City of Havre de Grace Weekly Briefing Week of Monday March 6, 2018

City of Havre de Grace Weekly Briefing
Week of Monday March 6, 2018

Police Department:

If you missed the public discussion on school safety here it is. We have also put a video of the Chief’s response to what Havre de Grace is doing in regards to school safety.
We always welcome comments, suggestions, and questions so let us know if you have any!

https://hcn.viebit.com/player.php?hash=Jmda23OpViSi

Officer Adam, PFC Adams, Cpl. Petz taught Civilian Response to an Active Shooting Event to the Havre de Grace Boys and Girls Club. If you would like this training please contact Cpl. Petz at 410-939-2121 or danielp@havredegracemd.com
Follow the Havre de Grace Police on social media for up to date information affecting Havre de Grace, follow us Facebook, Twitter, and Nextdoor especially important during extreme weather incidents.
Make A Positive Difference in Your Community! Take part in SomersetServe, our annual neighborhood cleanup, and beautification service project.

Date: April 28, 2018
Time: 8:00am-12:00pm.
Place: 101 Stansbury Court, Havre de Grace

Lunch provided.
Planned Projects include:
Raking, Mulching, Trimming and Planting. Painting of curbs and benches. Fence line vegetation removal.

Bring These Items with You:
Rakes, Shovels, Gloves, Leaf Blowers, Paint Brushes, Brooms, Dustpans, Wheelbarrows, Sunscreen, and More.

REGISTER YOUR GROUP OR ORGANIZATION USING THE EVENTBRITE LINK. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/somersetserve-2018-tickets-33371949399

Public Works:

The City’s website www.havredegracemd.com now has designated pages specific to Public Works. The pages, designed for residents to access information quickly, will be ready to go within the next two weeks.

Storm Updates:

Many trees and tree limbs were down. We are still in the process of removing those which are City-owned.
HOA’s will need to make arrangements for neighborhood trees.
Minor damage to the Community Center. Repairs scheduled.

Stormwater Management:

Stormwater pond revitalization and landscape infiltration areas construction has begun at Concord Point Park. These improvements will help protect the River and Bay from stormwater runoff and the pollutants it carries.
CONGRATULATIONS to the Maritime Museum for their grant award to restore the shoreline riparian buffer. Watch for more improvements to the shoreline many of which will include informational signage to enlighten visitors on purpose and partnerships involved with shoreline and runoff improvements as we strive to keep our waterways clean.
The City and DNR are working on regenerative stormwater improvements in an area between the Lighthouse and Maritime Museum.
The City has 100% design for Lilly Run Phase I, Wetland Enhancement near the current Middle School. Watch for next steps. Construction will begin this year.
Design of pedestrian bridge abutments over Lilly Run near the Lock House continues. Watch for more information on this connection of the Joe K Trail loop.
Design of the City’s stormwater management pond retrofit and habitat creation at Bradford Green is underway. Watch for these enhancements soon.
The enhancements planned for Lilly Run and Bradford Green will be set up to serve as educational opportunities for local students.

Inspections for illicit discharges have been completed for the year with none testing positive for harmful elements.
WATCH for other stormwater pollution removal projects happening in the City. The smallest effort counts!!
Please report any illicit activity on the storm drains by calling City Hall at 410-939-1800 or by using the “REPORT” button on our website.
Be thinking of and planning small measures you can take on your own property to mitigate stormwater runoff around your home. For more information please call Stephanie at 410-939-1800.
Reminder: Please keep your storm drains clear of leaves, grass, trash and debris at all times to minimize flooding in the streets and on your property when we have a weather event. This is important after storm events also.

Department of Planning:

The Department of Planning would like to welcome Shane Grimm as Deputy Director. Shane replaces Donald “Jay” Bautz who retired after almost 26 years of service to the Planning Department. We wish Jay the best in his retirement and many thanks for his years of dedicated service. We welcome Shane to Havre de Grace in this important role for the coordination for development review within the Planning Department and as primary interface with Planning Commission and Board of Appeals. He will also have a major hand in long-range planning with the myriad of planning-related issues facing the City.
Maryland Department of Planning (MDP) held their Harford County “Listening Session Event” on Wednesday, February 28 in Bel Air at the Harford County Government office building. Information from these community outreach sessions will be used to gain insight from around the State in developing their state development plan, A Better Maryland. If you missed the session but would like to provide feedback to MDP, please go to http://abetter.maryland.gov/a-better-maryland/survey/ to take a short survey.
Planning Commission meetings are held on the second and fourth Mondays of each month as needed at 6:30 pm at Havre de Grace City Hall. In addition, Board of Appeals hearings are held at 7:00 pm as needed with required public notification in local newspapers and property postings. For meeting agendas, please go to https://havredegracemd.gov/agendas-schedules/ or you may find them posted outside the main door of Havre de Grace City Hall.

Office of Economic Development:

The Defense Technology Commercialization Center, or DefTech Center, opened at 2015 Pulaski Hwy., Havre de Grace, February 26, a collaboration between APG, Harford and Cecil Counties and the Maryland Department of Commerce. (Photo Courtesy APG News)
Congratulations to Arts by the Bay Gallery, Steppingstone Farm Museum, Havre de Grace Decoy Museum, Havre de Grace Maritime Museum, Swan Harbor Farm, Bulle Rock, Maryland Conservatory of Music, Bahoukas Antique Mall, Edel’s Bridal Boutique, Lagom, Mount Felix Vineyard & Winery, Amanda’s Flowers, MyEyeDr., Susquehanna OB/GYN Nurse Midwifery, Mayor Bill Martin and Billee Smith Designs for being recognized in Harford Magazine as among the Best in Harford.
HDGOED participated in the first annual Harford County Public Library Women’s Summit on Tuesday, March 6, at the Abingdon Branch with the keynote presenter being Debbie Phelps, noted speaker and author, and the mother of gold medal Olympian Michael Phelps.
Harford Community College’s 60th Anniversary Gala Illuminate will be Saturday, March 10, from 7 to 11 p.m. at the college.
On Thursday, Director Quesenbery will be at the GroundFloor for the Women in Defense member reception from 6 to 8 p.m., and was recently selected historian for Mid-Atlantic Women in Defense.
Next Tuesday, March 13, Maryland Main Street Quarterly meeting will be held in Taneytown with Havre de Grace participating; and that evening HDGOED will be represented at the Harford County Library Gala Committee theme reveal event at One-Eleven Main in Bel Air.
Work is progressing at 137 N. Washington Street on renovating a new and much larger location for JoRetro who will be moving to the space from their spot on Franklin Street and Union Avenue. Bella’s Tea Room opened on St. John Street on February 25 to appreciative diners and crowds. The old wall was removed at Coakley’s Pub with grading being done for the new Yard at Coakley’s which will debut this summer.

1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 7 there will be a Highway User Revenue hearing in the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee. House Bill 807 to restore municipal highway user revenues was passed unanimously in the House Transportation Subcommittee on March 1 and then moved to the full environment and transportation committee for a full vote.

Cultural Center at the Opera House

Tom Myers in “Make America Innate Again” (Comedy Show/CD Recording) on Wednesday, March 7 at 8:00pm
“Cartoons That Swing” on Friday, March 9 at 8pm
“Vivaldi Project” on Saturday, March 10 at 8pm