Mayor’s
Report
A
lot has happened since my last Ward 2 report.
The following are a few of the highlights:
à You have elected me as the Mayor of our
City.
à
à Alta Morton is the new Ward 1
representative.
à Adopted a phrase for
the City – “
à Chief Fred Keeney’s contract has been
renewed for one year.
à Mr. David P. Powers has
been sworn in as our newest police officer.
à Maryland Municipal League (MML) has held
it annual convention in
à The City has passed its budget for fiscal
year 2005/2006 with no increase in taxes.
à Joe’s Emporium has held its second major
performance at the
à Artspace has become a reality with
tenants occupying space on the upper levels, and Lt. Governor Steele making his
second visit to
à Bass Liquors is no more – boarded up.
à Mount Rainier Business Association has
web presence and a host of new officers.
à Mount Rainier Day was a smashing success
with
à For the second year in a row the City participated
in American In Bloom with the judges being wine and
dine by Jack Engel and other members of the City’s Beautification Committee who
has been doing a wonderful job with our Spotlight Yard of the week/month
awards.
à The City helped host the Auto Theft and
Crime Prevention event with
à The City has been awarded $122,000
in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG); $73,000 in Community Legacy Grant
(CLG) with Lt. Governor Steele and representatives from other State Agencies
visiting and touring the City of Mount Rainier; $7,000 from County Councilman
Continuing
Activities:
1. The
Mount Rainier Business Association’s (MRBA) Executive Board: Kenric Walwyn, Finance Officer, Community Vision
Consultants, 3808 34th Street, 301-209-1899; Adrienne Littlejohn, G and A,
3817-A 34th Street, 301-277-1137; Mr. Thomas Obeng-Anon, K-Food Mart,
3233 Rhode Island Avenue, 301-927-7796; Eboni Borden, Jackson Hewitt Tax
Services, 3207 Rhode Island Avenue, 301-699-9050; Nick Daniels, Oldies Music,
3219 Rhode Island Avenue, 301-779-0569; Sam Reynolds, Jr. Reynolds’ Realty 240-393-2299;
Meetings are open so members and guests may remain
for the Executive Board meeting. Executive Board meeting of the MRBA are held
at
2. Traffic
Light on
3. The Community Tool Shed won an award for excellence in the
medium cities category and was invited to be on display at the MML
Convention. Chairman
Thanks to all of the volunteers that give countless hours of their time to the Community Tool Shed. Seventeen thousand ($17,000) of the Community Legacy Grant is for improving the Community Tool Shed. So look for more changes at the Community Tool Shed. In addition, Little Friends of Peace and a few other projects are being considered for the upper level of the Community Tool Shed.
4. Regina Wardwell is still seeking volunteer residents to
participate in Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) classes. A "CERT team" is a group of people
that is organized under the leadership of a local jurisdiction and receives
special training that enhances their ability to recognize, respond to, and
recover from a major emergency or disaster situation. CERT training programs train citizens in
areas that will help them take care of themselves and others before, during and
after a major emergency.
This is a vital training need
for our City to be prepared to deal with emergencies (natural or terriorist attacks).
Volunteer
physicians, nurses, drivers, medical personnel, administrative assistants and
language interpreters are all needed in case of an emergency or
disaster. Training is free,
however, there is a mandatory 20 hours of training that must be completed. For more information contact Regina Wardwell (rbbe@starpower.net),
5. KUDOS to the
6.
7. Citizens are needed for committees – The City still needs your
help in filling vacancies on its committees.
To be appointed to one of the
following committees, all you need do is call City Hall and let staff know the
committee you would like to serve on. 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*
7 Personnel Review Board – (appointed by Mayor and Council)
8
9 Mixed Use Town Center Committee (recommended for appointment)
10 Mount Rainier Board of Elections (appointed by Mayor and Council)
11
12.
13. Babysitting Coop – 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.
Some of them may already have sufficient members, but it is not too
early to become familiar with their functions or serve as an alternate or even
get appointed. The City NEEDS YOU. To sign up for a committee or commission,
please call 301-985-6585.
The City is moving full speed
ahead with plans for best use of the old police station/City Hall/library
building. To request planning money for
this project, the Mayor and Council needs to reach an agreement on the “best
possible use” of the space.
8. There is a discussion going on regarding how information is
disseminated by the City. As I am sure
you are aware, news moves very slowly in the Mount Rainier Message. The City needs your help to generate ideas
for speeding up the dissemination of information, and to help get our Message
out on time. If you can help us with
this, please email me at Ward2@malindamiles.com. I would like to see the City put together a
newsletter team to 1) develop articles for the Newsletter, 2) speed up
production, and 3) help ensure timely distribution of the Newsletter.
9. There is a
Yahoo! Groups Links
To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MtRainier_MD/
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
MtRainier_MD-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
As always, I welcome your
opinion and comments. If I omitted
information, I will try to catch up on it in my next Report. In the meantime, please actively participate
in City activities. Get out and meet
your neighbors, we are the best crime watch and crime prevention protection in
the City. There are 8,500 of us, and our
police department only has about 15 members.
If you see something suspicious, call 301-985-6565. Your participation is crucial for our safety
and for ensuring good government. Thank
you.
The following web sites may be of interest to you.
Historic Mount Rainier Maryland
--- http://www.mountrainiermd.org
Mount Rainier Police Department
-- http://www.mountrainiermd.org/government/police/index.html
Bunker Hill Volunteer Fire and
Rescue Company --- http://www.mrvfd.org
Friends
of the Mount Rainier Library (FOL) --- http://www.mtrainierfol.org/
NEWS FLASH If you smell gas and can’t locate its
source or feel unsafe about it dial 911 and report it, and get out of the
house. Washington Gas has developed and
distributed new brochures to provide new information on how gas emergencies
should be handled. Check your bills for
this information.