Council minutes, Mar. 2008

SECTION 5 OF THE VILLAGE OF CHEVY CHASE

MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL MEETING

Date: March 11, 2008

Time: 7:30pm

Place: 5906 Connecticut Avenue, Chevy Chase Village Hall

Present: Margy Abbott; Peter Gray; Frances L. Higgins; Farooq Hussain; Ira Rosenbaum; Andrew Smith; 9 Section 5 residents

1. Minutes

Andrew moved that the February 12, 2008, Council meeting minutes be approved as amended. Peter seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

A Brookville Road resident said that the Pepco street light which had been on the light pole at the end of his driveway for fifty years was removed last year and never replaced. He said that it is now dangerous to pull out of his driveway at night because he cannot see on coming traffic. He asked the Council to put a light on that pole. There was some discussion. Andrew moved that Section 5 assume the cost of placing a light on that pole; Margy seconded the motion and it passed unanimously

A Glendale Road resident said that the Alden Lane resident behind his house has completed a two-story addition to his Alden Lane house. At the completion of the project the Alden Lane resident placed the outlet to his downspout in an underground conduit and the end of this conduit empties onto the Glendale Road property. This presents a water problem to the Glendale Road resident and he has contacted his neighbor but there has been no action to correct the problem. He has contacted the County because the County has an ordinance regarding storm water management. The County has not responded to his call. The Council asked the manager to call the Alden Lane resident and ask if he will channel the water away from the Glendale Road property. The manager will also give the Glendale Road resident a telephone number for the Montgomery County Permitting Office.

An Underwood Street resident told the Council that she has been experiencing water problems in her basement and she has contacted a company to correct the problem. She also said that the County has a fund to help residents with water problems but she has not been able to contact someone in that office.

A Thornapple Street resident told the Council that he believes Section 5 should have additional police protection. He believes that additional police protection will help deter crime in Section 5. He said that the Village of Chevy Chase, Martin’s Additions, Section 3 and Chevy Chase View all have additional police protection. When he contacted Section 3, the manager told him that her town has extra police protection and there is no crime in her neighborhood.

A Glendale Road resident said that the house next door to her has been broken into twice. She also said that there has been a home invasion on Underwood St. and a rape on Connecticut Ave. Farooq said that he has spent many hours researching the relationship of crime and a police presence in a town and that the incidence of crime is not greater in towns that don’t have a police presence than in those towns with a police presence. He also said that a Neighborhood Watch Program would be a very effective deterrent to crime. Farooq suggested that Section 5 should consider installing cameras at strategic locations in Section 5 and adding lighting as a deterrent to crime. Farooq said that the Council should set up a mechanism to allow the manager to respond immediately to a serious crime having been committed in Section 5 by offering a reward. The Council will address this issue at the next Council meeting. There was some discussion. The manager will get information about installing cameras in Section 5.

A Glendale Road resident offered to assist in setting up an active Neighborhood Watch Program. She will get in touch with the manager about this matter.

There was some discussion of line items in the 2008-09 budget. The following are the figures for expenditures for 2008-09 budget which the Council has approved: trash & recycling $80,000; trees $60,000; leaf collection & disposal $16,000; streets $30,000; lighting $10,000; snow removal $15,000; personnel & admin. $56,000; professional fees $65,000; miscellaneous $3,000; insurance $2,500; office & printing $30,000; community activities $25,000; memberships $4,000; cable TV $3,000= $399,500. The projected revenues are: highway user fees $30,000; Md. income taxes $450,000; interest CD’s $45,000; interest MLGIP $25,000; permit fees $2,000 = $552,000. There was some discussion about donating money to the BCC Rescue Squad. The manager will call the Squad to determine if it would like for Section 5 to match the amount of money which Section 5 residents donate to the Squad.

Farooq said that Pete Johnson, the town’s web master, will move the web site from Farooq’s site to a commercial site. The charge for the commercial site will be approximately $60 per month. The manager will have Pete Johnson remove the old ordinance material from the web site and replace it with the newly enacted ordinances.

Permit granted: 3803 Woodbine St. - replace stone wall in rear

The Council agreed to purchase a cloth bag for each Section 5 household to encourage residents to help save the environment from the proliferation of plastic bags. The bag will have Section 5’s logo on it.

The manager will call the Williams Lane resident who installed a fence at 7203 Brookville Road without a permit and with the unfinished side towards her abutting neighbor. She will ask the resident to turn the fence so that it will be in compliance with the town’s fence ordinance.

Margy suggested that Section 5 donate $500 to the Shepherd Foundation in memory of Marianne and Caroline Duffy. Marianne and Caroline were residents of Section 5.

The next meeting will be the Annual Meeting, Tuesday, April 1, 2008 at 7:30pm at the Village Hall, 5906 Connecticut Avenue.