Minutes from the WECA Meeting Of November 15^th, 2007.

Patricia Woodward (President) called the meeting to order at 7.00pm, and thanked all WECA volunteers for their input and help.  Next, she welcomed guest speakers: Kate Ostell, John Britton, Art Chambers and Deane Mellander (both City staff), and Ray Whalen from the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department (RVFD).

Previous Minutes:     * made a motion for the Minutes to be approved and * seconded it. The motion was carried.

Treasurer’s Report:     * gave the account details of the organization.  She stated that a further $1500-1600 was required to cover the costs, via ‘ads’ of the next WECA Newsletter.  * and * are providing invaluable help with the production of the newsletter yet more volunteers are needed. A motion was made to approve the report and it was seconded.  The motion was unanimously carried.

WECA Newsletter:     * stated that the deadline for all material to be included in the next semi-annual newsletter would be January 21^st. (The next WECA meeting is Jan. 17^th). Patricia invited residents to write articles for submission or to approach her about any issues that are currently of concern.  For example she hoped that Don Kettlestrings may write a piece updating residents about the much needed sound barriers for the Owens area.

Old Business:

Block Captains:     * updated the group concerning Block Captain changes and new appointments. * will move to 5B, M and C May will care for 3A ( W Montgomery Ave).  Thanks were also extended to * and * will now oversee Block 6A W Montgomery Ave) and * who will assume the role of Block Captain for 2B (700 Block of Anderson Ave). The reshuffle left the 9A area vacant, (Upton) and * graciously agreed to deliver the newsletter there until a Block Captain can be found.  * made a motion for the changes to be accepted and * seconded it.  The motion was carried.

KSI Permits:     The City has recently received a check from KSI for $125,160, being the last installment of money owing as per the two parties’ agreement.

Bealls Grant:     The developer of this site will give a full presentation of their proposed plans for this site at the WECA meeting on January 17^th 2008.

New Business:

Town Hall Style Meeting:     Arrangements for the Mayor and Council to attend a WECA meeting in early 2008 are underway. Residents will be informed of the exact date via the next newsletter.

The New Court House:     It was relayed that Sen. J Forehand had passed on news that the likely site for the new court house may indeed be that of the old library.  This was opposed by many attendees who preferred a different site most of them ideally they want it to be built within the Phase II development of Rockville’s Town Center.  Many residents questioned the communication gap that had appeared to have widened this is because at several WECA meetings residents had strongly opposed the library site as had TCAT members.  Much general discussion then ensued with many objections, such as the effect it may have on the neighborhoods and CES, the school that is very close to the proposed site.    Concern was also voiced about parking scenarios on the east side of Route 28, as the old library site has only 37 vehicle spaces.  * remained positive and saw this as an opportunity for residents to partner and rally once more concerning this issue in order for their opinions to be clearly heard.  She is part of the Town Center Action Team (TCAT) organization that meets regularly on a Tuesday at 7pm. 

Patricia then invited residents to raise any issues that were currently of concern to them.

One resident voiced concern about a proliferation of deer and the dangers posed to drivers in the Rose Hill Falls neighborhood.    A few others spoke of finding trash in their yards which passersby threw will regularity.  These residents all lived near junctions of roads or areas where drivers slowed down.  The Police Chief addressed this issue but brought realism to the situation as it is very hard to police such an offence unless they were ‘caught in the act’.  They hope to concentrate on traffic violations to deter cut through traffic on neighborhood streets.

Snow Clearance - or in some cases the lack of it:     Several residents concurred when complaints were voiced about the way snow was cleared and then piled up, obstructing sidewalk use altogether in some cases.  Others complained that snow was not cleared promptly enough from certain streets.   With increased traffic flow, Beall Ave and the junction of W Jefferson and Route 28 were specifically mentioned as pedestrian safety was of great concern here.  Other residents called for a clear policy to be implemented by the City to clear pathways for residents who were unable to manage this task easily.  Maria Broadbent explained that sidewalks are now designed with a tree green and this is primarily to provide a place for the snow to be heaped when necessary.  She promised to feed back the above concerns to the appropriate staff at City Hall.

City Updates From Maria Broadbent:     Maria stated that trees will be planted at the ‘gateways’ to the city in December.  The planting had been delayed due extremely dry soil conditions. Maria said she’d be sure to approach the Public Works Dept. so that residents were kept updated as to detailed plans for these sites.   

The Future Development of Rockville Pike:     A Public meeting will be held to encourage the input of citizens on the future ‘landscape’ of this commercial corridor.  Discussions will include examining transportation and pedestrian safety issues as well as aesthetics.  This will be on December 4^th at the Ramada Inn at 1775 Rockville Pike.  This is an ongoing process and opportunities for input should be addressed to staff at City Hall.

Guest Speakers Concerning Emergency Preparedness and Citizen Safety:

 Ray Whalen from the Rockville Volunteer Fire Dept. was the first to speak.  There was a short discussion about the funding and location of the much needed, new fire house.  After exhaustive negotiations lasting years, Fire Dept. officials have decided to rebuild on the existing site. As Montgomery County will not be funding this project Mr. Whalen wanted to let us know that the money will have to be raised through local community type based support.  Besides addressing the Dept.’s participation in a City wide emergency, he also imparted the following tips based on frequent, often preventable calls that Fire Fighters typically attend : a) To try to check in on elderly neighbors during extreme weather conditions or if other emergency measures are in place. b) Do check that they, (as well as your own family), have smoke alarm detectors and that the batteries are working effectively.  c)  To try to use common sense and urge seniors to take up any floor rugs that may be slippery or be tripped upon. d) Also to not ignore any chest pain however intermittent, or  pressure in the chest or unusual sweating accompanying the latter, if over the age of 40 as this could be a sign of something more serious.

Reducing and Addressing Traffic Violations:     Next, Chief Treschuk updated the group about various plans, to reduce speeding etc.  a) From January they plan to focus on punishing Stop Sign violations.  Police cars will be positioned at key points throughout the city in order to implement this. b) Speed cameras are due to be installed at West Montgomery Avenue in early -mid January. C) The Chief also spoke of the sub-station in the Heritage House off of Dawson that houses 97 staff and was built for 27! He stated that at the moment he has officers and other staff distributed over seven different locations in the City.  The Chief then took questions from residents who were concerned about sightlines and pedestrian safety at potentially dangerous junctions. Namely an area near I 270 and Falls Road and two places on Anderson Ave when driving up from Nelson.

Emergency Preparedness and Citizen Safety:     Police Chief Treschuk then introduced Sgt. Ron Merrit who is our local specialist in emergency preparedness, homeland security issues.   So, in the case of an electricity outage, snow/ice storm etc. he gave us the following tips and distributed leaflets.  *These leaflets are available on request and besides urging residents to draw up their own emergency preparedness communication plan; he also strongly urged that residents have a ‘Z card’ and to carrying it with them at all times.  The ‘Z card’ would detail vital information should normal forms of communication be disrupted, eg: a list of essential  medical requirements, appropriate persons to contact at your child’s  school, a family meeting place, a telephone number OUTSIDE of this area where family and friends could connect to in order to  inform each other of their wellbeing, safety and location.  He suggested the latter as he anticipated that the Police and Fire Dept. would likely be dealing with the repercussions of an ‘emergency’ for anything up to 3-5 days before they could deal with non acute problems.   A ‘Go Kit’ was also advised containing water, food etc and not to forget to make one for your pets too/other contingency plans that would work for them.  **Finally, he encouraged that residents sign up for the ‘Alert Rockville’ system. This is a reverse 911 system which can relay emergency news on your work telephone number or cell phone, or e mail too.* Details of this can be found on the City’s website or you can telephone City hall for more information about this useful service.

Representatives of Rockville Zoning Ordinance Review (RORZOR):     Representatives from the RORZOR committee spoke next, they were Deane Mellander, Art Chambers, John Britton and Kate Ostell.  They presented the final draft of the RORZOR Handbook and invited residents to contribute their opinions and ideas concerning the lengthily explored new proposals for zoning in the City.  The last review was carried out in 1976 and represents the Rockville we see around us today.  If you have any comments please e mail, phone or write to them at City Hall.  They in turn will pass your ideas on to the Planning Commission who will hold public hearings in January to further discuss recommendations and explore topics in fine detail.  The Mayor and Council are also expected to hold a series of public hearings to discuss the RORZOR report and ultimately, the latter will make a decision concerning new zoning in June. * This will bind the City to adopt whatever long term provisions the Mayor and Council approve, so residents were strongly urged to give their input on this matter*.  Then a very lengthy, detailed discussion took place during which the RORZOR committee members answered a wide variety of questions.  Topics such as mansionization, home enterprises, solar access rights, bed & breakfasts, Mt Jerusalem Church and other historic buildings and residences, the possible decrease in value of homes and public parking zones were just a few.  The RORZOR draft information is available online in its entirety or one may request to view a copy by contacting City Hall. 

The meeting was adjourned by Patricia Woodward at 9.23pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Jan Balkam, WECA - Recording Secretary