In District 1, public safety concerns dominate

Miles north of the university, College Park's District 1 offers a cheaper, less rowdy living alternative to the frenetic pace of the campus and the city's downtown core. With single-family homes and a relatively small number of students, it is perhaps the most distinct of the city's four districts.

But beneath the area's quiet exterior lie deep concerns about public safety, the direction the city is headed and, according to some, simmering tensions between residents, students and the city.

"One in four residents don't feel safe here," said S.M. Fazlul Kabir, a resident of the Hollywood area and one of the five candidates vying for the two most hotly contested College Park City Council seats.

District 1, which is bounded roughly by the intersection of Route 193 and Route 1 on the southern end, and the Capital Beltway to the north, is currently represented by the two youngest, more progressive members of the council: Patrick Wojahn, a 34-year-old civil rights lawyer, and Jonathan Molinatto, 28, a mathematician for the federal government.

Both were elected in 2007, but Molinatto decided not to run for re-election because he wanted to spend more time with his wife, who is going to graduate school in North Carolina.

Challengers include three veteran members of the North College Park Citizens' Association: Larry Bleau, a 55-year-old former university IT professional and president of the organization who has lived in the city for three decades and ran for a council seat in 2007; lawyer Christine Nagle, 48, who works for the state Department of the Environment; and Kabir, 46, who works for the federal government and is the association's secretary. The other challenger is Seth Gomoljak, a 41-year-old web designer.

Crime in the city has declined over the past two years, but public safety remains a top concern, candidates said. Kabir has made the most ambitious proposal: the creation of a city police force. While the idea has been debated extensively in the past, concerns over how it would bust the city's $12 million budget have always killed proposals. But Kabir added a twist: The force would be paid for entirely with donations from area businesses and advertising.

Long-time council members have rejected the concept, arguing donations are far too unstable to create and fund a police department.

"How can you fund a police department based on people giving you money?" District 2 Councilman Bob Catlin asked.

Wojahn, who worked successfully to expand the number of officers in the city's contract police program, agreed the city doesn't have the money.

"I'd like to expand the neighborhood watch, hold public safety events, bring cameras to some of the high-crime areas and implement a safety-alert program like the university has," Wojahn said.

Bleau, a long-time observer of city affairs, echoed the position, arguing the contract police model, in which the city pays Prince George's County to have extra officers patrol the city, was the most flexible and cost-effective way to fight crime.

But Kabir countered that as police contract prices go up, the gap between the cost of contract police and a city police force is narrowing.

Both Nagle and Gomoljak declined to take sides. Gomoljak instead said University Police should expand their jurisdiction to cover more neighborhoods students live in.

"One of the biggest complaints I heard from students is that they don't feel safe," Gomoljak said. "Students were upset that the University Police don't go back into the neighborhoods, so I think expanding the area University Police cover is an option."

Despite tensions between students and residents involving noise and parking, the candidates avoided the anti-student, anti-renter rhetoric prevalent in some of the other district races.

"The purpose of the rent control law as drafted is to keep students out of the neighborhoods. That's a very improper way of doing that ... encouraging more student housing closer to campus is the answer," Nagle said. "But I'm personally happy students are living in my neighborhood."

Kabir suggested holding regular university-resident focus groups to help resolve issues, and also pledged to work hard to connect the growing, largely Latino immigrant population to the community. In a similar vein, Nagle called for a city-landlord liason.

Although all candidates urged "smart growth" along Route 1, hoping to bring in attractive businesses while carefully managing traffic, two platforms place a high priority on the environment. 

Wojahn introduced an energy-loan program to the council earlier this fall, and hopes to continue working out its legal kinks. He is also calling for better stormwater management.
Bleau, who was laid off from the university after a 30-year career, thinks of himself both as an environmentalist and a Republican, he said

"One of the reasons I wanted to live in this area was because I could bike to work," he said.

His platform includes mandating new developments meet basic LEED requirements while pushing for the more stringent Silver LEED certification.

apino at umdbk dot com