Notes from the 11/19 NAC Meeting

Kim was able to go to the November 11, 2008 NAC Meeting. Her notes and thoughts follow below. Thanks, Kim!

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I notified the group that Gabrielle Collard at the City of Frederick had requested that Hood College come back to the NAC meeting this month to present proposed changes to their site plan which is already underway. With the short notice, only a few neighbors were able to attend.

General Information --

There were 396 call for service resulting in 14 arrests in NAC 6. Of these 10 were traffic related, one each for assault, vagrancy, theft, and domestic disturbance.

There were 513 calls for service resulting in 11 arrests in NAC 9. Of these 2 were traffic related, 2 for trespassing, 1 assault, 1 fraud, and 1 juvenile-theft.

There have been a rash of break-ins in these areas, and throughout the city during the day time. Access to the properties has been primarily through an unlocked door, or sliding glass door which is not properly secured. The BP Service Station on 7th Street across from Hood College has been burglarized on three separate occasions recently.

Remember the non-emergency number for the police is 301-600-2102. Report anything that seems unusual or out of place.

Alderwoman Donna Kuzemchak has put forward a "Large Vehicle Ordinance". Basically it is designed to remove vehicles over a certain size from parking on residential streets. This also covers trailers, buses etc, the thought being that these are an impediment to traffic flow, visibility and so forth. There is a second aspect which covers "Excess Vehicles", designed to combat residences which have large numbers of vehicles crowding the streets, drives and yards of some neighborhoods. It would prohibit people from parking cars on lawns and other unpaved areas as well. This is still in the draft stage, and will be presented to the Mayor and Board of Alderman at the December 18th meeting for consideration and approval. Questions about this plan may be submitted to Kelly Russell at the City Police.

We are waiting for some follow-up information from Stephanie Ambush the NAC Liaison about our options for traffic calming, signage, parking, etc. These procedures come through the City Traffic Engineer. Stay tuned for updates.

Hood College --

Rick Puller and Rick Kahley from Hood College were in attendance to present the adjusted site plan to the NAC meeting. The College intends to construct two single story buildings, approximately 1,000 square feet each, on the north side (the left side as you go into Hood College through the Thomas Gate from Magnolia Avenue) of the roadway facing the existing athletic fields. The athletic fields are at some future point slated to be converted to artificial turf. The buildings would be arranged perpendicular to Magnolia Avenue. Specific building materials have not been identified. These buildings (home and visitor) would house thirty lockers each, with two rows of benches, showers, toilets, hand sinks. There would be no interior meeting space or room for food concessions. They would be entirely surrounded by a concrete pad, larger on the field side where the team(s) would gather. Security lighting would be needed, but has not been clearly defined yet. Internal fencing for the field would be added, as would "considerable" landscaping/screening to meet the site plan requirement.

The College has asked the City to permit the temporary opening of an existing curb cut on 7th Street for use by all construction traffic. All work vehicles would use this point of entry in the northwest corner, near the hospital. Construction would start sometime this summer after graduation in mid-May, slated for completion by the fall 0f 2009.

The site plan will come up for final review/approval at the December 8th Planning Commission Meeting.

A small artist's rendering of the proposed locker room facilities as seen from Magnolia Avenue, looking toward Coblentz Hall was shown at the meeting. Apparently this drawing was "hot off the press". I do not know if it will be available for further viewing. Please contact Rick Kahley at Hood with questions about this project. Kahley@hood.edu , or 301-696-3545.

My immediate reaction was that this proposal is not unreasonable on its face. Hood College seems to be taking the well-being of the neighborhood into account, most especially as it considers the impact of construction traffic. The structures appear to be low, with relatively minimal streetscape impact. Without more certain details regarding aesthetics, landscaping, and lighting in particular, it is difficult to be entirely comfortable with the project -- but no alarms are going off at this moment.

Thoughts?

Keep those emails flowing to Rick Puller (Safety and Security) at Hood College. He is following up on the information you are sending regarding parking and speeding issues -- Puller@hood.edu, or 301-696-3548.