Association News – Friday, January 20, 2023
Upcoming King Farm Board & Committee Meetings
- Board of Code Compliance (BOCC)
- Monday 01/30/2023 – 7:00 PM (covenants hearing)
- Tuesday 01/31/2023 – 7:00 PM (covenants hearing)
- KFCA Table Talk (in-person)
- Wednesday 01/25/2023 – 7:00 PM
King Farm meetings are held virtually. Residents can find the Zoom registration links for all upcoming King Farm Board of Trustees and Committee meetings online by visiting King Farm website on the “Zoom Meeting Links” page. To attend the Zoom meetings, you must register in advance. Each meeting will have an open forum for residents to ask questions or make comments (limited to 3 minutes speaking time per resident). If you would like to speak during open forum, please provide the topic you will be speaking about.
**If you need assistance registering for a virtual meeting and for all other questions, please contact Management by phone (301) 987-0122 or by email at management@kingfarm.org.
The 2023 Annual Meeting and Election Coming Soon!
The 2023 King Farm Annual Meeting & Election will take place at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, April 26th via Zoom meeting. Residents will receive a mailing in the coming weeks with more information.
Candidate Information:
- There are three (3) open seats for the Board of Trustees (BOT). For those interested in running in the 2023 Election, please visit the King Farm website https://kingfarm.org/annual-meeting-election/ for requirements and refer to the Candidate Considerations document.
- Complete your candidacy “Statement of Purpose” using no more than one (1) page. The Statement of Purpose must be typed using a font 12-point or higher and double spaced.
- Complete the “Petition For Candidacy Form”, including necessary signatures.
- The completed documents with the necessary signatures must be received by the Management Office [electronically, hand-delivered, or via USPS mail] no later than 3:00 pm Wednesday, February 22, 2023.
- Lack of the necessary number of valid signatures will result in an invalid candidacy petition (signatures are invalid if the King Farm citizen is delinquent). We recommend obtaining more than the required number to ensure you have enough.
*If you would like to drop off the documents, you can put the completed documents in the drop-box to the right of the front door of the Management Office (300 Saddle Ridge Circle).
Registering to Vote:
- As a reminder, All Citizen [resident] Titleholders of single-family homes, townhomes, and condominium units, as shown on the Assembly’s records, are automatically registered to vote.
- UPDATE: Please note that non-resident Titleholders are NOT eligible to vote in the election per the governing documents.
- Non-titleholders must register ANNUALLY!
- All other persons who wish to vote, including tenants and other occupants of a King Farm residence who are not the record owners of the residence, are required to complete a Citizen Registration Form in order to register as Citizens with the Assembly and to vote in elections (registration forms can be found on the website).
- Citizen Registration Forms must be submitted by 12:00 pm, Friday, March 31st, 2023. You can submit your form to the Management Office via email at management@kingfarm.org or by placing it in the drop box to the right of the front office door (300 Saddle Ridge Circle).
- All forms will be verified (signed lease, state issued driver’s license, and/or owner verification).
Please note: If you are NOT a Citizen Titleholder and have not registered by the deadline you are not permitted to vote in the election.
King Farm Resolution Regarding Investments (Amended) Approved During January BOT Meeting
During the January 18th, 2023 Board of Trustees meeting, the BOT voted and approved amendments made to the King Farm Investment Policy.
You can view a copy of any recently adopted resolutions within the FrontSteps Resident Portal under the ‘Internal Documents’. Navigate to the folder 2. Governing Documents / Administrative Resolutions (or Equity Resolutions). To view proposed amendments to existing resolutions or proposed new resolutions, navigate to folder 2. Governing Documents / 1 – Draft Resolutions.
*If you do not have access to the resident portal, please contact Management for assistance or to obtain copies of these documents.
If you have any questions regarding the amended Investment Policy, please email management@kingfarm.org.
Tell the Rockville Mayor and Council to Expand from 5 to 7 Members
On January 30th, 2023, the Rockville Mayor and Council will hold a hearing in regard to a recommendation from the City Charter Review Commission that the Rockville City Council should be expanded from a 5 member to a 7 member Mayor and Council.
Rockville has grown and expanded and become more diverse over the years. The Council should be expanded to allow more representation, diversity, and voices to be heard. On behalf of the KFCA President, the Assembly is sending a letter in support of this expansion, to the Mayor and Council in advance of the public hearing. Additionally, KFCA President, Barry Jackson, will speak before the Mayor and Council during the hearing to communicate the desire to see this expansion come about in the 2023 election rather than wait for 4 more years.
If you support this recommendation, please contact the Mayor and Council at mayorcouncil@rockvillemd.gov with a simple message – “Please expand the Mayor and Council. We need a larger Council to reflect a modern Rockville. Please vote to expand it now rather than wait for 4 more years.”
This recommendation won’t solve every issue with representation that Rockville has. But it is a start. Other recommendations to be discussed at a later date include dividing the Rockville Council into geographical districts, ranked choice voting (RCV), translating election documents into other languages used in Rockville and expanding who can vote.
The Charter Review Commission made many other recommendations in their recent report. You can read it at https://www.rockvillemd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/46600/2022-Charter-Review-Commission-Report
Please contact the president@kingfarm.org or externalaffairs@kingfarm.org with any questions or comments about this issue or others.
KFCA Table Talk Returns January 25th at 7:00 pm
The Board of Trustees (BOT), KFCA President, and Management are providing an opportunity for residents and owners to have discussions with the KFCA Leadership and Management in an informal setting. These are not formal meetings, so the entire BOT will not be present, and no board decisions will be made. There will be 1 or 2 members of the BOT, the KFCA President, and the General Manager and/or management staff present. The format is a 1-hour open forum to allow a free-flowing dialogue of various topics presented by the attendees. However, depending on the number of participants, the format may be adjusted.
This event will be held in person at the Community Center (300 Saddle Ridge Circle). Management will place notices in the Chronicle (when dates are known in advance) and included in Management’s Friday email blasts. However, you are always welcome to schedule an appointment with the General Manager (management@kingfarm.org) or the President (president@kingfarm.org).
If you have questions, please email management@kingfarm.org.
City & County Updates:
Post-Christmas ‘Tree-tment’: An At-Home Way to Recycle Holiday Trees:
- Curbside Collection: Rockville collects Christmas trees as part of its recycling collection. Place trees at the curb for pickup on regular recycling and trash collection days after removing all ornaments and metals, wires, stands and decorations, including tinsel.
- Trees should not be bagged. There is no deadline for curbside collection of trees. https://rockvillereports.com/post-christmas-tree-tment-an-at-home-way-to-recycle-holiday-trees/
- Repurposing Your Tree: While the Montgomery County Recycling Center, which formerly converted the trees into mulch, no longer offers this service, the county recommends recycling branches and needles at home by using them as ground cover under trees and shrubs or by chopping them up and adding them to a compost pile.
- Artificial Trees: Artificial trees cannot be recycled and should be placed in the gray trash cart for regular weekly collection.
- Artificial trees that are too large to fit in the cart can be collected by appointment as one of six bulk collections allowed per year or taken to the transfer station. For bulk-waste disposal information, visit www.rockvillemd.gov/bulkwaste.
King Farm Neighbors Village News (KFNV)
KFNV Solicitation: King Farm Neighbors Village Seeking New Members for Board of Directors
The King Farm Neighbors Village (KFNV) seeks individuals to serve as members of the Board of Directors. The Board is a volunteer managing entity for the KFNV and works to develop, implement, and sustain activities that support the KFNV mission to help King Farm residents who would like to remain in their homes throughout their lives and age in place. The KFNV coordinates services such as friendly visits, check-in phone calls, social events, health and safety events and transportation.
Board members must be residents of King Farm and members of the KFNV. We are seeking individuals who are interested in the KFNV and its mission, who have experience germane to serving on the KFNV Board, and who are willing to commit a level of effort necessary to complete the duties of a KFNV Board member. Term of service for Board members is two years, beginning at the Annual Meeting held in April of each year.
If you are interested in joining the KFNV Board, please send a statement of interest and a brief bio to kfnvinfo@gmail.com. For more information about the KFNV see the website at www.kfnv.org.
KFNV EVENTS:
For the first King (KFNV) Coffee and Conversation of 2023, participants on Wednesday, January 18, 2023 engaged in a lively discussion with memories of their favorite childhood winter activity.
- On Thursday, January 26, 2023 from 4:00-5:15 pm, KFNV will host its monthly highlight presentation, Brain Health Is for All Ages! by Maureen Charlton, Director of Memory Support Services and Programming at Ingleside at King Farm. The KFNV invites all members of the King Farm Community to this interactive discussion as we explore the concept of brain health. Learn some evidence-based strategies and practical tools to boost your brain health. *You do not have to be a KFNV member to participate in this event.
**Please note that the KFNV has changed its monthly Movie Club, Book Club, Coffee and Conversation gatherings and highlight events to in-person meetings and has reserved the King Farm Community Center, 300 Saddle Ridge Circle, Rockville, MD 20850 for these events. In accordance with the policy adopted by the KFNV Board of Directors, people attending KFNV sponsored, in-person events must be vaccinated per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID recommendations. Wearing a mask is optional. In case of inclement weather and if there is time to notify participants, the KFNV may opt for a Zoom presentation for any meeting or event. Therefore, the KFNV will not be offering a hybrid option for any future events. Finally, the KFNV offers transportation to many of its monthly events for KFNV members. Please contact the Operations Coordinator at kfnvinfo@gmail.com, or leave a voicemail at (301) 799-8104 to arrange for transportation.
Services
The KFNV community services are in full-swing with KFNV services such as transportation to appointments and simple household chores being the most popular services. As one grateful recipient of transportation to an appointment raved:
- “Thank you for this information. It’s heartwarming that so many King Farm folks volunteer to help. My experience with (the KFNV Volunteer) was lovely. She arrived on time and got me to my appointment promptly. And we agreed I’d text her when my appointment concluded. She arrived soon thereafter and got me home directly. Beyond that, it was a delight to meet and start to get to know (the KFNV Volunteer) I look forward to meeting her again.”
Please feel free to avail yourself of this service as well as any of the following KFNV community services:
- Simple household tasks
- Friendly phone calls
- Transportation to appointments
- Friendly visits
*Please note that services are open to KFNV members only; however, membership is free and an easy process. See below on how to contact the KFNV to schedule any of the services or with any questions that you may have about the services as well as how to become a KFNV member.
Contacting the KFNV
For most of the KFNV monthly events as well as the services, membership is required; but membership is as easy as filling out an on-line or mail-in form with residency in the King Farm Community being the only membership requirement.
Although there is no fee to become a KFNV member, the KFNV does, however, accept. and welcome donations; for these donations help defray the cost of KFNV services and events.
For information on how to register for any of the above events, to request a service or a ride, to become a KFNV member, or to make a donation, please contact the Operations Coordinator by calling (301) 799-8104 or leaving a voicemail, or view the KFNV website at www.kfnv.org.
RCPD News Report: January 10, 2023 to January 17, 2023
Click here to read the Weekly Crime Report courtesy of the Rockville City Police Department.
If you have a crime or concern to report, please contact the Rockville City Police Department at:
Non-Emergency: 240-314-8900
Emergency: 9-1-1
2 W. Montgomery Ave, Rockville, Maryland 20850
IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING!
RCPD Crime Tips: BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE HUMAN TRAFFICKING
January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, a time to rekindle our efforts against forced labor and the commercial sex trade of millions of men, women, and children. You can help simply by learning some possible signs of human trafficking:
- Human trafficking victims can be anywhere, but particularly at restaurants, elder care centers, salons and spas, agricultural fields, hotels, and construction sites.
- You may learn that victims are living with their employer, living with multiple others in cramped or poor conditions, or may have their employer holding their identity documents.
- You may not be allowed to speak to a potential victim alone, or their answers appear scripted or rehearsed.
You can always report a tip to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888. Learn about human trafficking on the U.S. Department of State’s website by clicking here.
Ways to Help and Other resources:
https://www.state.gov/20-ways-you-can-help-fight-human-trafficking/
National Human Trafficking Hotline – 1-888-373-7888
- Meet with and/or write to your local, state, and federal elected officials to let them know you care about combating human trafficking and ask what they are doing to address it.
- Learn the indicators of human trafficking on the TIP Office’s website or by taking a training.
- Parents and Caregivers: Learn how human traffickers often target and recruit youth and who to turn to for help in potentially dangerous situations. Host community conversations with parent teacher associations, law enforcement, schools, and community members regarding safeguarding children in your community.
- Youth: Learn how to recognize traffickers’ recruitment tactics , how to safely navigate out of a suspicious or uncomfortable situations, and how to reach out for help at any time.