Skip to content. | Skip to navigation

Personal tools

You are here: Home / Governance / Minutes / 2013 / January

January

Date: January 8, 2013

Place: Village Hall, 5906 Connecticut Ave.

Time: 7:30 PM

Present: Peter Gray; Tim Hanlon; Frances L. Higgins, Nancy Pines; Chris Richardson; Greg White; 3 Section 5 residents

  1. Agenda Item: Minutes

    Nancy moved that the December 11, 2012, Council minutes be approved as amended; Greg seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously.

  2. Agenda Item: Discussion of Pepco Tree Trimming Policy

    Each Council member received a copy of the settlement between Section 5 and Pepco concerning the trimming of Section 5 trees. This agreement was reached after representatives from Pepco and Section 5 had a hearing before the Public Service Commission. Pepco's lawyer stated in the agreement that Section 5's arborist should meet certain qualifications as an arborist. The manager contacted Lew Bloch, a State licensed arborist, asked if these qualifications were onerous. He said that they were not. The manager contacted the Pepco lawyer and said that the agreement should state that Pepco's arborist should meet the same qualifications. The Pepco lawyer agreed with this addition.

    Action:
    Peter said that the word “to” in #3 line 2 should be removed and that the date on the last page should be made current. Tim said that in paragraph 4 line 2 the word “plan” should be added after the word management and also he asked why the word “immediately” was underlined. The manager will contact Pepco's lawyer and ask about the underlining and the other 2 changes. Once these changes have been incorporated, the manager will send a copy of this agreement to the residents with the February Council meeting agenda flyer.

  3. Agenda Item: Renewal of Supplemental Police Patrols Contract

    The manager has contacted Kathleen Boucher, the County's contact for the police contract, and she has not as yet responded. Peter asked if the Town of Kensington and Chevy Chase View plan to renew their contracts with the County for supplemental police patrols. The manager will call the two towns. There was some discussion about the cost of the police patrols and whether the town should continue with these patrols in 2013-14.

    Action:
    The Council agreed to continue to spend the money in the budget for supplemental police patrols for the current fiscal year 2012-2013.

  4. Agenda Item: Discussion of Painting Stripes at Intersections

    The manager contacted County Police Captain David Falcinelli about the advisability of installing cross walks and/or stop bars at intersections. The Captain said that these are effective safety measures initially; however, after they have been in effect for some time, motorists tend to ignore them. She also contacted the Village Police Chief, John Fitzgerald. He also said that stop bars or cross walks are effective initially but like most safety measures the effectiveness decreases with time.

    There was some discussion about the cost of installing crosswalks.

    Action:
    The Council asked the manager to obtain a price for installing crosswalks at the intersections of each of the following streets with Connecticut Ave: Thornapple St., Underwood St., Williams Ln., and Woodbine St. and also where these streets intersect with Brookville Rd. She will also get a price for installing a cross walk at the intersection of Leland St. and Connecticut Ave. It was suggested by a resident that a crosswalk be installed at the intersection of Leland Ct. and Leland St. The manager will contact a traffic engineer regarding this installation. The manager will report back to the Council at the February Council meeting.

  5. Agenda Item: Treasurer's Report

    Tim provided each Council member a copy of the revenues and expenditures for the current fiscal year 2012-2013 to date. He said that each expenditure item is within the budget with the exception of landscaping. This item has exceeded the budget by about a $1,100. Several residents have asked the Council to add liriope plants to their existing liriope beds. The cost of these additional plants has caused the landscaping expenditure item to exceed the budget.

  6. Manager's Report

    Craig Pernick has contacted the Council and asked if it would make a contribution to the B-CC Rescue Squad if the rescue squad conducted a CPR course for Section 5 residents at no charge. There was some discussion about contacting other abutting municipalities and asking if their residents might be interested in participating in such an endeavor.

    Action:
    Greg will contact Craig about arranging such a CPR course and get back to the Council. The manager will contact the other munies about participating in the CPR course.

    The Village of Chevy Chase conducts a Red Cross Baby Sitter's course in their town hall at a cost of $85, paid by the participant. The manager asked the Council if it was interested in conducting a similar course for Section 5 teenagers. The Council will consider this proposal at the Feb. meeting.

    The manager was able to get the County to repair the damaged storm drain at the corner of Glendale Rd. and Woodbine St.

    Several Williams Ln. residents have contacted the manager about the number of poles which do not have lamps attached on Williams Ln. They said that these dark areas cause residents to have some concerns about safety. The manager reported to the Council the number of poles in Section 5 which do not have a lamp attached. Most of these poles are on Williams Ln.

    Action:
    The manager will write a letter to the residents to be sent with the February agenda flyer. This letter will contain the addresses on Williams Lane where there is a pole without a lamp and the fact that the Council is considering the installation of a lamp on each of these poles.

    Ronald Bolt, a County attorney, said that he plans to leave the law firm of Stein, Sperill. Section 5 has engaged Mr. Bolt in some of Section 5's legal matters and thus he wants to know if he should take Section 5's records with him when he leaves the firm. There was some discussion.

    Action:
    The Council agreed that Mr. Bolt should take Section 5's records with him when he leaves.

    Tim, Nancy, and Greg will be up for reelection in April 2013. They must decide if they will run for reelection by Feb 21.

    The date for the scheduled Section 5 election for 2013 is April 2; however, this conflicts with the last day of Passover.

    Action:
    The Council agreed to change the date from April 2, 2013 to April 9, 2013.

    Peter adjourned the meeting. The next Council meeting will be Tuesday, February 12, 2013, at the Village Hall at 5906 Connecticut Ave., at 7:30 PM. The Village Hall has handicap access. Everyone is welcome.