Minutes
College Heights Estates Association Annual Meeting
Monday, April 18, 2016, 7-9 p.m. University Park Elementary School
1.Welcome
Beverly Silverberg, President, opened the meeting at 7 p.m. and thanked all for coming to our Annual Meeting. There were about 50 persons present. She specifically thanked the Board for their commitment over her 10 years as president. She asked all Board members to rise and be recognized. In particular, she mentioned Jana Over, Vice President, who had taken on several initiatives dealing with our web site and the welcoming of new neighbors in her immediate neighborhood. Beverly also recognized Patricia Cunniff, Newsletter Editor; Joel Scheraga, Webmaster and master hamburger slinger at our CHEA Fests and recent honoree by the President of the United States for his exemplary service at the EPA; Ron Browning and Joe Novello, for handling our distinctive CHE signs; Lisa Holt for serving as liaison to the PG Police Department; and Jean Lee, who continues to serve as a non-voting member of our community.
Beverly noted that during her tenure we have successfully battled gypsy moths and drug dealers, encouraged community friendly development, introduced energy saving programs to CHE, fought the UMD golf course development, had eligible homes surveyed and entered on the National Register of Historic Places, maintained our distinctive street signs, held annual CHEAFests where neighbors have met new neighbors, placed and maintained the flower bed at the entrance to the community, worked with the DPW&T to secure timely snow removal, worked with the PG Police Department to assure the safety of our homes and streets, worked with our County Council members, first Eric Olson and now Dannielle Glaros, and have attended hundreds of meetings representing our community’s interest.
Beverly said that it had been a privilege to serve and now it was time to turn over the baton. However, there was a slight problem. Ron Blunck, who is running for president. is now stranded by a huge snowstorm in Colorado and won’t get back for another day or so! She thanked Ron for being one of the founders of CHEA and his willingness to take on the mantel of President. In his absence the agenda proceeded as follows:
2. Election of Officers and Board
The slate of officers has been circulated in the CHEA Newsletter and a copy is on the sign-in desk of the UPES auditorium, staffed by Jean Lee. The slate is as follows:
President: Ron Blunck
Vice President: Christopher Oehrle
Treasurer: Don Hein
Secretary/Communications Director: Patricia Cunniff
Webmaster: Joel Scheraga
President Emeritus: Beverly Silverberg
Board Members: Ronald Browning, Lisa Holt, Matthew Kinnard, Rick Macpherson, Dawn Nichols, Joseph Novello, Kimberly Nugent, Marilyn O’Brien, Jean Pirovic, Betsy Tornquist, Ellen Wallis.
Non-voting Member: Jean Lee
Beverly asked if there were any nominations from the floor. Hearing none, she called for a vote. The vote was unanimous to approve the slate named above.
3. Treasurer’s Report
Don Hein, Treasurer, indicated that we have about $7,700 in our Treasury. This pays for the flowers at the entrance to College Heights Estates, maintenance of our street signs, our annual CHEAFest, and other needs as they arise. At present dues are $25 per household. Don indicated that at present we have 50 paid members out of a possible 180 households.
Beverly indicated that the Board at a recent board meeting voted to maintain annual dues at $25 per household. She asked those present to confirm keeping dues at $25 per household. The vote was unanimous.
Lisa Holt, Board Member, brought up the possibility of permitting home owners to use Pay Pal or to pay online rather than using the check format. Beverly said she would bring this to Ron Blunck’sattention.
4. Dannielle Glaros, CountyCouncil Member, District 3, and Vice-Chair of the County Council
In her introduction of Dannielle Glaros, Beverly commended Dannielle for being the recipient of the 2015 Phyllis Newsome Award from the Center for Nonprofit Advancement and thanked her for her friendship to and support of our community.
Dannielle mentioned the April 6, 2016, vote by the Maryland Board of Public Works to approve the construction and maintenance of the Purple Line. She indicated that nine of the planned Purple Line stops are in her district, District 3.
Dannielle noted that FlexEl, a start-up company from the University of Maryland which specializes in custom battery design, has been lured back to Prince George’s County and has recently moved into what was formerly the Terrapin Trader off Paint Branch Parkway.
Dannielle said that the Hotel at the University of Maryland was well underway and anticipates that it will open in March 2017. This hotel being built by Southern Management Corporation will provide excellent conference space, good restaurants, and a new look for College Park.
Joe Novello, Board Member, raised an issue about traffic problems on Route #1. Dannielle said that actually Route #1 was handling less traffic than in previous years, but with the addition of more traffic lights in downtown College Park, and the imposition of a 25 mph speed limit, this traffic is just moving more slowly to the Beltway. She did mention that in the future there should be other options from our community for getting to the Beltway and that these options might prove to be quicker.
5. Adam Ortiz, Director, Department of the Environment
Beverly introduced Adam Ortiz and thanked him for the exemplary service by his department. The Department of the Environment handles clean water management, bulk trash pickup, recycling, animal adoptions and a host of other “green initiatives.” Adam thanked Beverly for her introduction and then introduced Everette Bradford who spoke about the upcoming change in trash service. At present, CHE receives in a given week two trash pickups, one recycling pickup, and one yard-waste pickup.Everette went on to explain that our trash pickup is being consolidated, that is, there will now be one trash pickup per week and that trash and recycling will be on the same day. One yard- waste pickup per week will remain and be on Monday. He pointed out that Prince George’s County ranks #1 in terms of recycling within the Washington region. Recycling has proven to be an effective way to handle waste and is cost effective.
The goal of this new policy is to improve county collection services, to make them more environmentally friendly, to utilize the trash trucks more efficiently, and to lower costs so as to restore some of the monies back into the county’s Solid Waste fund. Everette indicated that placing the yard waste pickup on Monday should allow for quick cleanup of all yard waste generated by homeowners who often do yard work over the weekend.
Everette noted that at present recycling is only for residential homes. The county plans to introduce this for multifamily dwellings and businesses, thus hoping to increase the volume of recycled materials and decrease that of trash.
A discussion took place regarding the potential for stench from trash that has been kept for a long time, and the possibility of attracting rodents.Everette noted that food left in trash will contribute significantly to odor issues. He also said that all households will receive a new trash bin.
All CHE homes will receive a door hanger prior to the implementation of this new policy informing residents of the day for trash and recycling pickup and the confirmation of the day for yard waste pickup.
6. Bruce McLeod, Cafritz Project
Beverly introduced Bruce McLeod of Commonwealth Consultants. They are handling Public Relations for the Riverdale Park development. He and Mark C. Ellis, Senior Project Director, Capital Construction Consultants, Inc., spoke about the two renderings of the Riverdale Park development.Mark noted that Whole Foods wants to have all roads and parking areas near their store complete prior to opening as well as some nearby retail stores in operation. He noted that the Whole Foods Store inside is just about complete and that the parking lots, gutters and curbing should be complete within a few months. It will take 5-6 months to outfit, program, stock the Whole Foods Store, and train employees.
Using the renderings, he pointed out where town homes are projected to go, where the proposed hotel will be, and where other multifamily dwellings will be built. Beverly Silverberg asked about the promise that was made initially that trees would be maintained on the property once construction was underway. Mark said that there would be considerable landscaping on the property and that new trees were being planted.
Questions were raised about the state of the surface of Route #1 near the building site. Several people mentioned that this was pretty bad. Marksaid that the Cafritz Project was responsible for the state of the Route #1 surface adjacent to its land, and that WSSC was responsible for improving the rough surface just south of the Cafritz properties. It is anticipated that the Whole Foods Store will open in early 2017 and that more information about specific retail stores will be available within a month.
When asked about the bridge construction over the railroad tracks, Mark indicated that construction had begun but it will likely take a year for its completion.
7. Mike Madden, Purple Line
Beverly introduced Mike Madden, Purple Line Deputy Director, noting that he had been raised in our community and has been a tenacious believer in and supporter of getting the Purple Line built to serve our community. He has spent countless hours at public meetings discussing the alignment, refining the plans, and bringing the Purple Line closer to being built.
Mike Madden noted that the Purple Line, a new light rail line estimated to cost nearly $2.0 Billion, will be a 16 mile east-west rail service linking New Carrollton in Prince George’s County and Bethesda in Montgomery County. The Purple Line will operate mainly on the surface and have 21 stations, with links to the Red Line in Bethesda and Silver Spring, the Green Line in College Park, and the Orange Line in New Carrollton. It will also connect to all three MARC Lines and the Amtrak Station at New Carrollton.
Current projections are that the Purple Line will have over 64,000 riders daily when it opens in 2022, with the number increasing significantly over time. Purple Line trains will run every 7 ½ minutes initially during peak period and 10-12 minutes in off-peak times. Current thinking is that a majority of the Purple Line riders will use Metro for a portion of their trips and use the Purple Line for short trips.
The Purple Line is being delivered as a Public-Private Partnership (P3) to complete design, construction, operation, maintenance and financing. The Board of Public Works approved P3 Concessionaire Contract on April 6, 2016. Some discussion concerned how problems might be mitigated during construction. Plans are to maintain access to all businesses and residences during construction. Additional measures are underway to mitigate noise once construction begins.
The Purple Line will use a single car, 136 feet long, that is able to maneuver turns. This type of train has been used in Houston, TX, as well as in numerous European cities. Eighty seats will be available on each train. The trains will run on an overhead contact system and have been designed to ADA requirements. Maps illustrating the placement of the Riggs Road, Adelphi West Campus, Campus Center, East Campus and College Park Metro Stations were shown. The planned station closest to College Heights Estates will be at Campus Drive and Adelphi Road near the current UMUC Marriot Inn and Conference Center.
In answer to a question from the audience, Mike said that the Purple Line trains should cross Route #1 near Rossborough Lane not far from Ritchie Coliseum.
During construction, the Maryland Department of Transportation will maintain responsibility for communication and coordination with property owners, residents, business owners and operators, and other stakeholders. The Outreach Team will host Community Advisory Teams (CATs) to which CHEA will receive an invitation. Next Steps include: the Financial Close on June 2, 2016; FTA Full Funding Grant Agreement, July 2016; Construction Beginning, Late 2016; with Ridership Beginning Spring 2022.
A question was raised about the possibility of increased parking in communities such as College Heights Estates which is adjacent to a Purple Line station. Mike Madden answered by saying that communities have options available through the County to restrict street parking to residents only.
8. Thank You
Ron Browning presented Beverly Silverberg with an award from the CHEA Board for her exemplary service to our community, and Rick Macpherson presented Beverly with a beautiful azalea plant.
The meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Patricia A. Cunniff, Secretary