<div>Just to put this out there. I have been verbal and made my stance known that I was oppose to this. I was sent a letter from Park and Planning 2 months ago and I respond back to them in letter form which is what they ask me to do. I was not informed from the council after seeing them in person before the meeting that I could speak at the work session meeting last week. I thought the council talked with each other and discussed what they were hearing from the neighbors and how they felt about this.</div>
<div>I was not told at the July 2nd meeting that I could speak, I went in to say I was opposed before the meeting to my council representative and I was told it would be tabled. No mention by anyone that I could speak that night. I know it still needs to go to the county and I will continue (if informed) to let people know that I am opposed. I do not think its fair as I reached out several times to my council members to meet and discuss. Yes we are all busy but in the time period I found out about this I have an ailing father in law who I had to move to New York and have been having to go and be by his side several times in the past 2 months.I would like it known as soon as I was informed of this I spoke up.I just wanted to stand up and say I don't think it is fair to point out that I was not trying to follow through with this.I have responded as quickly as I could as I am not as well versed in this process.I thought I would have been given information but I have to ask the questions and then they give me information but again I don't always know what questions to ask. I'm learning and much more aware people that know you are opposed to a position don't always keep you informed or don't necessarily want to give all information.I always will respect my friends and neighbors opinion's even if we disagree on an issue .I only hope my friends and neighbors grant me the same.<br>
<br></div><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Sep 3, 2012 at 11:44 PM, Alan K. Thompson <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:akthompson@riverdaleparkmd.gov" target="_blank">akthompson@riverdaleparkmd.gov</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;padding-left:1ex;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);border-left-width:1px;border-left-style:solid" class="gmail_quote"><div><b style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:medium"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Last week, on August 27th, at the Town Council's work session, the council chambers were filled by more than 30 people who came to speak on the issue of expanding the Little Workers of the Sacred Heart Nursery. A petition supporting the expansion, with more than 200 signatures, was delivered to the Council. In addition, eight people spoke at the microphone, discussing the decades-long history of the nuns and the nursery school in our town, the high quality of education at the school, the compassion of the nuns for both children and parents, the fact that the low-cost and high quality care provided by the nuns was essential to them keeping their jobs and paying rent, and, above all, about the fact that the demand for spaces in the school far exceeded the spaces available. My younger son turned 10 this year, so it's been a few years since I needed a nursery school, but I remember well that even the expensive schools had long waiting lists.</span><br>
<span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><br><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">To provide some history on the project to date, we on the council first heard about the plans last winter, when a request for two curb cuts to allow the circular driveway was brought before the council. Our Chief of Police and members of his department reviewed the current traffic situation at the school, evaluated the sketched-out design, and told us that it would significantly improve both public safety and traffic flow at the site. Knowing that we would have further input on the design, we approved the curb cuts so the Nursery could finalize the design (they wanted to know that they wouldn't be wasting resources on a design that had no chance of approval).</span><br>
<span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><br><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">In early June, legally-required letters were sent to all adjacent residents notifying them of "pre-filing" for the modification of the current zoning exception to increase the number of allowed students from 25 to 30 (State licensing requirements currently limit them to 20 students because of space limitations - the plans included increasing the size of the building and improving the current architectural presentation of the building). At the Council's work session on June 18, representatives of the Nursery asked the Town Council to provide a letter of support for the project. Having received no response to the letters from neighbors, and believing that the Nursery had an excellent relationship with their neighbors (and having heard from a representative of the Nursery that he had discussed it with all neighbors and had not heard any opposition), I prepared a letter and brought it to the Town Council's July 2 Legislative meeting. Ten minutes before the meeting was to start, a neighbor to the Nursery approached me and expressed her strong opposition to the project.</span><br>
<span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><br><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I knew then that even though this was simply a letter of support, that it was important for me to directly determine the neighbors’ support for the project. I told the opposed neighbor that I would remove it from the agenda for the July meeting and that I needed to discuss her objections with her. When I made the motion to amend the agenda as presented, I told my fellow members of the Town Council that I had heard of opposition to the project, and needed to talk to the neighbors before bringing it up to a vote. The opposed neighbor was in the audience at that time, though she did not stay at the meeting long enough to publicly speak about her opposition, as she had told me she would just before the meeting.</span><br>
<span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><br><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Since that meeting I have met with or left a letter (requesting feedback) for all of the neighbors I think will be affected by the changes, and found that a large majority are in support of the project. I met most recently, just last Friday, with the neighbor who approached me at the July 2 meeting and her husband. (In addition to the letter I hand-delivered to her house, I had been actively trying to arrange a meeting with her for over two weeks, and had told her at least a few days in advance of the August 27 work session that we would be discussing it on that evening; neither she nor her husband were able to attend. We are busy people, and were not able to arrange a mutually agreeable meeting time until August 31st. She did provide me, around August 24, a letter she had written to the County Planning Board describing her objections to the project in great detail. Her husband registered his feelings on the TownTalk listserve after our conversation on August 31st.) </span><br>
<span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><br><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">So now we are nearing this month's Legislative Meeting, and a decision on whether to send a letter of support is again on the agenda for tomorrow night's meeting.</span><br>
<span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><br><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The Town Council is a representative body, and I feel that especially in cases like this we should provide an opinion that reflects the opinions of our residents. As I stated earlier, the immediate neighbors support it by a large majority, though a few do oppose it. All feedback from the rest of the community - including those who have contacted me in response to recent postings on this list - have been in favor of it. I plan to introduce a letter of support at tomorrow night's meeting, but include in that letter the concerns of the opposed neighbors in hopes that they can be at least partially addressed as the plans move through the formal County/MNCPPC process. Because the plans are subject to change during that process, I have reserved the right of the Council to alter that support if the plans do change, or our concerns are not addressed.</span><br>
<span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><br><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I am more than happy to receive feedback. Please call me, send e-mail, or attend Tuesday evening's meeting (8 pm, Riverdale Park Town Hall, 5008 Queensbury) if you have thoughts.</span><br>
<span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><br><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Alan Thompson</span><br>
<span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ward 2 Town Council Representative, Town of Riverdale Park</span><br><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><br>
<span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><br></b></div>
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<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div><strong><font color="#006600">I’ve a Chesapeake Heart<br>And a Caribbean Soul…</font></strong></div>
<div><strong><font color="#006600"></font></strong> </div>
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<div style="border:currentColor;text-align:left;overflow:hidden;text-decoration:none;background-color:transparent"><span><strong><font color="#6600cc">There are two primary choices in life:</font></strong></span></div>
<div style="border:currentColor;text-align:left;overflow:hidden;text-decoration:none;background-color:transparent"><span><strong><font color="#6600cc">To accept conditions as they exist, </font></strong></span></div>
<div style="border:currentColor;text-align:left;overflow:hidden;text-decoration:none;background-color:transparent"><strong><font color="#6600cc"><span>Or accept the responsibility for changing them.</span> <br>Denis Waitly<br>
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