Showing posts with label People Martin-Kelley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label People Martin-Kelley. Show all posts

Friday, May 29, 2009

Westminster Fire Hydrant Flushing Scheduled

City of Westminster

56 West Main Street
Westminster, MD 21158
Phone (410) 848-9000
Fax (410) 848-7476
Press Release

Contact: Mike Zechman

Phone: 410-848-5043

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, May 29, 2009

Fire Hydrant Flushing Scheduled

The City of Westminster, Department of Public Works, wishes to inform the public that Utility Maintenance Department personnel will systematically flush fire hydrants throughout the City from 8 pm to midnight on June 1, 2, and 3. This will cause some discoloration to the water and it is advisable to refrain from doing laundry the following day.

The Department recommends opening all faucets first thing in the morning and running until it is clear. In addition, draw enough water the night before to allow for your morning usage, such as making coffee, etc. Residents can rest assured that even if water is discolored that it is still fully treated and potable.

Please bear with us during this procedure as it is necessary for continued quality service.


Areas affected are:

Old Westminster Pike area
East of the city, including Walnut Ridge
Poole Meadows
East Main Street area, including Middlebrook
Hahn Road

For more information, please contact the Westminster Department of Public Works at 410-848-9000.

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Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack:
www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/
Kevin Dayhoff Art:
www.kevindayhoff.com
Kevin Dayhoff Westminster:
www.westgov.net

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

City of Westminster Water Rate Increase press release


City of Westminster Water Rate Increase press release

Press Release
Contact: Kelley Martin
Phone: (410) 848-4363 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Water Rate Increase for City

City of Westminster
56 West Main Street
Westminster, MD 21158
Phone (410) 848-9000
Fax (410) 848-7476

The City of Westminster has released the results of the Water and Sewer Rate Structure Study completed by the Municipal and Financial Services Group. The study recommends an increase in both water and sewer rates to be phased in over a two-year period with increases beginning July 1, 2009.

The last rate study performed by the City was completed in the 1970s and contained no less than 19 different categories of use, each with separate rates for water and sewer. However, even this complex rate structure was unable to produce enough revenue to cover the cost of operating the water and sewer system.

Mayor Thomas Ferguson indicated that the new rate structure had to meet the following criteria:

simplify the current rate structure,
design a rate structure to encourage water conservation,
comply with current industry standards in the development of a utility basis method for the calculation of rates;
and recognize that the system includes both users inside and outside the City.

After a competitive bid process, the Municipal and Financial Services Group was selected to develop the rate structure model. This firm has extensive experience throughout the United States.

“The basic rate structure divides users into categories based on meter size, inside the City or outside the City, and establishes a fixed fee based on the size of the meter used. If the customer uses 18,000 gallons or less per quarter, which is the average national quarterly usage, a nominal fee is charged for each 1,000 gallons used. A premium fee is charged if the use is over 18,000 gallons.

This new system gives customers the opportunity to control their costs through the use of their water resources,” commented Dr. Robert Wack, Council Finance Committee member.

“The City of Westminster operates the water and sewer funds as enterprise funds—which must be supported by the fees and charges collected from water customers—not general tax revenues.

We follow the same Public Service Commission guidelines which apply to other utilities like the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company and Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission,” stated Marge Wolf, City Administrator.

Having a major impact on both the water and sewer systems are the mandated upgrades required to meet the more stringent health and safety standards imposed by the Maryland Department of the Environment.

Among these capital projects are the $11M new Cranberry Water Treatment Plant and the $4.5M Medford Quarry Pipeline allowing the Quarry to be used as an emergency water source under severe drought conditions.

While low interest loans are available from MDE for these capital projects, the debt service must be provided by the users of the system.

To help our customers determine how these new rates will impact on their individual water bills, the City will establish a Water and Sewer Bill calculator on our web site—www.westgov.com—effective March 1, 2009.

You will need your latest water bill and will use the information on that bill to fill in the yellow boxes on the calculator, click on return and the new rates will automatically be calculated for you. If you do not have access to a computer, you may visit the Westminster Branch of the library and they will assist you in calculating the rate.

“The Common Council and I know that this is not a welcome rate increase given the current economic situation but we are required to operate the water and sewer systems in a manner which ensures the health and safety of our system users. We are phasing in the increase over an extended period of time to cushion the impact,” Mayor Ferguson said.

“We will hold a public hearing on this rate increase on March 23rd at the John Street Headquarters of the Fire Department. Written comments will be received until 5:00 p.m. March 31, 2009. The rate structure model in its entirety is available for review at City Hall and at the City Administrative Offices at 56 West Main Street.”

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Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/
Kevin Dayhoff: www.westgov.net Westminster Maryland Online www.westminstermarylandonline.net http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/

Thursday, January 8, 2009

New hire Kelley Martin Westminster PIO

New hire wants Westminster Web site updated

New hire wants Westminster Web site updated By Ryan Marshall, Carroll County Times Staff Writer Monday, January 05, 2009

Improving Westminster’s Web site to provide more information to the city’s residents and visitors will be one of the goals for a new communications specialist hired by the city.

Kelley Martin said she wants to make Westminster’s site more user-friendly and a go-to site for information about the city. She hopes to have a section to answer frequently asked questions, give calendar events and dates and a master schedule, as well as things such as the schedule for trash pickup. Martin said she plans for the site to have different interfaces for residents, businesses and visitors.

While the city’s current Web site is OK, it could use some improvement, said Mayor Thomas Ferguson. With so many people using the Internet to get information, a municipal Web site isn’t very useful unless the information on it is kept current and timely, Ferguson said.

Along with updating the Web site, Ferguson said Martin will also publish a newsletter for city residents that will likely be sent out with customers’ water bills, and she will create a newsletter as well just for city employees.

Martin said she’s been working part time for the city for several months but her position becomes full-time with the start of the new year.

According to a city press release, Martin comes to Westminster after teaching for several years at schools around the Baltimore area, including Stevenson and Towson universities and Loyola College.

She joked that while she’s still learning the ins and outs of how municipal government works, she’s found it’s often less political than the world of academia.

According to the release, before she began teaching, Martin ran several nonprofit organizations, including the Carolina Wren Press and the Carolina Ballet.


Reach staff writer Ryan Marshall at 410-857-7865 or ryan.marshall@carrollcountytimes.com.

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/01/05/news/local_news/newsstory3.txt

20090105 SDOSM New hire Kelley Martin Westminster PIO
Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/
Kevin Dayhoff: www.westgov.net Westminster Maryland Online www.westminstermarylandonline.net http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/