19 April 2016 | Approved: 17 May 2016
Members Present: Bob Booher, Wendy Harris, Gail Littlefield, Dave Stopak and Mimi Styles, along with Georgette Cole, Town Council Liaison, and Cynthia Werts, Town resident. The meeting was called to order at 7:35pm.
Approval of Agenda:
The agenda was reviewed with three revisions. It was then approved by consensus.
Adoption of Minutes:
The draft minutes from the meeting of March 15, 2016, were reviewed. Mimi moved to adopt the minutes, as written, seconded by Wendy. The motion carried unanimously.
Review Session:
There were no new projects for discussion.
Annual Award:
The Commission reviewed and discussed the list of properties for consideration of the 2016 WG Preservation Award. The vote was unanimous to present the award to 404 Grove Avenue (Brown/Young) for their addition with a screened porch. The announcement will be made at the annual Town Meeting in May.
Bulletin Material Report:
Wendy prepared a written report on ideas that she and Pat Patula have been working on for future Town bulletins. They are developing a series of articles about Washington Grove’s early history based on information from articles that appeared in the Washington Post dating to the late 1800s and early 1900s. The May bulletin will feature an article from the Town archives entitled “The Town’s First, Fastest and Cheapest Building Permit”.
Council Report:
Georgette gave an overview of items discussed at the recent Town Council Meeting:
- Mark Frederiksen, chairperson for the Emergency Preparedness Task Force, gave a committee report. He requested to do a 15-minute presentation on the subject at the annual Town Meeting.
- The Town Council has approved the draft budget and tax rate for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2016. Voting to adopt the proposed budget will take place at the annual Town Meeting on Saturday, May 14th.
- Introduction of Ordinance 2016-07 for modifying business hours to allow businesses at the Town’s Commercial Corner to remain open until 9:30PM. A public hearing to discuss this proposed ordinance will be held on Monday, May 23, 2016, at the Town Hall.
- Mayor McCathran announced that House Bill 1101 Municipal Corporations-Open Swimming Lakes was passed and will be signed in to law. This law allows the Town to monitor Maple Lake and not be subject to inspections by Montgomery County.
PC Meeting Report:
Gail was in attendance as a representative for the HPC. She gave an update on items discussed at the recent meeting:
- The building permit for 204 Ridge Road (Hines/Johnson) was approved (screening of porch).
- There was an update/status report on Block 11 noting that some of the brick sidewalk has been redone, and, once it is completed, Maggie Range will have 60 days to move her steps that are currently located on public land.
- There was also discussion on changing the business hours at the Town Commercial Corner. Agape Florist is leaving and the new tenants, Alcoholics Anonymous, would like to use the space for their daily meetings which will take place from 7:30pm-9:30pm. The current ordinance requires businesses to close at 9:00pm, therefore, a change in the ordinance would be required. The Commission voted to support the change, and language for the ordinance change will be sent to the Town Council.
- House files status report – 56 homes have been completed to date
- A meeting has been arranged between Town representatives and storm water specialists from Montgomery County to review and discuss several drainage issues in Town.
Vacant Properties:
Dave reported that the task force will meet again in May to move forward with the goal of categorizing a pre-registry of unoccupied homes in Town. Once this report is completed, it will be sent to the Town Council for their review.
Clare Kelly Presentation:
Bob will endeavor to contact Clare to extend an invitation for her to give a lecture to Town residents on Mid-Century Modern Architecture in Montgomery County. He will report back when he has confirmed a date.
HPC Records in Plan:
This topic will be postponed until the next meeting when Pat Patula can clarify whether HPC records will be categorized as special collections or state archives.
With no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:40pm.
Minutes prepared and submitted by:
Cynthia Werts