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Meeting on November 14, 2018

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2018 Fall CGCA Meeting
Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Guest Speakers: Lt. Brian Paul, Victor Brito, and Mark Pierzchala

Number of attendees: 17

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 CGCA earned $1907 gross from selling the neighborhood directories. The association spent $725.55 on National Night Out (NNO) but was reimbursed for $200 from Woodley Gardens West (WGW). The current balance is $4815.48. Special thanks to Naomi Miner, Karen Carp, and Jerry Callistein for their assistance with putting the directory together again, from selling ads to assembling all the data.

National Night Out recap
John Mosley Hayes, vice president, shared that 2018 was the second year we joined forces with Woodley Garden West to host the NNO. We had approximately 200 attendees. The mayor and a city councilmember attended NNO as did the city manager along with some fire and police department officials. The Rockville German Band provided live music. Many thanks to all the volunteers who helped make the event successful, from the grillers to the Italian ice servers, to the coordinators of the children’s activities and Manna donations, to the food preppers. Extra burgers were donated to the men’s shelter on Gude Drive.

Police Beat
Lt. Brian Paul of the Rockville Police Department (RPD) says very little crime happens in College Gardens (CG). CG is mostly hit by crimes of opportunities rather than serious crime. What is the easiest way to prevent crime in the neighborhood? LOCK CAR DOORS. Leave nothing in the cars, not even exposed chargers or change.

A request to have the barrier at Nelson and College Parkway repaired was made by a neighbor. Lt. Paul introduced our new police chief to the meeting.

The new Rockville chief, Victor Brito, has 30 years of experience in law enforcement, mostly with the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. He grew up in Kensington. His uncle played for the Washington Redskins. Rockville is a small department in a growing city. Chief Brito teaches the history of policing in America at American University. He says good policing is a collaborative effort. The department has 61 out of 64 sworn officers for RPD. Montgomery County Police are the lead investigators in the county. But that doesn’t mean RPD doesn’t respond.

Mark Pierzchala, councilmember
Two major council sessions regarding deer have taken place this year alone. The Maryland Park and Natural Resources and the county made a presentation on April 13. How do you lethally control deer? Ordinances will have to be changed to cull deer. Any cull would require coordination with the county. The county does cull deer in other areas. Mark intends to ask the state legislature to address the deer overcrowding as a health issue.

Another meeting was held in September. Several groups have been invited to offer points to consider where the deer are concerned. We have to take into account the ecology of deer, tick-borne diseases, habitat management, and contraception for deer. Before the next city election Mark would like to change ordinances, come up with a deer management plan so the next council could continue with a process rather than starting over. Rockville is part of a Montgomery County deer management project. As part of the project, deer are counted every year using a couple of different methods. We are more than ten times over capacity with our deer population. Mark suggests that the CGCA not take a position for the city council yet. We should wait until legislation or a policy is proposed. When that happens the association should have a meeting and take a community vote. The state issues permits for the use of rifles or bows to cull deer. A lively discussion took place on the wisdom and popularity of deer management within the neighborhood.

On October 29, the mayor and council had a session regarding MPDU (moderately priced dwelling unit). The city would like to liberate some of these issues to allow for in-law suites. Accessory units can include garages or sheds, which require a permit.
Hometown Holidays will still be held in Rockville Town Square (RTS) this coming year. But after that the event will likely be moved to Carver Educational Services Center to allow for easier access to merchants and better parking.

Regarding the widening of I-270, we did get some assurance from Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) Secretary Rahn that the state would not expand I-270 beyond the present right-of-way. Tolls, lane widening are options being considered.

Regarding RTS, the City spent about $51,000 for CIP (Capital Improvements Program) for parking garages, VisArts, and general improvements through bonds, in the mid-2000s. With bonds we have to pay interest. RTS’s tax rate is the second-highest in Maryland (this may not be true any more but it’s still more than double the normal tax rate). The Richard Montgomery Cluster will be in a building moratorium next year due to overcrowding at RM. Mark will lead a vote to push for a higher capacity ceiling for two priority areas in Rockville, the Rockville Town Square, and the South Pike to allow density in those areas to help businesses grow. RM cluster covers 60% of Rockville. Federal Realty wants to bring in a tire store that is a show room only (bays are not allowed in RTS). Mark would like more residential buildings in RTS.

Mayor and Council have asked City staff to estimate how much RedGate Golf Course could be sold for. The golf course is in bad shape and would require several millions to revive. The course will close by the end of the year. Bill Casper Golf has run the course for several years.

The Gude Drive cut-through to Yale Place that was the main focus of the spring meeting is not going to happen. It is officially off the table. A ramp off I-270 to Gude would impact the Rockville Senior Center and office buildings. The neighbors in West End and King Farm may like such a ramp.

CGCA Board elections
Tom explained that the current board’s two-year terms are coming to an end. Secretary, Treasurer, Vice President, and President all were re-elected, nearly unanimously.

Miscellaneous
The Garden Club is discussing options for combating erosion at College Parkway and Nelson. Maple trees being taken down and replaced with a Genko tree in an effort to diversify the tree population.

Adjournment at 8:53

Meeting on May 16, 2018

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College Gardens Civic Association
Spring 2018 Meeting
Wednesday, May 16, 2018

(Spring 2018 Meeting Minutes – final)

Tom Miner, board president, called the meeting to order, and introduced the board members and guest speakers for the meeting. We show 67 attendees signed in.

Welcome and Board Updates

Brian Paul, lieutenant with Rockville Police Department (RPD): College Gardens (CG) is a neighborhood with a low-crime rate. One crime deterrent benefit to the neighborhood is that it is enclosed, meaning it isn’t used as a short cut to get to other places. To help minimize what petty crimes there are: lock your doors, leave porch lights on, call when something odd is seen, don’t wait! Leave nothing visible in cars. Report burned out streetlights to RPD via web site or phone call. A metal pole means the city oversees a streetlight, a light on a wooden pole should be reported to PEPCO.

President’s Note: Here’s an online form to report malfunctioning streetlights: http://www.rockvillemd.gov/formcenter/public-works-8/report-a-streetlight-outage-or-problem-52

Bob Mills, treasurer’s report: CGCA has a bank balance of $5340.39, which is $320.80 more than our balance at the date of our fall membership meeting. The increase is due mostly to the sale of additional directories.

John Mosely Hayes, vice president: National Night Out (NNO) is funded through the sale of directories. NNO builds community bonding between the neighborhood and police. Woodley Gardens West has joined us for the last two years. John issued a call for volunteers (clean up, activities, set up). This year’s event will take place on Tuesday, August 7. Please contact John or Tom if you can help.

Rockville 2040 Transportation Plan:

Rob DiSpirito, city manager: applauded CG for having a beautiful, well-kept neighborhood. He stated the purpose tonight is not to advocate for any one idea, but to gather feedback from the community.

David Levy, long-range planner, said the last update to the city’s comprehensive plan was done in 2002. A master plan is required for zoning, land use, transportation, community facilities, environment, preservation elements, etc. Open houses and listening sessions for the master plan started in 2015. Feedback included: we love our neighborhoods, it’s peaceful; I wish we had better north/south or east/west movement, King Farm wanted access to CGES; others wanted easier access to the senior center. Planning and Public Works started looking at options. The study is looking at which connections to discuss with the planning commission, which connections are worthy of considering. The study will come out in June. The question we ask is, “Do we believe the benefits of connectivity outweigh the costs”?

The following discussion references the image below. The full document can be found at this link. http://www.rockvillemd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/21729

 

1.4 Connecting Rutgers to Montgomery College via North Campus Dr. has been ruled out. The college doesn’t want that access to its campus for security reasons.

1.3 Study potential benefits and impacts of connecting Yale Place to West Gude Drive. A lively discussion took place concerning this possibility.

  • Tom Murphy (owner since 1979) shared that a fight took place in 1980 to open Yale Place to West Gude, which was being built at that time. The neighborhood was assured by the mayor, Bill Hanna, that this connection would be a non-starter. He had it included as an ordinance in the master plan. Today, King Farm is interested in having this access to CGES.

It was noted that the master plan in 1982 said no access would be given to Yale Place via Gude Dr. In 2002 that ordinance wasn’t included in the master plan. Mayor and council can override ordinances if they feel it’s necessary.

  • Huei—Fung Tsai asked the speakers how connecting Yale and Gude is a good idea. No real benefit to the neighborhood was stated.
  • Scott Butterworth asked if the current council feels committed to Bill Hanna’s decision? Bridget Newton, mayor, issued an emphatic yes.

Rob DiSpirito, city manager, said option 1.3 will come off the table for future planning sessions to much applause and appreciation.

A potential connection from Piccard Drive into the Senior Center will help people north of the center to access the Senior Services. To eliminate the through traffic concerns of Woodley Gardens residents, it was noted it would be accessible only to the back-parking lot and through traffic would not be allowed. A barrier could be installed, and it could be opened only by emergency vehicles.

3.2 Gude + 355 intersection: this is not a city-maintained road. Improvements to this intersection have been in the works since 2002, and are making their way up the list of improvements. The commission can advocate for that improvement but suggests we contact MDOT to request these changes, which will let those in charge know the community is asking for the change or improvements.

3.1 intersection of 270 and Gude – a lot of unsolicited support from businesses and outer neighborhoods (like those along East Gude Dr.) to have easier access to 270. The possibility of a limited interchange without full service was noted as an option that is under consideration.

Environmental documentation is being conducted concerning Gov. Hogan’s plan to widen 270. There is room in the medians and breakdown lanes to accommodate and/or increase the capacity of 270. Mayor and council sent strongly worded letter against any widening in our area.

Other planning questions not related directly to the Rockville 2040 Transportation Plan

Is there an obligation to build ES in King Farm? MCPS is in charge of building, not neighborhoods or city. Send comments or suggestions to MCPS administration.

The planning commission is meeting on Wednesday, May 23. Mark added that the ultimate arbiter are the mayor and council. The neighborhood must remain vigilant in representing our interests.

Rob DiSpirito said a summer council meeting will include a discussion of the deer population in Rockville. All are welcome!

Could Anderson Park be made into a dog park? Rec and Parks is going to look at various parks for their usage.

Keep alleviating traffic by emphasizing walking and biking.

Kudos were given to the speakers about the improvements to the woods. It looks beautiful, and has created a better flow for the stream.

A question was asked about a bridge to connect the woods by CG to Woodley Gardens. Pedestrian bridges are not outrageously expensive, and possible. But many neighbors voiced concern that the woods and Upper Watts Branch be left in a natural state. Send a marked-up map to Parks & Recs if you have any suggestions.

Tom Miner closed the meeting by reminding everyone that Rockville’s Hometown Holidays Music Festival is coming up over the Memorial Day weekend. The Digits, a local CG rock band, is playing there on Sunday, May 27th at 2 PM.

The meeting ended at 8:43 p.m.

Meeting on November 8, 2017

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College Gardens Civic Association
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Meeting minutes

(Download CGCA-MeetingMinutes-Fall-2017)

32 attendees, including the board members and speakers

Welcome and Board Updates

Meeting called to order by board president, Tom Miner.

Directory update: $1400 was raised from homeowners who paid $5 per directory, $1425 was raised through advertising. Special acknowledgements to Naomi Miner for selling the ads, and Karen Carp and Jerry Callistein for their help and expertise in data management and design and layout of the directory. The cost to print the directories was $973, which netted CGCA $1852.

Miner’s Note: All Directories have been distributed to the Block Captains who will be delivering them to residents who ordered a copy. Extras are available for $5. Contact Tom Miner.

Bob Mills, treasurer, shared the details of the civic association’s finances. The association’s current balance is $5992.44. The costs for National Night Out (NNO) totaled $839, less a $200 donation from the Woodley Gardens West Civic Association (WGWCA). Therefore the NNO event cost CGCA $639.

John Mosely Hayes, vice president, recapped National Night Out. He provided a detailed recap of the NNO and its expenses. WGWCA was a co-sponsor of the event. The civic association rented a grill, purchased burgers, hot dogs and Carmen’s Italian ice, and had children’s activities. The Water Store donated water. And the Rockville Robotics club and the Rockville German band donated the entertainment. Neighbors brought numerous side dishes and salads to share. John Mosely said that without the help of many individuals and the special leadership and constant help of Tom Miner, the NNO would not have been a success. Over 200 people attended, and shared food and friendship.

BRT CAC Update (Bus Rapid Transit Corridor Advisory Committee)

Darcy Buckley gave an update on BRT in our area. BRT can offer reliable, dedicated lanes, off-board fare collection, level boarding, intersection improvements, enhanced stations with real-time transit information, and frequent stops. The long-term vision is a network of corridors in Montgomery County: 355, US 29, MD 586 Veirs Mill, CCT.

They are now in Phase 2: alternatives analysis (2018), identify one recommended alternative, document environmental, cultural, and property impacts, get public involvement, develop a BRT and local bus service plan

  • Options for the BRT could include any of the following: no additional lanes added to the roadways, Ride On, mixed traffic operations, special lanes, medians, or dedicated lanes.
  • Outreach and engagement open houses in Jan/Feb ’18 and Fall ’18, community meetings, focus groups, stakeholder meetings, corridor advisory committee (CACs), pop-ups will also take place. More Rockville representation is needed!
  • Darcy.Buckley@montgomerycountymd.gov 240-777-7166
  • Ride-On Extra 355: this new route is 22 miles long and runs from Bethesda to Clarksburg Link here to Handout

Stream Restoration Update, John Hollida, principal civil engineer

John offered thanks to Tom Miner, Lou Marinelli, and Paul O’Brien, all residents of College Gardens, for five years of dedication to helping plan the restoration. The Upper Watts Branch is actually 8 different projects in one. Before the restoration 500 tons of sediment were being lost annually, along with the streams and trees. Princeton Place outfall was in the most urgent need of fixing. Outfalls have been fixed near Carnation, Azalea, Aster, Princeton, behind Princeton, and an exposed sewer has been repaired. The goal is to plant 150 trees per acre to replace trees that had to be removed. Planting won’t take place until the spring or fall 2018, depending on the plant. The Princeton repair site by Columbia should be completed by December, and approximately another three months remains for the Princeton/Fordham location. The remaining work is being done simultaneously, so the entire restoration will likely be completed in March, even though the contractor has until June. The main environmental goal of all this work is to get water out of the channel and onto the flood plain. Trails will be restored to pre-repair conditions. No enhancements are being done to the trails. Rocks will be placed in the stream to allow for safe crossing.

“Deer in da Hood”, Steve Mader, superintendent of parks and facilities

In January 2010 a white-tailed deer task force was established. Rockville typically has 133 deer collisions annually, resulting in an average repair cost of $4000. Coyotes are natural predators to deer, but not necessarily an ideal predator in a suburban setting. There are many costs to having a burgeoning deer population: estimated cost to Rockville drivers is $500,000, damage to habitat, and Lyme disease. Cover up to protect yourself.

The options to deal with the deer are exclusion methods, population reduction (lethal) and non-lethal reduction. All options have pluses and minuses ranging from length of time to see results to cost, to area covered.

The Rockville City Council has a meeting scheduled for February 13 to discuss lethal management of the deer population. Mark Pierzchala, city council member, is trying to drum up support for Rockville to take lethal action to trim the deer population.

Click Here for Handout: Steve Mader provided a multi-page handout which provides an extensive listing of deer-resistant plants.

One of the attendees mentioned that the Garden Club also sells deer-resistant plants as part of their annual spring plant sale. Click Here to join or learn more about the Garden Club.

School Boundary Update, by Mark Pierzchala, Rockville councilman

Elementary school boundaries are changing due to a 5th elementary school under construction on West Edmonston. Overcrowding at CGES started one year after the remodel. King Farm south of Redland and Falls Grove developments feed into CGES. The school system is wrestling with updating the school boundaries for the Richard Montgomery (RM) cluster. Under some proposals, students from Woodley Gardens will go to Beall ES. The city council is unsure on whether to step into the fray by supporting one option over another. Mark is in favor of keeping the Woodley Gardens neighborhood within the CGES boundary. A hearing is scheduled for November 16 with a decision to be announced by the end of November.

Miner’s Note: This is a quickly evolving topic about school boundaries. For the latest updates I suggest you check with the College Gardens PTA.

Meeting adjourned

The meeting was adjourned at 8:58.

 

Meeting on May 17, 2017

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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