College Gardens Civic Association
Spring Meeting, Wednesday, May 20, 2020

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Zoom Meeting – 34 participants
Tom Miner, president

Treasurer’s Report:

The association earned $1.34 in interest between May 2019 and April 2020. Current balance is $4,334.39.

National Night Out:

First Tuesday of August. A decision will be made July 1 whether the event can go forward as usual or canceled due to the coronavirus. Update: The National Night Out organization is recommending communities to celebrate on Oct 6th. See Https://natw.org

Fall Civic Association Elections:

Our civic association board is elected every two years. This fall is an election year for the board. Vice president, treasurer, and secretary are staying on, but a new president will need to be elected. Reach out to Tom or any board member if interested.

Lt. Brian Paul, Rockville City Police

King Farm has seen an increase in auto thefts, and car break-ins. KEEP CAR DOORS LOCKED! Observe people in the neighborhood. Please reach out to the Rockville police if you have even the slightest suspicion of illegal activity. The last arrest in our neighborhood was directly related to a call of a suspicious person.

One lieutenant is home, some officers have been pulled off the road in an effort to keep some officers in reserve in case of COVID-19 affecting the department.

Janet Gallant, coordinator for Don’t Widen I-270:

None of the bills for the toll roads passed this session. Maryland is continuing with the public-private partnership (P3) process behind closed doors. P3 is costing approximately $60-90 million.

The loss of revenue due to the pandemic means staff will be cut, and Gov. Hogan says there will be no funding of large construction. This adds uncertainty to the process. Toll revenues across the globe have gone down 70% during the pandemic. It is likely that the contractors will be asking to be made whole due to the loss of revenue. Any such restitution is likely to come at taxpayers’ expense.

A pause of the construction project is ongoing, as no one knows how much higher tolls will have to be to make sure the contractor makes a profit. Public hearings will
be held to determine what tolls need to be set at. Given these risks and uncertainties, it makes sense to put a pause to this project.

Maryland Department of Transportation will release its Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

WSSC has said it will cost $2 billion to move its large main to accommodate the toll road project. Rates could increase as much as 277% over the next several decades. Montgomery County and Prince George’s county councils have pushed back on this on behalf of its citizens.

Don’twiden270.org stated goals are:

• In favor of reversible lanes, not high-priced tolls
• Expanded transit options
• Fix the upper-270 bottleneck before moving onto widening I-270.

Go to Dontwiden270.org for the mailing list and newsletter.

Speaker 3: Mark Pierzchala, city council member

Council has had 6 online meetings since the pandemic started. The most recent meeting passed an austere budget considering circumstances. Rockville was in excellent financial shape coming into this year. Council typically budgets conservatively and has 23% in reserve. The April and May City budget has gotten drastically revised. Essentially the City has issued a hiring freeze. City employees will a 1% cost of living adjustment but not council members. Fiscal years 2022-2026 will be difficult to budget due to the ongoing uncertainty with the pandemic.

• Pickle ball and tennis courts are open, but not basketball courts. Summer camp determination will be made soon. MCPS distributed 60,000 Chromebooks, and added meal distribution locations since schools closed in mid-March.
• RedGate Golf Course: It will remain a park and recreation space (144 acres) as opposed to hosting a retirement home.
• Deer: pilot culling program was to take place at Redgate, but will no longer due to its heavy use as a nature park. An alternate park is under consideration as a test site.
• Vote by mail turnout went from 15% to 31% turnout. Woodley Gardens, College Gardens had 42% turnout, and West End at 36% turnout. (Plymouth Woods in a different district). City is ready for vote-by-mail ballots. Prince George and Montgomery County hit very hard by pandemic, and this encourages more people to participate without endangering voters or volunteers.
• Charter Review Commission: The Mayor and Council voted unanimously Feb. 24 to establish a commission to review the city’s charter. The charter is a legal document similar to a constitution. It establishes the city’s corporate limits and outlines how the city is organized and conducts business, such as holding elections, levying taxes, adopting ordinances, and providing services.The commission will be comprised of up to 11 city residents. Each member of the Mayor and Council may choose one member. In addition, the mayor will nominate a commission chair, to be approved by the council. The Mayor and Council together will select and approve five additional members. The chair of the city’s Board of Supervisors of Elections will serve as a nonvoting ex officio representative to the commission. If you are interested in being a part of the commission please submit an application via the link below.

https://www.rockvillemd.gov/102/Charter-Review-Commission

• Fire suppression has been installed for the King Farm Farmstead.
• Hometown Holidays has been canceled as an in-person activity. Fourth of July fireworks at King Farm also canceled.
• Vision Zero: Initiative to get pedestrian and bicycle accidents down to 0.
• The County, Not City, will determine library opening
• Developments: On Choke Cherry Road in King Farm approximately 60 or so townhomes are going up. A new development by Clyde’s on Preserve Parkway is going up with six or seven streets. Was originally to be office or business structures but became high-end residential property.
• The Garden Club’s Plant sale will happen in the fall.

Video archive for this virtual Zoom meeting can be found here.

Download Meeting Minutes

Attendees = 30

Treasurer’s Report – Bob Mills

Previous balance: $4816.20
National Night Out (NNO) expenses = $683.15
+ $200 from Woodley Gardens West Civic Association
+ interest $.58
= Current balance of $4433.63

NNO update – Tom Miner, president

Unfortunately we were beset by rain early into the evening. For those who attended, they were served burgers, hot dogs, fixings, and Carmen’s Italian Ice. The uncooked food went to the women’s shelter.

Police Beat report – Lt. Brian Paul

We have no current record of any formal crime reports coming from the College Gardens neighborhood.

Pond Update – Heather Gewandter, Storm Water Manager, City of Rockville

The pond is for storm water management. The fountain’s purpose is to prevent mosquito breeding. Rippling water does not encourage the growth of larvae. Algae is causing the fountain to break down. The installation of an aerator, which won’t clog the fountain, has been proposed for the fall. An aerator breaks up stratification in the ponds, which keeps the pond healthier, and constantly mixes the oxygen into the strata. The vegetation and brush growth will be trimmed back, trees by the over look and the riser will be removed. Ponds get dredged every 7-10 years to increase pond capacity. The College Gardens pond will likely be dredged in the next year or two. Trash in the pond is coming from upstream. Periodically the Parks department will clean the trash within the pond.

Woodley Gardens Pool Update – Paul Murray and Monique Ashton

The pool opened in 1961 with no upgrades since then. The pool was built first, as a
selling point for the Woodley Gardens neighborhood. Steve Beck has owned the pool
since 1988. Negotiations to buy out Mr. Beck, the pool owner, have been ongoing with
the owner of the preschool. The goal is to open the pool next summer. The City of
Rockville has given Mr. Beck a demolition order. Woodley Gardens Swim and Pool
Association would be a 501(c3) going forward. Mr. Beck receives rent checks until
January 1, 2020. The Oehler family in College Gardens is on the committee to reopen the pool. They are willing to answer any questions regarding the opening of the pool. The lack of pool and swim team business has impacted businesses nearby.

I-270 Widening – Janet Gallant

MDOT is not going to release its preferred plan for our area until Winter 2020. Governor
Hogan wants to have privatized toll lanes through our area.

Phase 1A is the I-270 connection with I-495 all the way to I-370/ICC. I-270 would go
from 12 lanes to 16. Sounds walls would come down temporarily. Construction would
last five or more years. Studies consistently show people don’t like, use, or pay for toll
roads. The business model for demand toll roads call for roads to be constantly congested in order to prompt people to move to the toll road. The current administration issued an Executive Order to allow construction projects while the environmental studies are being conducted.

So far these points have been expressed to garner support for the toll roads:

• The toll road won’t cost taxpayers anything
• MDOT inspector general issued a report stating there’s no money to pay for roads
  so we have to go with a privately financed toll road.

The local governments have suggested that:

• The cutting of budget money for the Metro line from Shady Grove to Clarksburg
  is not helpful to relieving congestion
• Expanding MARC commuter trains would alleviate traffic faster without a large
  build out
• Marc Elrich and county suggested the use of reversible lanes as a quicker way to get traffic flowing
• Cutting tolls in 2015 cut the budget for road improvements

As we near the 2020 general assembly session we can approach Kumar Barve to hold
hearings. MDOT has been opaque about the financing of this project. Five planning
meetings are coming up. Prince George’s, Montgomery, and Frederick Counties
officially have responded they do not want this project.

For more information on the I-270 topic, here are some links:

https://dontwiden270.org/
http://www.mdot.maryland.gov/newMDOT/P3/index.html (video)

City Update – Mark Pierzchala, councilmember

As of Wednesday, October 30 the City had received 5,900 ballots. Normally 6,000
ballots are cast. So we are on track to have more people participating in the election
cycle.

The City has approved a deer-culling project for 2020. The Red Gate Golf Course is
closed. The State’s VA has asked the City to donate 25 acres of Red Gate for veterans’
housing. That leaves approximately 100 acres of the Red Gate property.

Rockville Town Square (RTS) struggles, as we know. The next mayor and council will
have a lot do with managing RTS. Joe Concaugh points out that Pike & Rose is in better financial shape than RTS. King Farm Farmstead (the milk barn and stables on 355) will take up to $30,000,000 for rehabilitation. Four new Pickleball courts have opened in King Farm. The City has committed $400,000 for each of the next five years to supporting Dawson’s Market, essentially paying their rent ($2M total). The garage is being supported by $1,000,000 subsidy annually from the City.

Mark says the whole City is under a building moratorium. He personally feels certain
areas should be excluded from the moratorium. More feet on the ground to encourage
commerce is what is needed to support businesses in RTS. Permitting could be eased.
The development of Twinbrook Corner is threatening to the success of RTS.

Action item: Question re leaf pick up. Ask the City to assign a day per neighborhood
rather than assign a week for picking up.

Meeting adjourned: 8:35. Go Nats!

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Call to Order and Introductions

Tom Miner, President, called the meeting to order and introduced the guest speakers.

Treasurer’s Report

Bob Mills, Treasurer, reported that our current balance is $4,816.20. The only activity to the account is the addition of $.60 interest.

National Night Out recap

John Mosely Hayes, Vice President, shared the date for this year’s combined College Gardens and Woodley Gardens West Civic Associations’ National Night out (NNO). . It will take place on Tuesday, August 6th from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Hamburgers (meat and vegetarian), hotdogs, Carmen’s Italian Ice, cold water, children’s activities, and live music from the Rockville German Band are provided. Attendees are asked to bring a dish to share. A Manna food collection box will be there. City officials will be stopping by throughout the evening. NNO is an annual community-building campaign that promotes a strong police-community partnership and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live and work. As in previous years, we always need volunteers to help with grilling, setting up and cleaning up, taking the food donations, children’s activities, and serving the Italian Ice. After the event, any suitable left over food is taken to a homeless shelter.

Please let us know if you can volunteer to help, please drop John a note with your phone number. Thanks! johnmosely.hayes@gmail.com

Police Beat

Lt. Brian Paul of the Rockville Police Department says our crime stats are awesome due to being a ‘destination neighborhood’. College Gardens is not used as a cut through to get to other places.

The guardrail on Nelson Street has been evaluated for repair and the city is awaiting the final cost estimate. Repair should happen thereafter.

The house that had been burgled has had an arrest, and is pending trial.

A neighbor reported an incipient pothole that keeps appearing on College Parkway between Clemson Court and Yale Place.

Another neighbor inquired about removing Neighborhood watch signs that are no longer relevant or simply old.

Planning and Development

Deane Mellander, Nicole Walters, Ricky Berker, City of Rockville Planning Department – Gave an overview of the major proposed changes to the city standards for single family home accessory buildings and single family home accessory apartments.

A concern was raised about the neighborhood looking like a “shantytown” if everyone had accessory apartments and/or accessory buildings. Mr. Mulhander says there are provisions that will prevent such a thing from happening. A meeting on June 12 will allow testimony, as will the Council meeting in July. “Tiny Houses will be allowed – dwellings must be attached to the ground. Accessory buildings must have the same address as the main house.

The City does not have general right of entry to a single-family dwelling, but does for rental properties. “Air bnb” is driving some of the concern for the City. It’s important for rental properties to be safe, legal, and taxable. Accessory apartment has a stove/range, sanitary and sleeping arrangements. No stove or range means it’s not an accessory apartment. Proposed revision will allow you to have a walkway that’s covered and attaches to the backdoor of the house. Sheds are accessory buildings but are portable and usually don’t need a permit.

City guidelines do not allow Recreational Vehicles (RV) parked next to a single-family home (under the oversized vehicle regulations) to be used as residences in their own right. If people are visiting and staying overnight in the RV for a few nights that’s allowable.

Would an accessory building need its own sewer and water? No, it all is off the same water and sewer line as the main house.

Timeline for voting on this? Potentially enact something by the end of the year.

Planning Commission for 2040 plan’s last meeting is June 4, in the Council chambers.

Mark Pierzchala was association president when the last updates were made (2008). Accessory dwelling units are a way to address a big problem in Rockville, finding the right balance between alleviating the lack of affordable housing while also helping prevent situations that are unsafe and/or illegal when the standards for allowing more than one family to live in a single-family home are exceeded.

Miner’s Note: Click Here for A CITIZEN’S GUIDE to Zoning in Rockville

Public Works

Craig Simoneau, City of Rockville Public Works Department – Under the proposed state plan for expanding 270, the Gude bridge is under considerations to become a modified 270 highway interchange (exit going north on 270, enter going south) similar to how the Westlake Terrace bridge to Montgomery Mall is configured. Mr. Simoneau also described how an easy way to see what is being proposed as far as the “footprint” of to be modified 270 corridor, that the Option 2 vs. the Option 5 plans that are available on the internet is a method for seeing the extremes from a low amount of land being taking away to a larger amount of land being use respectively. As far as how Toll Lanes would be handled he explained that it has yet to be well defined.

June 14 is deadline to make comments via the web site. What does this mean for traffic on our local roads? What do the alternatives mean for our streets? Impacted noise area is the largest area on the map. Sound walls will be the likely solution to minimize the sound effects to properties.

Six build alternatives remaining on web site, and each alternative will show all possible impacts online. Currently no plans to take any residences or property with the alternatives.

Alternative #5 is the widest, while Alternative #2 is the narrowest of the options currently under consideration.

Timeline – after comments the deadline is currently deferred. Board of Public Works would need to authorize project. Reprieve in place but for how long?

The website that shows the proposed changes and where comments can be submitted is: https://495-270-p3.com

Mark Pierzchala, City of Rockville Councilmember

The current mayor and council authorized a pilot program for the culling of deer in select areas in the city. Staff are preparing a pilot archery deer hunt for the fall of 2020. Reviews are being made of what is needed to harvest deer within the confines of the city. Archery will allow culling the deer in a closer proximity to residential buildings as opposed to a hunt using rifles.

The pilot program will require 3 or 4 ordinance changes to enact, and consultations with state and county officials.

The city conducts a deer count every few years. We are extremely over the carrying capacity of what the deer population should be.

Can any citizen participation encourage quick movement? Per Mark, a lot of what remains is legal work, not will.

The City Council has passed a budget, but could not agree on 5th member to replace Julie Palakovich Carr. The next election is November, which will be the first vote-by-mail election for Rockville. Ballots mailed to voters in early October, and need to be received at City Hall by Election Day. A drop box will be at City Hall on Election Day.

Viability of Rockville Town Square and downtown area – slow development process, a need for more multifamily buildings to provide a base, and parking restrictions are some factors getting in the way of success.

Georgetown Hill and Woodley Gardens pool complex fire has approximately 2 months more before the investigation is complete. It is possible that Georgetown Hill would like to buy the property.

Adjournment at 8:49

Number of attendees: 27.