Commissioner Steve Rideout
swrideout@aol.com
September 30, 2019
Dear Readers:
Here is a short report from two short meetings that were held on Monday.
Steve
Category Archives: Cambridge City Government
Cambridge Matters #31 – Sept 23, 2019
Commissioner Steve Rideout
swrideout@aol.com
September 23, 2019
Dear Readers:
Attached please find Cambridge Matters #31. Our next regular meeting will be the 4th Monday of October. There will be no meeting on the 14th as we will be at the Maryland Municipal League Fall Meeting that is being held at the Hyatt this year. I will be attending and going to some trainings and will provide you with any updates of importance from that meeting.
As you will recall, I am numbering our meetings downward toward the final meeting of this City Council in January 2021. That means that our late October meeting will be #29. We are fast approaching the time for citizens offering themselves for public office and our elections in November 2020.
Thanks for reading.
Steve
Cambridge Matters – Sept 21, 2019 – National PTA
Commissioner Steve Rideout
swrideout@aol.com
September 21, 2019
Dear Readers:
As we all know, education is a critical component in the success of any community, and Dorchester County is no exception. Earlier this week I attended the meeting of the National PTA Board of Directors, of which I am a member, where a podcast was announced that focuses on parent engagement of children in school and helps parents understand their importance and how to be more engaged in their child’s education.
Below is an email from Leslie Boggs, the President of National PTA, about the new podcast with links to it. For those of you who are parents, teachers, or school administrators or know them, I would ask that you share this email with them. I would also ask that you listen yourselves and provide feedback to National PTA.
I have listened to one podcast and think that it is very well done. I hope you do as well.
Steve
+++++++++++++++
Notes from the Backpack: A PTA Podcast
http://pta.org/BackpackNotes
Now available for your earbuds, car speakers and other audio devices!
We are thrilled to announce the launch of Notes from the Backpack: A PTA Podcast. This podcast has been a true labor of love and we know that the frank advice and ideas of our expert, parent and educator guests will benefit all parents!
As our partner in the effort to empower parents to support student success, we need your help!
1. Please subscribe to Notes from the Backpack: A PTA Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn or your favorite podcast app!
2. Leave the podcast a 5-star review so we can get the podcast into the “New and Noteworthy” section
3. Share the podcast with your community so we can reach even more families!
Each 30-minute episode features real conversations with real parents and real experts on topics like…
· How do you get the information you need from your child’s school?
· How do you prepare for the transition to middle school?
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Help us make Notes from the Backpack: A PTA Podcast a success! We’ve attached a few graphics to help you promote our new podcast. Visit PTA.org/BackpackNotes to learn more and listen now.
Cambridge Matters – September 9, 2019
Commissioner Steve Rideout
swrideout@aol.com
September 9, 2019
Dear Readers:
At last a short meeting and short report. Two matters that are coming up at the September 23rd meeting relate to a proposed set of rules and regulations for how the citizens handle their trash and and their animals.
The trash rules are modifications of rules that were established prior to our having a private contractor pick up our garbage. We have tried to make them easier to understand and to comply with for everyone. With the animal/dog ordinances the aim is to give the police the authority to act in limited ways where they do not have that stated authority but respond to dog calls anyway. As the information comes out regarding these matters, please be in touch if you have questions and please come to the meeting on the 23rd to let us know if you support or oppose the measures.
The intent is to continue ongoing improvements here in the city with issues regarding quality of life.
Thanks for reading.
Steve
Cambridge Matters – August 26, 2019
Commissioner Steve Rideout
swrideout@aol.com
August 26, 2019
Dear Readers:
On occassion I am told by some of my readers that I say too much in these reports and that some are too long for people to read and digest. That probably is true. At the same time I think that transparency in government is important so that you the resident, taxpayer, and reader know how well we as government are doing or how we could improve on what we do to make Cambridge function better and be a place where people want to come and live.
While last Monday’s meeting was relatively short, the attached report along with some additional financial documents, I hope, gives you a clear picture of where we are doing well and where we need to improve, even if it is too long.
Steve
Cambridge Matters – August 23, 2019 – Proposed Ordinances
Commissioner Steve Rideout
swrideout@aol.com
August 23, 2019
Dear Readers:
I wanted to let you know that there will be some ordinances on the agenda Monday for first reading. There won’t be public hearing until the first meeting in September, but some members of CAN, Next Door, and the community may be interested. When I do my Cambridge Matters report, I will provide more detail.
The two areas of interest relate to animals in the city and trash collection.
With regard to animals, the proposed ordinances will address animals (particularly dogs) running at large in the city and clearly identifying the owner or handler of any animal as the person responsible for picking up pet waste and properly disposing of it. The ordinance will empower the city police to issue civil citations to enforce compliance with regard to these matters.
That means that if the ordinance is passed a call can be made to the police as well as the animal wardens for incidents in the city. That also means that if a civil citation is issued based on the complaint of a citizen, the citizen will be expected to attend court and bring witnesses to support the citation and provide evidence in court. The police will not automatically attend court hearings unless summonsed for that purpose. The reason for that is that in most cases they did not witness the incident, and what they could say in most instances would be hearsay and not admissible in court. The person who called the police, would have the best evidence as presumably they observed the incident and know who the other witnesses are.
With regard to trash collection, since the city has gone to a private collector, the old rules are out of date. We are proposing new rules that are not changed that much. One thing that is changed is where the trash containers need to be kept when not out front of the property for twice a week pick up. The city will be providing more public notice about this process if the ordinance is passed, but the basic idea is that the cans can’t be put out too soon or left out too long. In addition they need to be stored behind most homes or beside/behind homes that are on corners. The rules are more detailed and will be more clear than what I have just stated and excuse specific placement under certain conditions when there is no reasonable place to put the container. Code enforcement will provide warnings to residents (tenants) and home owners before issuing civil citations.
The purpose of this legislation is to help improve the appearance of the city by removing trash containers from in front of houses, when possible.
Finally, the city has placed one and possibly two new dog waste stations to help people pick up after their dogs. One is on High Street at Christ Episcopal Church. I am not sure where the other one is. I am hopeful that more can be placed in order to help the community be in compliance with the new ordinances, that I hope will be passed.
The number of times that I saw dog poop that was not picked up near Christ Church no High Street caused me to ask the city to do something about that. I felt it was both unattractive, a health hazard, and a challenge on Sunday’s for people who park there to attend church.
Steve
Cambridge Matters – August 13, 2019
Commissioner Steve Rideout
swrideout@aol.com
August 13, 2019
Dear Readers:
Attached is my unofficial report on what happened at Monday’s City Council meeting. Let me know if you have any questions.
Stay cool during this very hot summer.
Steve
Cambridge Matters – August 11, 2019 – AARP/Habitat Home Repairs
Commissioner Steve Rideout
swrideout@aol.com
August 11, 2019
Dear Readers:
Do you know someone who is 55 or over and needs to have repairs done to their home but may not be able to afford it?
Attached is a notice about a meeting on August 20th that is being sponsored by the AARP Foundation and Habitat Choptank from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at St. Lukes UMC on Bradley Avenue.
Please share.
Thanks.
Steve
Cambridge Matters – July 22, 2019
Commissioner Steve Rideout
swrideout@aol.com
July 22, 2019
Dear Readers:
Attached is my unofficial report on last night’s City Council meeting along with a couple of attachments that provide you some good information on Shore Rivers and water qualify of the Choptank.
There are several items of interest in my report that, hopefully, will keep you up to date as we continue to work toward a more open and transparent government and one that does a better job of understanding our present in order to anticipate our future.
Happy reading.
Steve
Cambridge Matters – July 12, 2019 – Volunteer Info
Commissioner Steve Rideout
swrideout@aol.com
July 12, 2019
Dear Readers:
Last evening at the CAN meeting I spoke on a number of different topics. As I thought back about our discussion last evening, the issue of volunteering kept popping up. As a result I thought that I would share something that I recently received from the Virginia Retirement System about volunteering.
While I know that all of you are not retired, I also know that many if not most of you already volunteer in the community. I thought, however, that the attached might provide everyone with a different perspective on its value not only to the community but to you as well.
If you think that there is something that you might like to do, the brief article attached gives you some places to look on the internet. If you don’t know where to look locally, let me know, and I will try to find out who to contact.
Steve