Ward 2 Report
THANK YOU
Hats off to Tommy Priestly for throwing his hat in the ring for the
County Council Seat here In District 2. He is a
testament to our young people participating in the political process.
1. During the past month, the City Manager
has taken a decisive action to reorganize the Public Works Department. Effective immediately, Mr. Ed Gabay is no
longer working with the City of
2.
Meetings of the MRBA are held at
3. Tool Shed – The Mount Rainier Community
Tool Shed Committee in conjunction with the Mayor and Council hosted the grand
opening (with refreshments) of the Mount Rainier Community Tool Shed on
4. Jan Townshend, Program
Manager, Neighborhood Design Center, 301-779-6010 lined up about 15 teenage volunteers
for a garden clean-up and bulb planting on Saturday, November 20, 2004 at the
Mount Rainier Reading Garden-corner of 33rd and Bunker Hill Road, and at 30th
and Arundel. Representatives from County
Executive Jack Johnson’s office were able to see tools from the Community Tool
Shed in use. If you have a renovation
project, a gardening project or a group activity that require tools that you do
not have, please contact the Community Tool Shed Committee. We just might have what you are looking for
or we might be able to arrange a class on the kind of project you are
considering. The number to the Community
Tool Shed is 301-779-0133.
5. The County is holding a recycling
contest starting
6. Election Procedures –During the past
few months, the Mayor and Council have been drafting written election
procedures. In accordance with our
Charter, the Mayor and Council appoints a Board of Elections and an Elections
Supervisor to oversee and carry out all of the City’s elections. The City’s Board of Elections has frequently
been confronted with questions and problems that were not addressed in any
formal manner. The new Elections
Procedures guide will address many of those questions and problems. The guide
will be provided to the Board of Elections’ members and candidates for City
elections. Copies for review by the
general public will also be available at City.
If you are interested in running for an elected office in
7. Upcoming City Elections – on the first
Monday in May 2005, the City will be holding its election. There will be one Councilmember vacancy in
each Ward. In addition, the position of
Mayor will be up for election. All open positions
in this election will be for four-year terms.
Citizens are urged to consider running for these positions. This is an opportunity to get involved and
make a difference in our community.
8. City
Audit (Year 2003) – On November 4, 2004 , the Mayor and
Council received a draft financial audit from Mock and Associates. A thorough review of the draft audit shows the
City with a positive balance as of close of business June 30, 2003 . However, it also showed that the
Mayor and Council over budgeted by $108,000 based on our expected
revenues. The final audit report should
be received within the next few weeks and will be available for public review. Based on the draft audit, the Mayor and Council
are considering the retention of Mock and Associates for the 2004 Audit which
can begin almost immediately following the approval of the final 2003 audit.
9. A public hearing was recently held on
the Dog/Canine Ordinance. Residents came
out to provide their input on this issue.
Many of the residents who were unable to attend also submitted emails
that were entered into the record. No
final action has been taken on the proposed ordinance,
however, I am sure that this item will be coming up soon for a vote.
10. Personnel Review Board – In approving the
City’s new Personnel Manual, the Mayor and Council also approved the creation
of a Personnel Review Board. The
responsibilities of the Personnel Review Board are to hear and decide on
personnel matters that would normally go to arbitration. Once the guidelines for how this body will
function are completed, the Mayor and Council will need to appoint members to
the Board. Persons with personnel
backgrounds will be needed to sit on this Board. If you have a personnel or employment
background, we certainly would like to hear from you. A copy of the personnel manual can be
reviewed at City Hall. I have drafted
and submitted to the Mayor and Council rules and regulations for the proposed
Personnel Review Board.
11. Salary Schedule – A new salary schedule
has been developed and implemented to make salaries within the City more
equitable. In addition to the new salary
schedule, the Mayor and Council decided to NOT approve merit increases, not to
make salaries retroactive to July 1, and to make the new salary schedule and
the new Police Union Contract effective November 1. This represents a major saving for the City,
and better meets the needs of the City in its efforts to ensure fair and
equitable payment to all employees.
12. Police Union Contract – The Police Union
Contract has been negotiated and approved by the Mayor and Council and has
improvements that will work well with the City’s forward movement. The Police Union Contract is a public document
and may be reviewed by residents. Should
you wish to review the document, please contact Jeannelle Wallace.
13.
Cora
B. Woods Senior Health Center – Located in
The Mt.
Rainier 11th Annual Community Craft Sale will be held on Saturday,
December 4 from 10 am to 4 pm at Cedar Lane Methodist Church in Mt.
Rainier, MD Craft items for sale include, textiles,
needlework, paintings, photography cards, pottery, jewelry, woodwork and
more. There will also be an area where children can make Christmas gifts
for a small fee. The church is located at the corner of
14. City Manager takes a Break – City Manager
Jeannelle Wall will attend a workshop and annual meeting at LGIT on
15. New Voice at Public Works – Heard a new
voice at Public Works on your last call?
Ruth Sandy is the newest Public Works employee. She will be
attending the Mayor and Council work session on November 30th for introduction
to the Council. She comes highly recommended from her former position as
a Fire fighter in
16. Traffic Light on
17. Telephone Problems at City Hall – The problem
with our telephones at City Hall should be corrected. Many of you called me last week after being
unable to get in touch with the City Manager or other personnel at City
Hall. The problem was worked on by Verizon and should now be corrected. We apologize for any inconvenience that we
caused you. Please refer to the Message
for how to contact City Hall by email as an alternative to telephoning.
18. The Marking of
19. Bass Liquors’ Update – Ms. Bedard, a member of the Bass family appeared before the
Mayor and Council a few weeks ago to discuss their plans for continuing the
operation of Bass Liquors. Her primary
request was for the Mayor and Council to rescind its opposition to the Bass
Liquor license since it was considered an asset and since Bass Liquors was in
bankruptcy court. They proposed that the
business continues, that they would bring in a “good” restaurant, continue to
operate their financial business, i.e., check cashing and money orders, and the
sell of liquor including singles which was need to support the continued
operation of the business. Although no
officially position was voted on by the Mayor and Council at the work session,
the Mayor and Council’s position continues to be one that upholds the ruling of
the Liquor Board and to apply and adhere to its (the City’s) ordinances and
codes. In addition, the Major and
Council have agreed to begin exploring its options with regard to this property
and its continued use in the City. As a
result of the urban renewal plan, which the city passed in June, the Mayor and
Council has eminent domain authority to remove any
blighted property within the town center. The council plans to put a call out for
proposals from developers by mid January. Stay tuned, I
am sure there will be much more on this during the early part of 2005.
20. K-FOOD MART HOURS – K-Food Mart has
petitioned the Liquor Board to extend its hours so that they can be opened
until
21. Holiday Recycling -- No recycling will
occur on Friday, November 26. Recycling
will be done on MONDAY, November 29th. In addition, because Christmas and New Year’s
will fall on a Saturday, the Mayor and Council has approved recycling pick ups
for the following Monday after each holiday.
Remember everything you recycle reduces what goes into the landfill and
reduces our tipping fees. Keep in mind
that the
22. Citizens need for committees – The City
has a limited number of staff and other resources to carry out the many tasks
necessary to ensure the quality of living that many of us desire. Often time the work that needs to get done
doesn’t because of this lack of resources.
However, if residents would pitch in, a lot more could get done, and be
cost effective for the City and for residents.
Below are a few of the City’s committees and/or commissions that need
you!
1. Cable Commission (appointed by Mayor and Council) 2. Tree Commission (appointed
by Mayor and Council) 3. Community Tool Shed
Committee (appointed by Mayor and Council)
4. Senior
Emergency Preparedness Commission (appointed by Mayor and Council) 5.
Mount Rainier Day Committee volunteer group 6.
Parenting Committee – volunteer group
These
committees and commissions only meet once or twice a month or less. The time and service that you give to them
would be invaluable, and would reduce the amount of time required by some of
your very busy neighbors. I know we are
all very busy, but this is our City, and it takes each of us, doing just a
little to make it an even better place to live.
To sign up for a committee or
commission, please call 301-985-6585.
Giving
Thanks
(Author Unknown)
|
For the hay and the corn and the wheat that is reaped, |
Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving!Happy Thanksgiving to
each and every one of you!
NOVEMBER
Tues. November 23 no council meeting
Thurs. November 25 Thanksgiving
Fri. November. 26,
city offices closed; no recycling
Monday, November 29, recycling
Tues. November 30 work session. Finance presentation
Web Site that might be of interest
to you:
Historic Mount Rainier Maryland --- http://www.mountrainiermd.org
Mount
Rainier Police Department -- http://www.mountrainiermd.org/government/mrpd/index.html
Bunker
Hill Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company --- http://www.mrvfd.org