WECA Neighbors - You may have noticed a few changes recently...we are moving to a new communications platform for our WECA listserv distribution (away from Yahoo Groups and to MailChimp e-mails). While you should already be receiving those new e-mails if you were previously on the WECA listserv, you can always find an archive of them here:
http://us13.campaign-archive2.com/home/?u=8064f85cd627e04316b9ba374&id=b143ad8c20
Be sure to review the two items immediately below, with the WECA meeting schedule through the end of the year, and a special Beall-Dawson House event on Thursday, Oct 6th.
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Invitation to a Special Meeting at the Beall-Dawson House on Thurs, Oct 7th at 7pm
WECA Neighbors - You are cordially invited to....
A special meeting for West End residents...
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Upcoming WECA Meetings (Through Dec 2016) - mark your calendars!
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Thursday, May 26, 2016
LAST CHANCE on Neighborhood Survey
WECA Neighbors – We have
had a tremendous response to the neighborhood survey we’ve been telling you
about, with more than 400 people completing it so far. As a reminder, this is a
survey that will help shape Rockville’s Comprehensive Master Plan, which will
affect planning decisions in and around our neighborhood for decades to come – it’s
hugely important to make sure your views are represented.
Since the responses are
still coming in, and we know that many of you have plans for the upcoming Memorial
Day weekend (Rockville’s Hometown Holidays festivities, or otherwise!) we have
decided to extend the deadline through
Tuesday, May 31st. This is your last chance, so seize the
opportunity to let your views be heard by completing the survey.
The survey is available
online here:
The password to access
the survey is: 2016
To learn more about the
Master Plan, please visit the City’s website at www.rockvillemd.gov and click on “Rockville 2040.”
Have a fun and safe Memorial
Day weekend, and a great summer ahead.
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Important WECA Neighborhood Survey + Chestnut Lodge + Hometown Holidays!
Dear WECA Neighbors – What do YOU think?
This is a final call to
please share your opinions with us regarding life in our neighborhood and City of
Rockville services by completing an important neighborhood survey by May 27th.
There is more detail and links to the survey just below, plus a quick update on
the proposed redevelopment plans at the historic Chestnut Lodge site, and a
reminder of Hometown Holidays festivities.
Please take the time to
complete the survey if you haven’t yet done so – your opinion is important, so
make it count!
- Important Neighborhood Survey: let your views be heard!
The City of Rockville is
in the process of updating its Comprehensive Master Plan, the blueprint for
shaping everything about our community. This was last done more than 30 years
ago in 1986. WECA and the Woodley Gardens East-West Neighborhood Association
will be reporting on our neighborhood as part of this process. We need your help and your input by
completing a brief online survey. The
results of this survey will be the basis for virtually every decision made in
developing a report to the City's Long Range Planning Division and to the
Planning Commission. This anonymous survey should take about 15 minutes to
complete.
The password to access
the survey is: 2016
We ask that you complete
this survey by Friday, May 27th. Make sure your voice is heard in this
important process as we plan for the next 30 years in our community! To learn more about the Master Plan, please
visit the City’s website at www.rockvillemd.gov and click on “Rockville 2040.”
- Chestnut Lodge Proposed Development Plans
On Monday, May 16th,
shortly before midnight, the Mayor and
Council voted in favor of a motion proposed by Councilman Pierzchala to deny
the application for townhouses to replace Chestnut Lodge. There was
relatively little discussion before the vote was called. Mayor Newton, Council
members Feinberg and Pierzchala voted to deny the townhouses and Council
members Onley and Palakovich-Carr voted in favor of the townhouses. In accordance with the motion of denial,
staff was instructed to prepare a resolution for the next Mayor and Council
meeting (future agendas are available here, as they are prepared: http://www.rockvillemd.gov/AgendaCenter
). For those interested, you can watch the discussion on Rockville video,
available here (it is item #20): http://rockvillemd.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=3529
- Hometown Holidays is nearly here! Saturday, May 28th through Monday, May 30th
The weather over Memorial
Day weekend promises to be nearly perfect for the annual Hometown Holidays celebration,
hosted by the City of Rockville Mayor and Council. Come out and join your
neighbors in what promises to be fun for all ages, with awesome live music, tons
of food options, kids’ inflatables and rides, a sand beach, and more. The festivities
begin on Saturday, May 28th and continue through Memorial Day,
Monday, May 30th with the favorite Memorial Day Ceremony and Parade.
For more information, visit: http://www.rockvillemd.gov/index.aspx?NID=665
Monday, May 16, 2016
WECA: Change to WECA Officer Slate + Thurs, May 19th at 7pm General Membership Meeting
There is important news
to share, as there is a change to the slate – specifically, the President
position -- for the upcoming annual election of WECA officers to be held at our
general membership meeting this Thursday, May 19th at 7pm. Please
see the note immediately below from current WECA President Noreen Bryan with
additional detail. The full agenda for the meeting is also provided below. We
hope you can join us and your neighbors for Thursday’s meeting!
************
Message from current WECA President Noreen Bryan
I am writing to you to
announce a change in the Slate of Officers for the West End Citizen's
Association (WECA) for the next year.
There is a new nominee for the office of President. All other nominees remain unchanged. This
past week Jacques Gelin, who had been unanimously approved in April by the WECA
Executive Board to be its nominee for President, advised me that his
commitments to his family preclude him from serving as President next year. An emergency meeting of the WECA Executive
Board was held on Wednesday, May 11, 2016.
At the meeting, the Board expressed its deep appreciation of Jacques and
his long service to our West End neighborhood.
Jacques will continue as a Block Captain and member of the Board working
on issues of preserve the neighborhood and Rockville. Before the meeting, the WECA nominating
committee met with former Mayor Larry Giammo who indicated that he would be
willing to serve as President of WECA, if nominated. The Board was very pleased with this report
and unanimously approved Larry Giammo as
its nominee for President. Please
note that this information is a revision to the Slate of Officers shown on the
cover of the newsletter, which was published before this change.
Therefore, the proposed
slate reflecting this new change for the position of President is:
President – Larry Giammo
Vice President – Andrew
Sellman
Treasurer – Dennis Cain
Recording Secretary – Jen
Timmick
Corresponding Secretary –
Jane Pontius
I truly hope to see you
at the WECA General Meeting and Election on Thursday, May 19th.
***********
AGENDA for WECA General Membership Meeting on Thursday, May 19th
at 7pm at the Rockville Presbyterian Church
215 West Montgomery Ave.
(Please park behind the
church, via Harrison Street)
7:00pm Welcome and
Organizational/Business Items
- Welcome to Beryl Feinberg
- Treasurer’s Report
- Approval of Minutes for April
- Report from City
- Report from Major Over of Rockville Police Department
- Nomination of Block Captains: Kathy Smeltzer for 1D and David Dickerson for 2B
- Announcements
- Retirement of Chief Treschuk
- New City Clerk: Cathleen Conway
- Craig Simoneau: Acting City Manager
7:20pm Farewell Comments:
Noreen Bryan
7:25pm Election of Officers
7:30pm Remarks by new WECA
President
7:45pm Committees
- Pike Plan: Jacques Gelin
- Chestnut Lodge: Patricia Woodward
- Carver Bus Depot: Theresa Defino
- Small Cell Tower text amendment: Nadia Azumi
- Master Plan Update: Noreen Bryan
- Survey: Jack Kelly or Kevin Zaletsky
- Block Captain Status: Jan Balkam
- Sound Wall: Don Kettlestrings
- Child Care Facility: Jacques Gelin
9:00pm Adjourn
Sunday, May 8, 2016
WECA: Four Major Items of Interest
With
spring now upon us, there is lots of activity affecting our neighborhood to share
with you. Keep an eye out for the WECA newsletter soon arriving on your
doorstep, and take special note of these four items, with further detail
below:
1. Information on a survey we ask each West End
household to complete prior to May 27th;
2. Detail on the proposed
school bus depot on the Carver lot, and a meeting scheduled for May 11th;
3. An invitation to our
May 19th WECA General Membership Meeting and annual Election of Officers;
4. Hometown Holidays
activities planned for Memorial Day weekend.
Thanks for taking a look
at the items below, and engaging with those you find of interest!
- Important Neighborhood Survey: let your views be heard!
The City of Rockville is
in the process of updating its Comprehensive Master Plan, the blueprint for
shaping everything about our community. This was last done more than 30 years
ago in 1986. WECA and the Woodley Gardens East-West Neighborhood Association
will be reporting on our neighborhood as part of this process. We need your help and your input by
completing a brief online survey. The
results of this survey will be the basis for virtually every decision made in
developing a report to the City's Long Range Planning Division and to the
Planning Commission. This anonymous survey should take about 15 minutes to
complete.
The password to access
the survey is: 2016
If you prefer, a paper
copy of this survey is being delivered to you in the next few days along with
the WECA newsletter. We ask that you
complete this survey by May 27th. Make sure your voice is heard in this
important process as we plan for the next 30 years in our community! To learn more about the Master Plan, please
visit the City’s website at www.rockvillemd.gov
and click on “Rockville 2040.”
- Latest News on Proposal for a School Bus Depot on Carver Lot (Mannakee Street and Rt 355)
Many of you have voiced strong
concern on this issue, so we wanted to share the very latest news. Montgomery
County Public Schools (MCPS) is moving forward with plans to put a 250-vehicle
depot, including 100 diesel school buses and 150 drivers' cars, at the MCSP
headquarters across from Montgomery College on the Carver lot.
This coming Wednesday
night, May 11th at 7:30pm, MCPS will present plans for this site. If
you wish to share your views on this issue with MCPS, you may do so by coming to
this meeting at College Gardens Elementary School. While the Carver lot is
proposed as “temporary”, the meaning of temporary is undefined, and therefore
could potentially be a period of several years or more. WECA adopted a
resolution in opposition to the bus depot at the April 21, 2016 Executive Board
meeting.
Please see www.Carvercoalition.org for more
information on this issue (website not affiliated with WECA).
- WECA General Membership Meeting and Annual Election of Officers on Thurs, May 19th at 7pm
You are invited to the
spring WECA General Membership Meeting, and to participate in the democratic
process of electing WECA officers for the next year. The meeting will be on
Thursday, May 19th at 7pm at the Rockville Presbyterian Church, 215
West Montgomery Ave (parking available in the lot of Harrison Street). The
proposed slate follows:
President – Jacques Gelin
Vice President – Andrew Sellman
Treasurer – Dennis Cain
Recording Secretary – Jen
Timmick
Corresponding Secretary –
Jane Pontius
Meet these candidates,
and take the opportunity to thank Noreen Bryan, our outgoing WECA President,
and Vicki McMullen, our outgoing WECA Vice President, for all of their hard
work and tireless dedication to serving our neighborhood these past four years.
- Hometown Holidays festivities over Memorial Day Weekend
Mark your calendars! Rockville’s annual Hometown
Holidays celebration is nearly here, and promises to be fun for all ages, with awesome
live music, tons of food options, kids’ inflatables and rides, a sand beach, and
more. The festivities begin on Saturday, May 28th and continue
through Memorial Day, Monday, May 30th with the favorite Memorial
Day Ceremony and Parade. For more information, visit: http://www.rockvillemd.gov/index.aspx?NID=665
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
April WECA Mtg - Thurs, April 21st at 7pm + Rockville Pike Plan
Happy spring, WECA
neighbors! Our April meeting is now less than 24 hours away – it is on
Thursday, April 21st at 7pm at the Rockville Presbyterian Church
(215 W. Montgomery Avenue). The agenda is provided below and you’ll see a
number of topics of interest. Parking for the meeting is available in the lot
off of Harrison Street. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend.
There is also a brief
item on the Rockville Pike Plan offered far below.
Much like the resurgence
of activity all around us in the spring, there are a lot of things happening in
the neighborhood. Don’t miss out on the news and the impacts on your life. Join
us for Thursday’s meeting!
AGENDA for WECA Executive Board Meeting on
Thursday, April 21st at 7pm at the Rockville Presbyterian
Church 215 West Montgomery Ave.
(Please park behind the church, via Harrison Street)
7:00pm Welcome
and Organizational/Business Items
- Treasurer’s Report
- Approval of Minutes for March
- Report from City
- Report from Major Over of Rockville Police Department
- WECA communications
7:20pm Report of
Nominating Committee: Proposed Slate of Officers
7:30pm Report on
Master Plan Update and Distribution of Neighborhood Survey
- Feedback from City-wide meeting on April 19th
- Survey distribution process – Jack Kelly
7:45pm Rockville
Pike Plan: Hearing on May 16th
8:05pm School Bus
Depot on carver Lot
8:35pm Small
Antenna Zoning Text Amendment from Verizon Wireless
8:45pm Report on
Chile Care Center Appeal to Court of Special Appeals
8:50pm Other
Issues
9:00pm Adjourn
*************************
Rockville
Pike Plan
The Mayor and Council
are holding a second public hearing regarding the draft Rockville Pike Plan on Monday,
May 16, 2016. Based on public input and
deliberations of council members, they will make a decision to approve, revise,
or reject the Plan. WECA had serious
concerns about the 2014 Pike Plan. Since
WECA testified at the hearing in December 2014, the Mayor and Council have made
recommendations for improvement of the plan, the Planning Commission has
evaluated their recommendations and revised the Plan, where they deemed it
appropriate. The revised 2016 Plan has
recently been sent to the Mayor and Council.
The WECA President
and Corresponding Secretary have reviewed the draft 2016 Plan and found that
little has changed since 2014. WECA's
previous 2014 position was also reviewed.
A point paper and draft resolution have been prepared for presentation
to the WECA Executive Board at the April 21st WECA meeting.
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Carver School Bus Depot Update + WECA April Meeting
Dear WECA Neighbors – Happy spring! A
reminder that our next WECA monthly meeting is this Thursday, April 21 at 7pm
at the Rockville Presbyterian Church. (215 W. Montgomery Avenue), with parking
available in the lot off of Harrison Street. Earlier this month, we sent some information
about the Montgomery County Public Schools school bus lot being proposed in our
neighborhood area. An update is below, and we encourage you to take action if
you are concerned about this issue. We hope to see you this Thursday at 7pm at
the WECA meeting!
PROPOSED MCPS
SCHOOL BUS LOT AT THE CARVER LOT (RT 355 AND MANNAKEE STREET INTERSECTION)
Here is information of interest
regarding the proposed bus depot on the Carver Lot. A group of neighbors from Woodley Gardens,
College Gardens and the West End are working diligently to make their concerns
known and keep the buses off the Carver Lot.
Recently Philip Kauffman, a member of the Montgomery County School
Board, has written a letter, recognizing that citizens have legitimate concerns
and recommending that the existing site on Crabbs Branch Way not be released
for redevelopment until both interim and final solutions for parking the buses
is approved. In response, Kevin Karton, one of our neighbors, has shared the
message below asking for your help. IF
YOU OPPOSE THE BUS DEPOT AT THE CORVER LOT, PLEASE READ IT AND SEND A MESSAGE
TO SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER KAUFFMAN BEFORE THE APRIL 19 BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING.
----Original
Message-----
From: Kevin Karton
Sent: Wed, Apr 13, 2016
Subject: [wgwca] School Board Phil Kauffman is Listening. We need your help.
From: Kevin Karton
Sent: Wed, Apr 13, 2016
Subject: [wgwca] School Board Phil Kauffman is Listening. We need your help.
To
All:
We
would like to send School Board Member Kauffman a note of appreciation and urge
him on. To date, he has given us the best chance we have of stopping the
Carver depot plan. He has written a memo to his fellow School Board
members and to the County Council and County Executive Leggett asking them to
delay the sale of the current school bus depot site until a real and good
solution is found for the relocation issue. We want him to urge them to
exclude Carver once and for all from any further consideration.
Your
help is needed.
We
are including a sample of the letter we are recommending. Feel free to
copy and paste it, edit it and otherwise add your own thoughts and reactions
and your name. His e-mail address is: Phil_Kauffman@mcpsmd.org
SAMPLE
LETTER
Dear
Board Member Kauffman:
We
applaud your recent memo indicating that at the April 19 Board meeting, you will ask your fellow members to
vote on a motion to urge the County Council to delay the "Declaration of
No Further Need” (DNFN) for the Jeremiah Park (Shady Grove Depot) land parcel.
We ask that you also urge the Board to exclude the Carver site as part of
the eventual solution for all the reasons that residents have shared with you.
This
must be done until a good solution is found that does not so negatively affect
residents living within the neighborhood (some within 50 feet of the site).
As you know, the Carver site abuts a residential community and the
pre-dawn to late afternoon activity of 100+ buses, their operators, and site
administrators, would have significant adverse effects on our residents. Our
community is still baffled that planning for this site has gotten this far
despite, by the admission of MCPS COO Andrew Zuckerman, there being no studies
conducted on the impact of traffic, noise, bus fume emissions, storm water
historic site implications, and overall safety.
We
have collected more than 800 signatures of Montgomery County citizens who
oppose any plans for a bus depot at Carver and will support you and fight
against this detrimental plan at every step. Members of our coalition will be
attending and speaking at the BOE meeting on Tuesday, April 19 against the plan.
The
developers at Shady Grove are pushing hard, no doubt, to develop the land upon
which the current depot sits. A bad solution done for their expedience
and gain at the extraordinary expense of so many in our neighborhood should not
be tolerated.
Our
online petition is: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/No-100-School-Bus-Depot-In-Our-Neighborhood.
We have hundreds of additional signatures on paper petitions that will be
presented on April
19.
Thank
you very much for all you are doing to help us. It does not go unnoticed.
Sincerely,
Sunday, April 3, 2016
Two Important Items for WECA Awareness
WECA Neighbors –
There are two important items to share with you below, so please take a few
minutes to read through this. The first pertains to recent, unprovoked harassment
that some of our neighbors have experienced at their home, and how we as
concerned West End residents can help. The second details a school bus lot
being proposed by the Montgomery County government and MCPS for the corner of
Mannakee Street and Route 355, and outlines associated concerns.
As the spring
weather arrives, the days get longer, and more people are out-and-about, please
do keep a watchful eye, help your neighbors where you can, and remember “If you
see something, say something.”
**************************
Disturbing Harassment Incidents within
the West End
The message below from West End residents, Don and Maggie
Hadley, is most disturbing. They have
been subjected to frightening harassment in their home by a group of young
men. Please take care of yourselves and
support the Hadleys by turning on your
front porch lights.
Hi Neighbors,
We wanted to let you know that apparently our house is being
targeted for harassment by a group of young white men (18-20 years old).
We have now had two incidents within 10 days – the first on Saturday, March 19th
at around 8:30 p.m. and the second on Thursday, March 31st at around
10 p.m. They repeatedly ring our doorbell and when we open the door we
are cursed at (severe profanity) and threatened (we are going to blow up your
house). The first time was just the verbal abuse, but most recently they
also detonated fire crackers on our front porch. The first night they ran
off down Upton Street; on the March 31st incident we did not see
which way they went, or whether they are on foot or have a car parked on the
street.
The police have been called both times (Rockville first,
Montgomery County most recently), but by the time they arrive the culprits have
disappeared. Don drove the neighborhood immediately after the first
incident and saw no one.
The only suggestion the police had was that since our
neighborhood is very dark, if the neighbors would leave their outside and/or
porch lights on overnight, it would afford less places for the perpetrators to
hide. So far, we seem to be the only house that has been selected for this
“special treatment”, so we would request that if possible everyone illuminate
the outside of their house at night so perhaps we can deter further visitations
or at least get a good description of the young men in question.
Thanks, and be vigilant.
Maggie & Don Hadley
**************************************
Proposed
Bus Depot on Carver Lot
Background: Montgomery County government
and the Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) Board are working to relocate
100 school buses to the Carver School lot at the corner of Mannakee Street and
RT 355. The county is moving the buses
because it has sold the land on Crabbs Branch Way where 400 school buses and
their fueling station are parked today.
In selling the land to a developer to build housing the county failed to
make provisions for parking and fueling the buses. In fact, the County’s decision to use the
Carver Lot was made without letting citizens know. No public hearings were held. Reviews of pertinent public documents reveal
that the County did not assess potential adverse impacts of locating a bus
depot next to a residential neighborhood, including traffic, noise, air
pollution, reduced residential values associated with a fenced bus compound
abutting a neighborhood. Currently, the
County is planning to relocate buses to the Carver Lot by December 31,
2016.
Issues:
- Through Traffic of School Buses in the West End and Woodley Gardens Neighborhoods will reduce safety and overburden the streets: These neighborhood roads are narrow, lined with houses and parked cars, have bike lanes and are not designed to accommodate a large volume of school buses passing through the neighborhood for other destinations. Steady streams of buses will make these streets hazardous for children walking to school and commuters walking to the metro.
- Noise and Air Pollution: The noise and noxious fumes emitted by buses as they warm-up and sit in lines waiting to exit the lot will adversely affect the health and quality of life of neighbors. Idling will begin as early as 4:30am and will exceed County noise ordinances. Further, experience shows that school bus drivers regularly park their buses along their routes on narrow, residential roads running their engines while they wait for the next pick up, thus creating noise and air pollution throughout the day.
- Traffic on RT 355: The intersection at Mannakee Street and RT 355 is considered the second busiest transit chokepoint in Rockville. Traffic to and from Montgomery College, the heavy volume of Metro buses and commuter traffic make this a heavily congested area. Adding the trips of 100 school buses and their drivers arriving in the morning and departing at the end of the day will make the situation significantly worse.
What Neighbors Are
Doing to Stop the Bus Depot
- Mobilizing neighbors to stand up and voice their opposition to the bus depot.
- Voicing our concerns with County Councilman Sidney Katz, District 3, Rockville Mayor and Council and Montgomery County School Board.
- Asking the City of Rockville to formally review and take a position in opposition to the bus depot. While the County Council could overrule this decision, it would require them to take a public vote in the face of overwhelming citizen opposition.
- The West End Civic Association will discuss and potentially adopt a resolution at its Board meeting on April 21, 2016.
What You Can Do
- Sign the on-line petition in opposition to the bus depot. Go to: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/No-100-School-Bus-Depot-In-Our-Neighborhood Please have everyone of voting age in your household sign the petition.
- Sign the paper petition, if you have not signed the on-line form. Please be aware that some of us may be knocking on neighbors’ doors.
- Send an e-mail message to the Rockville Mayor and Council, Montgomery County Council and the School Board. Here are the addresses: mayorcouncil@rockvillemd.gov County.Council@MontgomeryCountyMD.gov boe@mcpsmd.org
- Attend neighborhood meetings. The next one is Tuesday, April 5th at 7pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church (100 Welsh Park Drive).
- Follow this issue, attend meetings and voice your opposition with city, county and school board members.
If you would like
more information, please contact Theresa Defino, WECA’s Point of Contact as
follows:
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