Budget & Finance Committee Hosts Open Forum on Proposed Budget

By Jennifer Gilmore, General Manager

The 2017 draft budget was mailed to all King Farm homeowners earlier this month. As part of the budget

process the King Farm Citizens Assembly will have an open community forum on Wednesday, September 21, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. to address questions, concerns or is-sues with the draft budget. This forum will be located at the Saddle Ridge Community Center at 300 Saddle Ridge Circle.

The 2017 draft budget reflects a modest increase in dues for 2017. Please note, the King Farm Conservancy (the organization responsible for the shuttle services) is not part of this budget and that fee is not re-flected in the schedule below. The current Conservancy fee is $12.51 per month per single family and townhome unit and $3.13 per apartment unit. This fee is in addition to the fee listed above.

The King Farm Citizens Assembly was able to decrease the community expenses in many categories such as Administration, Payroll, Utilities, Activities, Board Expens-es, Repairs and Maintenance. Unfortu-nately, King Farm ended with a $191,000

budget shortfall for 2015. This was due to the large expenses associated with snow re-moval. It is anticipated we will remain on budget for 2016, however, it is still possible that the year-end numbers may be impacted by further snow removal in November and

December of this year. The past three win-ters have been budget busters for our com-munity and the cost of snow removal has severely impacted the community’s yearly expenses. Even though the snow removal

Bus Stop Buddies Turn to page 2 to see pics of

King Farm kids heading back to school.

Swim A Little Longer The community pools will be open a little longer, see page 4 for the details.

A Novel Idea Check out page 10 to meet the King Farm neighbor who has recently published a novel for young adults.

Lawn Party for A Cause Be sure to turn to page 9 to see photos of the annual National Night Out against crime celebration.

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Volume 16, Issue 8 www.kingfarm.org September 2016

Published by the King Farm Citizens Assembly

By Andrea Escher

We are just days away from the first ever King Farm Brew & BBQ Fest to be held on Saturday, September 17, 2016 from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The wine

lovers have had their fun with the annual Wine Festival, so now we are bringing a

Proposed Modest Fee Increase For 2017 MonthlyAssessment

Budget & Finance Committee Hosts Open Forum on Proposed Budget

The 2017 proposed KFCA fees are as follows: 2017

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Proposed

Single Family/Townhomes $83.49 $83.49 $83.49 $86.83 $91.17 $100.29

Condo’s $62.62 $62.62 $62.62 $65.13 $68.39 $75.30

Apartments $20.87 $20.87 $20.87 $21.71 $22.80 $25.08

King Farm Fall Festival Returns September 25

BRew FeST Continues on page 12...

BudgeT Continues on page 7...

By Andrea Escher

Mark your calendars, the King Farm Fall Festival will return later this month on Sunday, September 25, 2016 from 12:00

p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Saddle Ridge Community Center lawn area and surrounding streets of Saddle Ridge Circle. The Fall Festival will feature plenty of free activities for neighbors and visitors of all ages. Enjoy a horse-drawn hayride around Saddle Ridge Circle, moonbounces, and obstacles course inflatables for all ages, a corn maze, the return of scarecrow making, pumpkin decorating, a live pet-ting zoo and new this year, cider pressing!

This year’s event will feature some of our fa-vorite food trucks and local food vendors selling their tasty festival foods. There is sure to be some-thing for everyone to enjoy. All food and beverage purchases will require a fee, so be sure to bring your wallet and support the food vendors. We will also welcome back Dogfish Head Alehouse to the Festival this year, our 2016 beer vendor spon-

FALL FeST Continues on page 6...

Come out and enjoy an afternoon of fall fun right here in King Farm with the 10th annual Fall Festival!

Photo Courtesy: Kathy McKee - Story Images

Buy Your Tickets Now for the

2 King Farm Chronicle September 2016

It seems like summer just started, the pools were opening and the kids were throwing the backpacks in the closet

ready for a few months of freedom. But summer freedom is over, and school is now back in session. On Monday, Au-gust 29, hundreds of King Farm students headed back to local preschools, private schools, elementary, middle and high schools as the first day of school arrived.

The community bus stops were packed with parents and children snap-ping those official first day back to school photos. The children, with backpacks in tow, boarded the buses and headed off for the start of yet another new school year.

Even though the first day of fall is still a few weeks away, the first day of school symbolically signifies that summer is over. A special thanks to the King Farm fami-lies who shared these great back to school photos!! We hope students of all ages have a safe, success-ful and fun school year.

King Farm Kids Head...

By Andrea Escher

The back to school students at the game Creek bus stop heading out for

the first day of the new school year.

Alaina, Abigail, Samantha and Gillian are all smiles for the first day

of school!

Ready for her sophomore year

at Richard Montgomery,

good luck Alyssa!!

Siblings Brian, Madison and

Lauren heading to the

bus stop.

Cecilia, Sebastian, and Maddie are ready to take on a new school

year.

Noah and Ella rockin the first day of school fashion.

Julianna and Sonny enjoyed their first day of school.

Peace out summer,

Jessica and Kate are ready

for a new school year.

Kate, Mia, Jessica, Ved, Nina and Sophia are bus stop ready for their

ride to school.

Riyaan and Aarav heading out for the start of second and fourth grade!

Look out second and

eighth grade, Kaylee and Leah are on

the way.

Backpack ready for the first day of fourth grade, good

luck Ryan!

It’s back to school time for grace, dori and

Hunter.

It’s first day of school for Isabella – we hope you had a great day!

what a big day for the first day of

kindergarten for little Jeana.

PReSIdeNT’S

CoRNeR

By Gail S

herman,

King Farm Citize

ns

Assembly President

Summer is over, pools will be closing soon, alley aprons and other concrete work is wrapping up, and thoughts

turn to school starting, the release of 2017 budget for the Assembly and preparations for winter snows!

It was an interesting summer to say the least – possibly the highlight of this past summer was the success of our swim team and also our community service effort to

support Terps Against Hunger and packing over 25,000 meals donated to Manna to feed hungry residents of Montgomery County – and again – the support of many swim team kids in this effort. We also sponsored a successful National Night Out attended by many residents to introduce kids to the work of local police, and thanks go out to Montgomery County Police Rockville District who had many of their officers on-site and especially to the line dancing show from our gals and guys in blue!

We had some trying moments as well, the fireworks were a challenge as Gaithersburg cancelled their show due to weather. So many people who may not have come to Rock-

ville did so on roads and streets where parking and traffic may not have been anticipated. We will continue to work with Rockville City Police and their Special Events staff to mitigate issues in the future in an on-going effort to protect King Farm residents. We will always be faced with issues relative to managing a community and do try our best to respond to our residents. You may not always like the answers, they are answers and the Board meetings are always open to citizen concerns. The meeting is held the third Wednesday of the month except for August and December at 7:30 p.m.

The King Farm Farmstead Task Force has finally been appointed by the Mayor and Council and should begin their work soon. King Farm has three representatives on this Task Force and we will ask them to provide updates to the community as their work progresses.

It has been quiet on the development front as well, though now that summer is over, we can expect to see new projects. I will try to keep you updated on those that impact King Farm.

Enjoy the Fall weather and King Farm events, and please drive carefully through the community, it is most important now that kids are going back to school and will be on the streets more during the days.

September 12 King Farm Board of Code Compliance

Meeting, 7:00 p.m. at the Saddle Ridge Community Center, 300 Saddle Ridge Circle.

September 13 Aging in Place in King Farm, 1:00 p.m.

at the Saddle Ridge Community Center, 300 Saddle Ridge Circle.

September 14 King Farm Architectural Design Trust,

7:00 p.m. at the Saddle Ridge Community Center, 300 Saddle Ridge Circle.

September 17 Beer & BBQ Festival, 12:00 p.m. to

6:00 p.m. at the Saddle Ridge Commu-nity Center, 300 Saddle Ridge Circle.

September 20 Bailey’s Commons II Condominium


September 21 Board of Trustees Meeting, 7:30 p.m.

at the Saddle Ridge Community Center, 300 Saddle Ridge Circle.

September 22 King Farm Village Center III Condo-

minium, 7:00 p.m. at the Saddle Ridge Community Center, 300 Saddle Ridge Circle.

September 25 King Farm Fall Festival, 12:00 p.m. to

4:00 p.m. in and around Saddle Ridge Circle.

Deadline for submissions of articles and advertisements for the October King Farm Chronicle. Contact Andrea Escher at [email protected]

September 26 King Farm Condominium Meeting,

7:00 p.m. at the Saddle Ridge Community Center, 300 Saddle Ridge Circle.

September 29Bailey’s Commons Condominium


october 3 King Farm External Affairs Committee


october 10 King Farm Board of Code Compliance


King Farm Calendar of events for SePTeMBeR

To see a full list of events and to interactively download items to your calendar, go to www.kingfarm.org

and click on News and Events, Calendar of Events.

...the highlight of this past summer was the success of our swim team and also our community service effort to support Terps Against Hunger

and packing over 25,000 meals donated to Manna to feed hungry residents of Montgomery County – and again – the support of many

swim team kids in this effort.

September 2016 King Farm Chronicle 3

MANAgeR’S

CoRNeR

By Jennifer G

ilmore,

General Manage

r


Upcoming King Farm Projects Road & Alleyway Repairs

O’Leary Asphalt has completed the re-pair/replacement of the alleyway aprons, The roadway asphalt crack-fil on private streets

will take place in late September to early October. Areas being worked in will be marked and properly blocked off as needed. Please take note of any areas blocked off and plan ac-cordingly when entering and exiting an active work area.

Fall Turf Application On September 13, 14, 15, and 16, Community Landscape Services will be applying a

granular turf fertilizer as well as a spot treatment broadleaf turf application as outlined in our maintenance contract with CLS. Areas treated are the common area curb strips in front of your homes, the pocket park common areas, the main clubhouse, the perimeter com-mon areas and turf along 355. Individual private property is not treated per our contract.

All opt out addresses will be marked with a red & white flag to indicate that area will not be treated. The products used this application are 32-0-0 XCU fertilizer and Q4 broadleaf weed control. These products generally dry on the turf within one hour of the application. CLS complies with Maryland State laws and follows all of the instructions on the labels of the products they apply.

REMINDERS

You can always check for updates and information on community events, projects, meet-ing dates, and the like by visiting the King Farm website at www.kingfarm.org. In addition, the King Farm Facebook page, King Farm Chronicle is a great source of info for all King Farm events. The Chronicle is mailed out to all King Farm homes 10 times during the year as well but to ensure you have the latest info we encourage everyone to make sure they are registered to receive the King Farm e-mail blasts.

Please note messages or comments left on the resident managed Google Listserv and the King Farm Neighbor Facebook page are not typically passed onto the King Farm manage-ment team.

If you have a concern, comment, question or suggestion that you wish to be ad-dressed by the KFCA Mgmt team please contact us directly. You can reach us via e-mail at [email protected], call us at 301-987-0122, or swing by and see us at 300 Saddle Ridge Circle.

Alley LightsRemember to check your alley light on a periodical basis to make sure the bulb has not

burned out or to make sure it is still working. Inspections are done on the alley lights once a month. Last month over 150 Friendly Reminder notices were sent out. Please remember

to check your lights. They should go n at dusk and off at dawn even when you are out of town.

SafetyChildren who are riding bikes or rollerblading also need to be cautious; parents, remind

your kids to slow down at intersections and blind corners and follow the old rule of “look both ways before you cross the street.” Simple safety measures like this will help keep every-one’s recreational activities danger-free.

doggie StationsAs everyone knows it is a law to clean up after your pet but some still do not practice

this rule. There are several Doggie Stations around the community that have bags and a place to dispose of the bags, once you have cleaned up after your pet, to help keep the community pet waste free. Please utilize these dog pots and help keep King Farm a clean environment for all.

Trash and Recycle ContainersRemember to put your trash and recycle containers inside your home or garage on non-

collection days.

TreesWe would also want to remind everyone that trees that are on your property are your

responsibility. As the tree gets older it needs some pruning especially if the branches are hanging over the sidewalk. Resident’s love to take walks throughout the community so please make sure you keep an eye on your trees and prune them as necessary so that people walking don’t need to duck down to walk on the sidewalk.

Should you have any questions regarding the inspection process, please contact us at 301-987-0122 or via e-mail at [email protected].

King Farm Citizens Assembly PresidentGail [email protected]

Board of TrusteesTom Curtis Paul StankusBruce Cox Mel WillisStan Schwartzbart [email protected]

general Manager Jennifer Gilmore301-987-0122 [email protected]

Administrative AssistantLiz Shipe301-987-0122 x1 [email protected]

King Farm Chronicle Staff Editor & Advertising ManagerAndrea Escher [email protected]

Staff writer graphic design Kate Myers Cristina Strigel

Staff PhotographerKathy McKee

The King Farm Chronicle© is the monthly means of communicating information of interest to King Farm residents. The paper is published by the King Farm Citizens Assembly, Inc., which is responsible for the form, content, and policies of the newspaper. The newspaper addresses items of legitimate interest to the citizens of King Farm. It does not espouse any political belief or endorse any product or service. Articles and letters may be edited for length and content. The opinions contained in published letters are not intended to express the opinions of this newspaper. Letters will be published, or not, in the discretion of this newspaper. Writers should include their names, addresses, and telephone numbers, and may include email addresses as well. This newspaper reserves the right not to print letters, or parts of letters, which, in its sole judgment it deems to be inappropriate for publication. Articles relating to either health or finance issues reflect only the views and opinions of the authors and are for informational purposes only. These articles should not be construed as offering medical or financial advice. Neither, the King Farm Chronicle, nor the King Farm Citizens Assembly, Inc. endorse the products or services advertised therein, nor are they responsible for any claims made by the advertisers.

Chronicle

The deadline for submissions for the next edition of the King Farm Chronicle is September 25, 2016.

Pool Hours extended This Month By Andrea Escher

There are only a few nice weekends left before the onset of fall! Soon it will be falling leaves, chilly weather, long pants and coats. The King Farm Pool Commit-

tee and King Farm Citizens Assembly Board of Trustees would like you to enjoy the remainder of summer and the pools for a few extra weeks in September.

The Saddle Ridge and Baileys Commons pools will be open the weekends of Sep-tember 10 and 11 and September 17 and 18. The last day the pools will be open is Sunday, September 18. Due to the Brew & BBQ Fest, the Saddle Ridge pool will be closed on Saturday, September 17, 2016. The Bailey’s Commons pool will be open on that date.

A special thank you to all the residents and the RSV Pool Lifeguard staff for a great pool season!



sor!! So be sure to stop by their booth for a taste of their Fall brews. A special part of the Fall Festival will be the return of the Business Fair. Vendors

will be showcasing their merchandise as well as providing information about their busi-nesses and hosting raffles and prizes at their booths, so be sure to stop by and say hello and thank them for being part of this great community event. The Business Fair will be set up on the Saddle Ridge Community Center lawn.

The majority of Saddle Ridge Circle, Saddle Ridge Lane as well as areas around the Saddle Ridge Community Center will be closed to all traffic. Residents are encouraged to walk to the event or find parking on adjacent streets. Overflow parking will be lo-cated at Safeway in the King Farm Village Center and follow the sign to walk into the event via Thompson Dairy Way.

A special thank you to this year’s event sponsors: Donte’s Boxing Gym, Energy Federal Credit Union, Hair Cuttery, Herson’s Honda & Kia, Ingleside at King Farm, Kick’s Karate, Kiddie Academy, Audrey Romano of Long & Foster, Pet Dominion, Jason Zamoiski of Washington First Mortgage and Verizon Fios.

For more information, a complete schedule of the day’s events and participating lo-cal vendors, please log on to www.kingfarmfallfestival.com.

FALL FeST Continued from page 1...

Activities and events By Andrea Escher

2016 King Farm Calendar of Events SePTeMBeRBBQ & Brew Fest ............................................... 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. ..................... Saturday, September 17Fall Festival .......................................................... 12:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m. .......................... Saturday, September 25

oCToBeRHalloween Adult Happy Hour ........................ 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. ..................... Saturday, October 29Halloween Magic Show & Parade ................... 4:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. ....................... Sunday, October 30

NoVeMBeRWine & Chocolate Happy Hour .................... 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. ..................... Saturday, November 5

deCeMBeRNYC Holiday Bus Trip ....................................... ALL DAY ............................................. Saturday, December 3 Toy Drive Holiday Party .................................. 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ................... Saturday, December 10

Halloween Magic Show & Parade Prepare for some laughs, spooks and surprises as King Farm prepares to celebrate Hal-

loween with a fun-filled magic show with magician Eric Henning on Saturday, October 30, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. at the Saddle Ridge Community Center. This magic show is suitable for children ages 3 and over. Halloween in King Farm would not be complete without the an-nual costume parade around Saddle Ridge Circle. Parents, be sure to bring your cameras as you will definitely want to capture these memories of your costumed cuties. The parade will kick off, weather permitting, in front of the Saddle Ridge Community Center immediately following the show. The parade is for children and parents of all ages!! There is no registra-tion this event. This event is open to King Farm residents only.

we’re Heading to New York City in december Back by popular demand, King Farm is heading to New York City for the holidays for

a day trip! A chartered bus will leave King Farm’s Saddle Ridge Community Center on Saturday, December 3, 2016 at 6:00 a.m. and will arrive in the heart of Rockefeller Center around 10:30 a.m. Residents will then be on their own to see the sights, catch a show, do a little holiday shopping or just find a great place to eat. The bus will leave New York at 8:30 p.m. and will arrive back in King Farm after midnight. The cost to participate in the bus trip is $45.00 per person. To register please e-mail [email protected] for a registration form. Upon receipt of your e-mail, information will be given as to how to pay and secure your seats on the bus. This event is open to all King Farm residents and their non-resident guests. Space is limited to the first 54 people who register and submit their payment. For questions, please e-mail activities@kingfarm. org or call King Farm Activities Director, An-drea Escher at 301-296-6767.

what’s Happening with King Farm Community Service? By Josh Cheatwood

CoAT dRIVe!!! Just an early reminder that we will be doing the King Farm coat drive beginning Oct

21st thru Nov 6th. So as you are doing your post summer and fall sorting and cleaning please put aside all gently used and new winter clothing! There will be collection boxes in the Saddle Ridge Community center. Hats, Gloves, Boots, Jackets, and scarves! Anything and everything will help!

Manna Food warehouse

On the third Saturday of every month we package boxes of food for needy families. Volunteers begin working at 9:00 am and are usually finished by 11:00 am depending on the number of volunteers. The warehouse is located at 9311 Gaither Road, Gaithersburg, MD 20877. This is a great opportunity for graduating seniors to fulfill their service credits! New volunteers are always encouraged.

We have many exciting things coming up this Fall and the rest of the year. Please check back to the chronicle for updates of our going on’s and as always please come to our monthly meetings. All friends and neighbors are encouraged to come and offer any ideas they may have. See you soon! We will be at the King Farm Fall Festival this year handing out goodies and talking about all the great things coming up! [email protected]

By Kate Myers

The King Farm Screamin’ Geese ended the 2016 season with a splash, winning the Division F

Championship Meet on July 23 and earn-ing a spot in Division E next year. While the team started the season on a high note with a win against Franklin Knolls, a four-meet losing streak followed. Expectations were understandably low entering the Divisional Championship Meet, but sev-eral Screamin’ Geese swimmers, includ-

ing Ella Myers, Joyce Wu, Ashton Sun, Jase Ashkin, William Mason and Matthew Nguyen, delivered strong performances to put the team back on top. Following the Divisional win, the team sent ten swim-mers to the Montgomery County Swim League All-Star Relays and Individuals on July 30 and 31: Ashkin, Paul Heister, Mason, Myers, Justin Roh, Kaitlyn Roh, Ashton Sun, Eleanor Sun, Grace Wu and Joyce Wu.

This year’s team was about 15 percent larger than last year with 165 swimmers.

Head coach Ryan Yuen returned for a fourth year, along with assistant coaches Michelle Nguyen, Maura Fries (pre-team head coach), Henri Morel and Matt Nguy-en, who also competed in his last season for the Screamin’ Geese.

While the team’s record was less than stellar, volunteer and philanthropic efforts were exceptional this year, according to Swim Team Board President Tracy Jack-son. During the season, the team held a Swim-A-Thon, raising $1,800 to help de-

fray medical costs for a 13-year-old King Farm resident battling cancer. In addition,

after an early-morning meet, over 30 swim-mers joined members of the King Farm Citizens Assembly and King Farm Com-munity Service for several hours to pack-age food for Terps for Hunger.

Social and team-building events like bowling, laser tag, pep rallies and personal best Fridays, where swimmers are hon-ored for achieving their best times contin-ued to be popular traditions and helped the Screamin’ Geese shake off a string of tough losses.

budget was increased the past three years from $150,000-$350,000 this has simply not been enough to cover the cost of the snow removal.

The 2017 proposed budget reflects raising the snow removal budget line item to $650,000 for 2017. Any funds not used will be re-allocated to a snow remov-al fund to help defray costs in the future. It is important to note we have never had to authorize a special assessment in the community as other communities have for snow removal costs.

Since the community is also nearing 20 years old, more and more signs of aging in-frastructure and landscaping is becoming apparent. Large-scale repairs continue to be made to items such as pavers, streets, alleys, lamp posts, and entrance features as per the reserve study indicates and condi-

tions require. While all of these repairs are funded through the reserves, funding must continue to be done aggressively to ensure for future repairs.

The Committee and the Board of Trust-ees are faced with the challenge of trying to keep the fees down while still providing the same or increased level of services and benefits to our residents. The financial outlook of the community remains posi-tive with a growing reserve fund set aside for major repairs and replacements and de-creased expense categories where possible. The Board encourages the community to not look at this as an increase in our fees but an investment in our community. We invite your thoughts and questions about the draft budget. Please provide any com-ments you may have at the open forum and/or by submitting your comments to [email protected], which will be shared with the Board.

BudgeT Continued from page 1...

Screamin’ Geese Rebound To Capture Divisional Championship

GolDEN GEESE AwARD:Ava Brammer

Mimi Esch Sydney Jackson Rebecca Julka

Justin Roh

MoSt IMpRovED SwIMMERS:Clara Kim

Krish Parikh

CoAChES AwARDS:Ali Julka

William Mason Ella MyersKevin Pan

GRIffIN AShkIN AwARD:Cheryl Liao

on July 23, the Screamin’ geese held its annual end-of-season banquet and awards ceremony, where the following swimmers were honored:

Congratulations to all the swim team members, coaches and parents for another great swim team season.

Here’s looking towards next summer.



By Andrea Escher

On August 18, 2016 Montgomery County Fire and Rescue responded to a call for a car fire in the 800

block of Reserve Champion Drive around 3:30 a.m. Upon arrival, Fire/Rescue dis-covered not one but three cars engulfed in flames. Crews immediately began putting out the fire, while police and fire fighters went door to door evacuating homes.

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Spokesperson Pete Piringer said the cause of the fire continues to be under investiga-

tion, but was initially believed to be acciden-tal in nature caused by a compromised fuel cell in an SUV. The gas from the vehicle ran down the street which then ignited the two other vehicles.

The total damage from the incident is believed to be over $100,000 with more than $5,000 in damage to nearby homes. Several homes exterior shutters and siding was melted off due to the intense heat from the blaze. In addition, the street pavement was badly damaged as well as street trees and grass.

The morning after the fire, King Farm

Citizens Assembly General Manager began the task of working with fire investigators to obtain insurance information and other details to begin the cleanup process. Gilm-ore says she is continuing to work with the insurance adjusters to ensure the street and exterior landscaping is repaired or replaced.

The King Farm Citizens Assembly and King Farm

community extends our thoughts and

prayers to the family of

Daniel Garcia-Beech who passed away on

August 28, 2016.

Cleanup Continues After King Farm Vehicle Fire

Photos Courtesy: Mel Willis

Got nEws? stay in the know

by registering with the new kingfarm.org and receive

weekly e-mail blasts and updates.

By Andrea Escher

The largest crowd in King Farm history came out to celebrate the annual National Night Out Against Crime on Tuesday, August 2 at the Saddle Ridge Community Center. Hundreds of neighbors enjoyed the community “lawn party” complete with

moonbounces, sno-cones, face painting, music and more.

National Night Out is a nation-wide ongoing event designed to help heighten crime awareness, strengthen community spirit and send a message to criminals that communities like King Farm are tak-ing a stand and won’t tolerate criminal activity in the neighborhood.

City of Rockville Mayor Bridgett Newton and City Council Member Beryl Feinberg stopped by to

visit with King Farm residents, along with officers from the Rockville City Police Department and Montgomery County Police Department. Officers displayed police vests and helmets, handed out glo-necklaces and Child ID Kits and posed for picture after picture with neigh-bors.

The event continues to give the opportunity for neigh-bors to meet other neighbors, as well as talk with their local City officials and members of law enforcement.

King Farmers Take a Stand Against Crime at National Night Out Event

Phot

os C

ourte

sy: A

ndre

a Es

cher



variety of Maryland breweries and local BBQ vendors to the community for this inau-gural event!

The Brew & BBQ Fest will offer unlimited beer samplings (included with paid ad-mission), beer sold by the glass and bottle purchases from a variety of Maryland brewer-ies. Come enjoy brews from our friends at: Calvert Brewing Company, Dogfish Head Alehouse, Hellbender Brewing Company, Mad Science Brewing Company, Manor Hill Brewing, and Oliver Brewing Company.

In addition to the brews, several local BBQ vendors will be selling food so be sure to not only come thirsty, but to come hungry as well – Carnivore BBQ, Lil Mack’s BBQ and Villain and Saint will be cooking up a variety of dishes sure to please.

So pack your outdoor chair or blanket and invite your friends to this year’s inaugural event. Tickets to the King Farm Brew & BBQ Fest can be purchased in advance or at the event. Advanced online tickets are $12.00 per person and can be purchased today at www.kingfarmbrewfest.com. Tickets may also be purchased starting at 12:00 p.m. the day of the event for $15.00. Tickets include admission, commemorative beer glass (while supplies last), and unlimited beer samplings. Tickets should only be purchased for those who wish to partake in the beer samplings.

We will also welcome two great bands to the Saddle Ridge Stage, the Kelly Bell Band from 12:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. and Klepto Radio will perform from 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

This event is open to all King Farmers and their guests! Adults ages 21 and over will only be permitted into the sampling area and you will be required to obtain a “tasting” bracelet prior to entrance. The Festival lawn will be open to all ages to enjoy food, sip-ping beverages and listening to the entertainment.

More information is available at www.kingfarmbrewfest.com. For more information about the King Farm Brew & BBQ Fest contact Festival Coordinator Andrea Escher at [email protected].

Special Thank You to Our Sponsors:

BRew FeST Continued from page 1...

By Kate Myers

Brian Bichy’s young adult novel was 20 years in the making, a true la-bor of love born on the commuter

train from Baltimore to Washington, D.C., where Bichy had a clerkship with the Unit-ed Mine Workers of America. As familiar scenery and landmarks whizzed by, Bichy crafted a short story about a young boy and his quest to unseat his academic rival at the school science fair and the metallic blue alien he meets along the way.

When Bichy showed his aunt, a former editor and high school English teacher, what he had written (about 25 pages worth), she urged him to turn it into a novel. Bichy was open to the suggestion but also a bit daunt-ed. Growing up, he wrote stories for fun, pounding them out on an old typewriter he bought at a flea market. But now he had real responsibilities, including a busy legal career, and not a lot of leisure time. Over the next few years he did the best he could, writing before work, late at night and on weekends. “Writing has always been a pas-sion of mine so I tried to make the time,” he says. “Still, it was tough. Some nights I would go hours without being able to write a single page. Or I would write several pag-es, look at them the next day and realize they were terrible.”

That’s when Bichy learned to dig deep and power through the self-doubt and disil-lusionment. “I went to several writing semi-

nars while I was working on the novel, and the published authors always encouraged us to keep writing, even when we felt stuck or discouraged. They told us it’s better to have something on paper—even if it’s horrible—than nothing at all,” says Bichy, who moved to King Farm in 2007.

Once Bichy finished the novel, which he titled The Day I Brought a Blue Alien to Homeroom, he shopped it around to a few larger publishing houses. All passed on it. So the book sat on his hard drive, unpub-lished, for several years while he celebrated other life milestones, like making partner at his Bethesda law firm and the birth of his son. It took his dad’s untimely death in

King Farm Resident Publishes Young Adult Novel

BRIAN BICHY Continues on page 11...

A small group of King Farm residents is working to establish an organiza-tion that would support members of

the community who would like to remain in their homes as long as possible. The or-ganization, is envisioned to be a multi-gen-erational volunteer effort that would make the “aging in place” concept a reality in our community.

The officers and board of directors of the new organization see an opportunity to significantly advance this effort through an application for a City of Rockville match-ing grant for neighborhood initiatives. The application would require the commitment from King Farm residents to carry out mul-tiple activities having the purpose of estab-lishing and developing the organization. The willingness of King Farm residents to contribute to this effort, beyond the small group involved so far, will be essential for being awarded the grant.

One of the most important parts of our grant application will be the list of proposed activities to be implemented over a one-year period, with the names of the volunteers who will implement them. The activities

shown below will be proposed. The dead-line for submission of our application is in early October, and if we are successful, the implementation of activities would begin in November of this year.

Please consider whether you would be willing to volunteer for one of the activities shown below.

Proposed Activities:

1) Design, print and distribute a compre-hensive survey to the entire King Farm Community. Collect and categorize survey responses. 2) Using the survey results, identify services needed and impediments related to aging in place in the King Farm community. Also utilizing the results, establish a network of community volunteers to provide needed services. 3) Begin the development of listings of out-side providers of other services. 4) Write design, print and distribute an in-

formational brochure via various commu-nity communication vehicles.

5) Establish a cooperative working relation-ship with Ingleside at King Farm to develop mutually beneficial opportunities.

6) Establish ongoing coordination and working relationships with local agencies such as Rockville Seniors Inc., Rockville Senior Center, Montgomery County and entities with similar objectives already func-tioning in other communities.

7) Carry out a literature search regarding best approaches to facilitating inter-genera-tional collaboration.

___ I would like to volunteer to be on a team that will implement one of these activities, and am flexible as to the specific activity.

___ I would like to volunteer to be on an implementation team and my preferences would be (please list one, two or three preferences, using the corresponding number of the activity):

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Responses should be provided (positive responses only) no later than September 20 by email to Jim Grueff at [email protected]. Replies can be simply:

“Yes, flexible”or

“Yes, with these preferences (first, second, third choices).”

You may also contact Jim regarding any questions concerning this initiative.

Your consideration of this request is ap-preciated.

2014 for Bichy to summon the drive and purpose to finally publish his novel.

“I realized how short and precious life is, and I wanted to leave something with my name on it that people could enjoy,” explains Bichy. A friend sug-gested he try CreateSpace, a subsidiary of Amazon that helps aspiring authors self-publish and distribute their work.

The Day I Brought a Blue Alien to Homeroom was officially published in June 2015. So far Bichy has sold nearly 100 copies, and he hopes to promote the book to local schools and librar-ies this fall. Bichy describes the overall theme of the book as “looking beyond perceptions,” with a target audience of fourth through eighth graders. His best friend from childhood, Mike Gower, de-signed the cover and three illustrations inside the book.

Bichy donates all book sale proceeds to No Kid Hungry, which supplies needy children with nutritious food and teach-es their families how to cook healthy, af-fordable meals. He says he already has an idea for a second novel that follows the same characters from Blue Alien as they navigate their freshman year of high school. Though he hasn’t started writing yet, he hopes it won’t take him nearly as long this time around.

To read the first chapter of The Day I Brought a Blue Alien to Homeroom and purchase the book (via CreateSpace or Amazon), visit www.brianbichy.com.

BRIAN BICHY Continued from page 10...

Aging in Place in King Farm

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By Kate Myers

August is typically the slowest month of the year for Washington, D.C. area restau-rants. Everyone leaves town, temperatures soar and it’s hard to generate much buzz about anything. Botanero, the tapas-fusion restaurant in the King Farm Village

Center, had planned to open in May and generate a few solid months of business before the inevitable late-summer slowdown. But after a series of inspection-related delays, the restaurant was force to push back its opening to July 24.

In retrospect, Botanero co-owner Ken Skidmore views the delayed opening as a blessing for his 50-seat restaurant. “We were able to open slowly, without being overwhelmed or slammed at first. It gave us time to work out any kinks,” he says.

The tapas-fusion restaurant and wine bar offers moderately priced Latin and New Amer-ican dishes prepared with fresh, local ingredients, along with a rotating selection of unique wines, craft beers and seasonal sangrias. Jaime Vela, formerly of Magnolia’s at the Mill, a farm-to-table concept restaurant in Purcellville, Virginia, serves as head chef.

Skidmore says so far the most popular menu items are the beet salad, beef short ribs,

fried calamari, beef empanadas and lamb chops. The seasonal sangrias are customer favor-ites as well. Since opening, the restaurant has added lunch and brunch service. (The lunch and dinner menus are currently the same, but the restaurant plans to debut a specialty lunch menu soon.) Though there is no official kid’s menu, several child-friendly dishes are available from the kitchen upon request. Skidmore says lunchtime at the restaurant is fairly quiet, but dinner service is picking up.

Skidmore and his partners hope to attract new patrons with happy hour specials ($5 drinks and small plates available daily from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.) and a series of compli-mentary wine tastings, the first of which takes place on Tuesday, September 13 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

One unexpected hit? The free lemon water station out front. “We planned to have it out for just a week as we completed renovations but people loved it and begged us to keep it. So it’s staying,” says Skidmore.

For more information, visit www.botanerorockville.com or follow “Botanero-Rockville” on Facebook.

Delayed Opening Becomes a Blessing for Botanero Restaurant

Skidmore and his partners hope to attract new patrons with happy hour specials ($5 drinks and small plates available daily

from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.) and a series of complimentary wine tast-ings, the first of which takes place on Tuesday, September 13

from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

The free lemon water station greets

passers-by while renovations are

being completed at Botanero Restaurant

in the King Farm Village Center.

The next meeting of the King Farm Board of Trustees will be held on Wednesday, September 21, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. Meetings are open to the public and all residents are encouraged to attend to learn more about what is happening in the community.



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• WithinwalkingDis-tance of the Shady Grove Metro Station (red line), King Farm Center (restaurants and shopping) and Mat-tie Stepanek Park.

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• 2.5Bathroomswithlinen closet in main upstairs bathroom

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• Offkitchenpantry/storage

• Diningroom/Parlor• Mudroomoffkitchen

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• Twostairwaystoupstairs including on off of kitchen

• CentralAirCondition-ing, Oil heat, Electric Hot Water Heater

• CoveredFrontporch• Washer&Dryer• Laundry/Utilityroom• CableandTelephone

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Historic Farm House In King Farm for Rent16100 Frederick Road, Rockville, MDAVAILABLe Now $2,800 a month

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301.802.4841 (Direct) • 240.403. 0400 (Main Office)15245 Shady Grove Rd., Suite 100, Rockville, MD 20850

For photos and tours on each of these listings go to www.KingFarmRealty.com

King Farm realty

Living and Selling in King Farm

306 RIDGEMONT

This end unit town home with

2-car garage. Freshly painted

with gleaming hardwood

flooring. Asking $549,000 327 KING FARM BLVD 208

2-bedroom with den, covered balcony & garage parking overlooking King Farm Blvd. Asking $489,000

1016 GRAND CHAMPION DR.

On quiet street. Shows like new. New appliances and updated bathrooms. 3,000 square feet above grade.Asking $669,000.

Under ContraCt

For SaLe SoLd

1011 HAVENCREST ST.

SoLd

405 DEER MEADOW LN.

SoLd

Under ContraCt

403 KING FARM BLVD., 403

Top floor, cathedral ceiling & over 2,100 sq feet of living space.

Asking $549,000

Martin GreenAssociate Broker

RE/MAX Realty Services15245 Shady Grove Rd., Suite 100 Rockville, MD 20850Over 7,000 Offices and 117,000 Associates

new LiSting

315 KING FARM BLVD., 102

2,004 sq feet on main level, new hardwood flooring & attached 1-car garage with direct access.

Documents

Budget & Finance Committee Hosts Open Forum on Proposed Budget