Senior Staff Notes - October 2017

MARYLAND PARK SERVICE

SENIOR STAFF MEETING NOTES

October 11, 2017

Broadneck - Annapolis

Attendees: Nita Settina, Chris Bushman, Amanda Mock, Mary Owens, Mike Riley, Christy Bright, Steve McCoy, Dean Hughes, Alison Woodfield (next meeting’s manager-of-the-month – West)

REGIONAL REPORTS

• Southeast

-        Horses at Assateague – Horses continue to be a challenge for staff and visitors on campground and beach. Injuries have occurred recently.

-        Belt Woods – Tenants have moved out of houses on the property. Staff, along with E&C, will check status of structures and need for clean-up.

-        Employee Field Day was a huge success, with over 400 in attendance. Regional managers will talk with park managers about location for future EFDs. Kudos to Mike Riley and his entire team for their hard work!

• Central

-        Bohemia River State Park – Great tour with Daryl and Nita recently. Staff is working with Mary Owens on long-term plans. Plan is to extend current farm lease and explore continuation of Deer Management Permit until implementation of a public hunting program.

-        Palmer – Staff has been working hard to install trails on the property.

-        Seneca Creek – Black Rock Mill – Staff is continuing to work with groups concerned about the usage of the area in the busy summer months. Manager Powell met with Montgomery County officials regarding their desire to post no-parking signs along the road.

• Western

-        New Germany is still having trouble establishing any kind of phone service. Staff is looking into installing a cell phone booster in the campground.

-        Garrett County State Parks “unofficial” guide went to the OC for approval.

-        Junior Ranger booklet is almost ready for print. Bright is seeking assistance from the NRP (Candy Thomson) for grant funding with inclusion of Splash / water safety in the booklet. Parks will have access to an order form on the Google Drive to purchase the books.

-        Carrying Capacity Study – Plan received for Greenbrier. Settina would like to focus more on a statewide survey of our visitors in places that fill to capacity, rather than just Greenbrier.

-        Inspection Forms – Forms were developed by Erin Thomas / Wayne Suydam and distributed for feedback. Dam inspection form may not be included in deference to MDE / E&C form. Forms will be tested during Ranger School and should be available to field staff soon.

REVIEW OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY

·       Senior staff reviewed September results.

·       Settina noted that customer satisfaction survey had A LOT of happy comments at the end of a long season with staff shortages. Great job to everyone!

·       Reminder to Park Managers to share happy comments with staff names identified, to ensure that everyone is recognized for their customer service.

REVIEW OF VISITATION / ATTENDANCE REPORTING

·       Visitation update YTD was presented by Woodfield.

ADMINISTRATION (Mock)

• Program / Regional budget meetings held. Buckmaster sent budget projections to Regional Managers.
• HUGE kudos to Amanda and Lauren for hard work on getting projections done early!
• FY19 Budget has been submitted to DBM.
• Concession revenue down in the last fiscal year. Lauren put together a spreadsheet detailing park budgets and revenues. Park managers are providing information / reasons for lower revenue.
• Park Inventories – Knisely making great progress with disposals, etc.
• Corporate Card Logs – Mock circulated a draft process for helping staff understand rules for use of corporate cards.
• Vacant positions steadily being filled.
• CAMIS – in process of reviewing the first year of the contract.
• Annual MES update meeting with senior staff scheduled for October 24.
• Reservation Conference – Annual conference for staff who manage their state’s reservation system. (Canaan Valley, WV). A lot of useful information was obtained.

PLANNING AND CONSERVATION PROGRAMS (Owens)

• Project reviews – 287 to date.
• Big Capital Projects (New Germany, Sandy Point, Fair Hill, Point Lookout).
• MHT is willing to have stronger involvement in Fair Hill 4* planning.
• Strategic Management Plans (Smallwood, Fort Frederick, New Germany) posted!!
• Susquehanna Strategic Management Plan sent to Office of Secretary – awaiting approval.
• Gittings-Baldwin and Cypress Branch partnership proposals still being negotiated.
• Pollinator Habitat – 83 acres planned at Sassafras, in partnership with Washington College.

EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION (Dean Hughes)

• Hughes presented recommendations from the Employee Recognition committee.
• Proposed several new awards, subject to further discussion.
• Need a staff person to manage the program to ensure success / sustainability.
• Draft plan will be presented at Fall Managers Meeting in November.

SUPERINTENDENT UPDATE (Settina)

• Review September Senior Staff Meeting notes

1.     Trapping permit reviews ongoing.

2.     State Park Inspection Forms ready for pilot use at Ranger School.

3.     Procurement of NARCAN still being researched.

4.     Every Kid in the Park – Will need to keep up with NPS program.

• Fall Managers Meeting – group worked on finalizing the agenda.

DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT UPDATE (Bushman)

• No policy issues, other than Awards Program, were brought forward from regional meetings.
• 2017 NRP Officer of the Year – Reminder to submit nominations.
• Park Closures – 15 different parks contributed to a total of 122 closures in 2017, matching the record high number of closures from 2015 (112 closures in 2016). A total of 18 different parks have experienced at least one closure over the course of the last eight years.