Minutes of April 4 board of directors meeting

Meeting of the Shady Grove Station Townhouse Association board of directors
April 4, 2007
In attendance: Art Carter (president), Steve Edgar (treasurer), Alex Witze (secretary)

The board discussed the large work truck that had been parked in the neighborhood. The letter asking the owners to remove it has apparently worked, as it is now parked at the end of Berclair Terrace. The board thanks the owners for taking care of this concern.

Steve noted that regarding parking issues, he still has a copy of the draft letter requesting vehicle registration information for all residents. He did not send this out with the second-quarter dues notice, as originally planned, as the parking situation seems to have eased somewhat in the neighborhood. Alex noted that there are still some issues, particularly with many multiple cars per household in some cases, but it was agreed that this plan would be kept as a possibility for when parking becomes quite tight again. The letter asks for make, model and license number for the two cars maximum per household on Weatherby Drive, so that the board can compile a list of vehicles that are meant to be parked here.

Art said that Gregg Price will help lead the environmental protection board, which will have a meeting shortly and report back to the board at the next board meeting. The welcoming board, to welcome new members, is also getting underway.

Steve said that the notification of the 10 percent dues increase had gone out as planned. He updated the board on the status of units that had not paid their dues. He also filed annual taxes, which came to roughly $31.

Alex will send out an ICC update shortly to all neighbors, as there is a community meeting planned with ICC representatives for late April or early May.

Art noted that Capitol Landscaping has started their annual service.

The next meeting will be Wednesday, May 30, at 6:30 pm at Art’s house (#7522).

May 8 meeting scheduled

This is to update everyone on the status of the State Highway Administration seizure of our land for right-of-way for the InterCounty Connector highway. As of April 5 we have been notified that our case is being escalated to the Board of Property Review of Montgomery County. The reason given is that the State Roads Commission of Maryland feels we have not been able to agree with them as to “the fair value of the property taken and the resulting damages to the remainder.”

What this means is that the state is no longer willing to discuss whether the $102,000 they have offered us for use of our property is fair compensation or not. I had been working with State Highway Administration representatives to come up with a fair value of compensation (working on the assumption that we should get as much compensation as possible, as some of you have expressed to me), but it seems that their patience has run out despite the fact that I had been waiting to hear from them on some details to put forth a proposed amount.

According to SHA documents, the Board of Property Review will hear our case, at a date to be specified, and “render its award of just compensation. This award may be appealed by either side.” I will send out another notice when the hearing date is set.

Separately, a meeting has been set with SHA representatives and the full community, on Tuesday, May 8, at 7 p.m. at my house (#7519). Please plan to attend. In attendance will be the contract manager for Contract A, our section of the highway, and public affairs representatives. The purpose of this meeting is not to discuss the amount of money we are getting, but to discuss any concerns we have about the impact on our community. This will be the best chance yet to ask the state questions regarding the appearance of the road in our community, the impact during construction, and so on. I will send out a full list of who will be attending in the days immediately prior to the meeting.