In the City

THE CITY

MAYOR PRAISES ADDITIONS TO ‘ENERGIZE THE WAREHOUSE’ INITIATIVE

Mayor Purzycki joined elected officials and community leaders on June 14 to celebrate the arrival of three new clean energy technologies to The Warehouse as part of the Energize The Warehouse initiative, which will help local teens learn about clean energy, electric transportation, and sustainable farming and agriculture. “The Teen Warehouse has become a focal point for idea sharing, innovative thinking, and a desire to learn,” the Mayor said. “The fact that it all happens in an environment that is energized by teens is both meaningful and hopeful. I am honored to be part of the announcement for this clean energy initiative and express my thanks to Delmarva Power and DNREC for helping to transform teen learning and new skill sets into solutions that can benefit our neighborhoods and our City as a whole.”

Local student and chair of The Warehouse’s Teen Executive Committee, Anaya Patterson.

U.S. Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester, REACH Riverside CEO Logan Herring, and Mayor Purzycki at The Warehouse on June 14

Mayor Purzycki opens the new and improved Rodney Square in Downtown Wilmington.

RODNEY SQUARE RENOVATIONS UNDERWAY

Phase one of a nearly $7 million renovation of Wilmington’s Rodney Square has been completed. The City’s main public square, originally constructed in 1921, was in need of major upgrading and repairs when Mayor Mike Purzycki launched the project a few years ago. Mayor Purzycki and the Rodney Square Conservancy joined elected officials and other community leaders recently to celebrate the progress of the overdue facelift, which features an attractive new lighted fountain as pictured above. Four new flagpoles are also being added. Financial support for the first phase of the Rodney Square project was provided by the City of Wilmington ($1.5 million) and the State of Delaware ($1.8 million), as well as by members of the Rodney Square Conservancy Board of Directors.

IAN SMITH NAMED NEW PARKS & RECREATION DIRECTOR

Mayor Mike Purzycki appointed Ian Smith as the City’s next Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation. Smith moves to City government from State government where he was the Delaware Program Director of Youth Advocates Programs, Inc. (YAP) since 2016. Smith began his new role on June 1.

“We eagerly await his review of the $3 million department operating and capital budgets and his plan for moving forward. Ian will have a team of about 40 full-time employees and scores of parttime and temporary workers who are on the front lines every day delivering life-affirming services and critically needed recreational programming to children and families across the City. We wish Ian well. I am also very grateful to Deputy Parks and Recreation Director Wayne Jefferson for his continued service to our City and for assisting Ian in his new post.”

Ian replaces former Parks and Recreation Kevin F. Kelley, Sr. who retired from government service on February 1.

Director of Parks and Recreation Ian Smith

“IAN BRINGS A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE AND AN INFECTIOUS ENERGY AND ENTHUSIASM TO THIS POSITION.” -MAYOR MIKE PURZYCKI

MAYOR DECLARED JUNE LGBTQ+ PRIDE MONTH IN WILMINGTON

Mayor Mike Purzycki issued a Proclamation designating the month of June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month in Wilmington. The Pride flag was displayed in the lobby of the Mayor’s Office on the 9th Floor of the Louis L. Redding City County Building throughout the month. The full text of the Mayor’s Proclamation can be found here: www.wilmingtonde.gov/Home/Components/News/ News/5514/225