2008 in Review

Pocomoke City 2008 Review
By Mike McDermott, Mayor

2008 was great for Pocomoke City! We enter the New Year with the fantastic announcement by Orbital Science and the secured contract for multiple cargo rocket launches from Wallops Island over the next few years. The billions of dollars invested into this resupply system for the International Space Station will provide a recession proof economic boost to our area. Talk about a Christmas present!
The success of the Space Port is just one of the many highlights we experienced in the city over the past year. Being named Maryland’s “Capitol for a Day” in August was quite an honor for all of our citizens and the lower shore. It provided Governor O’Malley a chance to view many of the completed projects in Pocomoke City, conduct a tree planting ceremony, recognize and congratulate our Maryland State Championship teams, tour our beautiful river, visit our bustling Industrial Park, and complete his journey at the Great Pocomoke Fair.
We celebrated the 400th Anniversary of Captain John Smith’s exploration and landing near Pocomoke City with a visit by the crew sailing the shallop replica making the long, commemorative journey. It was appropriate that the hand made boat would dock alongside the recently opened Delmarva Discovery Center where folks could learn and continue their “discovery” of the river and our heritage.
2008 saw the opening of our Skate/Bike Park providing our young and young at heart a safe place to ride and perform their daring fetes of skill. Thanks to hard work from the Nature Trail Committee and Public Works staff, several hundred feet of new floating boardwalk was added to the existing trail with final connections slated for a spring completion. A new book detailing the nature trail and surrounding area by local Doctor Ritchie Shoemaker is on it’s way to the publisher. Proceeds will go toward funding a Naturalist position to work with the city and the Discovery Center. Another work was published and distributed this year detailing much of the History of Pocomoke City by local authors Robin Chandler-Miles and Norma Miles. Both of these are available at the Discovery Center Gift Shop.
There was big kudos going out to public safety in the past year. The Pocomoke Volunteer Fire Company competed Phase I of their new headquarters on Market Street. This beautiful addition to city architecture will be an admirable presence for decades to come. The Police Department received National Accreditation by CALEA joining a small percentage of agencies able to meet the tough demands and requirements established for such recognition. Our National Night Out program conducted by the department was ranked 22nd in the nation. This is an incredible accomplishment for our community.
Continuing in the line of Public Safety have been the many improvements and accomplishments of our Department of Emergency Medical Services. The department now maintains three ambulances and is often able to generate even third duty crews when required. Our staff has conducted classes for the public on CPR and First Aid and look forward to continued positive strides in 2009
2008 was an amazing year of sports for Pocomoke High School Teams. We were able to claim the crown for three Maryland State Championships in Soccer, Field Hockey, and Basketball. Perhaps an even greater award is the continual recognition our players receive for the sportsmanship they display on the fields or on the courts. This never hurts with our reputation as “the friendliest town on the eastern shore”.
The Mar-Va Performing Arts Theater opened in the past year and began showing movies in December when “The Polar Express” was shown to big crowds the week of Christmas. The movies follow many successful events and productions hosted by the Mar-Va during the past year, and many more are on the way.
The city received a great audit report for the previous fiscal year and ends this year with revenue projections ahead or on target for this fiscal year. We were able to provide a reduction in taxes for homeowners while holding the line on water and sewer rates in 2008.
Our municipal golf course, Winter Quarters, saw increased play and many improvements including new cart paths, underground utilities, and several new pieces of service equipment which have aided in beautifying the course.
Our Planning and Zoning Board is busy putting final touches on our new Zoning Code which will be presented in early 2009. The city also received a grant from the state providing needed funds for mandated changes that must be accomplished within our Master Comprehensive Plan by 2010. Funding for Phase I of our Enhanced Nutrient Removal at our Sewage Treatment Plant was also granted to the city. This will allow us to further upgrade our system to comply with future goals in the ongoing efforts aimed at cleaning up the Bay.
Public Works crews are busy making the finishing connections for several dead end lines in the Pocomoke Heights. The new project, tying in access to a 10-inch main line should provide increased circulation and improvement to overall water quality for many households.
Community support and efforts focused by the Pocomoke Soroptomist Club and the Samaritan Shelter Board resulted in a significant expansion of the current facilities. The increased space will provide a better means of aiding individuals with children who need a temporary place to call home. Pocomoke City is one of only a few communities on the shore who has this type of outreach for those in need. “Hats off “to all who help in this wonderful endeavor.
New businesses opening their doors in 2008 included the 10th Street Pharmacy, Tractor Supply Company, The Backpack Educational Supply Store, Black Water Café, The Bay Queen Tour Boat Company, The Book Store on 2nd Street, Homespun Treasures, and the Good News Bookstore on 4th Street. The city also said “goodbye” to Trader’s Chicken after 28 years of serving our community.
Pocomoke City saw areas of large expansion in our Industrial Park. This includes the work being performed at the Mid-Atlantic Institute for Space and Technology, the HAWK Institute, Bennelli Arms, and the new river front headquarters and production facilities of Hardwire Company. Pocomoke City is fast becoming the place for state of the art plastics, aerospace and defense contractor development on the shore; and the future is very bright.
Sadly, 2008 also found our Public Works Facilities destroyed by the actions of an arsonist. The loss to the city was great, but through insurance negotiations and the hard work of our staff, our citizens did not experience any significant loss of services during those tough times. It is a credit to our resilience as a city, our fiscal principles, and the much appreciated offers of assistance from our neighboring cities and towns.
Looking ahead in 2009, we will see continued improvements to Cypress Park in time for the Cypress Festival, a new well, a new Public Works Facility, a new Fire House Community Center (Phase II), and the completion of the Delmarva Discovery Center. It is possible that the foundation for a new river front restaurant will be laid by the end of the coming year along with continued investment and redevelopment of our downtown core.
We have a lot to be thankful for in 2008 and so much to look forward to in 2009.