Jack Anderson:

"Linganore is faced with several significant long-term challenges. Whatever their cause, these problems may not be band-aided by short-term fixes. Otherwise, they would have been solved long ago. Here are two:

Roads – Thank goodness for a mild winter. Otherwise we would all be buying Wranglers to navigate the potholes. Is this really the image we desire for our community?  With taxes we pay to Frederick, plus increasing LLA dues, we should have roads paved in gold. The solution is to build a proactive Board that refocuses the budget on issues that truly matter, such as our roads, and go back to the County for support in return for our taxes.

Invasives – Most of us never think about non-native invasive species.  Look around at our wooded areas. The change I’ve seen from beautiful forests years ago is vines choking our trees and other non-native plants overtaking our natural environment. The number of trees felled by invasives will ever increase (remember the tree that fell on the Esplanade?).  The solution requires focus, spurring on volunteer groups like the Scouts, support for the efforts of our own Friends of the Lake, and community education.  We need to eradicate these invasives before they eradicate our forests."

George Schwab:

"In my view, the two main immediate needs of our community are:

1) Dredging of the lake.

This was once a long term need, but through the diligent, hard work and dedication of our LLA staff and volunteer residents this project is now slated to commence this summer. This project was once thought to be impossible, due to its projected cost. Most residents were convinced it would never happen. The lake is our most valuable and treasured asset. It drives ALL our home values and is a testament to the natural resources that we all love and enjoy here in Lake Linganore. I hope we can all stay focused on the value that our natural setting brings to the enjoyment of our community, starting with our beautiful lake.

2) Creating a clear vision and mission for our community.

I hope we can come together in 2017/2018 to establish what our community values are so that we can create a vision for the future of Lake Linganore. After 40+ years of challenges, Lake Linganore is finally on the road to success. It will take all our cooperation, compromise and participation to drive and continue that success in a meaningful and productive way. I hope that a short term remedy to developing our long term goals will be to start productive conversations to gather ideas and perspectives. I would encourage all residents to take some time to write down their thoughts and ideas and send them to the board for consideration. In this way the board can compile these ideas and identify common themes to use in the long term planning process. In addition, I suspect a proper survey will also be conducted. The more we hear from our residents (in the form of written and thoughtful communications) the clearer our long term planning path will become."

Robert Stadelman:

"Two immediate needs that need to be addressed in Lake Linganore are the HOA dues and public safety. The dues have been at the top of the list for many of us due to the fact that we have seen some very large increases over recent years.  I do understand that we have an obligation to fund the reserves but this should be done in a more fiscally responsible manner.  If we are indeed behind on funding reserves, I think we should scale back spending on capital improvement projects until we can actually fund them.  In my view it is irresponsible to over commit ourselves to these capital projects and then go back and hit homeowners with large increases in dues to make up for it.

I also think we need to work with our county officials to reduce the response time for emergency personnel.  I have witnessed several medical emergencies in my neighborhood where it took well over 20 and up to 30 minutes or more before emergency personnel arrived from New Market.  In a community of 9000 residents this is unacceptable.  This could literally be the difference between life and death. I am hopeful that we can work with Frederick County to decrease response times and expedite the building of a fire station near Lake Linganore.  This is especially critical as our community continues to be developed at a rapid rate. If we can address these needs it will benefit everyone living in Lake Linganore.  "