CCA Public Meeting Minutes: 9.24.2025
/Welcome Remarks (Amanda Bourgeois, CCA President)
Amanda welcomed everyone and the meeting started at 6:40pm. Reverend Marietta will be giving her last sermon on 9/28 and her last day at the church will be 9/30. She will be missed in the community and we appreciate her collaboration with the CCA.
Announcements
Bloombox - Fall Fundraiser ends 9/30
Day of Giving - Saturday, December 13th – annual canned food drive and gift
Dumpster Day – Saturday, November 1st
Hampstead Hill Academy - Harris Teeter fundraiser/playground - Katie Stewart spoke both about Harris Teeter, BeeFit color run, and playground fundraisers. She will be emailing us information so we can send it out to our membership.
Presentations:
City Councilman Mark Parker update – Mark introduced Cindy Ibara, the Director of Constituent Relations from his office. They also have 2 MSW social work interns and a peace corps volunteer. Mark is on the following committees: Education, Youth, and Older Adults Committee (Vice Chair), Public Health and Environment Committee (Member), and Transportation and Land Use Committee (Member).
He has met with neighbors that surround Patterson Park to review the positive aspects as well as the challenges with the park, which includes safety as well as traffic calming, crosswalks, and signage.
Mark explained that the biggest challenge across the district is the attacks on immigrants; the office gets calls each day and the city has no authority over federal policy but his office is working to expand funding for 1) legal representation for immigrants that will help with outcomes and 2) case management work for families to access resources. There are no public defenders for immigrants.
Water line work should be mostly finished in Canton and BGE has started with its 2026 plans, but no exact details have been given yet. A city-watch camera has been installed on O’Donnell Square and Potomac Street – neither Mark’s office nor CCA were made aware of this. He is also working with Coppermine around un-housed persons, working with Parks and Rec on the basketball court maintenance, and working on trash, lighting, and First Thursdays at the Canton waterfront park.
Team 46 update – Delegate Edelson – spoke about the 2025 legislative session and the reasons for the budget shortfall which includes state funding of Medicaid, the childcare scholarship program, and the impact from the federal government. The actual deficit in March of 2025 was $3.3 billion. The state’s response was to set up a tax code to tax the wealthiest 6% of Marylanders to help balance the budget. Delegate Edelson also sponsored a bill, which was passed, to have harsher penalties, including jailtime, for repeat aggressive and reckless driving.
City Council President’s Office - Arisa Kimura – she is the Community Impact Coordinator for Zeke Cohen’s Office. She introduced herself and said that those in the community could reach out with any questions or issues.
Sheriff’s Office - Sam Cogen – Sherriff Cogen said that as of October 1st, his office is able to enforce a new state law regarding alcohol and tobacco sales to minors. His goal is to be community oriented and if citizens have questions or concerns about an establishment, they should reach out to CCA or Mark Parker’s office and his office will get information and investigate.
EnviroCollab/Project ODSP update – Cherisse Otis presented the process and plans for the O’Donnell Square Park. The landscape architects worked with Parks & People and held community workshops as well as online surveys and received a lot of community input. They are currently in the permitting and documenting stage. The feedback received included the importance of accessibility and ADA compliance with having the structure open on all sides. Keeping some plants and greenery, but with low maintenance, was also important. The plan is to take the shade structure design from the original market that was on this site. The structure will be metal, oval, in the center, and will try to incorporate art pieces from the metal fencing. They are looking for input on how to incorporate the art and ideas on what to do with the fencing. Electrical service for audio and lighting will be installed. The group is also looking for input on the palate of red bricks and pavers for the flooring of the structure. The timeline for finishing the first part of the project is the end of the summer (2026).
Closing remarks (Amanda):
Meeting ended at 8:20pm
Thank you to the United Evangelical Church for the space and to Steak N’ Bone for the delicious food!