HCA Meeting Minutes 4/17

 4/17 2:30pm 

Tax Update- Jackie Lin

• History: previously small groups such as ours were not required to file annually with the IRS.  The law was changed several years ago.  The HCA became non-compliant and lost our good standing with Maryland and the IRS.  We are currently several years into the process of rectifying this situation, mainly so that we are able to apply for and accept grants.  
• HCA is now in good standing with the State of Maryland
• 1024A for 501c4 status has been submitted to the IRS, they subsequently closed the case.  An appeal for a reopening of the case under the previous filing fee ($600) has been filed given the HCA followed all instructions and the IRS is responsible for the lack of communication that led to the closure.  We are currently awaiting a response.  
• Question was asked, has our federal representative been involved?  Answer, we have not contacted them.  A resident who works on Capitol Hill offered to assist with this process.  

Social Events- Patti Westenberg 

• All events are indefinitely postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions.  There are no rentals from City facilities at this time.  
• On a typical year at a minimum there would be a Memorial Day Picnic and National Night Out gathering

Elwood Smith Update- Patti Westenberg 

• Playground has been delayed due to weather.  After each rain the ground must dry before additional work can be done.  
• The hope is to install new playground by mid-May with completion of project by the end of May.
• It was noted by a resident and a Nextdoor.com post that signage at ES is not consistent between English and Spanish.  Specifically, the English signage lists alcohol as allowed by permit, the Spanish language signage bans all alcohol.  We will contact the City and ask for parity.  (Rebecca Plante to contact) 

Social Media Policy- Jeff Perkins 

• The Yahoo group has migrated to google groups.  Only 54 members are on the new email list.  Keep an eye out for further information to sign up.  
• The Facebook group does not currently have a specific code of conduct.  Having a code of conduct is now standard practice for online groups.  There have been several discussions over the past few years that would have benefited from ground rules and moderation.  Going forward a code of conduct will be released and the Facebook group will be moderated.  The intent is to allow for robust neighborhood discussion while also maintaining an environment that feels safe for all neighbors.  
• Suggestion was made to model rules after the Buy Nothing groups given they are clear, comprehensive, and open source.  
• The HCA has generally taken the position that it exists to facilitate interaction with the City not necessarily to advocate for specific outcomes, especially given that there are often diverse viewpoints within the neighborhood.  If residents have specific interests or concerns the City is very open to discussion with residents.  Most meetings are open to the public.  There are open office hours each Monday.  If you have questions on how to interface with the City reach out to the BOD and we will assist you.  

Traffic and Transportation- Jeff Perkins, Rebecca Plante, Marc Plante 

• A petition was done by residents concerned about speeding on West Edmonston.  The petition asked that the City investigate speeding, it did not have specific requests.  It did acknowledge that speed bumps were not the preferred solution of the petitioners.  
• The City completed a speed study and held an open community forum.
• Study findings: the average speed has decreased each year a study has been done, there is not evidence West Edmonston is frequently used as a cut through street.  
• Current proposal: Painting of shoulder parking lanes from Curtis to Maxim (photos of similar examples within Rockville are available in the Powerpoint slides) and addition of crosswalks running parallel to West Edmonston (not across.)  They will reevaluate traffic after the measures have been implemented.  
• If you have concerns you may reach out to the City.  The Traffic and Transportation Committee meetings are open to the public (currently on Zoom) and are available on the City calendar.  https://www.rockvillemd.gov/calendar.aspx
• I270 expansion: if community members would like a community meeting from the SHA regarding this project it may be requested.  No interest was expressed by those in attendance.  
• WMATA Rockville Metro Station project process beginning.  Watch your email for further information if you wish to be involved.  This is envisioned to be a large project to connect East and West Rockville and to transition to a transportation hub, similar to the Silver Spring hub.  
• Resident question: request for City to investigate the rise of speeding on Wootton Parkway, the BOD will inquire
• Resident question: what is the status of the possible addition of a turn lane from West Edmonston onto Wootton Parkway.  This was studied and the request was denied. 
• Resident question: what is the status of the mini parks at West Edmonston and Wootton Pkwy that were promised as part of the Wootton Parkway Plan?  The BOD will inquire.  

Rockville 2040 Comprehensive Plan- Jeff Perkins 

• The plan is available to read.  The section on Hungerford is brief.  It specifically addresses six possible projects to include several relevant traffic projects regarding connecting Monroe Street with Tower Oaks Drive and New Mark Esplanade as well as Elwood Smith updates and monitoring traffic impact of BRES.  
• Further information here:  https://www.rockvillemd.gov/203/Rockville-2040-Comprehensive-Plan-Update

NEW BUSINESS 

Leslie Porter

• Noticed the trash cans in the parks are drainless and must be flipped to empty. This leads to water accumulation that becomes contaminated with garbage and animal waste.  This water then splashes the workers who empty the cans and contaminates the ground.  A request has been put in to install cans with lids to prevent this.  

Bill Dillinger

• Bylaws require new BOD elections every two years.  The HCA is currently three months overdue. 
• Response: anticipate elections in August.  Any community members interested in running for a position please contact the secretary (rebecca.plante@gmail.com) to be placed on the slate.  Further details to be released at a later date.  

How time flies when you are adjusting to the new way of life? It has been a long time since we've all been able to get together with the cancellation of our summer events. To try to maintain some of that community connection, the HCA will be putting on a Halloween scavenger hunt in October. Keep and eye out on Facebook and your emails for details to participate. If you want to help organize, please write the board and let us know. 

As for "business" efforts, the HCA put in the following projects for the upcoming Capital improvement planning. The board took all the input and tried to group efforts together. What we put in can be found at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LSwnUQzUUL7BfsE4ZsDr-6GhR3HbpygkfFI2zI0ggPs/edit?usp=sharing. We even had some people submit project plans to go along with the attached which were passed along to the city as well. Thank you for the responses.

PLEASE NOTE: this does not preclude you putting in similar or even the same projects privately (deadline is this Friday) if you feel we did not capture the essence of your desired improvements. We wanted to keep them more global and hope to engage with the city at future meetings to promote these. They also accept projects from individuals so don't feel you have to work through the HCA if you do not want to.

Lastly, there have been requests about temporarily extending the lighting hours at Dogwood Park to 11PM during COVID because of the need for outdoor activities and uncrowded times for the more vulnerable. If you have an objection and live near Dogwood, please let the board know along with your address so we can pass it along to the city.

Stay Safe, 

The HCA Board

Capital Improvement Feedback

 Hello All, 

The HCA has been a little quiet recently as we are unable to host our normal events. This week would have been our normal National Night Out get together in fact. Obviously, this was disappointing to cancel and we are looking forward to seeing everybody again once the situation improves.  

During this downtime, we have recently made some progress at the state level reestablishing some legal standing and are awaiting a response back from the IRS on tax status. We anticipate having all these formalities complete and be back operating in good standing shortly. This opens us up to be more active participants in the various city programs and grant processes. 

The timing couldn't be better. The city just reached out for input for their capital improvement plan - essentially a 5-year infrastructure plan. They would like information regarding the condition of our streets and parks, and help us plan new facilities or changes to existing infrastructure to meet the needs of our community. Specifically, they are interested in neighborhood proposals that are one-time construction projects and will benefit the community for more than 20 years. There is more information here, ww.rockvillemd.gov/budget.

As the neighborhood association, we can help with the process and are happy to advocate for ideas. We'd love some input for new ideas and feedback on existing ideas. Please submit your project ideas and feedback here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9S5MNJB 

As always, we are also always trying to understand what the community would like and interest in the HCA or "Village" concept. We had an e-mail and post earlier this year soliciting input on that topic and would love more responses. The average time to complete for the first round of responses was 3 minutes, so if you have a few spare moments, please fill this one out as well:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2NXBJCN 

Look forward to hearing from you and stay safe!

The HCA Board 

Upcoming meeting reminder

Hello All,

With less than two weeks to go, we wanted to remind everyone about the upcoming HCA meeting and preview a community interest survey to be discussed at the meeting.

Cops & Donuts and March Civic Association Meeting

Do you have a question for our local Police? Now is your chance to get answers! Corporal Kevin McBride from Rockville Police Department will be attending our Hungerford Civic Association meeting on Saturday March 14 (2 p.m. @ Elwood Smith). He is ready to discuss our neighborhood concerns. Please reply with any topics you would like addressed or answer the poll on our Facebook page.

Directly following this session please join us for a general meeting of the civic association. The agenda includes updates on the current status of the association, the Rockville Capital Improvement Plan, and events for the upcoming year.

[Our neighborhood meeting with Corporal McBride is separate from the city wide effort to have Rockville community members and agency offer comments at a public information session from 6:30-8 p.m. That is to be held Wednesday, March 18 at Glenview Mansion. Note: This is a change from the hearing time and location reported in “Rockville Reports,” due to a conflict with a Mayor and Council meeting scheduled after the March issue went to press.]

Community Interest Survey

Over the next few months, we also wanted to survey the neighborhood to solicit ideas on what the HCA should focus on providing, people's interest in participation, and if those in the neighborhood would be interested in participating in a neighbor to neighbor volunteer network. The survey can be found here; https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2NXBJCN and we'll have paper copies at the HCA meeting. Our goal is to generate discussion and determine where to focus our efforts so please take the time to fill one out if you can.

Best Regards,

The HCA Board

Upcoming 2020 events including March meeting with Corporal McBride

Neighbors, 

As 2020 gets underway there are many exciting things in the works for Hungerford!  Read on for updates...  

Cops & Donuts and March Civic Association Meeting

Do you have a question for our local Police? Now is your chance to get answers! Corporal Kevin McBride from Rockville Police Department will be attending our Hungerford Civic Association meeting on Saturday March 14 (2 p.m. @ Elwood Smith). He is ready to discuss our neighborhood concerns. Please reply with any topics you would like addressed or answer the poll on our Facebook page.

Directly following this session please join us for a general meeting of the civic association. The agenda includes updates on the current status of the association, the Rockville Capital Improvement Plan, and events for the upcoming year.

Rockville Capital Improvement Plan

In an effort to show the City that our neighbors support (or oppose) our proposed enhancements for the upcoming budget plan, could you please take 60 seconds and fill out this private survey?

Spring Plant Exchange

Calling all gardeners! Do you have plants to divide and wish you could trade them with a neighbor for some new variety in your yard? Are you starting seeds for a summer garden and have more than you can use? Save the date for the first ever Hungerford Plant Exchange on April 26th. Stay tuned for further details.

Neighborhood Resource List

There are often times when we need work done on houses or are looking for other trusted resources. If you have contractors, electricians, plumbers, house cleaners, etc that you love and can vouch for please send in their information and it will be added to an upcoming resource section of the neighborhood website.

Are you a resident of Hungerford and serving on a commission for the city? Let us know! We have residents on the ethics and traffic commissions. Who else is giving back to our city?

Communication

To clear up any confusion, the use of the yahoo list serv continues, as does the Facebook group. It is true that many features of Yahoo groups are disappearing, however the list serv function remains and there is no plan for our use of it to change. Please also follow our website for updates on events and meeting minutes. A calendar feature has been added to the bottom of the home page recently. If you have any events that you would like added please email me directly (rebecca.plante@gmail.com.)

Spread the Word

We have many new additions to the neighborhood. Help us spread the word by letting your neighbors (especially new arrivals!) know about the list serv, Facebook page, and website.

Looking forward to seeing everyone!

2019 Holiday Decorations Contest

The votes were tallied on Christmas Day and we had a two way tie from our two front runners last year for the holiday decoration contest. I've been tied up the last couple nights but finally got to stop by and take some pictures tonight. The winners are:

The Matheny Family at 1024 Brice Road

and

The Holmes Family at 805 Harrington Road

Be sure to check out their festive displays before they come down for the year. Thank you to everyone who participated in decorating and voting.  The HCA plans to continue this tradition for years to come.

Happy Holidays!

Join us for a Trunk & Treat Party!

This is a safe, small and day time event for us neighbors to get together from our car trunks! Grab a parking spot to set up, or just come to enjoy the company and costumes. This does not take place of Halloween, just a more relaxed setting for little kids, or those who do not get many trick or treaters and still want to decorate (like me).

Prizes will be awarded in the three categories:
Best Trunk, Best Treat, and Most Creative

Please let HCA know here, Facebook event or email Patti pattiwestenberg@yahoo.com - 

if you are hosting a TRUNK. This event will not be successful with few participants. 

Under 10 trunks will cancel the event.

For safety - the parking lot will be closed to moving cars at 4:20 sharp. Rain will send us inside the community center for a candy-induced dance party. We will watch the weather and make the call ahead of time.

I hope you can make it!

Patti Westenberg

HCA Social Committee Chair