Executive Department
3rd Quarter Report
Fiscal Year 2005
Activities and Accomplishments
A) CSAFE Program: The Grants/Special Projects Director continues to serve as Lead Coordinator for this program. Ann Northam is the Church Street Neighborhood Advocate.
The CSAFE program for FY 2005 is having positive outcomes so far this fiscal year with participation in the two after-school programs becoming consistent and fewer incidences of fighting at the Wicomico Middle School. The School Resource Officer was instrumental in having an Active Shooter training session held at the school that included officers from all of Wicomico County.
The 2006 proposal was submitted to GOCCP. The on-line application passed the first level review and was submitted to the review committee for funding consideration.
The CSAFE neighborhood Safety Team meetings continue to be held on the third Tuesday of each month, at 5:30 p.m., at area churches and organizations to include Grace United Methodist Church and Fire Station #2. These meetings are organized and hosted by the Neighborhood Advocate, Ann Northam. She sends out meeting notices and reminders before each meeting, along with minutes from the previous meeting. The CSAFE mailing list consists of approximately 120 agency representatives and area residents. The meetings have not been well attended by residents however efforts are being made to encourage their attendance.
The Lead Coordinator, Loré L. Chambers attends the CSAFE meetings for Church Street and the Weed & Seed meetings on the Westside of Salisbury. She monitors the different elements of this grant to ensure funding is utilized according to grant guidelines and that program needs are met. She also completes the quarterly reporting on-line and submits hardcopy reports to GOCCP, as required.
B) Boundless Playground: The final phase of the Boundless playground is underway. The trashcans and the water fountain have been received and will be installed. The fencing has been installed and area families are utilizing the playground more and more. The remaining items include landscaping and signage. A member of the Newtown Association, Wirt Wolf, has been actively working along with Loré Chambers to determine the layout for the fence, the landscaping and he drafted the layout for the sign. It is projected that this project will be completed by the end of May.
C) Community Legacy Revolving Loan Program: Grant funds awarded in the amount off $150,000, for housing rehabilitation, are being administered by the Wicomico County Department of Planning, Zoning and Community Development (PZCD). All loan funds have been obligated and it is projected that they will be fully utilized by the projected end date of June 30, 2005.
D) Community Legacy – Year 4 Funding application: The grant application was submitted for streetscape improvements to Isabella Street and funds to develop a marketing campaign for the Downtown area. This streetscape and marketing campaign grant was not funded. However, the application submitted on behalf of Salisbury Neighborhood Housing Service, Inc. was funded in the amount of $66,318. These funds will be utilized to pay for the demolition of the 11 homes on Rose and Lake Streets, that will be replaced by 8 new single family homes. Governor Robert Ehrlich and Secretary Victor Hoskins presented the award to Mayor Tilghman on Saturday, April 23, 2005.
E) Tri-County Alliance for the Homeless – Loré L. Chambers attends the monthly meetings at the Somerset County Health Department to determine what activities are being undertaken by this multi-agency taskforce. She also attended a HUD conference for the Continuum of Care Pre-proposal Conference on 4/7/05. During this conference, Joseph Brown, of the Department of Housing and Community Development held a question and answer session to determine how DHCD can better administer their funds for the Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) Program. It was announced that each County could qualify for up to $80,000.00 from the ESG program.
F) Affordable Housing Development – Loré L Chambers attended the 37th Annual Fair Housing Celebration at Chesapeake College on 4/8/05. At this conference resource information was shared on grant opportunities through HUD and the USDA Rural Development Program. Information was gathered and disseminated to Salisbury Neighborhood Housing Service, Inc.
G) Design Guidelines: A grant application in the amount of $50,000 was submitted to the Department of Housing and Community Development for the development of comprehensive design guidelines for the restoration, rehabilitation and renovation of homes and businesses in the three historical districts. This grant will include a 50% match from the City. Grant awards are due to be announced in May 2005.
H) City Park Footbridge: A grant application in the amount of $150,000 was submitted to the Department of General Services in response to Bond Bill 204, 2003. The executed Memorandum of Understanding has been received and the bridge is under renovation. As a requirement of this grant, an easement will be granted to the Maryland Historical Trust. The required photographs have been obtained and the plat revision and title search are nearing completion.
I) SHA Sidewalk Project: A grant in the amount of $60,201.65 was submitted to the Maryland State Highway Administration for the installation of sidewalks on the north and south sides of Route 50 from Delaware Avenue to Isabella Street. This sidewalk installation is complete and residents are utilizing the newly provided access to frequent area businesses along the Rt. 50 and Nanticoke corridor.
J) Lead Reduction Grant – Per a request from the Department of Housing and Community Development, a draft plan for the reduction of lead in homes within the City is in progress. This will be a collaborative effort between the City of Salisbury, County Planning, Zoning & Community Development, the Health Department and the Corporation for Healthy Homes and Community Development. The collaborative effort will include loan application processing and educational outreach.
K) Community Legacy – Chipman Center Elevator Project – The vendor has been selected to install the elevator/lift at the Charles H. Chipman Cultural Center. The elevator/lift has been ordered and the engineer is reviewing the final construction documents. The building is being prepared for the installation of the elevator/lift.
L) City Living Marketing Campaign – A project is underway to market the City of Salisbury to encourage people to live within the City limits. A logo has been designed and a steering committee is being considered to plan and develop the campaign. The Maryland Municipal League has provided the City with a no cost marketing opportunity to include internet based video streaming and banners to be strategically placed along high traffic areas around the City.
M) Fire Service Agreement: On January 14, the City received a revised proposal from the County that matched the dollar figures contained in the previous City proposal but had several provisions that were not acceptable to the City. On January 28, the City Administrator met with the County Administrative Director to provide the City’s response to this proposal. There was a follow-up meeting on February 24, at which the County’s Administrative Director provided the City with a newly revised proposal. This new proposal came very close to being acceptable to the City with some relatively minor differences. On March 22, the City Administrator met again with the County Administrative Director to provide him with the latest proposed changes to the draft agreement, which could potentially result in an agreement acceptable to both parties. As of the end of the quarter, the City was waiting to receive a response from the County on this latest proposal.
In the latest proposal from the County, there was a section providing that this agreement constituted the entire agreement between the parties. In an effort to make sure that no important item was left out of the agreement, the City proposed for the first time that this agreement reflect the offer made by the County in 1998 to make a contribution towards the building of a new headquarters fire station by the City. This offer was made by the County as a substitute for the original offer by the County to fund an addition to the City’s existing headquarters fire station to house an additional ambulance along with other equipment. This offer was made by the County as a part of the agreement for the City to continue to provide EMS service to the Fruitland and Allen Fire Districts. At the time, the City decided against building this addition to maintain the historic appearance of the Fire Headquarters building and because the City planned to construct a replacement building in the near future.
N) Salisbury Mall Redevelopment: Following several meetings between the City and the County and the developers of the old Salisbury Mall redevelopment project, it was determined that the draft TIF Contribution and Land Use Agreement, which was provided to the City and the County in December, was premature. This agreement, which pertains to the collection and distribution of the proceeds of the taxes generated by the proposed Villages at Salisbury Lake development, should only have been prepared after the County enacted the necessary legislation authorizing them to participate in the TIF arrangement. Once it realized its procedural misstep, the County proceeded to begin the process of drafting and considering this legislation. Subsequently, the County Council adopted the required legislation, however, no further action could be taken until the end of the required waiting period for County legislation.
O) Balanced Scorecard: Following the training session in mid-December concerning the Balanced Scorecard system, a committee consisting of the City Administrator, the Fire Chief, the Police Chief, the Grants and Special Projects Director and a member of the City Council, was formed to begin gathering further information on this system. The additional information is intended to help the City determine whether, as an organization, it should adopt this system.
P) Total Compensation Study: Throughout the quarter the Singer Group was busy conducting the Total Compensation Study. Each employee was asked to complete a questionnaire describing the duties and responsibilities of the employee’s position. These questionnaires were reviewed by the Singer Group staff as well as by a sub-committee made up of employees selected from the larger employee committee, which had been assisting with the study. As a result of this analysis, all positions were assigned point values based on the knowledge, skills and abilities required of the position. While this step was being carried out, The Singer Group also began conducting a detailed salary survey to determine where the pay of our positions stood in relation to the market. Towards the end of the quarter, the consultants met with the department heads and the employee committee to discuss their preliminary findings.
Q) Capital Improvement Plan: On January 25, 2005, the City Council held a special work session to hear departmental presentations on the Capital Improvement Plan for the five year period FY 06 – FY 10. They held another work session on January 31 to give guidance and reaction to the proposed CIP. Revisions were to be made to the proposed CIP based on Council guidance and the revised CIP was then to be presented back to the Council for adoption. As of the end of the quarter, the revised CIP had not yet been completed
R) Budget: Work on the Mayor’s proposed budget for FY 06 began in January with the distribution of the budget instructions. Department heads turned in their budget requests in late-February. These requests were reviewed first by the Finance Department and then by the City Administrator. The requests were then compared to available revenues to determine how much had to be deleted in order to balance the budget. At the end of the quarter, the budget was in the process of being balanced and prepared for presentation to the Council.
S) Grievance Procedure: A revised grievance procedure for City employees was adopted by the City Council following extensive review at the staff level. The new grievance procedure was designed to accomplish several goals:
- provide clearer guidelines and procedures for employee who feel they have not been treated fairly in some way;
- take the City Council out of the process as a hearing board; and
- broaden the definition of a grievance so that employees would have a formal process to bring more concerns to the attention of their supervisors and the City’s management
T) Marina Privatization: On January 5, 2005, Mitch Nathanson, President of Coastal Properties Management Group, met with the Marina Committee to review his proposal for management of the Port of Salisbury marina. Following this meeting, a draft management agreement was developed and, at the end of the quarter was still being reviewed and altered. City officials were hoping to be able to secure approval of a new agreement by the City Council in time for Mr. Nathanson to take over management before the beginning of the boating season. Under the terms of the proposed agreement, Mr. Nathanson would operate the marina for the first year without claiming a management fee. If expenditures during the first season exceed revenues, the City would be responsible for covering the shortfall. In the second and subsequent years, Coastal Properties would charge a management fee of $35,000. If expenditures during any year exceed expenditures, plus the management fee, the City is responsible for covering the shortfall. However, the City and Coastal Properties will split any profit.
U) North Prong Task Force: A task force representing many sectors of the community was formed under the auspices of the Greater Salisbury Committee to look at the possible redevelopment of the North Prong of the Wicomico River. This traditional industrial area had fallen into decline with the closing of the old petroleum distribution facilities and the phasing out of many of the other former businesses in the area. Many people in the community feel that this area could be redeveloped so that it would once again be a vibrant part of Salisbury. The purpose of the task force is to begin the visioning process for the possible redevelopment of this area. A press conference to announce the formation of the task force was held on February 2, 2005. The first meeting of the task force was held on January 26 with a follow-up meeting on February 16. The City Administrator, the City/County Planning Director and two members of the City Council were City representatives on the task force.
V) Neighborhood Services Task Force: In an effort to develop a greater level of cooperation and coordination between the various City departments who have responsibility for the quality of life in the City’s neighborhoods, the Mayor formed a Neighborhood Services Task Force in February, 2005. The Police, Fire, Public Works, and Building, Housing and Zoning Departments were represented on this task force, along with the Mayor and City Administrator. This task force met for the first time on February 7 and decided to begin meeting on a two-week basis. During its formative meetings, the task force members discussed how they could work more closely together and support each Neighborhood other’s efforts. They also discussed specific problem properties and areas in the City.
W) Visit by Estonians: Early in March, Salisbury and Wicomico County played host to a delegation of Estonians, who were visiting from Salisbury’s partner City in Estonia, Tartu. The delegation, which included the Mayor of Tartu, mixed business with pleasure while here. Their primary goal was to learn a little bit about the structure and practices of local government in the United States, and particularly in our area. Accordingly, presentations were made to them by both the City and the County on how these two governmental organizations carry out their functions. They were also taken on tours of varuous City and County facilities. In addition, because Tartu is also a university town, they were given a tour of Salisbury University. On the social side, a welcoming reception was held on the night of their arrival at the home of Mike Thompson, the Deputy County Administrative Director. Dinners were also given in their honor by the County at the Civic Center and by the City at the Poplar Hill Mansion. Promises were made for future visits both in Tartu and in Salisbury to further develop the cooperative relationship between the two communities.