Gov. Ruth Ann Minner announced Friday that the 15-member Fox Point State Park-Glenville Project Team, a partnership between the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT), is the 2008 recipient of the Governor’s Team Excellence Award.

“Consistent with my priority for a well-managed government, I commend this team and their agencies for working together for better government efficiency and providing significant benefits and cost savings to the citizens of Delaware,” Minner said.

The team was chosen for the successful partnership between two DNREC divisions (Air and Waste Management and Parks and Recreation), and two DelDOT divisions (Transportation Solutions and Planning) for demonstrating teamwork, leadership, ingenuity, outstanding task completion, and major cost savings to the taxpayers of Delaware.

The Glenville Project, managed by DelDOT, needed to relocate residents from a flood-prone area, transform it back into a wetland habitat, and revitalize a neighborhood. To complete this task, tons of soil needed to be excavated and moved elsewhere. DelDOT was able to save $500,000 by partnering with DNREC to move the soil to the Fox Point State Park. DNREC was able to save $2.5 million in materials costs by using clean soil from DelDOT’s Glenville Project to revitalize the reclaimed waste land as part of a remediation of Phase II of Fox Point State Park.

What makes this team’s efforts even more significant, Minner said, is that in addition to the millions of dollars in tax savings, this project resulted in the creation of 22 acres of wetlands, 26 acres of restored wetlands, creation of a 20-acre buffer to protect a new community of approximately 30 homes, and a 55-acre state park providing the public additional recreational opportunities and access to the Delaware River.

“This project is a prime example of the outstanding results state agencies produce when working together to not only accomplish a goal, but save significant taxpayer dollars at the same time,” said DNREC Secretary John A. Hughes. “I’m proud of our employees and their ability to work as team members on multiple, complex projects to great public benefit.”

“One of DelDOT’s priorities is establishing and building relationships, because we know through experience that we have a greater chance of success when we face challenges with other partners,” said DelDOT Secretary Carolann Wicks. She added, “This project is a case study in how government, residents and stakeholders can work together to overcome a multi-faceted problem. Without a commitment from everyone to work together as a team, this project would not have come to fruition.”

In addition to the award recipient, four other teams were recognized as finalists:

• The Great Expectations Team, a collaboration between Family Court and the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families’ Division of Family Services, increased the number of children exiting the system for adoption to 39.5 percent, exceeding the national standard.
• The Gross Receipts Online Filing System Team of the Department of Finance’s Division of Revenue created a new filing system for the collections of gross receipt taxes, resulting in 13 percent of gross receipt tax returns being filed electronically in the first six months.
• The Department of Transportation, Division of Transportation Solution’s Materials and Research Team was a collaboration between management and a local union to complete a large geotechnical program on the US 301 Project and saved the taxpayers $600,000.
• The Administrative Office of the Courts’ Supervision of Fees Collection Project Team is partnering with other state entities to reengineer collections practices and procedures and increased the amount of past due fees collected by 71 percent.

The Governor’s Team Excellence Award encourages teamwork by recognizing groups of state employees who excel in leadership and team operation, use best practices and superior customer service, and produce tangible results. This year 16 teams, representing the efforts of 232 state employees, were nominated for the 2008 Governor’s Team Excellence Award.