How I Caused the Great Blizzard!

Now that everyone has calmed down from the recent snowstorm, I have a confession to make: I caused the great blizzard! I didn't mean to cause this chaos. It was just an experiment that went wrong.

It started two winters ago after I shoveled the snow from a small snowstorm. With the prediction of another storm in two days, I decided to leave the snow shovel on my porch, ready for action.

When the storm hit, it was only flurries -- nothing to shovel. However another storm was predicted later in the week - a big one. Again I left the shovel on the porch. When this storm hit, it turned out to be only rain. Again I left the shovel on the porch. For the rest of the winter there wasn't enough snow to shovel.

So last year I decided to try an experiment. When the first snow of the season was predicted, out came the snow shovel. It stayed on my porch the entire winter. The total snow accumulation for last winter was only about eight inches. The presence of the snow shovel seemed effective in warding off big snow storms. Time after time, while the shovel was on the porch, either the snowstorm failed to arrive, or only an inch or two fell.

Perhaps this was a fair experiment. Sure, when the shovel was on the porch, we had little or no snow. But what would happen if the shovel remained far away from the porch? Would we have big snowstorms? So this year I left the shovel in the basement.

You know what happened last weekend: we got hit with a whopper of a storm! It wasn't even winter yet! So, I'm to blame for the blizzard. I didn't mean to cause such chaos. But I had to know if leaving a shovel on the porch can effectively ward of a snow storm.

I've been trying to figure out how the presence of a snow shovel on my porch keeps the snow from falling. The best I can come up with is that once a snowstorm sees that I'm prepared for it, the storm decides to save its snow for a place where people are not prepared. What's the point in dumping a foot or two of snow if people are ready to shovel it? Can someone come up with a better explanation for the effectiveness of the snow shovel on my porch?

So, I promise, really promise, that I'll take steps to ward of the snow all winter. To make up for the problems I caused by leaving my snow shovel in the basement, I'll leave two shovels on the porch. The picture below shows my current precaution against more snow.






Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

How to Keep From Punching Your Neighbor!

So you just spent two hours shoveling out your car, that is, your second car, the one that's not in a numbered parking space. Your back hurts and you decide to go to the CVS for some aspirin.

When you return, a neighbor's car is parked in the space you just shoveled out. You look around and the only spots not taken are the ones that were not occupied before the storm hit; they are buried in a few feet of snow. It would take another two hours to shovel out any of these spaces.

Do you feel like punching your neighbor who cavalierly parked in "your" parking space? Technically, anyone can park in an unnumbered spot. But in this case, it would take a lot more nerve than I have to park in a spot that someone spent hours clearing.

So what can you do to keep some bozo from parking in the spot you broke your back to clear? One solution is to do what some people in my part of Inverness Forest do. Take a look at this picture:

No, it's not Santa's new sleigh. Santa is warning people not to park in that space. Someone has worked hard to clear that space. If you want to park in this area, clear off your own space.

Usually the things people put in the space to reserve it are a lot less colorful than this Santa I came across today. I've used an old milk crate with a pile of junk in it. The purpose is the same, but the person who came up with the Santa was much more imaginative.

And, if you arrive in our community and find a spot with Santa sitting on a chair, please don't move him to the sidewalk so you can park in that spot. You're asking for a punch in the nose!

Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

Fun Holiday Show Opens in Potomac

Longtime readers of Inverness Forest Today will recall that I periodically write about local community theater productions that might be of interest to residents. Today I'd like to talk about the Potomac Theatre Company's production of "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas", which opened last night at the Blair Family Theater on the Bullis campus (less than a 10 minute drive from our community).

The music and lyrics were written by Meredith Willson, who also wrote "The Music Man" and "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", and is based on the classic movie, "Miracle on 34th Street". The music is performed by a live orchestra and features a large, talented cast. Kris Kringle (aka Santa Claus) is played by Potomac Theatre Company veteran Vin Kelly. Macy's Department store executive Doris Walker is played by Jessica May. Ex-marine turned lawyer, Fred Gaily, is played by another PTC veteran, Ken Kemp. The fourth lead, Doris's daughter, Susan Walker, is played by 12 year old Mary Sorensen. The leads are wonderful actors and singers and are backed by a large talented cast.

Here is what Wikipedia says about the show:

Based on the classic film Miracle on 34th Street, it tells the tale of a skeptical little girl who doubts the existence of Santa Claus. When the real Kris Kringle inadvertently is hired to represent jolly St. Nick in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, he must convince the child and her cynical divorced mother (the department store's special events director) that he's the genuine article. Susan Walker and her mother, Doris, live alone in New York in the 1960s. Doris works in an executive position at Macy's, and at the start of the musical is busy organizing the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Susan meets an ex-marine named Fred Gaily, who takes it upon himself to rid her of her "realistic" outlook on life by taking her to see Santa Claus at Macy's. Kris (Santa) manages to win Susan over while love blooms between Fred and Doris. The second act sees Kris appearing in the New York Supreme Court, with Fred helping him defend his sanity. In the conclusion, Fred uses the Post Office to prove to the court (and the world) that Santa Claus does exist: Kris Kringle is he.

Tickets and directions can be found at the Potomac Theatre Company website:

http://www.potomactheatreco.org/

Anyone attending tonight's performance (Nov 21) is invited to a free wine and cheese party after the show in the theater lobby where you can meet the cast and crew. Tonight's show will start an hour earlier than normal, at 7:00 PM, to accommodate the party.

The show runs for three consecutive weekends.

Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

How Do I Get Rid of My Leaves?

Inverness Resident John Smith sent me the following question in an email:

Are we allowed to push the leaves from our yard to the curb where they can be picked up by the landscape maintenance company when they do the leaves on the commons property or should the leaves from our yard be all placed in bags for pickup by the trash collection?

Thank you for your help.
John H. Smith

John's question is certainly timely. So I asked Sharlene Shugarman (board VP and heard of Landscaping) to answer John. Here is her response:

John,

Emerald Landscaping will pick up anyone’s leaves that are left at the curb. They put up their yellow signs at the entrances indicating when they will be coming around. They should be back 2 or 3 more times this season.

Sharlene

Thanks Sharlene for your help!

Inverness resident Adele Gravitz has a very good alternative suggestion. Here is her comment:

Of course, if you can mow over them you get-- "free mulch" ( Mulch has many uses. Some uses include retain moisture, warmth, retard weed growth, and appearance)

Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

Survey of Contractors Used by Homeowners

I received the following email from Arthur Green, an Inverness Forest resident:

Am looking specifically for a structural engineer ..have a room in my model (similar to your end unit) where a floor is beginning to sag

Appreciated
arthur
Arthur E. Green

Arthur's email reminded me that our website used to have a list of contractors recommended by IFA homeowners. The list has not been maintained for many years and was removed because it was obsolete. I would like to create a new online list of contractor recommendations and make it available on the Inverness Forest Association website and here on Inverness Forest Today.

I would like to hear about your experiences, both good and bad, with contractors you've hired to do work inside your house and outside (roofers, landscaping, tree work, etc.). To make it easier for you, I've created a simple online form to fill out. I will compile your responses into an online database so that we can all benefit from your experiences.

You may fill out the form anonymously if you wish, although it would be helpful to homeowners if they knew who provided the information in case they have a question.

This is an ongoing project, so please fill out a copy of the form anytime you hire a contractor and wish to share your experience with the community. I have added a link to the Contractor Recommendation Form in the sidebar column on the right (under Inverness Links) so it will be easy to access the form anytime you visit Inverness Forest Today. I've also added a link to the list of your recommendations just below and called it "Contractor List." If someone else has provided information on a contractor you've used, you can still fill out the form to describe your experience with this contractor, which might be different.

Here is the link to the form:
Contractor Recommendation Form

If you can answer Arthur's question, please fill out the form and I'll pass on your information. In addition, I have received many questions about who to hire to do roof work. So if you had a roof installed/repaired on your house in the past several years, please click on the Contractor Recommendation Form link above and tell us about your experience.


Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

Treasurer's Report - 2009 IFA Annual Meeting

Last night the Inverness Forest Association held its annual meeting. Three seats (each for a three year term) needed to be filled. The only incumbent running, Sal Presti, was elected. Two residents, Stephanie Cooperstein and Evan Foster, agreed to run for the remaining two seats and were elected. The board now has all nine seats filled.

I presented the Treasurer's report, which described the year to date operational spending, next years budget, and the historical level of capital reserves over the past decade.

The four pages of charts and tables are in the PDF file at this link:
http://www.box.net/shared/8j0em3hhrx

If you have any comments or questions, please click on the "comment" link below or send me an email.

A brief commentary on the report follows:

Page 1: This is a line-by-line comparison of the operations spending to date and the corresponding budget projection for the year to date. The bottom line (literally) is that we are about $3400 under budget. So far, so good.

Page 2: This is the 2010 budget that was attached to the announcement for the annual meeting.

Page 3: A pie chart based on the previous table and showing the major areas of operations spending expected for 2010.

Page 4: A graph of the capital reserves level over the past decade. As can be seen, we've done a good job or rebuilding the capital reserves over the past few years. The board has established a goal of $1000 per household as the reserve requirement. We are now just about at that target. To put this goal in perspective, the three separate years of special assessments to pave about 50% of our community (2006 -2008) raised a total of $1050 per household.


Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

Can You Extend the Life of Your Roof?

Is it possible to treat your roof so that it will last longer and therefore save you money? Some people say that powerwashing your roof will extend its life while others say that the force of the spray or the harshness of the chemicals will actually shorten the life of your roof. Who's right? If you have a reference to research done on this issue, please post a comment to this article so others can benefit from this information.

There is an alternative roof treatment called CedarSave that claims to be more gentle on your roof while extending its life. Inverness Forest Association board vice-president, Sharlene Shugarman, tried CedarSave four years ago. She has send me the following email to share her conclusions with Inverness homeowners:

There is an alternative to replacing your old cedar shake roof. If the physical condition of the shakes are not too deteriorated, Escobar & Robb offers the following service:

Cleaning with low pressure application of “CedarSave” solution, a blend of detergents and fungicides, which lifts out wood-destroying organisms. Applying a clear color, high quality oil-based preservative to restore the natural oils, can promote water repellency and provide protection from the UV rays.

I had my mansards cleaned and treated 4 years ago, and two of my neighbors more recently have treated their roofs. We are all very pleased with the results. We saved a lot of money doing this treatment instead of replacing the shakes and our roofs look almost brand new. I highly recommend this option if your shakes are not beyond repair. I would also recommend that the plants around the home be covered by drop cloths for protection from the agents. Escobar & Robb will provide free estimates.

Sharlene Shugarman


If you would like to comment, please click on the comment link below. If you have a problem with the comment's anti-spam protection, email me your comments and I'll be happy to post them for you.

Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

Online Delivery of the Minutes - The First Time

For the first time ever, most of the Inverness Forest Community is getting the board meeting minutes online. The advantages of online distribution are that it saves trees, saves the cost of printing paper copies, and for those volunteers delivering the paper copies, online distribution saves time and shoe leather.

When I started Inverness Forest Today in April 2008 I didn't think it would grow so quickly and have such a large audience. The mailing list now has 239 email addresses! The are only 304 townhouses in our community. There is some double counting since in some cases more than one member of a household receives IFT and in other cases both an owner and their tenant receive IFT. Still, most of the residents in Inverness Forest are on our mailing list.

I've put the PDF file of the minutes online in the "cloud" (As always) at a location where you have a choice of reading the file online or downloading the PDF file to your computer for printing. Here is the link:

IFA Minutes 8-13-09

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Note that there is a request for more information on the Da Vinci roof material posted as a comment on the previous posting (below). I've some answers (also as a comment), but perhaps someone who has researched these issues can provide a comment with additional information.


Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

Alternative Roof Material Approved by the IFA Board

Click here for a larger picture



The Inverness Forest Association Board of Directors has been researching alternative roof materials for quite a while and has decided that there has been significant improvements recently in materials and manufacturing techniques. It now makes sense to expand the ACC regulations by providing at least one additional choice to cedar shakes.

To that end, board members have made trips to Avenel to see several different alternative roof materials on Avenel houses. Also the board and members of the ACC met earlier this month with representatives of Da Vinci and EcoStar, two prominent manufacturers of alternative roofing materials. We examined many different samples and borrowed some of them to see their appearance in bright sunlight. Ultimately the board whittled the choices down to three.

At the August 13th meeting the board voted on these three alternatives to cedar shakes. The Enviroshake material was not approved nor were the two variations of the Eco Star product. The board did approve the Da Vinci material in the "Autumn Blend" color. This material comes in both a uniform nine inch width and in multi-width tiles. Both of these choices were approved.

The picture above, which I took today, is of the Da Vinci product on an Avenel roof. The picture below is a closeup of that roof. One of the reasons the Da Vinci product was approved was because the tiles show considerably more variation in both color and texture than the Enviroshake or Eco Star roof materials.

Click here for a larger picture

Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

How Much Did an Inverness Forest House Sell For?

I hinted in the last post that I would tell you how to find the purchase price of any house in our community. The State of Maryland Office of Assessment and Taxation maintains a state-wide database containing the names of all property owners and how much they paid for the property. The ownership and purchase price of every house in the State is public knowledge. Virginia and probably most other states make their home ownership and purchase price information public as well.
To access the database click on this link:

Montgomery County Property Database

In the window enter the street number and street name. For example, for my house enter "10743" and "Deborah" (without the quotes). The website tells you not to enter the suffix, the "Dr" or "Rd", just the name (Deborah or Inverness Ridge).

Clik on the search button and the information is presented. If you enter in my house address, you'll see that I am the owner and that I paid $135,000 on 8-5-1983. Often there is a whole history of sale prices and previous owners, but since I bought my house so long ago, that information is lacking.

So, don't tell your neighbor that you only paid $200,000 for your house five years ago if you really paid $400,000. They can easily find out the truth.

For your convenience, I've added a link to the Montgomery Property Database in the right-hand column under "Inverness Links".


Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

Online Delivery of the Minutes has Finally Arrived!

I know, I know, we actually have had the minutes online for more than a year. The entire set can be found on the IFA website (see link in sidebar at the right). The board has decided to use "e-delivery" as the primary means of distribution. Many of you have asked when we will stop wasting paper and just deliver the minutes online. The answer is that, starting with the July board minutes, we will not be distributing paper copies (see exception below). I personally appreciate this decision since I have delivered the paper copies to every house on the Deborah Dr. side for the past few months.

So, now we will be saving paper (trees), money, and shoe leather. We have reached "critical mass" with over 180 names on the email distribution notification list. I will continue to send out an email to everyone on the email list with a link to newly posted minutes.

Here is the exception I mentioned. What should we do about those remaining people who are not yet part of our online community and therefore won't see the notifications when the minutes are added to our website? For the moment, the board has decided that we will deliver paper minutes to them.

In the future we will explore other methods of getting the minutes out to people who don't have online access. One idea is to ask people who need paper copies to act as distribution points for others who also need paper copies.

I'd like to hear suggestions from you about how to get paper copies to people without online access. Please add your suggestions as a comment to this posting or send me an email with your ideas.

Equally important is how to sign up the remainder of the Inverness Forest Community so that they can participate in accessing the minutes online, as well as reading Inverness Forest Today, the IFA website, and the message board. I have spent a lot of time this past year knocking on doors and requesting email addresses of residents. Almost everyone I asked has provided an email address, which is why our online community numbers over 180. I will continue to knock on doors, but I have some ideas about how to speed things up. But I'll save that for another post.

Here is a teaser for my next post: did you know that the amount of money you paid for your house is public knowledge and available online on a State of Maryland website?

Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

Raccoon

The following article appears as an addendum to the May 2009 board minutes.  The board wanted to make sure this information was widely disseminated.

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Stay Away from Raccoons and DON’T FEED THEM!!

As we are all aware, our neighborhood backs on to woods with all the wildlife benefits and nuisances that it brings. Unfortunately, if we don't all follow sound advice from experts, our interaction with wildlife can be a hazard to them and us. In general, we should appreciate wildlife from a distance. Please review the information below and follow the instructions so you can keep yourself and the rest of the community safe.

 

1 - Raccoons are a "disease vector" – they are the #1 carrier of rabies in the State of Maryland and a quarter of all cases occur in Montgomery County. Raccoons carry a number of other diseases as well.

• If a human is bitten by a raccoon, they must undergo an expensive and painful series of shots. If you wait until symptoms appear, it is too late and the disease is fatal.
• Inverness Forest has already had one canine death from a tick-borne illness that only transmitted by a tick that has been on an infected raccoon.
• Raccoons have already established "latrines" at three homes
• Many people think that they are safe around raccoons if they don't act rabid. The fact is that the virus incubates for two to six months, during which time they are contagious, but not symptomatic.

 

2. Feeding raccoons (or any wildlife) encourages a larger-than-natural size population which puts the entire animal community at risk for disease.

• Raccoons have a natural aversion to human contact. Feeding them and socializing them removes this fear so that they will be more likely to be where they shouldn't. Raccoons are wild - they cannot be tamed or domesticated.
• Feeding wildlife also makes them dependent on that food source and reduces the dietary variety that they need.

 

3. Raccoons can be very disruptive to our living spaces and adversely impact our quality of life:

• When nesting, they can invade attic spaces which causes a great deal of damage to our homes, increases potential for exposure to their diseases, and incurs a substantial cost to remove them.
• Pets who make contact with raccoons will be quarantined – 45 days if rabies shots are current; six months if not. This means your animal cannot leave your property or have contact with any other animal for this period of time (or you will face a $500 fine).

 

Wild raccoons generally do not pose a problem to humans because they only come out at night and usually will run away when humans approach. Unfortunately, we currently have a fairly large (10-15) population of socialized raccoons near 10801 through 10851 Deborah Dr. As mentioned above, we've had one canine death, one canine quarantine and 3 latrines established so far. To reduce the negative impact of this socialized community of raccoons, we need to observe diligently the following guidelines until the raccoons return to their natural wild state:

1. Do not approach a raccoon if you can avoid it - they can be vicious and you do not want to risk injury that would require you to undergo rabies shots; it is suggested that you try to scare them away by banging on pots or pans or squirting water at them from a hose.
2. Do not feed raccoons (raccoons are omnivorous). Keep all pet food inside at night; even leaving bird-food out overnight can attract them. Do not feed the squirrels either.
3. Do not leave garbage outside in containers that are not raccoon-proof (raccoons have opposable thumbs and are extremely smart).

 

Our options for reducing the current nuisance population are not pleasant (and the lack of good options is why one expert termed feeding and socializing raccoons a "death sentence"). There are humane traps that can be used (so that if a cat or squirrel is accidentally caught, it can be safely released), but it is difficult to rehabilitate raccoons and they will find their way back. By law, if we hire a commercial trapper to remove the animals, the animals will be euthanized. It is illegal to poison them - with good reason: pets, particularly cats who roam, and innocent wildlife can ingest the poison. Even if the poison is swallowed by a raccoon that poison is in the environment and can adversely affect carrion animals.

 

For additional information, see the following links:

 

http://www.cdc.gov/RABIES/

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/baylisascaris/factsht_baylisascaris.htm

http://www.hsus.org/wildlife/urban_wildlife_our_wild_neighbors/solving_problems/species/solving_problems_with_raccoons.html

http://dnr.maryland.gov/wildlife/feedingwildlife.asp

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Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

Two Impressive Shows Open Locally

As long-time readers of Inverness Forest Today know, I occasionally discuss the productions of two local theater companies: The Potomac Theatre Company and The Victorian Lyric Opera Company.  Since I'm associated with both companies I get to see the rehearsals and watch the shows take shape.  In June each company will present their season's finale.  The Potomac Theatre Company will present the play, Don't Dress For Dinner while the Victorian Lyric Opera Company will present Gilbert and Sullivan's The Gondoliers.

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Picture from the Art and Seek Blog
Don't Dress for Dinner is a two-act play by French playwright Marc Camoletti.  The Answer Girl blog provides the following summary: "Don't Dress for Dinner is a farce about a naughty weekend that goes wrong in every possible way. Bernard and Josephine are at their country house for the weekend, but as the play begins, Josephine is on her way to visit her mother. Before she leaves, she discovers that their best man, Robert, is coming to share Bernard's bachelor weekend; what Bernard doesn't know is that Robert and Jacqueline are actually having an affair.  So Jacqueline cancels her plans to visit her mother, but what she doesn't know is that Bernard had invited his own mistress, Suzanne, to spend the weekend while Jacqueline was away. He's also hired a cook to prepare a special dinner for him, Robert and his girlfriend; the cook's name is Suzette. Suzette arrives as Robert is alone in the house, expecting to meet Suzanne, and wackiness ensues."

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The Gondoliers is equally zany.  (Picture and text from Wikipedia)

"The story of the opera concerns the young bride of the heir to the throne of Barataria who arrives in Venice to join her husband. It turns out, however, that he cannot be identified, since he was entrusted to the care of a drunken gondolier who mixed up the prince with his own son. To complicate matters, the King of Barataria has just been killed. The two young gondoliers must now jointly rule the kingdom until the nurse of the prince can be brought in to determine which of them is the rightful king. Moreover, when the young queen arrives to claim her husband, she finds that the two gondoliers have both recently gotten married. A last complicating factor is that she, herself, is in love with another man."

Show dates and ticket information can be found at:

Don't Dress For Dinner 

The Gondoliers 

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I've been attend rehearsals of both shows and taking pictures.  The links to those pictures are here:

Don't Dress For Dinner Rehearsal pictures

Gondoliers Rehearsal pictures

Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

Local Sierra Club Events in May

Sabine Dohrn has posted a message on the IFA website's message board titled "Interesting gardening workshops coming up"

Sabine's message describes Sierra Club events during the month of May that might be of interest to Inverness Forest Residents. Here is the link to Sabine's message:
Sierra Club Gardening Events


Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

New Street Lights for Inverness Forest

IFA vice-president, Sharlene Shugarman, is (in her other life) a well-known and respected commercial lighting consultant. She has provided a sample working street light (pictured on the left) for the community to see in operation. The light is on the island in front of 8183 Inverness Ridge Rd.

The board will be taking up issue of replacing the street lights with a more updated and energy-efficient design later this year or early next year. The sample light will give you an idea of how the community will look with the new lights.

Sharlene has provided the following details on the new street light design:

• This new street light fixture is more efficient, provides more light distribution while using 30% less energy
• Will reduce routine maintenance costs by having a 50% longer lamp (light bulb) life and better ballast
• Reduce uncomfortable glare to drivers
• Improve safety at night
  
• Improve our community appearance

If you'd like to comment, please post a comment to this article (so others may read it), or send email to me or to Sharlene at: sshugarman@verizon.net


Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

Secure Trash So It Doesn't Blow Away

Two residents from different parts of Invenress, C Blanton and S Cooperstein, have spent a lot of time and effort picking up trash from the woods and common area that was not secured properly on trash collection day. They have sent me an email containing information on how to make sure your trash is properly secured so that it won't blow away.

Here is their email:

Please remind everyone that spring not only brings our beautiful woodlands and yards into bloom, it also brings winds that notoriously scatter trash and ruin what should be a gorgeous view. The biggest culprits, loose papers or styrofoam left unsecured in recycling bins, too often get blown into the woods or neighbors' yards, so *please* do your part to keep our neighborhood clean.

Montgomery County's waste reference site explains how to safely and effectively dispose of practically anything:
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/apps/dep/solidwaste/collectionservices/index.asp
If you click on "paper" for example, it will tell you that all clean paper can be combined and placed in:
small paper bags
tied with strong twine in small bundles
placed in small containers and/or small boxes with lids
Wheeled carts for paper recycling
Also, make sure contractors properly dispose of all their trash too -- including treated shingles that cannot just be thrown into the woods to degrade, screws and nails that can puncture tires, food containers, etc. Let's all help to keep our grounds clean and tidy.

Thanks,
C Blanton and S Cooperstein

These two residents, and other residents who pick up trash from the common areas, deserve our thanks and appreciation. You can show your thanks by emulating them and picking up trash from the common areas wherever you see it.

Also, the link in the column to the right from Montgomery County contains useful information on trash and recycling.


Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

Warning on Itinerant Roof Repair Workers

I received an email from Inverness resident Beth Dromerick warning of the dangers of hiring a pair of itinerant workers who say they will repair minor damage to roofs inexpensively. Beth warns that this is a scam. Here is her email:

Thought you might want to alert IFA homeowners that there are a couple of older men who come around periodically to clean gutters. They drive a station wagon well stocked with spray paint. Upon "inspecting" the roof they usually recommend minor roof repairs. Homeowners should be forewarned that their "repair job" is generally an expensive spray painting job. They do not actually fix anything but only make things look "good" from the curbside. We had our roof replaced a few months after they spray painted pipes, caulked and nailed down loose shingles. The roofing company confirmed it was just topical treatment poorly done. The men also spray painted our neighbor's trim that was peeling and painted right over the peeling paint without ever scraping and preparing the area. In addition, walking on an old roof can cause more damage and nailing old shingles causes more splitting. I was sorry to see more homeowners being taken advantage of last month and wanted to alert the community.
Thought this may be of interest to the Inverness Forest Today blog.
Beth Dromerick

I have my own warning to residents about hiring itinerant workers to do repairs to their houses. Any repairman you hire should be bonded and have insurance against liability that might arise should the repairman be injured when working on your house. If one of the repairmen that Beth mentioned should fall off the roof, the homeowner might be sued for huge damages. It is very unlikely that the repairmen in this instance have liability insurance. Ask them to show you a certificate of liability insurance before you hire them. At least get a recommendation from other residents before engaging workmen who knock on your door.

The community's website has a message board that residents can use to communicate with the community. One topic on this message board is set up to let homeowners pass on their experience and recommendations about local repair companies. Take a look at this topic and perhaps you will find a recommendation for a service you plan to use. A link to the website can be found in the column on the right.



Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

(See Comments below for residents responses)

Spruce Up Your Garden This Spring

Board member Nicole Fleisher of the Inverness Forest Community Relations Committee has arranged to have Montgomery County Master Gardener Bob McDowell give a talk on the advantages of using native plants in our gardens. The event also features door prizes and a raffle. The talk will be held at the Heights School adjacent to our community. Here is Nicole's announcement:

INVERNESS BLOOMS
April 21st, 7 p.m.
The Heights School, Chesterton Hall


Looking for a way to spice up your garden this spring?

Interested in plants that are beautiful, hardy, drought resistant, low maintenance, and that will benefit the environment?

Native plants may be the answer you’re looking for!

Join Montgomery County Master Gardener Bob McDowell to learn why it’s important to use native plants in our home landscapes. Learn how native plants help provide habitat for birds and butterflies, conserve water and save you money.

Please join us for this informative presentation - featuring door prizes and raffle!

- Sponsored by the Inverness Forest Association Community Relations Committee -

Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

Dog Poop and Free-ranging Dogs

As you can see from by picture on the right (with my dog, Candide), I am fond of dogs. So is my fellow board member and dog owner, Nicole Fleisher. As a member of the Community Relations Committee, Nicole has received numerous complaints from Inverness Residents about irresponsible dog owners. Here are Nicole's comments:

Reminder to residents and four-legged friends

We are lucky to have many wonderful canine companions and their owners living in our community. As responsible, law-abiding dog owners, most of us know that it is illegal in Montgomery County to walk our dogs without a leash outside our property and that we are required by law to pick up after our dogs on common property. In every community; however, there are always a few individuals who choose to ignore or overlook these laws, and the IFA receives its fair share of complaints about off-leash dogs or people not cleaning up their dogs’ poop.

Over the next few weeks, the Montgomery County Animal Services Division will be patrolling our neighborhood to issue citations for these violations ($100 fine, increasing to $500 for subsequent violations). The Animal Services Division has also requested homeowners’ help: if you see the leash law or the pooper scooper law being broken, please call their non-emergency complaint line at (240) 773-5960 and provide as much information as possible (type of dog, owner’s address, where and when dogs are usually walked).

Dog owners, please help keep your dog safe by keeping him/her on a leash, and please help keep our neighborhood clean – there’s nothing that will ruin your day like stepping in a pile of poop!

All Inverness residents, please help by giving dog owners who are overlooking these laws a friendly reminder, or by calling the number above.

With everyone’s help, we can keep Inverness clean for everyone’s enjoyment!

If you would like to comment on this post click the "comment" link below.

Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

Request for Help with a Leaky Basement

I've received the following eamil from Inverness resident Yasaman Shirazi about a problem with a leaky basement.

Dear Harvey,
Do you know of anyone who can fix my leak problem in the basement. The water is coming from the top of the sliding door through the dry wall. I had someone work on it before, but it doesn't seem to have worked. Maybe someone who understands construction a bit more be helpful. Thanks

If you have a suggestion for Yasaman, please leave a comment on this post (so others can see it too) or you may email Yasaman at
y_shir@yahoo.com

(if you don't leave a comment, please copy me on your email so I can add your advise to the message board -- thanks)


Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

Parking in Numbered Parking Places

The board received an email from Anwar Khan, a resident who has a problem with other people parking their vehicles in his reserved space. While our residents are aware that numbered spots are reserved for the resident of that house number, our guests might not know this. When guests come to visit, please make sure that they know not to park in a numbered (reserved) space. Please inform workmen as well. Here is Anwar's email:

Subject: Reserved parking

Hi Art,

I am not sure if you are the person to send this message to. If not,
can you please forward it to the right officer. I am having a problem
with guests and work crew parking in my reserved space. A part of the
problem might be that the reserved marking on my spot is worn and
faint. I would like to have it repainted. Could you also send out a
reminder to homeowners to let their guests and workers be aware about
the policies concerning reserved spaces.

Thanks.

Anwar Khan
8024 Inverness Ridge Rd

Does anyone have any advice for Anwar about repainting his house number on his parking space or perhaps have a set of the stencils used by contractors to paint numbers on parking spots? If you do, please leave a comment on this post or send me an email and I'll forward it to Anwar. Thanks.





Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

Herbicide Survey Results and the Board's Decision

The Herbicide Survey, which closed March 11, marks the first time the Inverness Board used an online survey to solicit opinions from our residents before making a decision on an important issue.

About 20% of the households on the mailing list took the survey (not counting board members who did not take the survey), which is a high response rate. A total of 26 homeowners responded to the survey questions. Here are the results:

8 people wanted the community to continue using herbicides
1 person did not have a strong opinion either way
17 people wanted the community to stop using herbicides.

Fifteen residents provided written comments as part of their survey response. I've collect those comments together into a message on the IFA website's Message Board. Here is a link to the residents comments:

Residents comments on the use of herbicides in Inverness Forest

After hearing a presentation on the results of the herbicide survey, the board voted 7-0 to stop using herbicides on the common lawn for a one year period. A year from now the board will evaluate the state of the common lawns and decide on a long-term policy.

I want to thank everyone who took the survey. Your participation provided the board with valuable feedback on an important issue. The high response rate has encouraged the board to use online forms to request feedback from Inverness Forest residents on future issues.

I would like to thank Danie Pearson for raising the issue of herbicide use on the common area lawns. As you read the comments on the Message board (see link above), you will see that many people on both sides of this issue feel strongly. Knowing your opinion on important issues is valuable to the board when it considers important decisions. While the board can't make decisions based solely on residents views, those views are one factor that should be considered.

Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

Magical Merry Widow

Long time readers of Inverness Forest Today know that I occasionally discuss local live theater productions. The Victorian Lyric Opera production of The Merry Widow starts today at the Fitzgerald Theater in Rockville. This is a magical, delightful production. It has great singing, dancing, and very funny dialog. Director Debbie Niezgoda brings the show to life by recreating the atmosphere of the Pontevedrian embassy in early 20th century Paris. The music bubbles and sparkles under the baton of artistic director and conductor Joseph Sorge.

Ticket Information

The story

The cast and orchestra are so uniformly outstanding that it would be hard to single out specific performers for special praise. Instead I'll let you judge for yourself. Below are links to pictures and musical selections from the Victorian Lyric Opera production.

My Dress Rehearsal Pictures

Listen to Music clips from the VLOC production


Don't miss this show!

Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

Are the herbicides used on our lawns harming our pets and ourselves?

Inverness Resident Danielle Pearson has emailed the board expressing her concern that the herbicides used on the common lawns may be causing severe or fatal health problems to our pets and perhaps to humans. The company that applies the herbicide has responded. Board member Sabine Dohrn, who is knowledgeable about environmental issues, has given her assessment of the issue.

The board wants to hear the views of our residents before making a decision on whether to continue to use herbicides on our common area lawns. So, I am unveiling a new survey tool to make it easy for you to tell us your views and opinions. Whether you are for the continued use of herbicides, against the use of herbicides, or don't have a strong opinion on the matter, please take a few moments to fill out the opinion survey. The greater the participation in the survey, the more useful the results will be toward helping the board make a decision.

Here is an excerpt from Danielle Pearson's email:

"I am the homeowner who has questioned the use of herbicides on our common areas... Within the last two years 5 out of 8 dogs on my court have had cancer, most have since died. It is the feeling of my radiation oncologist vet that this may be a harbinger of things to come in our children. It is difficult if not impossible to stay off the common areas when they are treated".
Click for Danielle Pearson's complete email

The company that applied the herbicide responded in part:

"We have hundreds of customers whose lawns we have treated for over 20 years, literally thousands of services, whose pets have experienced no such problems. The fact that 5 out of 8 dogs on this court have developed cancer suggests they look elsewhere for the cause, radon gas, commercial pet food (which is totally unregulated) or some other problem".
Click here for the complete response

Here is an excerpt from Sabine Dohrn's views:

"While manufacturers and contractors would like to convince us that the herbicides are "safe" when used according to the instructions (which nobody can verify), many people are concerned and find that even minimal doses of toxins are objectionable..."
Click here for Sabine Dohrn's complete respons

Now it's your turn to express an opinion

Please click on the link below to take the survey. I will report the survey results to the board at the March 12, 2009 meeting. Taking the survey not only lets you tell us your opinion on this issue, but it also gives the board a way to judge the effectiveness of this tool for collecting the views of community residents. So even if you don't have a strong opinion on this issue ("No strong opinion" is one of the choices), please take the survey anyway. It will take less than a minute. Here is the link to the survey:

Herbicide Survey

Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

Roof advice needed ASAP!!

Carolyn Hayes has written me an email requesting a recommendation on a roofer. Her roof is leaking so she and her husband need to proceed quickly. Carolyn has posted a message on the Inverness Forest association message board requesting help. Here is the text of that message:

Hi everyone,

My husband and I just purchased our townhome in the spring of last year, and we need to replace our roof ASAP. I thought it could wait until this spring, but we have sprung a leak! Yikes! I have called about a dozen roofers and I have gotten 4 formal quotes, and the least expensive roofer I have found thus far is just under 10k. (We have the interior model with the mansard roof.) I like him, but I want to be sure we make the right decision as the roof is such an important part of your home. Does anyone know of or used a particular roofer that you would recommend? We are looking to hire someone within the next week so quick responses would be much appreciated! I will post my experience afterwards as well so as to educate anyone else out there looking to purchase a new roof in our community.

Thanks in advance for you help!
Carolyn

If you'd like to reply to the message on the message board, click for Carolyn's posting

If you are not a user of the message board, you can click the comment button below to leave your recommendation or you can send me an email at the link below and I'll pass on your information to Carolyn.

Incidentally, the message board can be a very good resource for the Inverness Forest Community. Because the message board is new, not many people know about it and therefore it is not used often. All it takes to post a message is to create a login. Once that is done (it's easy!) you can log in at any time and post a message or respond to a message. You can read the messages without having a login, but you can't post or respond. The link to the IFA webiste (where the message board is found) is in the sidebar on the right

Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

January 2009 Board Meeting Minutes Online

The minutes from the January 2009 board meeting are now online at the Inverness Forest Association's website. Here is the link:

January 2009 board minutes

The online minutes contains a link to a PDF version of the file for downloading a printable copy.

The board has been discussing an experiment (in the spring) to eliminate the paper copies of the minutes except for those people who don't have online access. Anyone who has internet access but who wants a paper copy will have an opportunity to request one. Also they can download the PDF file and print it.

Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

December 2008 Meeting Minutes

The December 2008 board meeting minutes are available to view at the IFA website: December 2008 minutes

If you would like a PDF version of the minutes for downloading and printing: December 2008 minutes

Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

Chimney Cleaning Recommendation Requested

Happy New Year!

Inverness Resident Jack Christian has a problem with his chimney backing up and would like to know if anyone has a recommendation for a reliable person or business that he can contact. If you have a recommendation, please send me an email, or better yet, add a comment to this post. If you send me an email, I'll be happy to create a comment so that others with a similar problem can benefit.

Please see the Home repair and improvement section of the message board on the IFA website. I'll post all recommendations there.

Here is Jack's email:

Harvey,

Our chimney is backing up. Do you know of a reliable person or business that has worked on Inverness chimneys? We have never had any problem with ours, but perhaps there is a bird’s nest clogging the flue.

Thanks for any suggestions you might have.

Jack Christian
10867 Deborah Drive

Please click on "Comments" (below) to read recommendations from other residents.
Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com