Committees

Development

The Development Committee addresses commercial and residential development adjacent to East Bethesda and in the Bethesda Central Business District or “CBD”. East Bethesda is bordered by Wisconsin Avenue, East-West Highway, Jones Bridge Road, and Columbia Country Club. This committee was formed to address the effects of development on the East Bethesda community as a result of the new Bethesda Downtown Plan, which was approved in May 2017. The plan is intended to guide development of downtown Bethesda over the course of the next 20 years. EBCA is represented on the Bethesda Downtown Implementation Advisory Committee and takes an active role in looking out for the interests of the East Bethesda community.

For more information or to volunteer, please contact Amanda Farber at amandafarber@hotmail.com.

Purple Line/Capital Crescent Trail Committee

This committee was formed in 2002 to provide a focal point for EBCA activities geared towards addressing the potential for transit on the Capital Crescent Trail, which runs adjacent to the East Bethesda community. The trail is an important amenity to the community. The trail right-of-way is presently closed in East Bethesda while the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) constructs the Purple Line light rail system. The system will run from New Carrollton to Bethesda, MD. A new recreational trail will run alongside the transit system and be directly accessible to East Bethesda residents.

EBCA is actively monitoring transit construction activities and is also focused on mitigating noise and other concerns associated with the future transit system operations. EBCA is also advocating for a state-of-the-art hiker/biker trail to run alongside the transitway. EBCA is represented on the Purple Line Community Advisory Team, which addresses transit and trail construction activities that impact East Bethesda.

For more information or to volunteer, please contact Andy O’Hare at andy.ohare@yahoo.com.

Communications

Our mission is to get the word out. In addition to giving due notice of each general membership meeting, our Newsletter and email provide residents of East Bethesda with updates on EBCA activities and social events, area happenings, residents’ transitions, and the issues and ideas that impact life in our community. The Website delivers all of this and more. Accessing the site brings residents to a storehouse of information. The Communication Committee’s further responsibilities include maintaining two neighborhood bulletin boards.

For more information or to volunteer, please contact Jay Briar at newsletter@ebca.org.

Education

The Education Committee advances our community’s education needs, ensures we have a voice in our children’s schools, and informs our community on educational issues. In 1999, we conducted a comprehensive survey of our community on educational concerns and used the data to convince the county to give us a formal transfer policy and to increase their interaction with our community on educational issues. The following year we polled the community to determine if a change in the way our children are assigned to public elementary schools is desired. The poll provided the necessary information for EBCA to advocate for a change in the East Bethesda elementary school assignment. East Bethesda children now attend Bethesda Elementary from Kindergarten to Fifth grades.

The current Education Committee has existed since January 1988. The Committee’s goals are to:

  • Be the educational focus for East Bethesda (represent the community’s views)
  • Inform the community on educational issues
  • Maintain/improve educational opportunities
  • Explore the best use of the former Lynbrook Elementary

For more information or to volunteer, please contact Katya Marin at katya.a.marin@gmail.com.

Membership

Ultimately, we would like to attract every resident within the EBCA neighborhood to EBCA membership. Membership entitles individuals to voting rights at our general meetings, where they can express their views and concerns. Membership dues are used to support the other EBCA activities, such as neighborhood improvements, social events and communications. The goal of the committee is to retain and attract new members, while getting to know our neighbors, their needs, and their desires for creating a better community.

EBCA’s Membership Committee is currently responsible for:

  • Maintaining the membership page on the EBCA website
  • Distributing membership information each new year via our newsletter
  • Developing new and additional distribution methods for membership information
  • Maintaining a list of current EBCA members
  • Providing the membership list to the EBCA president for use at general meetings.

For more information or to volunteer, please contact Paige Nerenberg at membership@ebca.org.

 

Parks and Playgrounds

There are three public parks in East Bethesda:

  • Cheltenham Park,
  • Chase Avenue Park, and
  • Lynnbrook Recreation Center.

Each park needs to be monitored to ensure they are maintained properly, that security issues are addressed, and that they are not abused. Additional improvements such as play equipment, tables, lighting, bulletin boards, and landscaping are reviewed by the Committee and recommendations are made to the Parks Department. The Committee’s goals are to work with EBCA, Montgomery County Public Schools, the Lynnbrook Daycare, and the Parks Department to create parks that are kept beautiful, safe, and useful to our community.

More volunteers are always welcome!

For more information or to volunteer, please contact Andy O’Hare at andy.ohare@yahoo.com.

Social

The Social Committee coordinates events designed to bring the community together. The following gives a brief description of the events the committee organizes each year.

Community Yard Sale: May. EBCA has held an annual community yard sale for several years at Lynnbrook Park. Each year families participate as vendors to help make this event a success. This event also had a philanthropic component, as residents donated unwanted and unsold items to the American Veterans, Wider Circle or other similar charities after the sale ended.

Fireworks: July. Each year the residents of East Bethesda enjoy Columbia Country Club’s annual 4th of July Fireworks display, viewed from Lynnbrook Park. With complimentary popsicles, water and patriotic trinkets for the kids, this event usually draws close to 200 people.

Halloween Parade: October. The Halloween Parade is also one of the biggest events in the neighborhood! Huge numbers of neighborhood residents join together each year for a march in costumes down Chase Avenue to Lynnbrook Park. In addition to the ever popular Haunted House, residents enjoy crafts, treats and beverages while they play at the park. Plan to join us on Sunday, October 25th!

Coffees and Happy Hours: Periodically we have held “Meet and Greets” on Sunday mornings at Starbucks where residents receive a free coffee drink while they socialize with their neighbors. We have also held happy hours at Saphire Café and Union Jacks in Downtown Bethesda in the evening for neighbors to come together and enjoy a night out. Look in the newsletter for the next planned social activity.

For more information or to volunteer, please contact Caroline Aslan at social@ebca.org.