Meeting called to order at 7:30 p.m.

Board members present: Gerry Bouffard, Richard Crow, Wanda Harich, Samuel Harris, Mel Karlinsky, Greg Mott, and Rick Nelligan

TREASURER’S REPORT (Mel Karlinsky):

• All owners should have gotten a copy of the budget in November. Bennington is not raising the assessment again this year.
• Money from reserves will be used for several capital projects this year. Reserves will be depleted by approximately $40, 000. Currently, Bennington has $65,000 in a checking account, $100,000 in CDs, and $50,000 in Money Market and savings accounts.
• Questions
  • Grounds/ Maintenance - $3000.00 increase for next year. Mel will get back to this resident.

REVIEW OF PARKING SPACES

• In order to begin the process of marking off spaces, Bennington needed a professional aerial map of the Community, which the City just provided for us. Using the existing spaces as a guide, the City drew up a plan that assigned 2 spaces per house. The Parking Committee will canvass Bennington with this map to try to get this plan approved. The Committee felt it was necessary to have the map available so residents would know where their assigned space would be before they voted. The only real problems are the courts. People living on the straight-aways will most likely have one or both of their spaces directly in front of their house.
• Please sign up to help the Parking Committee, as they will need to knock on every door in the Community. In order to change the Covenants, 75% of the owners must vote in favor of the two assigned spaces.
• Some wheelchair parking will be assigned. The City marked spaces that did not exist on Honey Brook so these will need to be changed. This map is just a suggestion and can be modified.
• A resident asked if Bennington had developed an Enforcement Policy for the assigned spaces. Since this change has not yet passed, Bennington has not made one up yet.
• Does the new plan increase the number for handicapped parking spaces? Cindy Nelligan, Committee chair was unsure, since many residents who are eligible for handicapped parking have not requested it. Handicapped spaces cannot be reserved of one resident.
• Kitty Costello suggested an enforcement procedure based on towing vehicles in violation. Cindy asked that people with additional suggestions or concerns should forward them to the Administrator at the office. Additional parking has been provided along Longdraft Road for extra and commercial vehicles.

COMMITTEE UPDATES:

ARC

• Wanda Harich gave a brief update of ARC procedures and asked people to volunteer as the entire community is surveyed for violations each year.

CLUBHOUSE

• The current chairman will be moving and Doreen Fiorentino will be taking over the position.
• The Swim Team has offered to paint the Clubhouse (one of the parents is a professional painter and will paint both the inside and the outside of the Clubhouse).
• New lighting was ordered for the interior of the Clubhouse and will be installed this spring.
• New padded seat folding chairs were purchased. The old chairs are available for purchase for $5 each.

GROUNDS

• Lance Wright, chairperson, reiterated how important it is for residents to put out trash and bulk items in the correct places. He also reminded residents to remove any bulk items that were placed out but not taken. Hazardous waste is not collected with bulk but can be dropped off at the Transfer Station the first Sunday of every month.
• Ollie Mumpower, of Neighborhood services, was sick and unable to attend the meeting, however, the Street lighting plan is at the Clubhouse for residents to view.

COMMUNICATIONS

• Ellie Bouffard and Susie Brake have been putting the Crier together for the last year. They are the only two working on this. They would welcome articles, ideas, or help from any residents.
• Rick Nelligan put together Bennington’s website. Rick will be moving this year and Ellie Bouffard will be taking this over.

LANDSCAPING

• Mel Karlinsky and Wanda Harich are co chairs.
• Spring Clean up is April 7th. Bennington pays residents $ .50 per bag of trash or leaves. The Community provides breakfast (donuts and juice/coffee) and lunch. Dumpsters will be placed on Longdraft. Please look for a flyer coming out soon with more details.
• Court Beautification will also take place this year. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please submit them to the Administrator.
• Bennington will be using the same Landscaping Company this year (the Lawn Ranger). Please call the office if you have any complaints about the service.
• Please let the Committee know if you need seed or soil for the common ground near your home.

PLAYGROUNDS

• Pam Homan is the chairperson of this committee, which is new this year. Several parents formed the committee after realizing our tot lots needed repair. The Committee compiled 3 quotes since last summer. The original budget was $25,000, however, they learned that the equipment is expensive. The Committee approved a contract 2 weeks ago with accompany called Game Time.
• The equipment will not be wood, as it did not hold up well last time. The lower tot lot will be done first. A new drainage system will be put in by the lower tot lot to fix some of the drainage problems, which will help extend the life of the new equipment. Installation should be complete by late April/ early May. This lot will have 2 swing bays, a climbing area with additional slides. The tot lot will be increased in size slightly to accommodate the swings. Two of the 4 existing spring toys will be placed in this lower tot lot.
• The upper tot lot will be completed next year. The committee will be accepting bids and working on designs very soon. If you have any ideas or suggestions, the committee welcomes your participation.
• A resident asked about safety. The ground area will be covered with surflex, but Pam is also concerned with vandalism and paraphernalia found at tot lots this year. These issues will be addressed as well.
• The possibility of a paved walkway to the lower to lot is also being considered.

POOL

• Last year, Bennington spent about $65,000 on pool renovations. Because American Pool service did an unsatisfactory job, they will be replaced this year by USA Pools. This company seems very good and the price was competitively low. Guard hours and coverage (2 at all times) will remain the same as well as the pool pass system. Emergency forms will be delivered to homes in early May and pool passes distributed about 1-2 weeks before the pool opens.
• The repairs contracted last year were not completed by the American Pool Service. Therefore, American Pool Service will be given a deadline for completion. If the work is not completed, the new pool company will take over the repairs and Bennington will pay the new company for the completed repairs.

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH

• Shelly Ward is the chairperson.
• In order to participate (receive a sign) in Neighborhood Watch, Bennington needs to show a 60% participation in three areas: Engraving valuables (Bennington will have engravers available), intent to testify, and home security inspections (either by reading a pamphlet, watching video, or having a police officer inspect the home.)
• The sign is a very important deterrent to crime in the Community. Neighborhood Watch benefits the Community by keeping residents informed and pledging intent to report all incidents.
• Block captains will be contacted soon and given lists of neighbors to contact. Officer Scott Scarff has met with the Community several times already in regard to Neighborhood Watch.

SWIM TEAM

• Debbie Labonski is the chairperson. Shelly Ward is the Swim Team coach. She has some teens that help with coaching. There are approx. 9 meets, with about 3 of them occurring in Bennington. Those dates will be published in the Crier. Saturday meets occur prior to pool opening however, the pool will close around 6pm for the Wednesday night meets. Season practices start after Memorial Day and extend through August 1st. The Swim Team encourages all residents to attend the meets, whether they are involved with the team or not. Last year, the team also sponsored Saturday evening swims that were a lot of fun.
• Bennington’s Website will instruct other teams to park on Longdraft. We have been given special permission from the City to allow cars to park on Longdraft even where the cut out does not extend.

WELCOMING

• Lynn Zainfeld is the new chairperson.
• This committee meets as needed to assemble Welcoming packets that contain information about the City of Gaithersburg, a Bennington mug, candy, etc. As new residents move in, the Committee welcomes them with the packet.
• This year, the Committee held a tea party for new residents to come and meet Board members, committee chair the committees s, and each other. They are also given an overview of and an opportunity to participate in the various committees in Bennington. The Committee would like to do this 2 time this year.
• Please contact the Administrator if you know of any new residents in your area.

NOMINATIONS FOR BOARD MEMBERS

• Steve Bentley – lived in the Community since last May and has attended the majority of meetings since then. He looks forward to serving on the Board.
• Rich Labonski – lived in Bennington for 9 years. Excited to have an opportunity to serve in the Community
• David Lorms - unable to attend. A bio has been provided to explain his credentials.

Nominations from the floor – NONE

MOTION to let the nominees in by acclimation. Motion is seconded and passed.

OPEN FLOOR DISCUSSION

OLD BUSINESS:

• Parking
  • Resident from Goodport Court debated the pros and cons of leaving parking the way it is.
  • A resident from Honey Brook is concerned that Bennington would not enforce the assigned spaces. She advocates finding additional parking spaces in the community- either on Longdraft or in place of several islands located throughout the community. She is also concerned with an excess of visitors. Wanda suggested this resident make a formal written, signed complaint with tag numbers and vehicle descriptions.
  • An Oak Shade resident is concerned about the Commercial vehicles parked throughout the community. These need to be enforced.
  • Another Oak Shade resident expressed concern with residents taking up more than one space when parking. Is it possible to paint lines throughout the Community? Victor Hicks said this couldn’t be done without permission from the City. However, the Community has paint available for residents to touch up the tick marks on spaces in their area.
  • Have we ever asked the City to measure and paint the spaces? We will not ask the City to do this until we have made a decision about assigned spaces. The City has always been a big help when we have asked. We are looking into additional parking on Longdraft.
  • Bennington has 87 extra spaces in the Community, not including Longdraft. That is 1/3 of an extra place per unit.
  • Victor Hicks recommends that the parking committee ask the City to grant a waiver to park along Longdraft without an official cutout.
  • Although owners are obligated to vote, absentee owners can vote by Proxy. A resident expressed concern about allowing Proxies and suggested Bennington hold a meeting where the vote would be taken. Because Bennington’s Bylaws require a 75% vote to change Covenants and about 20% of the Community is absentee owners, holding a meeting to vote would not be productive.
  • Another resident cited examples of other communities that tried assigned parking and it did not work. He suggested notching out some parking in common areas (islands). He does not advocate taking out all the green areas, but putting in several spaces on each court. He does not believe assigned parking is the answer.
  • The Bylaws speak to certain rules and regulations that we should be following to alleviate some of the problems (like Commercial vehicles). A resident believes t we should consider repercussions of reserved parking.
  • Parking is an issue often because houses have 3 cars. Residents need to abide by the rules either way and park extra vehicles on Longdraft.
  • Some residents (especially women) do not feel comfortable walking at night from Longdraft Road.
  • Assigned spaces may mean that residents need to walk a little way, but would be guaranteed two spaces in close proximity to their residences.
  • What would a resident do if someone else parks in their assigned spot? Committee will make some policies as we get closer to a decision.
  • Another Goodport Court resident suggested that often residents do not report parking problems to the Board, which can help solve the problem.

• Pathway from Goodport Court to the Pool
  • The residents in that area need to get three complete estimates and decide amongst themselves what they want to do and then bring it to the Board for approval.