Frequently Asked Questions
Below are the most commonly asked questions and answers about living in Milestone HOA
General Neighborhood
Yes. Trash is collected by J&J Trash Service on Wednesday and Saturday.
Please note that trash will not be collected when a collection day falls on the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
J&J will provide bulk collection on Saturdays for non-construction items. Please call J&J at 1-800-465-2350 to arrange for bulk pick-up. J&J can also provide large, 95 gallon covered cans with wheels for a small charge billed directly to the resident.
Recycling services are provided by Montgomery County on Wednesday.
For more information on how to recycle, or to order a blue recycling bin, please visit the County’s Department of Environmental Protection website.
Note that the recycling day will shift to the following day when a government holiday falls prior to Wednesday. To see when these shifts will occur, or to sign up for text and email alerts, please click here.
Direct all comments and questions to the Management office. The office will take action and forward to the Board of Directors as appropriate.
Abaris Real Estate Management can be reached via phone at 301-468-8919 or email to customercare@abarisrealty.com.
Please report the issue to Abaris Real Estate Management at customercare@abarisrealty.com. Please be as descriptive as possible, and include photos or other supporting information as necessary.
Report suspicious activity to Montgomery County Police:
- Emergency: 911
- Non-Emergency: 301-279-8000
Within the County park (walking trails and Waters House), you can also contact the Maryland National Capital Park Police, non-emergency 301-949-8010.
Use of community amenities are only for residents and their guests.
Roads & Sidewalks
Roads (repairs and snow removal) are maintained by Montgomery County.
You can find out more information on Montgomery County Department of Transportation website.
To find out the status of a County maintained street during a storm event, visit the Winter Storm Information Portal.
Montgomery County maintains the sidewalks. Residents can dial 311 (or 240-777-0311) to report a cracked or heaved sidewalk.
Homeowners are responsible for removing snow from sidewalks and driveway apron along with mowing the grass in the strip between the street and the sidewalk encompassing their property boundaries.
No, the HOA has no authority over county streets.
Contact Montgomery County Police for traffic enforcement. The HOA does ask residents to be considerate and avoid blocking driveways, sidewalks, and mailboxes when parking.
County-owned streetlights are free-standing, mounted on metal or fiberglass poles. Functional issues with County-owned streetlights (such as an outage, steady burn, cycling on/off, leaning or knockdown) may be reported online by clicking here. The average repair time is 7 days, unless the outage(s) are due to underground power disconnect, it will require restoration by the utility company – requiring additional 30 days on average.
Streetlights mounted on wooden utility poles are owned and maintained by PEPCO and may be reached at 877-737-2662. Potomac Edison may be reached at 1-888-544-4877 and BG&E at 1-877-778-2222 to report streetlight issues within their service area.
To report street light poles please contact Potomac Edison at 1-888-544-4877.
If damaged trees or branches are blocking roads, sidewalks or paths, please contact Abaris Realty, Inc. at 301-468-8919.
NOTE: Trees and branches down on homeowners property are their responsibility.
Assessments
For information on how to pay your HOA assessments, please visit the following link:
Assessments are due the at the beginning of the month. If a payment is not received by the 15th day of the month, a late fee is assessed. Homeowners who pay the full yearly assessment by the 15th of January receive a discount.
The Board of Directors maintains a budget to pay the Management company, trash removal service, landscaping of common areas, snow removal on common sidewalks, operation and maintenance of the community pool, storm water management ponds, general maintenance and upkeep, tennis courts, playgrounds and paths.
Covenants & Architectural Change
Approval must be obtained to make changes to the exterior of your house or property, including additions, decks, fences, sheds, pools and landscaping.
Please click here to submit at Architectural Change Request.
The Architectural Review committee (ARC) will review and either approve or deny based on the precedents and covenants of the neighborhood.
Note that some changes such as additions, sheds and fences require you to obtain a Montgomery County building permit. You must abide by all required building setbacks.
First, discuss the reason with the management company. If an agreement cannot be reached, you may appeal the decision to the Board of Directors and shall be entitled a hearing before the board. A two-thirds (2/3) vote shall be required to reverse the decision.
First, each prospective homeowner is provided a copy of the governing documents for review prior to final commitment of a home purchase. Purchasing the property indicates that the buyer is aware and will abide by the Covenants.
A Covenant can be changed, but it is not an easy process. The recommended change would be submitted to the Board for review, placed on the annual ballot and then would need a passing vote by at least two-thirds (2/3) of the community.
The Covenants were established prior to the development of the community and are the ruling documents of the Community. The Covenants ensure that the Community remains a great place to live and property values do not decline.
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors are volunteers from the community, elected to two year terms, that determine the HOA budget, make decisions on community issues, and conduct hearings for homeowner requests and violations.
Below are the dates for the Board of Directors meetings in 2024:
- January 8, 2024
- February 5, 2024 (Annual Meeting)
- February 15, 2024
- March 4, 2024
- April 1, 2024
- May 6, 2024
- June 3, 2024
- July 1, 2024
- August 5, 2024
- September 9, 2024
- October 7, 2024
- November 4, 2024
- December 2, 2024
The Board may elect to suspend meetings in December and August. Homeowners are welcome at all Board meetings.
Consider attending the monthly Board meetings to get a feel for how the community is run. If interested you can run for election to the Board during the annual November meeting.
The various established committees are always looking for volunteers to help.
