KHCA is a non-partisan neighborhood organization dedicated to representing the interests of all homeowners and residents of the Kensington Heights neighborhood in maintaining and enhancing the quality of life in our community

KHCA NEWS BULLETINS 

The monthly KHCA Executive Committee meeting will be held Wednesday, March 15 at 7:30 pm at the home of Ann and Alberto Arevalo, 10801 Torrance Drive. 

The KHCA Executive Committee meetings take place the 3rd Wednesday of every month. Please join us.

• This month’s meeting will focus on planning for KHCA elections this fall. All of the officers are term-limited in their current positions, so we will be looking for new volunteers to join us either to run for office or to take a committee position and consider a run for office in the future.
• We also need three volunteers for the Nominating Committee who will take the lead on finding the new folks to join us.  
• Other topics will include: working with the Wheaton Westfield Mall representatives for a spring clean-up in the forest buffer; improving communications and outreach to our members; and public safety activities (see below).  

The KHCA Public Safety Committee will be holding an organizational meeting in March. The exact date will be determined soon. See more information below in KHCA Updates. Please join us in helping to keep our community safe!   

KHCA UPDATES 

We had a very informative membership meeting dealing with “What’s Up with Wheaton?”  Our first speaker was Lt. Norm Augustine who reported on statistics in our area -- he had given a similar report to the Wheaton Urban District Advisory Committee about the Mall. The bottom line was that, while the area isn’t perfect, it’s relatively safe and there are not a large number of crimes. At the mall, for instance, of over 600 “Level One” crimes (the more serious category) reported, over 570 of those were just for shoplifting, That said, any crime is too many for the victims, so we are looking to do what we can to stop crimes to begin with and help catch the crooks when crimes occur. Our Public Safety Committee will be working on these topics going forward and we will have a Committee meeting in the next few weeks so stay tuned for the announcement, and see further discussion below in the Public Safety update section. 

We also had a report from the Department of Transportation about the progress on the Park and Planning Town Center building. Unfortunately, that building still is stuck in place without being able to break ground although that was expected to have occurred weeks ago. Some of the owners in the nearby buildings are refusing to grant permission for certain construction processes that the County says are completely routine. Whether the concerns are legitimate or whether the owners are trying to leverage better compensation, the bottom line is the same in that the building isn’t progressing. The County is confident it will start soon, but until it actually starts there are no guarantees how much longer it might take. It was also noted that there had been some redesign of part of the public space: an overhead walkway/ramp had been simplified somewhat and the funds had been redirected to improving the stage area. There was also discussion about the changes to traffic patterns that will be required by the new building and concerns expressed by a number of people that the traffic mitigation measures the County intends to use may not be sufficient. The building should have sufficient parking, though, to accommodate the retail customers in the area and those coming to use the building services. Most employees will be expected to park in the WMATA garage or in the Amherst Avenue garage. 

Finally, the director of the Mid-County Service Center, Luisa Montero, reported on activities they are planning and the interim status of the Center while construction is going on. The Center will be moving to the old location of the volunteer fire station on Grandview. The Taste of Wheaton will probably be held at the Veterans Memorial Park, and in the Fall there will be a new event, the Wheaton Arts Parade. It will wind through Wheaton and again end up near Veterans Memorial Park. It won’t rival Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade or Mardi Gras in New Orleans to start, but they hope to grow it every year.  

[Submitted by Karen Cordry, President, KHCA]

>>Land Use Committee:  Mt Comas News

Yes, sadly, 2017 is the year that homes will be built on the three-quarter-acre “Mt. McComas,”specifically 2609 McComas Avenue. The owner of the property is Wheaton Land Investment LLC (Sterling Mehring) and the builder will be OPaL LLC, headquartered in Cabin John. Two Kensington Heights residents will be the official liaisons between the builder and the neighbors: Tish and Dan Mueller who live at 2708 McComas Avenue, directly across the street from Mt. McComas. If you have questions or concerns, you can contact Tish at tishm86@gmail.com or Dan at muellerdf@gmail.com. General questions for the KHCA Land Use Committee can be sent to Donna Savage.  

For information about the Viers Mill Corridor Master Plan and about Montgomery County Parks, see items below in Community Updates and Calendar.

[Submitted by Donna Savage, Chair, Land Use Committee]

>>Education Committee

Montgomery County Public Schools

MCPS 2018 Operating Budget. The budget was adopted during the February meeting of the Board of Education. For more info, click here. 

MCPS Science Night. This event will be held Monday, March 20, 2017 from 7:00-9:00pm in the cafeteria of the Richard Montgomery High School (250 Richard Montgomery Drive, Rockville). This is an opportunity to learn about: --> Next general science standards (K-12) in Maryland and MCPS; --> New testing requirements; -->Timeline for implementation in elementary, middle and high schools; --> New high school sources pathways; and -->College and career readiness. RSVP by clicking here. 

 Montgomery County Community College 

Montgomery College is the largest community college in Maryland, and serves more than 60,000 students each year through credit and noncredit programs. Montgomery College is a public, fully accredited, open admission institution dedicated to student success and widely recognized for the quality and scope of its academic programs. It has campuses located in Germantown, Rockville, and Takoma Park/Silver Spring, with Workforce Development & Continuing Education centers and other off-campus sites throughout Montgomery County. Check out news, programs and events by clicking here.   

MCPL Reading Challenge. Make a 2017 reading resolution by participating in MCPL's second annual Reading Challenge. Over the course of 2017, read a book from each of the twelve different categories identified.The challenge is aimed at adults, but can be adapted for readers of all ages. For more info, click here.

Women's History Month. Did you know that March is Women's History Month? MCPL has free online resources, events and books to help you learn and celebrate! For info, click here.

The KHCA Public Safety Committee will be holding an organizational meeting in March, date to be determined. We will be discussing crime and other public safety issues affecting the neighborhood, as well as gauging interest in the creation of a neighborhood watch.The plan is to also identify a way to provide quick updates on incidents in the neighborhood. Keep an eye out for the meeting announcement, and please consider joining us as we get started. 

Related to this interest, representatives from KHCA (Karen Cordry, President, and Chris Peoples, Public Safety Chair) attended the initial meeting of the Wheaton Safety Task Force on February 27. This working group is made up of representatives from the private and public entities of the Wheaton area, including the Montgomery County and Metro Police Departments, Wheaton Urban District and its advisory committee, the Mid-County Regional Services center, Council member Nancy Navarro, and various neighborhood and apartment associations. The goal of the Safety Task Force is to enhance communication and coordination between the local representatives on the issues of crime and public safety. The discussion covered topics ranging from pedestrian issues to changing the public perception of the Wheaton area.

As an update on recent incidents:  On February 17, a man was robbed on Findley Road (near the new townhomes) by four men who followed the victim from the nearby Giant.This appears to be an isolated incident, but everyone should be careful to notice your surroundings when walking at night, avoid poorly lit areas, and walk with a purpose.  If you fear you are being followed: head for a well-lit or populated area, call attention to yourself, and phone for help.  If you are the victim of a robbery, call 9-1-1 immediately and file a police report. Additionally, the police advise you should not immediately cancel credit/debit cards because they can be used to locate and possibly apprehend the thief. Also, a car was vandalized on the 2700 block of Jennings Road on February 24, this appears to be another isolated incident.

Please take a minute to review information from the Montgomery County Police Department on crime prevention: click here.  Follow the link for tips on keeping your home and vehicle secure, as well as holiday safety tips.

[submitted by Chris Peoples, Chair, Public Safety Committee]

COMMUNITY NEWS & CALENDAR

Five stations of Capital Bikeshare have been installed in downtown Wheaton, with a sixth to come later this year. For specific locations, click here.  

When:  March 13, 2017, 7:45-9:45 pm

Where: Executive Office Building, 101 Monroe Street, Rockville

The topic of MCCF’s monthly meeting will be “Government in the Sunshine.”  Sunshine Week is sponsored by the American Society of News Editors and Reporters and Committee for Freedom of the Press. MCCF will present a program on the Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) request process and the Maryland Open Meetings Act. Guests include Ron Ely (a Community Hero in May 2015), who has filed MPIAs in the past, to discuss his experience with the process, and Noel Isama, a Policy Analyst from the Sunlight Foundation. The discussion will focus on how citizens can get information from the government through the MPIA process and the requirement that government hold its meetings in public.

The MCCF newsletter is available on line and contains reports on many timely issues.Last month’s program was the annual “Budgetpalooza” which is in an in-depth review and discussion of the budget proposals for the Board of Education. The meeting was attended by two members of the Board, Jeannette Dixon and Jill Ortman-Fouse, who both answered many questions and welcomed the input from the discussion. Other topics in the newsletter include the county’s action in approving cell towers and problems with the use of artificial turf on school playing fields, as well as many other updates on upcoming topics. All in all, a good read for anyone who wants to know what’s going on in the County.

>> March 13 and 15: Open Houses on Bus Rapid Transit on Route 29 

March 13, 2017, 7-9 pm, Montgomery Blair High School Cafeteria, 51 East Univeristy Boulevard

March 15, 2017, 6:30-8:30 pm, White Oak Community Center, 1700 April Lane 

It’s been in the planning stages for a very long time, but it looks like “bus rapid transit” or “BRT” is coming to the US 29 corridor soon. The goal of BRT is to set up bus routes on major corridors that will move much faster than standard buses and be a much more inviting option. If it works well, it will have the same benefit of getting people out of their cars and off the roads as with subways but at a lower cost and with more flexibility. This project is planned to run from Burtonsville to downtown Silver Spring. If you’d like to learn more, you can attend either of the two meetings above where there will be a chance to review the plans and ask questions. While this route will not directly impact our community, similar planning is in the process to determine whether it will be possible to institute a route on Veirs Mill Road from Wheaton.

When:  March 14, 2017, 6:30 pm

Where: Mid-County Services Building, Reedie Drive, Wheaton 

Topics will include the Wheaton Re-development Project Update, the Wheaton Urban District FY18 Budget, and reports on a partnership with Westfield/Wheaton. 

When:  March 15, 2017, 7-9 pm

Where: Regional Office, 8787 Georgia Avenue

The Parks Department is holding a meeting to discuss the topics to be covered in its 2017 “Park, Recreation and Open Space (“PROS”) program.  More information is available by clicking here. This meeting will focus on very specific recommendations about what new park and trail space should be acquired by the County and where new facilities should be built. If you’d like to see more parks and green space in our community, here is the time to speak up by taking the survey and/or attending the meeting. While the March meeting will be discussing a draft proposal, a future meeting will be held on April 6 to discuss the feedback the County has received on the draft.  

Montgomery Parks is soliciting input from people about what they want in their parks.Take the survey by clicking here (4th item under Open Topics) and read about the Wheaton master plan by clicking here.

When: March 29, 2017, 7-9 pm

Where: Newport Mill Middle School, 11311 Newport Mill Road 

The Montgomery County Planning Department will be holding a “visioning” session to discuss the Veirs Mill Road Corridor area to attend the second public meeting of the Veirs Mill Corridor Master Plan on March 29th  This is the same Wheaton to Rockville corridor that is also being considered for BRT, and the two processes are very much linked. The meeting is an opportunity for community residents and business owners to share ideas and concerns with the Montgomery County Planning Department staff. The discussion will focus on a broad range of topics including business development, community focal points, and pedestrian, bike and car traffic. This is the start of a long process but it will guide the future of this area for the next 15 to 20 years, so it’s definitely something worth paying attention to. Detailed information, an interactive map where interested parties can leave feedback about what they would like to see done at various spots, and a place to sign up for more information are all available by clicking here. 

VoK's first-ever newsletter is available on the VoK website. You can view the newsletter online, or you can download a copy by moving your cursor to the bottom-middle of the page and clicking on the disk iron on the left.

VoK is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization of neighbors helping Kensington neighbors remain in their homes and active in our community. If you'd like to volunteer with VoK, become a VoK member, and/or donate, you will find those possibilities along the top of the VoK homepage. You may also call at 301-509-0191 or email at villagesofkensington@gmail.com. 

>> MIddle Eastern/American Heritage Month

The Middle Eastern American Heritage Month is underway. You can learn more and join in a Celebration of Spring on March 15. For more info, click here. 

KHCA CONTACTS

President:                            Karen Cordry (Torrance Drive) karenc425@aol.com

Vice President:                     Mark Meszaros (Peregoy Drive) markm@digitalindustry.com

Secretary:                            Wendy Core (Torrance Court) wendyj3@hotmail.com

Treasurer:                             Erl Houston (St. Paul Street) erlhouston@verizon.net

 

Immediate Past President:     Danila Sheveiko (Melvin Grove Court) dsheveiko@hotmail.com

Communications Chair:          Shruti Bhatnagar (McComas Avenue) shruti_bhatnagar@yahoo.com

Education Chair:                    Shruti Bhatnagar (McComas Avenue) shruti_bhatnagar@yahoo.com

History Chair:                        vacant

Land Use Chair                      Donna Savage (McComas Court) donnarsavage@gmail.com

Safety Chair:                         Chris Peoples (Jennings  Road) cpeeps@yahoo.com

Traffic Chair:                          Andrew Fraser (McComas Avenue) afraser@sandglass.com

Newsletter:                            Christine Taylor (Torrance Drive) ctaylor3450@gmail.com

Website:                                incoming Ricardo Gonzalez