Below you will find a letter from Connie O’Dell describing the agenda for the next Mayor’s Night Out:

Monday, August 1, 2016 at Mayor’s Night Out, our guest speaker will be Kathy Clune. Kathy has stepped up and volunteered to spearhead efforts to organize a Chesapeake Beach Neighborhood Watch Program. Kathy is working diligently to recruit Chesapeake Beach residents to become involved in this worthy organization. She will present her ideas to the community at Mayor’s Night Out and has already been actively recruiting interested residents who attend the North Beach Farmer’s Market on Friday evenings. Kathy was invited to join in at the North Beach Neighborhood Watch Booth.

Mayor’s Night Out is held the first Monday of each month at 7 PM at Chesapeake Beach Town Hall. Mayor’s Night Out is informal with an open forum; there is no agenda and light refreshments are served. Please pass this information along to each of your residents and remember to join us on August 1, 2016.

Regards,

Connie S. O’Dell
Utility Billing Administrator
Community Development/Special Events
Town of Chesapeake Beach, MD
410-257-2230
Fax 443-964-5449
301-938-4061 (Cell)
[email protected]

The Calvert County Health Department has asked that beach visitors take precautions when entering the Chesapeake Bay. Vibrio and Shewanella Algae infections can occur in the waters of the bay and its tributaries. For more information, see this PDF file – vibrio and shewanella 2016.  You can also click here to be redirected to the Calvert County Health Department’s website.

An interactive map of current water quality status is also available here.

Flag Day
Flag Day is June 14. Please display your flag proudly and appropriately.  For proper procedures regarding flying the flag go to http://www.legion.org/flag/code one one of many suitable sites.

Using Our Small, Enjoyable  Beach

Summer is in full swing, and many of you, and your guests, will be taking advantage of our waterfront amenities — everyone living in the community has equal rights to the use of the beach and other common grounds.  However,  as we are a diverse community consisting of different age groups, genders, and cultures, use of the beach varies.  Some of us have children, some have pets; we enjoy a variety of pastimes — fishing, finding shells, getting a tan, sitting, boating and sports.  Therefore we need and have rules and tips for our safety and to maintain peace and harmony in the community.

CSHOA Beach Rules & Tips:

• Swim at your own risk.  No lifeguard is on duty at our beach.
• Water quality – enter the water at your own risk.  The Chesapeake Station beach water quality is monitored as part of the Maryland Healthy Beaches program and results are posted at: www.calverthealth.org/community/environmentalhealthservices/Beaches/beachmap.htm.  We advise that you visit the site prior to entering the water to help ensure the safety of you and your loved ones.  Nevertheless monitoring is not done on a daily basis, so even when the site indicates water status “OK”, it may not reflect the most current conditions. Experts suggest avoiding the water if you have open cuts or sores.  For more information on flesh eating bacteria, visit these links:  www.wjla.com/articles/2014/08/health-officials-in-calvert-county-warn-of-flesh-eating-bacteria-risk-in-chesapeake-bay-105773.html  or  www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/06/29/the-frightening-rise-of-flesh-eating-bacteria-mystery-pain-and-amputations/?tid=trending_strip_2
• Bonfires, campfires and open flames are not allowed in the Town of Chesapeake Beach including our beach.

• Leave nothing behind except your foot prints and your pet’s paw print.  Please take everything you bring to the beach back home with you, especially trash and pet waste. Failure to bag pet waste has become a recurring problem throughout the community.  Many infractions happen when non-residents walk their dogs and do not clean up after them.  If you see this happen, speak to the owner or take a photo of the owner and dog(s).
• Pets must remain on leash at all times.  It is a County and Town law, as well as, the safe and considerate thing to do.
• Fishing is not permitted from the sand beach area where lost tackle would present a hazard to barefoot beach goers.  Fishing is allowed along the rocky berm bordering the bay with appropriate fishing licenses.  However please stay at least 20 yards from the sand beach while fishing.
• Illegal, suspicious or dangerous activity should be reported to the Sheriff’s Office.  Depending on the circumstances, call 911 or the Sheriff’s non-emergency number (410-535-2800). Please do not call Board members to report such activity and expect him or her to take action.  This would be unsafe.  Likewise, don’t put yourself in a potentially dangerous situation by confronting people engaged in these activities. That’s the job of law enforcement. It is your job to call the police/sheriff to report such activity.  Don’t tell a neighbor and expect them to do the calling!

(While the CSHOA Board has no policing authority, we do ask that you notify us if you do call law enforcement so that we can track trends in the neighborhood, follow-up with officials as appropriate, and keep community members informed of ongoing issues, as needed).

• The beach is for the use and enjoyment of all CSHOA members and residents, and their guests. There are 108 homes in Chesapeake Station. Factoring in members, residents, their families and guests there could easily be 400-500 people who may use our common grounds, including the beach, each summer season!  So it is likely that you will see new faces at the beach on occasion.
• Potential trespassers. It is not the responsibility of HOA members and residents to confront potential trespassers directly. If you are concerned about a potential trespasser engaged in an illegal, suspicious or dangerous activity, call law enforcement. If you see a new face at the beach, or using other common grounds, and are concerned about trespassing and wish to inquire, then please treat them as a neighbor first and a potential trespasser second because they may have just as much right to be there as you do. Don’t rush over and blurt out – “This is a private property.  Do you live here?”  It does not create a pleasant conversational dynamic, regardless of intentions. In fact, it will probably lead to a verbal confrontation.  Instead, greet them in friendly manner.  For example, use a more open approach and say something like: “Hi, my name is Bob and I live over in Arcade Court.  I haven’t seen you at the beach before; are you new to the neighborhood?  I like to take every opportunity to get to know my neighbors in the community better. . .”  Chances are, with a more open approach like this, they will be more likely to reciprocate and provide you with their name and affiliation to the neighborhood.  If, after attempting to engage in friendly conversation, you find that they are evasive or confrontational leading you to believe that they are trespassing, then go home and call the sheriff’s office and report it.  If they admit to not belonging in the neighborhood, then politely let them know it is a private beach. You can also give them directions to the nearest public beaches.  Again if they become belligerent or argumentative, don’t try to force them to leave; go home and call law enforcement.
• Keep your car and house locked at night or when you are away.

1st of July Fireworks Celebration at Chesapeake Beach
Chesapeake Beach will have fireworks on July 1.  Please note this change in date.

• To ensure emergency vehicles can access the neighborhood on the first, C Street will once again be closed to all traffic without a CSHOA parking sticker or July 1st parking pass. Off duty police officers have been hired to control neighborhood access starting at each end of “C” Street, at 4 pm.  At 9 pm these police will begin patrolling the neighborhood to provide crowd control and to stem the use of illegal fireworks.
• CSHOA Parking passes for the 1st of July are limited to three per household.  Please do not ask for more.  If your group has more than three vehicles, ask them to carpool or park at the school and walk over.  If you forget to get passes for your guest, you will need to go to one of the police corners and wait for your guest’s vehicle to arrive.  Avoid getting frustrated on the 1st because you forgot to get your passes.  They are available through Charlie Pritchard, 301-855-4170
•  While we expect a fun and orderly celebration on the third, please report any illegal, disorderly, suspicious or dangerous activities conducted on HOA property directly to the Calvert County Sheriff’s office via 911 or the non-emergency number (410-535-2800).  As always, also notify the CSHOA Board at your earliest convenience if you do call law enforcement, so that we can track trends in the neighborhood, follow-up with officials as appropriate, and keep community  members informed of ongoing issues, as needed.

From the Town – 

• Traffic Plan for Twin Beaches on July 1st

The Town’s Fireworks Over the Bay will be held on Friday, July 1, 2016 with a rain date of Sunday, July 3, 2016. NOTE THE CHANGE OF DATES FOR THE FIREWORKS. This event date has been changed to accommodate the weekend dates of the Independence Day Holiday in 2016.

BGE is sponsoring a series of Independence Day celebrations across its central Maryland service territory. Events will include parades, fairs and fireworks displays in several counties and communities including Chesapeake Beach (MD). The company is also a sponsor of the popular Fourth of July celebration at Baltimore City’s Inner Harbor. For more information, click here .

Traffic Plan for Twin Beaches on July 1:

• The traffic plan is set up to eliminate all left hand turns on a portion of Route 261 going through the Twin Beaches, eliminating the need to stop traffic randomly and enabling traffic to flow with minimal stopping.
• The centerline of Route 261 will be blocked with delineation devices that will prohibit vehicles from making U-turns.
• Traffic north of Route 260 along Route 261 on the east side of Route 261 must make right turns and exit left on 5th Street to Boyd’s Turn Road to Route 260.
• Traffic on the west side of Route 261 must make a right turn and exit on 27th Street to G Street to Route 260.
• Traffic south of Route 260 along Route 261 on the east side of Route 261 must make a right turn and must turn left onto Route 260.
• Traffic on the west side of Route 261 must turn right and continue along Route 261 to Summer City Blvd or continue south to Ponds Wood Road and proceed to Maryland Route 4.
• This Traffic Plan will be instituted around the time of the start of Fireworks.

EXPECT TRAFFIC DELAYS!!

The above Traffic Plan will be instituted around the time of the start of Fireworks on July 1st.

Please share this newsletter with a neighbor who do not use the internet.

CSHOA Board

President, Keith Pardieck

Vice President, Paul Doherty

Sec., Elizabeth Henderson

Trea, Roland Schlehuber

Member at large, Charlie Pritchard

Committee Chairpersons:

Grounds:  Pam Johnson

Architectural:  Penny Schmidt

Beach Advisory: Ed Solkowski

Social Committee:  Charlie Pritchard, Heidi Daniels, Penny Schmidt