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Barbara H March 23rd, 2009

General Membership Meeting Minutes

Maplewood Citizens Association (MCA)

11/19/2008

MCA ATTENDEES

Officers present were: Allen Myers, president; Janet Maalouf, vice-president; Barbara Harrison, secretary

At least 36 community members attended.

SECRETARY’S REPORT

Draft minutes from the September 24 meeting were distributed by the secretary. Approval of the minutes was moved and seconded. Members unanimously approved the motion.

TREASURER’S REPORT

Allen Myers read the treasurer’s report provided by Joe Levin. The MCA bank balance on Sept. 1 was $5983.94. We have received $1625 in membership dues. Expenses for September and October were $2439.96 (newsletter $633.54, Verizon telephone $92.64, fire department $100, liability insurance $1578). The Bank balance as of 10/29/08 was $5168.98. We are looking for sources of less costly liability insurance.

MCLEAN SCHOOL PURCHASE OF HEART HOUSE (American College of Cardiology property)

Allen informed members that an anonymous letter had been circulated concerning the McLean School purchase of Heart House. Many particulars in the letter are false, and it should be disregarded.

Three representatives from the McLean School presented to the meeting: Darlene Pierro, Head of the School; Morrie Schactman, Assistant Head; and Paul Lund of Bowie Gridley, an architect engaged by the school. These individuals provided extensive background on the school and its plans for Heart House as follows:

· The K – 12 school is well established and is located in a renovated county school property in a residential neighborhood. They have extensive experience in working with the community to manage the impact of the school in the neighborhood. The school’s size is limited by the current location. The Upper School, Grades 9-12, now has 140 students.

· The Heart House building can be adapted to serve as a new Upper School, ultimately enrolling 350 students, to be phased in over 5 years. In addition, the school proposes to build a temporary metal building to serve as a gym. Eventually, this will be replaced by an athletic field and an athletic center (the latter to be connected to the existing building on the south side and designed to have a low profile). Many trees along the edges of the property would be maintained as a buffer. The school plans to apply to cut a second driveway onto Old Georgetown Road, retaining the Alta Vista Road exit only for emergencies. Camberly Road would be maintained as a dead end street. They also are open to ideas for traffic quieting devices, including a possible traffic light at Alta Vista and Old Georgetown Road.

· 199 parking spaces (vs 180 now) would accommodate most event parking on site. About 75% of students will be bused in from satellite sites, so maybe 5 or 6 buses would be needed. Considerable discussion followed the presentations, including questions about arrival times of cars and busses, parking for sports events, traffic patterns, possible rental of the campus, night use, lighting, etc. The school representatives stressed their successful experience integrating into a residential community.

Allen mentioned that the McLean School’s plan will go to the Development Review Committee of Park and Planning. There will be a hearing before the Planning Board at which MCA and individual citizens will be able to testify . The school needs a special zoning exception (as did the Cardiology College). The Board of Appeals will review the proposal and set special conditions about entrances, parking, etc. to a zoning exception. This stage of the process may occur by next summer. It would be beneficial for the school to develop a detailed plan addressing the issues raised before applying for the special exception. Then MCA will know the details and can comment specifically. Allen also indicated that some issues would be handled in the future on an ongoing basis by a community liaison committee for the school, as exists for other schools in Maplewood.

· It was moved and seconded that MCA should graciously accept entrance of the school into the neighborhood and support them conceptually as they go forward. The motion was unanimously adopted.

PROPOSED BYLAW AMENDMENT

The proposed amendment text was published in the MCA newsletter. The aim of the amendment is to decrease the frequency of required audits, as recommended by the MCA auditor. It was moved and seconded to adopt the amendment. After discussion, a motion was made and seconded to amend the first motion to require an audit at least every 3 years or when the treasurer changes, whichever comes first. After discussion, this amendment to the first motion was unanimously accepted. Then the amended motion was unanimously adopted. The first sentence of Section 5 of the bylaws will now read: “The financial records and reports of the Association shall be audited every three years immediately prior to the May annual meeting, or at the time a new Treasurer is appointed or elected, whichever is the lesser, by a qualified person appointed by the President.”

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH COMMITTEE

A woman recently was attacked on Corsica Ave. at 8:15 p.m. Apparently she had been followed home, and when she got out of her car, a man wearing a ski mask pistol whipped her, took her money, and drove off. Detective Mark Frasier with the Montgomery County Police was present at the MCA meeting and addressed the membership. He indicated that he has lived in Maplewood about a year, and that his partner is investigating the incident. They have a couple of leads and hope to make an arrest. He advised that if a car follows you, drive around the block to check. Be alert and don’t get out of the car if you are concerned. If you see someone who doesn’t look right for any reason – call the police. Detective Frasier also advised taking a flashlight while walking to spot people lurking in cars and to turn around if anyone looks suspicious.

There will be an organizational meeting of a Maplewood Neighborhood Watch Committee at 7:30 p.m. on December 4. Interested members were asked to let Allen know if they wanted to attend. Allen will continue to send out crime reports when he hears about an incident.

METRO NOISE

An acoustic engineer from Metro has a list of homes that are experiencing the noise increases. He has ridden trains and will look into it.

FAES (Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences) PROPERTY TRANSITION COMMITTEE

Mark Nathans and Susan Cheney co-chair this committee that will monitor plans for the FAES property at the northwest corner of Cedar Lane and Cypress Road. Mark reviewed information about plans for the site, which includes 2 vacant lots and 3 existing homes that front on Cypress. As described at the September MCA meeting and in the newsletter, FAES is planning to build 31 rental townhomes for students and postdocs at NIH. The site is presently zoned R-60, and the acreage would allow up to 13 single family homes without rezoning. The first meeting of the committee will be held soon. Interested members should contact Mark or Susan. This will be a long process with several stages for input and involvement by MCA. There will be a rezoning application, a site plan proposal, and a discussion of housing issues related to MPDUs. Allen will ask FAES to address MCA and host a meeting for adjoining neighbors and organizations.

BRAC COMMITTEE

Jan Maalouf reported on the November 18 meeting. The Navy reported that most of the dirt hauling and truck work has been completed. A master plan will be submitted to Park and Planning on February 5. The Navy has just completed an employee survey to understand transportation patterns. We can expect public hearings in first 6 months of 2009 concerning plans for the 4 major intersections affected by the realignment. Janet will continue to attend the meetings.

Submitted by Barbara Harrison, Secretary

Approved 3/19/09

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