I have a number of important Ward 7 updates for you. First of all, the Department of Planning & Zoning has launched a new neighborhood zoning initiative called Tyler Avenue Complete Community. The initiative is focusing on improvements to the Tyler Avenue corridor including a safer streetscape, new housing options, expanded tree canopy, and community spaces. 

Also, for those who live on Back Creek, the Annapolis Maritime Resilience Initiative is having two public meetings in Eastport to get project ideas.

As far as Monday’s meeting, there is no legislation up for a public hearing, but we will be having a final vote on legislation dealing with the class & compensation for City employees.

Legislative action summary from last meeting

• R-10-25 – 2025 Annapolis Film Festival Fee Waier – Adopted (I voted Aye)
• R-11-25 – Dir3ector of Finance – appointment of Brittany Moran (I vote Aye)

Stay healthy and stay safe,

Rob

Next Council meeting – 3/24/25 (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

Nothing is up for a public hearing at this meeting.

Legislation being introduced on first reader

• O-3-25 – Clarification of Parking and Impounding Violation Citations - For the purpose of clarifying that parking citations are not limited to paper notices placed on vehicles; copyediting and reforming the section to current legislative writing standards; and generally dealing with failure to pay parking fines. I may be asking for this to be withdrawn for the time being. This would allow our existing parking enforcement companies to give people tickets/citations by mail, instead of adhering to the current code that states that they have to be attached to an automobile, as you would do with a traditional traffic ticket. My question to the law office is whether or not all of our parking contractors are required to adhere to this code, as some of them are issuing fines via mail, which is apparently not permissible in our code. Frankly, given the performance of some of our parking contractors, who are quick to issue fines and have poor customer service, I’m not quite inclined to allow them to continue doing that and would rather have them adhere to our current law.
• O-4-25 – City Citation Process and Appeals to the Building Board of Appeals For the purpose of clarifying the City's citation process; explaining the Building Board of Appeals review process; updating Building Board of Appeals procedures for filing and reviewing appeals; adding Building Board of Appeals duties to the Title 2; and general Building Board of Appeals responsibilities. I am currently planning to get this removed from the agenda as well. It’s my opinion that this legislation is not legally sufficient for a number of reasons, and it would reverse recently passed legislation. So my plan is to send this back to the law office/administration to revise.
• O-11-25 – Arts in Public Public Places Commission Update and Revisions For the purpose of moving the Arts in Public Places Commission from Title 6, the revenue and finance Title of the City Code, to Title 2, Chapter 2.48 dealing with boards, commissions, and committees; placing oversight of the Arts in Places Commission under the Planning and Zoning Director instead of the Recreation and Parks Director; and generally dealing with the Arts in Public Places Commission duties and responsibilities. This is part of an attempt to try to correct some of the mismanagement that has been taking place on this commission.
• R-14-25 – Submission of Grant Application to the Maryland Transit Administration For the purpose of of authorizing the filing of an application with the Maryland Transit Administration of the Maryland Department of Transportation for Section 5303, 5304, 5307, 5309, 5310, 5311, 5316 and/or 5317 grant(s) under the Federal Transit Act for a total amount of $4,462,240.
• R-15-25 – Friendship City Relationship with Frankston, Australia - For the purpose of authorizing a friendship city relationship between Annapolis, Maryland and Frankston, in the State of Victoria, Australia.
• R-16-25 – Director of Central Services--Matthew H. Flinner For the purpose of expressly confirming the appointment of Matthew Flinner as Director of Central Services; and consenting to compensate the Director of Central Services.

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

• R-38-25 – Condemnation and Possession of Real Property at 245 West Street - For the purpose of authorizing the condemnation and possession of real property at 245 West Street in the City of Annapolis; removing a severe public health and safety hazard related to a blighted and vacant lot; and working toward construction of affordable housing on the same blighted and vacant lot. I’m inclined to postpone this again, pending any input/update from the primary sponsor/Alderman. Or just pass it. This gas station site is a blight that needs to be re-developed.
• R-53-24 – FY 2025 Changes to Executive Pay Ranges - For the purpose of updating the Fiscal Year 2025 annual position classifications and grades; and specifying an effective date. I’m inclined to support this. What this does is continue with our long-standing policy of payng all of our directors on the same scale (as opposed to paying them based on department size/responsibility, which is what a number of Counties do). It would adopt a new pay scale that keeps the Executive pay competitive for the area. Based on the research/reports from staff, it would appear this does a good job on that end without being too excessive.
• R-54-25 – FY 2025 Changes in the Position Classifications and Pay Plan - For the purpose of updating the Fiscal Year 2025 annual position classifications and grades; and specifying an effective date. Our employee pay scales do need to be updated, and we utilized the same consultant as the County did to do a Class & Comp study. This is the product of that study. I am inclined to support this, pending input from you.
• R-8-25 – Mayor, Alderperson, and City Manager Compensation. For the purpose of reviewing and accepting the 2025 Salary Review Commission report dated February 4, 2025, which provides recommendations for adjusting the City Council and City Manager salaries for the 2025-2029 term. If passed, this would accept the report produced by the Commission; it would NOT enact the recommended compensation adjustments. Any such enactment would need to come during the upcoming FY26 budget. I am inclined to support this Resolution, pending any input from you.
• R-9-25 – Annapolis City Council Support for Maryland House Bill 226/Senate Bill 569 (2025) For the purpose of showing the support of the Annapolis City Council for Maryland House Bill 226 and Senate Bill 569 (2025) - Anne Arundel County - Public Schools - School Schedule Options authorizing the Anne Arundel County Board of Education to eliminate early dismissal days if Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) has met the State requirement for annual school hours. I am strongly inclined to support this legislation, recommended by our Education Commission, pending any input from you.
• O-23-24 – Parking and Towing Regulations - For the purpose of eliminating the requirement that towing companies be within one mile of the City; allowing City contractors to oversee towing; and generally updating parking and towing regulations in Titles 7 and 12. I am inclined to support this, pending input from you.
• O-34-24 – FY 2025 Changes in Exempt Service Job Classifications - For the purpose of updating the classification grades for City employees in exempt service positions; and generally related to City employee salaries for exempt service positions. Along the lines of the aforementioned legislation, this would update the pay scales for the exempt employees. I’m inclined to support this, pending input from you.

Community & Political updates

NEW - Tyler Avenue Complete Community Meeting (i.e. meeting about road reconstruction/re-design to meet complete streets )

The Comprehensive Planning team at City of Annapolis Planning & Zoning recently launched an exciting new neighborhood zoning initiative called Tyler Avenue Complete Community. The initiative is focusing on improvements to the Tyler Avenue corridor including a safer streetscape, new housing options, expanded tree canopy, and community spaces. 

Please join us at our first community workshop scheduled for Tuesday, April 1, 5-7pm at Tyler Heights Elementary! Food, activities for children, and translators will be provided during the meeting. You can also find more information about the initiative and fill out our community survey at https://www.annapolis.gov/2299/Tyler-Avenue-Complete-Community 

This is a meeting to discuss the upcoming design work we will be commencing to re-design Tyler Ave to essentially meet our the Complete Streets standards. Complete streets means you design a street to accommodate more than just one transportation modality; meaning you look at installing bike paths, traffic calming, trees, road diets, and traffic circles. We have had a few pedestrian accidents and at least one death over the years, so work on this road is sorely needed. I hope you can find time to participate in this process.

NEW - School system to hold three community meetings regarding phase 2 of comprehensive redistricting

Update from Anne Arundel County on the Sewage Treatment Plant Odor issue

UPDATED - Flooding issues on your property or nearby? Read on

The Resilience Authority of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County and the City of Annapolis have partnered to address flooding, erosion, and sea level rise in the Back Creek and Spa Creek areas around Eastport with the Annapolis Maritime Resilience Initiative. To better understand issues residents are facing, they've developed a brief survey to learn how these environmental challenges have affected residents and what, if any, ideas residents might have to help address them. 

Please take five minutes of your time to complete the survey and let your voice be heard.

UPDATE

Monday March 24 5:30p

The AMRI team will be at the Eastport Business Association (EBA) meeting at the Boatyard to discuss the project, learn from the business community about their experiences, and share current status.

Tuesday April 8 6:30p

The AMRI team will join the Eastport Civic Association meeting at the Eastport United Methodist Church to discuss current status, share the draft site map, and gain insight from the community.