Late January Message from the City Manager
From Suzanne Ludlow, City Manager of Takoma Park
Friday, January 29, 2016, 1:00 PM
Dear Residents,
This morning, following the lead of the Federal Government, the City of Takoma Park opened on time. Exactly one week ago, we were preparing for the blizzard and administrative staff were heading out at noon to be sure they could get home before the snow started making travel difficult.
Over the week, our Public Works crews, Police officers, Dispatch staff, Emergency Manager, and Communications staff did their jobs well. Snow Angels, Councilmembers, volunteers and neighbors pulled together to help each other and the community. We are tired, a little sore from shoveling, but mostly pleased with the result of handling the storm well.
There’s still some shoveling to do. If you can clear out around a bus stop or shovel a snow pile from the road onto an adjacent lawn, it will really help. And, you can report properties where the snow wasn’t shoveled off the sidewalks through our My TKPK reporting system (http://takomaparkmd.gov/services/my-tkpk/). If the shoveling and melting continue, we’ll put the snow behind us quickly!
In the next couple of weeks, we will do an after action assessment of how we handled the storm to see what we can do better next time. We will also begin assembling the documentation for the 75% reimbursement from the federal government of the extra expenses that were required to address the storm, because the storm likely qualifies for the funds.
Please send me an email, with the subject line “Storm Response Comment,” to let me know what you think we did well, what you think we did not do well, and any suggestions you may have. We will look at these comments when doing our storm response assessment.
Now, we return our attention to all of the other work we do every day. There are major issues and big opportunities facing Takoma Park in the coming year. Two that I would like to see a lot of resident involvement in over the few weeks are the Library Renovation/Expansion proposal and the Community Conversation on Affordable Housing.
On the Library, the Council wants to use the next two months to learn more, and hear from the community more, on if and how library renovation and expansion should occur. We will be gathering more information to share with the public so that you can weigh in on this important issue. Stay tuned!
The Community Conversation on Affordable Housing scheduled for Saturday, February 6, is the first of several “conversations” to take place over the coming year. Check the information on the website to learn more. Agendas and background materials will be added soon. You can even send in your comments in advance. Go to http://takomaparkmd.gov/initiatives/community-conversations/
As we return to normalcy, please continue to contact me with your questions, concerns or comments about City services. Your emails help me learn what is working and what we can improve upon, and they help me get to know you.
Now on to February!
Best,
Suzanne Ludlow
City Manager
Email: SuzanneL@takomaparkmd.gov
Phone: 301-891-7229
