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>>August Executive Committee Meeting -- We're On Vacation!
No Executive Committee Meeting this month. “See you in September. See you when the summer’s through…..” Are you old enough to remember that one and sing along? First recorded in 1959, the 1966 version with The Happenings hit #3 on the charts – and that’s the one that was on my transistor radio all summer. Kids: Have your parents (grandparents?) explained transistor radios? Kind of like smartphones, but not as smart.
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| >>KHCA Annual Picnic -- A Success !!!
The annual picnic was held on Saturday July 30 with a nervous eye on the weather forecast. But, come noon, it was sunny, the grills were going, and the Moonbounce was bouncing with kids of every shape and size. We had a great crowd by 1 pm with everyone busily downing their first hamburger, hotdog, watermelon slice, etc. AND then the clouds turned dark. Luckily, a few minutes before, our trusty VP Mark Meszaros had set up his canopy over the main picnic table so we all huddled under as the rain poured down. All of us except the kids in the Moonbounce, a few with umbrellas, and a few hardy souls who reveled in the rain. Within 15 minutes, the showers had moved on, the sun came out, and we all went back to eating, socializing, and enjoying a pleasant afternoon in the park. All told, about 60-70 folks came, counting all of the wee ones, and including our state Delegate Al Carr. Thanks again to everyone who came and helped us have another great Saturday in the Park.
Lost-and-Found: If you came to the picnic last week and left behind a very cute kid's water bottle labeled "Camelbak" with little pink owls on it, we have it. Call Karen Cordry at 301-933-3640 to arrange to pick it up.
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>>KHCA Happy Hour at Bar Louie -- Another Success !!!
We’ve done the picnic for years, but Friday July 22 was a new and novel experience. Bar Louie opened on July 20 in the South Tower at Westfield Mall, and is the newest addition to the Mall. It’s on the corner of the new cut-through running from the Penney’s parking lot back through the building and leading to a staircase that descends to the revived movie theater which will be opening shortly. So, we decided to check it out and give it a KCHA welcome to the neighborhood. Our First (Monthly?) KHCA Happy Hour -- totally informal, no commitments -- was held starting at 5 pm on the 22nd. Not surprisingly, the first arrivals were those of us who also listened to “See You in September” when it first came out. But as the afternoon wore on, those who were still working started to show up. It was definitely a more-the-merrier event. We began on the patio with two tables, then we added some chairs, expanded to three tables, and then four. Throughout the evening, the servers were attentive and happy to keep seeing more of us. (And, helpfully, for anyone who has ever tried to sort out a bill with a dozen different people, they cheerfully printed out a separate bill for each of us. Yeah!)
So, it looks like Bar Louie will be a welcome neighbor. We can’t wait until the theater opens and we can try for a Dinner-and-a-Movie evening. We understand that an Olive Garden restaurant is also supposed to be on the way in that same wing, but not sure when or where that will arrive. We’re also not sure what’s happening with the Tilted Kilt to be located in the Mall next to the DSW entrance. We had seen postings that they were opening in July, but that clearly didn’t happen and we haven’t seen any updates. We will update when information is available.
And, finally, we’re not the only ones on to Bar Louie. Kensington View Civic Association -- our neighbor across University Boulevard -- has scheduled a Neighborhood Meetup for Thursday August 25 at 5 pm. So one last day of summer fun before the kids head back to school and Labor Day looms. All are welcome.
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>>KHCA Membershp Dues -- We Still Need You We run a very thrifty organization, but we do continue to incur expenses each year – we subsidize the annual picnic in part, we keep up the KHCA website, we pay rentals for the meeting room, we pay dues to the Montgomery County Civic Federation, and so on. So, we need your support each year to make sure that KHCA stays in the black. Dues are $10 per person or $20 per household and cover you for the calendar year. You can send a check to our treasurer, Erl Houston at 10723 St. Paul Street, Kensington, MD 20895. Or go to the website and click on the Donate Button at the top right. Thanks so much for your support.
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>>Traffic/Safety
On June 24 several KHCAers, including Andy Fraser, Traffic Committe Chair, Karen Cordry, KHCA President and Laura Walgemuth, met with Khursheed Bilgrami, Area Engineer, Traffic Studies Section, Montgomery County DOT to continue our discussions about traffic calming measures, crosswalks, and sidewalks in Kensington Heights. Mr. Bilgrami (who goes by "KB") was extremely informative and helpful. He agreed that the crosswalk at McComas and Bentley needed to be repainted after the repaving work. We also discussed the process for getting sidewalks installed on Bentley, Jutland, and Casper. Information is being distributed about this and signatures being gathered, we understand. It's not required to have a petition, but it tends to encourage the County if they see residents support the addition.
We also talked about the situation on Farragut Avenue during the school year when it becomes a jam-packed cut through for traffic going to Einstein and avoiding the traffic limitations placed on St. Paul by the City of Kensington. There is a process for the County to study streets that exceed certain traffic counts (and Farragut appears to be way over those numbers) but only during the school year, so the County will wait until September to do the count. Finally, we also talked about cross-walks and/or other physical structures along McComas similar to some of the measures taken on Plyers Mill. The most likely spot appears to be on McComas at Torrance where a mid-street island could be put in. That would tend to slow drivers coming down that long hill and better protect pedestrians using the stairs to access the Mall. Stay tuned for more developments. [Submitted by Karen Cordry, President, KHCA]
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>>Communications KHCA now provides several communication channels for residents of Kensington Heights to stay informed and connected to other KH residents and neighbors. Please review the options shared below to make sure you are connected and informed in any and all ways that work best for you.
Join the KHCA listserv
Visit the KHCA Website
The website is a great place to visit to learn about KHCA and to find useful information and updates on a regular basis. Our website is http://www.kensingtonheights.org/.
KHCA Newsletter
Our newsletters are emailed approximately monthly and share latest news, updates and announcements to keep residents informed. To subscribe, click here.
Facebook and Twitter
For social media users, KHCA also shares information, news and updates via Facebook and Twitter: Visit our Facebook Page. Follow us on twitter @KHC_Association.
[Submitted by Shruti Bhatnagar, Chair, Communications Committee]
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>>Education
New Superintendent at MCPS
Dr. Jack R. Smith began his tenure as superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools on July 1. Read his Welcome Message to the community. Orientation for Middle and High School Students Set for August 25
Student Orientation Day is scheduled for Thursday, August 25. Classes start on Monday, Aug. 29.Contact your child’s school for more information and questions regarding the school’s programs and schedules. Look for specific information from your child’s school over the summer.
Registration for Pre-kindergarten and Head Start
Registration for these programs continues through the summer for children who will be 4 years old by September 1, 2016. For more information, call 301-230-0676 or visit the MCPS website.
Career Online High School
Earn an accredited high school diploma and career certification online through Career Online High School (COHS). Applicants who successfully complete an online self-assessment and a two-week prerequisite course, followed by an in-person interview, will be considered for a scholarship to attend COHS. Limited number of scholarships are available, enabling successful applicants to enroll in the program free of charge. Students are given up to 18 months to complete the program. Learn more about how it works: email: mcpl.cohs@montgomerycountymd.gov or call: 240-777-0036.
[Submitted by Shruti Bhatnagar, Chair, Education Committee]
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>>Costco Update
The KHCA brief and the brief for the Stop Costco Gas Coalition (along with the brief for the County) will be filed on August 10. They (like Costco’s brief) are largely a rehash with a few refinements from our brief to the Circuit Court. We trust that, after the argument is held in January in Annapolis, the result will also be a rehash – denial once again. [Submitted by Karen Cordry, President, KHCA]
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COMMUNITY NEWS & CALENDAR
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>>App for Staying in Touch and Sharing Info
There is a commercial app that has been developed for neighborhoods to use, and KHCA is on a multi-association listserve covering the broader area around Kensington, Wheaton and beyond. Called Nextdoor Neighborhoods, you can join at https://nextdoor.com/find-neighborhood/. It will ask for your address and email, and will place you in the KHCA group. Like the KHCA listserve, it has breaking news people want to post, and is also very useful for those day-to-day questions we all have: who's a good plumber, where can I get flute lessons for my daughter, who wants to come to my yard sale, etc. It can be set to send only one email a day and so is helpful without being intrusive. Sign up and enjoy.
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| >>Proposed Residential Short-Term Leasing ("AirBnB") Legislation for the County
Earlier this year, Council Member Hans Reimer proposed new legislation to deal with “short-term residential rentals”; i.e., less than 30-day rentals. Although there are current rules dealing with “Bed and breakfasts,” this proposal is intended to deal with the AirBnB-model of rentals; i.e., a more sporadic form of rental by an owner who may or may not remain on the property and who does not necessarily furnish additional services. Bed and breakfasts are currently allowed in about half the County’s zones and require a specific, commercial license. The proposal would open up all zones to short-term rentals with a more streamlined license process. After the proposal was introduced and a hearing held before the Council in March, the Council instructed the Park and Planning staff to reach out to interested parties to obtain feedback and input on the concepts in the legislation and the proposal to widen the availability of such uses. The staff was also asked to look at actions taken in other jurisdictions, many of whom are also grappling with this issue.
The Park and Planning staff accordingly held an initial public meeting on July 18 – it was well attended with perhaps 50 plus people in the audience. The staff arranged for presentations by a representative of AirBnB and the Travel Technology Association (a trade association for these types of arrangements). There was criticism from some of the attendees (who were members of the Montgomery County Civic Federation and who have substantial experience with these issues) that the staff did not begin the evening with what might have been more useful – a clear discussion and overview of the current status of regulations in the county. Nor was it overly clear exactly what was intended to be accomplished with this initial meeting.
The staff did explain several times that this was only the first step in a continuing process to try to work towards a consensus on the regulations – which may take some time since there was certainly a real difference of opinion among those attending. A substantial number of the attendees were persons who were now utilizing the AirBnB model (or similar models) to rent space in their homes and generally extolled the controls AirBnB used and their own high standards in operating their rentals. Other persons testified about problems they were having with nearly short-term rentals, the lack of a resident owner with whom to raise issues, and the lack of County regulations and/or enforcement of the regulations that did exist. There were also a number of persons (including myself for KHCA) who raised questions about the specifics (and the shortcomings) of the draft legislation, without taking a position on whether such rentals should be allowed if adequate regulations are put into place.
The county has a website that has more details on this issue and links to the video of the July meeting, click here. As of now, AirBnB is cooperating with the County on collecting the 7% tax that has been applied to these rentals (just as with hotel rentals), but it is less clear that it would cooperate in terms of informing the County of who is renting on the site. This goes to one of the key issues – imposing regulations without being able to effectively enforce them will do little to address problems. It does not appear that any further meetings have been set yet, but we will be keeping a close eye on this topic since it can well affect every neighborhood in the County.
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>>Wheaton Public Library The Wheaton Public Library building was closed for demolition in July 2016 During the renovation, an interim site will be located at 2400 Arcola Avenue, the site of the Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad Ballroom at Wheaton Glen. Beginning in November 2016, the interim library will open and the collection will include nearly 20,000 items including children's materials, DVDs and CD books.The library hours will remain the same: Monday thru Thursday 9 am--9 pm, Friday and Saturday 10 am--6 pm, and Sunday 1--5 pm. The new Wheaton Library and Recreation Center will open Summer 2018.
During the construction period, the Wheaton Library Bookstore will move its location to the former Silver Spring Library at 8901 Colesville Road in Silver Spring. A date for the opening of the Bookstore has not yet been set. Visit www.folmc.org for more information.
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>>Farmers Market, Festivals, Concerts and Movies
> Check out the Wheaton TGIF Outdoor Concerts and more. Bring a chair or a blanket and friends and enjoy both a concert and movie every Friday July 8 through August 26. Concerts begin at 7pm. Movies begin at dusk. Concert Brochure and event info click here.
> Remember to visit the Kensington Farmers Market. It operates Saturdays from 9am-1pm in the MARC Train Station parking lot on Howard Avenue.
> Kensington features KTown Food Truck Night on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month, 5-8pm.You'll also find a Summer Concert Series every Saturday from 10-11am through September 24 at Howard Avenue Park. Info click here.
> Plan to stop by the 49th Annual Kensington Labor Day Parade and Festival. Info click here.
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History Chair: vacant
Safety Chair: vacant
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