1. Intergovernmental Collaboration

2. Garrett County Municipalities Inc

3. Garrett County Formed in 1872 2nd Largest in Land Area
Population 29,460
Deep Creek Lake
No County – wide zoning

4. Garrett County Towns Accident Deer Park Friendsville Grantsville
Kitzmiller
Lock Lynn Heights
Mountain Lake Park
Oakland

5. GCM History MAP 2004/GCCAC Maryland Community Legacy
Strategic Revitalization Plan
MAP 2004-GCCAC
2006 Incorporation

6. Organization
501c3
President
Secretary
8 Mayors
3 Appointed Members

7. Operations Monthly meetings Formal agenda Garrett County Commissioner
Guests
Staff reports

8. Staff Code enforcement officer Circuit rider
Shared administrative support
Supervision
Grant writing

9. Population/Cost Sharing
Accident %
Deer Park %
Friendsville %
Grantsville %
Kitzmiller %
Loch Lynn %
Mountain Lake park %
Oakland %

10. Successful Projects-I
Code enforcement officer (CDBG grant)
Code enforcement auto (USDA grant)
Code enforcement computer (Local)
Code enforcement camera (CEZOA)
Wood chipper (Local)
Comp Plan Updates (CDBG, ARC grants)

11. Successful Projects - II
Community Legacy Plans – 8 Towns
Business Façade Improvements
Streetscape Improvements
Special Legacy Projects
Sustainable Community Designation
Emergency Electric Generators
Storm Clean up

12. Failed Projects Audit bid Garbage collection bid Paving bid
Electronic Forms Storage
Digital mapping

13. Future Projects Equipment acquisition New Code Enforcement vehicle
Membership CEZOA

14. North County Wastewater Project
5 Small Towns and 1 Rural County

15. Common problem + shared experiences + same goal
= strong team
Goldsboro, Henderson, Marydel, Templeville, Caroline County
Failing septic systems
Small populations
Limited financial resources
Limited technical resources
MDE Consent Orders

16. MDE 1996 & 2006 Consent Orders
MDE 1996 Consent Order against Goldsboro
2006 Consent Order against the towns of Goldsboro, Henderson, Marydel and Templeville, and Caroline County
Mandated a regional wastewater system to resolve public health threat of failing septics
North County Water and Sewer Authority formed

17. 2009 Regional Wastewater Report
Cost estimates ranged between $20M - $33M
Costs to be shared among 4 towns and County, approximately 800 users
High cost freaked out potential funders and users

18. 2010: County aware of everybody’s needs
Funders needed more users for North County Regional Sewer System
Bay TMDL shed light on Greensboro plant deficiencies:
built in 1968 in the floodplain
starting to require major repairs
highest annual nutrient load of all treatment plants in the County
County approached Greensboro about partnering with north County towns to share the cost of a new regional ENR treatment plant for Greensboro AND the north county towns.

19. Greensboro Treatment Plant
2010: 2 birds, 1 stone
Public Health Threat
North County Septics
Environmental Threat
Greensboro Treatment Plant
All 6 jurisdictions saw the opportunity to solve multiple problems with one solution at a cost savings to everybody
Jurisdictions put all fears on the table and addressed each one
Took the idea back to funders

20. 2010: Reminder that Government hates two things:
Change
The way things currently are
Funding agencies had to adjust to thinking in a regional context rather than single jurisdiction context
Funding cycles and amounts are historically geared towards individual jurisdiction projects
Funders struggled with high cost for one project, needed to break it into individual jurisdiction phases without reference to the whole project

21. 2011: The Team went to work on the Funders
Pleading our case to funders helped to further unite us in our cause
Some funders not convinced that Greensboro’s environmental problem was as urgent as north County’s public health problem, UNTIL….

22. Greensboro treatment plant inundated
2011: Come on, Irene!
August 2011 Hurricane Irene
Vulnerability of plant location, age of plant, environmental and now public health threat all became painfully obvious to everyone
Funders gave go-ahead to proceed, but were skeptical of team’s ability to create an interjurisdictional agreement that satisfied everyone
Greensboro treatment plant inundated

23. 2011: How Many Lawyers does it take to kill the mood?
Answer: 2
Interjurisdictional agreement necessary
Must insure all interests are fairly represented and protected
In most cases what is good for the individual is good for the whole
If you can survive it, the rest is almost easy

24. 2012: The Rubber Hits the Road and Gets a Flat Tire
North County Water & Sewer Authority and Greensboro finalize interjurisdictional agreement
State and Federal funding programs suffer drastic budget cuts
Funders unable to guarantee funding beyond first two towns (Greensboro and Goldsboro)

25. G2 Project is born Goldsboro and Greensboro decided to move forward
Other towns to join if funding becomes available in the future
G2 Agreement was formed

26. G2 Agreement
Who pays for what and how much will be paid by each entity
Who maintains the infrastructure and the plant
How will O&M Expense be paid for
How will capital expenses be paid
How will the billing of the residents be handled
How will we handle collection of unpaid bills

27. On our way Project split into 5 phases
Phase 1 building the new treatment plant
Phase 2 Conveyance system for Greensboro
Phase 3 Conveyance for Goldsboro/County
Phase 4 Collection for Goldsboro/County
Phase 5 Connection of homes in Goldsboro and the County

28. Where do we stand? Phase 1 is now 85% completed
Phase 2 is 35% completed
Phase 3 has been bid and is about to start construction
Phase 4 and 5 have not started at this point

29. Questions?

30. How to contact us: Jeannette DeLude jdelude@greensboromd.com
Leslie Grunden

31. City/County partnership

32. Why can’t we all just get along?
In the beginning there was the land….the land was good
Then came people…things still pretty good
Then came city government… still good
Then came Counties… things not so good
Been downward ever since

33. Approaches to getting along
Eliminate Counties?
Good idea but not likely
Eliminate Cities?
Terrible idea
Have Cities and Counties work together cooperatively as equal partners?
Some have said this was more likely to happen during the age of Biblical miracles

34. History
Historically there has been tension between the City of Annapolis Government and the Anne Arundel County Government
Sometimes the tension was personality based
Sometimes just institutional friction
Sometimes based upon competing positions on issues

35. Annapolis & Anne Arundel County
Annapolis & Anne Arundel Co. were very typical
For most of their history considering themselves as separate competing entities
When I became Mayor I was new at Government and so did not know that the two jurisdictions were not supposed to cooperate
Immediately started informal discussions on areas of cooperation

36. Agreeing to agree
In having a constructive dialogue with the new County Executive we both, as new comers, became aware that this tension has often lead to poor decisions that have not been in the best interest of our mutual citizens
We quickly realized that we needed a new approach not based upon I win/you lose but to move to we both win.
We decide we would commit to putting past institutional and personal issues aside and work jointly on what is best for our communities.

37. Not a singular event
We decided this was not to be some quick review and photo op but rather a real working relationship covering not one or two items but a much broader array of topics that both governments work on everyday.
So our cooperative arrangement is not a single project or topic but a new way of jointly delivering services.

38. An existing area of cooperation
A number of years ago necessity and fiscal stress forced the City and County to jointly build and operate a regional sewer plant so there was at least some historic aspect of formal cooperation.
But that was about it other than for some limited public safety mutual aide agreements

39. Big First Step
The two executives got together and put together a list of the topics we thought most needed attention.
We selected a number items for immediate action.
The big first step was drafting a formal MOU committing ourselves to working together.
It was a public signing ceremony as a way of stressing to our citizens but most importantly to our respective staffs that we mean and want cooperation not competition
That we want solutions that work jointly not reasons why things can’t happen

40. Land Use
Land use, zoning and annexation issues have always been a major point of contention.
Sometimes developers have been able to play one jurisdiction against the other in the annexation dance of allowable uses and satisfactory infrastructure
Established a joint City County staff work group that looks a proposals along our boundary line and determine together the resulting best land use plan for the area.

41. Adequate Public Facilities (APF)
Adequate Public Facilities (APF) requirements have always been contentious:
The City has different standards
The County handles the public school system
The City does not have school capacity standards
The City and County established a joint APF taskforce that will provide both jurisdictions with recommendations on legislation regarding APF requirements. The group included representatives from:
Annapolis City Council
AA Co. County Council
AA Co. School Board
Private sector developers
Attorneys
COA Education Commission members and more….

42. Utilities
Providing water and waste water treatment are always expensive
Decisions on where water and sewer lines are located determine where and to what degree development can occur
We each have often used locating or not locating service lines like a great “Blocking Game” to encourage or discourage annexation

43. Utilities Partnership
We have agreed to stop using utilities as a primary land use tool and apply principles that increase efficiency.
For example we were both planning for a separate pumping station and water lines.
We are now sharing capacity in water lines and are jointly building a pumping station

44. Public Safety
We have a long standing Mutual Aide agreement for Police, Fire and EMS
We are increasing cooperative programs
We signed a Fire Department agreement that placed shared services that will significantly reduce response times for both
We have increased our emergency response center cooperation
We are working on joint prisoner transport for Police
The City has a dedicated officer on the AA County Heroin Task Force

45. Transportation The County does not have a bus system, the City does.
The City bus system has long served areas outside of the City boundaries but the County has historically done little to support the bus system.
The Citizens of the City are also citizens of the County
After several discussions about levels, location of services and bus shelters the County has significantly increased its contribution to the City

46. Economic Development
We have always had two separate economic development offices
They have viewed themselves in competition with one another, a sense that if one gains the other loses.
We still have two economic development offices recognizing that business in the County is often different from in the City
The City Economic Development official has an office in both the City and in the County Economic Development facility. We work closely together in a mutual effort.

47. Partnership, cooperation, coalition
The Mayor (me) and the County Executive (the other guy) got together and said we need a new approach that breaks with past distrust and difficulties.
We are committed to more than a ceremonial signing or photo opportunity. This is a sincere long term cooperation.
Currently….we have active agreements and are working on:
Land Use
Adequate Public Facilities
Public safety
Transportation
Utilities
Economic Development
Elections

48. This not an end
Together the City and the County continue to identify new areas of cooperation
Stay tuned…