Wheelwright Cluster Board Meeting – December 7
Attendees: Kristina, Jessica, Sandy, Cyndi, Sarah, and Kelly
Residents from: 2246, 2235, 2224, 2256, 2242, 2244, 2228, 2205, 2230, 2254
Meeting was called to order at 7:06 PM by Kristina Myers, Interim President
2020 In Review:
- Covid-19 disruptions to board meetings/contracted work –
- Board Meetings from March onward held on virtual platforms
- DRB application delays
- Concrete companies did not respond to inquiries
- Landscaper having trouble with sick crew members
- Erosion –
- Work to the rear of houses 2251-53 delayed due to DRB delays
- Drainage work including construction of artificial swale filled with wash gravel to route water to drainage stream and prevent further erosion
- Will likely ensue week of December 21st
- Concrete – Cyndi
- Upper cluster – most work completed in this section to save money
- Portions of sidewalk in front of 2201 around corner to 2223.
- Lower cluster areas to be addressed in the Spring
- Shingles – Jessica
- Discussed the newly approved shingles by Reston DRB as well as older ones already approved by our cluster guidelines
- Added a few architectural shingle styles – see slide
- Newly approved shingles will be added to the cluster guidelines
- Landscaping – Sandy
- Grass rejuvenation project – added grass seed to several areas with the help of the landscaping contractor to help build up the grassy areas
- Showed several before and after pictures of the work and results
- Next year they want to address more areas in the peninsulas and lower cluster areas
- Tree Update – Tree Committee
- Steve gave a quick overview of the work completed in 2020 to a total estimated cost of $11,027.50 (including a 15% winter discount).
2020 Budget Review:
- All of the expenditures were sent out via email ahead of the meeting
- Saved money on meeting room
- Little over budget on website maintenance fees (paid for two years instead of one)
- Greatly under budget for snow removal
- Concrete work – still awaiting final invoice for December for a total of ~$4,000
- Tree removal – awaiting final invoice once work complete, should arrive this month
- Erosion – awaiting final invoice – just under budget this year
2021 Budget Proposal:
- General liability insurance – what we actually pay
- Reduced office supplies
- Copying – small amount but reduced from previous years
- Wheelwrighter – reduced down to $0
- Landscaping – just received quote for $21,080
- Trash removal went up
- Tree removal will go up slightly
- Grounds maintenance – new category to capture things like grass rejuvenation and other similar projects – budgeted $1500
- No questions or comments
Updating Wheelwright Cluster Guidelines – Sandy
- Started with shingles and then added on more for a cohesive looking neighborhood
- Learned that several currently approved siding materials are expensive (special orders), hard to source, or discontinued
- Providing recommendations for updates and replacements that are easy and affordable options
- Recommended to replace 12” RBB Cedar to 8” T1-11 plywood (which is currently in stock at Home Depot and Lowes)
- Hardieboard already approved but must be painted, which doesn’t last as long
- Recommendations on solid exterior latex paint colors over stain due to the materials and how they absorb the stain versus paint
- There was some discussion about the pros and cons of stain versus paint
- Residents are ok with having paint and stain options to help make the colors more uniform
- Remove vinyl colors from guidelines since all colors have been discontinued and nothing matches to replace it
- Will grandfather in those who already have vinyl siding
- New Colors – update Wheelwright Cluster palette to modern colors to blend with existing vinyl siding
- See slide for more information
- There was discussion about the color options and some people might want to see more
- Discussed poll for voting on recommendations provided by board
- Siding size – 100% voted to move to newer size of siding – 8”
- Trim and siding materials – 100% approval for more cost effective options
- Colors of siding – 81% for Pacific Blue, 75% for Calvary, and 63% each for Pewter and Cool Charcoal
- Most people agreed that we could keep all seven colors
- For phasing out the colors, residents agreed to a timeline of 10 years to come into compliance with the newer colors
New Topics:
- Electric car charging stations – up to $3600 per charger, not including taxes and shipping
- Also would need to hire contractors for electrical and installation on top of purchasing
- Would be more for maintenance and not a profit maker
- More of an investment and incentive for purchasing in the community
- Question: is this something we can put in ourselves as individual owners? Yes, you theoretically can if you wanted to do that.
- Question: Is there data to show what the added value would be to condos and other HOAs? Not currently, but this is relatively new. RA might have more information.
- Mary offered to write an article on electric car charging for the website in the future.
- Many residents are willing to consider but don’t think we are ready for it yet.
- Asphalt Rejuvenation
- Two layer process
- 4 year warranty on flaking, peeling, and chipping
- 3 year fuse bond overlay warranty
- Proposal received in July 2020 was $8,889.00; we just did a resealing in 2017 at a cost of $11,248
- More research needs to be done, but residents are willing to consider it
- Glass collection
- Pay a company to come and collect the glass to be used as ground cover material
- Most people feel it is not worth it
- Community Composting Proposal
- Put on list of things to do in 2021
- Most people agree with it and would be willing to try it
- See benefits and ideas of bins with the slides
- Would need to find a more ideal location for the cluster but that can be overcome
- Rules would need to be followed to make sure the piles are maintained
Voting for new board members:
- Ruth Schulte was nominated and seconded as a new board member
- Kelly Fairbank, current Treasurer, also is willing to be a board director
- Poll – members voted by majority vote (100%) to elect both Kelly and Ruth in as new members
New positions will be determined by chat over the next few days.