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The Greater Glenmont Civic Association isn't leaving anything to chance.

To ensure that concerns about their community are addressed, members of the Wheaton association compiled and voted on an official "action plan" this month detailing what they want done in their neighborhood, who's going to do it and when it should be finished.

It's a kind of check list for the county and for the residents themselves, said Kris Kumaroo, the president of the organization.

"We're organized, we're efficient, and now we're stepping it up a notch and asking for dedicated help from the county," Kumaroo said.

Glenmont is not the first neighborhood to develop something like this, but what makes the list so special is the initiative the residents took to do it completely on their own, said Natalie Cantor, the director of the Mid-County Regional Services Center.

Cantor said the residents made the plan as transparent and inclusive as possible.

"They're doing it almost by textbook," she said.

Kumaroo said the action plan is a way to fill a void in leadership that District 4 has been lacking since the death of two of its representatives on the County Council.

After winning a special election in May, Councilwoman Nancy Navarro (D) of Silver Spring serves District 4, which encompasses Glenmont. She took the place of Councilman Donald Praisner (D), who died Jan. 30, almost a year after his special election and the death of his wife, longtime Councilwoman Marilyn Praisner (D-Dist. 4).

A day after her election, Navarro noted District 4 voters were "fatigued" with two special elections in as many years.

Fatigued or not, the 300 or so Glenmont residents who are members of the year-old civic association have to do something to put their name at the top of the county's "to do" list, Kumaroo said.

"We're action-oriented. We're not going to just sit here and run our mouths," he said.

The plan lists the community's top eight priorities in order of most important. Number one, for example, is a revitalization of the Glenmont Shopping Center, which many residents say is decrepit and crime-ridden.

Each priority has an estimated completion date and designates a resident to tackle the details. It was developed through a meticulous visioning process that tried to include all 750 households in Glenmont, said Kathy Bailey, the vice president of the civic association and chairwoman for the action plan.

Under each priority are comments Bailey collected from visioning sessions and e-mail requests. The comments are specific enough to demand specific action, Cantor said.

Cantor said the plan alleviates the temptation for residents to complain when nothing gets done.

"It will be easy to see how things are going and who still needs to step up the plate," Cantor said.

Kumaroo said he hopes his neighborhood's persistence pays off.

"If we say we're going to do something, we're going to follow through with it and hold people responsible for what we're asking for. I don't take no for an answer," he said.