Where Do the Candidates Stand?
District 1
Lawrence R. Bleau
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Larry supports the idea for a loan fund, but says that we may have to work through a commercial facilitator at an increased interest rate, since having College Park take on the financial liability could affect the city's bond rating. He thinks that it is important to provide an incentive for residents to get their homes audited for energy efficiency, as they will be more likely to retrofit if they were aware of how much it could save them on energy costs.
· Green Buildings: He looks favorably upon converting buildings to white roofs, but would hesitate to commit city money before knowing how whether the energy savings would quickly pay off the costs. Larry would like to push developers to build LEED silver, with room to negotiate and compromise downward if necessary. He encouraged us to push for LEED Standards in the Route One Sector Plan that Maryland Parks and Planning is overseeing for Prince Georges County.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses: Larry likes the idea of a tax incentive for green businesses, but only if the plan would pay for its self and be completely neutral to tax payers. He is concerned that tax cuts for businesses could lead to a slippery slope where residents ask for tax cuts as well if they perform green practices.
· Transportation: Larry strongly supports improving bike infrastructure and suggested that apartment complexes should be able to cut down on their required number of allotted parking spaces to install bike racks. He wants to push Prince Georges County to put restructuring Route 1 in its top-three priority requests to the state, as he believes that is the only way any changes will be considered. He wants to test out a bike sharing program, but is unsure of how we can ensure that the bikes don't get stolen.
· Better Environmental Practices: In order to get businesses in College Park to recycle, Larry would have businesses contract for their own waste removal so that recycling becomes a more economical alternative.
Jeffery S. Gomoljak
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: He thinks that establishing a loan fund is a good idea that many people will like, and would have it be run through city so they can keep an eye on it. He would support expanding the loan fund to commercial establishments if residents take advantage. He thinks that if a new rent freeze contract is drawn up, an incentive for land lords to let tenants use the loan fund should be built into that contract, but wasn't sure how this would be done.
· Green Buildings: He is converting his own house to a white roof, so he can’t see why we wouldn’t convert new city buildings as well. He wants to make all new buildings as green as possible and thinks it's a great idea to push developers to a certain LEED standard. He thinks there should be an incentive to develop green but isn't sure what it would look like.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses: He likes the idea of tax cuts for green businesses and thinks it should be part of a larger tax cut to all businesses. He would have the incentive be large enough that businesses would want to take advantage, but is not sure about how to make it happen.
· Transportation: As an avid biker he wants more bike lanes in the surrounding community and would like more bike lanes for Route 1, but acknowledges it is unlikely anytime soon. He thinks there should be incentives for city commuters who use alternative transportation. He likes the idea of a bike sharing program, but doubts it would work in College Park because of the city’s high proportion of elderly residents.
· Better Environmental Practices: He wants the city to implement a climate action plan, but had no thoughts on what would go into it. He thinks College Park should imply some sort of fee or tax for businesses that don't recycle, or fight a liquor license if the business isn't recycling.
S. M. Fazlul Kabir
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Fazlul supports the establishment of a loan fund and would like the community to feel as though it has ownership over the fund by having his North College Park Civic Association promote it, and by involving utilities in verifying savings for participants. If possible he would like to see the repayments of the loans be directly proportional to the energy savings people are seeing, even as the energy bill fluctuates throughout the year. In order to persuade landlords to participate, he would like to set a city-wide standard regarding the energy efficiency of rental homes so landlords that didn’t would have to allow tenants to take advantage of the loan fund. He is willing to prioritize finding $50,000 in seed money needed to jumpstart the loan fund.
· Green Buildings: He says white roofs are "a no-brainer", and actually converted his own roof not long ago to save on cooling costs during the summer. He thinks there should be an award program for people in College Park who do this. When there is a new City Council building or an expansion, he wants to push to make it LEED Platinum. He thinks there should be a sustainability standard for developers looking to develop in College Park. He can't quantify it, but it would be high, and he would turn them away if they didn't meet it.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses: He would support tax incentive standard by businesses looking to reside in College Park. Two criteria he outlined that would fall under this standard are green businesses, and locally owned businesses.
· Transportation: He is a strong proponent of biking. He bikes to work. He says he worked to save a bike lane on Rhode Island Avenue but fighting the expansion of the road, which would've swallowed up the bike lane. He would like to see bike lanes in College Park established that lead from the neighborhoods to the Metro station. He says the council needs the will to do this, and that besides Rhode Island Avenue and Route 1, College Park has the authority do bike lanes for city owned streets. He likes the idea of a bike-sharing program for College Park. He thinks it could be contracted out to a private company to save the city money, and that we should look at other models around the country for how best to do it. As someone who bikes to work, he thinks the City Council should "award city employees who commute sustainably".
· Better Environmental Practices: To encourage businesses to recycle, should set a standard for businesses to recycle, and encourage them with an incentive. One possibility he saw was for the city to collect recyclables from some businesses in College Park, and place the money from that recycling into a fund. This same fund could be used to provide the incentives for businesses to recycle. He is for the city developing and implementing a climate action plan. One idea he had was to partner with University of Maryland students to create a "model green house" in each of the 4 districts in College Park, kind of like the solar decathlon. This would be a way to show residents the benefits and possibility of living sustainably, and strengthen ties between the city, students, and residents.
Christine L. Nagle
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Christine thought that the idea of an energy efficiency loan fund was a good idea and she was supportive as long as it could be implemented in a sustainable and effective way. She also said Prince George's County should be pushed to establish a loan fund since it would have greater reach. In addition, she wanted to make sure if College Park did establish a fund that it can be properly promoted to residents so they participate, and wanted to incentivize retrofitting for landlords so that they would take advantage as well.
· Green Buildings: She supports strong LEED standards, and would be alright with the city setting a gold standard for developers going into negotiations so they know ahead of time. What she didn't want was for the city council to beat up on developers over standards that they don't have the power to enforce. She wants to abolish Maryland Parks and Planning, the state body that has to approve all planning, zoning, and development decisions. Parks and Planning has historically ignored requests for more sustainable development and alternative transportation infrastructure from College Park and Prince Georges County.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses: She is very much for establishing a tiered tax cut system for green businesses, particularly the aspect which attracts green businesses from outside the city. She is interested in looking into a tax break that would apply to renting businesses, since currently tax incentives only apply to property owners.
· Transportation: She wants to see a city wide bike sharing program, and presented the idea of creating a College Park Bike Map as part of the city's own strategic plan, a project which she plans to pursue if elected. She wants to see an entirely fuel efficient city fleet, and wants the campus and city should work together to improve alternative transportation options and incentives.
· Better Environmental Practices: She has asked the city for public recycling bins in the past and wants to run a trial downtown to demonstrate the effectiveness of public recycling. She thinks businesses should be punished if they don't recycle by having the city increase the cost of the trash collection fee the business pays to the city.
Patrick L. Wojahn
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Patrick Wojahn brought the idea of a revolving energy efficiency loan fund (our priority policy) to the City Council over the course of two work sessions, and made the loan fund a priority in his campaign platform. He is working to ensure that the loan fund is a legislative priority at the state level by giving municipalities the authority to collect loan repayments from individual residents (which has been an obstacle).
· Green Buildings: He wants the new City Hall to be LEED Platinum, and he would like to see residential and commercial buildings be converted to white roofs. He wants to ensure that development taking place in College Park is done in an environmentally sustainable way and accounts for the need for green places so that College Park residents can engage in recreational activities.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses: He supports tax cuts to bring green businesses to College Park, and says he likes the two green businesses in his district and wants to keep them there.
· Transportation: He has led efforts for the city to apply for a grant for a bike sharing program jointly run by municipalities in the DC area. He is working to make better biking infrastructure a priority in the route 1 master plan. He is also in favor of testing a city-wide bike sharing program.
· Better Environmental Practices: He has experience as a public interest organizer with Wisconsin PIRG. He wants the city to develop and implement a climate action plan with strong short term and long term emissions targets. He has expressed willingness to help the UMD community fight the development of the Wooded Hillock.
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Larry supports the idea for a loan fund, but says that we may have to work through a commercial facilitator at an increased interest rate, since having College Park take on the financial liability could affect the city's bond rating. He thinks that it is important to provide an incentive for residents to get their homes audited for energy efficiency, as they will be more likely to retrofit if they were aware of how much it could save them on energy costs.
· Green Buildings: He looks favorably upon converting buildings to white roofs, but would hesitate to commit city money before knowing how whether the energy savings would quickly pay off the costs. Larry would like to push developers to build LEED silver, with room to negotiate and compromise downward if necessary. He encouraged us to push for LEED Standards in the Route One Sector Plan that Maryland Parks and Planning is overseeing for Prince Georges County.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses: Larry likes the idea of a tax incentive for green businesses, but only if the plan would pay for its self and be completely neutral to tax payers. He is concerned that tax cuts for businesses could lead to a slippery slope where residents ask for tax cuts as well if they perform green practices.
· Transportation: Larry strongly supports improving bike infrastructure and suggested that apartment complexes should be able to cut down on their required number of allotted parking spaces to install bike racks. He wants to push Prince Georges County to put restructuring Route 1 in its top-three priority requests to the state, as he believes that is the only way any changes will be considered. He wants to test out a bike sharing program, but is unsure of how we can ensure that the bikes don't get stolen.
· Better Environmental Practices: In order to get businesses in College Park to recycle, Larry would have businesses contract for their own waste removal so that recycling becomes a more economical alternative.
Jeffery S. Gomoljak
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: He thinks that establishing a loan fund is a good idea that many people will like, and would have it be run through city so they can keep an eye on it. He would support expanding the loan fund to commercial establishments if residents take advantage. He thinks that if a new rent freeze contract is drawn up, an incentive for land lords to let tenants use the loan fund should be built into that contract, but wasn't sure how this would be done.
· Green Buildings: He is converting his own house to a white roof, so he can’t see why we wouldn’t convert new city buildings as well. He wants to make all new buildings as green as possible and thinks it's a great idea to push developers to a certain LEED standard. He thinks there should be an incentive to develop green but isn't sure what it would look like.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses: He likes the idea of tax cuts for green businesses and thinks it should be part of a larger tax cut to all businesses. He would have the incentive be large enough that businesses would want to take advantage, but is not sure about how to make it happen.
· Transportation: As an avid biker he wants more bike lanes in the surrounding community and would like more bike lanes for Route 1, but acknowledges it is unlikely anytime soon. He thinks there should be incentives for city commuters who use alternative transportation. He likes the idea of a bike sharing program, but doubts it would work in College Park because of the city’s high proportion of elderly residents.
· Better Environmental Practices: He wants the city to implement a climate action plan, but had no thoughts on what would go into it. He thinks College Park should imply some sort of fee or tax for businesses that don't recycle, or fight a liquor license if the business isn't recycling.
S. M. Fazlul Kabir
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Fazlul supports the establishment of a loan fund and would like the community to feel as though it has ownership over the fund by having his North College Park Civic Association promote it, and by involving utilities in verifying savings for participants. If possible he would like to see the repayments of the loans be directly proportional to the energy savings people are seeing, even as the energy bill fluctuates throughout the year. In order to persuade landlords to participate, he would like to set a city-wide standard regarding the energy efficiency of rental homes so landlords that didn’t would have to allow tenants to take advantage of the loan fund. He is willing to prioritize finding $50,000 in seed money needed to jumpstart the loan fund.
· Green Buildings: He says white roofs are "a no-brainer", and actually converted his own roof not long ago to save on cooling costs during the summer. He thinks there should be an award program for people in College Park who do this. When there is a new City Council building or an expansion, he wants to push to make it LEED Platinum. He thinks there should be a sustainability standard for developers looking to develop in College Park. He can't quantify it, but it would be high, and he would turn them away if they didn't meet it.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses: He would support tax incentive standard by businesses looking to reside in College Park. Two criteria he outlined that would fall under this standard are green businesses, and locally owned businesses.
· Transportation: He is a strong proponent of biking. He bikes to work. He says he worked to save a bike lane on Rhode Island Avenue but fighting the expansion of the road, which would've swallowed up the bike lane. He would like to see bike lanes in College Park established that lead from the neighborhoods to the Metro station. He says the council needs the will to do this, and that besides Rhode Island Avenue and Route 1, College Park has the authority do bike lanes for city owned streets. He likes the idea of a bike-sharing program for College Park. He thinks it could be contracted out to a private company to save the city money, and that we should look at other models around the country for how best to do it. As someone who bikes to work, he thinks the City Council should "award city employees who commute sustainably".
· Better Environmental Practices: To encourage businesses to recycle, should set a standard for businesses to recycle, and encourage them with an incentive. One possibility he saw was for the city to collect recyclables from some businesses in College Park, and place the money from that recycling into a fund. This same fund could be used to provide the incentives for businesses to recycle. He is for the city developing and implementing a climate action plan. One idea he had was to partner with University of Maryland students to create a "model green house" in each of the 4 districts in College Park, kind of like the solar decathlon. This would be a way to show residents the benefits and possibility of living sustainably, and strengthen ties between the city, students, and residents.
Christine L. Nagle
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Christine thought that the idea of an energy efficiency loan fund was a good idea and she was supportive as long as it could be implemented in a sustainable and effective way. She also said Prince George's County should be pushed to establish a loan fund since it would have greater reach. In addition, she wanted to make sure if College Park did establish a fund that it can be properly promoted to residents so they participate, and wanted to incentivize retrofitting for landlords so that they would take advantage as well.
· Green Buildings: She supports strong LEED standards, and would be alright with the city setting a gold standard for developers going into negotiations so they know ahead of time. What she didn't want was for the city council to beat up on developers over standards that they don't have the power to enforce. She wants to abolish Maryland Parks and Planning, the state body that has to approve all planning, zoning, and development decisions. Parks and Planning has historically ignored requests for more sustainable development and alternative transportation infrastructure from College Park and Prince Georges County.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses: She is very much for establishing a tiered tax cut system for green businesses, particularly the aspect which attracts green businesses from outside the city. She is interested in looking into a tax break that would apply to renting businesses, since currently tax incentives only apply to property owners.
· Transportation: She wants to see a city wide bike sharing program, and presented the idea of creating a College Park Bike Map as part of the city's own strategic plan, a project which she plans to pursue if elected. She wants to see an entirely fuel efficient city fleet, and wants the campus and city should work together to improve alternative transportation options and incentives.
· Better Environmental Practices: She has asked the city for public recycling bins in the past and wants to run a trial downtown to demonstrate the effectiveness of public recycling. She thinks businesses should be punished if they don't recycle by having the city increase the cost of the trash collection fee the business pays to the city.
Patrick L. Wojahn
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Patrick Wojahn brought the idea of a revolving energy efficiency loan fund (our priority policy) to the City Council over the course of two work sessions, and made the loan fund a priority in his campaign platform. He is working to ensure that the loan fund is a legislative priority at the state level by giving municipalities the authority to collect loan repayments from individual residents (which has been an obstacle).
· Green Buildings: He wants the new City Hall to be LEED Platinum, and he would like to see residential and commercial buildings be converted to white roofs. He wants to ensure that development taking place in College Park is done in an environmentally sustainable way and accounts for the need for green places so that College Park residents can engage in recreational activities.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses: He supports tax cuts to bring green businesses to College Park, and says he likes the two green businesses in his district and wants to keep them there.
· Transportation: He has led efforts for the city to apply for a grant for a bike sharing program jointly run by municipalities in the DC area. He is working to make better biking infrastructure a priority in the route 1 master plan. He is also in favor of testing a city-wide bike sharing program.
· Better Environmental Practices: He has experience as a public interest organizer with Wisconsin PIRG. He wants the city to develop and implement a climate action plan with strong short term and long term emissions targets. He has expressed willingness to help the UMD community fight the development of the Wooded Hillock.
District 2
Robert T. Catlin
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Robert Catlin thought that the loan fund was too expensive and would be unattractive to College Park residents and landlords. He was a strong proponent of following the Council of Governments best practice recommendations and hesitated to move forward with anything that COG had not already considered. He feels that the city doesn’t have the resources or staff to be a leader on environmental and green economic issues. In place of a loan fund, he would like to see the city obtain stimulus money to subsidize energy audits, in hopes that homeowners will be motivated to use their own funds to retrofit their residences.
· Green Buildings: He is hesitant to support white roofs out of concern for storm water contamination from the paint. He wants the city to push for LEED gold certification for city buildings · Tax Cuts for Green Businesses:He doesn’t believe that city tax cuts for green businesses would be effective or worth the city staff’s time in developing
· Transportation:He wants the city’s fleet of vehicles to be run on natural gas. He doesn’t think that an incentive for city workers to use alternative transportation will be effective
· Better Environmental Practices: He feels that city is powerless to reform business practices because the city’s power is over the landlords, who don’t benefit from better business practices
John E. Perry
Councilmember Perry refused to meet with us, so we are unable to gage his views. We know from attending work sessions that he does not look favorably upon a loan fund.
Robert C. Weber
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Robert Weber says there are already programs in place for energy efficiency financing, and what we need to do is educate people about them. He wants to look at all other programs in place before committing. If there are no existing alternatives, then this might be a good option. He says landlords are aware of energy efficiency, and for him (as a landlord) it's easy to say yes to a tenant's request for energy efficiency improvements so long as they will make money.
· Green Buildings: Rather than white roofs, he thinks we should stick with Vermont Slate for roofs, which is less carbon intensive since it lasts longer, and is also somewhat reflective. He did agree that it would make sense to make new roofs as reflective as possible. He thinks the uncertainty of whether or not there will be a new city hall makes it too murky to make a firm commitment. Although he thinks it would be okay to shoot for gold/platinum, he doesn't think it's practical. He says the development process is currently bad, the idea of the city forcing a standard on a development doesn't make him comfortable.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses:He likes tax cuts, but thinks there are obstacles to tax cuts for green businesses, specifically fairness since non-green businesses aren't getting tax cuts, and would get mad. He would rather push for educating consumers about what business practices are so that they make the right choice.
· Transportation:He loves biking, and is part of the College Park Bicycle Coalition. He thinks bicycle trails in the area are already pretty good, but there is always room for improvements. He would like to see a road for vehicles that gives them access from the beltway to campus, as an alternative to Route 1. He likes the sound of a bike sharing program, but says they have a bad track record. If we can find one nearby that works, we should expand it to College Park, as long as we don't have to spend the money. He says there is already $6,000 worth of incentives for city employees going to work with alternative transportation, but it isn't being used.
· Better Environmental Practices: He says the city should reform its recycling and trash program so that it's privately managed, since recycling should be profitable but the city is messing it up. He wasn't clear how this reform would work. He is not for legislating with a climate action plan, but would rather push for educating people so they know how to make more sustainable choices. He was unsure of the problem of greenhouse gas emissions, said in 1970's there was concern about cooling, and now there is concern over warming.
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Robert Catlin thought that the loan fund was too expensive and would be unattractive to College Park residents and landlords. He was a strong proponent of following the Council of Governments best practice recommendations and hesitated to move forward with anything that COG had not already considered. He feels that the city doesn’t have the resources or staff to be a leader on environmental and green economic issues. In place of a loan fund, he would like to see the city obtain stimulus money to subsidize energy audits, in hopes that homeowners will be motivated to use their own funds to retrofit their residences.
· Green Buildings: He is hesitant to support white roofs out of concern for storm water contamination from the paint. He wants the city to push for LEED gold certification for city buildings · Tax Cuts for Green Businesses:He doesn’t believe that city tax cuts for green businesses would be effective or worth the city staff’s time in developing
· Transportation:He wants the city’s fleet of vehicles to be run on natural gas. He doesn’t think that an incentive for city workers to use alternative transportation will be effective
· Better Environmental Practices: He feels that city is powerless to reform business practices because the city’s power is over the landlords, who don’t benefit from better business practices
John E. Perry
Councilmember Perry refused to meet with us, so we are unable to gage his views. We know from attending work sessions that he does not look favorably upon a loan fund.
Robert C. Weber
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Robert Weber says there are already programs in place for energy efficiency financing, and what we need to do is educate people about them. He wants to look at all other programs in place before committing. If there are no existing alternatives, then this might be a good option. He says landlords are aware of energy efficiency, and for him (as a landlord) it's easy to say yes to a tenant's request for energy efficiency improvements so long as they will make money.
· Green Buildings: Rather than white roofs, he thinks we should stick with Vermont Slate for roofs, which is less carbon intensive since it lasts longer, and is also somewhat reflective. He did agree that it would make sense to make new roofs as reflective as possible. He thinks the uncertainty of whether or not there will be a new city hall makes it too murky to make a firm commitment. Although he thinks it would be okay to shoot for gold/platinum, he doesn't think it's practical. He says the development process is currently bad, the idea of the city forcing a standard on a development doesn't make him comfortable.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses:He likes tax cuts, but thinks there are obstacles to tax cuts for green businesses, specifically fairness since non-green businesses aren't getting tax cuts, and would get mad. He would rather push for educating consumers about what business practices are so that they make the right choice.
· Transportation:He loves biking, and is part of the College Park Bicycle Coalition. He thinks bicycle trails in the area are already pretty good, but there is always room for improvements. He would like to see a road for vehicles that gives them access from the beltway to campus, as an alternative to Route 1. He likes the sound of a bike sharing program, but says they have a bad track record. If we can find one nearby that works, we should expand it to College Park, as long as we don't have to spend the money. He says there is already $6,000 worth of incentives for city employees going to work with alternative transportation, but it isn't being used.
· Better Environmental Practices: He says the city should reform its recycling and trash program so that it's privately managed, since recycling should be profitable but the city is messing it up. He wasn't clear how this reform would work. He is not for legislating with a climate action plan, but would rather push for educating people so they know how to make more sustainable choices. He was unsure of the problem of greenhouse gas emissions, said in 1970's there was concern about cooling, and now there is concern over warming.
District 3
Mark M. Cook
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Mark Cook is very much for the energy efficiency loan fund, and said he supported the city spending the estimated $50,000 in seed money that would be needed to jump start it.
· Green Buildings: He is for converting city buildings to white roofs, and would like there to be a sample demonstration with a willing business to push the idea beyond the public buildings. He supports strong green building standards, but doesn't want to use LEED as a minimum because he believes it will deter developers with high standards who are not willing to pay for LEED certification. He believes that providing workers with a living wage is a vital part of smart growth and sustainable development, and has made it a priority in his campaign.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses:He is concerned that city taxes are too small to make city tax breaks for green businesses a significant incentive for such companies, but would like any such program to focus on improving the sustainability practices of existing establishments due to a lack of commercially zoned space for new businesses. He also thinks that we can bring new green development and investment to College Park by advertising the talent pool in the area. He is also interested in the possibility of extending the tax break system to residents who have taken steps to increase the energy efficiency and sustainability of their homes.
· Transportation: He wants better biking infrastructure, including having the city put up bike racks and making bike lanes more clearly visible. He would be willing to make interconnectivity between local municipalities a priority at the four-cities meetings.
· Better Environmental Practices: He is interested in writing up a recycling ordinance for requiring businesses to recycle, and also wanted to advertise which businesses recycle to create competition among concerned citizens.
Robert J. McCeney
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Thinks loan fund is a good idea, would work to find $$, but he won't make a trade-off for something else is money is tight
· Green Buildings: Would definitely support high LEED standards for new building (indicated LEED Gold). He doesn't like to give developers a free pass, would turn them away if they didn't meet a high standard. Mentioned that for develops to build in CP, they need a City Code Permit, which the City Council could deny if they were holding them to a standard. If the County wanted, they could override this decision. Thinks the University isn't doing enough regarding flood control studies, wants more information. Says we're not developing well.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses:He would support tax cuts for green businesses, pointed out that other businesses might fear competition, likes tax cuts, so this is main motivating factor behind supporting this.
· Transportation: Absolutely supports new bike lanes, concerned about cars parking in the bike lanes (if the bike lanes replace parking spots on neighborhood roads), how would that be regulated? Totally for a CP bike sharing program. He is an avid biker. He would like to see if bikes for this program could be donated, with tax write-offs for those who donate. Is for incentives for city employees using sustainable transportation.
· Better Environmental Practices: Wants to work to get businesses to recycle, he favors a tax incentive over any mandate or punishment. He is for the Climate Action Plan the city is developing, and would want to work on developing it. Although he doesn't believe in global warming (which is the main point of the Climate Action Plan), he thinks that any program which will reduce pollution is a good thing. One concern he has is that the part of CP considered Historic Preservation wouldn't be able to make any adjustments for our ideas, or the climate action plan.
Stephanie E. Stullich
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Stephanie is for the energy efficiency loan fund,and wants to see it up and running as soon as possible. She has made it a part of her own platform, and has advocated for pursuing state energy efficiency grants to help cover the costs associated with it. She would prefer to see the city work directly with the banks to administer the fund, rather than working through a commercial facilitator that would reduce financial risk to the city but require charging a higher interest rate on the loans. She believes the energy efficiency loan fund could successfully be adapted to businesses after implementing it for residents, but would like to see the loans distributed from separate funds due to the difference in scale.
· Green Buildings: With regard to green buildings, her platform states that she is for requiring developers to meet a LEED silver standard for new developments, and would like to aim for gold and platinum.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses:She supports the idea of using economic incentives to attract green businesses to College Park, but is concerned about the feasibility and effectiveness of a tax break system due to low city tax revenue and landlord-business relations. She is willing to investigate other situations where such a tax system has worked.
· Transportation: In the transportation sector, she supports further development of biking infrastructure as well as measures (such as the installation of a traffic light at the intersection of the Hiker-Biker trail and the Paint Branch Parkway) to improve biker safety. She supports the city's current use of a hybrid fleet to reduce to city's carbon emissions.
· Better Environmental Practices: She wants to find a way to facilitate increased recycling by College Park businesses, especially the bars, and would like to work with them to understand why they don't already and how they could be encouraged to. She also supports the placement of more recycling bins in public areas next to trash cans, provided that they are suitably secure. She supports the drafting and implementation of a climate action plan.
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Mark Cook is very much for the energy efficiency loan fund, and said he supported the city spending the estimated $50,000 in seed money that would be needed to jump start it.
· Green Buildings: He is for converting city buildings to white roofs, and would like there to be a sample demonstration with a willing business to push the idea beyond the public buildings. He supports strong green building standards, but doesn't want to use LEED as a minimum because he believes it will deter developers with high standards who are not willing to pay for LEED certification. He believes that providing workers with a living wage is a vital part of smart growth and sustainable development, and has made it a priority in his campaign.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses:He is concerned that city taxes are too small to make city tax breaks for green businesses a significant incentive for such companies, but would like any such program to focus on improving the sustainability practices of existing establishments due to a lack of commercially zoned space for new businesses. He also thinks that we can bring new green development and investment to College Park by advertising the talent pool in the area. He is also interested in the possibility of extending the tax break system to residents who have taken steps to increase the energy efficiency and sustainability of their homes.
· Transportation: He wants better biking infrastructure, including having the city put up bike racks and making bike lanes more clearly visible. He would be willing to make interconnectivity between local municipalities a priority at the four-cities meetings.
· Better Environmental Practices: He is interested in writing up a recycling ordinance for requiring businesses to recycle, and also wanted to advertise which businesses recycle to create competition among concerned citizens.
Robert J. McCeney
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Thinks loan fund is a good idea, would work to find $$, but he won't make a trade-off for something else is money is tight
· Green Buildings: Would definitely support high LEED standards for new building (indicated LEED Gold). He doesn't like to give developers a free pass, would turn them away if they didn't meet a high standard. Mentioned that for develops to build in CP, they need a City Code Permit, which the City Council could deny if they were holding them to a standard. If the County wanted, they could override this decision. Thinks the University isn't doing enough regarding flood control studies, wants more information. Says we're not developing well.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses:He would support tax cuts for green businesses, pointed out that other businesses might fear competition, likes tax cuts, so this is main motivating factor behind supporting this.
· Transportation: Absolutely supports new bike lanes, concerned about cars parking in the bike lanes (if the bike lanes replace parking spots on neighborhood roads), how would that be regulated? Totally for a CP bike sharing program. He is an avid biker. He would like to see if bikes for this program could be donated, with tax write-offs for those who donate. Is for incentives for city employees using sustainable transportation.
· Better Environmental Practices: Wants to work to get businesses to recycle, he favors a tax incentive over any mandate or punishment. He is for the Climate Action Plan the city is developing, and would want to work on developing it. Although he doesn't believe in global warming (which is the main point of the Climate Action Plan), he thinks that any program which will reduce pollution is a good thing. One concern he has is that the part of CP considered Historic Preservation wouldn't be able to make any adjustments for our ideas, or the climate action plan.
Stephanie E. Stullich
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Stephanie is for the energy efficiency loan fund,and wants to see it up and running as soon as possible. She has made it a part of her own platform, and has advocated for pursuing state energy efficiency grants to help cover the costs associated with it. She would prefer to see the city work directly with the banks to administer the fund, rather than working through a commercial facilitator that would reduce financial risk to the city but require charging a higher interest rate on the loans. She believes the energy efficiency loan fund could successfully be adapted to businesses after implementing it for residents, but would like to see the loans distributed from separate funds due to the difference in scale.
· Green Buildings: With regard to green buildings, her platform states that she is for requiring developers to meet a LEED silver standard for new developments, and would like to aim for gold and platinum.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses:She supports the idea of using economic incentives to attract green businesses to College Park, but is concerned about the feasibility and effectiveness of a tax break system due to low city tax revenue and landlord-business relations. She is willing to investigate other situations where such a tax system has worked.
· Transportation: In the transportation sector, she supports further development of biking infrastructure as well as measures (such as the installation of a traffic light at the intersection of the Hiker-Biker trail and the Paint Branch Parkway) to improve biker safety. She supports the city's current use of a hybrid fleet to reduce to city's carbon emissions.
· Better Environmental Practices: She wants to find a way to facilitate increased recycling by College Park businesses, especially the bars, and would like to work with them to understand why they don't already and how they could be encouraged to. She also supports the placement of more recycling bins in public areas next to trash cans, provided that they are suitably secure. She supports the drafting and implementation of a climate action plan.
District 4
Marcus D. Afzali
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Marcus strongly supports a renewable energy loan fund for College Park residents and talks about it when he canvasses in his district. He would be willing to have the city work through a bank if possible rather than a through a private facilitator (who would charge a higher interest rate in exchange for a lower financial risk for the city). He thinks that landlords in College Park will be willing to take advantage of the loan fund. He would like to expand the loan fund to businesses after a significant trial period with residences.
· Green Buildings: He feels that most economic development in coming years will be in the low carbon technology sector, so he supports a two-tier tax break system (as outlined in our platform) that would make College Park an attractive location for new green businesses. He wants College Park to be a leader in green investment so that we can to compete with municipalities in Montgomery County for economic development opportunities.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses: He is ready to push for strong LEED standards for developers, but is hesitant to commit to make all new city buildings LEED platinum not knowing the budget. He would support turning away developers that will not commit to strong LEED because he believes that decent developers will not take on project unless they can afford to meet high standards. He would like to see white roofs on city buildings, as long as it’s affordable
· Transportation: He is in favor of establishing a city-wide bike sharing program. He wants to connect College Park Woods to the Paint Branch Bike Trail. He is hoping to make it possible for all College Park Citizens (with a valid state ID that proves their College Park residence) to use the UM Shuttle system – he thinks more people would take advantage of the shuttles if they didn’t have to go through the trouble of obtaining a pass from DOTS.
· Better Environmental Practices: He is in support of incentivizing recycling for College Park businesses and suggested a “green profiling” program to create competition. He wants, at a minimum, recycling bins next to every public trash can and also wants to investigate bringing more composting to College Park. He is disappointed at the amount of perfectly good furniture and other goods that students throw away at the end of each semester and has an idea to create a city run program to collect discarded goods and sell them second hand to raise funds for the city’s “green budget”
Mary C. Cook
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Mary Cook strongly supports implementing a renewable energy loan fund for College Park residents. She would prefer to see the city work directly with the banks to administer the fund, rather than work through a commercial facilitator that would reduce financial risk to the city but require charging a higher interest rate on the loans. She thinks that there will need to be a big marketing push to get residents to take advantage of the fund, and wants to see cooperation between the students and the city to reach out to the landlord committee.
· Green Buildings: She wants to push for LEED platinum standards for all new building projects, but is unsure of how much power the city has over developers to make sure that they follow through.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses:She is disappointed with College Park's historical lack of success at providing tax incentives, and wants to have a work session to implement a tax break system for green businesses.
· Transportation: She wants to expand bus routes to more neighborhoods in College Park. Mary has been very supportive of individuals in the College Park community who have worked for decades to improve the biking conditions in the area, and would like to see a marketing campaign to encourage residents and students to use alternative forms of transportation
· Better Environmental Practices: She agrees that recycling bins should be put next to trash cans down town, but is not sure if it will make it into the budget due to the current economy. She supports an ordinance to make businesses in College Park recycle. She has been working on amending the Route 1 Master Plan to prevent developing around the wetlands, some of College Park's last remaining open space. She has experience working with University of Maryland students (worked on an environmental education program for local schools with College Park Environmental Group) and has served as the chair of the College Park Committee for a Better Environment.
Karen E. Hampton
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Karen Hampton would support the implementation of a renewable energy loan fund for College Park residents, and wouldn't mind having the city provide the loan loss reserve if the budget were looking good.
· Green Buildings: She is supportive of high standards for green building and would aim for LEED Platinum if possible.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses:She would support a tax break system for green businesses to attract economic development to College Park.
· Transportation: She would like better infrastructure to prevent accidents caused by bikers along Route 1
· Better Environmental Practices: She says that she would like for the greenest campus in the country to be located in the greenest city in the country.
Denise C. Mitchell
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Denise Mitchell thinks the idea of a residential energy efficiency loan fund is a great idea, and wants it done through the city so there is greater accountability. She supports putting up $100-150 thousand dollars for the fund over a 2-3 year period, and more if the fund works well. To get landlords to participate, she thinks there should be an incentive for purchasing a home that buys the landlord into the loan fund program.
· Green Buildings: She thinks the idea of white roofs sounds good, but doesn't see the incentive for building owners. She will support if there are benefits. She is unfamiliar with LEED standards, but wants new city buildings to have green features. She thinks the city should make green development recommendations and that the Route 1 Sector Plan needs to make sure mixed-use zoning provisions don't discourage green development. She says she will turn away a developer who commits to a certain standard of green development at the beginning of the process but then tries to go back on their word.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses:She wants to do more research on the idea of a tax incentive for green businesses. She is unsure how a tax cut would balance with the city's current budget.
· Transportation: She likes the idea of a more bike-friendly community, and wants to work on more connectivity. She hadn’t heard of a bike sharing program before, but is supportive of the idea. She thinks that the Ford Dealership and the Bank of America would be good locations for bike sharing. She likes the concept of incentives for city employees who commute to work sustainably, but she is unsure if it would be viable.
· Better Environmental Practices: She thinks businesses should be encouraged to recycle. She is interested in seeing College Park's emissions and in creating recommendations for a Climate Action Plan. She is concerned that reducing emissions will come with a cost, and possibly a tax.
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Marcus strongly supports a renewable energy loan fund for College Park residents and talks about it when he canvasses in his district. He would be willing to have the city work through a bank if possible rather than a through a private facilitator (who would charge a higher interest rate in exchange for a lower financial risk for the city). He thinks that landlords in College Park will be willing to take advantage of the loan fund. He would like to expand the loan fund to businesses after a significant trial period with residences.
· Green Buildings: He feels that most economic development in coming years will be in the low carbon technology sector, so he supports a two-tier tax break system (as outlined in our platform) that would make College Park an attractive location for new green businesses. He wants College Park to be a leader in green investment so that we can to compete with municipalities in Montgomery County for economic development opportunities.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses: He is ready to push for strong LEED standards for developers, but is hesitant to commit to make all new city buildings LEED platinum not knowing the budget. He would support turning away developers that will not commit to strong LEED because he believes that decent developers will not take on project unless they can afford to meet high standards. He would like to see white roofs on city buildings, as long as it’s affordable
· Transportation: He is in favor of establishing a city-wide bike sharing program. He wants to connect College Park Woods to the Paint Branch Bike Trail. He is hoping to make it possible for all College Park Citizens (with a valid state ID that proves their College Park residence) to use the UM Shuttle system – he thinks more people would take advantage of the shuttles if they didn’t have to go through the trouble of obtaining a pass from DOTS.
· Better Environmental Practices: He is in support of incentivizing recycling for College Park businesses and suggested a “green profiling” program to create competition. He wants, at a minimum, recycling bins next to every public trash can and also wants to investigate bringing more composting to College Park. He is disappointed at the amount of perfectly good furniture and other goods that students throw away at the end of each semester and has an idea to create a city run program to collect discarded goods and sell them second hand to raise funds for the city’s “green budget”
Mary C. Cook
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Mary Cook strongly supports implementing a renewable energy loan fund for College Park residents. She would prefer to see the city work directly with the banks to administer the fund, rather than work through a commercial facilitator that would reduce financial risk to the city but require charging a higher interest rate on the loans. She thinks that there will need to be a big marketing push to get residents to take advantage of the fund, and wants to see cooperation between the students and the city to reach out to the landlord committee.
· Green Buildings: She wants to push for LEED platinum standards for all new building projects, but is unsure of how much power the city has over developers to make sure that they follow through.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses:She is disappointed with College Park's historical lack of success at providing tax incentives, and wants to have a work session to implement a tax break system for green businesses.
· Transportation: She wants to expand bus routes to more neighborhoods in College Park. Mary has been very supportive of individuals in the College Park community who have worked for decades to improve the biking conditions in the area, and would like to see a marketing campaign to encourage residents and students to use alternative forms of transportation
· Better Environmental Practices: She agrees that recycling bins should be put next to trash cans down town, but is not sure if it will make it into the budget due to the current economy. She supports an ordinance to make businesses in College Park recycle. She has been working on amending the Route 1 Master Plan to prevent developing around the wetlands, some of College Park's last remaining open space. She has experience working with University of Maryland students (worked on an environmental education program for local schools with College Park Environmental Group) and has served as the chair of the College Park Committee for a Better Environment.
Karen E. Hampton
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Karen Hampton would support the implementation of a renewable energy loan fund for College Park residents, and wouldn't mind having the city provide the loan loss reserve if the budget were looking good.
· Green Buildings: She is supportive of high standards for green building and would aim for LEED Platinum if possible.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses:She would support a tax break system for green businesses to attract economic development to College Park.
· Better Environmental Practices: She says that she would like for the greenest campus in the country to be located in the greenest city in the country.
Denise C. Mitchell
· Energy Efficiency Loan Fund: Denise Mitchell thinks the idea of a residential energy efficiency loan fund is a great idea, and wants it done through the city so there is greater accountability. She supports putting up $100-150 thousand dollars for the fund over a 2-3 year period, and more if the fund works well. To get landlords to participate, she thinks there should be an incentive for purchasing a home that buys the landlord into the loan fund program.
· Green Buildings: She thinks the idea of white roofs sounds good, but doesn't see the incentive for building owners. She will support if there are benefits. She is unfamiliar with LEED standards, but wants new city buildings to have green features. She thinks the city should make green development recommendations and that the Route 1 Sector Plan needs to make sure mixed-use zoning provisions don't discourage green development. She says she will turn away a developer who commits to a certain standard of green development at the beginning of the process but then tries to go back on their word.
· Tax Cuts for Green Businesses:She wants to do more research on the idea of a tax incentive for green businesses. She is unsure how a tax cut would balance with the city's current budget.
· Transportation: She likes the idea of a more bike-friendly community, and wants to work on more connectivity. She hadn’t heard of a bike sharing program before, but is supportive of the idea. She thinks that the Ford Dealership and the Bank of America would be good locations for bike sharing. She likes the concept of incentives for city employees who commute to work sustainably, but she is unsure if it would be viable.
· Better Environmental Practices: She thinks businesses should be encouraged to recycle. She is interested in seeing College Park's emissions and in creating recommendations for a Climate Action Plan. She is concerned that reducing emissions will come with a cost, and possibly a tax.