City Hall in Your Neighborhood Saco Middle School - June 28, 2016 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

City Hall in Your Neighborhood

Saco Middle School - June 28, 2016

Administration Department

Council Goals:

• Advocate a successful bond approval for the replacement of Young School by November
• Actively participate in re-energizing the Saco Main Street organization by having at least one councilor

at each community event hosted by Saco Main Street

• Review the comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance for discrepancies, assimilate the Bridge 2025

document, and make recommendations.

• In cooperation with Biddeford and Maine DOT review completed traffic studies and develop a traffic

improvement plan

• Charge an ad-hoc committee of elected officials and staff from the school district and the city to explore

back office service consolidation which includes a recommendation by November (before the 2018 budget cycle begins)

• actively seek an AARP grant that would assist in the development of a plan to make Saco an

Age-Friendly Community.

Assessing Department

Accomplishments:

• City Council voted to create a shared Assessment

Department with the City of Biddeford – Frank Yattaw, CMA as a shared assessor with Biddeford & Saco, eliminating a full time Assessor for Saco as well as sharing a field appraiser with Biddeford with an objective to create efficiencies and community goodwill.

• For tax year 2016 – Saco’s assessment ratio is

92% of full market value

Goals:

• The Assessing department will be moving from

the 3rd floor in City Hall to the 1st floor this summer (2016) in an effort to offer all ‘citizen services’ on the 1st floor of City Hall

City Clerk Department

Accomplishments: Preservation & Restoration of Vital Record Books

• Marriage Intentions & Returns – Volume 7,

1921-1940

• Births – Volume 13, 1951-1953

Electronic Birth Registration System

• The State Vital Records Office implemented a

new “Birth Registration System” which all new birth records will be recorded in. We are now able to issue certified copies of birth records to individuals in a more timely manner Goals:

• Continued Preservation & Restoration of Vital

Records Books

• Efficiently run elections with minimal wait

time for absentee ballots at City Hall and regular ballots at the polling location on Election Day

• At the last Presidential Election on Election

Day there were 800+ people who registered to

• vote. So we plan on working with the area high

school and colleges to set aside a time to go

• ver and “register to vote” students who are

interested in voting in the Fall Election. This will help alleviate some of the election day lines.

Code Enforcement Department

Accomplishments:

• Purchased two new modules of the iWorq

Software; Code Enforcement and Permit Management ○ The tracking system holds all information

• n prior work orders. Accessible to anyone

who inquires about a specific work order

• Obtained a Class 4 rating from the Insurance

Services Officer under the Building Code Effectiveness Grading System for Commercial and Residential Construction

• Maintained Class 8 Community Rating under the

Community Rating System (CRS) for Flood Insurance Protection

• Analyzed space use and security measures within

City Hall

Goals:

• Complete properties abatement program.

○ 39 properties listed. Of those, 18 have been demolished and 8 rehabilitated ○ The remaining we are working with owners to court actions to obtain a demolition order ○ 3 - 4 buildings are added to this each year

• Apply to become a Class 7 community under the

CRS program

Economic Development

Accomplishments:

• The rebirth of Saco Main Street
• Enhancement of the collaborative relationship

with Biddeford

• Approved projects:

○ Maine Molecular Quality Controls, Inc, - Mill Brook Business Park ○ Saco Mill NO.4 - Initial phases to be completed Q4- ‘16/Q1’17

• Enhanced city marketing effort working with

Kenneally and Company

Goals:

• Work with the various development opportunities in

the pipeline to see as many as possible thru to the approval and development stage

• Work to promote more manufacturing, natural

resource based, and recreation businesses to establish

• r expand operations in Saco. Work to retain what we

have

• Work to promote more development in the downtown

core of our community

• Update of Comprehensive Plan and City Zoning

Ordinance

• Develop appropriate, fair, legal solution to the

challenges and opportunities that are presented by the Medical Marijuana Industry

• Continue Neighborhood / Industry Group Meetings

Fire Department

35 Career Firefighters, 30 Call Division Firefighters, 4 Fire/Police Members working out of 3 Fire Stations – Central Station, Camp Ellis, & North Saco; answered 3,459 calls for emergency service in 2015. Fire Suppression

• 729 fire responses in 2015
• Response Time – 60% of all responses within 4 minutes

Emergency Medical Services

• 2,730 emergency calls answered in 2015
• Response Time – 74% of all responses within 5 minutes

Fire Prevention / Loss Reduction / Public Education

• Annual Open House attended by more than 500 people
• Citizen Fire Academy and numerous CPR, First Aid, and Fire Extinguisher Classes
• 250+ Fire Safety Inspections
• 900 persons attending Fire Safety presentations at public schools, daycares, and local businesses

Special Hazards Operations

• Marine (Ocean & Fresh Water ) rescue operations
• Hazardous Materials Operations Level response
• Specialized Rescue response for confined spaces, ice & swift water rescue, High & Low Angle Ropes Rescue

Finance Department

Accomplishments:

• Integrated the schools back into the City’s audited

financials

• Reorganized Finance and Human Resources
• Received the Comprehensive Annual Financial

Reporting Award (through GFOA)

• Comprehensive Wage report done by Dacri Associates
• Created new reporting for budget process
• Created new reporting for financials

Goals:

• Create additional reporting for department heads
• Work toward more involvement in the School Finances
• Recreate some sections of the audited financials for

easier reading and understanding

Information Technology Department

Accomplishments:

• Supports 19 departments spread across 6

geographic locations: City Hall, Fire Department, Parks and Recreation, Police Department, Public Works and Waste Water Treatment

• Services and maintains all servers (8 physical and

33 virtual), storage arrays, network hardware, and client computing assets in the City

• Maintains and services software packages used by

the City of Saco

• Elevated security to prevent intrusions, loss of

equipment, and services downtime

• Efforts to rebuild the City of Saco website to make

it easier to access important information

• Implemented new software for the Police

Department

• Implemented new software to allow for the Code

Enforcement Department to streamline their processes

Parks and Recreation Department

Recent Accomplishments:

• Hired full time groundskeeper- accomplished

by not filling the vacant Deputy Director Position and reorganizing to meet growing facility maintenance needs

• Installed a new energy efficient heat pump hot

water heater

• Berstein and Shur Day of Caring Project at

Cascade Falls in September 2015

• The Historic Water Tower in Pepperell Park

was re-pointed and re-shingled with capital funding Upcoming Goals for 2016 and 2017:

• Saco Recreational Complex at Foss Road has

seen more growth this year, including work on an outdoor skating rink and cross country skiing trails

• While we conduct extensive training and use
• nly certified lifeguard, it has become

increasingly difficult to achieve minimum numbers of staffing for Bayview Beach and Kinney Shores

• Install Pepperell Park Fence (Capital)
• Rejuvenate Memorial field (Capital)

Parks and Recreation Department

Recent Accomplishments:

• Increased SENIORity programming to include

cooking program, crafts, and many field trips as well as Tai Chi, chair aerobics, and yoga

• Partnered with the local school PTO’s and
• ther organizations to bring SPR into the

Community

• SPR Theatre Program has been broadened with

more visual arts and theatrical performances

• Expanded all specialty sports camps

Upcoming Goals for 2016 and 2017:

• Continue to gain momentum with SENIORity

programs focusing on socialization activities

• Become more of a reliable center for resource

for area seniors

• Continue the movement to bring SPR into the

community through participation in various groups

• Continue to expand outdoor programming,

especially during the winter months

Planning Department

Accomplishments:

• Drafted new impact fee language for Fire and

EMS department

• Reviewed and approved 13 site plans, 5

subdivisions, 5 conditional use permits, and 3 contract zones in 2015

• Current approvals include 111 lots and 286

condo/apartment units

• Pending projects -- 142 lots

Goals:

• Pending projects include 142 lots
• Update shoreline zoning
• Review and create necessary updates to the zoning

code and comprehensive plan

Police Department

Accomplishments:

• In April we held our 5th Citizens’ Police Academy,

an 8-week course taught entirely by volunteers from the police department

• In August we completed the Dispatch Center

renovation

• In December we graduated three additional
• fficers trained in Crisis Intervention, passing the

60% mark for the department

• Also in December the first annual “Socks for

Seniors” program resulted in the distribution of 360 pairs of socks to seniors and shut-ins

Goals:

• We are developing and will be implementing a

program that will provide daily contact for seniors and other people living alone to ensure they are checked on a regular basis (late summer 2016)

• We have deployed naloxone kits in our cruisers to

combat opioid overdoses(April 2016)

• Will be developing a reserve officer program to

improve employee replacement timelines (late fall 2016)

• Will be selecting a new K-9 team. (fall 2016)

Public Works Department

Accomplishments:

• Secured three grant awards for rail line improvements, roadway construction, and culvert

replacements totaling $300,000.

• Reached long term goal of pavement condition ratings for Saco’s 120 mile road network.
• Completed shoreline erosion mitigation improvements totaling $200,000.
• Completed inventory, inspection, and maintenance of all City drainage outfalls (124) and

stormwater detention ponds (41).

Goals:

• Relocation of the Existing Transfer Station at Foss Road.
• Provide project support leading to the funding for dredging of the Saco River and secure rights to

utilize sand to help stabilize the Camp Ellis coastline.

• Facilitate a successful buildout of the Unitil Gas expansion through downtown and the Industrial

Park.

• Complete Construction of the Stackpole Creek Bridge on Simpson Road.
• Enhance traffic movement through 7 of the Rt. 1 corridor signalized intersections.

Water Resource Recovery Division

Accomplishments:

• Installed new Emergency Standby Generator at the

Bayview Pumping Station

• Upgraded and installed new pumping stations around

the city

• Created a sewer expansion plan for west of the turnpike
• Treated approximately 730 million gallons of

wastewater Scheduled Projects:

• Installation of several emergency generators

around the city’s pumping stations

• Creating new sewer infrastructure at the

Chinburg Mill project