Page Kent Connections Aug 2013 A Newsletter Published by Kent County Levy Court for its Employees August 2013 Employee of the Month: Steven A. Mullins The Kent County department heads have selected STEVEN A. MULLINS from the Department of Pub- lic Works as the August 2013 Employee of the Month. Steve, a Kent County employee since November 2007, is a Maintenance Me- chanic III in the Wastewater Facilities Division. He serves as a crew leader maintaining mainly the equipment at the Wastewater Treatment Plant but also provides special ex- pertise to the more complex pumping station repairs. Steve was nominated for his courage under heavy “spray”. He and a lot of other Public Works employees had family plans scheduled for this past Father’s Day. However, a complex air release valve failure on the main wastewater transmission sys- tem dictated otherwise. Despite not being “on call”, Steve reported for duty and con- tributed valuable technical expertise to the repair effort. In the end, it came down to a live repair which most people would walk away from, but not Steve. He had the tools, knowledge and courage to get the job done when Assistant Public Works Director KEITH POWELL needed him most. As a result of his actions the environmental damage of INSIDE this sewer overflow was limited and the difficult repair was successfully 8 - Birthdays completed. 12 - Calendar According to Public Works Director HANS MEDLARZ, “Steve is an 11 - Employee Council employee who performs at Employee of the Month levels every day. How- 14 - EMS/9-1-1 Stats ever, from time to time, he even surprises himself when he digs real deep 7 - From The Stacks into the ingenuity drawer and comes up with solutions worthy of patent 4 - On The Move 16 - Q’s & A’s protection all while maintaining a positive attitude. Steve’s in-depth 9 - Tech Talk knowledge is truly needed and much appreciated”. 12 - Work Life! Congratulations Steve on a job well done! Updated web based GIS tool is a hit By Danielle Lamborn, GIS Specialist It’s been more than a decade since Kent County went digital. Before that zoning maps, flood maps, sewer infrastructure maps, property maps and every other detail which is part and parcel of land use was maintained on paper. Geographical Information Systems was in its infancy at the time, so Kent County contracted out the digitizing and updating of these maps. In the meantime, citizens have become more technologically savvy and demand more real time information at the click of a button. Kent Connections is published for the employees and retirees So it wasn’t long before public demand out- of Kent County Levy Court using Microsoft Publisher® & Microsoft PowerPoint®. Comments, suggestions and story paced the contractor’s ability to keep up, so the De- ideas should be addressed to: Kent County Personnel Office, partment of Planning Services initiated the transi- 555 Bay Road, Dover, DE 19901, or given to Allan Kujala, tion and enhancement of the County’s digital foot- Cathleen McLean, Yvonne Messina, or Margo Mangiamele- print. After three years of work, the new GIS web- Orlando. Or call the Personnel Office at (302) 744-2310. (Continued on Next Page) Page 2 Kent Connections Aug 2013 New GIS webpage updates in “real time” (Continued from Page 1) ble for all editing of the layers, which uploads webpage was launched last month in conjunc- immediately to the website so the information is tion with the refreshed Kent County website. always current. Live updates will apply to par- The new GIS webpage features numer- cels, zoning, and the ownership layers. Eventu- ous additions and is updated on a daily basis. ally, the webpage will incorporate all of the The GIS layers have always depicted property County’s property and tax records for each spe- cific parcel including a “staff only” feature which will incorporate notes about violations, and other issues. Along with the GIS Division staff, the Informa- tion Technology Office, Planning Division, and En- gineering Division worked together to complete the project, including JASON BERRY, KEN BONOVICH, DOROTHY CHEATHAM, KRIS CONNELLY, BRIAN COSTA, KIM CROUCH, SA- BRINA FITE, DANIELLE LAMBORN, ZACH LAW- SON, LAURA MINNICH, ROB PIERCE, and MIKE WARD. “This new webpage lines, street right-of-way, waterways, and zon- is leaps and bounds ahead of the former web ing, but now it also includes aerial photography based GIS tool,” commented Planning Services completed in 2012 and in 2002, property owner- Director SARAH KEIFER. “It features the most ship information, land contours, roads classifica- current information that can be regularly moni- tions, County streetlight and garbage districts, tored by staff for accuracy. There are just so airport zones, soils, conditional uses, etc. In ad- many ways to use this and it won’t stop evolv- dition, new search tools have been added so ing. I heartily extend kudos to the GIS staff and searching for road names, developments and I.T. for achieving this significant milestone.” parcels of land is easier. A new and improved The new webpage is accessible from Kent printing tool allows plots plans to be printed on County’s homepage by clicking Online Services an already prepared layout. then online mapping. Kent County staff will now be responsi- NEW BABY BOY NEW BABY BOY Congratulations to MIKE MESSICK, Paramedic I, Congratulations to KEVIN IMHOF, Paramedic II, and his wife, Krystal on the birth of their son, and Heather Pepper on the birth of their son, Jackson Luke Messick. He was born on July 9, Colton Andrew Pepper-Imhof. He was born on 2013 at 3:13 a.m. weighing 7 lbs. even, 19 ¼ July 12, 2013 at 10:32 a.m. weighing 6 lbs 13 oz. inches long. Best wishes to the whole family. 21 ¾ inches long. Best wishes to the whole family. Page 3 Kent Connections Aug 2013 Interns brighten job prospects at County By Margo Mangiamele-Orlando, Personnel Technician I High School and will be a Junior this year. Benjamin will be a senior hile the recent influx of teens may look like a W at Lake Forest High School this sudden “youth movement” in the various County year and has been interning at offices, the new faces are really those of interns. the Summer Day Camp program For at least five local teenagers, the fu- sponsored by the Division of ture employment picture may be a bit brighter Parks & Recreation at W.B. Simp- with the valuable experience they are gaining as son Elementary School. He helps Summer Interns working in Kent County depart- with the games and arts and ments. Four interns are participating in the six- crafts, and supervising the chil- week “Operation Leg Up” program sponsored by dren. Ben Moore the Elizabeth W. Murphy School in Dover. The Cory re- Murphy School residents include MALIK CALD- cently graduated from high WELL, DESTINY FREEMAN, CORY LADNER, and school and was assigned to BENJAMIN MOORE. Brecknock Park due to his previ- Malik who is a rising senior at Dover ous experience performing yard High School has been working as work as a resident of the Murphy an Executive Assistant Intern in School. He has stayed very busy the County departments. He this summer mowing grass, trim- started in the Administration De- ming, and pressure washing. partment spending time in the In addition Cory Ladner County Administrator’s, Eco- to the Murphey School interns, nomic Development, Information the Summer Youth Employment Technology and Personnel offices Program placed ALEX SETTLE followed by the departments of with the County. He has spent 35 Public Works, Public Safety and hours per week since early July Malik Caldwell Community Services. He will also working with nearly 70 children work with Planning Services and at the Summer Day Camp Pro- Finance before the 6-week program is com- gram at W.B Simpson. pleted. The aspiring lawyer was introduced at a Alex Settle If you see one of these Levy Court meeting on July 23 and received en- young people give them an en- couraging words from Commissioner BRAD couraging word and thank them for their help EABY, a practicing attorney. this summer. Destiny is interning at the Kent County Public Library for a second year Learn how to improve service and seems to really enjoy the work. Last year, she spent a lot Want to enhance or improve your relationships of time re-shelving books, but with citizens, your boss, and/or your co- this year she goes to Brecknock workers? Then mark your calendar and attend Park every Wednesday to help one of the upcoming training sessions scheduled set up for various children’s pro- for September 17 or 18 at 9:00 a.m. or Septem- grams offered during the sum- ber 19 or 23 at 2:30 p.m. in Administrative mer where bands, dance groups, Destiny Freeman Complex, Room 220. puppet shows and the Rehoboth County policy requires excellent cus- summer children’s theatre perform. Destiny has tomer service and the maintenance of harmoni- also been riding along on the Bookmobile ous relationships with co-workers and supervi- throughout Kent County. She attends Dover sors. Page 4 Kent Connections Aug 2013 : Kent County staff on the Move... New Hires Promotions/Reclassifications cont’d PAUL ODDERS JUSTIN HURLEY Paramedic Trainee Maintenance Mechanic I, Grade 6 Grade 7 From Maintenance Worker I, Grade 5 Department of Public Safety Department of Public Works Emergency Medical Services Division Wastewater Facilities Division 07/15/2013 07/29/2013 MARK BARTLETT MATTHEW RINEHART Custodian Maintenance Worker I, Grade 5 Grade 3 From Custodian, Grade 3 Department of Public Works Department of Public Works Facilities Management Division