Planning Archive

5-24-2011

Voting Closed

Friends and neighbors,

The recent vote to select a general direction for the bath house and pool on Mohican’s master plan is now closed. It will take a few days for the mail to arrive so we can tally any votes sent via the postal service. I will announce official results as soon as I can. The preliminary results are presented below.

I am very excited about voter turnout. We received well in excess of 200 votes and I believe that may be a record for recent decades. Please write back if I’m wrong about that. Thanks to everyone who voted. For those of you who did not, please get involved. (Did you know that voting is compulsory in Australia and most of South America?) The process will be most successful when everyone participates.

Please stay tuned for announcements regarding next steps.
Thanks,

–Dave Charlton
President, MSPA

Preliminary Results

	Pool			Bath House
	Total	%		Total	%
Option 1	53	23.3%	Option 1	82	35.7%
Option 2	129	56.8%	Option 2	126	54.8%
Option 3	45	19.8%	Option 3	22	9.6%
Total	227	100.0%	Total	230	100.0%

As a reminder, the pool options were:

Option 1: Replace the pool with another 6 lane pool and make only necessary modifications to bring the pool up to code. (This would include expanding the diving well, separating the middle pool, adding a zero entry to the baby pool, fixing the drainage and replacing the deck and filter room.)

Option 2: Replace the pool with an 8 lane pool and make other necessary modifications to bring the pool up to code. (This would include expanding the diving well, separating the middle pool, adding a zero entry to the baby pool, fixing the drainage and replacing the deck and filter room.)

Option 3: Hold off on replacing the main pool as long as possible, and replace with a 6 lane pool which will meet code. In addition add a separate 3 lane lap pool on the back of the property to address crowding in the main pool.

The bath house options were:

Option 1: Refurbish the existing bath house. This option would refurbish the existing bath house to meet ADA and code requirements to the greatest extent possible. Based on the work of our architect it is not possible to meet all code requirements without removing the snack bar. However, it is possible to meet enough requirements to meet the ADA and current pool codes. The refurbished bath house could include either the elevator or the ramp. The ramp is at least as expensive as the elevator option and may be higher.

Option 2: Replace the bath house with a new summer bath house. This option would replace the bath house with a structure which is approximately 25% larger. The larger structure would meet all code requirements for the current and replaced pool. It would be moved out towards the parking lot on the slope and would include space for a new filter room under the main facility.

Option 3: Replace the bath house with a year-round facility including an additional room for meetings. The main floor would fit the footprint of option 2 above, but an additional second story would be added to accommodate the meeting room. Again the new structure would meet all code requirements and it would be moved out towards the parking lot to take advantage of the slope.

4-7-2011

Master Planning Update

Second Listening Session: April 12th, 7:30 pm, Little Falls Library

The design committee has reserved the meeting room at the Little Falls Library on Tuesday, April 12th at 7:30 pm for a second listening session. The charter for the design committee is to present a range of options for the future of the facility which encompasses all the input received from the membership. As with the previous listening session, this meeting will be one of the best opportunities to share your thoughts on options and priorities for enhancing and maintaining Mohican.

If you cannot attend, please contact one of committee members to share your ideas via email or perhaps to arrange a phone call or an alternate meeting. The members of the committee and their email addresses are:

Rick Hall (Chair) – rhall[AT]g4analytics.com
Elizabeth Redisch – Elizabeth.Redisch[AT]verizon.net
Chris White – chris[AT]3zs.us
Karen Kreutzberg – Kreutzberg6[AT]yahoo.com
Judy Lentz – jdlentz[AT]verizon.net
Sue Silverstein – sue[AT]tristateinc.net

I hope you can make it.

–Dave Charlton

3-29-2011

Master Planning Update – Listening Session

The design committee has reserved the meeting room at the Little Falls Library on Thursday, March 31 at 7:30 pm for the planned listening session. The charter for the design committee is to present a range of options for the future of the facility which encompasses all the input received from the membership. This meeting will be one of the best opportunities to share your thoughts on options and priorities for enhancing and maintaining Mohican.

Rick Hall (Chair) – rhall[_at_]g4analytics.com
Elizabeth Redisch – Elizabeth.Redisch[_at_]verizon.net
Chris White – chris[_at_]3zs.us
Karen Kreutzberg – Kreutzberg6[_at_]yahoo.com
Judy Lentz – jdlentz[_at_]verizon.net
Sue Silverstein – sue[_at_]tristateinc.net

I hope you can make it.

–Dave Charlton

Please visit the Master Planning Process page for regular updates.

In a vote that conclude on March 11th, the membership decided to move forward with a Master Planning Process to develop specific options for the near- and long-term maintenance and enhancement of our facility. A committee was established to solicit membership input, to work with outside consultants, and to perform the work necessary to develop options.

We will be using this web page in conjunction with occasional mailings to keep the membership informed of the activities of the committee.

3-22-2011 Update

Mohican Members –

As a follow up to the recent vote to proceed with the Master Planning Process, Dave Charlton has appointed the members of the design committee. We have had our first planning meeting, and I wanted to share with you the members of the committee and our activity from the first meeting.

The following individuals have been asked to participate in the design committee:

Elizabeth Redisch – Elizabeth.Redisch[_AT_]verizon.net
Chris White – chris[_AT_]3zs.us
Karen Kreutzberg – Kreutzberg6[_AT_]yahoo.com
Judy Lentz – jdlentz[_AT_]verizon.net
Sue Silverstein – sue[_AT_]tristateinc.net

On short notice Elizabeth, Chris, and Karen were able to make the first meeting at my house on Thursday evening, March 17. As a team we built a set of action items and they have all volunteered to be a conduit for questions and information as we proceed. So, in that regard I encourage everyone to reach out to the committee with questions or comments.

In our first meeting we did the following:

Review the charter of the Master Planning Process
Build a schedule of activity to prepare alternatives for the membership
Assign activities to each of us in the team

To reiterate our discussion of the charter for the team. We have all agreed that our goal is to present a range of options which encompass all the input we receive from the membership. This input will come from the discussions we have had to date, active member outreach over the coming month, and the member survey which is being initiated as a result of the recent membership meeting. (One of our members – Fred Yang – is a pollster for Peter Hart Research and he is working with the board on a survey to be initiated in early April.)

Member Input – Listening Session

One of the first items on the agenda of the committee was to schedule a member listening session to gather additional feedback for input into the plan. The current date for the meeting is Thursday, March 31st at 8:00 pm. We do not yet have a location but please check back for regular updates. We encourage anyone with thoughts on the process to please come and share with us.

Coming out of the meeting we also agreed to the following activities and assignments:

Elizabeth Redisch has agreed to take on the research assignment of gathering and publishing our requirements in regard to disability access under the American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA). If you know of any professionals in this space please pass them on to Elizabeth. She will be working to gather the requirements that would apply to us and the conditions under which they would apply.
Chris White has agreed to take the lead in member outreach. He will be working with Dave Charlton to identify groups of members who have specific feedback which we can incorporate into the process. I encourage you to contact him with your thoughts.
Karen Kreutzberg has agreed to take on the task of understanding our options with the property. This includes getting a firm understanding on the possibility of selling our extra lots and also understanding what is available in terms of additional space (parking etc.) As Sue Silverstein did a great deal of research on this topic during the bath house planning, Karen will work with Sue to assemble what we know already.
Sue Silverstein has been working on the bath house design alternatives as many of you know. She and I met with the architects Brad Mellor (who has been working with us on bath house alternatives) and Dave Almy (who we have engaged on the overall Master Plan). As a result of that meeting we are working on a process to outline alternatives for the bath house for the membership.
I (Rick Hall) have taken on the process of understanding the health and lifespan of the pool. In that regard we are conducting a wide set of research. We are working with three pool specialists and engineers to get a detailed test of our own pool, and we are also gathering input from our pool contractor (Chuck Montrie) who also works for Montgomery County Parks and Planning and oversees many pool projects.

As a team we are also working with the Mohican board including Rick Calder and Susan Brooks who helped to initiate the master planning process and will also be involved in member outreach. Moving forward Dave Charlton has also set up a new section of our web site where we will publish all the information we obtain for member review.

While this was just our first meeting, I think we are off to a good start. We will not be meeting next week, but will regroup in preparation for the April 31st session. In the mean time feel free to reach out to us with additional comments or questions.

Thanks for everyone’s input,

Rick

Richard Hall
Mohican Board

[updated 3-15-2011]

Mohican Members –

As many of you know I have volunteered to chair the Master Planning Design Committee recently initiated by the Mohican Board. This process was kicked off at the recent membership meeting with a presentation and a vote on a process to move forward. While the final voting will not be completed until this Friday, I wanted to share a few thoughts on the process we have envisioned.

[3-15-2011 Update: Balloting is closed and the membership voted to support the process.]

First, to reiterate the goals of the planning process:

The Master Planning process has been initiated to put all the discussions about additional upgrades to our facility into the context of a complete vision for our facility and a plan – including both funding and phasing – to carry it out. The process has been initiated around two committees:

Design Committee – focused on the physical design of our facility
Finance Committee – focused on capital funding strategies to carry out our chosen direction

The process will consist of two major phases leading up to a final member vote at by the membership at the summer kick off meeting. The first phase will be designed around developing options for our facility which will be put to an initial set of votes by the membership in a design review meeting April 30th. Generally our design options will be in three categories:

Bath House – options for improving and maintaining the bath house.
Grounds – options for both the deck and surrounding grounds.
Pool – options for the pool itself

We will build a range of options in each of these areas along with the estimated cost of each option. The output of the design meeting will be the selected option(s) which will then be developed into detailed plans and funding mechanisms for a full member vote at the summer kick-off.

The design options will be developed by the Design Committee consisting of five members from the pool and chaired by myself. Dave Charlton (Pool President) will make the final appointments to the committee after the closing of voting on the process this Friday. Several of you have already volunteered. However, Dave is still looking for volunteers (or nominations), and I encourage anyone who has time and energy to help to let Dave know your interest.

Regardless of who is appointed to the committee, we are committed to running the process in an open manner and to utilize all the input we are given in formulating our design options. Our intent is to incorporate all reasonable ideas into at least one of the options we present to the membership. To that end we are seeking your input through the following means:

We will hold at least one open design session to gather ideas. (This will be a listening session.)
I will make my email (rhall@g4analytics.com) available to everyone, and I commit to share all input with the committee and to answer every request.
Based on input at the recent member meeting, the board has recommitted to surveying the membership directly. This will be conducted during the design phase.
The design committee will agree to come to the home of any member who wants to hold an informal “Master Plan Coffee” as long as the member agrees to invite at least 3 other members. (We will need to hold these sessions at a time which is mutually convenient.)

As we gather input we will put it into four categories:

Design Goals – something we want the master plan to achieve.
Design Proposals – specific design options for meeting one or more design goals
Phasing Strategy – will outline options for implementing the plan in any number of phases over the coming year(s).
Financing Options – input into mechanisms for financing the master plan. (This input will be directed to the finance committee.)

Current Input and Options

Towards the end of starting the open discussion, I also wanted to share the input we gathered in the preliminary discussions and from the work that has been done to date around the Bath House. This information is in no way intended as a comprehensive discussion, but as a means of sharing our starting point.

Design Goals:

While it may be that not all our design goals are achievable, a number have already been put forth in the discussions to date. As indicated above we will seek to incorporate all of these goals into at least one of the options we put to the vote of the membership. Design goals that have been expressed to date include the following (in no particular order).

Improve Access to the Bath House and Pool. (This is sometimes expressed as “ADA Compliance.”)
- Provide for Handicap access.
- Improve access for families with strollers.
Improve the Bath House fixtures and facilities. (Update – Remove “Grunge Factor.”)
Extend Pool Life – (Current condition and aging are under investigation.)
- Evaluate and Fix Leak
- Evaluate condition of pool body.
- Evaluate condition of pool equipment – filters etc.
Expand Pool / add Lanes – (Accommodate growing usage from Swim Team, Lap Swimmers, 50 Mile Club, Mermaids etc.)
Bring the Pool Up to Current Standards (We are grandfathered into several areas which we will have to change if we upgrade the pool.)
- Reconfigure the Depth and Slope of the Diving Well.
- Increase the Distance Between the Large and Medium Pools.
- Alter Drainage – (We currently drain into the ravine.)
Improve Flow and Seating on Deck
Improve Parking
Improve Emergency Access – currently through back gate.
Minimize Member Funding Requirements (Of course there are trade-offs between the level of funding and how we achieve other goals.)

As you review this list please feel free to share with us any additional design ideas for consideration.

Design Options

To date these ideas have led to a number of design options. Flushing out these options and adding others based on the input we receive will be the primary activity of the design committee.

Bath House

Currently we have three primary options which have been developed, and it is clear from the membership meeting that we need to develop at least one more alternative.

New two story Bath House with additional meeting room.
New single story Bath House with modest upgrades.
New basic single story Bath House
Refurbish old Bath House (This option has been previously ruled out due to accessibility constraints, but it will be developed further as a full alternative.)

Grounds

There are a few initial ideas for the grounds on the table. More will follow.

Extend Deck with retaining wall and additional suspended decking on downhill side. (This could both add seating and space for the pool. It would require retaining walls downhill of pool.)
Build seating into hill uphill of pool.
Turn Bath House 90 degrees to open up deck space .
Lower Elevation of Deck – approx 7 feet. (As an alternative to downhill retaining walls and more suspended decking, this could open up more footprint, and reduce requirements for an elevator.)
Add Parking in back.

Pool

Generally the ideas for the pool fall into three categories to date.

Maintain the pool with minimal investment.
Refurbish and expand existing pool.
Replace pool and expand.
- Add Lanes
- Expand Diving Well
- Expand Middle Pool

As indicated above these are only preliminary ideas and options. We are looking for everyone’s input into the process as we proceed. In keeping with this process, I will start to schedule open sessions for member input as soon as the Design Committee is fully established. I hope to conduct the first open meeting next week (Wednesday or Thursday evening) for anyone who would like to provide initial input. In the mean time I appreciate all the input and support I have already been given, and I look forward to our developing plan.

Rick