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Barbara H June 24th, 2009

MCA General Meeting Minutes

3/18/09

Officers present were: Allen Myers, President; Janet Maalouf, Vice-president; Hugh Barteman, Treasurer; Barbara Harrison, Secretary. In addition, at least 32 members of the community attended.

Secretary’s Report Minutes of the 11/19/08 General Membership Meeting were distributed. It was moved that they be adopted. The motion was unanimously approved.

Treasurer’s Report Allen announced the sad news that Treasurer Joe Levin had passed away on March 9, 09. The Executive Committee appointed Hugh Barteman to fill this role prior to elections. Hugh passed out a brief treasurer’s report The starting bank balance as of November 20, 2008 was $5290.85. Expenses since the last meeting were $1697.00, mainly for printing The Mapleleaf , Verizon phone service, a post office box, office supplies, and a check reorder. Income from memberships and 2 purchases of ads in the newsletter totaled $3175.00. The closing bank balance as of March 15, 2009 is $6767.95. The membership moved and adopted acceptance of the corrected report.

Neighborhood Watch Committee Allen reported that we have 14 block captains, but need many more to help prevent incidents from occurring. These citizens are trained to help neighbors keep an eye on each others’ houses, suspicious people, etc. Interested members should contact Amy Tsai, chair of the committee. Allen is scheduled to meet with Officer Mathis on April 6 to talk about posting Neighborhood Watch signs.

Nominating Committee Ralph Schofer was appointed by the Executive Committee to chair a nominating committee for officers of the Board. Members were encouraged to contact Ralph to volunteer for the nominating committee and to consider serving Maplewood as an officer of the association.

BRAC Implementation Committee Meeting Janet Maalouf gave a brief update on the latest BRAC Implementation meeting. She strongly encouraged residents of Maplewood to attend a State Highway Administration (SHA) workshop on April 2 at BCC high school Gymnasium from 5:30-7:30pm. The SHA will have drawings of proposed improvements at 4 BRAC-related intersections and staff on hand to explain the proposed improvements and obtain resident comments. SHA will have details on the proposed improvements under the BRAC icon at www.mdot.state.md.us. The 4 intersections are W. Cedar Lane and Old Georgetown Road, W. Cedar Lane and Rockville Pike, Jones Bridge Road and Wisconsin Avenue, and Jones Bridge Road at Connecticut Avenue. Funding for BRAC intersection improvements is still fluid and limited In response to a question, Janet assured the group that the Coalition of Military Medical Center Neighbors (CMMCN) is working to insure that authorities at the County, State and Federal level are accountable and coordinate to make this BRAC a success. The CMMCN is impressing upon the authorities the importance of a comprehensive approach to this BRAC with a long-term vision of viability and livability of the surrounding neighborhoods, and taking into consideration other expansion projects at NIH and Suburban Hospital as well development projects in the surrounding area.

Donation to the Walter Johnson Prom Breakfast MCA traditionally makes a donation to the prom breakfast at Walter Johnson High School, which was established to provide neighborhood high school students with a safe after-prom activity. Jim Winkler moved we donate $200. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

Fire Department Presentation Maplewood resident Jim Winkler, a Board member of the Bethesda Fire Department and retired NY city fireman, gave a presentation explaining some of the complex history and issues surrounding fire prevention and emergency services in Bethesda. In Montgomery County, services are provided partly by volunteers and partly by county career employees. The Bethesda Fire Department has been staffed by county employees since 1988 and has 3 stations; at W. Cedar La. and Old Georgetown Rd., at Wisconsin Ave. and Bradley Blvd., and on Democracy Blvd. near Fernwood Rd. In addition, NIH and Navy Medical fire and rescue crews may help out in our area, as well as Cabin John and Glen Echo Fire Departments. The BCC Rescue Squad is an all volunteer organization.

Jim informed the group that standards put forth by the National Fire Protection Association provide for 4 person crews per vehicle. However, Montgomery County requires only 3 person crews on its fire trucks. Because timing is critical early in the development of a fire, the number of personnel on the scene in the first 8 minutes can make a huge difference. Jim cited a recent example of a fire on Jamestown Rd. in which 3 small children were rescued, but where the circumstances could easily have been tragic. It is also critical to coordinate availability of multiple crews, since fire fighters may be sent for training or dispatched to non-fire emergencies for their EMS expertise. Jim Resnick, battalion chief from Mont. Co. Fire and Rescue indicated that some crews will have a fourth member added soon; he also cited other factors that affect the number of personnel that can arrive on scene quickly, such as the density of fire stations and time of day, as other issues to be considered. Jim Winkler encouraged residents to make ourselves heard; he believes that an affluent community should be able to afford the best staffing and equipment. Jim also feels that we need another hook and ladder truck. Members asked for additional information how to provide optimum input and on how other counties have dealt with this. Jim offered to come back for further discussion of this issue. Jim also mentioned that Leesburg, VA was recently cited for having only a 3 person crew.

Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES) Proposal

The FAES brought a group of representatives to the meeting to provide an overview of their proposed plans for a 4 acre parcel in Maplewood that is owned by the Foundation. The property is bounded by W. Cedar Lane, Cypress Ave., and Acacia Ave. Ted Becker, president of FAES, described the history of FAES, which is a non-profit formed in 1959 to aid NIH and includes efforts to aid an NIH program that allows students at partner universities to do dissertation research at NIH. These students, as well as NIH post-doctoral fellows, often have trouble finding affordable housing near NIH. FAES currently owns 4 houses on the 4 acre parcel and has been renting them to students.

Steve Kaufman, an attorney with Linowes & Blocker who is representing FAES, informed the meeting that FAES just submitted a zoning application to rezone the 4 acre parcel of land from R-60 (single family homes) to RT-8 (residential townhouses). The application has not yet been accepted; signatures of all Board members are required. Thirty-one townhouses, each having 4 to 5 bedrooms with individual baths and shared common areas are proposed. The proposed townhouses would have two-car garages and space for two additional cars behind the garages. Houses facing Cypress Ave. would be duplexes designed to blend with the single family use of Cypress, while townhouses would be concentrated along Cedar La. and the interior of the property. Krishna Balakrishnan, Executive Director of FAES, Indicated that NIH now has 350 to 400 grad students, many of whom need to come into the lab at odd hours, over the weekend, etc. Many do not have cars. The proposed units would provide affordable housing and a community for these students and/or for postdoctoral fellows.

George Myers, an architect from GTM Architects who has done the conceptual design, presented an overview of the project, showing preservation of a large wooded tract along Acacia and Cypress Avenues that might become a “pocket park.” Approximately 30 percent of the site would be “green area”. Other attendees included Heather Dlhopolsky, an associate of Steve Kaufman, and Kevin Foster, an engineer on the project. FAES will finance and own the buildings. Nancy Randall of Wells and Associates provided an analysis of potential traffic patterns; if these were standard townhomes, 15 trips would be expected in morning and 26 in the evening.

After the presenters left, members of MCA discussed the proposal, led by Susan Cheney, co-chair of the MCA committee appointed to report on issues relating to this project. A number of concerns were raised by members regarding topics such parking, upkeep of the property, density of the population (especially if married students are allowed), traffic, impact on real estate values, and the fate of the complex if the partnership with NIH is dissolved in the future. Others noted that NIH students are generally serious, and that this concept has some positive aspects. Allen explained that this will be a lengthy process (with opportunity for community input) even to get a zoning exception; perhaps a year to that point. If an exception were to be granted, then there will be additional steps, including a subdivision and site planning process.

Members agreed that it is very early in the process. A number of procedural steps must occur before a concrete site plan can be put forth, and there is no need to finalize an MCA position on the project at this time. A motion was made to ask the FAES committee to continue reviewing the situation and to provide feedback to the Executive Committee, who will keep membership informed.

Submitted by Barbara Harrison, Secretary

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