MWIA

Mayors Fall Cleanup Announced

2006-09-19T05:21:00.000-07:00

Mayor’s Fall Clean Up 2006

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Beginning at 8:00 am

Registration Deadline: MONDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2006!!!!

UB Fields to Become City Park

2006-09-19T05:18:00.000-07:00

From the Baltimore Sun, 9/18/2006

City to lease land for park

$6.2 million deal preserves 48 acres in Mount Washington for 80 years

By Doug Donovan

Sun reporter

Originally published September 18, 2006

Mayor Martin O'Malley is set to announce today a $6.2 million plan to lease 48 acres of undeveloped land in Mount Washington for 80 years, a deal that adds the most significant swath of open space to Baltimore's park system in decades.

The University of Baltimore-owned park off Northern Parkway near Greenspring Avenue is a popular recreational spot for the neighborhood. But with the school exploring development options, the site's fate has long been precarious.

After nearly a year of negotiations among city, university and community leaders, the deal comes as a relief to neighborhood activists who have feared the loss of fields used for soccer, baseball, dog-walking and golfing. The park will temporarily be called Northwest Baltimore Park, until public hearings determine a permanent name.

"Knowing that those fields are going to be locked away from development is a tremendous boon for our community," said Mac Nachlas, president of the Mount Washington Improvement Association. "This is such a good deal for everybody it's hard for me to fathom why anyone would stand in the way of doing this."

The city's five-member Board of Estimates, which authorizes spending and is controlled by O'Malley, is scheduled to vote on the deal Wednesday. The University of Baltimore, as part of the state education system, would still need approval from the Maryland Board of Public Works.

"While we're very optimistic about this partnership ... the university doesn't have the ability to green-light this on its own," said Peter Toran, a university vice president.

In 2004, the university began discussing various developers' requests to buy the property that it has owned since 1952, community members said. The neighborhood association quickly mobilized and made a pitch of its own, imploring university President Robert L. Bogomolny to preserve the park.

"Everyone saw it was a significant asset to the quality of life in the community," said Jackie Carrera, executive director of the Parks & People Foundation. "They did everything they could to tell the powers-that-be that they love this park."

The powers listened. Nachlas credits Bogomolny for heeding the community's concerns.

City Solicitor Ralph S. Tyler said university and city officials discussed whether "adding this large piece of land to the city park system was desirable."

"The answer was yes," Tyler said.

Carrera said the project got a great boost when O'Malley threw his support behind preserving the land rather than allowing it to be developed, which could have resulted in more homeowners paying property taxes that finance city services.

"Parkland doesn't appear to generate revenue, but national studies do show that well-maintained parks enhance property values," Carrera said. "It is extremely innovative and progressive."

It also helped that this is a political year. One of the Democratic mayor's biggest criticisms of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. is that the Republican governor has not done enough to preserve open space.

But most believe parks, not politics, fueled a deal that has been crafted to satisfy all parties, including the park's neighbor - an assisted-living facility for seniors called the Wesley.

"They could have easily developed those fields," Nachlas said. "This took some real creative thinking."

The city will pay the university $6.2 million, spread over the next five years, to lease the park for 50 years. The additional 30 years will cost $2.

The deal provides a steady revenue stream for the university more lucrative than the money it has made from the fees charged to sports leagues that play there and the golf driving range it operates at the park.

The university will get additional revenue through a provision that authorizes the school to sell its development rights to the Wesley, which is prohibited from expanding on its adjacent 13-acre site. By obtaining the additional building rights, the seniors facility will be permitted to build a much-needed addition, said Sumner Miller, the Wesley's chief executive officer.

"The citizens of Mount Washington will have the open space that they enjoy, and it will enable us to expand our facility and services," Miller said.

He said he is still negotiating how much the development rights will cost but that he expects the Wesley will pay for them over several years.

Nachlas said the community wants the Wesley to remain in the neighborhood, and that his association supports its expansion.

"They are great corporate neighbors," Nachlas said.

The city has also negotiated other provisions that will allow it to make improvements that are standard for any park. And the lease allows the city to block the university from selling the property.

If The Wesley does not purchase the development rights within the next seven years, then the university has the right to market the property for sale. But the city has the right to purchase it first.

If not, the city can nullify the university's right to terminate the lease by paying an additional $4 million. The university, however, has a strong disincentive to sell the land because it would have to pay the city back all of its previous rent.

"This is the first significant acquisition of parkland in about 30 years," said Connie A. Brown, director of the city parks system.

doug.donovan@baltsun.com

Wine and Chees Festival Volunteers needed

2006-09-16T19:09:00.000-07:00

The annual Mount Washington Wine and Cheese Festival is coming up on Sunday, October 1. As usual, MWIA will have an information table and, as usual, we need volunteers to hang out and introduce people to our neighborhood. If you would like to donate an hour to spend manning (personing?) our table, please contact me by emaial at:
mwiapresident@google.com.
Thanks.

Board Meeting Sept 19

2006-09-16T19:08:00.000-07:00

The Board will meet at 7:30, Tuesday Sept,19 at my house. As always, non-board meembers who are interested in seeing how the Association works are welcome to attend. Please contact me for directions.

Board Vacancy

2006-09-12T08:43:00.000-07:00

MWIA Board member Chester Frasier has had to resign from the board due to a scheduling conflict. Chester has been a valued member and he will be missed. We thank him for his service to the community.
If you, or anyone you know would like to become more active in the MWIA, please ask them to contact me or Aaron Meisner.

Bonnie View Rat Problem

2006-09-12T06:33:00.000-07:00

The following letter was sent to Jim Smith and other Baltimore County Officials:

The Mount Washington Improvement Association would appreciate your help in addressing a public health issue at a property adjoining our neighborhood.

The BonnieView Apartment, located on Smith Avenue in 21209 has had an ongoing problem with overflowing trash bins and maintenance that is encouraging the development of healthy rat population. Unfortunately, these rats do not respect political boundaries and are now showing up in our Baltimore City neighborhood.

It is our understanding that a citation has been issued to BonnieView and that a court date of September 21, 2006 has been set.

We encourage Baltimore County to act swiftly and decisively to resolve this problem and ask that you continue to monitor this property to ensure compliance.
Thanks for your help
Mac Nachlas, President, MWIA

CC: Councilman Kevin Kamenetz, Timothy Kotroco, Edward J. Pettinella,

Virgin Mobile Concert Update

2006-09-08T06:04:00.000-07:00

We met with representatives of the city, track and concert promotors to work on the details of the upcoming concert at Pimlico. All in all, I think the impact will be minimal. Here are some details:

Sales are low. At current projections, they expect to sell only 40 thousand tickets. (20 thousand below predictions)
The concet will run 12noon-10pm. The gates will open at 10am
The traffic patterns will look much like they do on Preakness day.
The parking will by much like Preakness with extra lots at Pimlico Middle - Area 1 residents can still expect to have people parking on their streets. Parking permit areas would not be in effect - even if we hadn't withdrawn from the program.
The promoter is working on shuttle busses to Poly Western but is having trouble getting MTA to provide busses. (We will write a letter of support)
NO COOLERS- People cannot bring anything into the track except 1 sealed bottle of water. Beer and alcohol will be on sale at the track, but won't be cheap. The promoter does not expect the crowd to be drunk or rowdy and will expel anyone who is.
Police will patrol into Mt. Washington until at least Midnight. Both Special Ops and Northern District will be on hand with both bikes and cars.
DPW will set up trash cans along Northern Parkway and send crews to clean the streets on Sunday morning.
The Health Dept. will check licenses to prevent vendors from setting up outside the track.
The stages will be aimed toward the grandstand and sound volumes will be controlled. The promoter believes this will generate much less sound outside the track than the set up for the Harley Davidson concerts did.
The City Health Department will have sound monitors in the area and will provide us the results.

All in all, I don't anticipate any problems. This is a small crown (by Preakness Standards) and the fact that no coolers are allowed in means both less drunks and less trash. Tickets cost $100 each, so the clientel is different fromt the classic Preakness infield crowd. IMP productions and Virgin Mobile both are much more attuned to bad publicity than the Jockey Club and seem to be genuinely concerned about generating bad publicity.

As for the Rosh Hashanah issue, they apologized...sort of... and acknowledged that they were well down the contractural path before they realized the problem. They also admitted that the low ticket sales are in part because of the Holiday. The Pimlico representative was typically unappologetic.... I offered to buy the track a calendar that shows major holidays of all faiths.

If you experience a problem on the day of the concert, CALL 311!!! The City agencies have promised that they will have special arrangements with 311 so that their field operatives can be notified. If you don't get satisfaction, call me.... I have some backdoor phone numbers we can use, but the key to action is getting a complaint # on file.

Please share this information with your neighbors and let me know if there are any other concerns.

For those of you who celebrate, I wish you all a Yom Tov and a healthy, pleasent New Year.

Mac Nachlas

Pimlico Concert Meeting

2006-08-31T04:28:00.000-07:00

The City has scheduled a meeting to discuss the upcoming Virgin Mobile Concert at Pimlico Race Track with community representatives. If you are interested in attending, drop me a note. I'm expecially interested in finding representatives from Area 1 and a repreresentative of the Orthodox community to attend.

Mac

Friends of Luckman Park

2006-08-31T04:23:00.000-07:00

The Friends of Luckman Park will hold a planning meet on September 14 to talk about upcoming events and new, good stuff for next year. If you want to get involved, contact Maggie Kuntz at

maggiekunz@gmail.com

Wood Chips at Cross Country and Bonnieview

2006-08-25T16:07:00.000-07:00

The big piles of woodchips at the intersection of Kelly/ Cross Country and Bonnieview are free for the taking. This area is NOT to be used for dumping branches or leaves. If you see anyone dumping anything other than wood chips, please note the license number and send it to me. If you need wood chips for your garden or path, help yourself!!

2006-08-25T16:04:00.000-07:00

Workshop on Baltimore's Future

2006-08-25T16:03:00.000-07:00

The Institute for Urban Research at Morgan State University will hold a workshop to focus on the challenges of housing and community development in Baltimore. To register or for more information, contact:

Clement Anyadike, Project Director
Community Development Resource Center
Institute for Urban Research
Morgan State University
(Phone) (443) 885-1249
(Fax) (443) 885-8274
(Email) anyadike@morgan.edu

Labor Day is a City Holiday

2006-08-25T15:55:00.000-07:00

ALL DPW PRESS RELEASES CAN BE FOUND AT: www.BaltimoreCity.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
HOLIDAY NOTICE

Labor Day is Monday, September 4
Baltimore City Public Works’ Offices will be Closed
No Municipal Trash Pickup; Parking Meters Will Not Be in Effect
Contact:
Kurt L. Kocher or David Brown
Telephone: 410-545-6541 Telephone: 410-361-9296

Public Works Director George L. Winfield today issued a reminder to citizens that Department of

Public Works’ offices will be closed on Monday, September 4, 2006, in observance of Labor Day.

There will be NO collection of trash, bulk or recyclables in Baltimore City on this day. The Quarantine

Road Landfill, the Northwest Transfer Station and the Eastern, Western and Northwestern Sanitation

Yards will be CLOSED.
TRASH
Citizens, whose regular trash collection day is on Monday, are asked to place their trash out on their
next regularly scheduled collection day, Thursday, September 7.
RECYCLING
Monday, September 4 is not a scheduled recycling collection day for City residents.
MONTHLY SCHEDULED BULK COLLECTIONS
There will be no monthly bulk trash collections on September 4, 2006. Collections normally scheduled

for the first Monday of the month will be picked up on Thursday, August 31, 2006. To schedule bulk
pickups, citizens should call 311.
REMINDER: PARKING
Parking meters will not be in effect on Labor Day, September 4, 2006. All other posted regulations
must be observed.

Scholarships Available

2006-08-21T05:45:00.000-07:00

Our long serving City Councilwoman, Rikki Spector, has 5 scholarships available to students of the Baltimore City Community College. The $300 stipend can be used for books or tuition. To quality you must be a enrolled in a degree program at BCCC, be in good standings, live in the 5th District and be a registered voter. Applicants must submit a 200-250 word essay on their acedemic carreer.

If you, or anyone you know, meets these criteria, contact Rikki's office at 410-396-4819 for details on how to apply. First come first served, so don't delay......

Outdoor Classroom

2006-08-14T13:43:00.000-07:00

The MWIA Board has voted to donate $5,000 to the Mount Washington Elementary PTO fundraising drive for the new "Outdoor Classroom".

The project will replace the old asphalt playground with a multi-use space. If you are interested in learning more about the project.... or making a donation... contact Rebecca Saybolt-Bynum or visit the schools website at http://www.mtwashingtonelementary.com/

Letter to the Messenger

2006-08-14T13:38:00.000-07:00

The following letter to the editor ran in The Messenger on August 10:

I usually enjoy Ruth Walsh's column on Mt. Washington but was surprised (Aug. 3) to read that I am "opposed" to the Virgin Mobile concert at Pimlico. In fact, I think it's great that Baltimore was chosen for this special event, and I support Pimlico in finding new ways to make the venue profitable and useful.
As I told the Messenger, we are working with the Mayor's Office of Neighborhoods to mitigate the trash and public safety concerns that accompany large events at Pimlico.
I did express my disappointment that Pimlico agreed to host this event on the Jewish High Holy Day of Rosh Hashana. Many people in Mt. Washington celebrate this day in quiet introspection or by walking with their families. Loud music from the track for one day normally would be a nonissue, but the holiday makes it a big deal. In short, Pimlico could not have chosen a worse day to host this concert.
The success of Pimlico as a venue for racing and occasional special events is in the best interest of everyone, including Mt. Washingtonians. I believe Pimlico can achieve that result better by maintaining cordial relations with its neighbors than by acting as an island unto itself.
Pick up the phone when you're going to throw a party. That's what good neighbors do.
Mac Nachlas
President, Mt. Washington Improvement Association

Committees

2006-08-05T14:19:00.000-07:00

We just went through a review with our Insurance Agent and I'd like to re-assure everyone who serves on the board or a committee of the MWIA that our policy is up to date and we are all fully indemnified. If you want to see the policy, contact me and I can fax it.

Mac

mwiapresident@gmail.com

Problem Properties

2006-08-05T14:16:00.000-07:00

The City code enforcement people will be meeting with representatives of the 5 Northwest Communities to discuss problem properties.

If you are interested in representing the community at these meetings, please let me know.

If you know of a problem property that should be checked for code violations, let me know.

If your property is out of code - might as well fix it now and get it over with....

Thanks............ Mac

MWIApresident@gmail.com

Pimlico Concert on Rosh Hashahnah

2006-08-05T14:15:00.000-07:00

The City is setting up a meeting with the promoter and the track. If you are interested in serving on an ad-hoc committee to address this issue, please send me a note. Thanks.

mwiapresident@gmail.com

City Crime Stats DYI

2006-08-05T14:12:00.000-07:00

The City now has an program running that lets you look at the crimes in the city in any location. Just go to http://141.157.54.34/bpdmaps/police.htm and put in your address to see any reported crimes in your area.

This is a very cool thing. Thanks to Marie Fortuno-Shifflett of Kelly Ave. for pointing it out.

Crime Stats

2006-08-05T14:08:00.000-07:00

Here are the crime stats for Mount Washington as reported by the Baltimore City Police:

Auto Theft- 6

Larceny from Auto - 6

Burglary (force) from a home- 2

Larceny (includes theft from home/lawn or property without force)--- 4

Assault - 2 (both domestic)

To check out crime at near your house, please go to http://141.157.54.34/bpdmaps/police.htm .

Historic District

2006-07-15T06:11:00.000-07:00

Homeowners in the Mount Washington Historic District (mostly along South Road) are making great improvements to their homes and landscaping. All changes in the Historic District are reviewed by the Historic Commission to maintain the character of our neighborhood. Sara Fishman heads the Commission, Jan Franz is the MWIA representative. Contact them for more info.

Pimlico Concert on Rosh Hashahnah

2006-07-14T19:07:00.000-07:00

Pimlico has scheduled a rock a roll concert for September 23, 2006 - the Saturday of Rosh Hashanah. Lead acts are The Who and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The concert is expected to run from noon to 10PM.

Izzy Patoka of the Mayors Office of Neighborhoods is going to set up a meeting for us with the promoter to look for ways to mitigate the impact on the community. I am drafting a letter expressing our concerns re: public safety, traffic, trash and noise.