Weekly Status Report - 5/13/10

 

MEMORANDUM

 

TO:               City Council

FROM:         David J. Deutsch, City Manager

SUBJECT:  Status Report/Council Poll 

DATE:  May 20, 2010

Status Report

1.  City’s Bond Credit Ratings Recalibrated

The City has been informed that Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings, two of the three rating agencies that issued credit ratings on the City’s 2009 general obligation bond issue, have recently recalibrated their U.S. public finance ratings.  As a result, the City now has a credit rating of Aaa from Moody’s and AAA from Fitch.  These are the highest credit ratings issued by either rating agency.  The third credit rating agency, Standard & Poor’s, issued a credit rating of AAA at the time of their review, which is their highest credit rating.

According to Moody’s Investor Service, “This calibration does not reflect an improvement in credit quality or a change in our credit opinion for rated municipal debt issuers.  Instead, the recalibration will align municipal ratings with their global scale equivalent.”

Information provided by Moody’s and Fitch show Annapolis and Rockville as the only other cities in Maryland to receive credit ratings of Aaa or AAA.  Seven counties within Maryland, including Prince George’s, have received the highest credit rating from either rating agency.

2.  Bowie Business Recognition Awards

The City's Economic Development Committee (EDC), in partnership with the Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce, presented the third annual business recognition awards Friday, May 14 at Belair Mansion.  The featured speaker was Comptroller Peter Franchot.  In addition to the combined City-Chamber award plaque, honorees received recognition from the Comptroller, Congressman Hoyer, Senator Peters, Delegates Hubbard and Holmes, and County Council Member Turner.  The award details are attached.

This year’s honorees are:

Small Business of the Year – Cetrone's

Business of the Year –  Widmann Financial Services

Entrepreneur of the Year – Cindy Freeland, Maryland Secretarial Services, Inc.

Community Service Award – Bowie's Own Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. #1893

3.  County Recovery Zone Facility Bond (RZFB) Program Update 

On Tuesday, May 18, staff attended a County information session on RZFB's.  Representatives from two projects within the City limits also attended.  Speakers at this information session were:  Kwasi Holman from the Prince George's Economic Development Corporation; Ed Jenkins, a debt manager for the Prince George's County Finance Office; and Linda Schakel, an attorney from Ballard Spahr - the County's bond counsel.

The Prince George’s County EDC is the lead agency for these tax exempt bonds.  Applications will be accepted from now through June 4, 2010.

The tax exempt bonds, if an application is approved by the County, are private bonds to be issued by a private party and backed by that private entity's own credit.  They are not a government obligation. 

Attached is an information sheet with the priorities the County has established for consideration of the bond funding applications.  The County expects to have all applications reviewed and between one and eight projects approved for this program by July 31, 2010.  The bonds must be issued by the end of this calendar year. (See link)

4.  Vehicle #3 Replacement

The Public Works Department has identified a replacement for vehicle #3.  The FY 2011 amount allocated is $28,800.  The purchase amount is $28,793.  This unit is available on the 2009 bid from the State of Maryland and the City will not accept delivery of the vehicle prior to July 1, 2010.  As provided in Section 62 of the City Charter, this will serve as the required seven (7) day notice of intent to purchase this vehicle. 

5.  Carnival at Bowie Town Center

A carnival will be held at the Bowie Town Center parking lot, located adjacent to Old Navy, starting today and ending on Saturday, May 29th.  The hours of operation will be Sunday through Wednesday and Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., and 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays in accordance with our local ordinance.  The operator is providing security.  There were no issues identified with this event last year.  The focus of the carnival is on younger children.  Our Police Chief has been notified.  The permit has been issued in accordance with the City Code.

6.  City Hosting FSC First Friday Briefing on June 4

In partnership with the Prince George's Financial Services Corporation (FSC First), the City and the Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce are hosting a “First Friday” business finance briefing at Bowie City Hall on Friday, June 4th, at 9:30 a.m.  Businesses attending this free briefing will learn about the City's revolving loan fund -- money placed by the City with the FSC to lend only to Bowie businesses.  And they will learn about additional loan programs available to businesses anywhere in the County.  The session is free, but preregistration through the FSC is required as space is limited.  Registration can be done online via http://fscfirstfridays.eventbrite.com to reserve a space.

7.  EAC Household Self-Certification

As part of its public outreach activities, the Environmental Advisory Committee has created a new Environmental Stewardship Self-Certification Program for Households, similar to the City of Annapolis program.  The program uses a workbook (available on the City's Green Bowie webpage) to cover numerous environmental topics in order to determine the number of points a household should receive.  Residents tally the points on a score sheet and then enter the data into a survey tool.  Households achieving a minimum of 150 points qualify to download a Green Bowie Environmental Stewardship Recognition Certificate, signed by the Mayor, from the City's website.  Copies of the workbook and certificate were  provided for your information and are available from the Planning Department.  The EAC plans to roll out the Self-Certification Program at Bowiefest.

8.  Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Update

The Bowie CERT team was established in 2008 as a resource for communities and the City during emergency situations.  There are approximately 60 trained Bowie CERT members.  The CERT members are trained to respond and stabilize incidents using the Incident Command System (ICS) until the appropriate first responders can arrive.  The team members are also used as a resource to support community events.

The group leader is T-section resident Shirley Robertson.  The staff liaison and coordinator is the City’s Emergency Management Resources Coordinator, Alan Creveling.  The group conducts a meeting every other month at City Hall. Featured speakers during the past year have included Cynthia Baker from the Health Department speaking about the Prince George’s Medical Reserve Corps, Laurel City Administrator and Emergency Manager Martin Flemion speaking about Laurel CERT, Beverly Cronin from the Prince George’s 911 center, Deputy Chief John Nesky from the Bowie Police Department, and Glenn Bock from our local ham radio operators’ group. 

Bowie CERT members have responded to help with traffic, crowd control and communications in a variety of events including our City’s H1N1 clinic on November 21, 2009, several H1N1 clinics at the Health Department, and the County’s DPW&T snow desk (during the February snowstorm response).

The group participated in the Berwyn Heights Pandemic Flu drill and the Anne Arundel County Office of Emergency Management full scale exercise train crash.

The group also participated in the National Weather Service “Skywarn” basic class which helped our County obtain a “StormReady” certification.  Future training and events include Bowiefest, National Night Out, and on-line FEMA courses. 

Attachments