito control pesticide applications, by truck-mounted ultra-low volume (ULV) sprayers must fill out this form annually. Visit mda. maryland.gov/plants-pests/Pages/ mosquito_control.aspx for the application.
For permanent areas of standing water (ponds, rain barrels, etc.), mosquito “torpedoes” can be used to target and control mosquito larvae (available at the City’s Department of Public Works).
Here are some tips to rid your area of mosquito breeding sites:
1. Clean rain gutters to allow water to flow freely.
2. Store plastic wading pools inside or turn them upside down when not in use.
3. Turn over or remove clay pots and plastic containers.
4. Dispose of all empty beverage containers, plastic wrappers, discarded toys, etc.
5. Check for trapped water in plastic or canvas tarps. Position the tarp so water drains away.
6. Turn canoes and small boats upside down for storage.
7. Replace water in bird baths at least twice a week.
8. Remove pet food and water dishes that are not being used
9. Flush water in the bottom of plant holders twice a week.
10. Repair exterior water faucets that drip.
11. Turn wheelbarrows upside down when stored outside.
12. Check ornamental ponds, tree holes, and low areas that hold water for mosquito larvae.
13. Ditches that do not flow and contain stagnant water for one week or longer. Report such conditions to MDA. Do not attempt to clear because they may be protected by wetlands.
Contact the Mosquito Control Section of MDA for additional assistance and advice. For more information visit mda.maryland. gov or call them at 410-841-5870.
Councilman Perry served on the College Park City Council from 1979 to 1983 and from 1989 to 2011, for a total of 26 years. From the time he moved to College Park’s Berwyn neighborhood in 1969, until his death in 2012, Jack was deeply committed to serving his community, which he demonstrated by spending many hours working to improve the quality of life for all who lived and worked in College Park. Through the years, he volunteered on numerous associations, boards, coalitions, task forces and committees at the neighborhood, city, county and state levels. This Award will recognize a member of the community who emulates Councilman Jack Perry’s legacy of public service.
Eligibility: To be eligible for the award, a person must be at least 18 years of age and a registered voter or legal resident of College Park.
Criteria: The Jack Perry award will recognize a College Park resident who has participated to an extraordinary degree in neighborhood, civic, or municipal affairs within the City in a manner that improves public spaces, fosters community cohesion, eradicates blight, informs discussion of public issues, provides leadership, and/ or furthers the best interests of the City as a whole.
Nominations: From May 15 to July 15 each year, any resident, neighborhood association or organization in the City may submit a nomination for the Jack Perry Award. Nominations must be submitted in writing to the City Clerk, City of College Park, 8400 Baltimore Avenue, Suite 375, College Park, MD, 20740, or by e-mail to cityclerkoffice@ collegeparkmd.gov no later than September 30, 2020. Nominations will be reviewed by a Committee that includes a member of the Perry family. This non-monetary award will be presented by the City Council in the fall.
started what would become the nonprofit organization Help by Phone, Ltd., with its constellation of Prince George’s Countybased emergency food pantries.
More than a half-century of holiday seasons have come and gone since then, and Help by Phone remains, assisting county residents with emergency assistance — food, clothing, financial aid for medication — and transportation to medical appointments, year in and year out.
Best known for its food pantries, Help by Phone operates eight of them hosted by county churches, including St. Jerome Catholic Church in Hyattsville, Berwyn Presbetyrian in Berwyn Heights and University Baptist Church in College Park.
The pandemic triggered a few changes for Help by Phone, beyond their mask-wearing, surface-wiping and physicaldistancing measures.
One of the pantries, hosted out of a Catholic church in Clinton, had to close for several months in response to an archdiocesan shutdown order, according to Marsha Voigt, president of the Help by Phone board of directors.
In Hyattsville, St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church/Iglesia Episcopal San Mateo’s Help by Phone pantry shut down during the pandemic for want of volunteers, while St. Jerome started hosting one. Many established pantries had to reduce their days and hours due to fewer available volunteers.
Surprisingly, the pandemic has generally decreased demand at Help by Phone pantries, Voigt noted. She attributes this, in part, to the many free food distribution events held during the pandemic. These events usually have clients line up in cars to receive their food. In contrast, to access Help by Phone pantry services, clients call the organization to connect with the pantry serving their zip code. Clients then receive an emergency food supply, based on the
size of their household, from that pantry.
“A lot of people would rather line up and be anonymous than visit us,” Voigt noted in a phone interview. She also said that only one of their phone staff speaks Spanish, whereas other food distribution programs may circumnavigate language barriers more easily.
BPC has hosted a Help by Phone pantry since the organization’s inception and was one of a few pantries that didn’t have to reduce its hours during the pandemic, according to Judy Birkenhead, coordinator at that pantry since August 2015.
Although use of the BPC pantry remained stable from 2019 to 2020, it saw a significant drop in the number of clients during the first four months of 2021 (50 families, for a total of 158 individuals), compared to the same time period in 2020 (136 families, for a total of 461 individuals), Birkenhead noted in an email.
Voigt said she sees fewer notices on Facebook about popup food distributions, and she also sees evidence that demand for Help by Phone’s call-in and pickup services will tick up again.
Help by Phone also runs Safe Haven, a cold-weather shelter for homeless men that rotates among about 15 churches in central Prince George’s County. Due to the pandemic, Safe Haven could not operate this past winter. “It was agony to have to cancel,” Voigt commented.
The 52-year-old organization has had to pivot in the past, too. Voigt said that Help by Phone closed a clothing distribution center at a church within the last decade because of space constraints and not enough volunteers. Within a year, though, they established partnerships between area churches and Title 1 elementary schools, like the partnership between Greenbelt Community Church and Springhill Lake Elementary School, to provide clothing for students, including winter
coats, underwear and shoes.
Lois Jones, who was instrumental in founding the organization, quickly rose to executive director and has led Help by Phone through these changes. Jones, now in her late 80s, has received numerous awards and accolades for her work, including a proclamation from Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks naming Oct. 2, 2020, Lois Jones Day in the county and commending her for exemplary service. “For many that know her, Ms. Jones is known as a ‘beacon of light,’ … but most see her as one who does what is right, just and purposeful for the community,” reads the proclamation.
Wilhelm, who has been a Safe Haven coordinator with St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church in Riverdale for about 10 years, said that men staying there when Jones has been an overnight chaperone have described her as “tough.” For permitting purposes, Safe Haven churches have to enforce a number of rules, including no alcohol or weapons. Wilhelm indicated that Jones strictly enforces these rules so that the program can continue there.
Indeed, Help by Phone has an extraordinary track record of continuing, never closing down once during its half-century tenure.
Jones is proud of the ways in which Help by Phone has supported area residents over the decades. When asked about the organization’s most important contribution, she said, “Feeding a lot of people and sheltering a lot of people. Everything we’ve done, I’m proud of.”
County residents in need of emergency food or interested in volunteering can call Help by Phone (301.699.9009), Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., to connect with a nearby pantry.
Friday, May 21 marked D.C.’s twentieth annual Bike to Work Day. Bikers throughout the DMV gathered to celebrate their shared passion for biking and promote it as an eco-friendly means of travel. College Park Here & Now interviewed four bike commuters: Joshua Fatzinger, Ashley Rodriguez, Max Skoglund and Brook Biddulph.
Fatzinger bikes 1 ½ mile on the Rhode Island Avenue Trolly Trail to work at the University of Maryland, largely because biking saves him time. By car, and factoring in delays and detours on Route 1, his commute is typically between 15 and 20 minutes. By bike, he shaves it down to seven.
Rodriguez commutes to downtown D.C. She routinely rides the trolly trail to the College Park Metro Station but occasionally enjoys the long ride into the District. She rides an electric bicycle, citing its economic efficiency as a key consideration, as she does not pay for parking or gas. She recommends that everybody give bike commuting a try. “The distance isn’t as bad as most people think,” she said. Indeed, most of these commuters said that their commute by bike is the same or shorter than by car.
Skoglund also commutes to
D.C. His most direct route is close to a 20-mile round trip, but he often takes the safer and more scenic route down the Anacostia River Trail, even as that doubles his time and distance. Skoglund sees commuting by car as purely utilitarian, whereas commuting on his bicycle is a much more enjoyable experience.
Biddulph said that she bikes to work, even as her commute doesn’t involve heading to an office. “My work is my kids,” she said. A stay-at-home mom, she tools around town with her kids on board — her three-year-old riding in a basket on the handlebars, her five-year-old on an outboard bike attached to her own, and her eight-year-old riding independently alongside. Biking around town is fun exercise for them all and turns routine errands into enjoyable outings. Biddolph bikes her kids to playdates, karate practice and other activities, too.
Skoglund suggests that aspiring bike commuters start with small trips to build their skills and stamina, and then map out good routes so that they can confidently bike to work. Bike commuting can be challenging, especially in traffic. But as these bicyclists confirm, once you build experience, commuting by bike is a uniquely rewarding experience and a great way to start the day.
pandemic, Greenberg said that both venues still had to add contactless pickup options to come close to meeting their bottom line.
“Both restaurants remained open the entire time. We put banners outside saying ‘We’re still here, please support us,’ and the local community did support us as best as they could. [However] Bagels & Grinds sales were down [a] little bit more than Potomac Pizza.”
Low- to no-contact restaurant options were the most feasible, said Jonas Hosmer, a junior at UMD.
By Margaret Attridge
Bagels & Grinds, Potomac Pizza and the College Park Grill have become staples over the handful of years they’ve been in the city. Like most local businesses, though, COVID-19 restrictions put them in a precarious position.
“It’s definitely been a very trying year on the company, and College Park has probably been our hardest hit location because we’ve been in a college town without a college, we’ve been in hotels without hotel guests,” said Adam Greenberg, president and CEO of Restaurant Zone Inc., in Potomac.
While Restaurant Zone operates a combined eight restaurants in four different counties in Maryland, the company’s three College Park locations — Bagels & Grinds, Potomac Pizza and the College Park Grill — were hardest hit.
“All the stores are down, but the ones in College Park really had been on life support, and we’ve really had to think outside of the box,” Greenberg said.
According to Greenberg, the three venues shuttered on March 16, when Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks closed indoor dining, following the state mandate put in place by Gov. Hogan. All 42 employees at the College Park Grill were furloughed until further notice. For some, the furlough lasted only a week before good fortune knocked on the door.
“We closed, and seven days later, we got a call from the [Cambria] hotel sales team, and they asked us if we could handle making breakfast and dinner for 127 people every day,” Greenberg said. “Without hesitation, I said yes. I said, ‘When does it start?’ They said in four hours … and then I called my general manager and my chef and said, ‘We’re back!’”
The National Guard was staying at the Cambria Hotel in College Park to assist with COVID-19 testing and other emergency response efforts related to the pandemic. Members stayed at the hotel for a full five months, and 15 College Park Grill employees returned to work. According to Greenberg, this allowed the res-
taurant to stay afloat until restrictions were eased.
“The National Guard saved the College Park Grill because without them, I’m not sure it would be open today. We’re extremely appreciative for not only the service of the fine men and women of the Guard, but for them staying at that hotel we were in and us having the privilege to be able to feed them every day,” he said.
Chris Mavrikes, a senior at the University of Maryland (UMD) and former brand ambassador for Bagels & Grinds, Potomac Pizza and the College Park Grill, said he is especially happy that the College Park Grill — his favorite of the three — managed to stay open.
“I thought the food [at the College Park Grill] was by far the best in the local College Park area ... There’s been this tradition on my dad’s side of the family where we would have birthday lunches for a bunch of the guys, and they would all come out to the College Park Grill because we liked it so much,” Mavrikes said.
Though Bagels & Grinds and Potomac Pizza had carry-out models that worked well during the
“I went to Bagels & Grinds probably once a week before the pandemic,” Hosmer said. “At the start of the pandemic, when I was living at home with my family, we did take-out all the time. We never ate at any restaurants; the first restaurant I ever ate at, it was outside [during] the summer, and I thought it was a totally weird experience.”
To promote contactless pickups, Bagels & Grinds opened a pop-up bagel shop, and it turned out to be a huge success. Greenberg said that Restaurant Zone promoted the pop-up.
“We used our email marketing for Potomac Pizza and said, ‘Who wants to pick up the best bagels in the country in Potomac on Saturday?’ And the response was unbelievable. Almost immediately, we got up to 150 orders a week … and still to this day, we’re doing the Bagels & Grinds pop-up; we have not missed one week since we started in early April last year,” he said. Greenberg stated that Restaurant Zone had no reported outbreaks of COVID-19 while it kept venues open in College Park. He noted that feeding the National Guard, first-responders and hungry neighbors turned out to be a rewarding experience for the company.
“The industry is amazing and resilient, and the people have shown their appreciation for restaurant workers, which has been amazing. People know that [while] they’re staying at home safe in their homes, that we’re out here every day, working to make sure that they’ve got great food to eat that they can pick up right on the curbside, or we can do contactless delivery. They’ve been tremendous, and we’re very grateful,” he said.
The Prince George’s County Planning Board held a meeting on May 20 to discuss the University of Maryland’s (UMD) proposal to repurpose the Paint Branch Golf Complex. While the university does not own the land or the complex, they would undertake this project in partnership with state and county organizations. Phase 1 of construction would involve converting the driving range to a track and field stadium, and Phase 2 would rebuild the driving range elsewhere on the grounds and could include the construction of additional recreational facilities, such as a batting cage or mini golf course. Current plans would leave space for three to five golfing holes in a complex that is presently home to nine.
The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) may allow the university to build a National Collegiate Athletics Association track and field facility where the driving range sits. UMD officials indicate that the new facility would be operated by the university but would be available for Prince George’s County Department of Parks and Recreation (PGCDPR) programming, as well as for local high schools and interested residents to use, providing there aren’t collegiate practices or meets taking place.
In 2013, the university’s golf course was considered by a developer for mixed-use purposes, and in 2018, the university considered building a new track and field complex there.
UMD is running out of time for an initial proposal to be approved. The light-rail Purple Line’s right of way runs through part of the university’s existing track facility; construction starts in fall of 2022. If the new field facilities proposed for the Paint Branch site are approved, construction there would also begin in 2022, with completion of the first phase slated for 2023.
M-NCPPC team leaders said that a new driving range would be constructed elsewhere at the Paint Branch Golf Complex as part of a major overhaul of the grounds. Although no plans have been finalized for the remaining phases of construction, planning team mem-
bers and some 50 residents discussed possible changes to the facilities at Paint Branch during a virtual meeting on May 13. The planning team suggested that the grounds could be filled with batting cages, ziplines or skate parks. One county council member noted that major changes may come to the complex whether or not the field and track facility is built. A second, in-person community meeting is scheduled for June 15 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the College Park Airport.
M-NCPPC Planning Supervisor Sonja Ewing said that she hopes that the partnership will result in a “two plus two equals five” situation in which the three organizations work together to create a better recreational center than either could have done on their own. She noted that the community’s recreational
needs will be considered in all phases of the project.
“We see this as intensifying the recreational opportunities in an area that is becoming more dense,” Ewing said. (The U.S. Census reports that the county’s population has grown 5.2% in the last decade, from 863,000 in 2010 to 909,000 in 2020.)
Ewing added, “Phase 2 is basically bulleted ideas and bubble diagrams. “We have metrics on what the community’s needs are, but we wanted to use this community meeting process to hear from the residents about … which things would be their priorities.”
According to Ewing, the PGCDPR completed studies in 2013 and 2017 to determine residents’ interest in certain recreational activities. In both studies, she said, about 5% of county residents were interested in golf.
The area’s best Mac support for when things go slightly or horribly awry. PCs welcome too!
Ewing noted that the pandemic has affected facility use significantly; trail use, for example, nearly doubled during 2020.
The National Golf Foundation reported that a record 3 million Americans tried golf for the first time last year, up considerably from annual averages of about 2 million over the past seven years. Of note, the foundation also reports that there has been an 11% cumulative contraction in the availability of golf courses in the U.S. over the past ten years, and that the contraction has been disproportionately concentrated in valuepriced courses (defined by the foundation as those with greens fees of $40 or less).
In the last few years, three golf courses have closed in Prince George’s County. Patuxent Greens in Laurel closed in 2018 to make way for townhomes, Glenn Dale Golf Club closed in 2019 for town house and single-family home development, and Cross Creek in Beltsville is
permanently closed. Four other courses remain open.
Of the public golf courses still operating in Prince George’s County, Paint Branch is the least expensive, with a weekday evening nine-hole rate of $14. UMD’s golf course more than doubles Paint Branch’s rate, with a weekday pre-twilight fee of $40. Both offer discounted senior fees.
Seniors have been the most vocal opponent of the partnership project so far. Mike Crosman, 71, co-runs a golf league at the Paint Branch Golf Complex on Tuesday nights and said that the low rates are one of draws for seniors on fixed incomes. The other main draw, Crosman said, is the flat terrain at Paint Branch. He said many seniors come there just to walk the grounds, which are wooded and full of wildlife. Followup meetings will be held in June and July. The first is slated for June 15 and will be open to the community. The university held a public session with the board of regents finance committee after press time, on June 10, to discuss the projected $6.9 million project. Following completion of traffic studies, the Phase 1 partnership proposal will be presented to the county planning board in June or July. The board does not meet in August.
and cached them along the Paint Branch Trail in College Park for others to discover — a kind of socially distanced Easter egg hunt.
The pandemic put the College Park parkrun’s live events on hold for 64 long weeks. By the time they kicked back up, it was soccer season, so Mary Clare’s Saturday mornings were spoken for. Then the coolest, wettest Memorial Day weekend in memory came to the rescue. With her game washed out, Mary Clare was excited to run a 5K, even in the rain, instead.
Ahead of our May 29 live restart, we nervously watched the weather and hoped that the predicted rain would not spoil the occasion. We got wet, but nobody seemed to care. The 150 people who turned out, along with Mary Clare, were thrilled to be outdoors with other people again.
Flooding on some stretches of the Paint Branch Trail led to a last-minute switch to a double out-and-back course. Even that was a bonus. It allowed participants to try out a stretch of the new College Park Woods Connector Trail, including the beautiful boardwalk, that opened during the pandemic. And that meant that everybody got to pass and cheer for everybody else a few times along the way.
Making the event work under adverse circumstances has become routine. Our parkrun community worked together over the past year, reinforcing the ways in which College Park parkrun offers us all
social support that’s valuable, and especially so when times are tough.
We initially thought that virtual events would be a modest draw, guessing that only a handful of people would take part. To our surprise, participation was even higher than for the in-person events, reaching 10,000 participants over the course of our 58 virtual events. More than 50 volunteers have participated, too, collecting and sharing thousands of pictures and inspiring stories along the way.
Participants in our virtual events have hailed from 30 states, and many families used these events as a way of staying in touch. Mayor Patrick Wojahn encouraged his mom, Karen Wojahn, to join
from Green Bay, Wis. She became a regular walker and was soon joined by her sister, Mary Hicks, in Rockford, Ill. Because our events were virtual, participants could be anywhere; people joined in from Europe and even India. Participants’ ages spanned the decades, from toddlers who were completing their first mile all the way up to James Wilson, who in May walked 4 miles with his daughter Lisa to celebrate his 103rd birthday. But we never lost our roots in the process. In April, the community organized a T-shirt fundraiser, raising over $2,500 for the College Park Community Food Bank. So come on out, whatever the weather. Our always free, always friendly events
start Saturday mornings at 9 a.m. in Acredale Community Park. You can signup for a free personal barcode at parkrun.us/collegepark. There’s no need to be super fit, and you can walk or run and bring along your dog or your children — yes, even strollers get a thumbs up. And as Mary Clare will tell you, anyone and everyone is welcome at the College Park parkruns!
year 2021 was set at 32.5 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. Approaching the new fiscal year, valuations across the county went up following a new assessment from the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation.
“All properties are reassessed once every three years. And then what happens is the new assessment will go into effect, either up or down, over a threeyear period,” Prince George’s County Legislative Analyst David Juppe said. “And the reason the state does that, is [that] it sort of mitigates the effects on a homeowner. If there’s large increases in assessments, then sort of spreading [it] out over three years helps to limit the amount of the impact.”
Given the higher valuations, College Park would have seen an increase in tax revenue if the rate were to remain the same. The city had the choice to maintain the rate from the prior year or adopt the Constant Yield Tax Rate set forth by the state.
“What the constant yield calculation tells you is what the rate would need to be to raise the same amount of revenue next year that’s being raised under the current rate,” Juppe said. “So what the municipality has to decide is whether or not they want to adopt the constant yield rate, or whether they need to adopt a different rate, based on the municipality’s budgetary needs.”
The city initially planned to keep the 2021 rate, rather than lower it to the constant yield. A public hearing on the matter is required, which led the city to take out an advertisement in The Washington Post in late April to notify residents of the May 11 meeting.
After councilmembers heard residents’ comments at the hearing, city staff took another look at budget options. During a work session the following week, Interim City Manager Bill Gardiner and Financial Director Gary Fields walked councilmembers through some options to reduce the property tax rate to the constant yield rate without detriment to the planned budget.
“We put forward a budget that was tight, funded a lot of [the council’s] capital requests, reduced a lot of expenditures, but maintained the 32.5 cent real property tax rate and did not propose to go down to the constant yield,” Gardiner said at the work session.
Gardiner noted that reduc-
ing the tax rate would lead to a loss of $380,000 in tax revenue for the upcoming year.
However, federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 would allow the city to lower property taxes to the constant yield rate, “without immediate pain on programs that we’ve planned for many years.”
“Given that this is a maybe one-time opportunity to have a trade-off free tax cut, I think we’d be silly not to take it,”
Councilmember John Rigg (District 3) said at the work session.
At the May 25 city council meeting, members voted unanimously to adopt the Constant Yield Rate (31.31 cents per $100 of assessed value), meaning that College Park residents will see no increase in their property taxes at the city level.
“I think it will be appreciated by many of our residents. Many of them spoke in favor of reducing property tax rates, and it’s something we don’t do every year, but this is an unusual time. Because of the pandemic, many of our residents are in hardship. … The amount is not that much, but every bit of help, helps,” Councilmember Fazlul Kabir (District 1) said at the meeting.
Meanwhile, Prince George’s County has been going through a similar process.
“The county has its rate that it can set, and then the municipalities can set a property tax rate as well. So someone
living in College Park would pay property taxes to both the county and to College Park,” Juppe said. “The county goes through an annual exercise each fall called tax differential where it looks at the services that the county is providing and looks at the services that the municipality is providing, and if there’s some overlap … the county gives the municipality credit for those services so that someone living in that municipality isn’t paying double taxation. They’re not paying for police services to the county and to the municipality, for example.”
Prince George’s County has already advertised its intention to keep the tax rate for College
Park at 96.5 cents per $100 of assessed value, which is above the constant yield. Given that the assessed values are higher, some residents could see an increase in their property taxes at the county level.
“If the constant yield had been adopted, and the rates were slightly lower – say it was, just hypothetically, $1.25 combined [per $100 of assessed valuation] — then they might pay $125 to 150 less.” Juppe said. “So it’s not a large amount, but ... there is a slight increase in the amount that someone with the median home price would pay.”
Juppe said this also depends on the assessed value of a resident’s home in the prior year, along with the tax rate that was
in effect then.
“Some assessed values go down... If the assessed value was $340,000 and then it goes up to $350,000 and the constant yield is not adopted, then yes, they’re paying slightly more,” he noted.
According to Juppe, the proposed county budget for fiscal year 2022 is “pretty well flat,” relative to the fiscal 2021 budget. He said that while property tax revenues will increase, economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic have caused estimated drops in other revenue sources.
The Prince George’s County FY2022 budget, which will set the tax rates, will be considered and adopted on June 22.
By Gregory Nedved
As the global pandemic has sidelined museums throughout the world, a museum right here in College Park — the National Museum of Language (NML) — is flourishing. The museum explores languages and their role in societies throughout the world. When NML opened, in 2008, it was the only museum of its kind, anywhere.
The NML originated from an exhibit sponsored by the National Security Agency in 1971. Dr. Amelia C. Murdoch, who had helped organize that exhibit, set her sights on creating a language museum she could open to the public. That dream was partially realized in 1997, when NML began. Murdoch saw its completion in 2008, when the College Park museum welcomed its first visitors. The location was personal to her; she chose her home, College Park, to be the museum’s home, too. Located at 7100 Baltimore Avenue, NML ini-
tially consisted of three display areas and an office.
From 2008 to 2013, NML offered exhibits exploring the many ways individuals and societies use language. The museum’s longest running exhibit, “Writing Language: Passing It On,” compared alphabetic writing systems, like Greek, with pictographic writing systems, like Japanese. “Emerging American Language in 1812” commemorated the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 by exploring the English language of that time. A third exhibit, “Glimpses of French in the Americas,” introduced the exceptionally diverse universe of French dialects in the Western Hemisphere.
The museum had a language tree, which allowed visitors to trace their language roots. Visitors could take a spelling test typical of one that students might take in 1812 or review rare foreign-language sacred texts. They could also practice writing Chinese characters, guess the origins
of Native American words, translate their names into other languages or play an online language game. The pandemic forced museums worldwide to focus on virtual programming, but NML was a frontrunner, transitioning to online exhibits, back in 2013. (The museum continued to hold speaker programs in College Park, as well.) Its first virtual exhibit was a simulation game that offered a glimpse into field research. For this endeavor, NML partnered with the Uni-
versity of Wisconsin, which was compiling a dictionary of regional English in America. The museum’s website now features interviews with a number of linguists, offers support for language instructors and explores a different language each month. And on a lighter side, the site has what may be the world’s largest collection of ancient Greek jokes — about 265 of them, in fact.
When the pandemic struck, NML stepped up with expanded partnerships and more online offerings, including an exhibit showcasing children’s stories in a number of languages (14 so far). NML has continued to host events, too, but has made them entirely virtual. One popular event is a regular language trivia night, which is conducted in English but focuses on another language (the first in this series explored Chinese). The museum’s website includes a virtual guided tour. One of the museum’s unique features is its moveable mu-
seum strategy, through which NML lends items to patrons for display. NML has also expanded its language camps and is recruiting volunteers to serve as language liaisons to help educators. So far, 16 volunteers have contributed their time to this endeavor. The goal of NML’s board is to ultimately reopen the museum as a brick-and-mortar facility, one that, according to its mission statement, “inspires an appreciation for the magic and beauty of language.” But whether you visit the museum virtually or, down the road, in person, know that the National Museum of Language welcomes everybody for whom language is important — and this includes you! To learn more about NML, visit www. languagemuseum.org.