A regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Montgomery Square Citizens Association (MSCA) was held as announced in the Tetragon on February 16th. The meeting was on February 28th at the home of President Bob Gross. Attendees included the officers, less the Treasurer who submitted a report in advance, plus our Membership Chair and a member volunteer as a new Block Captain.
The Board reviewed the question of having its Officers advocate on behalf of the community. All members agreed that this is a function of citizens’ associations, and certainly something the Board unanimously endorses as a function of MSCA, its Board, and its Officers. Acting on behalf of the community to advocate with local jurisdictions in the interests of homeowners is consistent with our bylaws and our standing as a community association. The relevance of an issue to the community has to be considered in each case.
Time permitting, the Board agreed that communicating on issues with the wider membership is desirable, and soliciting input to determine the sense of the community is definitely in order on many occasions. Polling and voting, however, are not required and the Board and the Officers do what they believe is best in specific instances. It is expected that the Officers will consult with the Board. Where there are active Chairs of relevant committees, their advice is greatly valued. The Board would love to see more active members in these positions. Bringing local issues to the attention of members through community e-mail bulletins is also a service that the association can provide.
Moving to current business, the Board reviewed the upcoming events, most importantly the annual meeting scheduled for May 16, 2011, at Beverly Farms Elementary School. The President welcomes suggestions for a speaker if there is any specific topic of interest.
The Board discussed the Treasurer’s report on dues collection progress. A reminder notice will be sent out with the next bulletin announcing the annual meeting and yard sale. The yard sale will take place Sunday afternoon May 22nd. Vice President Steve Schuck will organize the event again this year.
The Board endorsed the idea of holding more community social events. It will pursue an event like the Ice Cream Social last year and investigate the possibility of a block party with a band as we did a few years ago. Having one event in the northern section and one in the southern was favored.
The Board also discussed other communications media, such as Facebook with a discussion forum, or adding a classified ad sort of function on the web site. The Vice President will discuss options with our web site manager, Tony.
A number of possible items to discuss with the County were raised. The repaving job on the southern section is already showing cracks that need to be sealed. And the woods along White’s Ford Way should be cleaned up, whether by the County or by our landscaper being the question. Our landscaping contractor is doing a good job and will come up for annual work renewal shortly. The Board gave the President permission to proceed with specifying the work to be done.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:00.
