TC REPORTS – August 2016

HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION – Georgette Cole

Review Session: Robert Johnson was present to discuss plans for alterations to his home located at 400 Center Street. His architect was also available to address any questions and concerns. Plans, including drawings and photographs, of the existing structure were prepared, along with a new design development plan for alterations to the front/street/side and corner perspectives. The house is a non-contributing structure, which is visible from three public ways – Maple Avenue, Center Street and Maple Road. Approximately 900 feet of living space will be added to the existing house, which will include a second story master bedroom suite above the kitchen. The plans also include a screened-in porch (facing Maple Avenue), along with open front porches facing Center Street. The drawings were very detailed and thorough, complete with a site plan. The HPC agreed that the changes will greatly enhance the current structure and they had only a few suggestions, which the architect will take into consideration. A written review will be prepared and submitted to the Planning Commission accordingly.
Records Management Update: Gail emailed an update on group comments regarding the discussion of proper categorization of the Camp Meeting Association records. The HPC has urged the Town Records Management Staff and State Archives to accept these items as part of the official Town records. It was decided to postpone further discussion on this topic until all Commission members are present. The item will be added to next month’s agenda.
Design Guidelines: Bob distributed additional material from other historical communities on their construction and preservation rules for the Commission to review. These resources will be helpful in updating our criteria for the Town of Washington Grove.

PLAYGROUNDS – Georgette Cole

Steve Werts has removed several old pieces of playground equipment and reduced the size of one play enclosure which was in a very wet area. He plans to add additional drainage to several areas. At the end of July our equipment order went in to Kompan. We will be getting two (2) Seesaws for 4, two (2) Spica 1 In-Ground, two (2) Spinner Bowl Blue In-Ground, and one (1) Supernova Blue. The order total after the discount Jenn Hix negotiated was just over $16,000 and with freight added our grand total was $16,771. Details on the pieces are in the Playground Report the Council received 12 October 2015.

WASHINGTON GROVE MEADOW CONSERVATION PARK – Georgette Cole

I toured the Meadow Park on July 30 and made notes on where Mile-a-minute is recurring. I am working on a letter to the MC Park Manager, David Quintanilla, and the MC Forest Ecologist, Carole Bergmann, regarding the next step in this ongoing treatment program.

SHADY GROVE CROSSING – Georgette Cole

Nothing to report

MAPLE LAKE – Patrice Klein

Geese and bees are gone.

Ed Mroczka & Hutch planted a corkscrew willow behind Nicho’s bench, and may plant another on the far side of the lake. The Committee is considering additional tree planting at the lake.

Nicho’s Memorial Bench: Dedication on August 13th.

Swim Lessons: completed 7/5 – 7/29; Lainey Selby did a great job! There will be no life guard coverage Monday, August 29 – Friday, September 2 so it will be “Swim at your Own Risk” during that week. Steve will take the diving board down on Aug. 29th because there will be no Life Guard coverage that week. There will be life guards for Labor Day Weekend (Sept. 3-5).

Maintenance Items: NatureWorksCWA treating for Algae & Pond weed every 3 weeks – next visit around August 16th. There is monthly water testing for E.coli & Coliforms on the last Monday of each month starting May 23rd. Results of the first few tests were good.
Security Items: Gate combo changed on July 20th. There has been evidence of some parties at the lake after hours and we may have to change the combination again.
Some website updates on Lake Info are needed (several have been submitted)

SAFETY/EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS– Patrice Klein

Town Council decision pending on establishing Committee and moving forward with Task Force recommendations.

FORESTRY & BEAUTIFICATION – Audrey Maskery

Asplundh has finally finished clearing the PEPCO lines in second phase of work performed every three/four years.

Maintenance is currently watering forty trees and shrubs. The list includes trees planted earlier in this year, plus trees and shrubs planted within the last three years. Some of these new trees are part of the Nicho’s Trees project in the East Woods. The watering plan follows recommendations provided by nurseries supplying our trees and shrubs.

Forestry and Beautification will be meeting Thursday August 25th. Possible new planting sites will be under discussion. F&B welcomes anyone who wishes to join us in the Council Room at 7:30pm.

MAINTENANCE – Audrey Maskery

The work on playground equipment started with the removal of old equipment and repositioning of surrounding landscape timbers in preparation for the arrival of new playground equipment.

New electric line from Town maintenance shop to the Gazebo laid in protective pipe; plus, new outdoor electrical panel for the Gazebo.

Completion of the new brick sidewalk in Block 11.

Old timbers and arborvitae hedge removed from Railroad Park. The ground was cleared and leveled to provide a cleaner look to the park and entrance to the Town. New grass will be filled in when the weather is suitable in the fall.

Continuing cutting of grass and watering of trees for Forestry & Beautification and Woods Committee.

MEMORIALS – Audrey Maskery

Nothing to report.

PLANNING COMMISSION – John McClelland

Building Permits:

• 407 Acorn Ln – Fence – Approved
• 400 Center St – Addition – Plans submitted and HPC reviewed. PC will review in September
• 203 2nd Ave – Recent rains have deposited dirt, sand, etc., on nearby properties (private and public) which is thought to be caused by the lack of a silt fence. Steve Werts volunteered to speak with the contractor and address the issue.

Commercial Corner:
109 Wash Grove Ln – Pastor Aaron Pollard presented the possibility of moving his Highway Christian Church to Washington Grove. The church’s congregation was estimated at 10 adults and 15 children with service/bible study etc., on Sunday 10 AM – 3 PM, Monday 5-7 PM and Wednesday 7 – 9 PM. Current ordinance does not permit a “church” operation in the commercial zone nor does it allow for a special exception to be heard on the case. The PC will work on an ordinance revision to permit a special exception hearing to be possible if needed.

Easements: Residents at 409 5th Ave. previously submitted an easement request then withdrew it. Now the title insurance company has expressed concern and wants to reopen the easement process on this property. The PC will again revisit this property easement once an intent to do so is received from the property owners.

Block 11: The brick public walkway located in the “rear” of the five properties to provide access to all has been completed. A letter from the mayor and PC chairman will be sent to any property owner who continues to encroach on Town property.

Block Corner Survey: A draft RFP for surveying the East woods was presented (thanks to Charlie Challstrom). The purpose of which is to “de-plat” the area and establish the Town’s southern boundaries. Similar orange posts/markers to those placed along the west woods will be used – except the property lines located behind WG residents on Center St (which would require a modification to the RFP). The PC endorsed this RFP and forwarded it to the TC.

17050 Railroad St (Cator Property) – Subdivision:
A preliminary subdivision plat was approved by the PC with final approval contingent upon receipt of a forest conservation plan and final subdivision plat – which remain outstanding, however, reports of intent to sell individual lots were discovered. Note: Marketing individual lots before the final subdivision plans are approved or recorded among the land records would be a violation of Town ordinance (Article XI Section 1. Charlie Challstrom contacted Shirl Harrison and Dave McKee (her planner) regarding the property’s subdivision plat status. Shirl stated she did not know the plat was not finalized and notified the realtor (Kathi Kershaw) of the current status. Dave stated that his surveyor will provide the final plat portion ASAP. Charlie also provided a 2002 letter from Bill Roberts (then Town attorney) on this very subject. An official letter from the mayor will be sent to all parties involved.

House Records: This fantastic project continues with 66+ properties completed thus far.

Master Policy and Public Land Use: The PC concluded that the Town’s master plan does allow use of public land for a potential dog park. The proponents of the dog park idea will present it to the TC. It was suggested that the existing Woodward Park resolution be used as a template to organize thoughts and address related issues.

MCCATHRAN HALL – John McClelland

Summer in the Parks has come to a close with no reports of hall damage.

Pursuit of defibrillators continues.

WOODS GROUP – Greg Silber

Work to survey and mark the westernmost boundary of the West Woods has been completed. In coordination with the Planning Commission, the Woods Group is also discussing a similar contract to survey and mark the eastern boundary of the East Woods and associated areas.
The Group is working to develop a multi-year schedule and secure a contract for the large-scale removal and control of invasive plant species in both West and East Woods. The Group continues to help oversee planting of trees in various locations including in areas near the lake and where invasive plants have been removed in the East Woods. Tree planting will continue with an emphasis on fall and winter planting.
The Group voted to change its name to the “Woods Committee”. Due to the Labor Day Holiday, the Group’s next meeting will be Monday August 29th, 7:30.

CONTRACTS – Greg Silber

Mayor McCathran and Contract Liaison Silber met with a representative from Potomac Disposal to address concerns expressed recently by residents about the mixing of recyclables with the trash. We will be preparing a note for the next Bulletin explaining the regulations and business practices about this and a few additional updates for residents.

RECREATION – Shelley Winkler

Summer in the Parks finished a very successful season, thanks to the dedicated work of organizing volunteers Emily Brown, Alison Faupel and Joey Fones, and this year’s staff, skillfully directed by Grayson Yachup. The parent volunteers mentioned that enrollment nearly doubled to 42 campers this year, and that the staff’s ingenuity in planning games and activities kept the camp within budget. The SITP volunteers hope to make a presentation or report to the Council with more details.

The Briggs Family, in coordination with the Recreation Committee, will be holding a Potluck Gathering at McCathran Hall on Saturday, August 27, at 1:00 pm, in honor of Elly Briggs, our former Mayor, who died on July 1.

Craig English is once again volunteering to organize the Labor Day athletic events, to be held September 3, 4 and 5. Peter Nagrod has volunteered to add a new soccer skills competition. The details are in the Town Bulletin.

The Adult Exercise Class will return this fall.

Bluestoberfest is planned for Saturday, October 15, and the Halloween pumpkin carving is scheduled for Sunday, October 30.

ROADS & WALKWAYS – Shelley Winkler

Steve is in the process of determining the scope and content of roadwork which will need to be done this year.

WEBSITE – Shelley Winkler

Christine Dibble has volunteered to work with the new website to make it a bit more streamlined and user friendly. Christine is currently a Senior Web Content Strategist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where she manages numerous websites. We are grateful for her willingness to take this on. Mimi Bolotin, a retired librarian and former web editor, has also volunteered to help keep content updated on the website, and we are so grateful for her support as well.

Christine and I just met with Marida Hines, who volunteered her time to give us some information about the current website and the background of its development. From that meeting, we realize that we will also need a volunteer with website development experience who is familiar with Word Press and can safely back up the website and update plug-ins on a regular basis. Marida kindly offered to do this once for the town soon, as it had not been done since January, but it is a time consuming process and we will need a regular volunteer.

Once the appropriate volunteers are in place, changes will be occurring in small increments, over time. We want to make the site as user friendly as possible, keep the information current, and bring older material onto the website. We do not yet know whether we will need to pay someone to import the older material — we need to get the other matters in place first.

INTERGOVERNMENTAL – Joli A. McCathran

It is an honor to be offered, and I accepted, a position on the Maryland Municipal League’s Legislative Committee for the 2017 General Assembly Legislative Session.

Dan Prats, Mayor of Laytonsville is moving to Connecticut and leaving his post as mayor. I attended the Laytonsville’s Town’s Farewell Open House in his honor. All wished Dan well and we have no doubt he will become active in his new town. I accepted a position as member of the Maryland Municipal League’s Montgomery County Chapter Executive Board.