Welcome to the website of the Aspen Hill Civic Association (AHCA). Aspen Hill is a an unincorporated area in central Montgomery County, Maryland. Apparently its name came from the aspen trees that once were found near the first post office in the area. That post office was located in a general store on what was then known as the Washington-Brookeville Pike (now known as Georgia Avenue) near the intersection of Connecticut Avenue. That was about 1864. It is interesting to note that the current Aspen Hill Post Office is located in almost the exact same position.

The Aspen Hill Civic Association, Inc. (AHCA) as an organization is not quite that old. It was formed about 1980. According to our constitution, the boundaries of the Association includes the region bounded by Georgia Avenue on the east, Bel Pre Road on the north (includes all properties on both sides of Bel Pre Road), to Norbeck Road, to Rock Creek and then to Veirs Mill Road on the west, and to the southern boundary of Matthew Henson State Park, and back over to Georgia Avenue. Aspen Hill also includes the Kensington Volunteer Fire Department Station No. 21. According to the census this area includes 6222 homes and probably about 20,000 people. The subdivisions contained in this area include: Wheaton Woods; English Manor; Harmony Hills; Rock Creek Village; and Rock Creek Valley. The Associations' membership year is from October 1st to September 30th and the dues are $7.00 per person or $12.00 per household.

The AHCA promotes maintaining our community as a clean, beautiful and safe single-family residential area, a nice place to live. We work to keep our members informed about County Housing and other Codes and regulations, and about proposed or actual changes to the County Codes. We also promote member awareness of proposed changes of any kind which the County or State may plan for our area. Major concerns are proposed changes in neighborhood roadway intersections, which are scheduled to occur in the near future. We will do our best to keep our members informed of these things as we find out about them, and we often have County officials present their plans and activities to our meetings, both our monthly Board of Directors meetings as well as the twice yearly General Membership meetings. These meetings are always held at the Aspen Hill Library (on Aspen Hill Road, near Parkland Ave.), in the downstairs meeting room. We will do our best to assure that the concerns of the members will reach the appropriate officials of the County or State. Any resident of the area is cordially invited to attend both the General Membership meetings (March and October), as well as the monthly Board meetings, especially if they have a specific concern they wish to share.

NOTICE: Nominations for the Board of Directors

The October 26, 2009 General Membership Meeting has as one of its major subjects the election of the Aspen Hill Civic Association, Inc. Board of Directors. The Association needs a multi-viewed Board of Directors to properly function. We do not want just one way of looking at things on the Board, but rather, being able to see all points of view of things that affect our Community. Please strongly consider joining the Board. If you feel that you canÕt join, ask around to your neighbors and actively recruit your neighbors. The Community needs all of our help in making Aspen Hill a better place to live.

For volunteering for the Board of Directors and/or for more information about the functions of the Board of Directors, contact me: David Polinsky, Phone: 301-460-4874, Email: DAP1049@COMCAST.NET

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2008-2009 Board of Directors

Below is a list showing the current members of the Board of Directors for the Aspen Hill Civic Association for the 2008-2009 year. If you would like to know more about the Association or would like to ask questions or volunteer your help for community activities in the area, please contact one of us further. A representative from your subdivision might be particularly helpful in answering specific questions. Very soon a list of telephone numbers for county service agencies will be added to the web site, which will provide information on how you can directly contact them for specific problems.

If your subdivision is not represented on the Board, you are especially encouraged to submit your name to be nominated for the Board. In addition, there is no limitation as to the number of representatives from any one subdivision that may be on the Board, so all interested persons are encouraged to apply. Members are elected in the October General membership meeting, which will be held this year on Monday, October 26th, starting at 7:30 PM in the basement of the Aspen Hill Library. Please attend and support your community!

List of current members of the Board of Directors with contact information will be coming shortly.

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A listing of currently scheduled activities for our area is below for your information. If available, contact information is included with the individual announcements. This at least is a start towards development of our new website.

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Activities in the Aspen Hill area

Oct. 17, Sat. - Aspen Hill Community Festival, at Library - 11 AM to 2 PM

Oct. 19, Mon. - Aspen Hill Library Advisory Committee, 7:30 PM

Oct. 26, Mon. - AHCA General Membership Meeting, Aspen Hill Library. 7:30 PM

Nov. 7, Sat. - Friends of Library Meeting, 10:00 AM

Nov. 11, Wed. - Veterans Day, Library Closed (Fly your flag!)

Nov. 14, Sat. - Friends of Library Book Sale, Library, 9 AM to 2 PM

Nov. 23, Mon. - AHCA Board of Directors Meeting, Aspen Hill Library, 7:30 PM

Nov. 26, Thur. - Thanksgiving, Library Closed

Dec. 25, Fri. - Christmas, Library Closed

Dec. 28, Mon. - AHCA Board of Directors Meeting, Aspen Hill Library, 7:30 PM

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NEWS ITEM FROM THE MONTGOMERY GAZETTE by Melissa J. Brachfeld, Gazette

WELCOME SIGN DEMOLISHED - The Aspen Hill Civic Association plans to replace a welcome sign members believe was destroyed by a vehicle this summer. The green and gold sign on Parkland Drive east of Veirs Mill Road touted a friendly "Welcome to Aspen Hill." It was one of two welcome signs in Aspen Hill and was installed by the civic association as a symbol of neighborhood pride in 2000. Alexandra Minckler, president of the civic association, said she thinks the sign was struck in June, but there is no police report on the incident, county police spokeswoman Officer Melanie Brenner said. Residents believe it happened in the middle of the night. Minckler said tire marks were visible in the grass leading up to the sign, which was knocked off one of its posts. Members of the civic association's board of directors had already been discussing replacing the sign before it was hit because it was weathered and showing its age. The sign also sustained damage in December 2000 when vandals broke it into five pieces, but had been repaired by residents. Minckler said she had called the county's Department of Transportation last week and found out the civic association may qualify for matching funds through a county beautification program to replace the sign and do some landscaping around it. Minckler hopes to have it replaced by early fall. "It's good for us to put a good face forward because that is a very visible location," Minckler said. (Staff Writer Margie Hyslop contributed to this report.) (Note by Webmaster: That is the sign shown at the top of this web site!)

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NEWS ITEM FROM THE MONTGOMERY GAZETTE by Melissa J. Brachfeld, Gazette

CIVIC ASSOCIATION WANTS TO HELP CLEAN UP PET CEMETERY - The civic association hopes to pitch in and help save the buildings in Aspin Hill Memorial Park from demolition. "It's silly for something of that size and interest to languish," civic group president Alexandra Minckler said. Members of the board have long been concerned about the fate of the storied pet and people cemetery, where dozens of people and thousands of animals, including some celebrity pets, are buried. The Montgomery County Humane Society took over the deed to the cemetery in 2007 in exchange for agreeing to care for the property and put it to good use, but still has not come up with a definitive plan to rehabilitate it. The group has also been hampered by a drop in donations estimated at 15 percent. The county condemned the property last year, declaring its building unfit for habitation. The county granted an extension that gives the group until March of next year to make repairs or face demolition of buildings, including a house, which date back to about 1921, when the cemetery was established. JoAnn Hoffman, chairwoman of the Humane Society's board of directors, said Tuesday that the group has been working "diligently" to come up with a plan to fix up the property and hopes to have one in place soon. She added the Humane Society has put together a list of 20 to 30 volunteers, including landscaping companies, to help clean up the property. A crew was out at the cemetery Saturday and more are scheduled to be there over the next few weeks. Minckler said she contacted the Humane Society last week to see if one of its representatives could attend the civic association's Aug. 31 meeting to explain what is happening with the property and how the civic group can help. Hoffman said she had not heard about the invitation, but noted the Humane Society would be "more than happy to attend." Carol S. Petzold, a member of the civic association's board and a former state delegate for District 19, said the pet cemetery is a landmark for Aspen Hill and needs to be preserved. "I certainly don't want to see it disappear," she said. (Staff Writer Margie Hyslop contributed to this report.)

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I hope you have enjoyed visiting the AHCA Website. We will soon have a lot more content and information about our area and things going on in our area. Come back to visit us again soon.

© 2009 AspenHillCivicAssociation, Inc. - All Rights Reserved

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Webmaster(at)AspenHillCivicAssociation.org

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