Executive Board – KMCA

December 3, 2009

 

Attending: Marilyn Lawlor, David Janus, Jay Marcus, Cynthia Brandt Campagna, Henry Davis, Rebekah Rasooly

 

Minutes

1.    Review of minutes from past general meeting - approved

2.    Reports

a.    Treasurer – 161 members, $2095.65 on hand.  Marilyn needs to order more reminder postcards and will do so.

b.    Library

i. Henry reported that he has contacted the four at-large members of the County Council about the library.  Marc Elrich opposes the move, and replies from Duchy Trachtenberg, George Leventhal and Nancy Floreen are pending.  Letters from Council members will be posted on the Web site.

ii.                      Henry attended the WRAC (Wheaton Redevelopment Advisory Committee) meeting.  County Executive Leggett and several Council members attended also.  The topic was redevelopment of the auto dealership, which is closing.

iii.                    The next task is to clarify whether the budget to renovate the library is for a minor renovation or whether it is a complete overhaul.

c.    Public safety – Rebekah will contact Misha Auslin to see if he is still interested in being chair of this committee.

3.    Honoring Natalie Cantor – the group discussed the advantages to honoring  her, since she has served our community well as the County’s ‘manager’ of Wheaton.  There was no consensus about whether she should be honored, and whether or not that should be coupled with an invitation to speak at a meeting.

4.    Upcoming meeting (Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010; 7:30 PM)

a.    Agenda items:

i. Trail clean up project – Rebekah will let Jennifer Chambers that we would like to have student interns give a presentation on the Northwood trail project and ways to improve the Chesapeake bay.

ii.                      Rain Barrel workshops – one resident suggested a workshop on this topic, but there was no general interest.

iii.                    Recycling presentation – There was enthusiasm for inviting Jim Fustero from the County to come talk about recycling

iv.                    WSSC – the group did not feel that it was timely to have WSSC come again, since the major projects have just wrapped up.

v.                      CERT – Rita Rich is interested in presenting information about the community emergency response team, and the group decided to invite her.

vi.                    Kemp Mill ES Principal, Floyd Starnes – The group agreed to invite Mr. Starnes to give a brief introduction.

vii.                  At future meetings, it might be a good idea to invite other Council members.

b.    Publicity –

i. Given the expense of the postcards, the lack of postcard sponsors, and the difficulty in finding an advertiser to cover the cost of a newsletter, the group agreed to forego postcard notification in the future.  One final postcard will be sent out for this meeting, with the advice to “Share with your friends and neighbors” and the information that “No postcards will be mailed in the future.”

ii.                      Rebekah will print up some leaflets and post in the stores and send information to synagogue community for posting.

iii.                    Cynthia will place a notice in the Gazette

iv.                    Rebekah will ask Jim to put leaflets in St. Andrews

v.                      David will see if the signs can be refurbished or replaced

c.    Microphones – Jay will borrow from Gail Javitt

 

5.    Newsletter/Website

a.    Postcard

i. Cost = ~$150 with one side color for 2000 (vistaprint) +$450 postage.  Newsletter costs $1000 to print and more to mail.

ii.                      potential sponsor  http://thall.aupairnews.com/ (Tracy Hall)

b.    Distribution of postcards – mail? Hire people to go door to door?

c.    Return funds to newsletter advertisers

d.    Populating Website with articles

6.    Upcoming meeting

a.    Sending questions in advance to Nancy Navarro

b.    Other agenda items – Jim Fustero of the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection- Solid Waste Services Division wants to make a presentation on recycling – see Handout #2

c.    Lawn, garden and tree maintenance advice (Spring meeting?)

7.    Library Relocation committee

a.    Convening

b.    Copy of letter to Council members

8.    WRAC representations

9.    New business

    1. pooper scooper” law reminder on Website

b.    Mirror for Lamberton and Monticello


Hand out #1

http://greenwheaton.groupsite.com/ - We are a joint sub-committee of the Wheaton Redevelopment Advisory Committee (WRAC) and the Wheaton Urban District Advisory Committee (WUDAC)

 

 

 

Ms. Rasooly,
      Thank you for your interest in the Urban Studies and Planning Program’s Fall 2009 studio. We are currently in the process of defining the goals and products for the studio which can then be shared with the students on September 1 (the first day of class).  Based on the information presented, students will then design and implement a research plan.  This will be a 14 week course with results and recommendations presented in a printed report and a public presentation.
       As such, the precise nature of the studio is as yet undefined. Students will determine which set of “modalities” would be most appropriate to achieve their goals.  Nonetheless, despite the vagueness of the situation, we wanted to share with local communities our current efforts, and to alert them to the possibility of being contacted by students.  By contacting community groups now and providing background information such as the draft proposal, we hoped to give a cursory introduction to the studio project.  This was deemed important given the 14 week time frame.  In essence, I wanted to lay some of groundwork for students.  More specifically, I did not want students to spend too much time seeking out community groups willing to speak to them.   With help from people like Louis we hoped to identify community groups who would be familiar with the project and who would willing to discuss it.
       In summary, at this point we are asking associations if they would be willing to discuss the project with students and if so, who would the contact person be.  Presumably, once the students have clarified the project goals and objectives, they would contact these associations to share with them the current plan and determine if and how the community group might participate.
       For example, during our early discussions of on line community surveys to complement business surveys, the issue of meaningful community participation was raised.  One approach was to ask the community associations to publicize the survey on their listserv.  It was then decided that it would be worthwhile to contact community groups now rather than later to assess interest in general participation.  If students felt an online survey was appropriate they would at least have a list of groups to call to determine willingness.  Notably,  if the association felt it important to have a more formal presentation to the membership, before making any type of decision, that too could be and should be a topic for conversation (I think this is where the notion of powerpoints came up).
       At this point, we are solely interested in creating a list of names and addresses of community associations as well as a contact person familiar with the general goals of the project.  I expect students will then call to discuss the project, sometime in early September. We have sent you the rough draft purely for informational purposes and to give you a sense of what we hope to accomplish.
       In any case, I certainly appreciate your efforts to facilitate this student project.  I am sorry that a more precise timetable is not available. The graduate planning studio is entirely a student run project, and will not meet as a group till September 1.  At this point, I am merely trying background materials to facilitate the process.  Thank you again for your time and attention. I hope this has been of help.

Alex Chen
Associate Professor
Urban Studies and Planning Program
University of Maryland
301-405-6798


Greening Wheaton

A Research Question 

A goal of the Wheaton Sustainability Group is to promote more sustainable business practices in the community to achieve a Greener Wheaton. To this end, we would like you to focus on the local Wheaton business community,  including both owners and tenants to:

(1)  determine current Green business practices

(2) ascertain beliefs regarding the challenges to and opportunities for more  sustainable business practices

(3) identify perceptions and misperceptions of the costs and benefits of  sustainable practices

(4) clarify gaps in knowledge regarding best practices and local opportunities to  engage in more green practices.   

Based on your findings we would like specific and detailed recommendations and actions as to:

(1) how the business community can use its available resources and assets to become  more active contributors to the County’s sustainability initiative

(2)  what the County (e.g. tax incentives, regulatory changes) and local community  (e.g. local advertising and publicity) can do to encourage and stimulate more  sustainable business initiatives

(3)  what are best practices (e.g. in the use of alternative energies) and innovative  technologies that the Wheaton business community can use to become more  Green  

The results, recommendations and proposed actions of this study should be:

(1) a foundation for programs, strategies, and regulations that will encourage  businesses to improve their Greening practices. 

(2) a resource for the Wheaton Sector Update Plan.

(3) a guide for existing and new local business interested in identifying opportunities  to change their current practices

(4) a benchmark regarding current business practices and conditions to allow the  Wheaton Sustainability Group to assess progress toward sustainability

(5) supportive of  the goals of the Montgomery County Climate Protection Plan 

      The geographic boundaries of your study area should be based the final research question as well as on your own available resources.  We suggest the Wheaton Triangle be the initial focus of your activity, and then at your discretion move outward to the boundaries of the Wheaton Urban District, and then further outward time and resources permitting. 

      We recognize the Wheaton Mall as a critical element in the future Greening of Wheaton.  However, we realize that it creates a different set of substantive as well as pragmatic issues within the time frame. As such, the businesses in the Wheaton Mall, are important considerations, but should not detract from the major focus of businesses in Wheaton-proper. 

      In a similar vein, though the main focus of the research will be the Wheaton business community, we feel that the community at large plays an important role in how the business community perceives it must behave. As such, some consideration should be given to the views of the public at large, e.g. how much value do they place in a Greener Wheaton. In this regard efforts have already begun to engage the local community associations in this research effort.  Every effort should be made to identify and coordinate your efforts with local residents and community groups.

      We expect direct contact with the business community to be an integral part of this research project.  The techniques used may range from open ended interviews to close ended surveys to focus groups to reliance on internet technology.  Regardless of the technique or techniques used, language may become a barrier, and the hope is that you will be able to identify community resources that will be able to overcome this issue.

As part of your research agenda, we would like you to assess the recently implemented Montgomery County Department of Environment Green Building Certification Maintenance Survey as a viable data gathering tool. It is designed primarily for office and retail spaces, but it would useful to have an assessment of how it might be adapted for current and future use. 


Handout #2

 

SPRING 2009

Dear Association President,

 

     My name is Jim Fustero and I work for the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection- Solid Waste Services Division.  My interest in contacting you is to introduce myself and to make myself available to attend one of your civic/homeowner association meetings during the coming year.

 

I am interested in talking to your group about the solid waste services division.  Topics to include recycling and trash services, hazardous material updates, web services, community involvement and general other services of the division. I would also like the members to participate in a survey.

 

My presentation can be between 15-45 minutes based on time constraints. Please contact me so I can put your meeting on my schedule. If you are not the current contact person for your civic/home owner association please contact me with the updated information.

 

Thank You,

 

Jim Fustero

DEP-SWS

Office 301-840-2856

E-Mail Jim.Fustero@montgomerycountymd.gov

 

 


 

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