MARYLAND MEMBERS
Representing Maryland Dept. of Transportation: Michael W. Nixon
Representing Wicomico County (appointed by County Executive & County Council): Matthew E. Creamer; Stevie Prettyman; Theodore E. Shea II.
Representing City of Salisbury: James P. Ireton, Jr.; Virginia Louise Smith.
Representing City of Fruitland: Rick D. Konrad
Representing Delmar, Maryland: C. Luther Hitchens
Representing Tri-County Council for the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland: Michael P. Pennington
DELAWARE MEMBERS
Nonvoting members: Michael Strange, Acting Director, Office of Planning, Delaware Dept. of Transportation; Michael T. Houlihan, Mayor, Delmar, Delaware.
Staff: Keith D. Hall
P. O. Box 870
Salisbury, MD 21803 - 0870
(410) 548-4860; fax: (410) 548-4955
e-mail: khall@wicomicocounty.org
web: www.swmpo.org/contact.html
A Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is a federally mandated and federally funded transportation policy-making organization that is made up of representatives from local government and governmental transportation authorities. Federal law requires the formation of such an organization for any urbanized area with a population of more than 50,000. Federal funding for transportation projects and programs is channeled through this planning process. Congress created these organizations in order to ensure that expenditures of governmental funds for transportation are based on a continuing, cooperative and comprehensive planning process. For each of their respective regions, MPOs are charged with developing a 20-year Long-Range Transportation Plan and a short-term (usually 2 to 6 years) program called the Transportation Improvement Program.
Following the 2000 Census, the Salisbury area was classified as an urbanized area. For the purposes of federal transportation funding, the Governor designated the Salisbury urbanized area as a Metropolitan Planning Organization in February 2004. The urbanized area includes Salisbury, Fruitland, and Delmar in Maryland; the surrounding unincorporated areas of Wicomico County, Maryland; Delmar, Delaware; and the surrounding unincorporated areas of Sussex County, Delaware.
Governed by its Council, the Salisbury-Wicomico Metropolitan Planning Organization is responsible for continuing, comprehensive, and cooperative transportation planning in its geographic boundaries, which include the 20-year projected growth area. The Council began meeting in November 2004 and adopted bylaws later that year.
Annually, the Council reviews, revises, and adopts the Unified Planning Work Program, which describes all transportation planning activities to be undertaken in the next fiscal year. Under its bylaws, the Council is assisted by the Technical Advisory Committee, which provides technical expertise from planners and engineers.
The Council has nine voting members from Maryland and two nonvoting members from Delaware.
© Copyright September 03, 2014 Maryland State Archives