Council Votes to Split State Funding Between Hollywood Gateway Park and Duvall Field Development

The City of College Park plans to divvy $174,774 of state funding almost evenly between a greenspace project in northern College Park and the renovation of Duvall Field, after a 4-2 vote at Tuesday’s Mayor and Council meeting.

More than $86,000 from the Program Open Space funding is now planned for the Hollywood Gateway Park Project, near the intersection of Edgewood Road and U.S. Route 1. Director of Planning Terry Schum said that this would allow design and some construction to proceed at the site.

On the other hand, even with the remaining $88,000 devoted to , the renovation project will continue to be at a standstill because the City is struggling to match 25 percent of Open Space funding for the project.

Until College Park can “show them the money,” the City can’t use that $88,000 toward the $5 million project, Schum explained after the meeting. She said the delay of the Greenbelt Station Project has also slowed the progress of the field. Some revenue from selling parcels of land for the development project was to go toward neighboring projects in College Park, including Duvall Field, Schum said.

The City is ready to proceed with Gateway Park however. “That’s moving forward because we have some funding already,” from state and city sources, Schum said. An estimate for the Gateway Park is not yet available, because the design phase is still underway.

Councilwoman Christine Nagle of District 1 originally proposed at the meeting that the entire $174,774 be allocated to Duvall Field. Two community members voiced their disapproval for the idea.

“This would not allow anything to move forward with Duvall Field,” said Larry Bleau of 4901 Niagara Road. He felt that not allotting Open Space money for the Gateway Park project was “essentially defunding” it.

Councilman Patrick Wojahn of District 1 proposed the amendment to divide the Open Space funds between the park and field, consistent with the City staff recommendation. The amendment was approved 4-2 with Nagle and District 3 Councilman Mark Cook voting against it.

“I appreciate [Nagle’s] proposal,” Wojahn said, calling the Duvall Field renovation “highly necessary,” but said the issue of matching funds should be resolved first.

Nagle thanked the residents for their comments and acknowledged Wojahn’s amendment. “I know [Wojahn] has a strong passion for the park and he’s worked hard for it,” she said, adding that she doesn’t share that same passion.

“I have no problem with the amendment being put forth tonight,” she said, though she voted against it.

Despite the vote, the division of the Open Space funds isn’t official, said District 4 Councilman Marcus Afzali. An allocation is nothing more than a plan, and plans can change. “We allocated how we intend to spend it,” he said.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the council also voted unanimously to adopt the FY 2012 Action Plan of the 2010-2015 City of College Park Strategic Plan, viewable here. In a public hearing preceding the regular meeting, the council also adopted a redistricting design for city elections that will be brought forth for a vote on July 12. District 1 now includes Camden Apartments, the Village of North College Park and the Mazza Grandmarc, previously a part of District 4. The proposed new district boundaries can be viewed here.