Category Archives: Annual Meeting Minutes

Monday December 6th, 2021 at 7PM via Zoom

Attendees: Mary Dominiak (2235),Sarah Keally (2233), Jill Jenkins (2254), Kristina Myers (2226), Kayleen Chin (2224), Roberto & MaryEllen Zambrana (2274), Miranda Salva (2205). Natalie Gustavsson (2251), Katie Jay (2237), Sandy Mohler (2209), Cyndi Hartman-Newland (2231), Scott Conrad (2262), Nathan Dreon (2273), Perez-Lucas (2228), Kelly Fairbank (2213), Oliver Goodridge and Jen Ren (2245), Mark and Rhea Mohler (2250), Kevin Wiley (2230), Karen (2207), Kerry Wingell (2219), Antonella 2261), Joy Charles (2258)

2021 in review

• Effects of ongoing pandemic  
  • Board Meetings still being presented over Zoom
  • Landscaping company – labor shortages
• Erosion 
  • French drain installed behind houses 2243-49 to mitigate flooding/pooling of water
• Concrete
  • Lower cluster areas – focus has been to address areas that pose the greatest risk of tripping hazards
  • Railing added to concrete stairs by 2245-2249
• Landscaping & Grounds Maintenance
  • Swale plantings by 2251 as required by Reston Association
  • Wood chip path by 2231 to create easier access to rear of houses 2217-2231
  • Continuation of grass rejuvenation around common cluster areas
  • Invasive weeds and underbrush removed from wooded areas by cluster residents during Cluster Cleanup
  • Wooden stairs repaired between 2263 & 2265
  • Removed hornets nest behind mailboxes in lower cluster
  • Trash can enclosure built in Tot Lot – easier to empty roll-can installed
  • Benches in Tot Lot cleaned, sanded and sealed
  • Asphalt potholes patched in main roadway

• Discussion on individual lawn care
  • Kristina: Elite Landscaping is doing a fairly good job with common area but there have been some issues with personal lawns
  • Roberto: Thinks the mowing of the lawn is great. Adding in personal responsibility for lawn care would be a lot of work
  • Sarah:  Now that they are renting they would require the renters to do it and she doesn’t see them doing that. If lawn care was removed they would just get rid of their grass and put in plants. May not be the best but it is better than nothing
  • Mary: When we first started having the contractors do the lawns the primary reason was because of people not maintaining yards and concern about how that detracted from all the properties in the cluster. For many houses the lawn is small and having a lawn mower doesn’t make sense. But doing it with a weed wacker doesn’t provide the most level lawn trimming. She favors having the contractors do the lawn because of the convenience
  • Jill – It would give the incentive to find a company that can help plan the yard, but also feel like if we go to private it would come down to some of us coming together to try to find a better rate to make it worth while for a company to come out and take care of a small area. She would be ok without but appreciates that we don’t have to deal with it. 
  • Kevin – As someone who doesn’t have a lawn he is in favor of keeping the personal lawn care. It makes it as easy as possible for people who are here. His bigger concern is about the need to even consider it because of people not taking care of their lawn. Some people are also not taking care of property as a whole. He believes there is a larger problem about taking care of peoples properties and wonder how we will address that.
  • Kristina – Kevin’s comment is something Kristina has seen on FB forums. There doesn’t seem to be a great way to enforce it. We rely a lot on RA and they have stopped doing their inspections and only do them when people buy and sell properties. It seems like the onus will be on the clusters themselves. We can possibly consider incentivizing  people to make their homes aesthetically pleasant
  • Jill – Is this something the lawyer can tell us about or answer? There was a conversation about this when she was on board but doesn’t know if the lawyer was ever asked. This topic seems to keep coming up a lot so it might be worth trying to get it answered.
  • Sandy – Her understanding of the guidelines and charters is that the cluster board doesn’t have a lot of authority to enforce what the guidelines are. Individual people can make complaints to RA. The most RA can do is put a lien on the property. That doesn’t go into effect until someone sells the property. She hopes that by updating the design guidelines and putting things in people’s heads and giving them options that it will encourage them to address things that haven’t been addressed or need to be addressed. People have been struggling with wanting to address issues but the guidelines need to be updated. For some issues maybe we can take a proactive approach during cluster cleanup and reach out and offer services during cluster cleanup. 
  • Kristina – A couple homeowners were waiting for updated siding colors to actually go ahead and repair their siding. We expect some improvements in siding in the next year and will continue to look into it and reach out to RA to ask for  some ideas for how we can achieve compliance in keeping properties looking nice in our cluster.
  • Kerry – He has been here 43 years and for half of them we had lawn service and the other half we didn’t. The years we didn’t could be very contentious because of some members who really let their lawn go. It makes things easier and why take 30 minutes to mow the lawn when they can do it in a minute and half. He is not always happy with how they do it, but the uniformity makes a difference.
  • Kristina- This is something  we want to throw out there and see how people feel about it. Is a topic that kept coming up
• Tree Committee – Tree Work
  • Most notable includes September removal of large dead oak trees by
    • Bus path and Olde Crafts
    • Rear of 2207
    • Rear of 2267
  • To be completed December 6-7, 2021
    • Removal of large oak in front of 2230 – on peninsula
    • Additional pruning and small tree removals include

• Perilous tree discovered to the rear of 2224 and 2226.   Roots on the creek side of this tree have become exposed and uprooted and left the tree leaning becoming a potential fall hazard.
• Received 2 bids to remove the tree and the one that could do it more quickly with less obtrusive equipment and at less cost was the route the board decided to pursue.
• Still put us over budget for trees for 2021.
• Landscaping
  • Continuing to contract with Elite Lawn and Landscaping
  • Homeowner complaints largely involved individual yard carelessness.
    • Broken potters, broken or damaged lawn decor
    • Uneven or poorly cut grass
    • Poor edging
    • Using too heavy equipment on individual lawns
    • Blowing debris in lawns
  • Pros with this company
    • Owner is responsive and personally addresses homeowner concerns and complaints
    • Entrance landscaping was very well tended this year
    • Hazardous waste pickup and tree credit 
  • Going forward
    • Individual lawn care – onus on the cluster or homeowner?
    • Ending this service would save the cluster $4,180 in 2022

Design for our future

• The guidelines haven’t been updated in a while and some materials became unavailable or hard to find
• What has been approved by Reston
  • Siding
    • Exterior Paint Option added for siding and trim
    • 8” OC t1-11 Wood Siding Plywood Option
      • The change to the 8 inch board doesn’t have to be onthe whole house at once. You can do the entire front or back as needed.
  • Trim
    • Resilient trim board options
    • Vinyl aluminum trim wrap color now matches existing Oxford Brown paint color
      • Musket Brown is grandfathered in but future changes should be Oxford Brown
  • New Colors
    • New upper Siding House Color Palette
    • RA approved a 10 year upgrade from October 2021 to upgrade to new house colors. Put in clause that if you substantively repair, replace, or repaint you are required to update tp a new house color
    • No two adjacent houses may be the same color and the Wheelwright Cluster Board must sign off on any color changes. Color Choices are on a first come first serve basis. 
    • For houses that have vinyl, the colors are technically discontinued but several paint colors match existing products. For example if your house is  Arbor Blend, that matches the approved connected gray. 
    • Discussion
      • Mary: Since the vinyl is no longer approved, are there any vinyl options for homes in the cluster, or is only for wood?
      • Sandy: No vinyl options were added and for all of the vinyl options that exist, none of them match any color that was previously approved. It would be adding a new color to the color palette to get a vinyl color in there. Part of it is limited because the vertically aligned vinyl is limited in their color spectrum. There are a lot of whites and cream. No one seemed passionate to add a color in. 
      • Kristina: The current color is good for the life of the vinyl
      • Sandy: If anyone has any problems filling out the DRB reach out to the board for assistance. The new covenants advisor, Erin, is really on the ball and awesome and has been cognizant that things are done correctly and quickly. With first come first serve, RA requires that the project is started within 6 months of submission and completion in 18 months.
• What is pending approval
  • Doors
    • Adding options for door materials in fiberglass or wood
    • Adding options for simple square panels
    • Adding option for panel to be glass
    • Adding options for glass to be clear, frosted privacy, or specified decorative design
    • Creating a new and broader color palette for door colors that coordinate with the new house color palette – 18 colors and a dark wood tone
    • These are options. You do not have to change your door from what it is currently. 
      • Jill – Does this include the side light?
      • Sandy: The side light is not going away, but we have allowed for the sidelight to be clear or a privacy frosted glass
    • We are hoping for a February meeting with the RA DRB. We are ready for submission but we need to get on the schedule. If you want to look at the full presentation it is on the website on the new Design Updates tab
  • Decks
    • Adding options for composite deck material as decking and drink railing
    • Composite material colors to be allowed in wood-look tones that coordinate with existing wood color guidelines
    • Adding options for railings, balusters, and posts to be composite or metal in dark brown or black
    • Adding an option for infill glass panel to replace balusters
    • Increasing maximum allowed deck size
    • Adding optional stairs to access lower level patio
    • Adding an option for water channeling underneath deck to keep lower patios dry
    • We are looking at around the same timeline for completion as the doors, but the doors are farther along. 
• A/C location
  • Add option for homeowners to move exterior A/C units from garbage bin enclosures to rear of house
    • Several homeowners have already done this individually, with Reston approval; the option is being added to the cluster standards
• 2022 design updates
  • Guideline updates will address
    • Trim color
      • Currently, Wheelwright Cluster is only approved for Olympic Oxford Brown color trim. Some homeowners have requested white as an optional trim color for houses. According to our RA covenants advisor, there is nothing in RA’s guidance that prevents a community from adding this as an option. Other communities in Reston have made a cluster-wide switch or added other trim color options.
      • Adding White as an option can help save in renovation costs
        • White is frequently the base color offered on many items at the lowest price point
        • When replacing doors and windows, it costs homeowners extra to have the exterior side dipped brown to match the existing Oxford Brown trim
        • Light colors can help wood and trim resist wrapping, extending its life
      • Discussion
        • Roberto: The white looks great, but certain houses having white next to the brown looks like an eye sore.  If you go white would you have to change everything, including the windows and screen door?
        • Sandy: Unsure if RA would require windows to be changed. Since most are black or dark brown they may allow us to keep brown windows and at the time of replacement you would upgrade to white. We are in the  initial stages of determining how RA and the cluster feels about it. One requirement doesn’t mean the other will happen.
        • Roberto: It  just may look weird with the brown and white next to each other
        • Sandy – Some clusters have a couple different trim options and have a similar look to ours. 
        • Jade: It seems like we are putting everything on the table and there can be too many options. She votes for just one color throughout the neighborhood and to stick with Oxford Brown so it looks cohesive
        • Jill – Considering how much it costs for the size of the window, anything that makes the cost less she is in favor of. If we pick only one she would prefer white, especially since it is cheaper.
        • Sandy – We would either need agreement from the cluster or we just not do anything and leave it as Oxford Brown.
    • Porch and Storage Area Roofs and Garbage Enclosures
      • Homeowners have expressed concern about the front of Wheelwright houses due to the lack of coverage provided by the current design of the arbor boards that sit over the porches and garbage bin enclosures
      • Complaints raised about the existing design
        • No protection from inclement weather when entering or exiting houses
        • Items stored in garbage enclosures are also unprotected
        • Current guideline solution of mounting corrugated plastic underneath arbor boards which is not Reston Approved and, as the plastic ages, the warping and accumulated dirt becomes unsightly
        • Some homeowners have constructed more hidden systems of solid roofing; but these are not always Reston approved, can sometimes create draining issues for neighboring houses, and often impede the air flow required by newer A/C units
        • The way most garbage enclosure doors have been installed makes trash bin removal difficult
        • Discussion
          • Jill: Having gone through it, she is thrilled that we are looking at this. She knows hers isn’t Reston approved and they will make her tear it down, but it needs to be fixed. She went in circles with the contractor trying to get it to work and it didn’t make sense
          • Sarah : When she redid hers recently they had the same issues and tried to make the best of it but think it is time to reevaluate
          • Kerry: His experience is with replacing a heat pump. The one that he wanted to have was too large for the enclosure. It fit but didn’t have the needed air circulation. He had it installed next to the shed and it was allowed by RA as long as it couldn’t be seen from the curb. It is a messy issue and addressing something that was designed in the 70s
          • Sandy: Depending on how diligent the contractor is, it has made it so that the homeowner is okay but it then causes issue for the neighbor
          • Scott: He has seen a few sheds that have a screen like area that was cut into the side of the shed to help with air flow. Is that approved?
          • Sandy: It is approved but is not something that is added into our design regulations. There are several artifacts where something got approved but never added into the guidelines. 
          • Jill: She has a hole cut in her shed, and RA came through and said the hole was fine but the chicken wire screen had to be removed. 
          • Sandy: She wants a professional who will know what is required. This is still in early stages and we do not know what it will cost but think it is important to do it right.
        • Given the complexity of the redesign issues at hand, and the variety of how neighboring houses intersect, the Board is recommending that an architect be hired to ensure a code-compliant, neighbor-friendly, Reston-approved option for homeowners to use when rebuilding garbage enclosures and renovating front porch areas
        • Desired design features to be address
          • Cover integrated above entrance and garbage bin
          • Appropriate drainage and guttering created for cover
          • Adequate air circulation provided for modern HVAC unit sizes
          • Resize enclosures to fit current trash and recycling bins
          • Optional additional lighting within garbage enclosures for safety
          • Blueprints provided to homeowners to assist contractors in building appropriate and complaint garbage enclosures and porch roofs
    • Deck enclosures and privacy
      • The board has fielded several complaints about mosquito issues, lack of rain protection, and privacy concerns that negatively impact homeowners in 3-level houses when they are using their rear deck area. The Board would like to explore community feedback as to if Wheelwright should add standards to our design guidelines that address these issues
      • Options to Consider
        • Wheelwright at one time was approved for retractable awning covers; some homeowners have requested more permanent structures for rain protection
        • Allowing some sort of side privacy option for decks
        • If more permanent structures are permitted, allowing those structures to be screened to prevent mosquito incursion
      • Discussion
      • Joy: Those who face public park land may have an argument for approval because they look at the natural view and RA doesn’t consider screened in porches an option. She has had this issue in other areas
      • Kristina: She saw one on Generation that faces the trail. Was that not approved?
      • Joy – Some were grandfathered in and others lived in violation and problem occured when selling
  • Exterior light fixtures
    • Wheelwright has three approved exterior lights; the original square lucite lamps, and two globe lights from Seagull Lighting. Only one of these three are still being manufactured
    • We have had many requests for new fixture options for both front and rear house lights
    • Some complaints have been
      • Existing fixtures look outdated and too plain for a front entrance
      • Style of enclosure makes LED bulbs difficult to find
    • The Board is looking to add a couple of new light fixture options for Wheelwright homeowners
    • We will be working with Reston in 2022 to determine exactly which options would be best for our cluster; but some of the features we will be taking into consideration will be:
      • Fixtures will be reasonably priced and readily available
      • Style will be able to accommodate LED bulbs
      • Light Bulb brightness and color of light will be evaluated for safety and visibility as well as the impact of light-bleed on neighboring properties
      • Timeless design that both match our architecture and resist being discontinued
  • House Number Design
    • These are our current design guidelines regarding house numbers:
      • A choice of two types
        • Blue and white metal numbers in existence
        • Wooden numbers not to exceed 6 inches in height
        • The color of these numbers matches the existing house trim
        • Numbers may be painted or stained in earth colors to match the existing house colors or sealed in their natural state
    • Many homes have lost the original blue and white number plates and wooden letters are no longer readily available. Most homes have already switched or added the metal individual style numbers that are available in local hardware stores. 
    • The Board is proposing these new guidelines
      • House numbers shall be either:
        • Original-style blue and white square metal placard; located near front exterior light
        • Simply designed, individual numbers, without ornamentation
          • Numbers may not exceed 6 inches in height
          • Numbers may be plastic or metal material; black, dark brown, brass, or silver in color
          • Numbers should be easily visible from sidewalk and shall be located around front door or on garbage bin enclosure
        • Having both the placard and individual house numbers is also permitted

Goals for 2022

• Repaving of Parking Lot
  • Last December – discussion about parking lot rejuvenation
  • Obtained assessment and bids from 3  companies
  • The work will be done in 2022
  • Through the inspections it appears that the work probably wasn’t done properly in 2009. It is very uneven throughout the neighborhood
  • Discussion:
    • Jill : Do any provide a guarantee or a warranty over a certain period for quality of work?
    • Kristina – The guy from RA said at the most we may get a year or two guarantee
    • Jill : Have we looked at how long the companies have been in business or reviews?
    • Kristina: We used these companies as a launching point because they came recommended from RA and have been in business for a while. Interesting that you brought it up, Jay from RA said he has had really great parking lots and really bad parking lots by the same company. There have been issues with turnover and it is a problem with any paving company. He brought up one other company that he has good experience with. They are on our list to get another bid starting in the new year. 
    • Sandy – She knows that Dominion has been around a while and did our parking lot in the 90s. 
    • Mary – What they said then is in line with what they are saying now. They did it back in the 90s. Interim would be not grinding down as far but eventually would need to go in depth.
• Speed bumps
  • Too many drivers speed down Wheelwright
    • Many kids/people walking dogs in the neighborhood
    • People trying to back out of their spots safely
  • Pros and Cons
    • Pros – slow down drivers
    • Pros – protect kids and pedestrians and other vehicles
    • Cons – irritating for drivers
    • Cons – expense?
    • Cons – wear and tear from snow plow
  • Alternatives to asphalt speed bumps?
    • Removable speed bumps
    • Other ideas?
  • Discussion
    • Jill – She is against it. She has not seen anything that makes them seem necessary
    • Cyndi – She disagrees. Delivery trucks are some of the worst offenders. They drive through the neighborhood way too fast and residents do as well
    • Roberto – We should consider the height of the speed bump or people will continue to speed through it. Additional signs might help that are also more visible
• Erosion
  • Continue to tackle erosion
  • Areas of concern 2250-2256 – rear of houses
  • Erosion control benefits the community in several ways:
    • improves drainage/ decreases sitting water and runoff into area streams and lakes
    • Repairs and prevents further wearing away of slopes
    • Stabilization of slopes can be achieved through planting of shade tolerant vegetation – specifically native plants as they have much longer roots that hold the soil in place
• Concrete
  • Patchwork maintenance of sidewalks on cluster property around the community
    • Limited budget
    • Continue to address tripping hazards
    • Alternate years addressing problem areas in lower vs. upper cluster
    • Community input welcome regarding areas needing to be monitored for possible replacement 

• Landscaping
  • Continue with common areas for grass rejuvenation
  • Rebuild wooden benches throughout the cluster
• Tree Work
  • Tree Committee
    • Separate from the board/makes recommendations to the board who ultimately decide
    • Coordinates annual review of trees with arborist
    • Largely focuses on trees that are potential risks to life and property
    • Community members can reach out to board if they are interested in joining the tree committee
  • Tree Committee charter
  • Liability

Budget review

• Review of Profit and Loss Statement
• Income – The Board has been putting effort into making sure everyone is paying and cleaning up delinquent accounts. Income this year looks really good. We are setting resale documents and started charging a transfer fee for new homeowners
• Expenses – There are some things where the cost went up like insurance. Office supplies went over a little
• Legal Fees
  • So far we are under budget, but expect an invoice this month for some services in November
• Landscaping
  • We are slightly over, but will recover some of that as it is billed to homeowners
• Trash and Recycling
  • We are over on the trash removal due to an increase in fees for the dumpster rentals
• Concrete and Grounds Maintenance
  • We are slightly over in these categories for unforeseen repairs
• Reserve Study
  • A reserve study is a long-range capital planning tool that helps anticipate and prepare for repairs/replacement of the community’s common areas
• The Proposed Budget
  • For 2022, we have a budget with four options that we are asking the community to sign off on how we proceed
  • 4 options
    • 2 different income options and 2 different landscaping options
  • Parking Lot
    • We are planning the parking lot replacement in 2022 and plan to use reserves for this
  • Reserve Study
    • We have received three different studies with prices ranging from $2,000-$4,000
  • Other Expenses
    • We have reduced as much as we can for expenses and tried to keep them “true to actual”
• Increasing Dues
  • Rising Costs
    • We are looking at cost increases for most of our services including landscaping, trash and recycling and others
  • Aging Neighborhood
    • As our neighborhood continues to age, the need for maintenance of property such as trees, parking lot and sidewalk increases
• Discussion
  • Mary: There needs to be a dues increase. However, for all options the entire amount of the increase looks to be going towards operating expenses and none towards rebuilding capital reserve. We need to make sure we are putting a sufficient amount back into the reserves rather than everything be in operating
  • Kelly: When looking at everything there was a set that went towards operating, then a small amount that went towards capital. All increases since 2008 went towards capital, but operating revenue didn’t increase, so income wasn’t being allocated properly. She looked to figure out what was needed for capital and what was needed for operating. $35,000 gave us everything we needed for capital plus some. With the reserve study, everything might change for the allocation and we can reevaluate after the reserve study.
  • Sandy: Reserve studies are now required by law for HOAs in Virginia every 5 years, and boards need to review amongst themselves on an annual basis.
  • Mark: In 1998 we didn’t have a capital fund and to start one it was a significant amount per household. We need a process to make sure operating funds aren’t taken from the capital funds and we need to think of how to rebuild the fund for future residents.
• Vote
  • Majority picked an increase of $25 per quarter, for a total of a $100 increase annually and to keep the landscaping option that we currently have

Topics for discussion

• Quick Reminders – community mailbox to rear of LFL
• New Community composting bin located by the tot lot
• Parking in the cluster
  • Only registered cars will be allowed to park in the cluster
  • All vehicles must have current tags
  • 2 vehicles per household in the parking lot. Extra vehicles – Olde Crafts
  • Parking Pads for lower cluster are for offloading of items only. No vehicle should be “parked” on parking pad
  • Parking Permits 
    • Discussion
      • Sarah: How would permits with renters work?
      • Kristina: We have renters on the email distribution list. If they aren’t please get them in touch with board and we can communicate that way
      • Cyndi: There have been comments made about people parking in our lot who do not live in our community. If you see that please let the board know. 
      • Karen: If we see this should we capture the license plate number? She has seen people park and leave the community
      • Sandy: If you are seeing cars park and then leave, take a quick snapshot of the license plate and we can check the plates against a database we have. We want to be diligent about everyone having enough space.
      • Scott: Has there been any more discussions about putting in charges for electric vehicles?
      • Kristina: We talked about it in the last annual meeting and not much has been done in 2021. There has been a lot of talk and updates in RA because there are lots of communities looking into it for their communities or individual homeowners. We need to stay on top of it and explore in 2022. 
      • Cyndi: As of last year’s meeting it wasn’t cost effective at the time. It would be something that would have to come out of pocket and would be an investment up front and more of a benefit than a money maker. We would lose money for some time/
      • Scott: He understands it would cost money, but he doesn’t know many communities that have it available and it would increase property values. It also would be convenient for those that want a Tesla but have nowhere to charge it.
      • Mary: She was looking at the cost and the big part on the front end would be having to trench through the parking lot. It is possible but minimal cost would be $25k to do the installation and it would be coming out of the capital reserve fund. In terms of allowing access to it we would probably contract with one of the network companies that offers EV charging services. They would handle the billing and maintenance on the units. The Cluster should look into it in the future because it will be a selling point for people who want to move here but have an electric vehicle that they want to charge overnight at their home. 
      • Sandy: This is definitely something to think about before paving the cluster parking lot. Adding whatever infrastructure is needed subsurface. 
• Elections
  • Three board members are up for re-election. One member is up for election to fill Ruth’s position. Others in the community may put their in the hat as well
  • Vote
    • Majority voted for Cyndi, Sandy, Kristina for a new term
    • Majority voted for Kayleen to fill the remainder of Ruth’s term