Hilltop Community Board Minutes

October 6, 2011

 

Members present:    Bryan Cook, President
                                    Ian Richards, Treasurer
                                    Donna Optican, Secretary
                                    Carol Simon, Landscape Committee Chair
                                    Lance Optican, Editor Hilltop Updater Website

Members absent:     Carol Leahy, Helping Hands Committee Chair
                                    Lenny Schuchman, County Liaison Chair
                                    Celia Schuchman, Social Committee Co-Chair
                                    Barbara Frey, Social Committee Co-Chair

The meeting took place at the Optican’s home.

Treasurer’s Report

     Bryan, the former Treasurer, stated that they were in the process of adding Ian’s name to the bank account so that he can assume check-writing capabilities.  There will be about $1,400 in the Treasury after the insurance invoice is paid for this year.  Eight homes have not yet paid their dues and a notice will be sent to them.  The major cost is landscaping on the hill which runs about $1500-$2000 per year.

Landscaping

We discussed issues that fall into the County’s domain.  One is the mud that accumulates at the bottom of the hill after every major rain event.  It’s a runoff problem.  This is also a safety issue since cars entering and leaving the street can slide in the mud, potentially hurting someone.  Ian suggested inviting our County Councilman, Roger Berliner to the street to see the problems.  We also want to insure that our street gets plowed when it snows.
 
Snow

We talked about those who might have to leave the street in the event of a major snow that shuts down schools, government, and most offices.  No one knew of anyone who would need to leave in a snow storm assuming the electricity stayed on and assuming there was no emergency.  The double blizzards with power outages of 2010 were a very rare event.  The recent replacement of infrastructure on the street by PEPCO should prevent future outages.  But we will find out if anyone would have to drive from the community for work such as essential personnel in government, a company, or hospital.

In addition, it was suggested that the Helping Hands Committee create a list of people who might need help in a snow storm so that everybody will know which homes to check on.

Sylvia Maceyras

Sylvia’s death on September 6th was lamented by the group and Donna gave a brief history of her escape from Cuba and subsequent American success story.  Her funeral was September 10th preceded by a family and friends gathering at the church the day before.

Updated Hilltop Phone/Email List

Donna said that Larry F. had suggested distributing a community list by house number as well as the alphabetical one we currently have.  He, in fact, has already done this for his personal use and sent a copy to Donna.  Donna will ask the community for any changes from Mandy’s last update in August, 2009 and email both numerical and alphabetical copies to the community in the future.

Letter of Appreciation

Carol S. mentioned that Ron had removed the large tree pieces left by the County (or PEPCO) on the hillside by getting them over/under the guard rail and rolling them down the hill.  She suggested we send a letter of appreciation to Ron [signed by the Board].

Miscellaneous

Ian took photos of the albino fawn that has been seen in the neighborhood.  He will send them to Lance for the website.

 

A written update/status via email will be requested from the Committee Chairpersons who could not attend this meeting.  These will be added to the website when received.