Carrs Beach input and Ward 7 flood risk identification needed

I have a number of events to update you on that have a particular relevance and importance to Ward 7. But before I get to those, I have a few updates on Monday’s City Council meeting. Of particular note is that we will be holding a final vote on three pieces of legislation:  First is O-31-24, which is my legislation that would create sign regulations for food trucks, so that we don’t have a proliferation of bright, blinking signs on the food trucks on Forest Drive. Second is O-35-24, which is my Fair Cannabis Employment Practices legislation that would protect employees rights to utilize cannabis while off-duty by prohibiting testing for cannabis on current or potential employees. Lastly is R-3-25, which is an expression of the Council’s support of the City Dock resilience project. You can get more information on all of these below.

If you see any sidewalks that still have snow on them, please report them to the City at https://www.annapolis.gov/2025/Report-an-Issue. As a reminder, adjacent property owners are required to remove the snow in front of their houses. The City can issue fines for not doing this. They may also do the work themselves and then charge the homeowner. This has become a very important issue to me given that our kids need to be able to walk and ride their bikes safely to school. In addition, I was quite shocked the other day when I saw a resident pushing another resident on a wheel chair in the middle of Forest Drive because that particular section of sidewalk is still covered with snow, despite the fact that County Code says it should be cleared within 6 hours of the storm event. I’ve passed this along to the County so I hope they get to this soon before someone is killed.

We are asking for Community Input for the Carr's Beach project. There are a number of events going on from January 30th to February 1st in an effort to gather such input. Please see below for details.

We are also looking for project ideas, on public or private land, to address any flooding/sea level rise issues in the Back Creek watershed (i.e. Ward 7). There is a new initiative called the Annapolis Maritime Resilience Initiative (AMRI) that is a partnership between Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, and the Resilience Authority. Please see below for more information.

Stay healthy and stay safe,

Rob

Next Council meeting – 1/27/24 (agenda)

This meeting starts at 7pm and will be televised on local cable, YouTube, Facebook, and the City website.  You can submit public testimony at http://www.annapolis.gov/testimony. This will be an in-person meeting.

Public Hearings

  • O-2-25 – WNRN Radio Tower Lease With the City - WRNR Radio Tower Lease With the City - For the purpose of entering a ground lease of the City-owned radio tower located at 25 Silopanna Road with Cortona Media LLC dba WRNR Radio, a Maryland limited liability company; and all matters relating to said lease.

Legislation being introduced on first reader

  • No legislation is up for a First Reader (i.e. introduction)

Legislation on second reader (i.e. final vote)

  • O-31-24 Mobile Food Service Vendors’ Signage - My intention with introducing this legislation was to extend our existing signage regulations that apply to brick & mortar stores, to food trucks. In particular, I was noticing that some food trucks have bright, flashing signs lit up 24/7, and I didn’t want such signs to proliferate up and down Forest Drive in particular. This legislation prevents such signage from being installed, and further places limitations on removable signs to ensure they do not become barriers or dangers to pedestrians or vehicles. I am strongly inclined to support this, pending any comments from you.
  • O-35-24 - Fair Cannabis Employment Practices- For the purpose of updating the City of Annapolis employment policy as a result of the State legalizing cannabis use and possession on July 1, 2023, and generally related to city employment policy. As I have stated previously, this is legislation I’ve introduced that would align with a policy approach taken by Governor Moore in Executive Order 01.01.2023.16. From my sponsor’s summary: “This ordinance seeks to ensure fair and equitable workplace policies regarding cannabis use, protecting employees' rights and promoting a just and inclusive community.” The problem I’m seeking to solve is that City employees can be immediately terminated or have to be subjected to a full drug rehabilitation program, for utilizing a medically and recreationally legal substance---cannabis---while off duty. This is largely due to the test the City utilizes, urine analysis, which can detect cannabis in your system going back as far as a few months prior, which obviously would have no impact on actual job performance and have no correlation to actual impairment. The fact that someone could lose their entire professional career for something they did legally and responsibly while off duty seems fundamentally wrong to me. Not to mention how it unfairly limits our pool of potential employees. This will still prohibit on-the-job impairment and drug use. This legislation would also exempt any positions where it’s required by federal or state law to be tested for cannabis. I am strongly inclined to support this, pending any comments from you.
  • R-3-25 - City Dock Resiliency Project - For the purpose of demonstrating Annapolis City Council support for the City Dock Resiliency Project and the urgency of protecting Historic Downtown Annapolis along with the public safety of its residents and businesses from the constant and the growing threat of higher rising tides, as well as increasing frequent and more intense storms that cause extreme flooding and severe impacts to residents, businesses, public safety and the historic fabric of the City itself. The intention behind this Resolution is to show the Council’s support behind the City Dock resilience project, which aims to remove the existing parking lot and re-construct the entire City Dock area to install flood barriers, pumps, and and public amenities such as a stage and greenspace. For some reason, an individual or group of individuals is appealing our Historic Preservation Commission’s approval of this project in an effort to slow it down. I strongly oppose that. We need to get this work done ASAP. We have a record number of flooding days downtown and our businesses, residents, and visitors are suffering. We have to prepare for climate change. And removing the existing parking lot when we just constructed a surplus of parking in the new Hillman garage, and replacing it with amenities for the public and not just cars, seems like a worthwhile thing to do in my mind. I am also strongly inclined to support this legislation, pending any comments from you.

Community & Political updates

Community Input for Carr's Beach Needed! Jan. 30-Feb 1

Long Range Planning for Carr's-Elktonia Beach has begun and we need your input!

Next week-- Jan. 30, 31 & Feb. 1-- there will be Community Listening Sessions at "Pip" Moyer Recreation Center (273 Hilltop Lane) to give Annapolis residents an opportunity to share their opinions and help shape long-term planning for the historic Carr's-Elktonia Beach property.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 30

5:00-6:30pm -- Past, Present & Future

7:00-8:30pm -- Social Gathering Places

FRIDAY, JANUARY 31

5:00-6:30pm -- Planning, Arts, Culture & Design

7:00-8:30pm -- Greater Blacks of the Chesapeake & Nearby Residents

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1

9:00-11:30am -- Community Workshop

***The first 25 youth participants to attend BOTH workshops on Saturday will receive a $20 gift card!

Carr's-Elktonia beach youth listening session

Annapolis Maritime Resilience Initiative (AMRI) Community Meeting - February 4, 2025

Sea level rise, flooding, and shoreline and stream erosion are becoming significant challenges in the Spa Creek and Back Creek watersheds in and around Eastport. The Annapolis Maritime Resilience Initiative (AMRI) is designed to address these challenges.

As a partnership between The Resilience Authority of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County and the City of Annapolis, AMRI will develop initiatives to combat these threats to our infrastructure, neighborhoods, and environment.

We need your input. We invite you to attend a community meeting to share your thoughts and experiences to help identify needs and solutions to these climate impacts.

Date: Tuesday, February 4, 6-8 p.m.

Location: Pip Moyer Recreation Center

273 Hilltop Lane, Annapolis, MD  21401

Enjoy light refreshments before and after the presentation. Childcare will be available onsite and free of charge for those attending the meeting.

Visit the AMRI project website to learn more.

Spring Greenscape scheduled for April 26

City of Annapolis Unveils Interactive Urban Tree Canopy Mapping Tool

County District 6 budget public hearing

February 4, 2025, 6-8pm at the Annapolis High School

Update on the Annapolis Water Reclamation Facility odor issues

This is an update from the AA County Department of Public Works Director, in response to my questions:

  1. Question 1, Part 1: There appears to be some consternation about the 2-3 year timeline. Is there anything that can be done to speed up this process?
    1. We are looking into what we can do to expedite any processes we can. The main reason for the long timeline is the material lead time.  Since the odor units are very large and industry specific products, they have a large lead time, sometimes nearly one year.
    2. We are also working on immediate fixes that include the design of the mudwell odor control. Design started late last year. The construction of the mudwell odor system is estimated to start in the Spring of 2025.  We also have been working with the manufacturer of the grit/screen odor unit to repair it.  The repair materials are due to ship in late March 2025 and will take a month to install.
    3. We have listened to the community about the noise complaints and have taken action. One complaint was related to a non-potable pump failure where we had to install a diesel-powered pump to run this process.  We recently replaced this unit with one that has sound attenuation.  We also received complaints about a noise similar to a loud jet engine sound.  We found this is related to an air scour process related to our filter blowers.  We have contacted a company that will supply a muffler.  The muffler has a lead time of about 12 weeks before shipment.
  2. Question 1, Part 2: Perhaps an expedited permit review process
    1. This is one area that our design engineer noted would take the longest during the design phase. We will work with the reviewing agencies to see what we can do to expedite the permits related to this project.
  3. Question 1, Part 3: a shorter design window (the current proposal is for a roughly 10-month period)
    1. The design for this project was already expedited as a project of similar size takes an average of 18+ months to complete design. We are working with our consultant to shorten the design time but part of the design process is the permit review. That takes the longest to complete and is largely outside of DPW’s control.  We also do not want to rush into decisions without looking at all of the technology alternatives.  This involves discussions with multiple vendors and other municipalities.   
  4. Question 1, Part 4: an earlier bid/award process (scheduled to start late 2025, but if the latter step is accelerated perhaps this could be pushed up as well?)
    1. Unfortunately, we cannot bid the construction project until the design documents and permits have been finished. As noted above though, if we can expedite the permit and/or design process we can get to bids sooner.
  5. Question 1, Part 5: and the same on the construction start that is slated for roughly 6-8 months after award process is completed (could they start earlier?)
    1. Our typical bid-to-award process takes about 4 months because we have to give the bidders enough time to prepare their bid, conduct site visits, and answer questions. This also includes time after the award that the contractor must submit materials for approval and then order those materials.  As noted above some of the materials have very long lead times.
  6. Question 2: I heard rumors of a planned expansion of the treatment plant. Is this accurate? If so, will this or can this be put on hold until the odor situation is resolved?
    1. There are no capacity upgrades planned for Annapolis WRF in the near future. There may be a misconception that we are expanding because we are building an additional clarifier. The additional clarifier is not due to expansion. It is just for redundancy and resiliency of maintenance and operations.

Karen Henry, Department of Public Works Director


Showing 1 reaction

Please check your e-mail for a link to activate your account.
  • Rob Savidge