President Stephanie Leddy called the regular meeting of the Residents’ Council [the Council] to order at 3:00 pm on Tuesday April 7, 2026. Sixty(60) residents attended in addition to Leslie Johnson, Associate Executive Director; Jill Clippinger, Resident Life Director; Dean Crawford, Medical Practice Administrator; Jason Dennis, General Services Director; and Stephen Miller, Assistant General Services Director.

Moment of Silence
The Council observed a moment of silence for those who have passed away.

Minutes
Minutes of the March 3, 2026 meeting of the Residents’ Council meeting were approved.

Mission Moment
Honoree:        Bernice DeBels, Austin Johnson Gail & Don Krebs
Nominated by Gabrielle Vereecke

Gabrielle celebrates her friends who cared for her recently deceased husband during her own hospitalization last fall. Gabrielle ‘s greatest concern was leaving her husband who had dementia alone in their apartment, but her concerns were unwarranted, because her friends made sure that he was not alone during that time period, Gail and Don spent the night in the apartment so he would feel safe. Austin spent time with him during the day, and while Gail visited Gabrielle in the hospital, Bernice and Don were with her husband, Gabrielle said, what a blessing to be at Charlestown, surrounded by good friends, friends who provided both peace of mind and care when she and her husband needed it most, and that’s the Charlestown way.

Executive Team Reports

Stephanie Leddy President

Each month the chair or co-chair of the committees present what has been happening or will be happening in their specific bailiwick of the community to the members of the community who come here to hear it or who tune in at home. They have learned this at their committee’s meeting where a member of the administrative team has shared with them that information or a member of the committee has done research. The committee members can question to clarify what they are hearing and the chair synthesizes it for this meeting where you, too, later can question if you feel the need.

Sitting here or at home and listening, you know that there is a great deal to learn each month on a variety of topics, some of which will be of more interest to you than other items. All of them relate to the workings of this our home or to our well-being as the council, is the working part of our community’s association.

Hearing all of this might make you think, “That’s a lot of work and time- too much for me to do,” But in reality, Council members spend less time in meetings – about 5 hours a month then some Bridge players spend playing bridge in a week.

What we are doing benefits the whole community. If you would like to do something that will benefit you and the community, then seriously consider running to be a Council member. Be in on what is happening before it is revealed to the rest of the population at a meeting and you still will have time to play cards.

On Wednesday, 15th, we are hosting another Meet and Greet for residents to talk with the committee chairs and learn more about what they do. This time near the Fireside from 2-4. There will be refreshments.

If you can’t make that or even if you can, several committees and subcommittees will be at the Health Fest on Thursday, 16th in Cross Creek. Health Services, Low Vision, Accessibility, and Safety and Security. On April 23, The Nature Fest will in the Gallery area with Conservation, Grounds and Resident Council with people to speak with. We have something for everyone.

This month is the time to decide that being a Council member is the right decision for you. It is not a decision that you will ever be sorry you made. It has definitely been a positive in my life for these three years. It can be for you, too.

Jerry Donaldson, Treasurer
Balance – February 28,2026	$ 5,603.96
Income	877.00
Expenses	398.99
Balance – March 31, 2026	$ 6,081.97

Expenses & Income Details

Transportation to Annapolis for MaCCRA $ 240.00 Orange Ribbons for Low Vision Residents $158.99

Dues Collected & Deposited to Date $877.00 – Since March 31, we have made four more deposits into the bank, probably $1,523.25. They have processed all the returns received to date from Herbert’s run and Brookside – the two largest buildings on campus. The returns received represent less than 20% of the total residents. They have an apartment full of return dues waiting to be processed.

Committee Reports

Benevolent Care, Sandy Mack, Chair

• The Fireside Artist Pop-Up Sale, held on Tuesday, March 24th, raised $583 in support of the Benevolent Care
• We’re excited to share two upcoming events in May, with all proceeds supporting the Benevolent Care
• Back by popular demand, we’re excited to host another Paint Day on Wednesday, May 6th, from 1–4 PM in the Gallery! No experience is needed—whether you’re a seasoned artist or simply curious, come join us for a fun and creative afternoon. Tickets will be available for purchase on April 17th, 20th, and For more details, please check the bulletin boards, 972, and the Sunburst.
• Lois Eldred, Stephanie DeAbreu, and Janet Evans warmly invite you to a special Mother’s Day Sale on Friday, May 8th, from 12:00 to 3:00 m. Join them in the Chesapeake lobby for an elegant and effortless shopping experience. You’ll find fresh flowers, artisan jewelry, and beautifully crafted greeting cards—everything you need to create the perfect gift for someone special..

Next Meeting- Wednesday, April 22 at 2:30 in Room 116, Charlestown Square

Communications, Betty Elder, Co-Chair Community Resources

• Updates – several ongoing projects at Maple Terrace. CR is working to restore spaces for the Model Railroad group, Library group, & Creative Arts Studio, completion mid-to late
• Streaming – Streaming services are here, with Disney+, HBO Max, and Prime being used, with it being used for the Friday and Saturday night movies by the Film Club. Jane Amtmann is working closely with the Channel 972 folks. CR is putting together a process for others to be able to stream in common areas in the Two computers will soon be available for loan to residents.
• My Erickson – To accommodate those not using landlines, two general numbers will be added at the top of some of the pages on
• Volunteer Response Rate Challenges – Mary Evans reported that volunteer response rates are lower than usual, and she is now working with a volunteer to make phone calls to gather information about current volunteers and club Also because folks did not seem aware of when their meeting bookings needed to be renewed, Mary said they are now only booking meetings 1-2 years in out instead of the 5 years previously.
• Please let Community Resources know that you are still volunteering (get in touch with Nadine).
• Please let Community Resources know if your group is still functioning and who the current leader

Gregory Johnson

• Updates – Gregory announced that MASSN2 is no longer in operation and has been converted into a single channel (845), affecting baseball game overflow There have been additional changes to Comcast since our meeting, such as dropping ABC (WMAR).
• Cart for purchase program – He reported plans to launch a personalized cart program for residents next month, with one model available for purchase through a table setup outside the restaurant, allowing residents to keep their carts without returning The program will include a sample cart for residents to see and the option to purchase through Amazon.
• Gregory also mentioned that Courtyard Lobby 7 is expected to reopen in the second week of April, though this timeline is pending
• Cart Return video on 972 progress report – planned for coming

Erickson IT Support update Myrone Foster, Zach Parks: 188 resident orders with time to complete .1.61 days; 101 employee tickets with time to complete .97 days.

• Spam trend report – 3 compromised incidences since the last meeting, 2 requiring onsite intervention and malware removal. 1 scareware incident.
• Connect 3 system upgrade – Planning meetings begin the week of March 23rd. More details to follow. Larry expressed concerns about resident communication regarding the Connect 3 implementation and planned to discuss this further with Don Grove.
• The IL mobile phone systems upgrade – discussions are ongoing with no immediate updates.
• Next Tech Bar will be May 20 in the Chesapeake Restaurant area. Q3 will be Wednesday, August 19 – the Q4 is TBD. Use of a Continuing Care space is being explored. .
• “Tech Time” videos progress report – no updates planned until after completion of Connect 0 project.
• Call forwarding is not possible from ITt recommends:
  • If a resident rarely uses their land line phone, IT recommends they contact Sales to have the line deactivated
  • If a resident needs remote access to voicemail, they can call the Connect voicemail hotline at 410-402-2050 with the pin of the last 4 digits of the residents’ phone number (for residents who opted in to the Connect voicemail).

Other Topics

• Signage Subcommittee – The Communications Committee voted to approve the Signage CapEx project proposal, and sent it to the Finance Committee.
• Charlestown Resident Hub now picked up 5-6 new members this month. It is an easy way for residents to ask questions of fellow residents and share timely
• Evergreen Topics continues to be a useful monthly publication. The committee agreed to keep the current year of
• org – The group discussed promoting the CCI Charlestown website through various communication channels. Hope will create a “postcard” with the websites and why to check them out.

We will continue to mention the website in every Council Communications Committee report. “Funded by the Residents’ Council and created and managed by residents, It has been in operation since 2011 and is from the view point of the residents – by and for residents.

Our next Communications Committee meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 27, at @ 2:00 PM in Caton Woods.

The Conservation Committee, Jack Flood & Gary Rogers, Co-Chair

• Recycling informational posters are currently being revised and will next be displayed at Nature Fest on April
• The residential food scrap composting project is moving forward. Three hundred food scrap compostable bags have been purchased for the initial phase of the project with a pilot project proposed at one of the restaurant venues, time and location yet to be
• The CapEx proposal for Solar Energy Feasibility study is currently with the Finance Committee for their review.
• The educational campaign for electricity conservation is ongoing. An informational slide has been posted on My Erickson and Channel 972 and will run through April 30. A brief article will also appear in a future edition of the Sunburst and will be featured in the Conservation Committee’s Voices of the Council segment in
• The Conservation Committee will have tables for recycling and food scrap composting at Nature Fest on April 23

Next Meeting: Tuesday, April 21 at 2pm Caton Woods Conference Room

Dining Services, Cathy Stevens, Chair

Dining

• Dining Services will rotate ice cream flavors among the restaurants more
• While Dining Services is encouraging residents to complete the QR code cards, residents are saying that QR code cards are not being given to diners after dinner.
• Alternate Focus Group Dates – Focus groups for Dining will be scheduled for different restaurants on different
• When the Terrace reopens on 6/1, the Fireside will close. Lunch will be served in the Atrium. The shuttle will be redirected to go directly from Charlestown Square to the Atrium to serve those residents who cannot walk that
• Wine Tasting at The Chesapeake/ New lighter chairs are coming to Chesapeake
• New residents need better communications about the need for reservations a week in advance and where they can eat without a .

Restaurant Reports

• Atrium- despite brunch having no omelets for 2 weeks, committee is happy with Travis & Trey
• Shortline- Food not

Next meeting is Monday, April 20, in CTS 116

Finance, Art Johnson, Chair

• Auditorium Renovation Report:

Report was completed and shared with the Residents’ Council and Management. Brian McGill and I met with Don Grove, Stephanie Leddy, and Larry Taylor to discuss the report. Don thanked us for the report and said he thought it would be useful.

• CapEx 27 Proposal Process

We’ve received 10 proposals, and the finance committee now is beginning the review process. Hopefully this will take maybe not much more than a month or so to complete, and we’ll have our recommendations ready

• Our Finance Director reviewed the February financial results report with the Finance He noted the following:

January/February energy rates saw a four-fold increase of usage rates per kilowatt hour by BGE. BGE rates likely will drive Charlestown’s 2026 financial situation

Residents’ voluntary moves from larger to smaller apartments proving positive results

Careful management of the “nursing hours per patient day” in the continuing care population was a positive contributor to our budget situation for the first two months of the year

15 residents were on benevolent care compared to 18 in December

• Charlestown’s Scholarship Campaign exceeded its goal of $300,000 in resident

Next Meeting: Tuesday, April 28,in BR1

Grounds, Dick Voelkel, Chair

• Front yard project has started with the installation of fencing

• Concrete slabs under benches still in process

• The area around the Dock will get fresh landscaping

• Parking lot exterior lighting has taken precedence over the lighting in the 7-8-9 courtyard and Arborside

• 50 Eastern Red Cedars to be planted along maintenance yard fencing on April 22nd @ 10am and ALL are invited to Please contact Ron Hendricksen rrhen@aol.com

Next Meeting: will be Tuesday, April 28 in BR 1 at 11AM

Health and Wellness, Lois Eldred, Co-Chair

• Liaisons with Other Resident Council Committees

In our Health and Wellness committee we have liaisons or linkages with several other resident Council groups, including Dining Services (Dietary Focus Group Liaison), Resident Life (with Low Vision and Falls Prevention), Safety and Security (gun Safety). It keeps us very busy, particularly as we focus more on the wellness aspects of health.

• Update: Charlestown Medical Center

Dean Crawford presented an update for the Medical Center. Dr. Egbe replaced Dr. Yi in the Medical Center. Social Worker Shannon Miller has resigned after 26 years. Dina Buviues, the clinical nurse specialist has retired. Ms. Funmilayo Opadina, a psychiatric new nurse specialist with experience in Charlestown Continuing Care has been hired.

The Press Gainey survey (a national patient satisfaction survey) is sent to residents after their Medical Center visits and continues to garner high marks.

• The Medical Center is sponsoring a COVID vaccination clinic April 15 in the Gallery from 8 am-12 pm.
• Continuing Care Update

At our meeting 3 weeks ago, respiratory viruses were ebbing with fewer cases seen in the Medical Center and no restrictions in continuing care. As of yesterday, visitors to Wilton Overlook 2 are required to wear masks. Masks are recommended for Wilton Overlook 1.

Continuing care will soon have a new shuttle bus with easier use of wheelchairs. It is expected in April. Since this meeting there has been an email from Max Mendelzon about a plan to develop care for those in Continuing Care who may need support with low vision or low hearing. OT will assist in guiding residents who need assistance. These may include amplified phones/captioned telephones, large button devices, and other adaptive solutions.

We are looking at ways to integrate activities across Continuing Care and Independent Living so that residents in both areas can enjoy them.

• Review of MACCRA Bills

This is another area where health committee clearly overlaps with the Resident Council legislative Committee. We did review many bills that were up in the legislature at our last meeting. Most of them are advancing continuing care for all the retirement communities and Erickson, and especially Charlestown are way ahead of the curve. For example, Bills ensuring minimum wage for health care aides, limiting the amount of time for refunds upon leaving CRC’s to two years.

• The next Medication Disposal Event is May 18, 2026, Cross Creek and Fireside Lobbies 1-3 pm

Next meeting: Tuesday, April 14th at 11am in BR1

Housekeeping, John Arnold for Pat Whittier, Chair

• Thanks to the Housekeeping Committee for stepping up to help during Pat’s
• A new Housekeeping Walk Through Schedule was supplied by

• If Pat were here, she’s talk about trash cans, and if you need one, you can request one from General Services

Next Meeting: April 20, at 10 AM in BR-1

Legislative/Political, Stephanie for Richard Lee, Chair

• LWV – calendar of activities for 2026 Gubernatorial & Congressional Primary -June General -November

• Jane Finneseth spoke about voter registration training and how voting takes place at Charlestown

• Rose Ann Wade discussed the future of election reform and rank choice voting and aging.

• Legislative wrap-up for 44a & 44b district members will be May 6, 2026

• Candidates’ Forum for County Executive & Council seats scheduled for May 19, 2026 from 2PM-4PM in the

Next Meeting: Wednesday, April 8 at 10 AM in BR1

Maintenance and Engineering, Stephanie for Brian McGill, Chair

• Long Standing Requests for General Services include:
  • Heating in the Historic District Hair Salon & Laundry
  • Cross Creek & Charles parking lot lighting
  • Edgewood loading dock door lock repair

• Restrooms near Terrace Cafe undergoing renovations

• Indoor staircase from Terrace level to Courtyard Crossing closed for renovation

• Front yard project expected completion in September Trees removed to be replaced/ Temporary fencing in place

• New Request – Level Green contractor add external lighting when building entrances

Next Meeting Tuesday, April 28 at 2 PM – BR1

Resident Life, Fred Sadler and Bill Jones, Co-Chairs

• The Tapestry Program held its spring programs on March 26th and 30th with approximately fifty (45) residents participating in each discussion on “Learning – A lifelong The planning group has debriefed on the effort and planning will begin planning for the fall series by the end of the summer.
• The Dine Together Program held its monthly dinner get together last night with 24 residents sharing their meals Also, the initial Dine Together Luncheon was held last month at the Café on Main and saw several residents participate. The second luncheon will be held next Monday at 12:00 noon at Bill’s Place. We hope to have this new effort continue to grow as new residents hear about it.
• The Accessibility and Inclusion Committee Chairperson, Ann MacKay, recently met with Matt Daugherty, Sales Manager, to discuss ways to make apartments more accessible to those with special needs. It was agreed that all parties involved need to work together to make certain the campus is user friendly to all The group is planning to have a table at the Health & Wellness Fair.
• The Low Vision Group has purchased orange ribbons that will identify people with vision issues. These ribbons will be made available to residents through the Sales Office and at lobby front desks and at the upcoming Health & Wellness Fair.
• The Friendly Visitors Program has met with interested people to determine how we can most effectively involve Friendly Visitors in Continuing Care. The initial meeting discussed the needs in Continuing Care and how to best implement a program This will be followed up with discussions with some Continuing Care residents to see how we can best meet their needs.

Next Meeting: Wednesday, April 15, in BR2 at 2pm

Safety and Security, Ed Appel & Patti Omiston, Co-Chairs

• Pendants need annual testing for battery to function

Security reports that in rare cases, pendants can experience battery or functional failure. Pendants were tested along with other systems annually in independent residents’ apartments. We are seeking new ways to conduct needed annual testing to ensure strong battery and functionality. Wear your pendants and bring them to events like the Wellbeing Expo and Town Hall where Security will test them. Find out from announcements when Security will schedule testing.

• Badge and License Plate readers addressed by Security

Some badge and license plate reader issues have recently arisen. These are being addressed by Security on an as-needed basis. Call Bre Jones at 410-737-8808 for these issues.

• Traffic Safety- new signs, “STOP” painted on road at Stop signs

vehicles are still seen speeding and going through stop signs on campus. Be careful out there! Don’t let us as residents be part of the problem.

Administration plans installation of new slow and stop signs. In addition, the committee has recommended that “Stop” be painted on the road at stop signs, especially the one at the turn and stop sign located at the northwest end of Brookside.

• Safety Presentation: May 20th from 1-2:30 in Auditorium

The Safety Presentation titled “Better Safe Than Sorry” will be packed with good information in a fun and informative format. It will be held Wednesday, May 20 from 1-2:30 pm in the auditorium.

Next Meeting: April 16, at 11am in CTS 116

Nominating, John Arnold, Co-Chair

• 2026 Goal: Slate of 14 Candidates

• Consider Running for Council –

The time is Now to decide to run this year.

Contact Co-Chairs above while you still have an opportunity.

• The committee would like to interview the current council chairs to create a new brochure to assist next year’s council with their recruiting

Next Meeting: April 15th at 10am in HR 140

Administration Update

Associate Executive Director Leslie Johnson

Power Outage

The entire campus experienced a power outage yesterday shortly after noon. Our general services team. Jason and Steven are still working to determine the cause. The power outage caused three out of four of our Uninterrupted Power Supplies is to be damaged. Because three of those four UPS went down, our entire core went down. Every resident facing system and every employee network was out, our phones, our Wi Fi, our pull cords, our pendants and our call systems. This is a huge safety risk for the community from my perspective as the risk in the Compliance Office. This is serious and it is top priority for us. Jason and his team have been in closets looking at things.

Zach Myron and his team are still here on site with vendors, and we also have home office partners. We have called an after action review to look at the root cause.

What was the power outage? Why did our systems fail?

How did we as a team respond?

Did we communicate timely to residents?

One thing that this brought to forefront for us is, how do we communicate? All of our methods to communicate to you were down. We couldn’t send us with reach. We couldn’t, sorry, an alert media we did, but if your phone was down, you probably didn’t get it. There was no Wi Fi, so we couldn’t put it on my Ericsson, so we as a enterprise, need to look at when this happens. How can we get it out to you?

Please know we have an emergency preparedness plan. The security team has steps to respond. They know that they are assigned to areas and they increase patrols. We did put out a message to those that could get it with one of our security managers work cell phone number so that if you needed help, if you had a way to call, you could call that cell phone, but just please know it is top priority.

Once we learn more, we’ll get that information out to you, but the team is actively working on that.

The front project update

The front lawn work is well underway. There. Our development team is very pleased with Donoho and the company that is doing the front lawn. They report really great relationship, really good feedback, and that is going underway.

We have heard about the trees, but I just want to reiterate, we are being accountable with that. We did have to take down a number of trees. Some were at the end of life, but some were to make this area level so it can be accessible. But we are taking down about 40 trees, and we’re putting up a little over 80, so we will replace those trees coming down.

The other outdoor spaces:

The Brookside plannings went in this week. We are waiting for furniture in that area. We have been getting feedback as we have the renderings in the lobbies. You can see the plantings and some of the furniture that’s going in place there. We’ve heard from residents that we don’t want that they don’t want to see as many benches, that those chairs where you can create your own little seating spaces and move them around a little bit for shade or to be in the sun. So we have heard that feedback loud and clear. We actually had a meeting with us, a resident Design Review Committee in St Charles to talk about some other artwork, and that was mentioned there as well. And what we committed to is we’re not going to take the chairs away. Let us put install all of the furniture that has been ordered and has designed for this space. And then we will look at the chairs that are there and put in place what is needed and what you want we do. We would like for it to be universal along campus, so that the chairs that are in front of St Charles match the chairs that are used outside of Brookside and Herbert’s run. But we are committed to giving you the seating that you want, so we heard you loud and clear. Thank you for that feedback.

Dining:

We are planning for a Memorial Day cookout in the terrace. I know that’s something we always do, and there were questions about whether that area would be completed, but in our development call this week, they assured us that we would be having our Memorial Day cookout.

Questions

Rick Jones, Maple terrace, 2308 – a question for Jason. Maple terrace, we got a notice saying we were supposed to have a power outage between four and five this morning, and it never happened so and then I got one other one.

If the front lawn area is supposed to be done in September, is that going to be four before September 20, which is when the softball tournament is happening.

Jason Dennis, director of general services. – The first question was about the power outage in Maple terrace. The vendor showed up an hour and a half late for that shutdown. So that’s why it never actually happened. The reason for that shutdown was for the transformer that we need to replace in Maple terrace. We did it in Fountain Hill, and we need to redo the transformer in Maple terrace. We will reschedule that.

About Softball – I’m actually hoping for an August completion, well ahead of the September season. So fingers crossed any kind of crazy weather we may get. But I’m hoping for an August completion versus September.

Veronica Coleman, St Charles stated that the north entrance of the St Charles has been inoperative for 12 days. It’s on and off, and today, I could exit through that door. It will not open with the push button or with physically pressing it. And it took eight days for a sign to be put up saying the door one couldn’t come back in with a key. You had to use your ID. This is a safety issue.

Jason Dennis, director of general services said that he did not know until yesterday that you could not exit the door. He was only aware of the badge component for the exterior. They made a note of the issue and will have our door vendor taken care of it. It should have only taken one day.

Marty White. St, Charles 201 pointed out that the outside trash at the south entrance of St Charles is regularly not emptied and that the outdoor lights in the St Charles parking lot have not been repaired as was previously stated.

Jason Dennis, director of general services said they thought they had the issue fixed. There was a pole that had exposed wiring that we thought was the problem. We fixed that, but that evidently is not the problem in St Charles lot. The investigation continues.

David Cruz and general services are going to meet tomorrow morning and put a plan in place, because there are a few areas of lights. We have St Charles we have the Charlestown square lot that has some lights out. We have a loop road that has some lights out. We just noticed today. I thought this the 379 circle has had was completed, but evidently that is not repaired. So I need to put a solid plan in place and knock them out one at a time.

Marty then said that the mushroom lights in the courtyard behind Charlestown square. Five out of 10 of those were out. Have been out for at least a week and another resident said the light outside the 5^th floor elevator in St Charles continues to flicker.

Carlo Broglio of Arborside asked if the evergreens that are inside the garden fence could be saved and replanted elsewhere. Jason said he believes they will remain where they are.

John Arnold pointed out that the door from the Edgewood circle into Courtyard Crossing has not closed correctly for six months and that numerous service requests have been submitted to no avail. Karen Thomas of Edgewood stated that Courtyard Crossing is the red-headed stepchild and never gets things repaired then pointed out that hose bibs were flooding so John’s question was ignored.

Another resident offered a four foot Alberta spruce to be planted – Jason told her to contact Adam Narivanchik and he would gladly take it.

A resident pointed out the traffic tie up on Easter Sunday that had Wilkins Avenue and Maiden Choice completely tied up. It took 40 minutes to get off the beltway onto Wilkins Avenue, and it was all responsibility of the gate and lack of staff at the gate.

Jason will follow up with Bri.

David Elder pointed out that the door magnet problem is a fire safety violation. Merci thanked Leslie for all she has done for Charlestown.

Next meeting is May 5, 2026 at 3:00PM.