New committee members appointed at March Board meeting

by Mike Conroy

Continuing Montgomery Village’s trend for volunteerism in the community, several residents were appointed to committees at the Montgomery Village Foundation (MVF) Board of Directors meeting held on March 23. The regular business meeting preceded the Annual Meeting, which highlighted service in the community.

The Board appointed Clare Conlon (chair), David Cline and Sharon Levine to the Scholarship Committee for 2023. This committee is tasked with reviewing the applications and selecting the MVF Scholarship recipients each year (seniors from Gaithersburg and Watkins Mill high schools). Donations for the scholarship can still be sent to the MVF Office; click here for details.

Additionally, the Board appointed Derrick Douglass to the Architectural Review Board (ARB). Douglass’ design and architecture skills are a great fit for the work the committee does in reviewing applications for exterior modifications.

Other Agenda Items

Several items to maintain facilities and amenities were also approved. Each year, the Recreation and Parks Department seeks bids for pool chemicals for the season. Although prices for some chemicals have risen between 15% and 50% for 2023, Amato Industries remained the low bidder, and the only company that can supply all of the chemical needs for MVF’s pools. The Board awarded a bid not to exceed $65,000 for pool chemicals to Amato. Similarly, Shamrock Service Inc. has a long-standing history with MVF for HVAC maintenance. Shamrock was the low bidder for the preferred preventative maintenance contract, and was awarded a bid not to exceed $19,310 for 3 years.

The Board also reaffirmed a previous e-mail vote to replace the water heater at North Creek Community Center, which had failed earlier in the month. It was replaced quickly to not prevent rescheduling private rentals in the center. PC Godaire was chosen for this work, at a cost of $13,600.

Under recommendation of the MVF Audit Committee, the Board accepted and approved the 2022 Audited Financial Report. Auditors Lydon Fetterolf Corydon gave MVF an unmodified opinion, and found no lapses in internal controls or procedures. The complete audit report can be found online at www.montgomeryvillage.com.

Lastly, the Board approved updated architectural criteria for homeowners seeking to install security devices on the exterior of their homes. Previous criteria were reviewed in January and asked to be clarified before adopting. The rewritten criteria were simplified and now contains illustrations of the acceptable areas devices can be placed on the home. The complete criteria can be found online at www.montgomeryvillage.com.

President’s Remarks

Board President Scott Dyer mentioned the recent passing of former MVF and South Village board member Mark Firley, noting his many years of service and contributions to the community and advocating for the environment. He said Montgomery Village is very fortunate to have many volunteers that contribute to the overall health and wellness of the community.

EVP Report

EVP Dave Humpton reflected on his tenure with MVF, noting this was his last meeting and last Annual Meeting before retirement at the end of the month. He was pleased to say that Assistant EVP Mike Conroy would be taking his place, effective April 1, 2023.

Humpton thanked the Board for the honor of having the new park on the former golf course property named after him. He noted that the first phase of the park was close to being finished, and would include the dog park, walking paths and playground. The next phase would include the community gardens. He also thanked Senator King for her friendship and support of Montgomery Village during his time as EVP.

He also said the Overlook Condominiums in the Village Center (32 units converted to residential) were being marketed, with the first unit settling earlier in the month. Once completed, there will be approximately 100 more units brought online. The units at the Village Center will pay a service fee (similar to the MVF and DU fees) to MVF for use of amenities, but will not be full voting members of MVF; the additional fees are an excellent alternative revenue source to help maintain Village amenities.

Humpton thanked the Montgomery County DEP Tree Montgomery program for the honor of planting the program’s 10,000^th tree at Lake Marion Community Center, noting that the Village has benefitted from the program for many years.

Treasurer’s Report

MVF Treasurer Steve Taylor presented the preliminary report and unaudited estimates for the month ending February 28, 2023, noting that overall, all MVF funds were ahead of budget projections by approximately $454,000. This was driven by higher Revenues in Investment Income ($114,000), grant income ($175,000), Capital Contribution Fees ($10,000), Pool Membership Fees ($15,000) and Camps and Classes ($48,000). He said Personnel and Operating costs were favorable to the budget by $37,000 and $39,000, respectively.

Taylor noted total Revenue was $1.8 million, and Operating Expenses were $1.5 million through February; both were favorable to the budget. He said 161 units had been sold in Bloom Village, making Capital Contribution Fees favorable to the budget by over $10,000 for the month.

It was reported that the Balance Sheet continues to reflect MVF’s strong financial position with over $10.8 million of its assets held in Cash and Investments and over $3.2 million in Undesignated Reserves. Assessment Receivables saw a slight decrease, and the Delinquency Rate for February was reported at 12% (1,619 units), which is lower than both the 9-year average and last year at this time.

Next Meeting

The next MVF Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 23, as a conference call/Zoom meeting. Residents are invited to join the call; full meeting details, the meeting packet and/or participation instructions will be posted online at www.montgomeryvillage.com the week before the meeting.