Message from the Superintendent & January 2016 Senior Staff Notes

Message for the Superintendent

I think we can all agree that the Maryland Park Service started the New Year off in a very positive way – a record 2,178 hikers joined our staff for First Day Hikes!  Thank you to our staff and volunteers who helped our visitors kickoff their year with a healthy, natural start!

The New Year also brought us encouraging budget news. Thanks to the support of Governor Hogan and Secretary Belton, we learned that our FY2016 operating budget was increased by $600,000 and our concession budget was increased by $150,000. These funds will help us avoid disruptions in our service levels this fiscal year ending June 30. As you may also know, Governor Hogan released his FY2017 budget this week with more good news for State Parks. Our FY2017 budget, which begins July 1, will include an additional $1.6 million, representing a 4% increase in our operating funds as compared to FY2016.

During our senior staff meeting this month, we enjoyed an excellent presentation by Ranger Erin Thomas, who developed a strategy and template for State Park Resource Management Plans. The staff at New Germany State Park has completed their Plan, which will serve as an excellent template for other park managers and their staff. These plans will be developed over several years and will serve as a valuable management tool, as well as a communication document for stakeholders and the public regarding our priority challenges, objectives and strategies.

For many of you, the month of January includes early hours, working in the cold to support our managed deer hunts. I had a valuable opportunity to participate in the Gunpowder Sweet Air Area managed hunt this week. Arriving before 5:00am with Park Technician Jen Cashell, I was very impressed with the organization and attention to safety displayed all through the day. Under the veteran leadership of Captain Mike Browning, park staff from throughout the State braved bitter temperatures with good cheer to ensure a quality experience for more than 40 hunters. As we all know, these hunts are an important component of our natural resource management responsibilities. It was clear to me that these hunts also represent an excellent means for State Parks to support the heritage of hunting and sportsmanship.

As always, thank you for the hard work!  Be safe in the coming days as we respond to our first major snowstorm of the season.

Nita

MARYLAND PARK SERVICE

SENIOR STAFF MEETING NOTES

January 13, 2016

Attendees: Nita Settina, Chris Bushman, Amanda Mock, Mary Owens, Al Preston, Mike Riley, Dave Powell, Erin Thomas, Alison Woodfield (next meeting’s manager-of-the-month – Central Region)

REGIONAL REPORTS

• SOUTHEAST

-        Drones – A DNR Policy is in development. Information has been provided to managers as to applicability of Use of State Parks regulations and applicable FAA regulations. New developments are occurring on a frequent basis (e.g. registration requirements) and MPS staff is encouraged to focus on our operations / regulations and refer customers to FAA website, etc. for information about FAA regulations and requirements, as they are the authority on those rules.

-        Dark Skies Program – Presentation by Ranger Reusing scheduled for February senior staff meeting.  Thanks again to Ranger Reusing for your interest in this program.

-        Hunting Area Awareness Signs – Signs notifying park visitors of hunting areas / season need to be checked and/or maintained.

·       Regional Managers to canvas managers regarding signs that they post to alert people of hunting activity in the area, recommendation to wear fluorescent orange, etc.

·       Create park trail maps that identify hunting areas are identified

• CENTRAL

-        Food Trucks in Parks – Can parks consider food trucks as an option for concession operations?

·       Yes, but must follow all standard procedures for concession contracts

-        Honor system envelopes needed in some Central Region parks

·       Amanda to follow up

• WEST

-        Rocky Gap partnering with C&O canal NHP on National Park Service Centennial events / activities

·       Reminder to include MPS events on the National Park Service “Find Your Park” calendar of centennial year events

-        Playgrounds – Rubberized surface is deteriorating at certain parks (e.g. Herrington Manor). Need to follow up on inspections by MPS certified playground safety inspectors. Should be included in Critical Maintenance request.

-        Vehicle age / mileage a growing concern. We only have two replacement vehicles in 2016

-        Casselman River Bridge – Grantsville town employee has asked about cutting trees between walkway to bridge and wastewater treatment plant (trees screen the view of the treatment plant). SHA may own the property. Continuing to work on ownership issues and aesthetic concerns with Town representatives.  We do not want to compromise the National Historic Landmark.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY

• Woodfield compiling results from last 5 years (survey was started in 2011)
• Will be sharing individual park results with Regional Managers

           

ADMINISTRATION

• Succession Planning / Hiring Update

-        New Administrative Officer I opportunity / position was announced last week. Selected employee can remain in current location with new duties in addition to current responsibilities. Reclassification will be requested but cannot be guaranteed – will not be worked out of class.

-        Mike Conaway will be in an acting role to handle some of Liz del Castillo’s responsibilities.

-        Uniform orders / Vehicles / Trash-Free Bags / Honor Envelopes will be handled by Amanda.

-        Interviews completed for four positions (Rocky Gap PSS, Elk Neck PSAL, Assateague Park Technician Trainee, SMRC Administrative Specialist) and offers made. Hope to have newly promoted / newly hired employees in place by early February.

-        Additional Ranger interviews will be conducted end of January / early February.

·       Additional candidates will be integrated into the current PSA eligibility list by score.

• Budget Update

-        Budget amendments have been approved for FY2016 and will provide MPS with an additional $600,000 in operating funds and $150,000 in the concession budget.

·       Amanda will update WebFocus to reflect changes

-        General Assembly Session started today and we expect to hear about the FY2017 budget next week.

• PEP Submissions

-        Deadline for submission to Barb Knisely is Tuesday, January 19, 2016

• Attendance Reporting / Record-Keeping

-        Barb Knisely has developed a Google spreadsheet to record visitation by Park.

-        Reporting procedures will be provided to ensure accuracy, consistency and accountability in reporting.

·       Attendance figures will be collected daily at the parks/

·       Supervisors will review weekly to detect errors / malfunctions.

·       Supervisors will enter data monthly into Google spreadsheet.

·       Park Managers and Regional Managers will review data monthly to detect anomalies and approve submissions

-        Spreadsheet is user-friendly and includes a “Notes” section to identify any relevant information (weather, park closures, equipment malfunctions). It will include protections so staff cannot access the wrong park’s spreadsheet.

-        Barb Knisely will be sending a communication soon regarding the use of the spreadsheet.

• Lateral Transfer Requests

-        Quarterly reminder was sent by Barb Knisely

-        Senior Staff will be reviewing and considering current requests before filling anticipated vacancies (e.g. Ranger positions).

• New Workday Timekeeping System

-        New online Workday timekeeping system still scheduled to launch statewide in mid-March. Robin Melton and Barb Knisely are training on new timekeeping system in order to be able to train employees.

·       Contractual employees will input time weekly

·       System will be accessible via the internet, but the software will not support access via tablet or smart phone.

• Seasonal Hiring

-        Some seasonal recruitments are on JobApps

-        All recruitments may be extended beyond the initial two-week recruitment if necessary

-        Trying to improve contract processing forms

• Workday Employee Updates

-        Separation forms necessary for seasonal employees that have completed contracts so they do not show up in Workday as incomplete.

-        Park Managers will need to review and determine where seasonal employee PINs are shown on park organizational charts and send form to Barb Knisely.

-        Parks to begin assigning PIN numbers in Workday to prepare for seasonal hiring.

-        Everyone must be in Workday (including seasonal employees). Seasonal employees will not be paid if they are not signed into Workday.

·       Office of the Secretary is being updated on progress of all employees being signed in and updating their emergency contacts – all MPS are to do so ASAP so we have no one shown as delinquent.

SHA and DNR Master MOU (Owens)

-        Managing stormwater and stream restorations

-        SHA is looking for areas with a lot of land (e.g. parks) and MPS is looking for projects that solve a problem

-        Grants for certain counties that meet requirements (mostly urban areas)

-        Currently two big projects at Patapsco (Avalon, McKeldin)

-        Several projects at Rosaryville, Gunpowder, North Point

-        Mary has asked for a look at Fair Hill, Elk Neck

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLANS (Thomas)

-        Ranger Thomas presented template for completing Resource Management Plans

·       New Germany plan is complete and was shared with senior staff

-        Estimated time of completion – 2 months

-        Managers to solicit input from staff and then reach out to other agencies / stakeholders for feedback on SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) for the various resource categories

-        Ranger Thomas sent her requests for input and received prompt responses from almost all parties. Template is very user-friendly, resulting in almost no questions.

-        Issues were readily identified through the responses, and many responses were consistent with others.

-        Results were not surprising but validated need to improve some park processes.   

-        Regional managers will solicit a volunteer from each region to complete a draft plan by the May Managers Meeting for presentation.

-        Parks will be provided with flexibility with deadlines for completion based on size and complexity of park, park-specific demands, etc. but all parks will be completing plans over a phased-in period of several years.

DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT UPDATE

• EAB / Ash Surveys

-        Information due to Ranger Vecchio by January 25

-        Need to identify / prioritize Ash trees for treatment in March / April

-        Need update on information / education sign proposed by Western Region

• Policy Issues

-        Request to wear EMT pin on MPS uniform.

§  Concern, however, about maintaining simple, professional uniform vs. potential wide variety of non-MPS insignia

§  There was an overall appreciation for the rationale behind the request. EMT certified employees are highly valued.

·       Consensus was to not amend Uniform Policy to allow this

-        Follow-up on placement of flag pin on uniform

§  No strong opinions either way

·       No change being made

• 2015 MPS/NRP Officer of the Year

-        4 nominations thus far

-        Deadline is February 1

-        Submit additional nominations to Bushman

• Electronic Schedules for MPS Staff

-        DNR Communications Center has developed a standard electronic schedule that is now being used by the NRP

§  Would like the MPS to utilize the same template

§  Initial review is very positive

§  Regional Managers to discuss with Managers to see if there are any adjustments that need to be made

·       If so, solicit interest in working with the NRP to tailor the template for use by the MPS

SUPERINTENDENT UPDATE

• Signature events calendar

-        Managers to send Angie Pease a list of signature events at parks in their region, using the template that Christina Holden developed

• Update on Workgroups

-        Day-Use Operations – McCoy / Campground Operations – Pruett

§  Both working on dates for workgroups

• Permit Fees – Commercial Photography

-        If Managers receive requests / become aware of commercial photography activities, they need to require a permit. Annual permit fee is $25.00.

§  Sandy Point supplied sample permit

-        Amanda Mock is handling filming requests

• First Day  Hikes – 2,122 hikers

-        Settina commended parks for their efforts and success with First Day Hikes.

• Youth Group Passes / Bus Reservations

-        Reminder: Groups with Youth Group Pass are not to be charged a fee to enter the  park.

• Land Use Agreements

-        Legislative Auditors continue to scrutinize leases

§  Managers need to carefully check on status / changes of leases and land use agreements to document that all lease requirements are being met.

-        Auditors want to see specifics of lease requirements and a check-off list with the form that Jean Lipphard supplied.

• Incident Notification / Media Interest

-        Review of procedures

§  Park Duty Officer to report significant incidents to State Duty Officer (with copy to Regional Manager)

§  Along with other criteria (e.g. deaths), State Duty Officer will ensure that incidents that may generate media interest are reported to the Deputy Superintendent, who will make determination as to whether to notify the Superintendent and/or the Office of Communications.

§  If the Park Duty Officer does not receive a reply from the State Duty Officer in a timely fashion after attempts at notification (email / text / phone call), they are to notify the Deputy Superintendent directly, who will follow the above procedure and notify the Office of Communications.  If the Deputy Superintendent does not reply in a timely fashion, the notification is to be made directly to the Superintendent, who will follow the above procedure and notify the Office of Communications.