Update on the University Board of Regents and the Admissions and Amusement Tax

I have an update on the Admissions and Amusement tax issue. It seems that the Board of Regents is not actually likely to be voting on the issue, but will be hearing recommendations from staff. The city has been discussing the issue with the Board of Regents staff, and we’re hoping to work something out. I still encouraged people to come Tuesday who are interested in helping ensure that we maintain our revenue from the university, but it seems that the situation isn’t as dire as we originally may have thought. I will definitely keep everyone posted.

Patrick

Contract Police Report: December 4-10, 2009

12/4 Contract officer conducted a traffic assignment (Stop Sign) at Saint Andrews Place at Duke Street. 6 citations were issued

12/4 Contract officer conducted a traffic assignment (Failure to yield to Pedestrians) in the 5100 block of Paint Branch Parkway. 3 citations were issued

12/5 Contract officers responded to a call for service at 9000 block Baltimore Ave (Comfort Inn) for a report of a recovered stolen vehicle. The victim reported her truck stolen earlier and located the vehicle. Officers arrived on the scene and found the suspect inside the vehicle. Suspect was placed under arrest for stolen vehicle and CDS. Arrest handled by the beat officer.

12/7 Contract officer conducted a traffic assignment (Stop Sign) at Saint Andrews Place at Duke Street. 5 citations were issued

12/7 Contract officer conducted a traffic assignment (Stop Sign) at Greenbelt Road at Rhode Island Ave. 6 citations were issued

12/7 Contract officer responded to a call for service at 9600 block Baltimore Ave for a report of a motor vehicle accident with injury. Incident verified

12/7 Contract officer responded to a call for service at 7000 block Wake Forest Road for a report of a citizen robbery. Incident verified –assisted on duty units with perimeter.

12/8 Contract officer recovered a reported stolen vehicle from Arlington County Virginia at Cherokee Street at 49th Ave.

12/9 Contract officer conducted a traffic assignment (Stop Sign) at Greenbelt Road at Rhode Island Ave. 4 citations were issued

12/9 Contract officer responded to a call for service at 9200 block 51st Ave for a report of a vandalism. Incident verified

12/9 Contract officer responded to a call for service at 5200 block Paint Branch Parkway for a report of a theft from auto. Incident verified

12/10 Contract officer on routine patrol in the 9800 block of Rhode Island Ave (REI Plaza) observed a suspicious vehicle occupied by two persons. A field stop was conducted and they were SOW.

MD State Citations: 72
Warnings: 14
ERO: 1
Parking: 0
Citations in Lieu of Arrest: 0
Criminal Arrests: 0
DWS Arrest: 0
DWI Arrest: 0
Warrant Arrest: 0

Full Time Contract Officers (Portion of above)
MD State Citations: 12
Warnings: 8
ERO: 1
Parking: 0
Citations in Lieu of Arrest: 0
Criminal Arrests: 0
DWS Arrest: 0
DWI Arrest: 0
Warrant Arrest: 0

Acronyms:
DWI – Driving while intoxicated
DWS – Driving on suspended license
ERO – Equipment repair order (headlight out, etc)
SOW – Sent on way
GOA – Gone on arrival
PWID- Possession with the intent to distribute (illicit drugs)

Note: This list does not include routine incidents handled by the officers.

University Board of Regents Meeting on Tuesday morning re: A&A tax for the City of College Park

Dear neighbors,

I want to draw your attention to an issue that could have a real impact on city revenues this year. Unfortunately, if this comes out the wrong way, we could face a real hit in our budget, that could lead to a tax increase for residents, just to keep the current level of City services in place.

Currently, the City of College Park receives about $600,000 every year in revenues through the Admissions and Amusement (A&A) tax from the University of Maryland. This is a tax that cities across the state are allowed to place on ticket prices from entertainment events, including sporting events, movies, concerts, etc. Most of the money that College Park gets through this tax is through sporting events, including football and basketball games.

This revenue is especially important for the City, because it is the largest part of the small amount of revenue we get from the University. Because the University is state property, we don’t receive any property tax from this property – which means that about 30% of the City’s land is completely off the tax roles. Despite this, we need to spend City revenues on many things associated with the university – maintaining public safety, picking up litter downtown that is related to the university and students, handling code enforcement issues related to the university and students in our community, etc.

A recent court decision in the Maryland state Court of Appeals might allow the university to request an exemption from paying these taxes to the city. This Tuesday morning, the University of Maryland Board of Regents will be deciding not only whether to request an exemption from the A&A tax for all of its events going forward, but also whether to request a refund of A&A taxes from the past 4 years! If the comptroller were to grant such a request, College Park taxpayers would be stuck with a bill of around $2.4 million!

We need to show that College Park residents do not want the university to get a free ride, while residents have to pay taxes.

The meeting took place Tuesday morning, December 22, at 8 am in the main University Services Building at 3300 Metzerott Road.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Patrick

City services over the next few days

Dear neighbors,

The City’s Public Works staff has been working hard over the past 48 hours to keep the roads clean and maintain access to our homes. Although they’re still out working and cleaning up the roads, please let me know if you see any problems or if there are any areas that have not been adequately taken care of, and I’ll pass it on to the staff to take care of. As a whole, though, I think our city’s staff did a tremendous job given the conditions, and should be commended. Many of our staff members have been putting in twelve-hour shifts all this weekend–please thank them if you have the chance.

I want to update you all on City services for this week. The City will be open for business as usual until the holiday. This means that there WILL be trash pick-up as usual this week, so be sure to put your trash bins out for pick-up. Also, please be considerate of the staff and try to make the trash bins as accessible as possible given the snow banks on the side of the road. I’m sure the staff will appreciate your patience and cooperation as they try to deal with these difficult weather conditions!

Finally – for obvious reasons – there will be no leaf pick-up this week. After the holidays, the staff will be considering how to do the final leaf pick-up for the season, and will post signs up around the neighborhoods to let residents know.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Patrick

Safety Tips from Chief Hylton

Dear Prince George’s County Residents:

The holidays are upon us once again. It is a time to reflect on the year ending and plan the year ahead. During this past year, the Prince George’s County Police Department made tremendous progress in the fight against crime, allowing us to enjoy a continued downward trend of violent and total crime. Of course, we did not accomplish such a feat alone. We truly appreciate the efforts many of you have made to help reduce crime and create safer communities.

During times of holiday celebration, it is even more important that we remain vigilant against criminals invading our residential, business, and faith communities so that all residents continue to feel safe inside their homes, in the stores they patronize, and in their places of worship.

This season while you are out and about shopping and celebrating, remember to be well aware of your surroundings, paying particular attention to things that seem out of the ordinary. Also take into account the following safety tips:

• Keep exterior doors, garage doors and windows locked, particularly when you are not at home
• Have packages delivered to a trusted neighbor or placed in the back yard, out of sight, if you will not be available to receive them
• Secure all packages in the trunk of your vehicle so they are not visible
• Keep money out of sight
• Only carry the credit cards you intend to use
• Do not leave purses unattended in shopping carts or vehicles
• Consider carrying wallets, money, and credit cards in front pockets
• Park in well-lit, high traffic areas
• Have your keys in hand when approaching your vehicle

While we look ahead to the coming year, let us focus on the health and safety of each other and our communities. Do not let the criminal element take hold of the things you cherish the most. The Prince George’s County Police Department will continue to diligently patrol our streets and work in partnership with you so that our County will flourish.

Have a wonderful holiday season and be safe!

Roberto L. Hylton
Chief of Police

Neighborhood Clean-up: Rescheduled for Jan 9

Alas, due to the weather, only a few hearty folks came out for yesterday’s neighborhood clean-up. As a result, we only spent about a half hour before we get cold and wet and decided to call it a day. Thanks tons to Stacey King, our City’s recycling coordinator, who braved the cold and rain and drove all the way from Edgewater to help out!

We’re rescheduling for Saturday, January 9, at 10 am. Saturday is a better day for Public Works staff, and hopefully the weather will be better!

If you need reasons to come out and help, I’ve enclosed a few pictures – these should help show the amount of trash we have in the Narragansett Run behind MOM’s. We need people to help clean this stuff up!

Patrick

Contract Police Report: Nov 26- Dec 3, 2009

11/26 Contract officer conducted a traffic assignment (Traffic Device) at Baltimore Ave at College Ave. 5 citations were issued

11/27 Contract officer responded to a call for service at 4800 block Norwich Road for a report of a Breaking and Entering Report. Incident verified

11/27 Contract officers responded to a call for service at 9500 block 52nd Ave for a report of a Residential Robbery (Home Invasion). Incident verified-assisted on duty beat officers and investigators

11/28 Contract officer responded to a call for service at 10000 block Rhode Island Ave (Hollywood Dollar) for a report of a Breaking and Entering Report. Incident verified

11/29 Contract officer observed a suspicious vehicle (occupied 2X) at 54th Ave at Lakeland Road and conducted a field interview. Individuals were negative for open warrants and SOW.

12/01 Contract officer conducted a traffic assignment (Traffic Device) at Baltimore Ave at Cherry Hill Road. 4 citations were issued

12/01 Contract officer conducted a traffic assignment (Failure to yield to Pedestrians) in the 5100 block of Paint Branch Parkway. 1 citation was issued

12/02 Contract officer conducted a traffic assignment (Stop Sign) at Greenbelt Road at Rhode Island Ave. 7 citations were issued

12/02 Contract officer conducted a traffic assignment (Traffic Device) at Baltimore Ave at College Ave. 6 citations were issued

12/02 Contract officer conducted a traffic assignment (Stop Sign) at Calvert Road at Rhode Island Ave. 5 citations were issued

12/03 Contract officer conducted a traffic assignment (Traffic Device) at Baltimore Ave at Knox Road. 3 citations were issued

12/03 Contract officer on routine patrol in the 7400 block of Baltimore Ave observed a fight in progress and intervened. One party of the fight assaulted the officer and was placed under arrest and transported to District I for processing.

MD State Citations: 56
Warnings: 31
ERO: 9
Parking: 1
Citations in Lieu of Arrest: 0
Criminal Arrests: 1
DWS Arrest: 0
DWI Arrest: 0
Warrant Arrest: 0

Full Time Contract Officers (Portion of above)
MD State Citations: 6
Warnings: 1
ERO: 3
Parking: 0
Citations in Lieu of Arrest: 0
Criminal Arrests: 0
DWS Arrest: 0
DWI Arrest: 0
Warrant Arrest: 0

Acronyms:
DWI – Driving while intoxicated
DWS – Driving on suspended license
ERO – Equipment repair order (headlight out, etc)
SOW – Sent on way
GOA – Gone on arrival
PWID – Possession with the intent to distribute (illicit drugs)

Note: This list does not include routine incidents handled by the officers.

Contract Police Report: November 20-25, 2009

11/20 Contract officer conducted a traffic assignment (Stop Sign) at Greenbelt Road at Rhode Island Ave. 4 citations were issued

11/20 Contract officer conducted a traffic assignment (Stop Sign) at Edmonston Road at Old Calvert Road. 2 citations were issued

11/20 Contract officer assisted the Code Enforcement Officer at 9100 block Autoville Drive in shutting down a loud party.

11/20 Contract officer conducted a traffic stop in the 8600 block of Baltimore Ave. The driver was placed under arrest for DWI.

11/21 Contract officer issued a summons in lieu of arrest for disorderly conduct at 4900 block Osage Street.

11/23 Contract officer conducted a traffic assignment (Stop Sign) at Saint Andrews Place at Duke Street. 6 citations were issued

11/23 Contract officer conducted a traffic assignment (Failure to yield to pedestrians) at Greenbelt Road at Rhode Island Ave. 5 citations were issued

11/23 Contract officer stopped a suspicious person in the 5300 block of Lackawanna Street and conducted a field interview. SOW

11/23 Contract officer stopped two suspicious persons at Metzerott Road at 35th Street and conducted a field interview. SOW

11/25 Contract officers responded to the scene of a DOA (Homeless Person) in the 8100 block of Baltimore Ave. Officers assisted the beat officers and investigators.

11/25 Contract officer conducted a traffic assignment (Failure to yield to Pedestrians) in the 5100 block of Paint Branch Parkway. 3 citations were issued

MD State Citations: 74
Warnings: 13
ERO: 6
Parking: 0
Citations in Lieu of Arrest: 1
Criminal Arrests: 0
DWS Arrest: 0
DWI Arrest: 1
Warrant Arrest: 0

Full Time Contract Officers (Portion of above)

MD State Citations: 4
Warnings: 2
ERO: 1
Parking: 1
Citations in Lieu of Arrest: 0
Criminal Arrests: 0
DWS Arrest: 0
DWI Arrest: 0
Warrant Arrest: 0

Acronyms:

DWI – Driving while intoxicated
DWS – Driving on suspended license
ERO – Equipment repair order (headlight out, etc)
SOW – Sent on way
GOA – Gone on arrival
PWID- Possession with the intent to distribute (illicit drugs)

Note: This list does not include routine incidents handled by the officers.

Contract Police Report: November 12-19, 2009

11/12 Contract officer responded to a call for service at Yale Road at Knox Road for a report of a motor vehicle accident. Incident verified

11/13 Contract officer stopped a suspicious person matching the description of the suspect wanted in the recent vandalism to the city garage. Information forwarded to the District I Investigative Section.

11/13 Contract officer conducted premise checks in 9100 block Autoville Drive in reference to recent complaints. No problems observed

11/14 Contract officer assisted the code enforcement officer with numerous calls throughout the city in reference to loud parties.

11/17 Contract officer observed an assault in progress in the 7100 block of Baltimore Ave and arrested the offender. Suspect transported to District I for processing.

11/17 Contract officer conducted a traffic assignment (Stop Sign) at Greenbelt Road at Rhode Island Ave. 7 citations were issued

11/17 Contract officer conducted a traffic assignment (Stop Sign) at 49th Ave at Ruatan Street. 4 citations were issued

11/17 Contract officer conducted a traffic assignment (Failure to Obey Traffic Device) at Baltimore Ave at Cherry Hill Road. 4 citations were issued

11/17 Contract officer conducted a traffic assignment (Stop Sign) at Edmonston Road at Radcliffe Street. 3 citations were issued

11/19 Contract officer responded to a call for service at 4700 block Cherry Hill Road for a report of a theft from auto. Incident verified – Suspect smashed the passenger door window and removed the victim’s purse

11/19 Contract officer responded to a call for service at 4600 block Cherry Hill Road for a report of a theft from auto. Incident verified

11/19 Contract officer conducted a traffic assignment (Failure to Yield to Pedestrians) at Greenbelt Road at Rhode Island Ave. 7 citations were issued

MD State Citations: 89
Warnings: 36
ERO: 10
Parking: 1
Citations in Lieu of Arrest: 0
Criminal Arrests: 1
DWS Arrest: 0
DWI Arrest: 0
Warrant Arrest: 0

Full Time Contract Officers (Portion of above)

MD State Citations: 13
Warnings: 1
ERO: 8
Parking: 1
Citations in Lieu of Arrest: 0
Criminal Arrests: 0
DWS Arrest: 0
DWI Arrest: 0
Warrant Arrest: 0

Acronyms:
DWI – Driving while intoxicated
DWS – Driving on suspended license
ERO – Equipment repair order (headlight out, etc)
SOW – Sent on way
GOA – Gone on arrival
PWID- Possession with the intent to distribute (illicit drugs)

Note: This list does not include routine incidents handled by the officers.

Tonight’s Worksession – City Hall at 6:30 p.m.

Tonight’s worksession is a special worksession dedicated to the City’s strategic planning process. We will be setting forth an overall goal and three priority objectives for each of six topic areas:

1. Neighborhoods
2. Transportation
3. Economic Development
4. Environment and Sustainability
5. Community Services
6. University-CP Relations

In doing this, we’re attempting to synthesize the ideas that the Council set forth in an earlier worksession as priorities for the next five years with the priorities set forth by the community in the community forums held a couple months ago, and the community survey we did in October. I’m enclosing a number of documents* that summarize the information we’ve gathered so far in each of these topic areas, as well as an agenda and a couple documents discussing specifically what we’ll be doing tonight.

It’s a lot of information – please let me know if you have any questions!

NEXT WEEK will be the induction ceremony for the next Council. Please feel free to come out as we welcome Councilmembers-elect Christine Nagle, Denise Mitchell and Marcus Afzali to the Council and wish Councilmembers Molinatto, Hampton and Mary Cook the best as they go on to their next endeavors! The ceremony will be at 8 pm in City Council chambers.

Patrick

*Please log in to Google Groups to download the documents.

http://groups.google.com/group/north-college-park/browse_thread/thread/015258ee750f73ec#