The RCHCA Spring Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 13, 2004 at Grace Episcopal Day School, 9411 Connecticut Ave. The meeting will run from 7:30 – 9:00 pm. Babysitting may be provided. (Please check website to confirm: www.RCHCA.org)
We welcome volunteers to help in planning, set-up, and clean up of the event. Please contact Joe Rosenberg at 301-495-9821 or jrosenberg@comcast.net if you are interested in helping.
President David Hall, Vice President Joe Rosenberg, Treasurer Deanna Marcum, Secretary Mike Baker, Past President Marty Durbin
We hope that everyone had an enjoyable summer and by now are in "back-to-school" and/or "back-to-business" mode. The Rock Creek Hills Citizen’s association is gearing up for our annual fall meeting on October 13th.
At this time, the Board is strongly urging more Rock Creek Hills neighbors and residents to become active Association participants. Because participation is down, many of our most important committees are not as robust as they can be, or as effective as we need them to be.
Our neighborhood is wonderful and RCHCA needs to stay active in keeping it so. Rock Creek Hills faces looming issues that require our attention if we are to maintain our quality of life, not to mention our property values.
When an issue of community concern arises, whether it be it crime, noise, traffic, sidewalks, violation of covenants, external development (e.g., Safeway expansion), RCHCA provides our most convenient and effective forum for meeting and speaking with neighbors, as well as with elected officials, public safety personnel, and business and civic leaders. It allows us to command the attention of various community leaders in a way that is unavailable to most of us as individuals. RCHCA also offers opportunities to meet and socialize with neighbors, as with our annual Concert in the Park, the Halloween Parade & Potluck, and at our 3 meetings per year, including the January Annual Meeting and Potluck Dinner.
Unless we have more active participation in RCHCA Committees we cannot continue these activities. Currently, most of our Committees are thinly populated with members.
Please contribute your energy and imagination to our Association, and volunteer to be on a committee of interest to you. If you are interested in participating, but concerned about the time commitment, please talk with any officer or past officer.
We have 6 standing committees to choose from. Please select one to lead or join:
· BUILDING AND COVENANTS
· COMMUNICATIONS
· LEGISLATIVE, PLANNING & ZONING (Chair Needed)
· HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT (Chair Needed)
· SPECIAL EVENTS (Chair Needed)
· TRANSPORTATION
Please come to the October 13 meeting, and begin your participation!
By the way, babysitting at our meetings is ordinarily arranged for by our Special Events committee. Unfortunately, since that committee is currently without representation, babysitting has not yet been arranged. Please take this opportunity to volunteer now to help make your neighborhood citizens’ association work. Hope to see you on the 13th.
Association officers will be elected at the Jan '05 general
meeting. The Association's by-laws require the president to appoint
a nominating committee of five members around the time of the upcoming general
meeting on October 13th. One of the five members of this committee will
be its chair.
The mission of the nominating committee is to nominate a slate of qualified
candidates from within the Association who will run for elected office.
Qualified candidates are those individuals who have the highest personal and
professional integrity, who have demonstrated exceptional ability and judgment
and who the Committee believes will be effective in collectively serving the
long-term interests of the residents of Rock Creek Hills.
At times the question arises: Why have a nominating committee when nominations
could be simply taken from the floor during the January meeting?
Here are two reasons:
- A nominating committee can ensure a qualified and balanced slate of candidates who can cooperate with each other.
- A nominating committee can recruit volunteers away from the spotlight thereby
allowing someone to say 'no' quietly if professional or personal demands make
participation difficult.
The nominating committee will be an agenda item for the upcoming general meeting on October 13th.
Please welcome Marty Durbin and Keith Emery as co-chairs of the Building and Covenants Committee. Both men are past association presidents who possess considerable knowledge of neighborhood matters.
Thanks go to Alexa Freeman, Transportation and Traffic Committee chair, for her work over the months. She and her committee members have tackled everything from neighborhood traffic flow matters to sidewalks.
Shannon Hamm and Ann Statland have joined forces to handle the association's membership and welcoming function.
Thank you Jed Dinger for offering to lead the Communications Committee.
The list of vacant committee leadership positions is still significant. The following committees have no leaders:
LEGISLATIVE, PLANNING
& ZONING
HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT
SPECIAL EVENTS
Rock Creek Hills Citizens’ Association
Financial Report
October 1, 2004
Balance, April 1, 2004 $23,126.98
Dues collected 1,205.00
Total Income 24,331.98
Expenses:
WSSC 22.00
Newsletter copying and mailing 1,250.13
Landscape committee, copying charges 23.87
Landscape designs 150.00
Babysitting fees 80.00
McNeely Triangle 136.03
Total Expenses 1662.03
Account Balance, October 1, 2004 22,669.95
Respectfully submitted,
Deanna Marcum, Treasurer
In March, Councilmember Steve Silverman wrote to the County’s Director of the Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPWT) requesting an assessment of the feasibility and appropriateness of establishing a Quiet Zone at Forest Glen crossing. During the summer, the Director of DPWT resigned. Councilmember Silverman followed up his earlier letter with another one in September to new the Acting Director of DPWT. Acting Director Michael Hoyt responded on September 17, saying he is in consultation with a consultant/expert in this area, and is waiting for a scope/proposal in the next few weeks. We will provide an update at the meeting if any more is known at that time.
· Fall RCHCA Meeting: Wed., October 13, 2004 (see “NEXT MEETING” for details)
· 11th Annual Halloween Parade & Potluck; Sunday, October 24, 2004
It is that time again!! The Rock Creek Hills Halloween Parade will begin at Noon on October 24th. Families should gather at Rock Creeks Hills Park (aka, Circle Park, Saul Road Park, Soccer Park, etc.) at 11:45am. The Kensington Volunteer Fire Department will lead a parade through the neighborhood ending at the corner of Saul and East Bexhill around 12:30pm. For purposes of the potluck, families are asked to bring the following:
A-L: sides or salads
M-Z: desserts
RCHCA will provide hamburgers, hot dogs, and beverages and will arrange for a moon bounce, cotton candy, popcorn and arts&crafts. Contact Eden Fisher Durbin for details or to volunteer (edendurbin@comcast.net)
The Rock Creek Hills Citizens’ Association e-mail network, rchcanet, is for families of Rock Creek Hills. Founded in March 2000, rchcanet has about 90 members. We urge everyone in Rock Creek Hills with email access to sign up and participate, as it will allow information about the neighborhood, planned events, etc. to be easily disseminated to everyone in a timely manner. This communication forum is not intended to replace any existing communications – newsletters will continue to be sent and meetings will continue to be held.
The list is not moderated, that is no one reviews messages before they are posted. When individuals apply to join rchcanet (become members), we check to make sure they are families residing in Rock Creek Hills. Only members can post messages, receive messages, or review messages on the Yahoo Groups web site at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rchcanet. Usually list members receive each e-mail message as it is sent. If you would prefer, you can receive a single daily message or opt to view the email messages on the Yahoo Groups web site.
To join rchcanet or to ask a question about it, contact Sam Hoxie via email at samhoxie@comcast.net. Be sure to include your name and address if you would like to join so that we may verify your connection to the neighborhood.
CONTACT EDEN FISHER DURBIN TO HELP OUT (edendurbin@comcast.net) – WE NEED HELP FROM EVERYONE! PURCHASE BALLOONS, HAY BALES, ART SUPPLIES, DONATE COOLERS FOR THE DAY, COOK OVER OUR OPEN GRILLS, HELP SET UP, HELP CLEAN UP….
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO LOOK CLOSELY AT THE ENCLOSED TRAFFIC SURVEY, FILL IT OUT AND RETURN IT PER THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE SURVEY FORM.
THANK YOU!