Saturday, February 22, 2014

Boy Scout Troop 1434 Holds Its Annual Mulch Sale

I received a note from Ted Lutterman of 8103 Inverness Ridge Rd. Ted wanted the community to know that Boy Scout Troop 1434 will hold its annual mulch sale in March and he passed on the following details[1]:

Inverness in Spring

Boy Scout Troop 1434 Holds Its Annual Mulch Sale

On March 15, 2014 Boy Scout Troop 1434[2] is once again selling mulch for their annual fundraiser. The boys from the troop will deliver and stack bags of mulch on Saturday, March 15, 2014. The order deadline is Monday, March 10, 2014.

New for 2014, you can place your order online[3], using your credit card or your PayPal account, at the Troop website: http://potomac1434.mytroop.us

Advantages of buying from our Troop:

  1. Price is competitive - only $3.75 per bag.
  2. We sell only the two cubic foot size bags, so that they are easier to handle. Have you seen a young scout wrestle with a 3 cubic foot bag?
  3. Our vendor is giving us shredded hardwood mulch. One past customer is a landscaper and told us that what we sell is high quality.
  4. The boys benefit from being outdoors in patrols, cooking and camping monthly, solving problems like how to cook when the stove fuel runs out, and going to a weeklong summer camp. The funds pay for the reservation fees, scout patches, and equipment like new tents.
  5. Your car remains free of mulch debris.
  6. We deliver the mulch to you.
  7. Order process is easy—just hop online.
  8. The Troop has been growing with more boys attending Thursday night meetings at 7:30pm at Seven Locks Baptist Church. So our needs for equipment continue.

Please note: although the order form says there is a minimum order size of 10 bags for home delivery, for Inverness & Deborah drive townhouses, we will accept orders of 4 bags or more and the boys will deliver the mulch to your house.

For our past Inverness Forest customers, thank you for your support.

Questions can be directed by email to Mulch@potomac1434.mytroop.us

If you are an avid gardner, this might be a perfect solution to getting lots of mulch for your beds and helping a good cause at the same time.

Harvey

iftblog@gmail.com


  1. You can view the flyer here  ↩

  2. Boy Scout Troop 1434 meets at Seven Locks Baptist Church.  ↩

  3. The order form is also on the website if you prefer to mail in a check made out to BSA Troop 1434.  ↩

Friday, October 26, 2012

Highlights from the Annual Meeting 10-25-12

Last night the Inverness Forest Association held its Annual Meeting for 2012.  It was a lively affair with spirited discussions on many topics.  Perhaps 40-50 people attended including the board, the vote counters, and the IFA's lawyer David Gardner.  In addition, many people cast their votes by proxy.  A total of 109 votes (attendees and proxies) were cast on the question about the amendment to our by-laws.

I'll cover only the highlights in this post.  The minutes will be more detailed.  I'll post them, as usual, on the IFA website and here on Inverness Forest Today when they become available.

Voting


Six board members were elected: three that were on the ballot and three that were nominated from the floor.  James Ulrich, Evan Foster, and Rita Carvajal were re-elected to seats on the board.  The three new board members are: Cybel Wigle, Glenna Bernard, and David Kelly.  This brings the board membership to its authorized level of nine members.  All nine board members deserve our thanks and appreciation for tackling the hard work and spending the many hours it takes to run our community.

The proposed amendment to our by-laws allowing a smaller authorized board size (5, 7, or 9 members to be set annually) than the current authorized size of nine member was the subject of the previous four posts on this blog: two posts supporting the amendment and two posts opposing the amendment.  The spirited debate on the amendment continued at the annual meeting with several speakers on each side of the issue expressing their opinions. The amendment was not approved: 47 votes in favor of the amendment and 62 opposed to it.

Management Company


The board announced that TMGA, the management company we've had since the spring, has quit.  Their last day will be October 31, 2012, but they will be available to help with the transition to a new management company.  The board was not satisfied with TMGA's performance and were considering terminating our agreement with them at the end of the year.

Treasurer Evan Foster said that during the bidding process for selecting a management company, TMGA produced a very good proposal and was also the lowest bidder ($20,000 per year) of the four companies who bid.  The board felt that once the contract with TMGA began, the level of support promised in the proposal did not materialize.

Evan said that since the board reviewed the various bids so recently, they are in a position to select a replacement for TMGA. Evan pointed out that it is likely to cost somewhat more ($35,000) to hire a management company capable of performing up to the standards the board believes is needed for our community.  The board is exploring various options to fund this expense.


The Role of Social Media


Just as in our national elections, social media played an increasing role in providing information to residents during the annual meeting and the weeks leading up to it.  This Inverness Forest Today blog hosted discussions on the proposed amendment to our by-laws.  The previous four posts on IFT explored both sides of this amendment.  One post was by a board member, two by former board members, and one by the lawyer for IFA, David Gardner.  Many of the people attending the Annual Meeting said that they had read the blog posts and that this helped them understand the issues involved.

I talked to many people during the weeks leading up to the Annual Meeting and was encouraged by the level of understanding of the issues displayed by residents who had read the blog posts.  A knowledgeable community is better able to make good decisions than one that doesn't understand the issues up for a vote.

One person attending the meeting, John Wigle, achieved a first for IFA.  Within a few minutes after the voting was complete, John  "live-blogged" the election results from the floor of the meeting to the Inverness Forest Facebook group, thus informing community residents belonging to the group of the election returns in almost real time.

Letters of Enforcement for non-Architectural Violations


Several homeowners were upset to receive a letter in recent weeks from TMGA asking them to to perform certain landscaping maintenance (cut their grass, trim specific bushes, etc.).  Former board member Elise Vernick raised the issue of the validity of such letters.  The IFA lawyer, David Gardner, said his review of our governing documents did not show any basis for such letters to be issued.  He said that architectural violations are covered by our governing documents and have to be enforced, but there is no justification for these letters to homeowners concerning non-architectural issues since there are no standards set forth.  Furthermore, Mr. Gardner pointed out that should a board decide in the future to enforce non-architectural standards, they would have to undertake a massive campaign to keep from incurring liability since we are not a condo, but rather own our own homes. Furthermore, he pointed out that there are State and County laws governing such issues and generally such enforcement should be left to those governments which have both the resources and authority to enforce those regulations.  So it appears that if you received one of these TMGA letters you can safely ignore it

Pepco


Finally, Board President Sharlene Shugarman noted that Pepco has been busy lately trimming trees on Seven Locks Rd. that might fall on power lines.  Sharlene hoped that this work might make it less likely that we will lose power because of a storm, like the one that is now approaching the mid-Atlantic states.


Harvey


Thursday, October 18, 2012

David Gardner's Blog Post on the Proposed By-laws Amendment


Board President Sharlene Shugarman asked me to post David Gardner's comments on the proposed by-laws amendment as a guest blog post here on Inverness Forest Today.  Mr. Gardner is the IFA attorney.  One of my concerns, expressed in my original blog post  is that the board did not explain why they proposed this amendment; it just appeared on the proxy.  I want to thank Mr Gardner for addressing this concern and by explaining the reasons why the amendment was proposed.

Throughout this series of guest blog posts on the proposed amendment I have been careful not to add my own comments to those of the guest blogger because I didn't want to dilute their message.  Mr. Gardner raised some new issues that, I believe, need further exploration.  However, I'll defer my comments to a future blog post.

Here is Mr. Gardner's guest blog post based on an email he sent to Sharlene:

Sharlene:

I read the blog postings and must commend Harvey for spending so much time keeping the community informed on current issues.  Many of the opposition blogs state that the Board has not stated the basis for its proposal, but I think he has taken the time to do so in his blog.

I don’t know what the “litigious” period refers to.  Apparently, some previous board was faced with litigation and felt a larger board better represents the community.  While that is certainly true, the fact is that over 90% of the Boards in this area are comprised of 5 members.  In my experience less than 10% of the Boards require 7 or 9 members.  To require 9 is very uncommon.  The Montgomery County Council has 9 members for 1,000,000 residents.  I would think that 5 board members can represent 304 homes, and that 9 are not necessary. 

Also, while it may be true that more members can get more done, if the 9 members are only serving in name only, and don’t volunteer for anything, it is more of a hassle to hold meetings with 9 members than it would be for 5 members.  If there are 5 committed members, they can get more done than you can with 9 uncommitted members.  I’m sure you have experienced this yourself.

However, the main response to be given is that the bylaw amendment merely allows, but does not compel, a smaller board. If there are 9 interested persons running for the board then the board size can remain at 9.  But if the community experiences a period of apathy, as it is currently, the members can vote to reduce the board to 5 so that meetings can be held and a quorum reached.  It provides authority for this if it is ever needed.

Very truly,

David C. Gardner
Gardner Law Firm, PC
600 Jefferson Plaza, Suite 308
Rockville, MD 20852

This message contains information from the Gardner Law Firm, PC that may be privileged, confidential or otherwise protected from disclosure. Unless you are the addressee (or authorized to receive for the addressee), you may not use, copy or disclose to anyone the message or any information contained in the message. If you have received the message in error, please advise the sender by reply e-mail, and delete the message.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

By-law Amendment -- Sabine Dohrn's View

I served with Sabine Dohrn on the IFA Board for five years.  During this time the community benefitted from her hard work and wise council.  After reading my blog post on the proposed by-laws amendment and then James Ulrich's blog post, Sabine asked me if she could express her views too.  Here is her take on the proposed By-laws Amendment:

Harvey, I do very much appreciate what you are doing with your blog and keeping the lines of communication open.  This whole discussion would not take place without your initiative.  So a full-hearted Thank you !!  Below is my blog comment.

As a former Board member, I am aware of how difficult it is to recruit new Board members. Participation from the community has been disappointingly low for a couple of years.  So I fully understand  James Ulrich´s arguments for reducing the number of Directors.  And yet, weighing them against the drawbacks, I still come out on the side of No to reduction.
I find Harvey´s argument very convincing that reducing the number of Board directors carries the danger of concentrating the power in the hands of a few with less diversity of opinions and little opposition.  Narrowing choices or voices never seems a good idea in a democracy on any level.
Concerning James´argument of changing demographics, I am not sure if anyone can predict their effect on community participation.   And to all those parents, one evening a month is all it takes.  There is no unreasonable workload associated with being on the Board.  So fear not!
What  I really miss seeing, though, is some kind of a ¨campaign¨ by the Board to bring this problem to the fore  in the community, some communication that draws attention to the issue.  I did not see  any flyer or any direct communication weeks ago to alert us.
Before trying to cast this change to Article IV Section 1 of the By-laws in stone, I would have liked to see the Board work a little harder on whipping up a campaign to recruit new members.  A good dose of DIRECT communication on important issues once in a while wouldn´t hurt and would create a closer connection to the community.  Maybe there was mention in the minutes but sorry, they are not the right vehicle.  For my taste, the Board sits too much in an ivory tower.  Maybe that is one reason people don´t engage more.
And to the practical side - concerning the argument that Board decisions sometimes cannot be made in a timely fashion because one member is ill or out of town, would it not be permissible to use technology - emails in particular, or Skype videoconferencing - to get that person´s vote?
Thank you, Harvey, for creating this forum for discussion.
                       Sabine Dohrn

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Harvey

Harvey Levine


Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Board's Position on the Proposed By-law Amendment

As I promised in my last blog post, I wanted to give the board an opportunity to present their reasons why the proposed amendment to our by-laws should be adopted.  The last blog post gave my reasons opposing this amendment (see previous post located after this one).

Today's comments are from IFA Board Vice-President James Ulrich.  During the time James and I were on the board together I learned to respect his talent for getting to the heart of issues that came before the board and his dedication to helping the community.

Here are James's comments:

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Dear Neighbors:

Harvey has graciously offered the Board of Directors the opportunity to respond to his blog post of October 1st, regarding the proposed amendment to Article IV Section 1 of the bylaws, and I'd like to take that opportunity to share my own thoughts on the topic, speaking as a fellow resident.

First, I'd like to thank Harvey for maintaing the Inverness Forest Today blog, providing a valuable forum to discuss this and other issues that affect our community. 

Second, I'd like to wholeheartedly agree that the interests of the community will best be served by a well-functioning Board of nine Directors representing the full spectrum of views held by the IFA membership.  That is a goal to which everyone in the community can contribute, either by volunteering to serve on the Board, or by encouraging fellow residents to do so.

However, I have the impression, based on the two years I have served on the Board, that it is becoming harder (though not impossible) to recruit new Directors. My own cul-de-sac provides anecdotal evidence that this may reflect in part a shift in the community demographics towards working couples with young children, who have moved here to take advantage of the excellent public schools, and who have limited time to devote to volunteer activities in general, and the Board in particular.

Our current bylaws fix the number of Directors at nine, and therefore a quorum at five Directors, even if four of the positions are vacant. For much of the past year, only five Director positions have been filled (the count currently stands at six), and on two occasions this has prevented the Board from conducting IFA business, when one of the Directors was absent due to illness or travel. Were this situation to persist, in the worst case scenario we could conceivably be forced into receivership, which would leave us with a Board of exactly one Director. I am sure no one wants this.

Accordingly, on the advice of the IFA counsel, David Gardner, Esquire, we put forward the proposed amendment to Article IV Section 1 which you received with your annual meeting notice. This amendment will allow (but not require) the IFA membership (not just the Board) to adjust, at the annual meeting, the number of Directors upwards or downwards, to an odd number between five and nine, to better reflect the number of candidates standing for election. 

This amendment would appear to be in conflict with Article IV, Section 2, which requires the membership to elect three Directors each year. However, were the proposed amendment adopted, Montgomery County code would require us to elect roughly one third of the Board each year to staggered terms, and this code would govern, not Article IV Section 2. 

Fortunately, IFA counsel has further advised that there remains sufficient time to issue a proposed amendment to Article IV Section 2 as well, and you should shortly be receiving a mailing with the proposed amendment and supplemental proxy ballot. The proposed amendment spells out clearly how the Directors are to be elected, for Boards of five, seven, or nine Directors. Essentially, the expiring positions will be staggered to terms of one, two, or three years, with the number of votes received by a winning candidate determining the term the candidate will serve.

My hope is that the two amendments taken together will clearly present to the community the intent of the Board, which is to allow the full membership to adjust the number of Directors to ensure that the Board can conduct IFA business efficiently, while representing the greatest possible diversity of views.

Harvey is correct to note that these matters deserve careful deliberation, and so I hope you all will turn out for the annual meeting on the 25th of October. The IFA attorney will be present to answer your questions about the proposed amendments.

Best regards,
James Ulrich
Vice President
Board of Directors of the Inverness Forest Association

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Now you have both the sides of the issue: the case in favor of the amendment presented above by James Ulrich and the case opposed to the amendment presented below in my previous post.  I hope this gives you a basis for making an informed decision on the proposed amendment to our by-laws.

Harvey

Harvey Levine

ifablog@gmail.com