Weekly Status Report - 1/14/2010

MEMORANDUM

TO:               City Council

FROM:         David J. Deutsch, City Manager

SUBJECT:  Status Report

DATE: January 14, 2010   

Status Report

1.  Tax Differential

The tax differential rate in FY11 will be 14.1 cents.  This is a significant change from the FY10 rate of 9.4 cents.  Please review the enclosed letter from the County’s Office of Management and Budget.  The attached chart indicates a tax differential rate of 15.45 cents.  The 14.1 cent figure reported above differs from the chart because the County Code requires a three-year rolling average to be used in the calculation.  The value of increases is therefore spread over a three-year period.  With all factors remaining constant, the anticipated tax differential for FY12 should be 15 cents.

2.  City Hall -- Installation of Shoring and Impact Piers

The City has received four inquiries from residents about vibration
associated with construction on the new City Hall site.  Also, two of these residents indicated that a plate and candle sconces have fallen off walls as a result of this vibration.  The area primarily impacted by this vibration is the section of townhouses directly across the street from this project.  The vibration is from the pile driver for the shoring.  The contractor is using a vibrating driver in lieu of the loud hammer driver.  When they hit hard ground it causes the vibration to travel out. 

The pile driving should be concluded by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week (it began on Friday, January 8th).  The contractor installing this shoring will not be working on Saturday or on the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Monday.  Also, the remainder of the shoring being installed is further away from the townhouses impacted thus far.  The shoring is being used to allow the basement excavation without "laying back" the sides of the excavation.  It allows for a vertical wall at the basement excavation so the contractor can install the parking lot and utilities at the front of the building before the basement walls are complete and backfilled.  Staff has been in contact with the leadership of the HOA regarding the concerns raised by their residents and provided information about the time frame for these activities. 

The next construction activity that will cause noise and some vibration will be the installation of the impact piers.  The stone piers are hammer driven and make a lot of noise.  However, the installation of these impact piers involves a different construction process further away from the townhouses and should not result in nearly as much vibration to residents.  The installation of the impact piers should start in about two weeks and will be for a two to three-week duration.  Staff will coordinate with the contractor and communicate with the Palisades HOA as to exactly when this will occur and what residents should expect. 
  
3.  Economic Development Committee (EDC)

The EDC held their regular monthly meeting Wednesday.  Planning for the 3rd annual business recognition awards ceremony is underway; the event will be held Friday, May 14, 2010 at 11:30 a.m.  The City of Bowie and the Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce cosponsor this event.  Nominations for the four award categories will be sought starting later this month; the location and the keynote speaker are being determined.

The EDC TIF Task Force reported their initial information gathering results.  After discussion, the EDC adopted a motion to support a request for the use of TIF at Bowie Marketplace and directed the Task Force to draft a letter to Council containing the recommendation and supporting facts for further review by the EDC.

The Business Retention task group is continuing their effort to devise a set of questions to ask Bowie businesses.

The next regular meeting of the EDC will be Wednesday, February 10.

DJD/asf

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