Early Voting in Primary Elections Starts April 14

Early voting locations can be found on the web page of Howard County's Board of Elections.

You can vote at any early voting location in the county where you live from Thursday, April 14, 2016 through Thursday, April 21, 2016 from 10 am until 8 pm.

Any registered voter can vote in the non-partisan School Board elections. To vote in the Presidential Primaries, you must be a registered member of that party.

The schedule for the 2016 Election Cycle:

Primary Election:

• Early Voting: Thursday, April 14, 2016 through Thursday, April 21, 2016 from 10 am until 8 pm. 
• Primaries Election Day: Tuesday, April 26, 2016 from 7 am to 8 pm

General Election:

• Early Voting: Thursday, October 27, 2016 through Thursday, November 3, 2016 from 8 am until 8 pm.
• 2016 Presidential Election Day: Tuesday, November 8, 2016 from 7 am to 8 pm

Autumn Walk Spring Clean Up Has Begun!

The weather may have transitioned directly from Winter to Summer, but the Autumn Walk Spring Clean-Up under our landscaping contract began today!

The first stage focused on trimming the Common Area bushes, and then re-edging all of the mulched beds, including in front of private homes.

The final step will add weed control to the flower beds, and then a new layer of mulch.

As a reminder, replacing mulch which has washed away the rest of the year is the homeowner's responsibility for the private flower beds in front of your home. The re-mulching only occurs under the HOA contract once per year in the Spring.

Also, trimming of the shrubs in your private flower beds, and weeding as well, is also the homeowner's responsibility.

Howard County Board of Education Candidates in North Laurel on April 5th

Come meet the candidates!

It may surprise you to learn that because school systems in Maryland are set up to be largely independent, the School Boards have direct authority over the schools, not the elected County Government officials.

On Tuesday, April 5, 2016 at 6:30 PM, the Southern Howard County Civic Association (SHCCA) will bring together the candidates for the upcoming Howard County Board of Education elections in an open forum at North Laurel Community Center (NLCC).

There are eleven candidates for the three openings for 4-year terms on the Board that are up for re-election in the 2016 cycle. The Howard County Board of Education has 7 full Members plus a Student Member (who can vote on all matters except the budget, personnel, or other restricted topics).

The primary election will be held on Tuesday, April 26, 2016. Because the School Board is non-partisan, any registered voter can vote in the primary.

Voters will be asked to select 3 candidates, with the top 6 advancing to the general election on November 8, 2016.

Daylight Savings Time: Sunday, March 13th

Don't forget to "Spring Forward" this weekend!

Daylight Savings Time

Date: Sunday, March 13, 2016
What to Do: Set your clocks forward one hour at 2 AM (unless you want to be late)!

Emerson February 2016 Town Hall Notes

Howard County's Chief of the Traffic Engineering Division was the special guest at Emerson's February 2016 Town Hall on February 22, 2016, attended by approximately 30 residents.

This division, within the Department of Public Works, is responsible for engineering traffic solutions (to include signals and traffic calming) as well as for operational functions such as snow removal on public streets.

 The topics covered that evening:

• Parking problems within Emerson
• Snow removal
• Traffic and speeding issues

The highlights were:

National Electronics Museum (Linthicum Heights, MD)

In a nondescript building near BWI is the National Electronics Museum, incorporated in 1980 primarily as a way to display defense-related electronics from the former Westinghouse (now Northrop Grumman) facility nearby, including airborne radars and a radar for the BOMARC supersonic missile (the first long-range anti-aircraft missile).

By 1983 the museum had its first permanent facility staffed by volunteers, with the first full-time staff hired in 1989. Today it is in a 22,000 square foot facility with outdoor exhibits and meeting spaces.

Inside the Museum

Howard County Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) Overview

On Wednesday, January 13, 2016, the Task Force chartered by Howard County Executive Alan Kittleman to perform the first comprehensive review of the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) will meet in Ellicott City for one of two remaining working meetings.

The Task Force plans to wrap up its discussion in the January 27th meeting two weeks later, with a final meeting on February 10th.

Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) Task Force
Date: Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Time: 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM

So what is APFO, why should you care, and what are the issues being discussed?

What is APFO?

APFO was instituted in 1992 as a mechanism for Howard County to manage growth and the impact of new development on schools and roads.

Howard County did this by controlling the number of housing allocations. Developers are not able to build without housing allocations, and their projects must undergo a review to determine the cost of mitigating the impact on local school capacity and traffic congestion.

Developers have the option to either perform the required improvements themselves or pay into a County fund for that purpose.

(It should be noted that the courts have ruled, however, that the County cannot indefinitely delay development. If developers have housing allocations and the correct zoning for their projects, they can proceed after 4 years even without the improvements.)

Why should you care about APFO?

APFO attempts to establish reasonable thresholds for ensuring that funding is available to increase school and road capacity, to offset the impact of growth from new developments.

These issues have a major effect on quality-of-life issues in our community, especially in a place like Howard County that places high value on its top-performing school system.

What are the APFO issues being discussed?

The questions raised in the review revolve around the scope of what should be included (i.e., should the impact on more than just schools and roads be considered), what are "reasonable" thresholds and criteria, and how often the process should change.

Among the topics expected on tomorrow's agenda are:

Notes: Emerson Town Hall with Council Member Jen Terrasa (Dec. 2015)

Howard County officials were the invited guests at Emerson's December 2015 Town Hall in the Emerson Clubhouse. Featured were:

• Kathleen Donodeo, Transportation Planner in the Howard County Department of Planning and Zoning
• Jen Terrasa,  Howard County Council Member for District 3
• Kate McLeod, Special Assistant to Ms. Terrasa

The primary topics for discussion were transportation issues (including the lack of public transportation in Emerson and traffic), the status of infrastructure improvement local projects (primarily the Stephens Road bridge and sidewalks), school funding, and zoning and development. 

Public Transportation

Cyber Security Preparedness Briefing by the FBI on 1/27/16

Howard County's Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) will be hosting FBI Supervisory Special Agent Daniel Gray on Wednesday, January 27, 2016 in Ellicott City during the second half of their quarterly meeting to speak on the topic of Cyber Security Preparedness.

Mr. Gray is responsible for the management and coordination of all FBI Cyber Investigations for Maryland and Delaware, and was formerly the Assistant Section Chief of FBI Cyber Division’s former Cyber National Security Section.

To sign up, go to the LEPC EventBrite page: http://howardcountylepc.eventbrite.com/

Topic: "Cyber Security Preparedness: Best practices for individuals, and businesses to meet escalating cyber threats” with FBI Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) Daniel Gray

Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2016
Time: 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM (the first hour will have brief outs from Howard County agencies, and the second hour will be Mr. Gray's presentation)

Location: 

Roger Carter Community Center
3000 Milltowne Drive
Ellicott City, MD 21043

Web Site: howardcountylepc.eventbrite.com

---

Full Description from the Event Page:

Howard County Zoning Director Meets Community in North Laurel (Dec. 2015)

Howard County's new Director of the Department of Planning and Zoning (DPZ) Valdis Lazdins was the primary speaker at the December 1, 2015 open forum of the Southern Howard County Civic Association (SHCCA) in North Laurel, MD.

Howard County's DPZ has a very large effect on many of the quality of life issues in our area, to include the potential redevelopment of Route 1.

They manage the zoning regulations in Howard County, and review developer proposals for their impact upon schools, the environment and congestion (traffic).

DPZ's Approach to Development in Howard County

Mr. Lazdins spoke about his philosophy for the zoning process and his belief that engagement with the community was essential for successful outcomes.

He stated that any community will always be going through a constant state of change, and that there are three components to creating great design that is a good fit for Howard County:

1. Preserve: Identify the the things that the community values, and that you want to write zoning regulations to keep
2. Enhance: This is more difficult, as you have to define what it means -- housing? streets? sidewalks?
3. Transform: The toughest part, especially if an area hasn't hit bottom yet where it has become clear to everyone that radical change is needed

Mr. Lazdins cited his broad and diverse background, including in the public sector (Chief of Special Projects for Montgomery County, and City Planner for Grand Rapids, MI) and as a partner in a professional planning firm (with other partners from the Rouse Company in Howard County) where he worked on projects across the country, to include the 3-year effort to replace the Woodrow Wilson Bridge outside of DC.

After listening to several residents express their concerns, he stated that it was clear to him that the Route 1 Corridor needs more attention in the 2016 DPZ work plan presently being put together.

Assessment of the DC-MD-VA Region

Frozen Fest at Robinson Nature Center (Columbia, MD)

Howard County's Robinson Nature Center will be hosting Frozen Fest on Sunday, January 24, 2016 from 1 PM to 4:30 PM.

This kid-oriented activity will focus on the science of "cold" activities, with expected events including how to make ice cream, guided Winter Nature Walks, frozen experiments, and presentations on how cold-blooded animals survive winter without being able to generate their own heat.

Frozen Fest

Date: Sunday, January 24, 2016
Time: 1 PM - 4:30 PM
Cost: $7 for Robinson Annual Pass holders; $10 General Admission; Under 3 years old - FREE

Robinson Nature Center
6692 Cedar Lane
Columbia, MD 21044
410-313-0400

http://www.howardcountymd.gov/robinsonnaturecenter.htm

Activities for 2016 Frozen Fest:

Autumn Walk Leaf Removal

We received an inquiry last month about the status of the Autumn Walk leaf removal service, so here's the response from our contractor:

We have been out to the property several times since leaf season began in October. We were there on or around October 8th & the 20th, November 3rd and again on the 16th. We are pretty much finished for the season and will get any late falling leaves cleaned up when we do the Spring Clean-Up on the property.

If you have leaves still caught in the bushes of your private flowerbeds, you'll need to remove them yourselves because the service works by blowing the leaves into a large pile, and then mulching them to return them to the soil.

Some of the equipment left stains on driveways in some cases, but those washed away with the rains.

The Return of the Columbia Poinsettia Tree

The Poinsettia Tree is up in The Mall in Columbia -- so the holidays must be here!

For those who don't know the story, when Columbia was founded almost 50 years ago, the Rouse Company wanted to find some kind of signature display to mark the holiday season.

The Poinsettia Tree under construction in The Mall in Columbia

The company's chief horticulturist Leroy J. Brown created a steel structure to hold a multi-tiered series of poinsettia plants of varying heights, along with an elaborate system for watering them.

Emerson Now Has a Facebook Page

Emerson also now has a Facebook Page!

Please "Like" the page to keep up-to-date on events in Emerson, and also to ask and answer questions of your neighbors.

And please also tell all of your friends who live in Emerson to Like the page as well. It will help us build out this great community we live in!

• Emerson Community Home Owners Association on Facebook

Thanksgiving Week Trash Schedule + Yard Trim

Please remember that due to the holiday, recycling collection will be on a "slide" schedule this week.

• Trash collection will be on Tuesday as normal (11/24). 
• Friday's recyclable collection will slide to Saturday (11/28). 

Trash and recycling containers should not be placed on the curb prior to 6 PM the night before a collection date.

Last week Autumn Walk's landscaping contract made a pass through the neighborhood with blowers and a mulching mower for the leaves that have fallen.

Also, when trimming your own bushes, please note that Howard County has changed its policy for yard trim and will no longer allow plastic bags to be used. Our street's transition date is January 1, 2016.

• Howard County Plastic Bag Transition for Yard Trim

Going forward yard trim should be placed in paper bags or bundled with twine.

Happy Thanksgiving!