June 21, 2022 Board Minutes
River Hill Board of Directors
Meeting Minutes
June 21, 2022
Opening (Agenda Item 2):
Mr. Levine called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The meeting was hybrid held in person at Claret Hall and virtually via Zoom. The following members attended: Kevin Bruening, Jim Kirk, Matthew Levine, Janet Munro, and Jian Ni. Renee DuBois, Village Manager and Eric Greenberg, Columbia Council Representative were present. The following guests attended the meeting: Kevin Smole, Bryan Garrard, Micaela (last name unknown), and Jennifer Lynott.
Approval of the (Agenda Item 3):
Mr. Levine made a motion to approve the agenda, striking the review of the May 24,2022 minutes. Mr. Bruening seconded the motion. The motion passed by unanimous consent.
Announcement of Executive Session(s) Held/To Be Held (Agenda Item 4A):
None held.
Appointment of new member to the Board of Directors (Agenda Item 4C):
Mr. Ni made a motion to appoint Jim Kirk to the vacant seat on the Board of Directors for the term through April 30, 2023. Mr. Levine seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Resident Speak Out (Agenda Item 5)
Mr. Bryan Garrard of Morning Time Lane spoke about his concerns related to the increasing level of noise coming from heavy trucks and cars speeding/drag racing on Route 32 and the surrounding area. The noise often occurs late at night and is disturbing. Mr. Garrard also mentioned the reserved parking at the River Hill Square shopping center by Blowfish Poke using cones to only allow modified cars access to the parking spaces.
Ms. Munro made a motion to add “drag racing” to the agenda under new business. Mr. Levine seconded the motion. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Mr. Levine indicated that he had reached out to the owner of Blowfish Poke and had not received a response.
Suggestions included asking State Highway Administration (SHA) to conduct another sound study since the last one was done about 10 years ago. Another idea was to circulate a community petition asking residents to support sound barriers.
Old Business
FY2023 Budget (Agenda Item 6A):
Ms. DuBois discussed the increased number of private rentals at Claret Hall resulting in the need for additional staff. Ms. DuBois proposed increasing the payroll to hire additional Facility Assistants to work the private events and an office administrator for approximately 24 hours per week.
Ms. DuBois recommended the review and restructuring of Board members’ jobs/duties, committee involvement and an examination of document concerns. RHCA’s attorney will be revising and updating documents.
Mr. Levine made a motion to approve the budget with the data supplied in the requested format utilized by Columbia Association. Mr. Greenberg seconded the motion. The motion passed by unanimous consent.
Mr. Levine made a motion to approve work with legal counsel for the necessary document updates. The motion passed with unanimous consent.
Discussion occurred relating to Columbia Association proposing the inclusion of 2019 expenses in the Schedule to Compute Cash Reserves Limitation.
Mr. Levine made a motion to approve a letter to Columbia Association from the Board of Directors about this matter. Ms. Munro seconded the motion. The motion passed with unanimous consent.
New Business
Complaint Against Village Manager (Agenda Item 7A):
Mr. John Mayotte, River Hill resident, expressed his dissatisfaction with the lack of maintenance at the River Hill Village Center, particularly the former Ruby Tuesday restaurant site. Howard Hughes Corporation is responsible for covenant enforcement over the Village Center (not Columbia Association and not River Hill Community Association). Discussion of advocacy for the River Hill community included recommendations to provide Kimco contact information in the Villager and on the River Hill website for residents to call for covenant enforcement issues; and to clarify the enforcement responsibilities.
Drag Racing/Modified Car Concerns
Ms. Munro expressed concerns about the need for HCPD and elected officials to begin addressing the loud car noise and dangerous racing that is occurring in the area.
Mr. Levine made a motion that the Board of Directors request the attendance of local dignitaries (County Executive Calvin Ball, County Council members Deb Jung and David Yungmann), and Howard County Police Department representatives at a meeting to be announced to the community for the purpose of sharing concerns and determining ways to address the noise and safety concerns. Ms. Munro seconded the motion. The motion passed with unanimous consent.
Development Advisory Committee Liaison (Agenda Item 8Ai):
None.
Traffic & Safety Committee (Agenda Item 8Aii):
None.
Watershed Advisory Committee (Agenda Item 8Aiii):
None.
Sound Barrier Liaison (Agenda Item 8Aiv):
Ms. Munro stated that sound barriers have been requested to mitigate highway traffic noise in the River Hill community in the past. Ms. Munro attended a Howard County Council Meeting earlier this year where Senator Van Hollen indicated there was additional money available for transportation infrastructure improvements in Maryland. However, State Highway Administration (SHA) highway eligibility requirements do not allow the sound barriers to be installed -the River Hill community is ineligible for noise abatement until Route 32 capacity improvements are initiated since the construction of the highway was approved (1989) prior to the construction of the homes in the community.
Village Manager (Agenda Item 8B):
Ms. DuBois’ report was incorporated into Old Business and New Business agenda items relating to the FY23 Budget.
Columbia Council Representative (Agenda Item 8C):
Mr. Greenberg reported that Columbia Association is performing work at Lake Elkhorn.
Board Chairperson (Agenda Item 8D):
Mr. Levine welcomed new Board member Jim Kirk.
Board Speak Out (Agenda Item 10):
Ms. Munro stated that she plans to hold “Coffee & Conversation” informal meetups at the Bagel Bin this fall.
Adjournment (Agenda Item 11):
At 8:57 p.m., Mr. Levine made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Munro seconded the motion. The motion passed with unanimous consent.