HOA & COA News

Middle Village resident reminders

by the Middle Village Board of Directors

2021 meeting dates

The 2021 Middle Village board meetings are scheduled for 7 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of every other month, as listed below:
Tuesday, Feb. 23
Tuesday, April 27 (Annual Meeting)
Tuesday, June 22
Tuesday, Aug. 24
Tuesday, Oct. 26 (Budget Hearing Meeting)

While the pandemic restrictions with in-person gatherings remain uncertain for 2021, notices will be sent out with information on either in-person meetings or virtual meetings with log-on information provided.

Illegal trash dumping on the property is prohibited
Middle Village no longer provides dumpster services. Every homeowner is responsible to properly dispose of their bulk trash items, free of charge, at the Montgomery County Trash and Recycle Center at the Shady Grove Transfer Station, 16101 Frederick Road, Derwood. For hours and other Transfer Station information, visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov/sws. Persons observed putting out bulk trash in the common areas of the property will be subject to immediate fine and further action. 

Trash/Recycling collection
Residents are reminded to properly dispose of their household trash in a marked receptacle with a closed lid to prevent spillage and trash blowing around the community. Residents putting out receptacles before or after the regular trash collection days of Tuesdays and Fridays, will be subject to fines and possible further penalties.

Please remember cardboard for recycling must be broken down and placed in your recycling bin. Recycling collection takes place on Wednesdays.

Towing
Towing enforcement is in effect 24/7 for vehicles parked in reserved spaces without a valid, properly displayed and corresponding numbered permit.

Towing enforcement is in effect from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. for vehicles parked in open (un-numbered) spaces without a valid parking permit displayed.

Middle Village Voice: for residents of Thomas Choice West and Clubside.

Watch Your Mailbox: Parking Policy Update No. 2

by the North Village Board of Directors

The board is considering implementing a parking permit and tag system with a specific allotment of those for each household. Please be on the lookout for our second mailing about this topic and how you can respond and provide input. We thank all the residents who responded and attended the Town Hall Zoom meeting on this issue.

Holiday Trash Collection for 2021
Below is the holiday trash schedule for 2021. The holidays with an asterisk (*) indicate that the county transfer facility is closed. If one of these holidays falls on a service day (Monday or Thursday), North Village will have service the following day (Tuesday or Friday).

Next Meeting
The next North Village board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 18. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting will be conducted via Zoom. Individuals desiring to attend the February virtual board meeting must e-mail their intent to attend the meeting with their name and unit address to asteward@mvf.org no later than 10 a.m. on Thursday, Feb 18. Management will then respond with further instructions.

If you have any questions or want to report any problems, call Community Manager April Steward at 240-243-2327 or e-mail asteward@mvf.org.

Carwise Best Practices for Preventing Car Theft
If you don’t want a thief sitting behind the wheel of your car or taking your stuff you need to consider the following:

1. Lock your vehicle. Let’s not make it easy for criminals. Whenever you park your car (even in your driveway) close and lock the windows/doors/sunroof to help prevent car theft and theft from vehicle. Resist the temptation to leave windows cracked during the summer.

2. Don’t keep valuables in your vehicle. An iPad, purse, or even loose change in plain view is eye-candy to a criminal. Criminals will smash a window to take anything of value. If you absolutely must leave a valuable item in your car, put it in the trunk. Best bet is to be thinking ahead and leaving valuables at home.

3. Use an anti-theft device. Equipping your vehicle with an alarm system is only half the battle, you must take the next step and activate it after locking your vehicle.

4. Don’t leave your car running. Never leave your car unattended if it's running. Leaving your car running not only invites theft, it’s also illegal. If you’re not behind the wheel, turn your vehicle off.

5. Keep track of your keys. Many people make the mistake of hiding a spare key under the wheel-well or some other place under their car. Some motorists have spare car and house keys in their cars’ glove box/arm rest area. Criminals have caught on to this and will not only steal your car but also burglarize your home. So, please keep your keys and/or key fob with you.

6. Park intelligently. Parking in a well-lit area will help deter criminals. Also, parking close to building entrances and near parking lot security cameras adds extra layers of protection.

7. Take advantage of a tech-based auto recovery tool. If despite your best efforts the worst happens, employing an auto-theft recovery tool could help you get your car back before it’s ruined. These systems use GPS technology to pinpoint your vehicle and transmit that information to you, the car owner.

North Village View: for residents of Essex Place, Highland Hall, McRory, Perry Place, Picton, Pleasant Ridge and Salem’s Grant.

Parking

by the Northgate Board of Directors

The board is considering parking solutions for certain subdivisions. This applies to Apple Ridge, the McKendrees and Overlea. Homeowners will be notified when the plans are finalized.
 

Trash
Finally, trash dumping continues to be a major issue and the cost to the community is significant. As more residents get security cameras, Northgate is getting some good information on the people dumping, but it is not enough. We will keep repeating the Northgate trash information as long as problems in the community exist: Northgate provides ample resources to handle trash, including twice-weekly trash pickups and bulk pickups once-per-week as needed. The county provides once-per-week recycling. With few exceptions, that should cover every resident’s trash removal needs. Those exceptions can almost always be handled by taking the items to the Shady Grove Transfer Station, a short distance from Montgomery Village (MVA>MidCounty Highway>Shady Grove Road>Left on 355>almost immediate Left into Transfer Station).

The Points and Overlea have trash pickup on Mondays and Thursdays. Bulk pickups are Thursday. All the other neighborhoods—Apple Ridge, Dorsey’s Regard, the McKendrees, Shadow Oak and Williams Range—have trash pickup on Tuesdays and Fridays. Bulk pickups are on Fridays.

Per Montgomery County Code, residents are responsible for providing containers with tight fitting lids for storage of solid waste in single-family houses and townhouses. All solid waste storage containers must be rigid plastic or metal, vermin-proof and equipped with tight fitting lids. The Division of Housing Code Enforcement enforces trash and debris on a property.

Northgate News: for residents of Apple Ridge, Dorsey's Regard, McKendree I & II, Overlea, The Points, Shadow Oak and Williams Range.

Winter actions in Stedwick

by the Stedwick Board of Directors

Parking Update

At the January 20 meeting, the board of directors reviewed and commented on an initial draft parking policy. The draft is currently being translated into Spanish. The next step will be to post the draft on the Stedwick website for residents and homeowners to review and provide feedback. When the drafts have been posted, residents and homeowners will be notified.

Green Space Update

The board recently signed an agreement with Tree Montgomery to plant an additional 40 trees within Stedwick community. Planting will take place in Spring 2021.

Pepco Project Update

As part of Pepco’s Supply Line Improvement Plan for Montgomery County, 2.25 miles of distribution lines along the existing Pepco right-of-way between Gaithersburg and Montgomery Village are being replaced, including sections on either side of Stedwick Drive. When completed, the project will benefit customers by providing increased protection to the distribution line, reduced response time for outages, and increased reliability of the overall system.

Next Board Meeting

The next virtual meeting of the Stedwick Homes Corporation Board of Directors is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 17. For connection instructions, please e-mail kkodjanian@mvf.org in advance of the meeting. The first few minutes of the meeting is residents time when residents can talk to the board members, express concerns, or otherwise make the board members aware of needs and items of interest. We invite all residents to come out and participate.

Stedwick Signals: for residents of Club Hill, Clusters of Stedwick I, II, III, Forest Brooke, Frenchton Place, Ridges of Stedwick and The Heights