Minutes from the September 14, 2016 Meeting
(Download Meeting Minutes)
Meeting called to order at 7:09 p.m.
Jerry Callistein, President of CGCA, introduced himself, and stated the main agenda item of the evening: to elect the rest of the new board members to join Bob Mills (treasurer). Twenty-two neighbors were in attendance.
Report from Rockville Police
Officer Brian Paul, who covers College Gardens and King Farm, shared his crime report. He said overall our neighborhood is quiet, crime-wise. According to reports of crimes called in, most of the crime in the neighborhood are crimes of opportunity. Officer Paul reminded the attendees to lock all doors and call the department for any and all crimes. The more information they have, the easier for them to keep up with what is occurring in the neighborhood.
The search for Chief Treschuk’s replacement won’t start until the city manager position has been filled. Currently Bob Rappaport is the acting chief.
Neighbors voiced other concerns. A neighbor asked about youth hiding in the woods near Princeton Place to use drugs. Lt. Paul couldn’t address this issue since he had no evidence this was occurring, but acknowledged it is a possibility. Another neighbor who lives on Yale Place across the street from the elementary school wanted to know whether something could be done about parents parking at the end of his driveway when students are arriving at school in the morning. Another neighbor voiced a related concern. Cars on Rutgers Ave. that turn left onto Yale Place are not coming to a complete stop. This occurs when students are walking to school in the morning. Lt. Paul agreed this is serious and will look into these issues near the elementary school.
Officer Paul will bring the neighborhood crime activity analysis to the next neighborhood meeting. Before leaving he shared his email address (bpaul@rockvillemd.org). The non-emergency line for the police department is 240-314-8900.
Election of New Board Members
During the previous CGCA meeting in May 2016, all four board members- President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer, completed their term in office and were not interested in running for another term. Bob Mills agreed to be Treasurer, but no one volunteered for the three remaining positions. At today’s meeting, three neighbors volunteered for the CGCA Board positions as follows:
- President – Tom Miner
- Vice President – John Mosely Hayes
- Secretary – Chaula Butterworth
Outgoing CGCA President Jerry Callistein motioned a single voice vote for all three open positions. This was seconded and a voice vote affirmed the above-mentioned neighbors into office. There were no vocal dissents.
While Jerry is stepping away from active board duties he will continue managing the web site and assist with updating the new directory. Thank you to our outgoing board – Jerry, Susan Donovan, Naomi Miner, and Karen Carp
National Night Out Report
This year John Mosely Hayes was in charge of NNO and he did a grand job despite difficulties in making arrangements while being out of the country. NNO was bigger than usual because the Woodley Gardens West Civic Assoc. joined us. WGWCA provided food. Additionally, Eric Fulton and Wendy Whitaker of WGWCA, ran the activities for children. WGWCA also supported NNO with a $125 donation. As usual, McGruff the crime dog, elected officials including Rockville City Mayor Bridget Newton, Rockville city police including Rockville Acting Police Chief Bob Rappoport and others representing our city joined the event. So far, expenses for NNO are $474.94 but this does not include approx. $200 for the grill rental and related costs.
Other City News
There is a new initiative, The Villages, which will connect seniors who have needs (ie, snow shoveling) with neighbors who are willing to help so that our older neighbors can stay in their home. A meeting to discuss this initiative is scheduled in early October at the Senior Center. Please attend this meeting if you are willing to help our city’s seniors citizens.
Our neighborhood has three communication venues, the CG Yahoo group, CG Listserv, and Next Door for College Gardens. The information overlaps, but is not the same from the three sources. Contact Tom Miner for further information (contact info at end of this report).
Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 8:03 p.m.