Weekly Status Report - 10/22/09

MEMORANDUM

TO: City Council

FROM: David J. Deutsch, City Manager

SUBJECT: Status Report

DATE: October 22, 2009

Status Report

1. Maintenance on County Right-of-Ways

Attached is a letter from Prince George’s County regarding maintenance on County right-of-ways. As requested by City Council, staff has contacted Council Member Ingrid Turner to request a meeting after November 3rd regarding this matter. Staff is suggesting an evening, roundtable type meeting that is open to the public, but not televised. Once we obtain some possible dates for this meeting, we will coordinate with City Council.

2. Economic Development Committee (EDC)

The Bowie EDC held their regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, October 14, 2009 and conducted a bus tour of Bowie. The 40+ mile tour route started and finished at Bowie State University and traveled throughout the City and environs looking at commercial development and economic growth. Twelve members of the EDC, four members of Council, a representative of County Council Member Turner, plus the Dean of the School of Business at Bowie State and City staff took the tour. At the end of the tour, Bowie State University provided lunch and Dr. Mickey Burnim spoke about the University and its long-range plans. The next EDC meeting is Wednesday, November 18th.

3. Stop Signs

At the City Council Meeting on October 19th, the question came up as to how residents can request stop signs from the City. The City adheres to the Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways (MUTCD) to guide the installation of traffic control devices. This manual is published by the U.S. Department of Transportation and adopted by the Maryland Department of Transportation. The MUTCD establishes criteria for the installation of stop signs based on sound engineering practices. In 1992, because of an increase in citizen requests for multi-way stop signs, City Council adopted R-49-92 Adopting a Policy for the Installation of Multi-way Stop Signs. A copy of the MUTCD as it relates to stop signs and multi-way stop signs is attached. Also attached is a copy of R-49-92. The MUTCD states directly that, “Stop signs should not be used for speed control”. If a resident is interested in having the City consider whether a stop sign is warranted at a particular location, they should make this request in writing to the City Manager’s Office; we would then have our Public Works Department conduct an analysis of a particular location to determine if a stop sign is warranted. If the stop sign is warranted, the City will install the sign.

4. 2009 Leaf Disposal

The last five seasons the City has collected curbside leaves and stored them at the Public Works compound for later contract disposal. There were 1,400 tons collected in 2007, 1,451 tons collected in 2008, and we estimate 1,460 tons for 2009.

The benefits of utilizing the contractual services for removal and disposal are as follows:

Not hauling to the County facility will save approximately 24,600 travel miles;
Diesel fuel savings of approximately $21,000;
Time saved from not traveling to the County facility is equivalent to 501 man-hours;
Saving $25 per ton landfill fee ($36,500).

On June 2, 2006, Anne Arundel County awarded a contract to McKnew Chipping, Inc. for shredding and mulching services (Contract #06-018), which meets the City's needs. Anne Arundel County has extended McKnew's contract for one (1) additional year through 2010. The price of shredding, mulching and disposal is $11.95 per cubic yard or $29.00 per ton. McKnew will use the City's scale to weigh each load as it leaves the Public Works facility. All debris will be removed by January 8, 2010, weather permitting.

The Public Works Department recommends that we "piggyback" on the Anne Arundel County contract for shredding, mulching and disposal services by McKnew Chipping, Inc. in an amount of $42,300. These funds will come out of the Solid Waste Disposal Fees account.

As provided by Section 62 of the City Charter, this will serve as the required seven (7) day notice of intent to issue a purchase order to McKnew Chipping, Inc. for the shredding, mulching and disposal of leaves at $29.00 per ton.

5. Stream Team Clean-Up

On Saturday, October 17th, 114 City residents braved the rainy, 40 degree weather to complete the City’s 4th Stream Team Clean-Up. With seven of the nine sites reporting, volunteers removed approximately 1,325 pounds of trash and 625 pounds of recycling. Some of the more interesting items that were found included a carpet, tin roofing, shopping carts, and a cement duck statue. As always, many tires and plastic bottles were removed. The next clean-up will occur in April 2010 when we hope it will be warm, dry and sunny!

6. City Storm Drain Marking Project

Two weekends ago, a local Boy Scout, Jack Pearson Brown, and members of his troop completed his Eagle Scout project by installing nearly 100 storm drain markers throughout the Overbrook Branch subwatershed, which includes most “O” and some “C” and “Y” streets. The markers are stainless steel, decorative round disks that say “No Dumping – Drains to Waterway.” They are intended to increase the awareness of residents that the water that enters storm drains is sent directly into their local streams (in this case, the Patuxent River) without any treatment. This project was carried out under the supervision of the City's Watershed Manager and also helps meet the requirements of the City’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit on file with the Department of Public Works. It is staff's intention to expand the program to other subwatersheds in the City as funding allows.

7. Carnival at Bowie Town Center

Simon Property Group is holding a carnival this week. Carnival equipment has been placed in the parking area behind Old Navy. The City has issued a permit in accordance with Chapter 3 of the City Code which authorizes this activity. Although the City Code allows for carnivals of up to 17 days, this permit is for a total of five days beginning with last evening and continuing through Sunday evening. The carnival is primarily geared toward younger children and is not anticipated to create off-site problems. Simon has on-site security including mall security and off-duty County officers, and the Bowie Police Department is aware of the event. I have also directed the evening Code Compliance Officer to monitor the area for compliance with City noise regulations. Simon and its carnival vendor have been told that we will not tolerate an excessive noise situation that creates a nuisance for nearby residential areas. The carnival will close by 10:00 p.m. each night, except on Sunday when the event closes at 8:00 p.m.

8. H1N1 and Seasonal Flu Update

Beginning today, the Prince George’s County Health Department is offering H1N1 vaccinations to the public at its health center in Cheverly on Thursday mornings. Seasonal flu shots can also be received at the same time. Those interested in receiving the vaccine must call the Prince George's County Healthline at 1-888-561-4049 to schedule an appointment. Initially the vaccines will be provided to those in the priority groups and eventually will be made available to all residents. The priority groups include pregnant women, health care providers and emergency medical services personnel, those age 6 months to 24 years of age, and those age 25 to 64 with underlying medical conditions like diabetes or asthma that make them more susceptible to flu-related complications. The Health Department is reporting that the quantities vary daily based on the number of vaccines they are receiving from the State of Maryland and the amount of vaccines being administered each day.

In addition to the Cheverly location, a few clinics have been scheduled in other parts of the County. To date, no clinic has been scheduled in Bowie, although we have extended the offer to host one here and will continue to work with Health Department officials to get one arranged. The Health Department is also working with individual schools to schedule vaccinations for each public and private school in the County.

An information sheet produced by the Health Department entitled "2009 Influenza Vaccinations" is attached.

DJD/asf

Attachments