Ed Murtagh
A quick update on actions taken since our January joint civic association meeting.
Those of you
who attended that meeting will recall that we found
volunteers for three ad hoc committees. The first ad
hoc committee was set up for the purpose of organizing
a community meeting on the subject of Wheaton
redevelopment. We have held one planning meeting and
have contacted individuals who can provide various
insights on this subjects. We have contacted a
representative of the Local First organization (a
small business organization in Wheaton), Natalie
Cantor ( Dir. Mid County Regional Center and Wheaton
Urban District) and Rob Klein (Wheaton Redevelopment
Dir). We also contacted Dr. Alex Chen from the Univ.
of MD School of Urban Planning, and Northwood H.S.
teacher Erol Miller, who are both involved with an
interesting ongoing survey of the Wheaton Central
Business District by Northwood High School students
and students from the Univ. Of MD. All are willing
to come and speak to our community. The hard part of
course is finding an agreeable time.
The second ad hoc committee was a Governance
Committee, which will pull together the administrative
actions needed to form a new combined civic
association. The Governance Committee has met to
start developing a draft set of bylaws. The committee
hopes to have the draft bylaws ready for community
review and comment some time in March. A second task
of this committee will be to work on getting the new
civic association established as a 501c(3) (nonprofit
status).
The third ad hoc committee was set up for the purpose
of organizing a community meeting on the subject of
Neighborhood Watch. This committee has not yet met.
Once we agree on a set of bylaws, elections will be
held for civic association officers. Following the
election, the civic association will formally convene
committees, including a committee for Wheaton
Redevelopment and Neighborhood Watch (hopefully this
spring).