Rock Creek Hills Citizensâ Association â Annual Meeting â April 12, 201
The next meeting of the Rock Creek Hills Citizensâ Association will be held on Tuesday, April 12, at 7:30 PM, at Grace Episcopal Day School, 9411 Connecticut Avenue. The agenda will include:
⢠School construction update
⢠Pedestrian safety now & following opening of the new school in August 2017
⢠Street congestion & streetscape concerns following opening of the new school
⢠Aesthetic mitigation of impacts associated with the new school
⢠Update on boundary study (to determine which elementary schools feed into the new middle school)
⢠Update on WSSC work
⢠Update on gas line work
⢠Update on condo development at Kensington Parkway at the Beltway
⢠Proposed âsalt barnâ at Beltway
⢠Update on neighborhood signage
⢠Update on covenants
⢠Update on Villages of Kensington
⢠RCHCA party at Kensington Cabin Park in May!
⢠RCHCA budget update
⢠Election of officers
⢠Other business
Presidentâs Message
The magnolias and camellias are in fragrant bloom, and innumerable robins are bouncing along, so it feels like Winter is over. However, this Spring does feature heavy construction on the former site of Rock Creek Hills Park. (Construction started October 13, 2015 on the new middle school that is scheduled to open in August of 2017.) Members of your RCHCA board, joined by Rock Creek Hills resident Rick Bond, A.I.A, an architect with expertise in large facilities construction, have been meeting onsite monthly with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) and their contractor, Dustin Construction, to provide a means to share and address concerns. The plans for the building have changed since earlier plans were submitted for âmandatory referralâ review. On March 18, 2016, MCPS posted a âflyoverâ animation of the current plans on their webpage for this project at <http://goo.gl/4aQ7ip>.
As I wrote last Autumn: âAlthough our efforts â to direct the new school to a more suitable site, to enforce a proper land use review, to defend the park, and, most recently, to minimize traffic impacts and environmental damage â did not succeed, they should be a source of pride. I am proud of our communityâs sustained engagement on behalf of these goals, and the measured tone with which they were pursued. At this point, we need to focus on the changes the new school will bring, and on working together to seek best outcomes. I have always respected the range of opinion among neighbors, and I appreciate your support regardless of where you stood on the specific issues involved.â
Officers
The current officers have all agreed to serve for another year to provide continuity as construction progresses and to complete the updating of a number of administrative issues. The current officers & board members are: Jim Pekar, president; Hill Carter, vice-president; Maria Marzullo, treasurer; Jill Gallagher, secretary; John Robinson, past-president.
Covenants
Because of turnover, we are again mentioning covenants. In the last year we have, as far as we know, no material issues of compliance. And, we are pleased to note an uptick in inquiries from real estate brokers. Please, if you sell you house, make sure the listing agent is aware of the covenants and the restrictions they impose.
Directory
The 2015 Rock Creek Hills directory was distributed to all households last year. To access the online directory go to: https://www.atozdirectories.com/home/login.php. You will need a username and password to login. If you do not have a login, you may email Sam Hoxie ([email protected]), include your name and address and she will email you your username. If you do not have computer access, please mail to 9711 E. Bexhill or call Sam 301-942-0743 with any new information. More information and links to access the real time, updated online directory may be found on our website, rchca.org.
The Rock Creek Hills Citizensâ Association e-mail network, rchcanet, is for families of Rock Creek Hills. We urge everyone with email access to sign up for this, as it will allow information about the neighborhood, planned events, etc., to be easily disseminated to everyone in a timely manner. This communication forum is not intended to replace any existing communications. The instructions on how to join are posted on the RCHCA website, rchca.org, under the communications tab at the top of the website.
Party
Planning is underway for a party to take place on a Sunday afternoon in late May in Kensington Cabin Park. To volunteer to help out, please contact Ms. Erica Weiss at [email protected]
Treasurerâs Report & Dues for this Calendar Year
As of publication the RCHCA checking account has a balance of $1,103 and the RCHCA savings account a balance of $7,089. Thus funds for operations are $8,192. Dues for the year 2016 are $40 and should be sent to Maria Marzullo at 9801 E. Bexhill Drive, Kensington, MD 20895.