College Gardens Civic Association
Spring 2017 Meeting Minutes
(CGCA-MeetingMinutes-2017-05-17)
Meeting called to order 7:05
Tom Miner, CGCA President, started the meeting by introducing the board members present, and introducing our guests. By the end of the meeting we had 22 neighbors in attendance.
City of Rockville Reports
John Hollida, Principal Civil Engineer, Department of Public Works
Upper Watts Branch Stream Restoration
A new construction project was awarded in January 2017 for eight sites to be reconstructed or repaired. Work that involves either one of the streams cannot be conducted from March 1 – June 1. During one of the repairs Native American artifacts were found. A phase 2 study was submitted, the findings though have not been made public in an effort to prevent people from disturbing or deteriorating the site. Any trees that need to be planted will be wrapped in wire cages to protect them from deer. The dam beavers had built at Nelson Street and College Parkway several years ago killed acres of mature trees. The repair of that site will include 100 trees per acre to be planted Progress on these projects can be tracked here http://www.rockvillemd.gov/index.aspx?NID=1107.
Jenny Kimball, Deputy City Manager
Information regarding Hometown Holidays can be found in the current issue of Rockville Reports and online at http://www.rockvillemd.gov/index.aspx?NID=665 .
Friday, May 20 was Bike to Work day with pit stops hosted by Smoothie King and Dawson’s Market.
On Thursday, May 26 the public works department will host a display of construction equipment at the outdoor poo from 11 – 4:30 for young children. More information can be found here http://rockvillereports.com/big-trucks-coloring-books-and-kids-at-the-public-works-week-equipment-show/.
The following is a list of current construction projects going on around the immediate area of College Gardens:
Beall Ave. + Washington Street = apartment building
Brightview location opening
Regal Cinema parking lot will be replaced by a mixed-use development
Middle Lane + 355 = office building
Gude Dr. + 355 = NW location is expecting changes to 80 townhomes
Application for large development for upper Shady Grove
The city hosted a diversity forum in February. One of the outcomes of that meeting was to put up flags in Rockville Town Square that represent the many countries from which the people of Rockville have come.
Bob Mills, CGCA treasurer
Our current balance is $8,070.77. Of this $4000 will be returned to Karen Carp. She made the donation to the community for an environmental study of the then-new pond that has fallen by the wayside.
We spent a total of $719.49 for National Night Out. Woodley Gardens West contributed $125 to NNO, and joined us for our celebration.
The directory update is underway. The goal is to make contact with all neighbors by the end of the month to get current information for the neighbors in order to print an updated directory. Directories can be purchased for $5/each.
Lt. Brian Paul, RPD police officer
Body-worn camera system will be worn by RPD. The new cameras should be received some time next month. All marked cars have video cameras, but they’re old. The new system will marry the in-car cameras with the body cameras. Cameras can be turned off for privacy reasons, but that occurs rarely. Cameras are activated when the police car’s sirens get turned on. Form will be live to get access to videos taken by officers’ body cameras.
“How’s the crime in our area?” Most crimes are ones of opportunity. Lock car doors, don’t leave cell phones, GPS, laptops, or the garage door opener in plain view. Leave porch lights on. Look out for neighbors. And if something odd is seen or heard call the police.
The opioid crisis is here in Rockville. Heroin is a lot more potent that it once was. It is getting mixed with fentanyl, or animal tranquilizers. We might not see users on every corner, but it is happening here in Rockville. The police department is prepared.
Mark Pierzchala, Council Member
At the council meeting on January 23 the deer population was discussed. Contraception, a hard winter, nor a one-time cull would be effective in controlling the deer population. In order to get a handle on the deer population approximately 60% of the herd would need culling annually. However such a move would require a change in city ordinance since it is illegal to discharge a firearm within city limits unless one is a police officer.
Boundary redistricting
The new elementary school opens in September,2018. Mark has attended all but one of the redistricting meetings. Of the many options discussed Mark is in favor of Option 6, keeping the Woodley Garden neighborhood at CGES. A decision will be announced in November 2017. The representatives from Woodley Gardens explained their position for favoring Option 6, and why they would like the support of our neighborhood. Click here to read their letter.
Vote regarding support for Option 6: in favor = 20. Not in favor = 0
Background on the new elementary school boundaries can be found here:
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/planning/rmes.aspx
Councilman Pierzchala also provided a list of Mayor and Council priorities. Click here.
Tom Miner, President
National Night Out will take place Tuesday, August 1. Volunteers are need with set-up, clean-up, and kids’ activities. Please send Tom Miner a note if you can help out. (tom.miner@LongandFoster.com)
Dog waste has been noticed being left behind. Always pick up after your dog, and maybe another neighbor’s dog. An attendee asked about getting the City to install poles that hold disposable bags. Unfortunately those cost too much to install and maintain. The City is considering installing a couple of signs as reminders to pick up after our pets.
Lighting from the parking garage on the west side of Montgomery College has been an issue for some of the homeowners since work began on the parking garage. Tom has been in communication with the college to find a better resolution to the lighting problem.
Saturday, June 3 – Community Street Party featuring The Digits!, sponsored by Hard Times. Click here for details.
Meeting adjourned: 8:49