| 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
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>> May 17: KHCA Executive Committee Meeting -- All Are Welcome! The monthly KHCA Executive Committee meeting will be held Wednesday May 17 at 7:30 pm at the home of Ann and Alberto Arevalo, 10801 Torrance Drive. Agenda topics will include the upcoming general meeting, fall elections and our membership drive, proposed annexation of additional homes into KHCA, and further beautification efforts.
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>> May 22: Wheaton Public Safety Task Force Quarterly Meeting
See discussion below under KHCA Public Safety Committee.
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>> May 23: KHCA General Meeting -- Practical Guide to Home Security Time: 7:30-9:00 pm Place: Stephen Knolls School Come join us for a lively discussion about the practical ins and outs of home security and automation systems.The discussion will be led by Andy Fraser who has recently researched options for his home, but we would love to have anyone else who has installed a system (or thought about doing so) to join us and give insights. Please let Karen Cordry know if you would like to talk about your experiences. We have also invited Police Community Liaison Officer Sharif Hidayet to join us to talk about Neighborhood Watch programs and other community-police partnership activities. We look forward to seeing everyone – and we’ll also fill you in on the discussions at the Public Safety Task Force meeting to be held the night before.
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>> Complete Form to Be an "Active Member" of KHCA
Under the KHCA Bylaws, to be a voting membership in KHCA you must renew your membership every two years. So, even if you have been a member in the past, you should fill out the form again. It is easily accessible on the KHCA website. Please sign up soon -- we value your membership and input.
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>> Forest Buffer Clean-Up -- A Success!! Thank you
See update below under KHCA Beautification Committee.
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>> Public Safety Committee Chris Peoples, Chair of the KHCA Public Safety Committee, will be attending the second quarterly meeting of the Wheaton Safety Task Force on May 22. This ongoing task force was set up to address public safety concerns in the Wheaton area, and is comprised of representatives from Westfield Security, the Montgomery County Police Department, WMATA security, and the Wheaton Urban District Safe Team as well as several local neighborhood associations including KHCA. The first meeting, held February 27, was a general session that focused on many topics with a particular emphasis on WMATA (including the garage) and the Mall. Notes from the meeting (dated 3/1) are available on the KHCA website. A prior study was conducted in 2013 and the Task Force will be working with those results as a basis for current efforts. Two documents highlighting the study as well as an executive summary from the work group are also posted to the KHCA webpage. The upcoming meeting will undoubtedly address a number of incidents in recent weeks particularly on or about the Metro. If you have any comments or questions regarding safety in the greater Wheaton area to be addressed at the meeting, please contact Chris Peoples.
Recent Incidents in Kensington Heights 4/7 Larceny from vehicle – over $200 Melvin Grove Court 5/1 Auto Theft – Passenger Vehicle Jutland Court 5/4 Possible attempted abduction McComas/Brunswick [Submitted by Chris Peoples, Chair, Public Safety Committee]
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>> Beautification Committee We want to thank the many residents and Westfield employees who gathered during the morning of April 30 to beautify the forest buffer between Westfield Wheaton Mall and Kensington Heights. We had a great turnout with about 50 participants, including many from the Westfield crew who make the mall sparkle and joined us on their day off to make Kensington Heights sparkle as well. Many bags of trash were collected, and recycling took place. Thanks guys! Plus we are sending out a big thank-you to Westfield Wheaton's General Manager Emily Brophy for leading the way and providing supplies and importantly the pizza! We’ll soon be posting pictures of the clean up on the KHCA website, but for now we’re offering a few pics below. [Submitted by Jon Foreman, Chair, Beautification Committee]
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>> Education Committee
>Montgomery County Public Schools Public Comment Sought on Nondiscrimination, Equity and Cultural Proficiency Policy. The Board of Education has tentatively approved changes to Board Policy ACA, Human Relations, and recommended changing the name of Policy ACA to Nondiscrimination, Equity, and Cultural Proficiency. The draft of the tentatively approved Policy ACA is available for public comment until Friday, May 26, 2017. Info. Richard Montgomery High School Educator Named MCPS Teacher of the Year. Nancy Shay, an English resource teacher at Richard Montgomery High School, has been named the 2017-2018 MCPS Teacher of the Year. She will now compete for Maryland Teacher of the Year. Ms. Shay and other MCPS staff and community members were honored at the annual Champions for Children awards celebration on April 26. The event was hosted by MCPS in partnership with the Montgomery County Business Roundtable for Education. >Book Festivals and Montgomery County Public LIbrary Programs
Make Plans to Attend the Gaithersburg Book Festival on May 20. The 2017 Gaithersburg Book Festival will be held on Saturday, May 20, on the grounds of Gaithersburg City Hall. The festival features a great lineup of authors and activities for children of all ages. Several members of the MCPS community will be conducting readings at the festival, and there will be many programs, workshops, and activities in the Children’s Village that are designed to promote interest in reading and writing.
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COMMUNITY NEWS & CALENDAR
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>> May 18: Public Forum on Montgomery Parks Capital Improvements Program On Thursday May 18, from 6:00-9:00pm, the bi-annual Capital Improvements Program Public Forum will take place. The forum provides an opporotunity for the public to share their ideas and suggestions on how to improve parks. It will be held at the Montgomery Regional Office at 8787 Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring. More info including registration to speak is available online.
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>> June 4: Taste of Wheaton When: Sunday June 4, 11:00am-5:00pm Where: Lot 13 - Reedie Drive and Triangle Lane The annual Taste of Wheaton street party will be held as usual this year in Lot 13 – soon to give way to the Wheaton Town Center project. It will feature “tastes” from numerous local restaurants as well as a variety of fun activities for kids and adults alike including a beer garden. More info. The featured event is expected to be the ground-breaking for the Wheaton Town Center which is slated to begin construction the next day. But…. see the next topic below for more information on the Town Center.
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>> June 5: Wheaton Town Center....To Finally Begin? Project Start Date: June 5 Actual Start Date: ??? The most recent meeting of the Wheaton Urban District, held on May 8, focused almost exclusively on the progress (or lack thereof) for the Wheaton Town Center project slated for Lot 13. It was yet another disconcerting and dispiriting look at why putting a transportation department in charge of managing a major development project wasn’t perhaps the best idea. The DOT spokesman confidently predicted that they were 99.99% sure of being able to start on June 5, but the problem that has been holding up the project for months – the inability to reach agreements with certain nearby landlords for certain construction techniques that would encroach onto their property – has still not been resolved with two of the landlords. In January there were six holdouts; in March there were still 3, but at least all were talking to the County and they were confident they would be able to get agreements with them. However, there are still 2 agreements that have yet to be reached. The spokesman did not explain why, after all of those months, they were sure those last 2 agreements would fall into place in the next 3 weeks. Even assuming the work does start on time, the other major concern is that the County is still failing to adequately communicate with the local businesses on Triangle Lane or to give them any clear assurances and timetable as to how they will receive the business disruption assistance they were promised. The newest issue is that they just found out that Triangle Lane will lose 5 feet in width for the three years of construction which will make it even more difficult for customers to park and to exit their stores, and also will make traffic back-ups more likely. The point may have been mentioned once in a meeting a year ago, but there has apparently been no further follow-up with businesses or attempts to assess the impact on the ground. And, even when pressed, the Country representative did not provide any specifics about how the assistance payments would be made – or whether they would be forthcoming before any of the businesses succumbed to the loss of income. The final concern is that there is no sign of progress on getting financing for the residential component of the development, which was to include 6,000 feet of multiple use space for community purposes. There is also apparently no particular incentive from the County for the developer to get the project done – and no penalty if they do not. In particular, they will not lose their development rights on the former Park and Planning sight near downtown Silver Spring, which is presumably a more desirable property. In short, this was not a happy meeting – the only truly good news is that they hired a new construction manager with substantial County experience who will be on site full-time when (hopefully, not “if”) the project gets up and running. So, keep your fingers crossed and think hopeful thoughts about June 5!
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>> Villages of Kensington
VoK's mission is to build a supportive, diverse, and intergenerational network of neighbors helping neighbors in zipcode 20895 to remain in their homes and to be engaged in their community. As a 501c3 all-volunteer nonprofit, VoK also accepts contributions to support memberships for those in 20895 who cannot afford the full fee. Recently, the Washington Post section on Health and Science featured an article about “aging-at-home villages” and their benefits. It is a good read for information about how these nation-wide nonprofit groups initially organized and how they arrange volunteer drivers, household helpers, and social events. If you are interested in the Villages of Kensington, see the VoK website for more information and contacts as well as how to volunteer and donate.
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>> Brookside Gardens Wings of Fancy Butterfly Exhibit The Butterfly Exhibit at Brookside Gardens (1500 Glenallan Ave, off Randolph Road) is a truly magical event each year. As you enter the conservatory, you walk among hundreds of stunningly beautiful butterflies from all over the world. Tickets are $8 for ages 13 and up, $5 for 3-12 years, and free for 2 years and younger. The hours are 10am to 4pm through mid-September. More info.
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| >> Montgomery County Civic Federation Information from the MCCF newsletter can be found at this link.The mission of MCCF is to preserve and improve the quality of life for all current and future residents of Montgomery County. Since its founding in 1925, the volunteers of the MCCF have committed themselves to providing an effective citizen voice to government policy makers. The recent newsletter features:- A Wayne Goldstein remembrance. Wayne, who died almost 8 years ago, was president of KHCA and lived on Jennings Road in Kensington Heights. His contributions to the larger community and the County were many and much appreciated.
- A summary of the May 8 meeting on transparency and open govenment.
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History Chair: vacant
Website: incoming Ricardo Gonzalez
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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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