September 5, 2018
Dear Neighbors,
What has your Board been up to since our March 2018 meeting? We have approved several applications for fence construction and home improvement projects, one application for solar panel installation, and have intervened with a developer whose neglect of a lot had caused concern among its neighbors. Additionally, we have received numerous communications regarding the County’s proposals for enhanced pedestrian safety. While these communications express disparate views – some call for more sidewalks, some fewer, some none – one thing they have in common is that many were sent by neighbors who have not paid their Association dues for the year 2018. Likewise, at this summer’s fun party held in Kensington Cabin Park, our Treasurer decided to stop asking guests whether they had paid their dues, because it became embarrassing to hear so many negative responses. Please note that your dues are the only support that your Association receives to support our valuable community building efforts, including two welcoming neighborhood parties per year, mailings to keep everyone informed, and other administrative costs. If you have not yet paid your dues, please do so..
At our October 2017 meeting, we reported that most of the Board – your President, Secretary, and Treasurer – wish to step down, and be replaced with new officers. However, the election of new officers was deferred from the January 2018 meeting to permit wrapping up a number of items under way at the time. Elections also did not take place at the March 2018 meeting, because no one volunteered to serve in these positions, in spite of the best efforts of our Nominating Committee. At this point, the members of your Board – who were first elected in the Winter of 2014, except for your Treasurer, who joined in 2013 – are serving out of goodwill, almost one year after we asked to be replaced.
While the current Board has the authority to address all business, we feel that it would be better for the matters now at hand – traffic calming, pedestrian safety, abandoned houses and unkempt yards – to be handled by officers with the added legitimacy that would come from not having been elected before these issues came to the fore. Accordingly, we look forward to scheduling the next general meeting of the Association after a slate of new officers has been assembled. (Mr. John Robinson has agreed to stand as Treasurer, and Mr. Hill Carter has agreed to stay on as Vice President, so just two people are needed, to serve as President and Secretary.) At that meeting, new officers would be elected by the membership, and then handle business at hand, especially review and discussion of the County’s proposals for intersection modifications, traffic calming, and enhanced pedestrian safety.
Sincerely yours,
James J. Pekar, Ph.D.
President, Rock Creek Hills Citizens’ Association
Enclosures:
• Letter of March 2018, reporting on settlement of litigation.
• Pre-addressed envelope in which you can mail your 2018 dues, which are $40 per household; please note these can also be paid online at rchca.org