Montgomery Square Citizens' Association

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Email From Joseph DeRosa AIA, Project Manager,  Division of Construction, Montgomery County Public Schools

To all community and BFES FAC committee members:

At the Beverly Farms ES (BFES) June 24, 2010 community meeting presentation, new BFES community members and HOA representative from Regency Estates Citizens Association and Montgomery Square Citizen Association were in attendance. The 6-24-2010 site plan was presented by Muse Architects and the following design issues were discussed; new Storm Water Management (SWM) features and the locations of newly located retaining walls that will be required at the rear of the bus loop to the western portion of the site and at the rear of the school along the paved play areas. As explained at the meeting, the retaining walls will be needed to address the grade changes at the rear of the property.  The community members in attendance raised concerns regarding the retaining wall heights and the length of the bus loop.  After extensive discussion, the community members requested that the architect investigate the possibility of reducing the length of the bus loop and reducing the height of the retaining walls to address their concerns.

MCPS staff directed Muse Architects to explore the possibility of reducing the length of the bus loop and reducing the height of the retaining walls in response to the concerns raised by the community members, prior to the Board of Education presentation of the preliminary plans, which is scheduled for July 8, 2010.   Because of the limited time before the Board of Education meeting, MCPS agreed to provide the community members with a revised site plan and perspective drawing of the school along the bus loop prior to the July 8, 2010 meeting, via electronic mail.

In response to the community concerns raised at the June 24, FAC Committee meeting regarding the new retaining walls and the request for the reduction of the bus loop length, a meeting was held with MCPS/ DOC staff, Muse Architects, and Mr. James Song, director, Department of Facilities Management to review the revised site design.  Attached for your review is the proposed revised site plan dated July 2, 2010 which reduces the bus loop length by 36’-0” and retains the 38 parking spaces. I also have attached for your comparison the 6-24-2010 site plan as presented at the FAC committee Community meeting on 6-24-2010. Please note that the new retaining walls height on the revised site plan will be approximately 3’-0” high as it curves around the rear of the bus loop, and reach approximately 4’-0” maximum height at its highest point. (Please note: Heights on the retaining walls are approximate heights and may change as the design progresses.)  In addition to the site plans, I have attached (below) the new perspective view of the new school viewed along the bus loop. Also please note, that a 4’-0’ wide concrete sidewalk (currently not shown on the revised site plan or the perspective) will be added to the west perimeter of the bus loop to allow students to access the school from the west.

Please review the revise site plan and perspective with your neighbors and email back your comments regarding the revised site plan ASAP, but no later than July 6, 2010. If you require any additional information regarding the above design issue please contact me (contact information removed). Thanks Joe
Attachments

BFES-SD Brochure Site Plan as sent to BOE 6-23-2010 (2)

BFES-SD.Site Plan.Revised to shorten.bus.loop.Muse.7-2-2010.

Attachments inlined as images

MSCA has reported to the County’s Department of Highway Services the damage done by snow plows to the grassy areas along Seven Locks Road and to the retaining walls at the intersection of Seven Locks and Post Oak roads .  Hopefully, the County will send out an inspector and replace the grass and fix the walls in the near future.   The County’s phone number for requesting road repairs, or to follow-up on an existing service request, is:   240-777-6000.

Please note that MSCA has received the following information from county officials via Alert Montgomery:

Montgomery County officials are urging residents to clear snow away from fire hydrants so that they are visible from the road and accessible to firefighters in the event of emergency.

Residents are also reminded to exercise caution when shoveling snow. Shovel snow into the yard rather than the street, to facilitate plowing. Cold weather puts an extra strain on the body. Individuals with heart disease or high blood pressure should follow their doctor’s advice about shoveling snow or performing other hard work in the cold. Avoid overexertion. Heart attacks from shoveling heavy snow are a leading cause of deaths during winter.

Property owners are responsible for clearing their public sidewalks, driveways and entrances within 24 hours of the end of a snowstorm. All residents are strongly encouraged to be good neighbors by clearing the sidewalks in front of their homes, as well as assisting those who may not be physically able to do so.

MSCA encourages its members to sign up for Alert Montgomery, a FREE service, at https://alert.montgomerycountymd.gov

For Montgomery Square residents on the south side of Montrose Rd.

Beverly Farms Elementary School- Modernization Design

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is about to conduct the schematic design process for modernization of Beverly Farms Elementary School.
Below is the schedule for the design process and please know you are encouraged to participate.

The design is being conducted by a Facility Advisory Committee (FAC) will include representatives of the school, PTA, Civic Associations, neighbors, government agencies, the design architects, Muse Architects, and staff from MCPS Division of Construction.

MCPS has posted our new and updated signs on our front lawn. The signs in both English and Spanish show the FAC work session meetings that are scheduled in the afternoons and evenings to allow maximum community involvement. The schedules for the meetings are below.

FAC, Work Session Meeting #1 Wednesday, February 03, 2010 6:30 pm at the School
FAC, Work Session Meeting #2 Wednesday, February 17, 2010 3:30 pm at the School
FAC, Work Session Meeting #3 Wednesday, March 10, 2010 6:30 pm at the School
FAC, Work Session Meeting #4 Wednesday, March 24, 2010 3:30 pm at the School
FAC, Work Session Meeting #5 Thursday, April 8, 2010 6:30 pm at the School

If you’re reading this, you’re probably wondering what happened to the old site.    In an attempt to allow us to have several editors I am in the process of moving everything to Wordpress.   This will allow us to post meeting minutes, upcoming events and other information in a timely manner.   It will also allow the community to leave comments on the posts and pages.  These changes should hopefully make the site a useful resource that you’ll visit often or add to your favorite feed reader.  :-)

Thanks for visiting and feel free to leave a comment.   This is still a work in progress so you’ll see more changes in the coming days.

Tony Primerano

I’ll leave you with a familiar image from the old site.

I think I have moved everything to the new site but just in case here is a link to the old content. http://montgomerysquare.org/old

DOT Develops Preliminary Design for Seven Locks Road Sidewalk & Bikeway Project
Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) is in the process of developing the preliminary design (35%) plans for the Seven Locks Road Sidewalk and Bikeway Project (SLRS&B). The SLRS&B project is currently in Facility Planning Phase 2.

All MSCA residents are invited to attend a SLRS&B public workshop scheduled for:

Wednesday, December 2, 2009
6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
The Heights School
Chesterton Hall
10400 Seven Locks Road
Potomac, Maryland 20854

The proposed project will provide pedestrian and bicycle improvements along Seven Locks Road from Montrose Road to Bradley Boulevard. There are existing intermittent pedestrian facilities along this corridor but there are no offroad facilities that meet current County standards. The improvements include a “Dual Bikeway” which provides for both on-road and off-road bicycle facilities.

Improvements include:

* Two 11-foot wide travel lanes plus 5-foot wide bike on-road lanes along both sides of Seven Locks Road;
* An 8-foot off-road shared use bike path on the west side of Seven Locks Road;
* A 5-foot wide sidewalk on the east side of Seven Locks Road;
* An 8-foot off-road shared use path along Montrose Road between Seven Locks Road and the I-270 ramp;
* Northbound and eastbound auxiliary through lanes at the intersection of Seven Locks Road and Tuckerman Lane.

For further information, we have posted the MCDOT newsletter regarding this project. Click to read “pdf” file of newsletter:
Mountygomery County Seven Locks Road Sidewalk and Bikeway Newsletter

MSCA is interested in forming a Seven Locks Road Sidewalk & Bikeway Committee to assist MCDOT in bringing this project to fruition. If you are interested in joining this Committee, please contact Bob Gross at rjgross@comcast.net or 301-467-1007.

Minutes of MSCA Board Meeting 10-27-09

The fall meeting of MSCA Board was held at the home of the President, Bob Gross, on September 27, 2009. The President, opened the meeting at 7:40 and welcomed a new neighbor and volunteer. The Board discussed the repaving of the southern portion of Montgomery Square. It was the opinion of the Board that the President’s frequent contacts with the County on this subject should be credited with success in lobbying for this improvement. While the work was still in progress, this is a great benefit overall. A question was raised as to whether the speed humps would be re-installed after paving. The President had inquired about this with the County and determined that they would be.

Treasurer David Grossman reported annual dues collection had ended with a total of $12,470, from about 250 households. Landscaping expenses have stayed under control with the new contractor and we should end the year with some reserves.

Vice President Steve Schuck discussed the printing schedule for the annual MSCA Directory and the fall Tetragon newsletter. Sequencing of dues collection with the printing of the Directory is important to minimize the possibility of missing the names of participating members. The fall Tetragon will come with the solicitation for 2010 dues and information updates. Tetragons and Directories should be distributed through Block Captains, maintaining the duties and opportunities for these volunteers to participate. The Board revisited the decision not to list non-responsive households by name and phone number, and decided to stay with the program and not guess at names and phone numbers, relying instead only on the returned dues and information sheets.

Based on inquiries from a couple of households, the Board discussed whether MSCA can or should assist in the upkeep of the Montgomery Square signature brick walls at the main entrances on Seven Locks Road and Falls Road. Previous research had indicated that the walls are within the property boundaries of the homeowners at those corners and that while MSCA does landscape on the homeowner’s property, it is by permission of the property owner only, and not an obligation on either party. However, there was a sense that the signs defined the community identity and were in the interests of the community. Previous precedents noted by the Secretary, Tom Hall, were that the Board had paid to repaint and reletter the signs themselves many years ago. In another case, a homeowner contracted at her own expense to refurbish the brick wall on her property to meet her requirements. Subject to funds available and the size of potential expenditures, the Board may choose to assist property owners in maintenance of the signs and, if practicable, the walls over time. However, the potential size of the problem and cost estimates would be required. A volunteer was selected to survey the affected walls and see about getting estimates for the next meeting.

In closing, the President thanked the Officers and volunteers.

Meeting was adjourned.