Labor Day: Trash Sl-i-i-i-de Week

In this post:

1. Holiday slide schedule
2. Disposal of unusual items (bulk items; electronics; household hazardous waste)

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Don't forget -- due to the Labor Day Holiday on Monday, September 1st, both trash and recycling collection will slide down one day next week:

• Trash collection: Wednesday, September 3, 2014
• Recycling collection: Saturday, September 6, 2014

Other trash and recycling information from Howard County:

HOA Resale Documents

When selling your home (or getting a new loan) in Autumn Walk @ Emerson, you will need to obtain two separate HOA resale packages for the new buyers, one from Autumn Walk and one from Emerson.

Per Maryland State Statute these are the documents required to comply with the state law, if they pertain to the Association:

• Resale Disclosure 
• Compliance Inspection Form 
• Budget 
• Covenants, Conditions, & Restrictions (CCRs)
• Resolutions and Policies 
• Articles of Incorporation 
• Bylaws 
• Architectural Guidelines 
• Rules and Regulations 

To obtain resale packages:

1. Autumn Walk HOA (Last Update: 10/1/24)

• Contact Community Association Services (CAS) if you have other questions - see the page Contact Autumn Walk HOA

As of July 15, 2024, the HOA Resale Package for Autumn Walk must be obtained from the Community Archives platform.

[Please note that you can no longer obtain Resale Packages from Homewise, where they formerly could be obtained for a fee of $225.]

Homeowners or their agent should go directly to the web site to order packages. 

Community Archives Ordering Instructions (as of July 2024):

To place an order for any of the products (Resale Package, Lender Questionnaire, Statement of Accounts, etc.) for sale or refinance of your unit, please access:

https://marketplace.communityarchives.com/login

1. At the top of the page, set "ORDER RESALE DOCUMENTS." This will direct you to Community Archives.
2. You will need to register with Community Archives if you are  first-time user.
1. If you have any difficulties placing the order and/or navigating through the website please contact Community Archives Support at 1-833-462-3627.
3. Resale Packages:
1. If your address belongs to a Master and a Sub-Association, an order needs to be placed for both Associations.
2. If you are selling your unit, please order a "Resale Disclosure Package."
3. Resale Packages are good for one year.
4. Resale Certificates and Inspections are only good for 30 days.
4. Lender Questionnaires:
1. If you live in a Master and Sub-Association the Lender Questionnaire is normally needed for the Sub-Association Only and not the Master Association.
2. If you are Lending Company and require a Questionnaire, you will need to order a "Lender Questionnaire."
3. If you require a Custom Form with your order, be sure to upload your document by clicking "Add On Documents."
5. Statement of Accounts:
1. If your address belongs to a Master and Sub-Association, an order needs to be placed for both Associations.
2. If you are a Settlement or Title Company, please order a "Statement of Account."

2. Emerson HOA (Last Update: 11/28/17)

a. To place an order for any of the products for sale or refinance please access –

www.cmc-management.com  

b. Select “ORDER RESALE DOCUMENTS” then select “COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT CORPORATION”  this will direct you to Community Archives.

• You will need to register with Community Archives if you are a first time user and if you have any difficulties placing the order and/or navigating through the website please contact Community Archives Customer Service at 1-800-995-0682.

c. Resale Packages: 

If your address belongs to a Master and Sub-Association that CMC/SCS manages, an order needs to be placed for both Associations.  

d. Lender Questionnaire:

If you require a custom form be sure to select the custom form option when placing the order and once you have received your email confirmation with an order # then submit your custom form by fax 520-219-3055 or email cacs@communityarchives.com or customforms@communityarchives.com  

Please be sure to reference your order # when submitting your custom form.

Antietam Battlefield (Sharpsburg, MD)

One of the advantages of living halfway between Baltimore and Washington, DC is the wealth of things to do, some of them fairly unique to the area. 

The focus for this post is the 152nd Anniversary of one of the many important Civil War sites within a day trip of our community, to be commemorated with demonstrations starting on the weekend of September 13-14, 2014 and continuing for the next week with historical talks and hikes.

The Battle of Antietam was fought on September 17, 1862 near Sharpsburg, MD (about 90 minutes away from us) and marked one of the first turning points of the war.

Confederate artillery with the mountains in the background

After the Union defeat at Second Manassas just two weeks earlier, the first Confederate invasion of the North was turned back in the bloodiest single day of the war with 23,000 casualties on both sides.

Though the battle itself was inconclusive, the result gave President Lincoln the confidence to issue the Emancipation Proclamation three months later on January 1, 1863.

Savage MARC Station Construction

The Savage (Dorsey Run Road) MARC Station, the nearest station to Emerson on the Camden Line, has been a construction zone since April with the work scheduled to be completed in late 2014 or early 2015 to support a larger redevelopment effort called Annapolis Junction Town Center.

A new 4-story parking garage will have 704 free parking spaces for MARC commuters. A new traffic light will also be installed at the exit to Dorsey Run Road.

This work is part of a $180M project which broke ground on June 9, 2014 called Annapolis Junction Town Center to convert the Savage MARC Station into a new Transportation Oriented Development (TOD) site, with a mix of residential, office, and retail development centered around public transit:

HoCo Restaurant Week: The Aftermath

Did anyone else take advantage of Howard County's Restaurant Week for Summer 2014?

Here are some pictures from Bistro Blanc (Glenelg), Victoria Gastro Pub (Columbia), and Highland Inn (Highland).

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Bistro Blanc

Local Strawberry-Tomato Gazpacho
pickled nectarine + lime XVO powder + micro basil

Spiced Rabbit Gnocchi
blonde mole + bentons bacon + carrot + broccolini + cotija cheese + mint
-- paired with -- Syrah, Rosenblum Vintner's Cuvee, California '10

Gorman Road Re-Opens

After almost 2 months of construction, the section of Gorman Road between Murray Hill Road and Skylark Boulevard re-opened on Tuesday, August 12th.

During the closure, the road was widened and straightened to accommodate the new Wincopia Farms development, and a pedestrian tunnel was built underneath Gorman Road between Wincopia Farms and the ballfields for Murray Hill Middle School.

This should make our commutes a little easier again!

Gorman has been widened and slightly straightened

Emerson Movie Night #2 at the Pool (8/15/14)

Emerson's next Movie Night at the Pool will be on Friday, August 15th at dusk (approximately 8:00 pm). This event is for Emerson residents only (ID required).

The movie being shown on this evening will be Despicable Me 2.

Maryland Tax-Free Week: August 10-16, 2014

This week is Maryland Tax-Free Week, when certain clothing and footwear items under $100 are exempt from Maryland's 6% sales tax from Sunday, August 10th to Saturday, August 16th.

Qualifying items purchased online and delivered this week are also tax-exempt.

Unfortunately, schools supplies are not tax-exempt.

• Shop Maryland Tax-Free Week FAQs (pdf from the Comptroller of Maryland web site)

Autumn Is Our Season (A Photo Album)

A bit late, but here are some neighborhood photos from last Autumn!

Emerson HOA Assessment Rates Unchanged in FY15

Catching up on some older news, in May 2014 the Emerson Board voted to keep the current Emerson assessment rate for HOA fees the same in the new fiscal year (FY15) which began in July.

Savings from the loan restructuring last year will be used for either paying down the loan prior to the balloon payment in 2017, or for improvements to the Community.

Other Items of Interest from Previous Emerson HOA Meetings (March/May 2014):

(Photos) National Night Out 2014

Pictures from Emerson's 2014 National Night Out Ice Cream Social on August 5, 2014 promoting awareness of anti-crime initiatives:

Bounce House

Great Falls, MD: C&O Canal and The Billy Goat Trail

Great Falls (abut 50-60 minutes away on the west side of the DC Beltway) is an example of the way that history and recreation often come together in a way that's relatively unique to the Washington, DC area.

Eva the Canal Boat Mule

Great Falls marks the point on the Potomac River where rapids make the river unnavigable. The Virginia State Park there features rock climbing while the National Park on the Maryland side hosts a very small historic center for the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal, and visitors can also walk along the towpath and hike The Billy Goat Trail.

History of the C&O Canal
George Washington recognized that transportation was a critical component for tying together the new nation and encouraging commerce.

At his urging a canal was planned to run parallel to the Potomac for the transport of goods and passengers, starting from Georgetown and ending at the headwaters of the Ohio River near Pittsburgh, PA.

Construction began in 1828 and would finish 22 years later in Cumberland, MD after 184.5 miles of arduous manual labor, short of its original goal. The canal would operate for 100 years despite being largely superseded by the railroad, and today is a national park that runs across its entire length.

A small museum is located in the Great Falls Tavern located next to the locks at Great Falls. You can also pay for a short ride on a mule-drawn barge there (and also at the terminus in Georgetown) during the warmer months.

Historic mule-drawn barge

Rapids at Great Falls

A Park for Recreation
But what makes the C&O Canal National Historic Park so representative of DC area recreational facilities is that this historic setting is also the location of miles of pathways along the canal towpath.

These paths are used daily by dozens of pedestrians (often accompanied by their pets), joggers, and bicyclists, with several scenic observation points for looking out on the rapids at Great Falls.

(Updated) Short-Term Traffic Issues - 8/3/14

(Updated 8/10/14 to make more generically useful)

Especially since we have fewer options with Gorman Road temporarily closed for construction, you might want to check traffic conditions in the next couple of weeks before heading out.

• Maryland's CHART web site posts notices of many major road and lane closures

In particular both the State of Maryland (responsible for highways such as I-95 and MD-216) and Howard County (responsible for local roads and side streets) have accelerated the pace of construction this summer, in part due to increased funding from the gas tax.

Some known traffic events:

Electric Go-Karts (Jessup)

Just a few miles north of us on Route 1 is the Autobahn Indoor Speedway in Jessup, MD.

This 70,000 square foot facility has two Grand Prix tracks with 20-hp Italian electric go-karts capable of reaching 50 mph in an indoor environment (since there are no gas exhaust fumes). They also have junior go-karts for kids ages 8-13 years old that can go up to 25 mph.

Screenshot from a video posted to YouTube

Prices start at $19.99 per race for adults (14 laps) and package deals and specials are available for multiple races, with each race lasting about 10 minutes. They are open 7 days a week year-round (except Christmas).

Group packages and special events are also available. There is a Racing League that holds its races on Tuesdays at 7 pm.

The $1.75M Jessup facility opened in May 2013 and the firm now has another location in Jacksonville, FL.

Video posted to YouTube: