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What Would You Improve in Montgomery Village in 2013?

If you could make a New Year's resolution for Montgomery Village, what would it be?

More than 45 percent of Americans make a resolution every year, according to statisticbrain.com. Some people vow to live a healthier lifestyle, others promise to spend more time with family, and many say they will try to save money.

As millions of Americans make resolutions to improve their lives, what could we do right here in Montgomery Village to make it an even better place to live?

What is on your Montgomery Village wish list? What is one thing you would improve in 2013?

Tell us in the comment section below or blog about why you love living here!

Pete Claey January 2, 2013 at 03:48 pm
I hope that we see comments here from the MVF staff and Board members.
What they want to see during 2013.
Don O'Neill January 2, 2013 at 04:58 pm
Pete,
You say that nothing is set in stone yet the Vision 2030 Plan was put together to show Montgomery County Planners what people would like to see. As the twig is bent so grows the tree. Let's nip it in the bud, not defend the undependable. The Vision 2030 presentation plan does show a four-story parking garage at the Professional Center just behind the Courts of Whetstone. Similarly, the Vision 2030 presentation plan shows the MVF offices located in the Montgomery Village Shopping Center. Of course, you didn't find a clear voiced statement in the MV News on these objectionable items. As usual the MVF tactic is to fly under the radar.
Susan McGuire January 2, 2013 at 05:51 pm
Allow the parking of non-commercial pickup trucks in owners driveways.
Bob Hydorn January 2, 2013 at 06:18 pm
Bobbi, That is one of the ideas put forward in the Visison 2030, a Town Center. The problem is that the property is has several different parcels and owners of those parcels.
Bob Hydorn January 2, 2013 at 06:19 pm
Steve, Yes Bobbi is talking of the Village Center/Mall. It was orginally build as a mall in 1970.
Bob Hydorn January 2, 2013 at 06:27 pm
Pete, You are very correct, there is nothing set in stone. The plan that one sees in the Vision 2030 shows several ideas, one bing a residental project with a parking deck attached. It clearly is not just a 4 story parking garage as some would lead you to believe. Any plan that comes forward will have to be approved by the Montgomery County Planning Board, County Council (for rezoning) and it would have to go before the ARB and CARC of the MVF as well as the MVF Board.
I assure you that there has been no discussion nor vote on moving the MVF offices, once again an idea put forward is all it was, yet some people have their own opinions as to what has been okayed.
Jennifer Smith January 2, 2013 at 06:27 pm
allow personal use pick up trucks to park overnight in driveways and parking lots. Some of these truck look way better than most of the cars parked in the neighborhood.
Bob Hydorn January 2, 2013 at 06:38 pm
Pete, I normally do not repsond on Patch like I am today, but the facts need to get put out there correctly. The Vision 2030 is just that a Vision, Ideas, thoughts that were brought forward by residnets of the community.
What would I like to see in 2013 - a community that is FLORISHING, coming alive with new ideas, improved park facilities, contiuing our strong financial position, always working on our open processes, hopefully bringing the only large homes corporation that is not managed by the MVF back to Community Managemnt. Wishing everyone a Healthy, Happy New Year .
Don O'Neill January 2, 2013 at 06:51 pm
No wonder the "flourishing brand" is not gaining traction beyond the MV News. The president of the MVF Board misspells it as FLORISHING. Wow!
Don O'Neill January 2, 2013 at 06:58 pm
I commend Bob Hydorn for acknowledging that the four-story parking garage shown in the Vision 2030 Plan is actually there.
I condemn Bob Hydorn for insisting that the Vision 2030 does not serve as an enabler for the Montgomery County Planners to approve the four-story parking garage at the Professional Center just behind the Courts of Whetstone. As a resident of Whetstone, I oppose this parking garage at the edge of Whetstone as well as truck parking in Whetstone.
Bob Hydorn January 2, 2013 at 07:03 pm
I never claimed to be a typist.
Don O'Neill January 2, 2013 at 07:57 pm
Bob,
How about a linguist?
Pete Claey January 2, 2013 at 09:11 pm
Bob Hydorn, Thank you for responding, as for your typing I doubt if any of us are proficient when we don’t type all the time. It was obvious your word should have been “FLOURSHING”. What is the big deal? It looks to me like Don O’Neil doesn’t like you or Montgomery Village. I can say that the people I know appreciate all that you and the Board do for Montgomery Village.
Don O'Neill January 2, 2013 at 11:18 pm
Pete,
First check your own spelling and get back to us. You and Bob obviously attended the same school. In business, it is unforgivable to misspell the brand.
Pete Claey January 3, 2013 at 01:33 pm
Don, if you think this blog is business, you have a major problem with life. Such blogs are more for entertainment than anything else. So I spelled something wrong as did Bob Hydorn, so what, get a life.
Don O'Neill January 3, 2013 at 02:42 pm
Pete,
The business of the Montgomery Village Foundation is business. In fact, the MVF spent $50,000 on its "flourish" branding initiative. What is the effectiveness of the initiative to date? What indicator is clear. No one can spell it correctly!
Lois January 3, 2013 at 04:58 pm
The question was why you love living here...and we got off into why we dislike a lot. I think Don makes many good points. I'm a long time resident and came to the Village in 1972. Loved the inside mall we had, loved the parks we had, the medical center, and loved the proximity to the city and yet the distance from it, too. 'Convenience' was what I liked about living here. Much has changed and while change is good, change can sometimes be disappointing, too. I'm frustrated that our Village Center is held hostage while deteriorating and a place that's embarrassing to me. I loved having the YMCA but was disappointed when it became run-down and then run-out-of-town without any kind of facility to take its place. Why wouldn't MV take it over, fix it up, and offer a gym/swim to the residents? This would have been our inside gym/swim thay you're now proposing to convert one of our pools to. I'm just saying...
I feel (just my opinion) that putting in restrooms at the lake is inviting problems. 'Back-in-the-day' my kids took part in sports there and people never had the dire need to leave to relieve, or eat (isn't obesity a problem today?). A park should be beautiful and should try to not look like a truck stop. My goodness, no one should be inconvenienced anymore!? I used to like going to the Village Mall past six o'clock without feeling uncertain about my safety. Whatever happened to the proposed police station? Would have been a great deterrent. Level the abandoned bank
jnrentz1 January 6, 2013 at 06:05 pm
I concur with Ms. McGuire.
The owners and operators of pickup trucks should be allowed to park them in front of their homes.
jnrentz1 January 6, 2013 at 06:07 pm
Mr. Hydorn:
Has this issue regarding the pickup trucks ever been addressed by our Maryland Court of Appeals?
jnrentz1 January 6, 2013 at 06:08 pm
Mr. O'Neill,
What is wrong with pickup trucks?
Kelly January 7, 2013 at 07:31 am
MVF and HoA to enforce upkeep of homes and neighborhoods. Have real plan to end the gunshots and huge deteriorating situation at the Village. Great that we have parks but encouraging something like children museum as well as indoor recreation as mentioned above.
Bob Hydorn January 7, 2013 at 04:39 pm
Lois, I believe most everyone in the community knows that I am very supportive of the restroom/concession facility in South Valley Park. Now as for the Village Center, former Mall, I worked in that Mall when it first opened in 1970. It was great then yet over time as other shopping areas grew in the region it started to empty out. It was sold and the new owners made the decision to turn it into an outside shopping center from the Mall style. That was a decision that they made within their business structure, not one that the MVF would have necessarily chosen. As for the proposed police substation, the county was not able to work out an agreement with the property owners. The empty bank site on Club House Road is for lease, yet there have been takers; once again that is a privately owned property.
Don O'Neill January 7, 2013 at 05:09 pm
Bob,
Back to basics again on spelling! This time it's "maintenance" not "maintance". Check it out. Spell checker knew.
Bob Hydorn January 7, 2013 at 05:14 pm
Kelly, I agree on your upkeep comment, yet there is a very clear separation of powers here. The covenants were set by the Kettler Brothers when they first decided to build Montgomery Village. The architectural issues are under the purview of the MVF, yet maintenance of the homes fall under the guidance of the HOAs.
Don O'Neill January 7, 2013 at 05:14 pm
Bob,
In your response to Lois, did you mean that there were takers or that there were not takers when you said, "The empty bank site on Club House Road is for lease, yet there have been takers; once again that is a privately owned property." Please clarify.
Bob Hydorn January 7, 2013 at 06:49 pm
As Mr. O"Neill is now my personal spell checker and person to find any errors with which i might have in my cooments, please find the sentence below as corrected.
The empty bank site on Club House Road is for lease, yet there have been no takers; once again that is a privately owned property.
Bob Hydorn January 7, 2013 at 06:55 pm
Don, I thank you for being so attentive to any spelling and typing errors, which I might make.
Pete Claey January 9, 2013 at 09:24 pm
Does anyone know who is running for the Montgomery Village Board this year?
I always talk to my landlord about the people.
jnrentz1 January 9, 2013 at 09:46 pm
I would want to know what the all the Montgomery Village employees are paid, from the bottom to the top.
Pete Claey January 9, 2013 at 09:55 pm
Does the board get paid?

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Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
Bob Hydorn June 1, 2013 at 12:01 pm
Thank you to John Driscoll, VP of the MVF for opening this years Farmers Market
Bandits New Mom June 1, 2013 at 01:59 pm
Amazing the difference in taste! I thought I like baked sweet potatoes until I bought some from theRead More farmer's market--now I eat them for dessert! Amazingly sweeter and redder too!
Sharon Adams June 1, 2013 at 04:16 pm
Seems someone @ MVF finally considered one of my community suggestions, free raffle baskets. KnewRead More after 32 years you might 'finally' appreciate at least one of my ideas. Hummm! LOL!
LenGray March 4, 2013 at 06:28 pm
Congratulations to Ms. Cranford, Ms. Peterson and Mr. Dyer on a strong showing. The one issue that IRead More do hope you will consider during your term in office is the request that Ms. Adams had made about a playground in Whetstone Park. There realty does need to be some improvements made there, the old concrete animals are no longer fun to play on. My grandson asks me, “Grandpa, where are the slide and swings?” At least we now have a chance with these three board members.
Derek Hale March 5, 2013 at 05:02 am
The voters obviously made the right decision. These three have proven themselves with theirRead More previous activities within the Village. I concur with LenGray's comment above regarding different children's amenities available at Lake Whetstone. If swings and other play equipment were there, it could be used almost year round which a volleyball sand pit has limited use, and I can't even remember the last time I saw someone playing volleyball there. How about some benches for the adults to sit and watch their children play on good old fashioned swings and slides?