COLLEGE GARDENS CIVIC ASSOCIATION (CGCA) MEETING MINUTES
27 MAY 2015

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GENERAL MEETING

Meeting called to order at 7:02pm.

WELCOME

Jerry Callistein, President of CGCA, welcomed approximately 40 attendees.  He explained there was a full agenda because CGCA did not have a meeting in the fall 2014.

TREASURER’S REPORT

Naomi Miner, CGCA Treasurer, presented.  She reported that CGCA spent $862.16 on National Night Out and CGCA has a balance of $9351.61.  Approx. $4000 of this is reserved for a study of the CG pond.  The original scientist from UMD will not continue the evaluation of the pond and so Karen Carp (who donated the money) will find another person willing to evaluate and document the pond habitat.

NATIONAL NIGHT OUT (NNO)

Volunteers are needed to help with NNO.  There are many tasks including shop for groceries, cook hamburgers and hotdogs, set-up, obtain items for raffle, and kids’ activities.  A sheet was passed around during the meeting so attendees could sign-up to volunteer.

PUBLIC SAFETY AND NEIGHBORHOOD CRIME

Rockville police officer Corporal Ken Matney presented useful information about safety for the neighborhood.  An attendee promptly asked a question regarding the safety of homes while many neighbors are present at NNO.  Officer Matney could not guarantee nothing will happen to homes, but historically there hasn’t been a single issue in our neighborhood.

A question was asked about a recent armed robbery College Gardens. Cpl. Matney explained that this event was an anomaly. Three people (18 – 22 years old) in a car robbed three victims. One of the three victims knew the perpetrators and notified the police. This event was targeted specifically at the people involved. The fact that it happened to occur in College Gardens was a coincidence and not an indicator of a rise in crime in our neighborhood.

Officer Matney said that since January 2015, our neighborhood has had 8 thefts from autos (5 of the cars were unlocked, 3 others unknown); all the cars were parked at home.  To prevent theft, Officer Matney emphasized that residents should not have valuables visible in their cars and should lock them when they leave.  In addition, the neighborhood has had 4 vandalism incidents, 6 disorderly conduct incidents (noise), 4 traffic incidents (including 1 DUI) and 15 alarm calls (which includes the 8 thefts from cars) since the beginning of the year.  College Gardens is not a drive-through neighborhood and so it has a low level of crime according to Officer Matney.  The crime that does occur is usually from residents within the neighborhood.  If a neighbor calls 911 for an emergency, the law enforcement officer that is closest will respond which may not be Rockville police.  All calls to Rockville police are kept confidential, but one can also call anonymously.  If a resident sees suspicious activity, call the Rockville Police non-emergency phone no. 240-314-8900.  Call if you see something suspicious; use your ‘6^th sense’.   A meeting attendee commented on suspicious activity in the woods off Princeton Place.  Officer Matney said he was aware of this.  He said it is important to call immediately.  If you wait, then it will be too late for the police to do anything about it. You can see Rockville’s crime statistics report from 2014 here: http://www.rockvillemd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/10969

COLLEGE PLAZA UPDATE

Naomi presented.  According to Combined Properties, New York Mart will open in a few weeks.  The lot that used to be a gas station will be an M&T Bank with a drive-thru.  Presently it is under review for a building permit.  In front of College Plaza, the trees along Rt 355 were cut down by PEPCO because they were interfering with the power lines overhead.  Along College Pkwy across the street from the plaza, the property belongs to the gas company and is bordered by an ugly fence.  The city of Rockville does not have jurisdiction.  Richard Navarro suggested that neighbors ask the company to grow vines or other vegetation along the fence.  The discussion evolved and Jerry will prepare an online petition for neighbors to sign requesting the gas company replace the existing fence with a nicer looking one.

ROCKVILLE MASTER PLAN UPDATE

Susan Swift, neighbor and Director of Planning for the City of Rockville, presented. Rockville’s Comprehensive Master Plan describes the broad vision for the City’s future. It is the core philosophy that guides development, conservation and capital improvement projects to improve the quality of life in the Rockville community. It guides where and in what form development occurs in the community and frames the City’s capital improvement projects. The Master Plan is required by law to be reviewed every 10 years in a process that typically takes 1-2 years.

The City is working hard to get as much input from our residents as it can. At the community kickoff event on May 9^th, the department of Community Development and Planning Services launched a survey for Rockville residents to gather their ideas and visions for the future of Rockville. You can view the results of the survey by going to http://www.rockvillemd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/10892.

Currently the City is holding Listening Sessions to give residents a chance to focus on issues and opportunities specific to their neighborhoods. The listening session for College Gardens will be Tuesday, November 17 at 7:00pm at the Rockville Senior Center. You can see the full schedule of sessions at http://rockvillemd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/11887. From these sessions, a list of top priorities will be generated.  These priorities will help guide how the City focuses its attention on traffic, recreation and, parks, housing, the environment, development, and other quality of life issues.

Rockville is at a turning point. There is no empty space for new development, so future growth will require redevelopment and re-imagining of currently built-out areas. Most of this envisioned growth will take place near the three Rockville Metro stations (Twinbrook, Town Center, and Shady Grove) with mixed-use development including mid- to high-rise housing.  It is estimated that Rockville’s population will increase from its current 62,000 to approximately 80,000 in 2040.

For more information, visit the Master Plan update page at http://www.rockvillemd.gov/index.aspx?nid=203

ROCKVILE SOLAR CO-OP

Pieter Mumm, a member of the Sustainable Energy Committee, presented.  He explained that a solar co-op is able obtain a substantial discount on solar panels and installation, i.e. 25%. In the next few months, Rockville’s solar co-op will have enough homes to move forward and evaluate bids from local installers.  All projects will be completed with the single installer that was selected and lock in the discount for all homes in the co-op.  Afterwards, each home can pick options for an individualized proposal.  An estimation of energy savings can be found at pvwatts.nrel.gov to determine whether switching to solar makes sense for your home. For more information about Rockville’s solar co-op, visit http://mdsun.org/solar-bulk-purchases/rockville/

GARDEN CLUB OF COLLEGE GARDENS

Kathy Oehl, the incoming president of the Garden Club of College Gardens, presented.  She talked about the Club’s activities, such as making corsages for the residents of Collingswood Nursing & Rehabilitation Center.  Speakers on a variety of gardening, floral, and environmental topic present at meetings on the second Thursday of every month.  In addition, the Club maintains the vegetation on the ‘hill’ at College Pkwy and Nelson St.  Janey Nadler mentioned that the Garden Club is selling bulbs.  Go to the Garden Club’s page on our website for more information (www.collegegardens.org/?p=420).

BANKSHOT BASKETBALL

Neighbor Mark Pierzchala proposed that CGCA make a donation (suggested amount of $1000) along with other local entities for the purchase and installation of Bankshot Basketball at College Gardens Elementary School.  Total cost is $45,000.  According to bankshot.com website, “Players of all ages and abilities, including disabled participants, proceed through a course of angled, curved and non-conventionally configured brightly colored backboards, banking shots off the Bankboards™ and through the rims. Bankshot™ Sports are non-aggressive and entirely inclusionary. Participants play alongside, not against, each other.”  It was decided that this topic will be discussed further at the November CGCA meeting.

UPDATE CGCA BY-LAWS

Karen Carp, vice president of CGCA, notified attendees that the association’s by-laws are outdated.  (By-laws are located on CG website.)  Karen requested and got two volunteers help her update the by-laws. They will report their progress at the winter meeting. If you wish to participate, please contact Karen. You can view our current by-laws on our website at: http://collegegardens.org/?page_id=218

ROCKVILLE CITY COUNCIL PROPOSAL TO ALLOW CHICKENS

Neighbor Betty Spano is concerned about the ordinance to amend the City’s animal control laws to allow chickens to be kept at private homes within city limits. Neighbors were concerned about noise and sanitation issues along with the potential impact on property values. Betty strongly encouraged attendees to notify the Mayor and Council of their opinion.  Jerry will send a letter stating the CGCA “overwhelmingly” opposes chickens in Rockville. The letter and more information about the vote and its implications can be found on our website at http://www.collegegardens.org/?p=436

CGCA AND SOCIAL MEDIA

CGCA has three means of contacting neighbors: The College Gardens Civic Association email list (uses email addresses from our neighborhood directory), Yahoo group (informal, chatty, 100+ members) and NextDoor.com (Facebook type site for a neighborhood, 100+ members).  To sign up for any of these, go to the “Contact Us” page on our website: http://www.collegegardens.org/?page_id=16

UPDATE CG DIRECTORY

Block Captains will collect information in fall 2015 and the directory will be published in spring 2016. More information and discussion about the new directory will take place at our next meeting.

OTHER

Naomi announced that a neighborhood street party featuring our local band The Digits will take place at Hard Times/Carmen’s parking lot on May 30, 7 – 11 pm.  A handout was available.

ADJOURNMENT

Meeting adjourned at 8:58pm.

College Gardens Civic Association
Spring Meeting Minutes
May 28, 2014

Download a copy of the minutes

Treasurer’s Report: Don Mann reported that CGCA has a current balance of $10,428.68 with the following recent income and expense items:

• $878 – Directory costs
• $50 – Boy Scout post-cleanup pizza party
• $54 – Room reservation for meeting at CGES
• $49.61 – Printing of meeting notices
• $2,736 – Directory profit (revenue?)

College Plaza Update: Tom Miner reported that New York Mart, an Asian market, is scheduled to open in the former Magruder’s space in the third quarter of 2014, before the holidays. In addition, the former Shell station site in front of the plaza, along 355, is slated to become a small PNC drive-through bank branch.
Rockville City Council Member Julie Palakovich Carr: The newly-elected city council member is attending civic association meetings around the city and said the mayor and council plan to focus on the Rockville Pike Plan, development review and better outreach with residents. To address the latter, the mayor and council’s neighborhood walking meetings will resume in June.

She reported that the mayor and council adopted a new budget with no new property taxes—for the seventh year in a row. The budget includes money for bridge repairs, projects to improve bike and pedestrian safety, and more frequent tree trimming. It contains two fee increases that affect College Gardens residents: a $7/year increase in the refuse fee and a $12.50/year increase in the storm water management fee.
CG residents asked Council Member Carr to check on the traffic backup that occurs, especially on weekends, going into and out of the market at the old Jeepers site; and the “deplorable” appearance of the Columbia Gas property across College Parkway from College Plaza (which sits outside the city limits).

Upper Watts Branch Stream Restoration: City Public Works Department engineer John Hollida reported on the work of the task force that is planning repairs to three storm drain channels and three in-stream channels in the Watts Branch Forest Preserve between College Gardens and Woodley Gardens. The work is necessary to prevent further erosion during heavy rains. The construction cost is estimated at $2 million and the city is seeking $1.1 million in grants from the state to help pay for the work. The goal is to begin construction in the fall of 2015 and the work will take about a year. Efforts will be made to remove as few trees as possible and then to plant new trees to replace those that are removed. More information is available at the city’s Upper Watts Branch Forest Preserve website.

Election of New CGCA Officers: Tom Miner moved and Paul O’Brien seconded the nomination of the following:

• President: Jerry Callistein
• Vice President: Karen Carp
• Secretary: Susan Donohue
• Treasurer: Naomi Miner

All were elected unanimously to a two-year term.

On behalf of the outgoing officers, Kathy Goldgeier thanked Tom Miner for his dedicated leadership of the College Gardens Civic Association and his eight years of service as an officer, the last four as president.

Other business:
The Garden Club is pulling weeds at the Tulane circle on Saturday, May 31 from 8-9 a.m. and invites neighbors to come help keep this neighborhood focal point tidy.

Mark Pierzchala asked that the city be encouraged to install a plaque in the CG park, as planned, to recognize the many design awards the park has received.

Tom Miner said the planned garage at Montgomery College will be where the current Lot 4 is now – set away from our neighborhood – and won’t be much taller than the existing campus buildings.

Tom also noted that his band, The Digits, is playing at Hard Times/Carmen’s on Saturday, June 14 from 7-11 p.m. for the annual neighborhood concert.

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Goldgeier