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THE DIAMONDBACK | NEWS | THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2016
Council working to finalize proposed budget for FY 2017 By Jessie Campisi @jessiecampisi Staff writer
UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT WALLACE LOH, Gov. Larry Hogan, Oculus VR CEO Brendan Iribe, Maryland Senate President Mike Miller and Oculus VR co-founder Michael Antonov break virtual ground in the University of Maryland’s Iribe Center on April 30. stephanie natoli/the diamondback
Iribe Center breaks virtual ground By Lindsey Feingold @lindseyf96 Staff writer As people started to arrive for Maryland Day on Saturday morning, state and university officials held a ceremony to virtually break ground on a new computer science building aimed at enhancing innovation and research. The Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Innovation, which will be located at Route 1 and Campus Drive, will support research in topics including virtual and augmented reality, robotics, artificial intelligence and computer vision. “When historians in the future look back and say, ‘When was the start of College Park and the University of Maryland as the Silicon Valley of the state of Maryland?’, they will point to Maryland Day 2016,” university President Wallace Loh said at the ceremony. “This is utterly transformative for this university.” Iribe, co-founder and CEO of Oculus VR, a virtual reality company, donated $31 million to build the center and create a scholarship in his name. Iribe also led the “virtual” groundbreaking as some people in attendance wore Oculus VR glasses and saw as Iribe, with a
virtual shovel, broke ground at the site of the virtual Iribe center. After Iribe’s donation, there was an 18-month process to design the center, said Peter Weiler, university relations vice president. “It was almost two years ago today that Brendan Iribe exited the A.V. Williams Building and suggested, ‘You people need a new building [for computer science],’” Weiler said during the ceremony. The 215,600 square foot center is expected to open in 2018 and will have 13 computer labs, eight collaborative classrooms, five seminar rooms and 785 seats of instructional space. There will also be 20,000 square feet of community space for students to study, talk and hang out, as well as 5,300 square feet of makerspace, where students can gather to create new technologies. Other features include virtual and augmented reality labs, as well as a motion capture lab where athletes can record and perfect their movements. The building will also have a 300-seat ground-level auditorium named after Michael Antonov, an Oculus co-founder who donated $4 million in addition to Iribe’s $31 million for the project. The auditorium will host conferences and lectures.
The state has also given $104 million to this project. “With the addition of the Brendan Iribe Center, the University of Maryland will continue to push boundaries, continue to develop fearless ideas and continue to achieve significant breakthroughs … Finally, the things we thought we’d only see in movies are becoming a reality right here in College Park,” Gov. Larry Hogan said during the meeting. Iribe also announced the building’s rooftop garden will be named Reisse Park, in honor of Andrew Reisse, another cofounder of Oculus, who died in 2013. The garden will include natural water features, Iribe said during the ceremony. Iribe, Antonov and Reisse met in Denton Hall as freshmen at this university and worked on various projects together and later created the virtual reality program. “When I look back, I think about College Park as really the beginning of this career in computer science,” Iribe said. “These two buildings — not just the Iribe Center but also the Antonov Auditorium – symbolize this partnership and friendship that we formed at College Park." lfeingolddbk@gmail.com
After weeks of debate, the College Park City Council is one step closer to approving its budget for fiscal year 2017. Total operating revenues, or income from day-to-day operations, rose by almost 10 percent since fiscal year 2016, according to the budget, which has more than $17.8 million in operating revenues and includes no increases in taxes, fees or fines. Scott Somers, the city manager, said the proposed budget “reflects the city's commitment to providing valuable government services to the community at large in a cost-effective and efficient manner.” After the budget process began in January 2016, Somers asked local departments to eliminate unnecessary spending. By the end of March 2016, the council received the proposed budget and discussed it throughout several weeks in April before hearing public opinions at a budget town hall on April 29. The council’s comments during the budget worksession led to several changes to the proposed budget, including using $26,000 to buy and install two, instead of one, rectangular rapid flashing beacons to serve as a useractivated light for pedestrians and bikers at crossings without stop signs or lights. These beacons will likely go on Rhode Island Avenue and Metzerott Road, District 1 Councilman Fazlul Kabir said, but locations have not been officially decided. “Rhode Island Avenue is where we started this,” DisMARYLAND
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trict 1 Councilwoman Christine Nagle said during the council’s budget worksession April 16. “I don’t think it should take a lot of analysis for that [beacon installation] to happen.” The budget also allocated $5,000 for two new streetlights, according to city documents. The council has not determined locations for these additions. Another part of the budget will be geared toward improving the city’s aesthetic appeal, setting aside $8,000 to add trees, shrubs and flowers to its landscape, according to city documents. “We're trying to make College Park more inviting to others,” Kabir said. “Visitors, students, families – we want them to have a good experience.” Attracting and maintaining residents in College Park fits into the College Park City-University Partnership’s objectives. In efforts to achieve this goal, Eric Olson, executive director of the partnership, requested the city to add $50,000, on top of the $125,000 that is already allocated, to CPCUP’s budget for its home-ownership grant program, which helps university employees get a $15,000 down payment or closing cost assistance if they buy a house in College Park, according to the CPCUP website. “It would be both symbolically valuable ... and practically valuable,” District 3 Councilwoman Stephanie Stullich said. “It would enable us to continue a program that has been successful in helping to attract new homeowners who are Maryland faculty and staff to our city.” This funding proposal ended in a 4-4 tie, and with Mayor Patrick Wojahn absent and unable to break this tie, the council failed to get a majority to support adding it to the budget. “I really feel like we might
be paying $125,000 for staff to go attend Purple Line meetings and do other things and do sustainability things that are being done elsewhere,” Nagle said. “So if we can’t ask them to utilize [the money] for things that aren't being done elsewhere, then I guess I’m going to say I’m not going to support it.” While there are no major changes in expenditures for the fiscal 2017 budget, income tax revenue is estimated to rise almost 4 percent, according to the requested budget. Speeding trends also point to an increase of about $315,000 from speed enforcement cameras. Speed enforcement camera revenue helps fund local police forces in areas such as Greenbelt and New Carrollton, Kabir said. While College Park does not have a city police force, there have been talks of establishing one. As a result, the city plans to fund a police services evaluation and feasibility study to determine whether a local police department is necessary, Kabir said. “When you have your own force, there’s better accountability and officers are in better touch with residents,” Kabir said. “The issue is the cost, [and] are we ready to support one.” Not many residents showed up to the budget town hall on April 29, Kabir said, and the city will try conducting a survey to hear more residents’ opinions. “Either we’re doing a really good job, or we’re not doing very good,” he said. “People either like what we’re doing ... or they feel disenfranchised and thought it was a waste of time.” A public hearing is scheduled for May 10 at City Hall, and the final council vote for the budget will be held May 24. The budget is set to go into effect on July 1. jcampisidbk@gmail.com
MARYLAND MILESTONES ANACOSTIA TRAILS HERITAGE AREA
Rivers to Rockets Weekends April 29-June 5, 2016
Don’t Miss our Rivers to Rockets Bike Rally on May 7th, leaving from Bladensburg Waterfront Park, to explore the region’s trails and heritage sites! Visit our website for a calendar of programs exploring the region’s history, art, culture, and natural resources taking you from river tours to rocket launches!
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photo Sarah Rogers, ATHA Inc.
MarylandMilestones.org
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