District 1 forum focuses on amenities rather than development

Fazlul Kabir, a two-term City Council member, speaks at a District 1 forum Oct. 8.

At the start of Thursday night’s District 1 City Council candidate forum, moderator Kate Kennedy emphasized the event was a forum, not a debate.

That was clear throughout the event, as the candidates vying for the district’s two City Council seats acknowledged multiple times that they agreed with each other’s visions for North College Park.

Incumbent District 1 Councilman Fazul Kabir and Christine Nagle, who served on the council from 2009 to 2011, spoke with about 40 residents at a North College Park Citizens Association in Davis Hall. Cory Sanders, the third candidate, could not attend due to family matters.

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Both Kabir and Nagle said the city needed to focus on bringing more amenities to the residents in North College Park, an area where Kabir said about 70 percent of the city’s single-family homes are located.

“We don’t need huge, tall buildings with a lot of people and lots of cars,” Kabir said. “We really need more services. Sometimes on the council, they think the agenda should all be development, development, development. We need to be talking more about the services and amenities for residents.”

Nagle echoed Kabir and said the city needs to focus on creating its own vision, separate from the University of Maryland’s plans for development.

“There’s no reason with the number of people in North College Park that we don’t have some of the amenities we want,” Nagle said. “We need to be more united as a community to make these things happen.”

Nagle and Kabir also said they would work to bring a recreation center to North College Park to provide activities for the area’s seniors and youth.

Kabir said he spoke with one resident last week who told him she had nowhere to take her elderly father during the day while she worked.

“It’s really painful,” he said. “Kids sometimes just hang out on the streets, but where else can they go? We really do need activities and services.”

Nagle said she would not give up on bringing a rec center to the city — something she had been passionate about throughout her time on the council. 

“It can have many uses, everything from seniors having places to go during the day to us having meeting spaces,” she said. “It would be wonderful to have something like that.”

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John Schaupner said the forum will help him decide who to vote for in the Nov. 3 election.

“The forum was very informative,” the 71-year-old North College Park resident said. “They spoke to the issues. I’m certainly considering changing my vote based on what I heard and the way they presented it.”

The two mayoral candidates also attended the forum, and each spoke for five minutes at the end of the event. 

District 1 Councilman Patrick Wojahn, whom Mayor Andy Fellows endorsed as his choice for a successor, said there’s still a lot of unfinished business to attend to in the city. 

“I want us to create a vision that’s resident-informed, but it’s key we work with the university,” he said. “The university is making a historic investment in our city. The city needs to be an advocate for the residents so the development is smart … and brings amenities the city wants to see.”

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District 4 Councilwoman and Mayor Pro Tem Denise Mitchell also spoke of the university’s role in development.

“I want to ensure we’re all working together as one College Park,” she said. “We want to work with the university, but we also want to keep our identity as College Park. They have their plans, and we want to make sure we have our plans.”

Wojahn said the issues facing his district include traffic congestion, improving public safety and ensuring the Hollywood Commercial District brings quality businesses to the city.

“We have three great candidates,” he said. “It’s too bad Cory couldn’t be here, because I would’ve liked to see the dialogue between them. Either way, I think District 1 will be well served.”