Happy New Year! In November new officers for the Murray Hill Residents Association were elected. They include Norma Worden, secretary; Peter Sheils, treasurer, and me (Dirk Geratz) as president. The office of vice president is still vacant. If you are interested in serving in this capacity please contact our Nominating Committee chair, Denise Worthen, at dlworthen@gmail.com. I want to thank our outgoing president and vice president. Rick Cooksey served as president for the past year and will replace me as the area representative for Area 2 (upper Murray, Colonial, Morris, and Lafayette between West and Murray). As vice president, Robin Kane offered a lot of enthusiasm to the group and was very supportive in her role. Thank you to you both.

Meeting Plans
I am very honored to have been asked to serve the neighborhood. I am not sure what I have gotten myself into but promise I will do my best to keep MHRA organized and engaged. The Board has already met twice to lay out the course for the coming year. We have set the schedule for meetings through next October. Board and General Membership meetings will convene on alternating second Wednesdays of each month at 7:30 PM in Room 205, Maryland Hall (unless otherwise noted). The full schedule of meetings is posted on our Web site (http://murrayhill.annapolis.com/). I am pleased to announce that Mayor Joshua Cohen (a Murray Hill native) has agreed to be our guest speaker at our general membership meeting on February 10. Please plan to attend.

Goals for 2010
I hope to address or accomplish a few things during my term. These include:
• Increase MHRA’s presence within the neighborhood
• Address traffic and pedestrian concerns through our newly formed Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Committee
• Continue our involvement in the City’s annual Greenscape program
• Continue our involvement with the revitalization of Inner West Street and become more engaged with the Arts District
• Establish a fund-raiser event for a local charity and organize an additional social event for us to enjoy.
We may not be able to accomplish everything in one year but certainly we can establish these as goals to achieve over the course of a few years.

Any Suggestions?
Feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns or if you would like to become involved with MHRA. I can be reach via email at mhra.president@gmail.com. I look forward to meeting many of you at the February 10 General Membership Meeting or on the streets walking with my dog, Chester!

Dirk Geratz

Once again MHRA will participate in GreenScape. This year’s event of cleaning parks and other public green spaces will be held on Saturday, April 17. We are seeking volunteers to help with cleanup and maintenance at one or two of our parks. If you are interested, please contact Environmental Committee chair Bert Buell at albert.buell@gmail.com. This is a great way to improve our neighborhood and to meet your neighbors!

In the current economy, it should not come as a surprise that development activity on Inner West Street is almost at a standstill. Even so, some people are talking with the City’s Planning and Zoning Department about potential projects at four sites: the Leanos house on Westgate Circle, the empty lot next to the old Arundel Rug operation, the Silverstar building and the old Capital/Gazette lot. Of these, only the Capital site has an approved site design plan for a 45'-high retail and condo building. One party floated the idea to convert that project into age-restricted apartments using the approved site plan but nothing has been formally proposed. The remaining sites are initial discussions regarding potential uses and designs. The firmest project we have heard about is a proposal for a 24-hour 7/11 gas station and minimart at the corner of Lafayette and West. That project will require a special exception and such issues as lighting and design elements (to discourage loitering and other nuisance behaviors) will need to be carefully considered. The Land Use Committee will meet as needed if and when any of these proposals gain traction.

If you would like to subscribe to the automated email announcement list for MHRA, send an email to mhra.president@gmail.com with the subject line "subscribe MHRA-Announce".

If you did not renew your dues at the picnic in September, please make plans to renew them at the next membership meeting. Additionally, we have included a membership renewal form and return envelope with this issue of the Monitor. This will also be an opportunity for you to provide us with new or updated emails, which we will add to our email database. We hope to increase electronic communication to all of you.

City Crime

Sign up here to receive Daily Police Activity Report via email

2006-2007 Crime Reports