What to Do With Your Dog During Covid-19

How You Can Enrich Your Dog’s Life During a Time of Self-Isolation

Dog parents may be wondering what they can do during Covid-19 to enrich their dogs’ lives besides walking them. The good news is that many dog-related activities and training classes have moved online. If you have been thinking about taking your dog to a training class, now is a great time to do it. Not only will it give you an activity to occupy your dog, but it also presents you and your dog with a real bonding opportunity.  The age of your dog doesn’t matter, as long as your dog is in good physical shape. (I recently completed a Basic Manners class with my active 10-year old Jack Russell Terrier.)  Taking a training class online with your dog also supports small, local dog training businesses during this economic crisis.

Attend Thursday, April 16th Board Meeting Virtually

As Covid-19 continues to to change how we do things, the GHI Board of Directors is no exception.  GHI’s operations continue despite the pandemic, so the Board of Directors has provided members with the opportunity to attend the GHI Board meeting by joining a Zoom meeting. The information you require to join the meeting is provided in the electronic GHI Newsletter that subscribed members should have received in their email on Monday, April 13, 2020. For members who are not subscribed to the e-News newsletter, call Member Services for the information. Be sure that you are given the Zoom meeting number and the meeting password.

Items on the agenda include:

• Buildings Committee Recommendation re: Regulation of Pest Control Noise Emitting Devices,
• Sustainability Sub-Committee Recommendation re: Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Adjacent to the Administration Building,
• Proposed Asbestos Operating and Management Plan for GHI,
• Update re: Solar PVES for the Administration Building,
• Postponement of the Annual Membership Meeting Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, and
• Should GHI Participate in the Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”), enacted as part of the CARES Act?

 

 

In This Time of Covid-19

In this time of Covid-19, a female comedian sheltering-in-place in NYC admits that she has become infatuated and obsessed with Governor Cuomo, and eagerly awaits his daily news conferences.  A tv co-host shares her virtual social life these days, recounting cocktail parties, movie-watching parties, and virtual celebrations of key life events. My friends recount how much they are enjoying Facetime and Zoom with their grandchildren and other loved ones. Even my canceled SAGE exercise classes have been reborn on Zoom much to my delight. Although I could have done without the experience of being Zoom bombed.

For those who have not heard of the practice of Zoom bombing, it’s when uninvited people decide to crash your Zoom meeting and download pornographic and/or racist images and/or make sexual or racist comments. In the case of my Yoga class, we got hit with all of the above during our closing meditation! Before you give up on Zoom, there are things the host can do to prevent this from happening.  

In Memoriam: GHI Tree Stump Rings Dated

It seems to me that over the last few years, GHI has been forced to remove more larger trees than usual in close proximity to my North End home. A beautiful, large tree in the common area just outside of my garden side yard was one of these larger trees. I am a little sad every time I look out and notice its stump after more than 20 years of watching it grow and mature.

As I was walking my dogs one day, I observed tree removal workmen struggling to remove pieces of what must have been a large tree to a nearby truck. I did not arrive in time to see the tree before they cut it down and removed its limbs.  The circumference of the these tree sections was large enough to make me curious about how large a stump remained, especially as I saw prodigious amounts of sawdust left near the inner walkway. Some workers were still clearing up brush and smaller pieces of wood, and I had to keep moving, so I decided to find the stump another day.

2nd International Co-operative Principle: Democratic Member Control

Introduction

The second international co-operative principle is democratic member control:

“Co-operatives are democratic organisations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting their policies and making decisions. Men and women serving as elected representatives are accountable to the membership. In primary cooperatives members have equal voting rights (one member, one vote) and cooperatives at other levels are also organised in a democratic manner.”*

Since the earliest days of the co-operative movement, democratic member control has been a defining characteristic of co-operatives. From the founding of the first co-operatives, democratic member control applied to all members of the co-operative, which was a very radical idea in the mid-nineteenth century. Even more impressive, this principle applied to women as well.

GHI Board of Directors Requests Member Comments on Three Proposals

Introduction

The GHI Board of Directors has requested member comments on three proposals before the Board. The proposals are briefly explained below with links to PDFs that contain more detailed discussions of each proposal. Member comments should be sent to the manager’s office at 1 Hamilton Place, Greenbelt, MD 20770 by paper or e-mailed to mgmtoffice@ghi.coop. The due dates for each proposal are different, and are provided in each of the summaries below.

Item 1: Catch-up Contributions Paid by Members at the Time their Additions are Enrolled in the Addition Maintenance Program

This request for comments concerns proposed catch-up contributions to be paid when a member enrolls their addition in the GHI Addition Maintenance Program. Comments on this proposal should be submitted by Monday, January 13, 2020. See above for where to send comments.

The Board proposes that with effect from March 1, 2020, members should pay catch-up contributions at the time that their additions are enrolled in the AMP, towards the future repairs of plumbing, electrical, and miscellaneous structural components, and that these rates would increase by 2.5% per year for every year after 2020 [emphasis added]. The AMP task force computed the catch-up contributions based on cost data obtained from an addition maintenance reserve study report that a consultant prepared in 2018.

The PDF containing the table of charges can be found at:

https://www.ghi.coop/content/table-catch-contributions-towards-future-repairs-plumbing-electrical-and-miscellaneous

Item 2: Proposed Revisions to Section X: Improvements and Alternatives to the GHI Member Handbook

While some of the proposed changes are to make the existing regulations clearer and more succinct, these proposed revisions do include substantive changes to existing regulations. Anyone considering adding an addition or other home improvement should read these proposed revisions carefully. Note that there are proposed changes to several of the definitions of terms used in Section X. Comments should be submitted by Friday, February 7, 2020.

The proposed revisions to Section X can be found in a PDF at:

https://www.ghi.coop/content/member-comments-requested-re-proposed-revisions-section-x-improvements-and-alterations-ghi

Item 3: Finance Committee’s Recommendation to Install Doors on 47 Open Garages

This proposal would most directly affect members who currently rent open garages and members who want to rent a closed garage for parking. Comments should be submitted by Friday, February 7, 2020.

At present, there are 277 rental garages (excluding those owned by the Parkway Apartments) within our community. Forty-seven of those garages are open. GHI’s Board of Directors requests that members submit comments regarding the desirability of installing doors on all open garages, as the Finance Committee recently recommended.

To review the basis of the Finance Committee’s recommendation, read the PDF found at:

https://www.ghi.coop/content/member-comments-requested-re-finance-committee%E2%80%99s-recommendation-install-doors-47-open-rental

Member comments should be sent to the manager’s office at 1 Hamilton Place, Greenbelt, MD 20770 by paper or e-mailed to mgmtoffice@ghi.coop.

 

Proposed Move of Bureau of Engraving to BARC : Comment Period Ends Dec. 15, 2019

Many of you may have read the summary of the open house discussion concerning the proposed move of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing’s production facilities to the USDA’s Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) in the December 5, 2019 Greenbelt News Review (this issue is available online as a PDF at https://www.greenbeltnewsreview.com/issues/GNR20191205.pdf).  If you haven’t read it, it provides a good overview of the issue.

This Open House, attended by about 20 Greenbelt residents, was held by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  The Open House included a display of posters that were designed to provide the public with more information about the proposed move and the planning process for the project. Staff were available to answer questions. It is also part of a scoping process, which started with a notice of intent in the Federal Register published November 15, 2019. The scoping process includes a period for public comment which began November 15 and will run through December 15, 2019. Residents are urged to comment. You may comment online, by email, or in writing.  Emails must be sent by 11:59 PM on December 15, 2019. Letters must be postmarked by December 15, 2019.

Highlights of the First GHI Succession Planning and Emergency Backup Planning Task Force Meeting on Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Introduction

The first meeting of the Succession Planning and Emergency Backup Planning Task Force took place on Tuesday, November 5, 2019. The new Task Force is co-chaired by Tom Adams and Amy Odegaard. Stephen Holland and Montrese Hamilton are co-secretaries.

Backgrounds of the Members of the Task Force

Tom Adams is retired and has extensive experience as a non-profit transition and succession consultant. He has lived in GHI for 6 years. Amy Odegaard has experience as a project manager for various government agencies. Frank DeBernardo has fifteen years of experience working with a national non-profit and has participated in succession planning projects. Tim Murray currently advises a foundation on fundraising and has prior experience consulting with non-profits. Montrese Hamilton has experience as an HR generalist and recruiter, HR librarian, and book publishing specialist.

 

GHI Board Treasurer Chuck Hess is also a member of the Task Force. The Board liaison for the Task Force is Stephen Holland. Maesha McNeill is the Staff Liaison.

 

Board Training for 2019-2020 GHI Board of Directors

On Monday, June 10, 2019,  Mr. Joseph Douglas, an attorney with the firm of Whiteford, Taylor and Preston, conducted a training for the 2019-2020 GHI Board of Directors.  Mr. Douglas has more than 30 years of experience working with condominiums, housing cooperatives and planned communities in Maryland and the District of Columbia. The topics that were covered included:

• Board Member Responsibilities,
• Effective Board Meetings and Operations,
• Fiduciary Duties of the Board, Committees and the Manager,
• Reviewing and Amending Governance Documents, and
• General Questions and Answers.

WAGS and Greenbelt Animal Shelter’s Kitten Shower (June 16, 2019, Noon-4 PM)

The Well-Wishers for the Animals in the Greenbelt Shelter (WAGS) and the Greenbelt Animal Shelter are hosting a Kitten Shower at the New Deal Cafe (113 Centerway, Greenbelt, MD) on Sunday, June 16, 2019, 12-4 p.m. Shelter kittens will be the focus of the event which benefits WAGS.

WAGS is a friends organization of the Greenbelt Animal Shelter and a 501(c)(3) organization. The money raised through fundraisers is used by WAGS to pay for shelter animals’ medical expenses and to enrich the shelter environment. For example, WAGS provided the funds and the volunteers to add wooden cubes to the cat rooms so shelter cats would have areas to hide in when they wanted privacy. The cats love them and use them all the time.