March 8

Hello Eastport!

1. City Dock: Press conference was held on Friday, 3/6/26, announcing Annapolis has received the $33M+ FEMA Grant for City Dock – the project is on track.

2. Calendar of Events:

• Town Hall – Police Department Brief: Our next Ward Eight Town Hall will be at 7:00pm on Monday, March 16, at the Eastport Volunteer Fire Department. Captain Guy Thacker will brief on the Traffic Control Plan for Major Events, and I will give an update on Ward and City efforts.

• GreenScape: Mark your calendar on Saturday, April 25th, at 10:00am for GreenScape, a city sponsored park clean-up initiative.  We’ll beautify Davis Park, the small park on Back Creek located just across from Davis’ Pub (Fourth Street and Chester Ave). We will rake, sweep, lightly prune, clear weeds and plant a few colorful annuals to brighten things up. The city provides gloves and garbage bags - if you have rakes and other essential tools, please bring them along.  We’ll have a cool new EASTPORT t-shirt for you as a thank you for volunteering with us! Please RSVP with your name and shirt size to our Volunteer Coordinator, FriedaK@Frank4Ward8.com.  

3. Last City Council Meeting - 2/23/26: The agenda is here and the meeting can be watched here. Highlights:

• Public Hearing on Mooring Requirements in City Water (O-2-26): There was interesting testimony from a boater who has owned a mooring on Weems Creek for some time and the Deputy City Attorney who provided an explanation of types of moorings. This legislation is continuing to be worked, taking into account safety of navigation and how to move forward with what appear to be seven private moorings on Weems Creek.  

• Council Discussion on Public Parking: The Annapolis Department of Transportation gave a presentation on the City's parking management setup, including garage and on-street parking.

• First Readers (legislation being introduced):

  • Temporary Dissolution and Restructuring of the City of Annapolis Arts in Public Places Commission (AiPPC) (O-4-26): The Council suspended the rules for this legislation and approved temporarily dissolving the AiPPC so that the City Council can restructure the commission and its duties.  

  • Hawkins Cove Harbor Lines (O-3-26): Legislation was introduced to move the harbor line as part of the process to obtain approval for the Hawkins Cove Restoration project, which will provide more water access for our residents. Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) requires all options for moving forward to be allowable within city code. Currently, the harbor lines prevent the option that extends the pier. This legislation authorizes changing the harbor lines so that the city can move forward on pursuing multiple options for the Hawkins Cove Restoration project.  

4. Next City Council Meeting – Tomorrow, 3/9/26: Meeting will start at 5:45 with a closed session on labor negotiations & a City Dock legal update. The public meeting will begin at 7:00pm with this proposed agenda - you can view the meeting here. I expect there will be several agenda changes and major discussions as follows:

• Public Hearing on Annapolis Harbor Lines at Hawkins Cove (O-3-26): This is your opportunity to provide public testimony on this very important initiative to clean up and provide public access to the water at Hawkins Cove. The next step if this legislation passes is for the city to submit the proposal to the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) who will then be asking the public for comments.

• Quarterly report from Housing Authority of City of Annapolis (HACA): This is an important brief for residents to focus on as we prepare for major decisions on Choice Neighborhood Initiative which will replace Harbour House and Eastport Terrace.

• Reallocation of Unexpended Bond Proceeds: I expect this legislation will come off the agenda as we have received the FEMA Grant.

• Designating Northwest Street as an Honorary Street in Memory of De Lorma “Dee” Goodwyn: This is the right thing to do, recognizing her great contributions.

• Final Vote - Establishing a 12-Month Moratorium on New Short-Term Rental Licenses (O-40-25): This will be the final vote. I support the legislation. There are at least six amendments to this legislation.  

  • I have an amendment that requires the Director of Planning & Zoning report monthly on the number of licenses, registrations and infractions as of the previous month. The Director already collects that data and supports providing the info to the public – this data is important to inform the public debate.  

  • Another amendment reduces the length of the moratorium to six months – the Director of Planning & Zoning has asked to keep it at twelve months and I support twelve months. Getting the STR policy right is very important to residents, and we need to ensure we have the time to get it right.  

  • Another amendment reduces the requirement to prove “owner-occupied.” I support the requirement in the original legislation as it covers all the bases and is consistent with standard proof of residency requirements.

• Property Tax - Child Care Centers, Family Child Care Homes, and Large Family Child Care Homes (O-1-26): I intend to put forward a motion to remove this from the agenda due to a lack of information supporting this expense. While this initiative to improve childcare in Annapolis appears to be good, the City Council does not have the information to determine if this is the right place to invest in childcare. The Rules Committee last Thursday did not receive the agreed upon testimony so did not make a recommendation on the legislation, voting to defer to next month. The City Council should wait to hear that information and only spend taxpayers’ money when we are adequately confident that it is the best use of this money.  

5. Potholes: There are still many potholes out there because of the snow and freeze. To report a pothole, please go to Annapolis Public Works “Report a Problem” portal.

   
   

6. City Launches ‘Golden Pass’ Downtown Parking Program for Seniors 62+: The City of Annapolis is launching a month-long parking program aimed at helping seniors and boosting downtown businesses for four weeks starting Monday, March 9. The “Golden Pass” parking program costs $20 and provides two hours of parking each day through April 6. The program is designed to encourage residents to visit, shop, and dine downtown during the program period.

   
   

7. Crime on Boucher Ave and Lockwood Ct: The Chief of Police reports that Rowland Thomas Bowman, suspected of February 11 burglary and attempted burglary on Boucher and sifting through trash cans on Lockwood, appeared in court this past week and was arrested. He is currently being held without bond.  

   
   

8. Community Grant Applications Are Open: The City of Annapolis has opened its application portal for Fiscal Year 2027 Community Grants, a funding program designed to support local nonprofit organizations serving Annapolis residents.

All the best, Frank