15 March 2016 | Approved: 19 April 2016
Members Present: Bob Booher, Wendy Harris, Gail Littlefield and Mimi Styles, along with Georgette Cole, Town Council Liaison, and Cynthia Werts, Town resident. Also in attendance were Maia & Larry Good (3 Daylily Lane), and Marilynn Frey. The meeting was called to order at 7:40pm.
Approval of Agenda:
The agenda was reviewed with two items deleted. It was then approved by consensus.
Adoption of Minutes:
The draft minutes from the meeting of February 18, 2016, were reviewed. Mimi moved to adopt the minutes, as written, seconded by Wendy. The motion carried unanimously.
Review Session:
Maia & Larry Good were in attendance to discuss the extension of their existing garage at 3 Daylily Lane. They provided a preliminary drawing for discussion, however, no further plans are proposed at this time. The HPC advised them that a boundary survey is required to check for setbacks and a building permit application will need to be submitted when they decide to move forward with their plans.
A building permit application was submitted by Marida Hines for screening an existing open porch at 204 Ridge Road. The application included sufficient documentation for discussion. No changes to the existing footprint or roof structure are planned. The HPC will prepare and submit their review to the Planning Commission accordingly.
Archives:
Marilynn Frey has volunteered to oversee the Town’s records management plan. She presented a HPC File Retention Policy Draft for the Commission to review and to get approval on the HPC inventory section of the Records Retention and Disposal Schedule so an “official” schedule can be established. All sections of the document must be approved before moving forward with the plan. She will make the recommended changes/additions to the draft version as determined by the Commission. It is unclear if the HPC records will be categorized as state archives or special collections.
Annual Budget:
The draft budget proposed for FY 2017 was reviewed. Except for an increase in income for the Archives Worker, the Commission voted to keep the HPC budget figures proposed for FY 2017 the same as FY 2016. No other changes were made and the recommendations will be sent to Mary Challstrom for review.
Town Council Report:
Georgette submitted a brief report on issues discussed at the recent meeting. She noted that the Mayor reported that the Lake Legislation hearing held on March 11th went well and it appears that the proposal will be transferred to the House for vote.
Planning Commission Report:
Mimi represented the HPC at the recent meeting held on March 2nd. She reported that Jason Newman (new resident at 304 Chestnut Avenue) submitted a building permit application for a fence. The Commission declined the application because it was not complete. Mr. Newman was advised that if he completed the paperwork, as the process requires, the application would be approved at the April meeting.
Marilynn Frey was also present at the meeting to present the PC File Retention Policy Draft. The Commission made a few changes to their section and then approved the draft version, as amended.
An update on the status of House Files was reported – the total number of homes completed is 49.
Drainage Issue update – The Commission has contacted Montgomery County to arrange a meeting with a county representative to discuss some drainage problems in Town.
A HPC representative has been scheduled to attend future meetings:
April – Gail Littlefield
May – Wendy Harris
June – Mimi Styles
July – Bob Booher
August – Dave Stopak
Bulletin Material:
Over the next couple of months, the Town bulletin will feature historical newspaper articles pertaining to Washington Grove. These articles were originally published in The Washington Post.
Presentation with Clare Lise Kelly:
Bob will contact Clare to formally invite her to give a lecture on Modern Architecture in Montgomery County sometime in late May or early June. This presentation will take place in the Town Hall, focusing on properties and contributing structures in Washington Grove.
Her new book Montgomery Modern, released in October 2015, is a chronicle of mid-century modern architecture in Montgomery County. This illustrated reference guide includes an inventory of key buildings and communities, and biographical sketches of practitioners including architects, landscape architects, planners and developers. Clare was awarded the 2015 Paul H. Kea medal for architectural advocacy by the American Institute of Architects (Potomac Valley Chapter).
With no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 9:30 pm.
Minutes prepared and submitted by: Cynthia Werts