Summer Scenes: Dan and Michon Frick take a break to cool their sons, Vaughn and Morrow, in their colorful Kentlands kiddie pool.

Bunny Rescue Operation

Take a walk in Lakelands or Quince Orchard Park this summer, and you may see a lot of bunnies hopping around.

“I constantly see bunnies,” said Lakelands resident Chris Neal. “We have a ton of big rabbits.”

Gaithersburg’s Animal Control Office Director Lisa Holland said an abundance of rabbits often means there are fewer foxes in the area.

On Memorial Day weekend, Neal and her three children Sammy, Bella and Emma learned of five newborn bunnies that were removed from a neighbor’s yard. When they were presented to her in a cardboard box, with their eyes still closed, she wasn’t sure what to do with them but she knew she didn’t want a fox or other predator to find them outside. The kids were especially protective.

“They were sad and lonely,” said Sammy (8 ½). Twins Bella and Emma (6) thought they were “cute and adorable.”

Neal said she learned it was important to keep the baby bunnies warm so the kids gathered grass, mulch and even tried to find some of the mother’s hair to create a natural setting in a fish tank for the bunnies. They also put a washcloth over the brownish-grey bunnies huddled together.

“Wild bunnies are totally scared,” said Neal. After taking in the bunnies, she did research and made calls to local vets and a local pet shop. “The majority will die from a heart attack.”

The Second Chance Wildlife Center agreed to take the newborn bunnies and nurture them until they could be released back to the wild, according to Neal who brought the kids with her to drop off the baby rabbits. She said the tiny bunnies weighed in at 66 grams, 50 grams and 55 grams.

Not surprisingly, the kids were “very sad” they couldn’t keep them, Neal said.

Two weeks later the bunnies were released to the wild, and the Neal family hopes they all lived.

“I said a prayer,” said Emma.

National Night Out

Kentlands and Quince Orchard Park are two of nine communities in Gaithersburg joining with more than 15,000 across the country to participate in the 27th Annual National Night Out (NNO) Against Crime campaign.

On Tuesday, August 3 from 6 to 9 p.m., participating neighborhoods will hold events to increase drug prevention awareness, generate support for anti-crime programs, encourage residents to be involved in their communities, and to send a message that neighborhoods are organized to fight back against crime. The NNO programs help bring together residents, law enforcement agencies, local officials, civic groups, and neighborhood organizations. 

Organizers say Child Identity kits will be distributed for home use, along with informational brochures.

Road Closures: A portion of Orchard Ridge Drive in Quince Orchard Park was closed for several days this month while WSSC crews worked to change the water/sewer service location. Gaithersburg Permits and Inspections Director Wes Burnette said residents may see more closures when the paving begins on the parking improvements in front of the Vistas development site. The photo rendition for the Lakelands cell phone tower is courtesy City of Gaithersburg.

Power Out

Pepco crews were called in to restore power to 14 residences without electricity on Hart Road and Booth Street in Kentlands without electricity on July 8 and 9.

This was the fourth time Pepco has attempted to fix the lines since they were first damaged by Verizon contractors installing FiOS lines earlier this year

Verizon crews have also been spotted laying FiOS feeder lines in the Quince Orchard Park and West Riding neighborhoods this month.

County Planning Director Launches Blog

To provide another opportunity for residents to have a voice in planning their communities, Montgomery County Planning Director Rollin Stanley has created a new blog that will highlight new ways of looking at growth.

The blog is posted at http://montgomeryplanning.org/blog-director/.

The webpage provides a forum for the director to share examples of strategies that work well in communities, from Silver Spring’s thriving downtown to public plazas in Vienna, Austria. Stanley will draw from his experiences at the helm of the county’s planning agency for the past two-and-a-half years and as the planning director of St. Louis, a planner in Toronto and a frequent traveler to some of the world’s most vibrant cities and communities.

The webpage encourages comment, providing residents who may not typically get engaged in community planning an opportunity to be heard.

Landscapers were able to hydrate the flower beds in Quince Orchard Park on July 3 despite county-wide water restrictions because they were using well water trucked in from their Frederick County garden center. They even posted signs on their watering truck that read “well water.”

“Our pipe is back in service. I want to thank our customers who were unavoidably inconvenienced by these water restrictions,” said Jerry Johnson, WSSC general manager, on July 6. “We made the right decision and took the proper precautions when we decided to immediately repair the pipe. The restrictions were unfortunate but necessary. We needed to be proactive to prevent what could have been a very serious situation.”

The mandatory water restrictions began on July 1 when WSSC detected a problem with a section of a 96-inch pipe near the intersection of Tuckerman Lane and Gainsborough Road in Potomac. In order to maintain pressure for fighting fires, water restrictions were imposed. WSSC asked for a 30 percent reduction in water use, with a prohibition on outdoor water use.

Soon after the restrictions were lifted, many Gaithersburg residents were observed turning on their lawn sprinklers and watering their gardens.

MedImmune Office Building: City planners provided the above rendering of what the MedImmune office building at 101 Orchard Ridge Drive will look like when construction is completed. Quince Orchard Park residents were not given advance notice of the work because they are not considered an abutting or confronting property, according to city officials.

New Kentlands Manager

Kentlands On-site Manager Thomas “Mac” Staples will be leaving the community this summer to take a new position in a CMC community in Virginia, and Randy Fox has been named as his replacement, according to an e-mail sent out by the Kentlands Citizens’ Assembly (KCA) on July 2.

“We express our sincere thanks to Mac for his capable management of our community over the past two-and-a-half years,” said KCA President Adrienne Gillen. “For us and our committee chairs, it has been quite a pleasure to work with Mac. We wish him well.”

Fox began training with Staples on July 6 beginning what Gillen describes as a two-week transition period. Fox comes to Kentlands from a coastal Virginia gated community where he oversaw a similar property. He is no stranger to Gaithersburg either. He is the previous executive director of the Montgomery County Agricultural Center.

Residents can wish Staples well and meet Fox at the Kentlands Luau on August 14.

Kentlands Readdressing Status

Still no word on when or if the residents of Copperfield Crossing will have to formally change their street addresses because of safety concerns.

City Manager Angel Jones said a meeting was held in June with representatives from the Kentlands condominiums, city officials and county fire officials to discuss the issue.

“The board at Copperfield Crossing was asked to compile a list of items that have costs associated with them so the city can review the economic impact to the board and residents,” said Jones. “We expect to hear back from them shortly.”

According to Jones, no final decisions have been made.

“It is my understanding that it was a very productive meeting with the residents leaving both informed and reassured,” said Jones.

Fencing Off Beavers: Gaithersburg workers install fencing around the storm water drain in Lake Varuna on June 22 to keep beavers away. Beavers are being blamed for plugging the lake’s low flow outfall pipe this year, which reduces the lake’s capability to handle storm water. City officials say the fencing should keep the area’s beavers out.

Verizon Begins FiOS Installation in QOP

Verizon is installing FiOS lines in the Quince Orchard Park community, which involves running feeder lines from the main trunk line to each street and installing junction boxes at periodic intervals.

Community Manager Ruchita Patel said the company will be running the lines in the public utility easement (PUE), which are generally located parallel to the street or alley and may extend in residents’ front or rear yards.

“Verizon is permitted to run their lines and install junction boxes within the PUE area, per an easement that may exist on your property,” Patel said in an e-mail to residents.

According to Patel, Verizon is required to restore any disturbed areas to their original condition. She said the city of Gaithersburg is responsible for monitoring the work to ensure it complies with their standards and any permits issued.

Residents can call Verizon with questions about the work at 1.888.550.2244 Monday – Friday from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. and Saturday from 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.

City Leaders Visit Ocean City

Despite the city’s budget woes, Gaithersburg sent eight local officials to Ocean City June 27 – 30 for the annual Maryland Municipal League (MML) conference. That’s the same amount of people who attended last year.

Attendees included Mayor Sidney Katz, Council members Henry Marraffa, Michael Sesma, Ryan Spiegel, City Manager Angel Jones, City Attorney Lynn Board, City Clerk Doris Stokes and Intergovernmental Affairs Coordinator Monica Sanchez.

Council members Jud Ashman and Cathy Drzyzgula chose to skip the conference. Ashman said he decided not to travel this year because of the economy.

Unlike Gaithersburg, the city of Rockville only sent four people to the conference, according to the city’s public information office, and one of those people was only there to receive an award. The Rockville officials included the Mayor, a Council member, the city clerk (who was receiving the award) and the assistant to the city manager.

No word on how much Gaithersburg spent on the Ocean City conference. Before he left, Mayor Katz said he hoped the convention would be worthwhile and he noted that fewer attendees were expected because of the economy’s impact on local jurisdictions.

Lakeforest Retailers Help Gaithersburg Police Foundation

The Gaithersburg Police Foundation will hold a fundraising event at select retailers located at Lakeforest Mall, 701 Russell Avenue in Gaithersburg, on Saturday July 10 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Sunday, July 11 from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. 

Three participating retailers will donate 10 percent of the in-store purchases to the foundation:

Children’s Shoebox, shoes for children including wide and double wide, all day July 10 and July 11;

Bastien’s Foundations, bras for full-busted women and fitting services for custom fit bras, all day July 11;

Verdict, women’s and men’s ready-to-wear fashion, all day July 11.

For more information contact Keith Bryan, Foundation President, at chief@bryan-investments.com.