MEMORANDUM


TO: City Council

FROM: David J. Deutsch, City Manager

SUBJECT: Status Report/Council Poll

DATE: May 31, 2007


Status Report

1. BGE Corridor Tree Trimming Open Houses

Attached are copies of two letters that are going to customers on feeder 8414 in the Meadowbrook and Chapel Forge areas regarding the pilot BGE Corridor Tree Trimming program, and inviting residents to several open houses to discuss this program in greater detail. One letter goes to those who will have their property impacted and the other to those who are simply beneficiaries. These open houses will be held on Wednesday, June 6th from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Florian Hall. The Multipurpose Room at City Hall had already been booked for that evening. City staff will attend these open houses. The members of the BGE Citizen Task Force will also be made aware of these open houses.

2. BGE 2006 Review & 2007 Preview
On Thursday, May 24th, Mayor Robinson and City staff received an update from BGE reviewing performance in 2006 and reviewing plans for 2007. This is an annual meeting that the City has with BGE staff. Enclosed in your package is a copy of the information presented by BGE. This information has also been shared with the BGE Task Force.

Performance in 2006 (except for the category CAIDI - No Storms) significantly deteriorated from that of 2005 as shown in the summary on page 6 of BGE’s report.

 
Bowie 2005
BGE 2005
Bowie 2006
BGE 2006
Frequency
SAIFI (No Storms)
1.19
1.11
1.55
0.96
SAIFI (All Conditions)
2.22
1.56
3.93
1.93
 
Duration  
CAIDI (No Storms)
2.00
1.96
1.94
1.99
CAIDI (All Conditions)
3.46
2.57
6.36
4.15
 


Another chart worth pointing out is the long-term reliability performance data on page 12 of the report. From 1988 to 2000, the trend was on a downward slope for SAIFI. However, since approximately 2000, the long-term trend has been on an upward slope.

Finally, page 15 shows the performance of individual feeders in Bowie. Two of Bowie's 21 feeders are in the worst 2% of performing feeders in 2006 (see page 8). Other feeders are also performing very poorly as shown on the chart on page 15. Staff requested a breakdown of where all feeders in Bowie rank relative to the roughly 800 feeders BGE has on their system. We will share this information when it is provided. However, this chart shows that a large number of Bowie feeders are among the worst performing feeders in the BGE system and reinforces the public perception that BGE service in Bowie needs significant improvement on these poorly performing feeders. When you consider that Bowie represents less than 2% of the BGE service area, these statistics become even more pronounced.

3. Election 2007

As of today, the following have filed for office: Fred Robinson, Mike Lyles – Mayor; Diane Polangin – District 2; Todd Turner – District 3; Isaac Trouth – District 4; Kevin Conroy, Leon Buck, Jr., Geraldine Valentino-Smith, Dennis Brady – At-Large.

4. Vehicle Bids

The Public Works Department has received and analyzed the State of Maryland vehicle bid results. Below is a tabulation of the bids for the vehicles scheduled for replacement/purchase:

UNIT
DIVISION
COST
SUPPLIER
52
Public Works Administration
$ 19,909
Criswell Chevrolet
101
Solid Waste
$ 13,197
Norris Ford
102
Solid Waste
$ 13,197
Norris Ford
NEW SUV
Police Department
$ 21,070
Norris Ford
NEW CRUISERS
Police Department
$287,840
(16 @ $17,990)
Criswell Chevrolet


These vehicles are scheduled for purchase in FY08. The City will not accept delivery of the vehicles prior to July 1, 2007.

The Public Works Administration vehicle is over budget by $9; however, there are sufficient funds in the Equipment Acquisition Fund to cover the overage. The trucks for Solid Waste are over budget by $394; however, there are sufficient funds in the Solid Waste Commodities account to cover the overage for the bed liners. The new SUV for the Police Department is within the $28,700 budget, which includes the vehicle and needed police equipment. The police cruisers are also within budget.

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 Criswell Chevrolet for a total amount of $307,749 and to Norris Ford for a total amount of $47,464.

5. Melford Remand Order

Enclosed is a copy of a letter from Attorney John McDonough written to Steve Gilbert, Attorney for the County Council. Mr. McDonough is writing as part of his representation of St. John Properties. The essence of his argument is that he opposes the Order to Remand the Conceptual Site Plan back to the Planning Board.

6. BGE Task Force Chairman and Vice Chairman

The BGE Citizen Task Force held their second meeting on Wednesday, May 30th. At this meeting, the Task Force members selected Richard Reynolds as their Chairman and William Jahn as their Vice Chairman.

7. Proclamation

Proclamation P-20-07 recognizing Assistant Principal Alvin Hall is included in the agenda package, but is not listed on the agenda. Since Mr. Hall recently passed away, staff felt it would be insensitive to the Hall family to list it on an agenda that is publicized widely. Principal John Birckhead will accept the Proclamation and present it to the Hall family.