Weekly Status Report - 9/30/10

MEMORANDUM

 

TO:               City Council

FROM:         David J. Deutsch, City Manager

SUBJECT:  Status Report

DATE:  September 30, 2010

 

Status Report

1.  Urban Greening Grant

I am pleased to announce that the City has received a $35,000 grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust as part of their Urban Greening program.  In 2009, the City received the results of an Urban Tree Canopy (UTC) study and found an existing tree canopy coverage of 46%, which exceeded the 40% goal set in the Environ-mental Infrastructure Action Strategy Plan (Action Plan 5).  This grant will pay for a consultant to come in and analyze the data generated during the UTC study as well as our Green Infrastructure network and other data to help the City draft an Urban Greening Strategy.  This work product will be developed in conjunction with the Environmental Advisory Committee and will provide the City with a revised, realistic canopy goal and recommendations on where and how to concentrate future tree planting efforts  and programs.  We hope to have a consultant under contract before the end of the year. 

2.  New City Hall Occupancy

Please find below the anticipated schedule for occupancy of the new City Hall: 

  • Building Completion - January 27, 2011 
  • Furniture Installation - January 27, 2011 to March 15, 2011 
  • Transfer of Phone Extensions, Computers, Records and Personal Items – March 15, 2011 to April 15, 2011
  • Full Operations at New City Hall – April 15, 2011

Our current plan is to move one department at a time into the new building.  This is necessary because of the time needed to transfer phone extensions and computers to the new building.  We will therefore be operating out of both buildings during the period from March 15th to April 15th.  A staff team has been assembled to work through the myriad of issues associated with this transfer to minimize the impact on residents and staff during this transition.  We will continue to share with you specifics as they are developed in terms of the schedule of departmental transitions and other issues associated with this move.  

3.  Jericho Park Playground Grant

The Adopted FY 2011 Budget included funds in the amount of $79,000 for the purchase and installation of playground equipment at Jericho Park. The budget document states that this funding was contingent on staff applying for and receiving a grant from the State of Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources.  A grant of $77,000 was approved last week by the State of Maryland’s Board of Public Works for this project as part of their Community Parks and Playground Program.  A design and installation cost of the playground has been completed by West Recreation, Inc. at a cost of $76,904.00 which carries the Game Time playground line and participates in the U.S. Communities Government Purchasing Alliance that provides significantly discounted prices to municipalities.  The City of Bowie has used Game Time equipment in the past and has been satisfied with their product.  This playground will provide both a tot lot (serving ages 2-5) and a pre-teen area (serving ages 6-12) which will be installed in the area to the left as one proceeds up the hill between the park’s driveway and outside the fence field of Baseball 1.

Section 62 of the City Charter (Cooperative Bidding) states that the City Manager may purchase using the U.S. Communities Government Purchasing Alliance without soliciting bids if the price is determined to be competitive. The City Manager shall, at least seven days prior to purchasing services or goods, provide notice to the City Council of the intention to make such a purchase.  As provided in Section 62 of the City Charter, this will serve as the required seven (7) day notice of intent to issue a purchase order to West Recreation, Inc. in the amount of $76,904.00.

4.  Electrical Supply Conservation

The City of Bowie has completed its second year of participation in a Demand Response program. Public Works piggybacked on a Commonwealth of Virginia contract to divert several City buildings from the main electric grid during periods of high electrical demand in this region. The buildings currently in the program are City Hall, Water Plant, Wastewater Plant, Senior Center and Ice Arena. These are the buildings that have backup generators.  We plan to add the new City Hall building to the program next summer.

By switching to generator power when called upon, these buildings are pulled off the electric grid.  This process "shaves" the peaks of electrical demand that the grid operator is required to address, so the grid operator won't be required to construct new power plants to cover the demand peaks. Since most new power plants use coal, we are helping to reduce air pollution. By participating, we also help prevent regional blackouts when the grid is stressed due to extreme weather or other factors.

This year, the City has been called three times; once when there were two consecutive days of temperatures over 100 degrees, and twice during the third week of September due to a record temperature combined with the failure of two large transformers in Pennsylvania.  In addition to the base reimbursement of $65,554.15, the City receives an additional $425 per hour for each hour that we successfully pull these buildings off the grid when called upon, so the City will receive an additional $6,162.50 for the 14 ½ hours that we ran these buildings on generator power instead of drawing from the grid.  Total reimbursement this year will be $71,716.65. 

5.  Community Emergency Preparedness Presentations

Attached is a letter that was sent earlier this week to homeowners associations in the City, making them aware that staff is available to speak to their members about emergency preparedness.  Two HOAs have already called to schedule presentations.  Neighborhood Watch groups will also be notified about this opportunity and encouraged to register for Alert Bowie if they have not already done so.

6.  Seasonal Flu Vaccinations

Staff attended a meeting last night hosted by the Prince George's County Health Department about the upcoming flu season.  The Department's goal is to innoculate as many of the school-aged children as possible by early December with the seasonal flu vaccine. This year's vaccine will protect against several strains of seasonal flu as well as the H1N1 virus.  Their plan is to start with public elementary schools and then provide vaccinations at public middle schools and high schools.  Later this month, they will begin making vaccinations available to private and parochial school students and others at eight Shoppers Food Warehouse stores throughout the County.  This will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.  The vaccines provided to school children will be free but adults will be charged for vaccinations at participating Shoppers Food Warehouses.  Free flu vaccines will also be provided at the Health Department and at two large community clinics in Landover and in Greenbelt. The Health Department will rely heavily on Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) and Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) volunteers to accomplish this ambitious schedule. 

To supplement their school strategy, the Health Department welcomes the City of Bowie's and other municipal offers to hold free local clinics, with the Health Department supplying the vaccines. The clinic that was held in Bowie last November as a joint initiative with the Bowie Health Center is being promoted throughout the State as an effective model for combining city resources with local hospitals and local volunteers to reach more residents with vaccinations. The date for a Bowie clinic has not yet been confirmed.

DJD/asf

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