Olde Mill Village Crier

Volume 38,  Number  5 /  May 2008

President’s Message

   I would like to let everyone know that we are in the process of having the parking lot at Barlowe Field / Olde Mill Swim Club repaved. As I am writing this they are hoping to begin laying the asphalt. This will be a big improvement and should spruce the area up.
   We are also going to have work done at the basketball courts. VOMCA, with assistance from Friends of Olde Mill (FOOM), has made a commitment to resurface two areas for basketball. In order to get the whole court area done it would have run about $10,000. If anyone would like to make a tax-deductible donation and have it earmarked for the courts, please send it to Friends of Olde Mill (FOOM). By going through FOOM, your contribution is tax-deductible.
   The Olde Mill Carnival will run from June 4-7. Keep an eye out on the VOMCA web site, www.VOMCA.org, for the times. We are hoping to make this event successful. I am going to talk with John Tilden and see if we will be able to use our web site to sell pre-sale tickets by using PayPal. This event really helps VOMCA, the Olde Mill Swim Club, and Friends of Olde Mill. We need the support of the greater Olde Mill families to help us by attending. If you don’t have kids, think of maybe purchasing a ticket or two for a family that would like to attend. This is the biggest income for the community and allows us to maintain property at Barlowe Field and the Olde Mill Swim Club.
   Please remember if you have not yet turned in the 2008 dues for the Olde Mill Swim Club to do so right away. (I still have to get mine to you, Don!) Also remember that the swim club has swim lessons and the Torpedoes Swim Team. It’s a great way for the kids to spend the summer. 
   I could not attend the last meeting because of work. I would like to thank Rick Behringer for stepping in for me and running the meeting. The minutes from the meeting will be posted on our web site. I would also like to thank Rick for getting information on having the wading pool resurfaced. This will happen soon and will be ready for the opening of the pool season.
   May 17 will be the day for the Olde Mill Yard Sale. I would like to thank Sarah Hakulin for getting all the advertising in the local papers. Remember to get your things out in your front yard that morning.
   Hope to see many of you at the next VOMCA General Meeting, 7 p.m. on May 7, at Old Mill High School.
   —Tom Stag, President

 
Olde Mill Communitywide Yard Sale on May 17

    On Saturday, May 17, Olde Mill will hold its communitywide yard sale. Participation is voluntary. Advertising will be in the Pennysaver, the Maryland Gazette, and the online Village Crier. Just set up in your driveway or front yard.
   There will also be a car wash and a hot dog concession stand at Barlowe Field that day, sponsored by the Olde Mill Swim Club. Contact Sarah at 987-1239 if there are any questions.

Please print out and complete this form, indicating the names of all members of your household who are 18 or more years old, and mail it together with one check for $15.00, payable to VOMCA, to VOMCA Membership, P.O. Box 366, Millersville, MD 21108.  Your membership card(s) will be mailed to you.  You can also pay using PayPal by going to www.vomca.org.

Names of Adults in Household: ____________________________________________

                                                      ____________________________________________

Street Address: _________________________________________________________

Phone Number:_________________________________________ (Unlisted?_______)

Email: ______________________________________________________________

Note:  The Crier is now electronic and you can read it by going to the VOMCA website at www.vomca.org  or signing up for email delivery at that site.

Minutes of VOMCA April 2, 2008 Meeting

A resident on Lanny Road stopped in to say the children are being very good on his street. Resident on Lanny Road also complained about a neighbor who has planted bamboo in his yard and it has caused a problem in the yards of the neighbors. The neighbor mentioned a number of snakes coming out of the bamboo. The bamboo is approximately 40 feet high. It’s been growing for about 10 years. Resident suggested that bamboo be banned in the community.

Pool

Pool meeting held on Monday 3/31/08. The pool would like to do the following things for the community:

- Discussion about contract w/ pool company and things that the pool is not receiving from the company.

- Carnival: concerned about location of carnival because the pool will be open also.

- Discussion about sponsorship signs to be placed on pool fence was discussed again. Forms should be uniform so it looks nice.

- A $1,000.00 water bill came in due to the water line break. Rick is going to call the water company to discuss a credit.

- The water company will credit the Community Pool for a beginning of the season “fill”.

FOOM

Donations are still coming in for the playground, from the Dec. 2007 flyer inserted in the Crier. $38.00 was donated during the Easter Egg Hunt to VOMCA.

$7,463.01 in FOOM checking

$33,466.71 in Pool account

$45,950.00 invoice for state to complete the blacktop work

$7,250.84 in savings

$9,767.55 left over in the VOMCA account once the parking lot is completed.

$4,200.00 to pave two parts of the basketball area. Approx. 60 ft. will not be repaved at this time. This is a reduced price since the contractor will already be here. It was suggested that FOOM and the Pool donate towards having the entire basketball area paved. We are estimating that the total cost would be approx. $8,000.00.

   Rick will ask the paving company if they will do the whole area for $7,500.00 or less. Mike Hakulin will consult with the other FOOM Board Members to see if they will agree to make up the difference we need.  The Pool could give $1,500.00 that was “missed” on the budget.

   A suggestion was made to ask the contractor to make a donation to FOOM, so they can write off their donation. Site Development Management (SDM) is the contractor.

   VOMCA is willing to allow the contractor to post their advertisement on the basketball courts and at the pool. SDM can even make a tax-deductible donation to FOOM after the fact.

   A paint party would be put together to paint the fence around the basketball court.

A suggestion was made to have a basketball shooting contest to help raise money for the paving.

   A motion was made and passed to spend $4,200.00 on a partial paving of the basketball courts.

   A second motion was made and accepted to spend up to $8,000 for paving the entire basketball courts, if FOOM agrees to contribute the difference needed. A suggestion was made to get hoops donated from our local sports stores. Another suggestion: Put a sign with hours permitted to use the basketball courts.

Membership

119 families currently joined VOMCA in 2008. Don Owens will be sending out a mailer in April or May and offered to include VOMCA membership flyer with his mailing. Sarah Hakulin will e-mail a membership flyer to Don Owens.

   A community neighbor made a comment that she would not take her small child to the playground because of the older children that “hang out” at the playground. Rick has and will continue to approach the children who use bad language. The teenagers have moved across the street, closer to the townhomes, near the transformer at times also.

   Maryland Dept. of Agriculture will be spraying the community for mosquitoes. They spray between March and September. We have a couple of sediment ponds in the community that have a real problem. The spraying will be done in the evening. A truck will spray the chemicals. The chemicals are not harmful to pets. If you do not want your home sprayed, please send e-mail to board@vomca.org. No date has yet been set. We will be notified before the date.

   PNC Bank had an ad in the newspaper for grants to low- to moderate-income communities. $80,000 has already been given. Sarah will contact PNC to see if our community qualifies. She will submit an application if possible.

   Sarah is also following up on another grant she has made an application for. Sarah will include a message in the next Crier to ask the community neighbors to write a letter to help support our request for the one-time grant.

   Paving for the pool parking lot will begin the week of April 7, 2008. The flower box was temporarily moved so that the Boy Scouts can re-do it. Motion was made to have a sign posted at the pool parking lot to state NO PARKING from ___ - ____.  We will ask ABC Towing to provide the sign. The motion was accepted.

   A discussion was brought up about the traffic problems at the corner of Veterans Hwy. and Old Mill Blvd. A curb was suggested on the south side of the intersection of Veterans Hwy. VOMCA asked for the curb in the past and a traffic study was done but Mr. Horky never shared the study/report with VOMCA. They just scrapped the study.

   A motion was made to have VOMCA write a formal letter to Texaco to close the entrance/exit on Old Mill Blvd. and Veterans Hwy. The motion was tabled for now until VOMCA has a chance to speak to Brenda Reiber in the County Executive’s office (our community liaison). The corner is dangerous and cars are cutting through the Texaco station to and from Veterans Hwy.

   —Respectfully submitted by Charlene Stammer-Connery

 
Olde Mill Softball League Still Has Room For Players
   The Olde Mill Adult Slow Pitch Softball League continues to invite all adults living in Olde Mill to join in on the Sunday softball fun league. The league started in 1976, so we have begun our 33rd year of fun and games. We play at Barlowe Field, next to the pool off of Chalet Drive in Olde Mill (located behind the 7-11 on Old Mill Rd.). This is a community recreation league which is competitive, but not at the tournament caliber. We play on Sundays—except holidays—but we do play on Father’s Day. The season which started in mid-April ends with a double-elimination tournament in August. Doubleheaders for each team are played throughout the day starting at 9 a.m. and ending around 6 p.m.
   We strongly encourage players, families, friends, and relatives to join us throughout the day. There is a playground next to field for our young guests.
   If you are an individual and wish to join a team, but do not have any contacts, then you should call Ed Dahling at 410-925-4194 and he will put you in touch with a team that is looking for additional players.
   Our league is not affiliated with the county or any other sanctioning organization. We use the NSA rules with USSSA bat list. We have a few exceptions to NSA rules, such as: We allow four home runs per game; unlimited lineup (everyone gets to play and bat) with a minimum of 8 to field a team; we allow courtesy runners; and there is no automatic out for less than 10 batters.
   —Ed Dahling