Minutes from the October 2008 Annual Meeting

The October minutes of the Annual Meeting are online at the community's website. Here is the link: October 2008 Annual Meeting minutes.

I've been told by several people that printing paper copies of the minutes and distributing them by hand is a quaint, old-fashioned idea that is bad for the environment because it requires the killing of trees.

I think online delivery of the minutes is better than paper distribution. Here are my reasons:

1. It cost the community almost $1000 per year to print the minutes. Online distribution of the minutes is free.
   
2. Trees have to be killed to supply the paper for paper copies of the minutes.
   
3. it wastes a lot of the Secretary's time going to Staples each month to have the minutes printed, collated, and stapled and then going to the volunteer's houses to drop off the stacks of printed copies.
4. The volunteers (like me!) spend a lot of time each month going door to door to deliver paper minutes. Since so few people have volunteered to help the community despite repeated requests in the minutes this past year, the burden on those that do help out is large. Online delivery would lessen the burden.
   
5. So many people are now used to receiving important information online (online banking, brokerage statements, receipts for purchase at Amazon, etc) that reading the minutes online would be easy and normal (and you wouldn't have to throw away a piece of paper after you've read it).
6. Some people keep files of the paper minutes for future reference. Online distribution makes this unnecessary since the past minutes are already online (back to Jan 2007 which is when our webmaster, Nicole Fleisher, started putting the minutes on our website).
   

Those people who do not use the internet could still receive paper copies. Only about 3% of the people I've talked to in our community say they don't have internet access. Also those people who have an internet connection but would rather get paper minutes could share the burden of paper minutes distribution by offering to distribute paper copies to those who don't have online access to the internet (or to those who, like themselves, would rather receive paper copies). Or we could put a stack of printed minutes at a nearby location (Cabin John Mall or the Potomac Library for example) for those people who want a paper copy. Another idea is for a few people who want paper copies to act as distribution points for other people who also want paper copies.

If you haven't read the minutes online in the past, you can read the October 2008 minutes online by clicking the link above. What do you think? Is it just as easy (or easier!) than handling and reading paper minutes?

I'd like to do a trial run of online delivery of the minutes on the Deborah Drive side of Inverness Forest some time this winter. I've picked Deborah Drive residents since that part of our community has a higher proportion of residents on our email list than on Inverness Rdige Rd. For this test we will only deliver paper copies to those people who don't have internet access and to those people who specifically request paper copies by sending me an email. I'll send out an email a few weeks before the trial run to Deborah Drive residents so that they will have plenty of time to "opt out".

I'd like to know what you think about online delivery of the monthly minutes. Please leave your comments on this post (by clicking on the word "comments" -- add your name to your comments unless you truly want to be anonymous ) or send me an email.

I have to go now because I have to distribute paper copies of the October minutes. It does seem awfully cold outside this morning...

Harvey

ifatreasurer@mac.com

Assessments Are Going Down!

The semi-annual assessments for the Inverness Forest Association are going down from $458 to $302. Now that we have completed a three-year project to repave our roads we will not have a special assessment during 2009. The increase in the regular assessment is limited to 3% per year by our bylaws. The $302 assessment due in January 2009 and July 2009 reflect this 3% increase. Thus our total assessments in 2009 will be less than they were in 2008 by $458 - $302 = $156 for each 6 month period for a total annual reduction of $312.

Minutes and a Resident's Request For Help

Here are links (at the IFA website) to the August and September 2008 minutes:
August 2008 Minutes
September 2008 Minutes

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I received an email from Mireille Canup at 10821 Deborah Dr. requesting help with cleaning up leaves and shoveling snow. She asks if there are teenagers in the neighborhood willing to perform this work. I've posted her email on the Inverness Forest website's message board at this link:
Cleanup Help Requested (link contains her contact information) If you know of any teenagers willing to work for Mireille, please contact her.

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The Inverness Forest Associaton's Message Board is a valuable way for residents to communicate with other residents. All you need to get started is to sign up. A registered user may post messages in the categories of "Home Repair and Improvement", "Inverness Parents", "Seven Locks Bike Path Project", "For Sale or For Free", and "General Discussion".

Right now few people know about the message board so there are very few postings. As residents begin to use the message board it will become more interesting and useful and that will, in turn, generate more messages and replies. So if you have anything to say to the community at large, or questions to ask, please use the message board. The more it is used, the more valuable it will become to all of us. You can even add pictures to your postings, as I did in posting Mireille Canup's request for help (see above for the link).

How does the message board differ from this blog (Inverness Forest Today)? On this blog, as on any blog, the author (me) determines the topics and the readers can click the "comments" button to comment on the author's topic. But you can't post a topic of your own on this (or any other) blog. The purpose of the message board is to let you initiate a discussion on any subject you wish.

Harvey

ifatreasurer@mac.com

Annual Meeting Notes (10/16/08)

Last night the Inverness Community held its Annual Meeting from 7:30 - 9:00 pm. About 30 Inverness residents attended. Thanks to Nicole Fleisher for a great job of organizing the meeting and taking care of all the behind the scenes details. Also a special thanks to Mary Ferguson for counting the votes, handling the check-in procedure, and validating the ballots and proxies. Here are a few of the highlights from the meeting (see the meeting minutes for complete details).

The Inverness community re-elected the three incumbents to a three-year term: Susan Little, Elliot Postow, and Harvey Levine with 69 votes each. No other resident decided to run for the board so there is still a vacant seat.

New streetlight designs were extensively discussed; Sharlene Shugarman showed pictures of two examples. The attendees commented on the pros and cons for each light. One sample light has been on display for several months at the corner of Inverness Ridge Road and Deborah Dr. Sharlene said that the board would consider erecting another sample with the second lighting style.

We were fortunate to have two realtors present -- Jayne Grant and Art Glazer -- both of whom are also residents of our community. They were asked how home prices have fared in our community compared to other similar communities given that housing prices have declined significantly nationally and locally. Both Jayne and Art said that, given the current housing environment, the Inverness Forest Community's housing prices have preformed in line with local trends.

After the election, the board members met to determine officers for the coming year. There was no change in the officers: Art Glazer will be president, Sharlene Shugarman will be vice-president, Harvey Levine will be treasurer, and Elliot Postow will be secretary.

Harvey

ifatreasurer@mac.com

Community Safety Meetings on October 6

Inverness Resident LaVerne Magarian has informed me of two events taking place on Monday October 6, 2008. Both events deal with safety. One event is "Safety for Seniors". Here are the details:

When: Monday, October 6, 2008
Where: Davis Library - 6400 Democracy Blvd., Bethesda (Community Room - downstairs)
Time: 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Topics to include: Residential security, Locks, Windows, Doors, Alarms, Landscaping, Reporting suspicious activity, When to call the Police

Presented by Montgomery County Police - 2nd District, Officer Dana Matthis - Community Services Officer 301.657.0119
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The other meeting was organized by Councilman Roger Berliner. Here are the details:

Dear Neighbors and Friends:

A public meeting regarding the Havenstein homicide and home invasion robberies is scheduled for October 6, 2008 from 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM at the Walt Whitman High School auditorium. Walt Whitman High School is located at 7100 Whittier Boulevard in Bethesda, 20817.

The purpose of the meeting is for Chief Tom Manger and officers of the Montgomery County Police Department to brief the community on the status of the Police Department’s efforts and to answer questions from the audience.

Please contact my office at (240) 777-7828 if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Roger Berliner
Montgomery County Councilmember
District 1
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Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com