Saturday, January 14

Geppetto Catering is back with wonderful ribs, pulled pork and bar-b-que!!!

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catering by anna saint john: we’ll be out with fresh batches of soup: black bean with ham and carrot-ginger (vegan) in quarts for $13 and in pints for $7; frozen-ready-to-bake buttermilk bisquits by the dozen for $11; ravioli this week: roasted tomato-basil-mozzarella; butternut squash-goat cheese-sage; portabello mushroom-caramelized onion; super special on tri-color cheese tortellini: 1# boxes for $10. see you on saturday!

Farmhouse Flowers & Plants will be at the market this week with cut lilies and tulips as well as potted paperwhites, amaryllis, cyclamen and holiday cactus. If it's cold and windy, we'll be selling out of the van, but we will be there.

Frankly...Pizza! will be serving basil pesto, Marghertia (tomato sauce, tomato, basil, mozzarella), pepperoni, meat ball & Romano cheese, crimini mushroom with Gruyere cheese, porcini oil, and a breakfast pizza with bacon and eggs.

Krishon Chocolate: Hot chocolate, Bittersweet, Lavender, White Chocolate and Cardomon Truffles, Turtles, Salted Karamels, and a slew of new truffles (still to be determined).

Les Caprices de Joelle will be serving French Onion, Minestrone, Split Pea, Lentil and Asparagus Soups; a variety of Quiches, Paella and our signature Belgium Waffles, along with Hot Chocolate.

Vigilante Coffee Co. will be offering organic Honduras coffee for the first time this weekend.

Walnut Hill Farm: We are still running our ground beef special buy 4 packs get 1 pack free. We also are running the meat bird special buy a meat chicken get a pack of ground beef free.

The good news is that Costco has asked again to postpone the hearing on its request for a Special Exception (SE) to allow it to build a mega gas station at Westfield Wheaton. This gas station would allow 16 cars to fill up at a time and provide space for dozens more to idle, right in the back yards of our homes, the Kenmont Swim Club, and the Stephen Knolls School. Equally important, this mega-station would be less than a half mile from the Wheaton Metro Station and within a few minutes drive of 30 other gas stations.

But the fight isn’t over yet. Costco has twice asked for more time to make its case and now wants to wait until May 2012.

Read more about the latest hearing delay in the Gazette:
www.gazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120104/NEWS/701049683/1124/hearing-on-costco-gas-station-at-westfield-facing-more-delays&template=gazette

New "Costco No Gas" lawn signs are still available for a suggested donation of $10. Anyone interested in obtaining a sign should contact KHCA Communications Chairperson April Gassler at Communications@KensingtonHeightsMD.org or 301-942-8599.

Also, one of our lovely Kensington Heights signs, at the corner of Drumm & University, was apparently hit by a vehicle -- its right-hand "leg" is bashed in. Is there anyone out there in KH-land with the skills to fix it? This would be a great way to help your community so we don't have to hire someone to make the repairs.

If you think you can help, please contact Abigail Adelman, KHCA Beautification Committee chair, at AVTDesignGroup@erols.com.

Council districts have recently been redrawn. Kensington Heights has been broken into two Council districts. We have been in District 5 for many years, but will now be in District 4 (Drumm Ave. eastward) and District 1 (Drumm Ave. westward). 

To see the actual dividing lines, click here for the District 4 map and here for the District 1 map and blow the map up to 400% to see the individual KH roads (though sadly not named, you can make out most of the streets by their size and location). These maps take a long time to load.

Click here for the new approved Council districts for the County.

Apparently, Council districts must be redrawn whenever the population difference between the largest and smallest of the 5 districts reaches (or is greater than?) 10%. That happened, so redistricting was mandated by law as a result.

Just as more parking is almost complete at the MARC train station in Kensington, the Maryland Dept. of Transportation has asked for a reduction in service of the Brunswick Line.

To read a letter from local state legislators detailing the issue and opposing the reduction, see http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/4988191/1855737244/name/D18%20Joint%20Letter%20Brunswick%20Line%20Reductions240.pdf.

Beginning January 1, 2012, long-term parking rates in the Silver Spring Parking Lot District increased by 10 cents an hour.
The Montgomery County Council approved the parking rate increase in downtown Silver Spring as part of the fiscal year 2012 budget approved in May. The Division of Parking Management is posting signs in public parking lots and garages to alert parkers about the rate change.
Rate changes in Bethesda went into effect in August.

For additional information on parking options in Silver Spring or the other County parking lot districts, visit the Division of Parking Management’s website at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/parking or call 311.

It is with great sadness that we report, KHCA lost long-time member and co-chair of the Beautification Committee, Jane Folsom last week.  Jane was an energetic civic activist and community educator who made great contributions to KHCA and the larger community with her tireless spirit and passion for many worthy causes.   We take comfort knowing that she was surrounded by family and loved ones in her final moments. While Jane could never be replaced, we know that she inspired so many others in our community that her good works will carry on.  

A memorial service will be held on Friday, December 23, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. at Hughes Methodist Church, 10700 Georgia Ave., in Wheaton.  

KHCA has 100 brand-new COSTCO - NO GAS lawn signs with stakes.  They are available for a suggested donation to KHCA of $10 per sign (to cover the production cost).  Pick one up and be the first on your block -- or the second, third, or fourth (the more, the merrier!) -- to display your support for KH neighbors whose homes will be adversely affected by the proposed Costco mega gas station if the County allows it to be built.  Contact April Gassler, 10911 Drumm Ave., 301-942-8599, Communications@KensingtonHeightsMD.org, to arrange to pick up your very own sign!

Click here to see the new approved Council districts for the County.

Apparently, Council districts must be redrawn whenever the population difference between the largest and smallest of the 5 districts reaches (or is greater than?) 10%.  That happened, so redistricting was mandated by law as a result.

Kensington Heights has been broken into two Council districts.  We have been in District 5 for many years, but will now be in District 4 (Drumm Ave. eastward) and District 1 (Drumm Ave. westward).  Click here to see the actual dividing lines, click here for the District 4 map and here for the District 1 map and blow the map up to 400% to see the individual KH roads (though sadly not named, you can make out most of the streets by their size and location).  These maps take a long time to load.

Because the dividing lines between districts are very thick, it is unclear which side of Drumm is in which district; we'll have to wait for clarity on that. We don't know when this change goes into effect.

Breaking and Entering
10800 Block of Torrance Dr.
Reported 9:01 a.m. Dec. 15

3600 Block of Decatur Ave.
Reported 12:20 p.m. Dec. 18

Theft
3000 Block of McComas Ave.
Reported 8:07 p.m. Dec. 9

Assault
3300 Block Plyers Mill (at Drumm)
Reported 7:20 p.m. Dec. 13

Wheaton Meeting on Public Safety Issues

KHCA was represented by resident Tom Stanton at a meeting on December 4 about the recent carjackings at Westfield Wheaton (perpetrated, it appears, by a single individual).Here is Tom's report:

Cmdr. Damskey of the 4th District briefed the group. Matt Barry (general manager of the Mall) and others up the chain of command from Westfield also briefed the group. Ana Lopez van Balen (director of the Mid-County Services Center) was there, as well as my counterpart from Rockville. The rest were Council folks, including Council Pres. Valerie Ervin.

The key takeaway is that Wheaton suffers a perception problem. Our crime rate is no worse than other localities, but when a crime of opportunity like the kidnappings, or any crime for that matter, occurs in Wheaton, the community gets the "here they go again" treatment in the press. That aside, I am impressed that the police and the private Westfield security are doing their jobs properly regarding security.

Questions or comments? Contact Tom at thomasrstanton@gmail.com.

Maryland drivers can add three emergency contacts to their driver's license so police will know who to call if an accident occurs. The emergency contact information is stored electronically on an individual's driver's license and will be available only to authorized law enforcement personnel. The information can be added online -- in less than 10 minutes -- by going to MVA's website at www.mva.maryland.gov, clicking "On-line Transactions," then clicking "More" and then, "Emergency Contacts."

The Department of Finance has prepared a few basic questions and answers to help clarify property tax issues for residents.

Q.My tax increased more than inflation. I thought the County Charter said that property taxes cannot increase more than inflation.

A. Montgomery County's Charter Limit on property taxes requires that total property tax revenues from all properties cannot increase more than the rate of inflation and the value of new construction. Although the average tax bill increases at the rate of inflation, some properties may increase less than inflation, while others increase more than inflation, depending on assessment cycles, assessment amount, when properties were purchased, homestead credit and other credits.

Q.Why was there a 4-cent increase per $100 of assessed value this year?

A.This year, there was an option to either reduce the County rebate (officially called the income tax offset credit) from last year's $692 or raise the tax rate to increase revenues to the Charter Limit. The County chose a combination of a smaller rate increase and keeping the credit at last year's amount since that would limit a significant tax increase for lower- and middle-valued properties.

Q. My assessment went down, but my tax bill increased more than 10%. Why?

A. If your property increased a lot in value several years ago, you would have benefitted from the homestead credit which caps growth in taxable assessment to 10% per year. During those years, you did not pay property taxes on the homestead credit amount. If the new "reduced" assessment this year is higher than last year's taxable assessment, the base still went up. For example, say last year's assessment was $600,000 and there was a $100,000 homestead credit. That meant the taxable assessment was $500,000 and it was used to compute the property tax. If your new assessment this year is $550,000 (down from $600,000), that is still above last year's taxable assessment allowing the base to grow the full 10% to $550,000 (i.e., $500,000 plus 10% = $550,000).

Q.Why is my assessment much higher than what houses sell for in my area?

A. The State of Maryland assesses each property every three years, with increases phased in over three years. A decline is reflected immediately in the first year of the triennial cycle. The State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) conducts the assessments and handles the appeals. The local SDAT office is in Rockville and they can be reached at 240-314-4510. If you believe the assessed value is too high, call for more information or file an appeal with SDAT to start the appeals process. Montgomery County has nothing to do with property tax assessments. That is solely the responsibility of the State of Maryland.

Q. I am a senior citizen and am struggling with paying my property taxes. Is there a program that might help?

A. Depending on your income compared to the amount of the tax bill, there may be tax relief available through three different programs: the State Homeowners Property Tax Credit (HOTC), County Supplemental Tax Credit and County Senior Credit (if 70 years or older). SDAT administers these credits and reviews applications for eligibility. The good thing is that you file only one application with SDAT, and they will automatically review eligibility for all three programs. They can be contacted at 800-944-7403 (toll-free). Also, although the filing deadline is generally September 1, SDAT just extended the filing deadline to October 31, 2011. If you are approved for one or all of these credits, it would adjust this year's tax bill.