Board of Managers Meeting:
Monday, April 13, 2020
Virtual Meeting to Begin at 7:30 p.m. 

The Board of Managers will hold its regular monthly meeting on Monday, April 13, 2020 at 7:30 p.m.  This meeting will be conducted remotely, and there will be no in-person meeting attendance.

Public Participation: Participants who join via audio or video conference will be muted except for members of the Board, Legal Counsel and staff.

Participants will have the opportunity to speak during the Public Hearing for the FY2021 Proposed Budget (agenda item #4).

To join via video conference, use the GoTo Meeting link below:
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/539287733

To join the Board Meeting by phone, dial 1 (866) 899 4679 (toll free). 

The meeting access code (for online or phone access) is: 539-287-733.

Public comments or questions may also be made by emailing the Village office at ccv@montgomerycountymd.gov.

All electronic comments must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, April 13, 2020.
Click here to see the agenda.

Guidance Regarding the State’s Stay at Home Orders and

Ways to be Sensitive to your Neighbors

The Maryland Department of Health has issued guidance for compliance with the Governor’s most recent stay at home orders.  The guidance can be found at:  https://phpa.health.maryland.gov/Documents/FAQ_covid19_stay_home_isolation_033120.pdf
 
Among many scenarios addressed in this guidance is whether landscape crews may continue to work.  While landscape and yard maintenance contractors have been deemed essential under the Governor’s orders, homeowners who employ these contractors have and should use their discretion in deciding whether their work and the nature of their work is indeed “essential”.
 
During these unique circumstances when neighbors are home and many are working or participating in distance learning, residents are urged to consult with their constriction and landscape contractors to be sensitive to the noise their work produces, which can be highly disruptive to these new routines.  Contractors should be asked to look for ways to minimize the severity and duration of noise-producing activities. 
 
In particular, landscape contractors should be reminded that blowing of leaves and yard waste is not necessary and neighbors would greatly appreciate the reprieve from the crews of blowers working throughout the community*.  Residents may also choose to limit landscape work, but continue to pay crews until the stay at home orders are lifted as many of the workers may be dependent on this income for their family’s livelihood. 
 
Thank you for your efforts to remain sensitive to your neighbors as we all try to cope under these unique circumstances.
 
*Village police continue to actively enforce the 70 dBA (decibel level) limit for leaf blowers (per Montgomery County Code, which applies in the Village), which can often be exceeded by multiple blowers being operated simultaneously.

Montgomery County Health Order Requires Shoppers to Wear Masks at Stores; Latest Effort to Stop COVID-19 Spread Goes into Effect Monday, April 13

County Health Officer Dr. Travis Gayles announced (the evening of Thursday, April 9) that beginning Monday, April 13, shoppers will be required to wear face coverings in grocery stores, pharmacies, and large chain retail establishments. The health order also requires that these retailers establish capacity limits by allowing a small number of customers in the store at a time. Lines outside a store must promote physical distancing spaces for customers while waiting. “We are working on many fronts to slow the spread of COVID-19. Protecting shoppers and store employees is critical,” said Gayles. 

Masks are not advised for children under two years of age, or for people who have difficulty breathing.  Masks made for use in health care settings, such as N95 masks, should be reserved for health care workers. Cloth masks are an acceptable alternative for face coverings.

These retail stores are required to provide employees with access to clean restrooms stocked with soap and sanitizer. They must allow employees to wash their hands at least every 30 minutes. Employees must be allowed to wear masks or face coverings.
            
In addition, the order requires that these stores comply with existing state and local sanitation requirements and statutes. Any complaints will be investigated according to standard protocols and policy. Violators are subject to a $500 fine, and a $750 fine for each subsequent violation.
            
Other safety measures aimed at protecting workers and shoppers include implementing physical distancing measures for workers, customers, and visitors. Appropriate signage and markings to reinforce social distancing and spacing must be displayed.  Businesses who use shared equipment, such as baskets or hand carts, are encouraged to provide sanitation equipment such as disinfectant wipes or alcohol swabs, for individual use.  Businesses are also encouraged to install clear physical barriers between cashiers and customers, where possible.
            
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan issued a stay-at-home order on Monday, March 30.  All residents must remain in their homes unless they are essential employees traveling to or from work, obtaining food or medicine or seeking urgent medical care.

• Be sure to say at least six feet away from anyone who is not a member of your household.

• Avoid gathering in groups.

• Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for at least 20 second.

• Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are not available.

• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using standard cleaning practices.

• Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue, your sleeve, or your elbow.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

• If you are sick, stay home except to get medical care.

For the latest COVID-19 updates, visit the County’s COVID-19 website and follow Montgomery County on Facebook @MontgomeryCountyInfo and Twitter @MontgomeryCoMD.

Crime Activity on Primrose Street Overnight

Two distinct events; alert resident witnessed both

Incident #1:
At about 2:40 a.m. on Tuesday, April 7, 2020, a resident in the 200 block of Primrose Street was working at her computer when movement outside caught her eye.  When she looked out her window, she saw three young men walking along Primrose Street looking into cars.  She called the Village Police right away.
 
Officers Drew Fones and Alex Jenkins responded immediately and were in the area within a minute or two, and they requested additional units to respond from the county police.  One of the county officers spotted two cars driving on local streets, and when the officer pulled behind the cars, they both raced off into the District of Columbia.  A check of the license plates on one of the suspect vehicles indicated that the car had been stolen—possibly from Prince George’s County.
 
Officers Fones and Jenkins returned to Primrose Street to look for evidence of theft, and they located two cars in the 100 block of Primrose that had been entered.  The officers spoke with the owners of the cars; nothing was stolen from either car.  Later in the morning, Village Police received complaints from two additional Primrose residents whose cars were entered.  Thus far, a wallet was the only item reported stolen.  All of the cars were unlocked.
 
Incident #2:
At about 4:30 a.m.—less than 2 hours after the above event—the same resident who had called the police witnessed a second crime.  This time, she heard the sound of a car’s engine idling, so she peered out the window to see an unfamiliar car parked in the 200 block of Primrose with its engine running.  While she was looking at the unfamiliar car, she watched as someone backed out of her neighbor’s driveway in her neighbor’s 2018 Mercedes SUV; she was witnessing a car theft in progress.  As the hapless thief backed out of her neighbor's driveway, the culprit crashed backwards into a parked car across the street from the driveway.  The witness watched as the stolen car and the other car (the one that had been idling) quickly headed south onto Western Avenue. 
 
All of this was happening with police officers from the Village and the County just blocks away; two county cars were on Primrose Street near Connecticut Avenue when the car theft occurred.  The witness called the Village police and provided a blow-by-blow description of what she was seeing as several officers headed back to her block.   Again, we were on the scene very quickly, but the thieves had already made good their escape—presumably into DC. 
 
Unfortunately, it appears that the key fob for the stolen Mercedes was in the car.
 
The Village Police Department is grateful to our alert, night-owl witness for her keen observations and her calls to the police.  She was a big help to us last night.
             
The investigation is continuing.

 
Residents are urged to lock their cars every time they park, to take their keys/fobs into the house, and to remove all valuables.  When we deny thieves of easy opportunities, they are less likely to return. 

Sign-Up for Montgomery County’s COVID-19 Updates

Montgomery County is continuously pushing out useful information and updates related to the COVID-19 health emergency.  Please visit the below site to sign-up for the county’s COVID-19 updates: 
 

https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/MDMONTGOMERY/signup/14849

Grocery Stores Offering
“Seniors-Only” Shopping Hours

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich announced a new program to help protect seniors as they shop for groceries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of Thursday, March 19, four local grocery stores and two national store chains will reserve specific hours for seniors only, allowing them to shop among a smaller group of people to minimize the risk of COVID-19 infection.

View the Stores and Hours

Join the Village Listserv on Groups.io

Last year, CCVillage, the neighborhood mailing list for Chevy Chase Village, was transferred to CCVillage@Groups.io. During this period of social distancing, CCVillage is a resource to allow neighbors to stay connected with each other.

If you have not done so already, please join the mailing list by visiting https://groups.io/g/CCVillage and clicking on the blue "+ Join This Group" button.  Once you are enrolled, the email address to submit messages to the mailing list is ccvillage@groups.io, and you can read the group messages online at http://groups.io/g/CCVillage/topics. 

On the website, click on "Messages" in the left column menu to see the most recent CCVillage posts, and click "New Topic" to open an editor that will let you compose and send your message.  You can search the database of old messages by clicking the "Search" button above the message list.
 
The CCVillage information website is at http://CCVillage.info. For assistance with joining or posting messages, please contact moderator and Village resident Tim Slagle at ccvillage+owner@groups.io.

Help Village Staff Keep the Community Safe and Beautiful

Report Areas for Repair and Maintenance

Village staff prides itself on being responsive and working hard to ensure that the Village remains a safe, beautiful and welcoming community—but we cannot do it alone. While we are constantly on the lookout for areas that need to be addressed, we need the support of residents serving as our eyes and ears throughout the community:

As always, residents may also call the Village’s 24-hour Communications Center or email requests/concerns to the Village’s main email address at ccv@montgomerycountymd.gov (emails are then routed to the appropriate department).

Thank you for helping us to continue addressing the needs of the community!

Are You Prepared?

As we have experienced during various seasonal events, it is important to be prepared for local weather emergencies. In order the assist residents in their preparedness, the Village in partnership with the Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (OEMHS) offer a number of helpful tools, plans and free alerts to assist and keep you informed.

Village Website and Blast Email System – Have you signed up for the Village’s blast email system? This is the Village's primary method of communication with residents. The Village has 2 email lists you can sign-up for:

Urgent News Alert – include messages such as criminal activity, neighborhood disruptions such as water main breaks, power outages and road closures and major weather events.

General News Alerts – include messages about Board and committee meetings, community events, changes in public services such as refuse/recycling collection schedules and upcoming road closures.

To sign-up for the blast email system visit the Village website at www.chevychasevillagemd.gov and click on the tablet icon at the top of the Village’s homepage.
 

Alert Montgomery – Alert Montgomery is the official emergency communications service for Montgomery County, MD. During major crisis, emergency or severe weather events, Montgomery County will send event updates, warnings and instructions directly to you on any of your devices. To sign-up for Alert Montgomery please visit the OEMHS website www.montgomerycountymd.gov/oemhs and click on the “Alert Montgomery” link at the top of the page.

Family and Community Preparedness Information – Emergencies can take many forms and occur with or without warning. By taking a few simple steps now, you can ensure that you, your family and your community are better prepared to handle emergencies. To assist in your family planning, please visit the Village’s emergency preparedness page, www.chevychasevillagemd.gov/emergencyprep for helpful tools and links. Another important tool the Village has created to assist you in your preparedness efforts is our House Check Program. Always request a House Check when you are leaving town and ensure that your emergency contacts are up to date with the Village office.

For additional information please visit the Village’s website at www.chevychasevillagemd.gov and click on the “Are you prepared? – Emergency Preparedness Tips” link listed in the Quick Links on the homepage.

Emergency Contact Sheet

EMERGENCY - 911
 
Chevy Chase Village Police 
Non Emergency/24hrs - 301-654-7300

Montgomery County Police 
Non Emergency/24hrs - 301-279-8000

Bethesda - Chevy Chase Rescue Squad - 301-652-0077

Chevy Chase Fire Dept
(Opposite Columbia Country Club) - 240-773-4707

Bethesda Fire Dept
(Wisconsin Ave and Bradley Blvd) - 240-773-4706

National Capital Poison Center
(George Washington University Hospital) - 800-222-1222

Utilities
 

Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO)

Emergency-Live wires down, power failure - 877-737-2662

Customer Service - 202-833-7500

Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission

Emergency - 301-206-4002

Complaints, Leaks, Information - 301-206-4001

Washington Gas

Emergency - 703-750-1400

Information & Customer Service - 703-750-1000

Comcast - 800-934-6489

Verizon - 800-837-4966

**A cut out sheet is also located on page two of the January 2019 Crier.

You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to receive general news updates from Chevy Chase Village. Did you know the Village sends out urgent news updates as well, click here to sign-up.