Kentlands Downtown Partnership (KDP) President Joe Pritchard wants Kentlands Downtown businesses to keep their outside lights on all night, every night.
At the July 25 KDP meeting, Pritchard, the owner of Pritchard Music Academy, suggested this initiative would provide more security and a more pleasant atmosphere on the streets of Kentlands Downtown area.
“It’s safer and makes the neighborhood nicer,” said Pritchard. “The lighting in the neighborhood is quaint, but lights are few and far between.”
In light of recent break-in attempts at Chloe’s Coffee and the Corner Beer and Wine Store (see Police Blotter, page 6), the lighting effort seems timely. Pritchard intends to ask the Kentlands Citizens’ Assembly for its assistance in promoting the idea among Kentlands homeowners as well. He noted that Kentlands residents are required to keep any alley lighting associated with their homes on all night.
Pritchard said he has already begun to keep Pritchard Music Academy’s outdoor lights on all night and said there has been no noticeable difference in his monthly electric bill.
In other KDP news, Pritchard and Joe Allen, KDP at-large representative, submitted a formal request for the city of Gaithersburg to write an application for Kentlands to be designated as an Arts and Entertainment District during the Mayor and Council meeting on July 16 (see City Scene, page 6).
“We are looking forward to working with the city on this,” said Pritchard.
The city will need time to prepare its part of the application, and the KDP must meet with Montgomery County officials after the city gives its approval. The KDP plans to submit the application in April 2013 and hopes to receive designation by July 2013.
Looking ahead toward fall, the KDP has scheduled a number of events over the next several months.
“The Main Street Trick or Treat,” sponsored by the KDP and Kentlands Main Street businesses, will take place on Oct. 27 from 1 – 4 p.m. During the event, trick-or-treaters are invited to visit participating businesses (a map will be provided) to receive a treat and a stamp on their Main Street Trick or Treat card. Children who get a stamp from every business may enter a drawing for a prize at the end of the event.
“It’s nice to remind everyone about the businesses that are out here. The central location we’ve had previously was nice, but this format brings people around the neighborhood,” said Pritchard.
For a new holiday event called “The KDP Celebritrees,” the KDP will invite celebrities from all walks of life to decorate small Christmas trees that they will donate to the organization. The KDP will then accept sealed bids from residents to purchase the “celebritree” of their choice.
Proceeds raised from “The KDP Celebritrees” will be split between a charity selected by the KDP and a charity chosen by the celebrity who decorated the tree that has been purchased. The KDP will also receive a small percentage of the proceeds.
Pritchard envisions an evening walking tour of Kentlands downtown with stops at each of the businesses with a “celebritree” inside so the whole community has the opportunity to view and bid on them.
The trees will also be displayed during the community tree-lighting ceremony and will then be moved to a Kentlands Main Street business for display through the holidays.
Source:
http://www.towncourier.com/2012/08/01/kdp-calls-for-lights-on/