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| Minutes from March 16th 2005 |
You are here: Meeting Minutes > Minutes from March 16th 2005
Minutes of the meeting – Neighborhood Watch – 3/16/05
Place of meeting – Thorpewood
Meeting commenced after social hour and “pot luck” dinner.
Attendance – 10 neighbors.
GAMBRILL PARK ROAD FIREWISE PROGRAM
Ranger David Robbins, Manager of the Firewise program, Maryland Forest Service attended to present to our group the 2004 recognition as a Firewise Community USA. Eight families out of 106 participated. Other communities which started Firewise programs include one in West Virginia and one in Virginia. We are the first in Maryland.
This designation makes our group eligible for “matching” funds for the continuation of the effort. These funds are not automatically offered but can be awarded as a grant. Grants must be applied for and approved for their specific purpose such as fire prevention improvement plans, yard cleanup and other ideas which contribute to defense of our mountain forest from fire.
ROAD NAME SIGNS IN THE WATERSHED
Road name signs which were installed within the watershed and along Gambrill Park Road have, for the most part, disappeared due to vandalism and theft. It was felt that these signs are useful, even essential to emergency personnel during emergency response and for visitors unfamiliar with our area. The Director of Public Works, Mr. Fred Eisenhart, is the person to contact to discuss this situation. It was felt that this loss is attributable to the lack of local law enforcement.
HOME ADDRESS NUMBERS.
Note was made that very few residents of Gambrill Park Road have installed the green reflective home address numbers. These numbers can be found at the major hardware and building material retailers in Frederick.
RECKLESS DRIVING
Several incidents of reckless driving have occurred on Gambrill Park Road recently. These include a DHL delivery driver traveling at greatly excessive speed for the road; a UPS delivery driver; a red Toyota driver who repeatedly exceeds reasonable speed; plus other isolated incidents. Some incidents were teenage drivers crossing the double yellow line and racing.
Discussion on what to do commenced resulting in a concensus that the Sheriff should be informed. The idea of a “Gambrill reckless driver registry” was tabled but not endorsed by the group. One attendee volunteered to visit the Sheriff in this regard.
DEER POACHING
Many (at least 7) deer carcasses have been found including one tied by all four feet and left in the middle of Gambrill Park Road. Certainly more have been killed and left to rot along the roads and in the watershed. Six carcasses were observed to have been butchered and the skeletons thrown into feeder streams and spring discharges. These rotting carcasses serve to pollute and spread bacteria and disease locally and into the Frederick water supply. Poaching per se was thought to be a statewide problem and state through the Department of Natural Resources does not have the funding or the staff to police the situation effectively. It was noted, however, the this and other problems in our natural areas have caused the transfer of armed natural resources police into the DNR wildlife services. After 7/1/05, the dept to call with natural resource problems is the DNR police.
HIGH POWERED RIFLE HUNTING
During the firearms deer hunting season some hunters have been observed to be hunting closer to private residences than the law allows. Because of this it was thought that perhaps enough local residents would want the DNR to designate part of the Watershed’s Wildlife Management Area so as to prohibit the use of high powered rifles. Having checked into this it was determined that a fairly sizable group of local residents would need to petition the DNR to this end.
Respectfully submitted,
John Lind