| >>January 26: KHCA Executive Committee Meeting -- All Welcome
The monthly KHCA Executive Committee meeting will be held Thursday January 26 at 7:30 pm at the home of Ann and Alberto Arevalo, 10801 Torrance Drive. If you have interest in getting involved with the Civic Association, we urge you to stop by and join the conversation.
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>>KHCA Communications Committee Needs a Chairperson and Committee Members
The KHCA Communications Committee needs a Chairperson and other members who are willing to help with the work of the committee. Our most critical need is maintenance of our web site. Nothing technical and no technical background is needed. Its simple and does not require a large time commitment. Almost all of the work can be done from home in your own time. The main tasks include uploading content on monthly basis and updating the calendar as we organize events as well as some minor tasks every now and then. Volunteers will be offered training to get started. KHCA also has a presence on social media (Facebook and Twitter). It would be great to have someone who can post information as needed and make sure that updates are shared on a regular basis. The volunteers would work closely with the KHCA officers to enable this work. Again, anyone who volunteers will have plenty of help, training and support. High school students are welcome to volunteer for either position. The work can be shared by two people just to make it fun and easy to manage. KHCA will give SSL hours to student volunteers.
Please contact KHCA President Karen Cordry karenc425@aol.com with any questions, or feel free to join us at our next KHCA Executive Committee meeting so you can meet other volunteers and introduce yourself. We’d love to have you.
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>>KHCA Community Hero Award -- Nominate a Hero
On December 12, KHCA gave its first Community Hero Award to Michael King, a U.S. postal carrier in Kensington Heights. Bob Reid of McComas Court gave the to the Kensington Postmaster to award to Mr. King. The award was based on Mr. King’s caring approach when he noticed a local resident with a communicative social disorder following him. He was able to calm the resident, take him home, and obtain help from a neighbor to stay with the resident until his attendant returned from the store. His actions prevented any harm from befalling the resident and brought great credit to himself, the Kensington Post Office, and the U.S. Postal Service.
What good deed have you witnessed lately? The nominated Community Hero does not need to live here; we only require that the good deed occur within the boundaries of Kensington Heights. The person will receive a certificate noting the good deed and, if agreeable, will be featured in the online KHCA newsletter. To nominate someone, please contact Donna Savage donnarsavage@gmail.com and provide your name, the name and contact information of the person you’re nominating, and a paragraph about why this person should receive the KHCA award.
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>>Costco Gas Station: January 9 Hearing
The next chapter in the neverending story of Costco’s efforts to build a mega gas station at Westfield Wheaton took place on January 9 before the Court of Special Appeals in Annapolis. This was the second level of court appeals. Costco lost the first round in December 2015 when the Montgomery County Circuit Court judge upheld the County’s decision. The January 9 argument was virtually a repeat of the prior hearing with the exception that it was (mercifully) shorter. Each side had only 20 minutes. In our case, the County took 15 minutes, and I spoke for the last 5 minutes on behalf of KHCA and the Stop Costco Gas Coalition. Although one can never tell until the opinion actually issues, the signs were positive. The judicial panel appeared to be fully familiar with the briefs and the issues, and Costco received many pointed questions that followed the arguments we and the County had made in our briefs, particularly as to the new argument that Costco came up with for these appeals. The County attorney did a nice job of laying out the standard for review of this type of case including the substantial deference the court must give to the decision of the County. I came in to mop up and answer some of the court’s very detailed questions based on the familiarity gained from sitting through the 37 days of Court hearings! There is no deadline for this court to issue its decision, but the County Attorney said a typical case might be decided in 30 to 60 days. We’ll let you know as soon as we hear.
[Submitted by Karen Cordry, President, KHCA]
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>>Land Use
Wheaton
During the January meeting of the Wheaton Urban Districut Advisory Committee, the County provided an update on the progress made on the Wheaton Town Center. The Town Center is to be built on what is now known as “Lot 13,” i.e., the parking lot between Triangle Lane and Grandview. Held at the Mid-County Services Building which is across Reedie Drive from Lot 13, the meeting was full to overflowing, with both community members and many local business owners interested in finding out what would be happening over the next few year. The County Representative was Al Roshdieh, Director of the Department of Transportation, who has been in charge of this project since its inception (apparently because it is being built on the parking lot that is under his jurisdiction). Mr. Roshdieh began by indicating that the project’s design phase was complete. The building will be 14 stories tall, house a large number of County agencies, and meet the LEEDS Platinum standard for environmentally conscious design. When built, it should have about 20,000 square feet of ground-level retail and will provide a large contingent of office workers who can shop and eat at local businesses.
Mr. Roshdieh indicated that the County expected to break ground in February, which is actually somewhat later than the January 17 date that had previously been stated. After some questioning from audience members, Mr. Roshdieh indicated that the County had not yet been able to reach agreement with all of the neighboring owners with respect to some minor tunneling work that would be done underneath their buildings. Although he indicated that such work was commonplace and that there was normally no issue with getting this type of agreement, it appeared that some parties were holding out perhaps in hopes of obtaining some additional compensation. He indicated he was reasonably confident, however, that the agreements would be forthcoming soon, so that they would be able to start by the end of February. However, if that does not occur, it could result in further delays or added costs.
Mr. Roshdieh further indicated that the residential component of the site was also not yet fully settled. This construction was supposed to proceed roughly in tandem with the office building, but the developer, Buzzuto, has until September 2017 to obtain financing for the building. Bozzuto has not yet obtained that financing (perhaps because of the several other large housing projects that have recently been completed or are being built) and has indicated some interest in being allowed to scale back the size of their building, which was expected to be about 12 stories. While this is disconcerting, it may be a blessing in disguise because the County is also working on plans for creating an arts and entertainment space in Wheaton to complement Wheaton’s designation as an Arts and Entertainment District. The process of approving funding for that project is well advanced, but they need to identify a space where it could be built. The bottom line is that a win-win solution might be for the County to take 2 to 4 floors in the residential building, thereby allowing Bozzuto to reduce its project as it had requested and providing a way for both of those goals to move forward.
In sum, there are a lot of exciting things almost ready to get started but some nerve-wracking complications to be resolved. Other Wheaton projects are moving on including the new residential building at the corner of Georgia and Blueridge which is rising rapidly, and the work on the new library and recreational center is progressing nicely. In a few years, Wheaton will have a very different look than what we see now, but we will keep working to try to make certain that it keeps its walkable community feel. Kensington For those of you interested in what might replace the vacant Savannah's restaurant building on Connecticut Avenue, we have no news at the moment, but will keep you posted. Also, there is no news about the vacant gas station property at the corner of Connecticut Avenue and Plyers Mill Road. [Submitted by Karen Cordry, President, KHCA]
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>>Education
FY 2018 Operating Budget: Learn More, Provide Input
Last month, Superintendent Jack Smith proposed a $2.52 billion Operating Budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 to the Board of Education.The district has created resources to help parents, students and community members understand the budget and advocate for its funding. Share your ideas and views on the importance of funding the MCPS operating budget with our elected Montgomery County officials at upcoming town halls and budget forums.
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett will be holding forums this month to seek input from residents about the county’s FY 2018 budget priorities. Info. Also, education budget meetings will be conducted by Montgomery County Councilmember Craig Rice, Superintendent Jack Smith and Montgomery College President DeRionne Pollard. They are scheduled for February and March. Find out how budget decisions are made, what the county is doing today to get ready for FY 2018 and beyond, and the opportunities residents have to influence budget decisions. The meetings will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the following locations: -February 15, Northwest High School, 13501 Richter Farm Road, Germantown -March 8, Montgomery Blair High School, 51 University Blvd. E., Silver Spring -March 15, Montgomery College (Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus), Catherine F. Scott Building Room 211, 7600 Takoma Avenue, Takoma Park -March 22, Walter Johnson High School, 6400 Rock Spring Drive, Bethesda -March 29, Richard Montgomery High School, 250 Richard Montgomery Drive, Rockville The County Executive will announce his Recommended FY 2018 Operating Budget on March 15. In April, the County Council will hold public hearings and approve the operating budget at the end of May.
Remembering George B. Thomas, Sr Dr. George B. Thomas, Sr. passed away December 25, 2016. He was founder of The George B. Thomas, Sr. Learning Academy’s Saturday School. Dr. Thomas was a pillar in the community who dedicated his professional life to closing achievement and opportunity gaps in education. An educator, leader, and innovator, he founded Saturday School in 1986 to help level the education playing field for students in Montgomery County. In addition to Saturday School, Dr. Thomas served students as a teacher, administrator, professor, and college president
Share Your Thoughts on Changes to Policy JEE The Board of Education is seeking public comments on tentative changes to Policy JEE, Student Transfers. This policy outlines when students may be granted a transfer to attend a school other than their home or assigned school. View the revisions to the policy by clicking here. Provide your comment by February 3 by clicking here.
[Submitted by Shruti Bhatnagar, Chair, Education Committee]
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COMMUNITY NEWS & CALENDAR
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>> Mt McComas Development
New homes will be built on Mt McComas in 2017. For those who don't live nearby, the property is 2609 McComas Avenue, an open lot of 1.76 acres that for years has provided a sledding hill for local families as well as pedestrian access from McComas Avenue to the Mall. According to the property owner, Sterling Mehring, it will be a joint venture with small-builder OPaL DC. The details are in progress, and we'll keep you posted.
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| >> Villages of Kensington
Villages of Kensington (VoK) Members and Volunteers have been busily enjoying themselves in the past few months! We have two recurring monthly events to date – we gather for the “VoK Lunch-Around” to sample area restaurants on the first Friday of each month at noon, and we have joined with the Rock Creek Hills book group for a monthly reading and discussion of wonderful books on the second Wednesday evening. Our Full Members have partaken of several services each week, with the most popular service being rides provided by our friendly and responsive Volunteers, all of whom live in Kensington and have been trained and vetted. We had a holiday open house potluck at our treasurer’s house on Drumm Avenue at which we sang holiday songs while Carolyn played the piano. More activities are planned for 2017, and we will continue to provide services to our Full Members! VoK is collaborating with other Villages in the County and throughout the U.S. to constantly improve our services and offerings.
VoK is a nonprofit intergenerational Village focused on assisting seniors who want to stay in their homes and within our community as long as safely possible. VoK is available to serve all residents of the 20895 ZIP code. Our mission is “…to build a supportive, diverse, and intergenerational network of neighbors helping neighbors to remain in their homes and to be engaged in their community.” That network has two main parts – Volunteers who provide services to our Members and Members who partake of the services offered by our Volunteers.
Perhaps you know a Kensington neighbor who could benefit from the assistance of our Volunteers – a ride, occasional chores in or outside the home, a friendly visit, even changing a hard-to-reach lightbulb. Or perhaps you know a neighbor who’d like to volunteer to help their neighbors. Or maybe you might want to join VoK or volunteer with us! Check out our website for more info: www.villagesofkensington.org or contact Donna Savage at president@villagesofkensingtonmd.org or leave a message on VoK’s phone, 301-509-0191. Happy New Year to all!
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>> January 27: Hot Cocoa with a Cop
Plan to stop by McDonald's on Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring on the 27th and join us for Hot Cocoa with a Cop. It's an opportunity to interact with Montgomery County Police officers who work in our community. All students and parents are welcome!! When: January 27, 1:00-3:00 pm Where: 12313 Georgia Avenue
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History Chair: vacant
Safety Chair: vacant
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| Thank you to our Newsletter Sponsors
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| Greetings Neighbors .... from Jim Ryan, Realtor
For those of you that I have yet to meet, I’m sure that day will come. I moved my family to Kensington from Alexandria 27 years ago. There is no other place that I would rather live than this community! I have a real estate license with Long and Foster Downtown Silver Spring. If you have friends interested in moving to this area, I am glad to help.
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