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December

Date: December 8, 2015

Place: Village Hall, 5906 Connecticut Avenue

Time: 7:30 PM

Present: Chris Richardson, Greg White, Nancy Pines, Pat Xeller, Scott Livingston, John Higgins, Ashley Kavanaugh, 2 Section 5 residents, and one community observer

  1. Agenda Item: Greetings and Introductions

    Chair Chris Richardson called the meeting to order and welcomed those in attendance.

  2. Agenda Item: Approval of Minutes

    Chris moved that the minutes from the November Meeting be approved; there was a second and the motion passed unanimously.

  3. Agenda Item: Resident Comments

    A question was asked about the ability to vote in Section 5 if not a U.S. citizen. Neighboring Sections have differing rules. There was discussion about Section 5 following Montgomery County voting regulations, which do not allow this. It was agreed to examine the issue further and report back.

    A concern was raised about the traffic on Brookville Road and whether there is anything the Section can do about it. Discussion ensued about the heavy traffic in the area, including but not limited to East West Highway and Connecticut Avenue. Another resident has requested looking into a camera on the stretch north from Bradley to East West Highway. Scott Livingston and the Town Manager are going to look into who has jurisdiction, who makes the rules regarding traffic studies, etc.

    A resident thanked John Higgins for making the audit available online. There was a brief discussion of details.

    Another resident suggested the possibility of organizing a “Meet and Greet” to introduce the new manager, Ashley Kavanaugh. The Section will look into this.

  4. Agenda Item: Transition to New Town Manager

    John advised that the transition had begun. John and Ashley will overlap for the months of December and January. Office files and systems will move to Ashley’s home mid-January. Ashley advised that John has been keeping her updated on current issues in front of Section 5. Ashley said her main goals for the first few months are to get acclimated, learn the current systems, and introduce herself to residents, contractors, and neighboring municipal managers. She would also like to look at setting up a Section 5 email distribution list for those residents who are interested, especially for emergency/crime-related information. She is attending the Maryland Municipal League Legislative Dinner on December 10th as the Section 5 representative.

  5. Agenda Item: Status of Comcast Cable Negotiation with the County

    John discussed the status of the Comcast Cable rate negotiation. Section 5 and the neighboring municipalities have traditionally let Montgomery County negotiate their Comcast rates. The Council will vote in January on whether or not to proceed.

  6. Agenda Item: Building Permit Report

    Nancy Pines stated that there were no new applications this month.

  7. Agenda Item: Managers Report

    John indicated Section 5 had filed a report, as requested, with the State Highway Administration regarding the use of our highway user revenue funds this past year.

    John advised that Section 5 had been notified by Montgomery County’s Department of Finance that there appears to have been an error in the coding of municipal income tax returns in Tax Years 2010-14 that incorrectly assigned certain returns to municipalities when they were actually outside of the municipal boundaries. To a lesser extent, some income tax returns should have been assigned to a municipality but were not. The Comptroller of Maryland is examining this and has enlisted an outside auditor to assist in this review. They have agreed to meet with representatives of the municipalities in January. At that time, we will have a better idea of the possible implications for Section 5.

    John advised that the last leaf vacuuming would take place December 21st, and that at this time they will also do a general cleanup of the streets.

    The Section is currently receiving checks for the holiday fund for the Montgomery County Sanitation and Recycling employees.

    When the Section installed new street signs this past year, the old signs were kept as possible mementos for residents. The old signs are currently on John’s front porch. If anyone is interested in a specific street sign, feel free to stop by and take any that are available. They will be on the porch through January.

  8. Adjournment

    Chris adjourned the meeting. The next meeting will be held January 12, 2016, at 7:30 PM at the Village Hall, 5906 Connecticut Avenue. The Village Hall has handicapped access. Everyone is welcome.