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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded $843,988 to the Baltimore region to conduct emergency housing and shelter planning through the FY 2020 Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program (RCPGP) on August 19, 2020.  Through a partnership between the City of Baltimore and the Baltimore Metropolitan Council (BMC), the grant will fund regional housing and shelter planning at BMC in collaboration with a committee of local emergency management agencies in the Baltimore region known as the Baltimore Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI). The project will produce individually tailored plans for each jurisdiction as well as one regional plan; and will support training and exercises for emergency management personnel.

In the midst of a national reckoning over racial injustice, BMC member jurisdictions have finalized a new analysis and plan to address housing-related disparities by race and other characteristics protected under the federal Fair Housing Act. The study documents significant disparities in homeownership, housing cost burden, and access to affordable rental housing and high-performing public schools, while detailing specific actions local jurisdictions and the region can take to address those disparities. The new regional fair housing plan is being released despite the federal administration’s recent announcement that it is removing the requirement that local jurisdictions receiving federal housing funding develop plans to address and ameliorate policies that lead to disparate housing impacts for protected classes.

Over the last several months, BMC helped organizations in the region procure much needed personal protection equipment (PPE), including masks, gloves, cleaning supplies and more. Through a cooperative purchasing agreement offered by BMC and W.B. Mason, local groups have gained access to affordable PPE when they needed it most.

Registration is Live for Bike to Work Week - September 21-27, 2020.

The Baltimore Metropolitan Council (“BMC”) officially launched its Baltimore Regional Recovery Dashboard to help policymakers understand and track the impacts of COVID-19 on the seven county metropolitan area. Hosted on BMC’s website, the dashboard features data from across the organization’s areas of focus, including unemployment claims, impacted industries and transportation ridership. The dashboard utilizes Tableau, a data visualization tool, to provide information in an interactive format.

The Baltimore Regional Transportation Board (BRTB), as the metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for the Baltimore region, seeks public comments through Friday, July 17 on a part of the Patapsco Regional Greenway in Howard and Baltimore Counties.

During the recent Firefighter Safety Stand Down week, June 14 to 20, BMC staff member Eileen Singleton worked closely with Patrick Rooney, MDOT SHA CHART Operations Training Manager, to hold 13 sessions of a 1-hour Traffic Incident Management refresher course. The courses, originally scheduled to take place in person, were instead virtual in response to the global pandemic.

​​​​​​​BMC staff are proud to participate in the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s (CBF) ‘Walk the Watershed’ event this year. Throughout the month of June, our team will work toward a goal of traveling 200 miles in support of a healthier waterway. This target represents the approximately 200-mile-long Chesapeake Bay. Staff will also seek donations on behalf of CBF as an element of this campaign.

BRTB considers approval of the draft 2021-2024 Transportation Improvement Program and the associated Air Quality Conformity Determination

BMC’s Director of Cooperative Purchasing, Debbie Groat, authored an article for the Maryland Public Purchasing Association (MPAA) Newsletter. In the article, Groat, who also serves as Chair of the Cooperative Purchasing Subcommittee for MPAA, details the changes in operating procedures for cooperative purchasing post COVID-19. The article examines the shifts made in cooperative purchasing to meet the needs of the region during a time where demand was overwhelming.