Weekly Update

Police Report

• Kenny Taylor at Radio Shack reported the theft of a cellular phone valued at $329.00
• Residents at 712 Short Street reported the theft of a computer and a Game Boy valued at $1000.00.
• Latisha Blake was arrested on Bonneville Avenue on an outstanding Bench Warrant. She is incarcerated under $20,000.00 bond.
• Travis Cowger of 1316 Dorchester Avenue reported that something had apparently struck his truck causing several small dents.
• Preston Townsend was arrested on Bonneville Avenue after officers responded to a Domestic Disturbance and performed a warrant check on Townsend.
• Louella Tatem of 206 Fourteenth Street reported the theft of a small lock box from her residence.
• Wal-mart reported someone in the store attempting to pass two counterfeit Traveler's Checks. The subject was detained and an investigation is continuing. The Secret Service was also notified.
• Darryl Askins was charged with theft after being caught shoplifting at Wal-mart.
• Shameka Marshall reported that she was driving on Sixth Street when a juvenile known to her used some type of object or weapon to shatter the rear window of her vehicle. The juvenile suspect was already wanted for violating his Electronic Monitoring Agreement (house arrest). He continues to be sought by police.
• Marjorie Riggin, a Wal-mart employee, reported that someone removed a tire from her vehicle while it was in the parking lot. The suspect is being sought who was operating a vehicle with North Carolina registration.
• Wal-mart reported the theft of $10,500.00 in various pharmaceutical products by a suspect who made his escape through the Lawn and Garden Entrance/Exit. This investigation continues.
• Terrance Bryan was stopped for driving 38 MPH on Eighth Street (25 MPH Zone). He was found to be wanted on a warrant by the Worcester County Sheriff's Office. He was taken into custody and turned over the deputies.

Animal Control

• Worcester County Animal Control conducted an investigation into a malnourished dog located at 700 Second Street. The dog was removed and charges are pending against the owner.

Golf Course

• Our golf course will be closed for most of Monday so the greens can be prepared for fall
• The new fairway cuts have really begun to take shape and have given the course an entirely new look.
• Plans have been made to eliminate an overhead power line which has been a problem on hole number 2 for many years. The line will be buried and the meter location changed by DP&L.

Water Study in the Heights

Director of Water/Waste water, Mr. Michael Phillips, has completed his work on checking the flow and pressure rates at the fire hydrants throughout the Pocomoke Heights area. This is in conjunction with the overall study being performed by George E. Young and Assoc. One hydrant was found that needed repairs at the corner of Market and Fifteenth Streets. Public Works is handling the hydrant repair. The results of the testing have been forwarded to Mr. Young for review and evaluation.

Water Dept. In-Service Training

• Pocomoke City hosted the Maryland Rural Water Association this week as they conducted a continuing education class for 35 members. All of our Water Dept. employees attended.

Public Works/Streets

• Bids have gone out for multiple potential paving projects in the city. This included the paving for the Skate/Bike Park in Cypress Park. Those bids will be opened on October 1st.

Capital Purchases

• Our new police cruisers have been shipped and should arrive at Carlton Massey next week
• Our new street sweeper has been ordered
• Our new ambulance has been ordered

Fireman Fund Raiser at Green Turtle

Smokey the Bear was on hand this past Tuesday to help the Pocomoke Volunteer Fire Company at the Green Turtle as part of an awareness/fundraising campaign for the new Fire House.

My daughter, Amanda, was on hand in her duties as a hostess helping "Smokey" find a table.

Hat's off to the Green Turtle for allowing a percentage of sales that night to go directly to the new Fire House project! The Turtle has been a great addition to our community and makes themselves available for these types of events which benefit the entire community. Great Job!

Council Meeting Action

• I read a proclamation declaring Monday, September 10th, 200 as William "Bill" Kerbin Day in honor of Mr. Kerbin's 44 years of covering the news and events as a journalist in and around Pocomoke City. There was a large party for Mr. Kerbin last Saturday at the Firehouse where he was honored by many and received other awards and recognition for his devotion and service to our community.
• Mr. Tyler Patton, a regional aid of Senator Barbara Mikulski, was on hand to say "hello" and extend greetings from the Senator. I expressed our concern over the Ethanol Plant and asked him to take that message back to the Senator (as she is very supportive of ethanol production, etc.)
• A Public Hearing was held concerning the annexation of the former Pocomoke Truck Stop property. A question was asked by Rev. George Tasker regarding the on site fuel storage tanks. One of the owners, Mr. Guy Dean, advised they had the site surveyed and no underground tanks were located. The above ground tanks would either be removed or could be utilized by a potential new owner. Following the hearing, the property was formally annexed into the city limits by the Council.
• Rev. Craig Collins, the owner of the properties located from 128-134 Willow Street, appeared before the Mayor and Council and advised that he had secured funding to make repairs on his buildings. He advised that he would be going to settlement by the end of September. I asked him to come back to the Council in October with a plan for the repairs and to confirm that his finance plan was approved.
• A request from Mr. Kenny Lankford to annex his property located at 1519 Ocean Hwy. (Rt. 13 South-formerly the Widdowson Property). This was not objected to by the Council and was forwarded to Planning and Zoning for review and further recommendations.
• There was a first reading of Ordinance Number 395 which concerns the composition and organization of the Police Department. This ordinance simply recognizes the current operations formally as required by the CALEA certification process. It will come back in October for a Second Reading.
• The Council agreed to donate $250.00 to the Beach To Bay Indian Trail Brochure which is produced by the Department of Tourism. This is an annual donation made by all of the municipalities who are a part of the trail system.

Planning and Zoning Recommendations:

• Third Street: the Commission recommended the council keep Third Street open to two-way traffic, but change the parking pattern to the north side of the street. They further recommended the creation of a Loading/Unloading Zone at the front of the Child Care Center. After discussion, it was decided to give the new pattern a try for 90-days and to evaluate the success or failure of the change before making it permanent.
• The Commission recommended the city annex property owned by Carlton Mason located on Tax Map 92, Parcel 97 located next to the Pohanka Collision Center. It is approximately 8.1 acres of property. The Council agreed to move the process forward next month.
• Final Site Plans were presented for the Fairground Meadows Project, however there was not provision for recreational features on the plans and no formal agreement with the owner/developer as to any In-Kind Fees to off-set the exclusion of facilities on the site plan. As a result, the plan was sent back to Planning and Zoning for the recreational aspects to be reviewed.

New Equipment Purchases

• We agreed to purchase a new Street Sweeper for $102,000.00. The new unit is a Swartz Model 4000 which uses a vacuum system as opposed to the older mechanical systems formally utilized. The machine was tested on some of the rougher areas in the city and performed better than any other machine tested. We were glad to finally make this purchase and I believe you will see a real difference in on the city streets this fall.
• We also agreed to purchase a new ambulance (which had been budgeted just like the sweeper) for just over $147,000.00. This was about $20,000.00 less than what I had expected to pay for a new unit. Our Director of EMS, Barry Contee, found the ambulance on a municipal contract price in Virginia and was able to piggy back on the other municipal bid to secure the lower price. This unit is also already in production and should be available by January 1st. This will bring give us three units and will provide for a much improved back up system when there is equipment failure or when additional personnel may be required.

New Committees

• The Council formally created two new Adhoc Committees: (1) Pocomoke Christmas Parade Committee, and (2) Pocomoke Fireman's Muster Committee. It was agreed that these committees would be appointed on an annual basis as Special Committees for the city in order to provide them with an umbrella of liability coverage, provide for audit services, and to provide a means for donations to the organizations to be tax deductible.
• The Council also agreed to provide $3000.00 to the Fireman's Muster Committee for this years event slated for some time in October downtown.

New Mini-Park

• We received an update from the Kiwanis Club concerning the new mini-park at the corner of Market and Second Streets. They are waiting for cooler weather before any plantings will be made. Work should be completed on the pavers for the new sidewalk area soon. I requested that they attempt to coordinate or match the pattern/color that the city uses downtown on the existing sidewalk. The city will also install a watering system in the park space.

Other Requests

• Ms. Angela Hayes appeared before the Council asking for support for a new community project called "Little Ladies and Gentleman Manners and Etiquette Class". The class is to take place over the next year and is designed to educate young people on proper manners and etiquette. There will be a formal graduation and they are receiving support from businesses like Schers to assist in making the class a success. The Council agreed to donate $1000.00 to the project and asked for a report from Ms. Hayes following the conclusion of the classes. I also advised her to let me know when the graduation formal would take place so I could be there on behalf of the city. I believe this is exactly what needs to be taking place in our community, particularly for at risk kids.
• Councilman Hawkins brought forward a request by the American Legion for an ABC Permit for Sunday, October 14th for a fund raising benefit. It was approved.
• Councilman Clarke asked about the status of the Pocomoke City Code being available on line. City Manager Blake advised that city staff were looking for the electronic copy that should have been in the office. If they cannot locate it, the company will be contacted who provided the codification in the first place and another electronic copy sought.
• A question was raised regarding continued power outages in the Homewood Drive area. While the city has made many calls and requests on this issue with Delmarva Power, we will continue to keep the pressure on until the problems are completely remedied.

Paving/Street Issues

• Councilman Morrison brought the matter of "sink holes" in some of the city streets to the attention of the Council. He also asked that Fourth Street be included in the paving projects this year. It was agreed to include Fourth Street in a bid package so prices could be compared.
• Councilwoman Cottman asked for bids to be acquired for Banks Street as well.

Executive Session

• A brief Executive Session was conducted where two legal matters involving property and one involving personnel were addressed. No action can be taken during an Executive Session.

Council Meeting Tonight

If you are interested, you can always find the Agenda for the meeting of the Mayor and Council on the official city website: www.cityofpocomoke.com

It is posted several days in advance of the meeting. A copy is also posted at City Hall.