COLLEGE GARDENS CIVIC ASSOCIATION (CGCA) MEETING MINUTES
18 MAY 2016
(Download the Meeting Minutes)
GENERAL MEETING
Meeting called to order at approximately 7:10 pm. 26 people were in attendance.
WELCOME
Jerry Callistein, President of CGCA, introduced himself and called the meeting to order. Board members introduced themselves.
REPORT FROM CITY OF ROCKVILLE
Janet Kelly from the City of Rockville announced upcoming events in Rockville. Hometown Holidays will occur May 28 – 30. As usual, there will be several performances. Rockville Recreation and Parks will have a booth with information and giveaways. More information on HTH can be found at http://www.rockvillemd.gov.
The Rockville 2040 Master Plan listening sessions have been completed and residents are invited to participate in public forums. The first forum on Apr 19 discussed ‘What do you want to see in the future?’ The May 10 forum discussed ‘Where do we want to go?’ The next forum on May 24 will discuss ‘How do we get there?’ The last forum on June 14 will set goals for the city. The meetings take place at the VisArts Center in Rockville Town Square at 6:30pm. More information can be found at http://www.rockvillemd.gov.
The City Council will discuss the Bus Depot issue at their May 23 meeting. The Council will not take public comment at that time.
REPORT FROM ROCKVILLE POLICE
Corporal Matney informed us that the Rockville police will have a booth at Hometown Holidays. There will be a police vehicle that children can sit in and have their picture taken. Theft from autos continues to be an issue in the city, but has decreased compared to last year. There have not been many incidences of crime in our neighborhood from Jan 1 through May 12. Teenage kids are going into the woods along the creek bed to smoke marijuana, which is a civil offense that results in a $100 fine and contacting the parents. There will be a search for a new police chief after Chief Treschuk’s resignation is effective later this year. Under Chief Treschuk’s leadership, Rockville’s police department is a community-oriented force, a strong asset.
ROCKVILLE’S PIKE PLAN
On May 16, the mayor and city council listened to input from the public (second of two public hearings) regarding proposed changes to a 2-mile section of Rockville Pike. The deadline for written comments is May 23. The mayor and council must approve the plan, including any modifications, by mid-August. Otherwise, the Pike Plan will be approved as is.
OTHER CITY NEWS
A local and national search is underway for a new Rockville City Manager. Presently, Craig Simoneau is Acting City Manager.
ELECTION OF NEW BOARD MEMBERS
All four Board members of CGCA have completed a term and the positions of President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer were available for election. The present Board members were not interested in continuing for another term and meeting attendees were asked to volunteer for the board positions. Bob Mills (Clemson Ct) agreed to be Treasurer. However, no meeting attendees volunteered for the other Board positions – the present Board members will continue until replacements are found.
NATIONAL NIGHT OUT (NNO)
Volunteers are needed to help with NNO. There are many tasks including: shop for groceries; organize kids’ activities; set-up; cook hamburgers and hotdogs at the event; cleanup. John Mosely Hayes volunteered to help overall (Jerry Callistein will provide information about the grill and Carmen’s), Ashia Mann volunteered to shop at Costco (Naomi Miner will provide her with last year’s shopping list), and Elaine Felsen agreed to help with set-up. Tom Miner volunteered to help as needed with NNO.
COLLEGE GARDENS DIRECTORY
This year, present Board members and block captains will work on collecting information from the neighborhood and assemble the 2016-2018 Directory. Karen Carp will take the lead; Gamal (Jimmy) El-Masry agreed to help.
GARDEN CLUB
The Garden Club of College Gardens is always eager to get new members. Recently the Club completed a successful plant sale. In the fall, there will be a bulb sale. Funds raised from these sales are used to maintain ‘The Hill’ (corner of College Parkway and Nelson St.) and a native plant garden near the playground on College Parkway. The Garden Club also donates funds and supplies to several local charities. Contact Janey Nadler if you’re interested in bulbs.
On a related note, Alice Von Saunder (13 Clemson Ct.) has free bulbs available for pickup. They need a home very soon.
SCHOOL BUS DEPOT AT CARVER (Board of Education) PARKING LOT
Kevin Karton, President of Woodley Gardens West Civic Association, is co-leader of the Carver Coalition. Mr. Karton presented information and answered questions regarding the County’s plan to move 100 school buses to the Carver building parking lot, which is located at the intersection of MD 355 and Mannakee St. The Carver Coalition started approx. 2 months ago and has been involved in contacting officials, watching videos from County Council meetings and gathering information in regard to the issue. Further information can be found at http://www.carvercoalition.org, including a donation form to support their efforts with legal counsel.
Presently, MCPS has a bus depot with 430 school buses located on 30 acres near the Shady Grove Metro station. A contract is in place between a developer and Montgomery County to develop this property. According to the original agreement, the developer is required to find a suitable alternative location for the buses prior to development. However, the developer paid an unknown amount of money for the County Board to find an alternative site for the buses. The (latest) deadline is to move the buses by January 1, 2017. The County Council wants to use county-owned land and there isn’t any property that is large enough in mid Montgomery County. Therefore, the County Council is planning to move the buses to multiple sites across the county in the midst of neighborhoods, including two neighborhoods in Rockville. This will result in maintenance staff and equipment facilities at various locations, which will be substantially more costly than the present site. In addition, there is a requirement for a pre-check of all buses, which includes honking the horn, turning on the headlights and starting the diesel engine. This procedure will result in sound pollution, light pollution and diesel exhaust starting as early as 4:30 am (very cold mornings) to 6:00 am (optimal weather and route). Some of the homes in College Square Condominiums are within 100 ft of the proposed bus depot at Carver. In addition, school buses may travel on Mannakee St. and Nelson St. on their way to and from schools and so residents in other neighborhoods will be impacted.
One more important point, Montgomery College is located at the same intersection as the proposed Carver bus depot. This intersection is backed up in the morning due to students and staff arriving at Montgomery College. According to the Rockville Trend Transportation Report 2016, page 13 (http://www.rockvillemd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/12052), the intersection at MD 355 and Mannakee St. at peak morning time has a letter grade of E (intersection is at 90% – 99% capacity) according to a traffic count in 2009. The traffic impact from a substantial number of buses exiting the bus depot in the morning will affect everyone travelling on MD 355 through the Mannakee St. intersection, far beyond its impact on nearby residents.
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting adjourned at 9 pm.