MEETING PREVIEW: Pay-by-Phone Parking, Pepco Smart Grid, City Hall Renovations and More

City Hall renovations, pay-by-phone parking options, sidewalk renovations and new PEPCO smart meter deployment are all included on Tuesday evening's Mayor and Council work session agenda.

Find a summary of agenda items below, and view the agenda in its entirety in the PDF accompanying this post.

The meeting begins at 8 p.m. in the Council Chambers on the second floor of City Hall, 4500 Knox Road. An executive session (not open to the public) begins at 7 p.m., to discuss pending or potential litigation and a legal matter.

If attending, remember that you can pick up a free parking pass at the windows just inside City Hall.

• City Hall Renovations

Architects will present proposals for City Hall renovations and additions, projected to cost between $5 and $6 million. The current building could expand from 16,670 square feet to 28,690 square feet, and the existing space will be renovated. Recommendations also include a minimum silver-level LEED certification, possibly incorporating a vegetated roof.

• Pepco Smart Meters

Pepco representatives will share details about its smart meter deployment in College Park. Bringing the electric system into the “digital age” will create a smart grid that is expected to reduce energy cost, increase reliability of service and environmental protection, according to the presentation included in the meeting agenda. Crews will continue with the installation process through December 2012 until all of Pepco’s Maryland customers receive a new meter, according to the Pepco website.

• Pay-by-Phone Parking

The city is considering a service that would allow drivers to pay for parking in the lots with new pay station system by using their phones. A vendor will be present at Tuesday’s meeting to present such a product. If this new service were introduced in College Park, would you take advantage of it? What questions do you have about it? Tell us in the comments.

• City Employee Health Insurance

City staff will recommend approval of contracts for health, dental and liability insurance and worker compensation. The vendors and costs are included on page 19 of the agenda, which accompanies this post.

• Radio Bandwidth Limitation

The city’s director of public works will recommend that the city procure and use the University of Maryland Department of Public Safety 800 MHz frequency narrow-banded system and give up the use of the present 450MHz system. This will allow the city to abide by a looming Federal Communications Commission decision to narrow banding on two-way radio frequencies. (Not a techy? Bandwidth is how much data you can send through a network or modem connection, according to TechTerms.)

• 2013 Action Plan

Council will review the fiscal year 2013 action plan to determine what items need to be moved to the fiscal year 2013 budget.

• Sidewalk Renovation

The city could receive county funds to reconstruct sidewalks in Old Town, Lakeland and Berwyn. The planning staff seeks council’s authorization for its application to the Prince George’s County Department of Housing and Community Development for a $90,000 block grant, intended for “shovel ready projects,” like the sidewalk renovations. See the PDF that accompanies this post to view the targeted locations in College Park.

• State and County Legislation

Council will review proposed state and county legislation. Special session is listed on the agenda with this item.

• Appointments to Boards and Commissions