THE FRANKLIN MANOR NEWSLETTER

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1 THE FRANKLIN MANOR NEWSLETTER December, 2013 Editor: Robin Stanek Budget Notes Tom Hall, President FMCA At the November board meeting the board members voted to establish the tax rate for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2014 at $.04 per $100 of assessed valve for the Special Community Benefit Taxing District and $.06 per $100 of assessed valve for the Shore Erosion Taxing District. The Special Community Benefit Taxing District funds are used to provide for such things as insurance, grass cutting, utilities, port-a-john for the parks, service contracts on the gate, repairs/maintenance to the piers and other community association expenses. The Shore Erosion Special Taxing Districts funds can only be used for shore erosion projects. Included are the proposed budget requests to be submitted to the County. Please review this information and the proposed budgets. If you have any questions or comments please attend the next Board meeting or send concerns to PO Box 70 Churchton, MD After reviewing the comments received, the board will proceed with a final vote on the budget at the January meeting. Annual Dues Notice This newsletter is mailed to Franklin Manor property owners. If you are a property owner who is renting a residence in Franklin Manor to someone else, the Board of Directors respectfully requests that you notify your tenant(s) of the following: Adult residents of Franklin Manor who are not property owners or immediate family members of property owners and who wish to be nominated for and/or vote for the FMCA Board of Directors must pay annual dues. Annual dues are currently $10 per person, payable by check to FMCA. Note on the check memo line that the payment is for annual dues and mail it to: FMCA Treasurer, P.O. Box 70, Churchton, MD Request for photos We want to share old photographs of Franklin Manor with our neighbors! If you have any old photographs of our community, please let us borrow them so we can scan and share them with everyone on our website. We promise to take very good care of them and will only borrow them for a couple of hours. If you have photos of interest please contact Marilyn Baker (410) or marbak@comcast.net Halloween Party The Halloween party was a great success again this year. The Board would like to thank Pam Barry and all of the volunteers that helped create a safe and fun outing for the community ghosts and goblins. Page 1

2 Special Community Benefit District Budget Proposal for 2014/2015 Projected Taxable Rate 4 cents per $100 $151,400,000 $60, 0560 Less County Fee ($ 2,000) Net Projected Revenue $58, 0560 Shore Erosion Budget Proposal 2014/2015 Projected Taxable Rate 6 cents per $100 $151,400,000 $90,840 Less County Fee ($ 2,000) Net Projected Revenue $88,840 The Current Balance as of October 31, 2013 is $63, If you have comments or questions about the proposed budget, you may contact the board by attending the January meeting, mail or . Independently Audited Special Community Benefit District Statement of Revenue and Expenditures Fiscal Year Ended June 30, Revenues Actual Property Taxes $49,446 Interest 152 Total Revenues $49521 Expenditures Maintenance & Improvements 18,934 Administration 6,332 County Admin. Fee 2,000 Total Expenditures $27,266 Net Revenues $22,255 FUND BALANCE, 6/30/113 Beginning of Year 76,194 End of Year Balance $98,449 FMCA Petty Cash Fund Statement of Revenue and Expenditures for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2013 Revenues Actual Donations $ 2, Gate Passes $ Interest $ 0.53 Total Revenues $ 2, Expenditures Fall Social and Halloween Party $ 1, Total Expenditures $ 1, Net Revenues $ 1, FUND BALANCE, 6/30/13 Beginning of Year $ End of Year Balance $ 2, FMCA Mission Maintain the common areas owned by the community, this includes grass cutting, maintaining the piers and parking areas, maintaining the playground and the shore line shore erosion system. We also maintain insurance to protect the community association. We do not typically get involved in neighborhood disputes that do not impact our areas of responsibility. If you have a problem with a neighbor or someone else in your area, and you believe the dispute violates a governmental regulation you should direct your concerns to the governmental agency charged with enforcing the regulation. Contact information is noted on our website. Page 2

3 West Bulkhead Renovation We recently completed the first phase of the upgrade to the west bulkhead. The project completed 250 lineal feet. The project cost was approximately $160,000. We would like to thank those residents in close proximity to the project for their cooperation. The remaining area of the wooden bulkhead to be done is 750 lineal feet. We are currently working on the next phase of the project. This will be 200 lineal feet. Our goal is to get the entire project completed within the next five years, as funds become available. All funding is coming from our shore erosion special community benefit taxing district. We are getting no funding from the county or state. Again the concern is, given the condition of the existing wooden bulkhead, should we have a major storm, major damage could occur and the cost of the project would substantially increase. The second phase of the project should start within the next six months. Emergent Grass Volunteer Planting Day Since the completion of the Franklin Manor Living Shoreline in April of 2010, many of the marsh grasses that were originally planted to prevent erosion and hold sandy soil in place have disappeared, exposing open sand area above the mean high-tide level. With the assistance of the West Rhode Riverkeeper, the FMCA s Emergent Grasses Application to Anne Arundel County for 342 Spartina alterniflora and 2,352 Spartina patens has been approved. The community will receive the grasses between late May and early June of 2014 at no cost. Plantings will occur in the area of the southern most tombolo. The FMCA will be organizing an Emergent Grass Volunteer Planting Day on the living shoreline. West Rhode Riverkeeper s Restoration Coordinator Joe Ports will be leading volunteers in replanting efforts while educating community members on the importance of marsh grasses to shorelines like ours. All community members are welcome to participate. For updates on this Emergent Grass Volunteer Planting Day, visit or Stephen Schaeberle at designss720@gmail.com. Call for Nominations The members of the Franklin Manor Citizens Association, Inc. (FMCA) elect a Board of Directors each year in March. A list of candidates is compiled from volunteers who wish to serve their community for a period of one year if elected. If you own property in Franklin Manor Beach, are an adult immediate family member of a property owner, or are a non-property owner resident who has paid current annual dues to FMCA, you qualify as an FMCA member. Please note: All are encouraged to run for the board, but there are limits on how many non-property owners can be on the board. The board consists of 15 regular voting members and 13 of those must be property owners in FMCA. FMCA members are eligible to serve on the Board of Directors. Each volunteer who is eligible will be placed on the ballot for consideration by the community as a whole. The Board of Directors shall receive no compensation in any form for their service as a Board member or for any work they may perform on the FMCA s behalf. Board members are expected to attend the scheduled meetings of the Board and are expected to accept at least one area of primary responsibility for community-owned property management or maintenance, either as a Board Officer, Chair of one of the three standing committees, or for one of the areas of property maintenance established by the Board. If you would like to make friends and help serve for the betterment of your community, please contact the FMCA Nominating Committee by at rstanek@verizon.net (please indicate Nominations in the subject line) or by mail: FMCA Nominating Committee, PO Box 70, Churchton, MD Please reply for nominations by Thursday, January 16th, Student Volunteers FMCA is in search of students who need community service hours. Volunteers are also needed for various clean up and small tasks. If you are interested, please attend the next Board meeting or the Board at info@franklinmanorcommunity.org. You may also contact Stephen Schaeberle in the prior article. Page 3

4 Gate Key Cards Gate key cards are available Monday through Saturday from 8AM to 8PM by appointment (Excluding Holidays and FMCA Board Meeting Nights) at Gwynne Ave from Shareen Miller. Please call or for an appointment. Property owners will be given one card free and may also purchase an additional card for $ Renters may purchase up to two cards for $10.00 each. You must bring a photo ID to pick up the card. Phone Numbers for Reporting Problems When you notice something amiss in the community, please use the following phone numbers to report the problem directly to the entity responsible: Emergency Repair Only - Roads, Lights & Traffic Signals Traffic Signs Roads for Repair of Potholes, Litter, Ditches, Trees BGE - Street Lights If you ever see anything illegal, dangerous, or threatening to you or your neighbors, please call 911. Pet Waste Problem We ve had some problems with pet waste in our parks and public spaces. Not only is pet waste unsanitary, it is also contributing to water quality problems in the Bay (i.e., studies have shown that, in some areas, a large proportion of the bacteria that make it unsafe to swim comes from pets) and it is against the law. Please clean up after your pampered pet. Entry Sign We recently completed the project to renovate the sign at the entry to the community. The sign was replaced and the planter rebuilt. Once the plantings get a chance to grow, the appearance will substantially improve. New Projects The Franklin Manor marina is not community owned property. It is owned by a private individual and he has been allowing the community to use it for years. The marina is an important amenity to the community. We have entered into discussion with the owner to transfer the property to FMCA. Thus far the discussions have been positive. We may also bring into the discussion acquiring other vacant property he owns that is designated as open space. FMCA recently installed a life ring at the North pier. This is for emergency use only. Squeaky Wheel FMCA has been in contact with representatives of Anne Arundel County for quite some time concerning several issues within Franklin Manor. We have not received optimum response from the County and are asking for your help. The issues that need to be addressed by the County are the following: The County needs to repair the wooden bulkhead on Chesapeake drive between the South park and the North spur of Franklin Boulevard. This lack of repair could result in collapse of the drive into the Bay. FMCA needs to be compensated for the repair to the bulkhead at the entrance to the South park. An invoice was sent to the County months ago and remains unpaid. Please use the contact information below to help alert our representatives of our concerns as a community and to let them know that we will remember the response obtained at the ballot box. Jerry Walker Jerry.walker@aacounty.org Laura Neuman lneuman@aacounty.org Page 4

5 Motorized Vehicles on Community Property No motorized vehicles of any kind are permitted on the community association property, except when in parking areas or doing maintenance and repairs. This includes the Franklin Blvd. grassy area. The county police have been advised to enforce this policy and anyone causing damage will be held responsible. Boat Club News The boat club held a meeting in December and passed the following rate increases for the use of the ramp and the slips: Ramp base fee $50 Key charge $14 Infrastructure improvement fee $25 Ramp annual fee total $ Slip base fee $100 Key charge $14 Your FMCA Webpage We encourage everyone to go periodically to our website FranklinManorCommunity.org for updates and other community information. The webpage lists previous newsletters and other information that should be useful to all residents. Stay informed and get involved! Questions or Comments? Write: FMCA, P.O. Box 70, Churchton, MD info@franklinmanorcommunity.org FMCA Board Meeting: 7:00 p.m. Third Monday of each month, A.A. County Library, South County Branch, Deale, MD. Unless otherwise posted. FMCA Newsletter Editor: rstanek@verizon.net Enjoy this festive Holiday season with your friends and family! Infrastructure improvement fee $50 Slip annual fee total $164 All fees are due by March 29, The key charge is for an upgraded system to improve security. The infrastructure improvement fee is designated for short term (pier and slip repair) and long term (boat ramp) repairs. Questions or concerns should be addressed to the club manager, Michelle Lovett jenifboo@aol.com Quote for the Day I pass with relief from the tossing sea of Cause and Theory to the firm ground of Result and Fact. -Winston Churchill Page 5

6 Franklin Manor Citizens Association. P.O. Box 70 Churchton, MD NEWSLETTER