MEDIA ADVISORY

Mayor: Jennifer P. Dougherty

MEDIA ADVISORY: FROM THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER

JEANETTE ELEFF - 301-360-3842

CONTACT: Jeanette Eleff

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, February 19, 2002

MAYOR DOUGHERTY’S WEEKLY NEWS CONFERENCE

Mayor Jennifer P. Dougherty will hold her weekly news conference today at 10:00 AM in the Board Room of City Hall. The following items will be discussed:

Fiscal Year 2003 Budget: The City’s budget process is underway. Review of the proposed Capital Improvement Projects is ongoing. Department Heads will have their draft budgets complete by February 22 and Public Hearings will begin on April 10, 2002.

The City’s Comprehensive Plan: The Mayor has been active in reviewing proposals from various companies. One of these companies will be selected to assist the City in the development of a new Comprehensive Plan. In the near future, the Mayor will be appointing a citizen-based Steering Committee to help guide this process.

Ordinance to License Massage Parlors: Last week the Mayor, Chief Legal Services Officer, Heather Price Smith, and Acting Chief of Police, Captain Harold Domer, held a news conference to introduce legislation for massage parlors. The goal of this ordinance is to provide a City license to regulate illegal massage parlors.

Hope VI Project: Mayor Dougherty met with people interested in working on the Hope VI application. A steering committee has formed and is comprised of three members of the City staff and several individuals representing the housing and development communities.

Public Art: Mayor Dougherty attended the City-County meeting last week and heard William Cochran’s presentation on the plan for continuing the City’s public art program and the additional funding required. The Mayor and Aldermen are supportive of the project and will be active in reviewing the possibility of available funds from the City.

Projects for Parks and Recreation: Mayor Dougherty has received a “top ten priority list” from Roelkey Myers, Director of Parks and Recreation. Riverside, Max Kehne, and Laboring Sons Parks are three park projects on this list.

Communications with Fort Detrick: Mayor Dougherty has appointed Dan Patton, Coordinator of Health and Safety, to serve as the City’s representative on the Fort’s Restoration Advisory Board (RAB). This Board has been active since the restoration of Area B began and oversees this clean-up project.

COO and Chief of Police search: The interviews for the Chief Operations Officer (COO) are completed and Mayor Dougherty plans to make an announcement about the selected candidate before the end of this week. The process for the search of a new Chief of Police continues, as Mayor Dougherty finalizes the necessary qualifications for this position.

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