ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETING
The Annual Council Meeting was held on May 13, 2002 at 7:30 p.m. with Mayor Hutchison presiding. Council members present were Council President McGlumphy, Mr. Ritter, Mr. Pitts, Mr. Gorman, Mr. Truitt, Mr. Carey, Mr. Speed, Mr. Salters, and Mr. Ruane.
Council staff members present were Chief Horvath, Mr. DePrima, Mr. Petit de Mange, Mrs. Mitchell, Mrs. Green, and Mr. Rodriguez.
The invocation was given by Chaplain Wallace Dixon, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
AGENDA ADDITIONS/DELETIONS
Mr. Carey moved for approval of the agenda, seconded by Mr. Speed and unanimously carried.
ADOPTION OF MINUTES - REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING OF APRIL 22, 2002
The Minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of April 22, 2002 were unanimously approved by motion of Mr. Carey, seconded by Mr. Speed and bore the written approval of Mayor Hutchison.
RESOLUTION - BRUCE T. GORMAN
The City Clerk read the following Resolution into the record:
WHEREAS, Bruce T. Gorman began serving the City of Dover as a member of the City’s Planning Commission on March 24, 1997, resigning in June of 1998, having been appointed as a civilian member of the Legislative and Finance Committee for the City of Dover on May 26, 1998 and serving through May 10, 2000, when he was sworn into office as Councilman of the First District of the City of Dover - a position he served with distinction from May 8, 2000 through May 13, 2002; and
WHEREAS, during his term in office, Bruce T. Gorman served as a member and chairman of the Legislative and Finance Committee, member of the Police and Civilian Pension Boards, and a member of the Communications Committee; and
WHEREAS, throughout his tenure, Bruce T. Gorman professionally approached his duties, displayed a quality of leadership that fostered the respect of his colleagues, and contributed his financial expertise to assist in resolving the many complex problems encountered in the everyday functions of a progressive municipality; and
WHEREAS, Bruce T. Gorman served with a commitment to strive for the betterment of the community and welfare of its citizens and the hundreds of hours he unselfishly gave have contributed greatly to the betterment of the City and its residents; and
WHEREAS, Bruce T. Gorman has decided not to seek re-election to Council for his term expiring May 13, 2002.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor and Council recognize that Bruce T. Gorman will be sorely missed and express their sincere appreciation to him and his family for the dedicated years of service and personal sacrifices made on behalf of City of Dover.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Mayor and Council wish Councilman Gorman and his family success in all future endeavors and direct the City Clerk to make this resolution a part of the permanent records of the City of Dover as a lasting symbol of appreciation and gratitude to Bruce T. Gorman.
ADOPTED: MAY 13, 2002
Mr. Salters moved for adoption of the Resolution, seconded by Mr. Truitt and unanimously carried.
Mayor Hutchison and Council President McGlumphy presented Councilman Gorman with the Resolution, a Dover Cup, and a Key to the City. Mr. Gorman relayed appreciation to staff for the cooperation and professionalism provided during his tenure. He mentioned the adage “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there”, and, noting the many changes that have occurred in the City, he urged members of Council to have the courage to move forward in making those difficult decisions, the ability to accept the things that cannot be changed, and, most importantly, the wisdom to know the difference.
OATHS OF OFFICE - CITY COUNCIL
The Honorable Henry DuPont Ridgely, President Judge of the Superior Court, administered the Oath of Office to members of City Council, as follows:
Mayor - James L. Hutchison
First District - Beverly C. Williams
Second District - William P. McGlumphy
Third District - William P. Truitt
Fourth District - John W. Pitts
RECESS
Mr. Salters moved to recess to allow for photographs of the Mayor and members of City Council, seconded by Mr. Ritter and unanimously carried.
Meeting recessed at 7:52 p.m. and reconvened at 7:57 p.m.
STATE OF THE CITY MESSAGE - MAYOR JAMES L. HUTCHISON
Mayor James L. Hutchison offered the following State of the City Message:
“INTRODUCTION
This past year was a time for rebuilding--mainly because of the personnel changes that took place. We saw three new council members take office, and there were many changes within our upper management staff i.e., the selection of a new City Manager, Tony DePrima; the City Planner, Mike Petit de Mange; and Jeff Horvath as our Police Chief. These changes in themselves caused the Council's, City Manager's and Mayor's offices to take a step back and ask our department managers to reassess and reevaluate their departments' operations.
The Finance Department developed a very comprehensive financial policy that will create financial stability and guidelines for the future.
We have also joined into a financial agreement with Wilmington Trust that will oversee and manage our financial investments.
Our Tax Assessor's Office just finished a revaluation, and the reassessment of all the properties within the City of Dover is in its final stages. New assessments are being mailed to property owners.
Major emphasis was placed on the City's emergency preparedness as a result of September 11; and under our Emergency Preparedness Director, Don Knox, a total review and assessment of our assets were made. This review was done with our City Manager, Police Department, and the Mayor's Office; and these issues have been addressed.
The City is still in a stage of rebirth as departments work toward improving relationships with each other and continuing to reevaluate policies and directives to make sure that the City stays current. With the new leadership in place, the City will fulfill the needs of our citizens by continuing to protect the quality of life and by building a strong economic base for the future.
FINANCE
The Finance Department continues to provide accountability to the citizens of Dover with the administration of a definitive system of internal controls. The City has been able to continue receiving the Government Finance Officers Association Award for Excellence in Financial Reporting and unqualified audit opinions from Faw, Casson, and Company.
Two major accomplishments of the Finance Department were the development of a comprehensive set of financial policies and a formal budget administration procedure to maintain financial stability. These policies and procedures were developed with input from Council, the City Manager and his staff.
The City entered into an agreement with Wilmington Trust to manage its investment portfolio. The concentrated focus on our investments should provide enhanced investment returns to the City.
The Finance Department staff will now start concentrating its efforts on the implementation of an extensive accounting and reporting change required as a result of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement #34. We have partnered with PricewaterhouseCoopers to assist us with the implementation plan.
POLICE
During 2001, the Dover Police Department faced many familiar and several new challenges, and I am pleased to say that the men and women of the Police Department performed very well. Again in 2001, the Department stepped up its aggressive approach to illegal drug enforcement which resulted in a 17% increase in pro-active drug complaints and an 18.8% increase in drug charges being filed. We experienced an 11.2% increase in total complaints; but I am pleased to say that violent crimes, which consists of homicide, robbery, rape, and aggravated assault, were down another 8% and at the lowest level since 1990. Property crimes were down another 10.7% and the lowest since 1985. The Department's clearance rates for robberies and burglaries in 2001 are well above the national average and some of the highest clearance rates in departmental history.
In the beginning of 2001, the Dover Police Department observed the retirements of Chief Keith I. Faulkner and Major J. Robert Mays. With the appointment of Chief Jeffrey Horvath and Major Kevin Harding into these positions, the Police Department now has a new Command Staff in place to face the many challenges ahead.
In March of 2001, we experienced an incident where an individual died of a cocaine overdose while in police custody and a separate incident involving the shooting and attempted murder of Officer David Spicer, who, I am pleased to report, appears to be on his way to a full recovery. I am very proud to say that the men and women of the Dover Police Department rose to the challenges in both instances and did so with the highest level of professionalism, integrity and courage. The City also rose to the challenge by establishing a Human Relations Commission whose members are broadly representative of the entire community and who are committed to a philosophy of inclusion, intergroup cooperation, and fair treatment that will effectively help the City promote and develop an environment of fairness and respect among its citizens; develop ways to measure and monitor community relations, particularly those that are sources of intergroup conflict; involve all segments of the community in understanding and appreciating the benefits of positive inter-group relations; offer a range of programs and services that will help its residents and neighborhoods prevent and resolve issues of human relations; and develop ways of anticipating, preparing for, and relieving community tensions arising from intergroup conflict.
The unfortunate terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, also proved to be a challenge to the Dover Police Department. New security measures were put in place in response to the possibility of more attacks. The Department will be seeking new and advanced training related to these types of incidents in order to ensure the Department's preparedness in the future.
Community-based programs continue which include the "Are you Okay?" program for senior citizens, the Crime Free Multi-Housing Program, D.A.R.E., the Citizens Police Academy, Weed and Seed and Youth Week. Staff will continue to develop strategies to meet the many new challenges in the future and will identify new programs and technologies to ensure that we continue to maintain a high level of quality of life for the citizens of Dover.
INSPECTIONS AND PLANNING
In 2001, Dover realized new development activity which was lighter than normal. This reduction in new development activity is consistent with the general economic slowdown witnessed across the country. A total of 291,662 non-residential building square footage was approved by the Planning Commission in 2001 compared with 636,670 square feet approved in 2000. It should be noted that the Target/Safeway Shopping Complex, Marriott Hotel and Red Roof Inn projects combined accounted for more than one-half of the square feet approved in 2000.
Some notable projects approved in 2001 were:
• The 49,000 S.F. DelDOT Materials and Research Laboratory Building;
• The 12,000 S.F. Zimmerhaus Senior Housing Project;
• A new gymnasium and maintenance facility for Wesley College at the Wesley West Sports Complex;
• The Capital School District initiated renovations to 9 school buildings and grounds involving over 57,000 S.F. of additional building floor area;
• Approval of 13 new commercial buildings involving 10,000 S.F. or less each; and
• The adaptive re-use of 5 significant non-residential buildings including the restoration of the Dover Train Station and the conversion of the former ILC Dover plant for use as the 54,000 S.F. high school facility of the Campus Community School.
With respect to residential activity, a total of 171 housing starts were logged in 2001 matching the 2000 total for this statistic. It is interesting to note that 59% of all new houses in 2001 were detached single-family dwellings, representing a 14% increase in this category from 2000 levels. Multi-family housing starts declined 24% from totals posted in 2000.
Even with the encouraging strength in new single-family housing starts in 2001, we need to be mindful of the fact that approximately 48% of our housing stock in Dover is rental property. While rental dwellings are an important component of the housing market in Dover and offer choice and alternatives for our citizens, we will strive to stabilize and preserve our neighborhoods by maintaining a majority of owner-occupied housing in this City. We recognize that home ownership is one of the most significant ways for families and individuals to build equity, personal wealth and prosperity. With the financial well being of our citizens and the stability of our neighborhoods of the utmost importance, we will set a goal of achieving and maintaining at least 65% of our housing stock as owner-occupied housing.
Another growth indicator is the value of construction activity reported on building permits. In 2001, the value reported on construction permits was $68.5 million, representing a 21% decline from the 2000 figure of $86.9 million. It is important to note, however, that the 2000 total includes the value of construction of the Dover Downs Hotel which accounted for one-third of the value for that year.
As the City grows, the activity of the Planning and Inspections Department also grows:
• Our Fire Marshal's Office logged a total of 1,483 Life Safety and Fire Code inspections;
• The number of business licenses issued in 2001 was at an all-time high at 3,469 licenses which tops last year's record total of 3,369 licenses issued;
• For the second year in a row, the Department issued over 7,000 licenses and permits and collected over 1.9 million in permit revenue;
• In 2001 we posted a record 15,737 inspections and achieved an overall efficiency of 8.2 inspections per inspector per day which is an all-time high for the Department.
Some notable Planning and Community Development initiatives are as follows:
• Staff developed the Airport Environs Overlay Zone. The ordinance establishing this zone provides for better regulation of land uses and construction in the immediate vicinity of Dover Air Force Base. The purpose of the zone is to protect the Base Mission by restricting certain land uses around the Base, and requiring permitted structures to be constructed so that noise from aircraft is buffered.
• In September, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that the City of Dover had been awarded a Brownfield Economic Development Initiative (BEDI) Grant in the amount of $500,000 and a $1,000,000 HUD Loan Guarantee to assist in the cleanup and redevelopment of the former Capital Scrap Yard site.
• Our Community Development office helped 5 low-income families buy their first homes using our Dover First Start Program. The program helps by offering up to $5,000 for closing costs.
ELECTRIC
A number of improvements are being made to our transmission system to improve reliability by preventing equipment failures to reduce the number of outages.
In order to meet the electric requirements for the City and the surrounding area, it was necessary to design and build a new substation at Dover Downs. This substation is in service and serves Dover Downs, Dover Mall, Delaware State University and the Persimmon Tree Lane area. This station will greatly improve our ability to service customers in the northeast area of the City.
Frazier, McKee, North Street and St. Jones substations had breakers installed or upgraded to improve the reliability. These improvements are part of a continuing overall maintenance program designed to prevent substation outages.
The last section of 336 wire on the 69KV loop has been replaced with 636 wire bringing the entire 69KV loop up to the 636 standard. This increases the load capacity of the 69 loop and allows us greater flexibility in serving high loads under all conditions.
In the coming year, Mayfair and Division Street substations will be moved for the 22KV circuits to the 69KV loop. This will greatly increase the reliability for customers in those areas.
The construction of a new interconnection station with Conectiv will start early in the next budget year and should be on line by June 2004. This will move our interconnection from Conectiv's 138KV line to its 230KV line on the east side of Dover.
This will be a much stronger tie with greatly increased capacity to deal with the ever increasing demands placed on our electric system.
The St Jones and Warehouse substations will be rebuilt in the future as part of the ongoing improvements to major substation equipment to prevent outages before they can occur.
The Electric Department is in the second year of an intense preventive maintenance program for the transmission and distribution system. Recent changes in the Electric Service Handbook have allowed us to shift our resources from construction of new facilities to preventive maintenance on our existing lines. Developers are now required to install all conduit for construction projects which allows our line crews to focus on maintenance to a much greater degree.
This year more than 100 services running from utility poles to meters on houses were changed from overhead to underground. An additional 378 services were installed for new City of Dover electric customers. These underground services improve the appearance of the areas and eliminate potential problems caused by tree limbs.
Areas with a history of problems are selected for concentrated maintenance. Capitol Park has been rebuilt with new poles and conductors. The old lines were installed more than 30 years ago. Towne Point is currently being reworked. Many old single phase and larger three phase underground lines are being replaced. The new cables are being put in conduit to increase their reliability over time. These will be ongoing programs into the future.
Due to the outstanding efforts of our tree trimming crews, the line clearance program has been a significant factor in reducing outages. By extending the distance between our lines and the trees, the risk of branches hitting our power lines is greatly reduced. This increased distance also makes it much more difficult for squirrels and other animals to come into contact with our lines and equipment which has been another major cause of outages.
A total of 1,576 radio read meters were installed this year. This is an ongoing project to migrate all meters over to the radio read meters to improve service, eliminate reading errors and access problems. When this program is complete, it will allow us to go to pole-mounted collectors which would transmit the readings back to a central location or have one person in a mobile unit drive by and read all the meters in one or two days--a job that now requires three meters readers one month to complete.
We will continue to evaluate new technologies and provide our employees with training and new materials, tools, and procedures that will increase productivity and improve safety.
Duke Energy is completing its sixth year of successfully managing the availability and reliability of all Dover generating units. While costs for fuel prices cycled up and down, Duke Energy maintained its objective to supply competitively priced energy to the City of Dover by keeping all units running efficiently.
Duke Energy continued its investments in the City's infrastructure during this past year. Extensive improvement projects were completed throughout the station including: purchasing replacement annunciators for Unit #3, adding concrete steps to one of our discharge outfalls, and adding acid tank containment walls. In addition, a five-year roof replacement project has begun which removes and replaces critical roofs that have reached their ends of useful life. All of these investments are made to improve the safety and reliability of the station.
In July of 2001, the Duke Energy team reached a significant safety milestone when it celebrated three years as an accident-free workplace. This event illustrates the commitment that Duke Energy places on protecting its employees and the community as a whole. As of April 12, 2002, the site had completed 1,377 consecutive days without a lost-time or reportable accident. July of 2002 will be the next milestone as Duke anticipates celebrating its fourth accident-free year.
Duke is extremely proud of both its individual and corporate contributions made to the community. For the third year in a row, the United Way fund-raising season was completed with 100% employee participation. In addition, Duke was recognized by the United Way of Dover as having had the highest per capita contribution and highest participation among companies that run employee campaigns. Duke proudly displays these United Way awards in the front lobby of the station. Duke's employees also support numerous other worthwhile organizations including the Little League, Boy Scouts of America, volunteer fire departments and the Central Delaware Economic Development Council.
The coming year will include many projects and activities that will continue to improve operations. Plans include the following:
• Working Safely - First and foremost is to operate safely. As mentioned earlier, Duke's fourth year accident-free anniversary will be in July of 2002.
• Manage Market Conditions - The coming year promises to be challenging as changes in the energy market will require the Duke Energy team to remain focused on working through those changes and bringing value to its partnership with the City of Dover.
• City of Dover Energy Needs - With growth in the City and the surrounding area comes growth in the energy needs. Duke Energy will be making sure there is enough energy to supply that growth. It will continue to support the infrastructure of the City's Electric Department by providing engineering and project management services as requested. Duke Energy expects to play a vital role in the Dover Downs substation construction, and the design, construction, and project management of a new 230KV tie station east of the City.
• Duke Energy is excited about continuing negotiations begun in January, to extend the relationship between Duke and the City beyond June 30, 2006. The mutual benefits of this relationship to date speak volumes of the value the relationship brings and should make extending the contract an easy task to accomplish.
• Environmental Compliance - Duke Energy remains committed to being good stewards of the environment. To that end, there will be challenges in the coming year involving compliance with the more stringent nitrogen oxide standards that will become effective in 2003. Duke is committed to complying with the regulations through the most reasonable approach possible.
• Community involvement - The Duke/Fluor Daniel Operating Services team will continue its focus on community involvement through its relationship with the United Way and other organizations in Dover throughout the year.
PUBLIC WORKS
Over the past year, the Department of Public Works completed several water system improvements including the Southwest Water Loop Phase I, the Rustic Lane Water Main Interconnection with Webbs Lane, and the Heatherfield/Fox Hall West Addition Water Interconnection. The chlorination and fluoridation of the City's water supply system will be complete by the end of this fiscal year.
Approximately $1.6 million worth of street work will be completed in the current fiscal year. Improvements will be completed on 12 City streets and numerous City alleys. There are also a number of sidewalk interconnection projects which were completed including U.S. Route 13 in the vicinity of Delaware State University, Owens Manor sidewalks, the Schutte Park pathways and the Greenway project. The City of Dover will also complete improvements to various parking lots including the construction of the Dover Library Parking Lot Addition. In the upcoming fiscal year, it is estimated that the City will spend approximately $750,000 on street-related improvements.
A number of sanitary sewer projects have been completed over the past year including the South Little Creek Road Sanitary Sewer Pumping Station, Fulton Street sewer main repairs, Lotus Street sewer main repairs, Turnberry Pumping Station redesign and upgrade, and design work which has begun on the U.S. 13 East Interceptor Sewer project planned for Dover's north side.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
More City personnel rely on the City's network and computer data today than ever before. In the last year, upgrades have been made to many hardware and software components of our internal network.
Significant improvements have been made to the content of our Web site including keeping information on it current. Visits to our site for employment opportunities are increasing every month. Expansion of our site to include additional City services is in the plans for next year.
Expanding the usage of electronic imaging technology to include easy storage and searchable document retrieval of AS/400 based reports is being planned as well as the upgrading of our AS/400 workhorse. IBM now refers to this product line as the iSeries. A replacement will enable us to keep pace with the growing demand for more software applications as well as the growing volume of data used in our existing processing.
Through collaborating efforts of the Information Technology and Administrative Services departments, the City began offering an Internet service. The service is available to any Delaware resident for $15 per month. Over the past year, we have watched our new Internet service continue to grow slowly by word of mouth. This growth is expected to continue. The nominal fee of $15 remains one of the best unadvertised values in the State for unlimited Internet access.
Quick access to quality data is no longer a luxury for the few. It is now an invaluable tool we have today to help us make the best possible decisions for our residents and businesses.
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
Administrative Services worked with the Information Technology Department to upgrade our HTE software for customer service. This was a major effort. Steps were taken to insure there were no interruptions to customer services and billing.
This year, steps were begun to move record storage from microfiche to a document imaging system that utilizes CD ROM.
Due to fiscal constraints, staff developed four additional billing inserts to replace inserts that were previously purchased from American Public Power Association.
Staff was able to submit the City of Dover Budget to the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) without requiring an extension. The City was awarded its thirteenth Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the GFOA.
Renewed emphasis was placed on the Capital Investments Plan (CIP) process. Improvements to the process were made in order to provide a more orderly and comprehensive plan. The CIP was presented in a draft format in order to incorporate more Council input. A final CIP will be compiled once the draft CIP is accepted by Council. New schedules were included in the document to provide better summary information. A Gantt chart was included to track projects and provide a basis for project status follow-up.
The Meter Reading Division began reading meters through radio wave transmissions. This has increased efficiency in some areas. Areas once requiring four hours to read can now be read in 90 minutes.
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS/GROUNDS
The Emergency Preparedness Division conducted training during the year on the Emergency Operations Plan with the Mayor, members of City Council, the City Manager, and City departments. A tabletop exercise and evaluation were conducted by the Delaware State Fire School on November 28, 2001, involving a hurricane scenario. The Mayor, members of City Council, the City Manager, and City staff were all involved in the exercise. The Emergency Preparedness Director worked with the Generation Manager to develop a public alert procedure for extended power outages to keep the citizens better informed.
For the upcoming year, this division plans to update and revise sections of the Emergency Operations Plan, conduct a joint exercise and evaluation with Kent County and Dover Air Force Base on some phase of the Emergency Operations Plan, and add needed equipment to the Emergency Operations Center.
The Grounds Division pruned 846 trees, removed 167 trees, removed 100 stumps, and planted 84 new trees around Dover. The Special Projects Crew performed over 100 yard repairs for the Electric Department in developments where underground service was installed and assisted the Public Works Department with major yard repairs. This division continued to maintain all City grounds around City buildings, parks, ball fields, rights-of-way, alleys, and ditches. The Beautification Crew planted and maintained 65 feature flower beds throughout the City. Most of the beds were planted two times during the year with a few being planted a third time with a special fall display.
For the upcoming year, the Grounds Division will continue to maintain all City properties, street and park trees, flower beds, and natural areas. They will continue to perform major yard repairs for the Electric and Public Works departments, put up Christmas holiday lighting, assist the Parks and Recreation Department with special events such as the Spring/Summer Performing Arts Series, Festival of Lights, Caroling on The Green, and First Night® Dover. A new initiative next year will be the addition of 44 hanging flower baskets to the new light poles on Loockerman Street as part of the Loockerman Street renovation project.
TAX ASSESSOR
The City continues to grow with a year-to-year assessment increase of $11 million for last July's billing. To date since last July, an additional $24.8 million in assessment has been added to our tax base. Collections are up to date with no taxes over two years old being owed.
The reassessment of all properties within the City of Dover is in its final stages, and the new assessments are being mailed to property owners.
The Department is continuing to computerize its office by the inclusion of electronic building sketching, computerization of all miscellaneous deeds and correspondence in the property record files, and incorporating and applying Kent County's new mapping system.
PARKS AND RECREATION
The Delaware Prevention Network (DPN) continues to grow with an enrollment of 84 youths. Staff uses this forum to educate youths about the effects of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs; teen and school violence prevention, and conflict resolution. Since its inception, DPN of Dover has served over 500 youths. DPN of Dover is the model program for the other ten DPN sites statewide. DPN of Dover continues to impact the youths and families it serves.
The Weed & Seed program is continuing its strategy to provide a better quality of life to residents who live in the designated area. Utilizing a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice - Office of Justice Programs, the coordinator is actively providing neighborhood restoration, intervention, and prevention assistance. Some of this has been done with projects like the private home on Slaughter Street and Boys & Girls Club Renovation "Fix-Up Day," and an Employment Fair all of which were right in the designated neighborhood.
The Parks, Recreation, and Library divisions continue to grow and provide recreational opportunities, cultural activities, and educational information to the residents of the City of Dover and surrounding areas.
Recreation staff worked with the Kent County Tourism Corporation as a co-sponsor of the Old Dover Days Festival, Thunder In Dover, and the Amish Bike Tour events. These events bring live entertainment, crafts, tours, Maypole dancers, parades, and many families, senior citizens, and people from all cultures into Dover to share in the beautiful sights and offerings.
The Division worked closely with Delaware Technical and Community College's Terry Campus staff to offer a variety of sports and educational summer programs. This partnership allowed youths to participate in activities ranging from tennis and basketball to drama and computer basics.
The Recreation Division also plays a major role in First Night® Dover by handling all the logistics for this major event in Downtown Dover.
The annual Youth in Government Day was held again this year. Forty-six (46) students from Dover High School, Caesar Rodney High School, and St. Thomas More Academy attended this day-long event. The youths participated in a mock City Council meeting, toured the Police Station, and learned the inter-workings of city government.
A partnership between the Division and the Delaware State News enables us to offer this year's 26th Annual Spring/Summer Performing Arts Series. Each May, the series kicks off with Thursday night performances which are free to the public. The series, which is held on The Green, ends in September.
The Silver Lake Commission continues to work on improving the water quality of Silver Lake. In October of 2001, the water table of the lake was lowered. This allowed lakeside residents and the City to clean and repair the shoreline.
Youth and adult sports programs continue to expand. The total number of softball teams grew to 53, and the number of field hockey teams totaled 20. The Division continued its partnership with the Delaware Chapter of the United States Tennis Association to offer tennis to over 154 youths.
A new format was developed for the youth field hockey program. After requests from parents were received, a seven-on-seven field hockey program began and has been a success. We are continuing to offer this new program twice a year now. It will partner with our spring and fall field hockey clinics.
Staff continues to work with Kent County and the State of Delaware to create the Capital Bikebelt. The bike/walking/jogging tract will connect Schutte Park with Brecknock Park with funding from the Transportation Enhancement Program. Also, the bike/walking/jogging path was expanded in Silver Lake Park to provide additional recreational trails for park users.
The Greater Dover Arts Council (GDAC) continues its work to bring a better quality of life to the citizens of Dover. As staff support for this Council, the Division works with the members to fulfill the mission and goals. The GDAC completed the Economic Impact Study Report which is due back this spring. We are hoping to gain the knowledge needed for continued support of the local non-profit arts organizations.
During the past year, the Dover Public Library has continued to provide excellent service to the residents of its service area. Last year there were over 180,000 visitors, and the library was open 3,464 hours. Approximately 280,000 books and other materials were loaned to library patrons during this period. Since the introduction of the KentNet automation system in 1994, the library has registered over 35,000 borrowers. Besides books, the library loans videos, recorded books, CDs and cassettes, and DVDs. Over 4,000 new items have been purchased for the collection in the past year, and an equivalent number of older items have been withdrawn from the collection. The collection now contains more than 102,000 volumes.
The Adult Services Division answered over 17,000 questions in the last year. Under contract with the Delaware Division of Libraries, the Dover Public Library provides telephone and e-mail reference services to all Kent County residents. The library has also been very active in developing programming for both children and adults. The popular Saturday Night at the Library musical series, partially funded by the Delaware Division of the Arts, and in conjunction with Wesley College, attracted large audiences to six special Saturday evening programs during the winter months. The Children's Services Division presented over 500 programs during the year with a total attendance of over 22,000. In addition, 11 adult programs were presented with a total audience of almost 1,500. The children's area was renovated to provide a more pleasant environment for our young library users.
ROBBINS HOSE COMPANY #1
Robbins Hose Company #1 is entering its 120th year of providing volunteer fire protection and rescue services to the City of Dover and its surrounding area and is the only all-volunteer fire department in the nation to serve a state capital.
Under the leadership of Chief Donald Bates, the Department responded to 1,004 alarms last year and trained firefighters for more than 2,500 hours.
On September 14, 2001, a request was made by the Baldwin Fire Department, Long Island, New York, to staff its stations due to the death of five of its firefighters at the World Trade Center. That day Robbins Hose Company sent six firefighters and one officer to Long Island to assist the Baldwin Fire Department with fire operations. During that month, the Robbins Hose Company collected over $25,000 thru the "Fill the Boot" campaign. These funds were donated to the families of fallen firefighters in New York. Members of the Department