A New Year of Hope

Friends,

The start of a new year is always a time of renewed hope and energy. I wish you a happy new year and hope that 2021 brings good things to you and your loved ones.

As we begin this year, we find ourselves still facing many challenges but I’m optimistic about what 2021 holds for us. We have begun to see some relief to this pandemic with the vaccination rollout underway and additional promises of increased federal funding support for local communities. These will give an essential much-needed lifeline to our citizens and businesses after a really hard year.

In spite of our recent challenges, the City has also continued to move forward with important community projects. I want to let you know about some of the initiatives coming this year which will contribute to our City's recovery and long-term resiliency:

Upon completion of a comprehensive review and planning, the City will begin implementing new models of community policing. These new models are based on best practice methods that seek to understand and manage the specific needs of our diverse communities. They incorporate a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach in finding effective solutions to the many various community issues, including mental health.

We have acquired additional grants to continue upgrading our city parks and recreation facilities along with adding more water access points. This work builds on projects delivered last year, including the new swimming pool and recreation facilities in Truxtun Park and new biking and walking trails in Waterworks Park. These are so much more than simple ‘feel good’ projects. Recreation facilities connect our city, support our community activities and promote tourism bring tangible economic and social benefits. Our community building through the parks will play an important and practical role in our ongoing recovery.

We have finalized plans to rebuild our outdated Public Works facility after operating out of partially condemned buildings and trailers for far too long. The rebuild of the facility will commence this year in a new and more suitable location on Hudson Street.

After two years of community-based planning, the City is moving ahead on the replacement of the Hillman Garage and renewal of City Dock. In December, the City selected Annapolis Mobility and Resilience Partners to oversee the project. Beginning with a pre-development agreement to progress with detailed planning for the new garage, this vital infrastructure upgrade is being funded through a range of creative initiatives. These initiatives include a partnership between the National Park Service and Historic Annapolis. The garage and new City Dock will be delivered at no cost to Annapolis taxpayers. The project will not only transform our most valuable real estate from a parking lot to a world-class park, but it will also ensure our City’s long-term resilience by delivering critical flood mitigation with sea walls and pumps, to protect Annapolis from rising sea levels for decades to come.

This year we will commence work to replace Hillman Garage - an essential first step in the upgrade of City Dock. As well as a new and expanded parking garage, this project will deliver a world class park and protection against rising sea levels. (Image courtesy Historic Annapolis, City Dock Action Committee & BCT Architects.)

Our ability to make progress on important projects and recover from the setbacks we’ve faced is underpinned by our strength as a community. Over the past year, we’ve shown overwhelmingly that we are a caring and committed community. We have shown that we can support each other, engage respectfully on difficult issues, and make sacrifices when we need to. I know we still have difficult weeks and months ahead as we emerge from this pandemic. There will be new problems to solve and more difficult choices to navigate. However, by supporting one another and working together we will continue to accomplish great things and make this year a successful time of recovery, healing, and prosperity.

My hope for the new year is that you will continue, along with me, to remain thankful for the positives we’ve experienced and look forward to the future projects and positives to come. Thank you for all of your continued support, for your sacrifices, and for being part of our journey towards a brighter future.

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