December 17, 2025

1. First Meeting of New City Council: Here are highlights of the meeting on December 8 that can be watched here

·  Public Comments: Eight comments were received from the public concerning a moratorium on new licenses for non-owner-occupied short-term-rental licenses, city dock plan and several other topics

·  First Readers (this means the Council voted to introduce legislation): passed on   the following legislation:

o   Standing Committee and Audit Committee Appointments for 2026-2030 Council Term (R-47-25 and R-48-25)

o   Budget Process Timeline (R-49-25)

o   Establishing a 12-month moratorium on new non-owner-occupied short-term rental licenses (R-50-25)

·  Good Government and Enthusiastic Democracy: I voted No to suspend the rules on R-47-25 because, although we didn’t expect any public objection to the assignments, I believed it is important to give the public a chance to comment on legislation before the council votes.  

2. City Council Meeting Thursday 12/18: The agenda for the meeting at 2:00PM contains the following highlights:

    ·  Public Comments: This is an opportunity for residents to communicate directly with the City Council on any topic.

    ·  Appointments: The Council will vote on numerous appointments including           Alderman Huntley, Alderwoman O’Neill and me to the Financial Advisory Commission. I am pleased with my assignments to the Finance Committee, the Rules & City Government Committee, Audit Committee and now the Financial Advisory Commission.

    ·  First Readers (this means the Council will vote to introduce legislation):

o  Moratorium on New Non-Owner-Occupied Short-Term Rentals: The Acting City Attorney has recommended, and the Council will vote, to reintroduce the legislation as an ordinance instead of a resolution as an ordinance more appropriately creates a binding and enforceable restriction on the issuance of new licenses. Nothing else has changed in the wording of the legislation.

o  New Deputy Chief of Staff: In the two weeks that I have been on the City Council, I have seen first-hand the amount of work that flows from the Staff Directors to the mayor and need for improved business processes in the city. While I am concerned about growth in the number of personnel on the city staff, I applaud the addition of a Deputy Chief of Staff that is the purpose of “FY26 Changes in Exempt Service Job Classification” (O-41-25) and, pending your concerns, plan to support it.

    ·  Second Readers:

 o  Standing Committee and Audit Committee Appointments for the 2026-2030 Council Term: This will be final approval of these assignments Standing Committee and Audit Committee assigments. Pending your concerns, I plan to support them.

 o  Budget Timeline for Fiscal Year 2027: This will be final approval of this timeline. Pending your concerns, I plan to support it.

3. Traffic After Parade of Lights: Thank you to Mayor Littman who made it a priority and the city staff who worked to clear traffic after the Parade of Lights on Saturday night. The traffic was clear shortly after the event ended. Our focus now turns to getting ready for the Blue Angels practice and performance days.

4. Snow Removal: Annapolis received about two inches of snow Saturday night. The roads in Eastport appeared passable Sunday afternoon – thank you to our Public Works Department. And thank you to everyone who shoveled sidewalks to keep them clear for pedestrians. As a reminder, city code requires residents to remove snow, sleet or ice from your sidewalk within three hours after precipitation has stopped.

5. Truxtun Park named “Public Park of the Year”: Great to be honored by Racquet Sports Industry Magazine. Truxtun Park is a real treasure in Annapolis and I will be making it a priority to create an even more family-friendly park right here in our neighborhood.

6. Hawkins Cove: I met with city officials from Planning & Zoning and Public Works last week to get an update. As briefed at the public hearing on October 21, 2025, (“90% Design presentation slides” are available at the project website), Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) has made their determination on where the pier should end and dredging should begin. MDE’s decision was made on minimizing permanent environmental (shallow water habitat) impact and providing public usage. Shortly after completing a few additional documentation requests from MDE, the City anticipates that MDE will initiate a 30-day public comment period. Based on the comments received, MDE will make a determination about whether to hold a public information hearing. The City is actively pursuing up to $1M grant funding outside the city budget for construction of this project. Pending available funding, the target timeline is as follows:

• Winter 2025/2026: Complete MDE/USACE application process; identify implementation funding

• Spring 2026: Obtain permits and complete design; Prepare Bid documents

• Summer 2026: Bid Process and Contract award

• Fall 2026: Construction Start

• Spring 2027: Construction Complete

7. Alderman and Mayor Town Hall Meetings:

     ·  I will host our first Ward 8 Town Hall Meeting at 7:00PM on Tuesday, January 20,    2026, at the Eastport Volunteer Fire Hall. More information will be provided early next month but expect to discuss task and budget priorities.

     ·  Eastport Civic Association will host Mayor Jared Littmann at their General Meeting  on February 19, 2026, at the Eastport Volunteer Fire Hall.

8.  Any thoughts on the above info?: Please email me at AldThorp@Annapolis.gov with your comments, suggestions or questions.

All the Best, Frank