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Wheelwright Cluster Board Meeting Minutes – July 2021

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Thursday July 8, 2021 at 7 pm via Zoom

Attendees:  Kelly, Cyndi, Sandy, Kristina, Kayleen (2224) 

Community updates

Erosion – There was a proposal for the swale from Chris. Details for proposal outlined in spreadsheet. Jose proposed a French drain behind 2243-2249

For the breakdown, look at the spreadsheet Erosion Projects 2021.

Kristina proposes completing the swale project as proposed, the French drain project and the path leading to the rear of houses by 2231.  Cost of all projects $6505, coming under budget by $495.  Board voted to pursue all erosion projects.

Concrete – We do not have a date of service, yet, but Bright Construction says it will be 6-8 weeks from June 30th, putting the concrete work probably at the end of August or beginning of September.  Kristina will reach out to folks who are redoing their house from car damage to make sure that concrete work won’t interfere with their reconstruction.

Will Juan be offering a discount for homeowners who want work done? Cyndi spoke to a rep at Bright Construction group and they said that they could probably offer the 10% discount but it would have to be confirmed by Juan who hasn’t yet gotten back to Cyndi.

DRB applications updates

Siding – We are bundling the changes for trim, siding style, and colors together . Sandy has completed the DRB application for the trim, siding materials and colors with the intent to submit by the end of this week.  She will also include an update for the poly-coated wrap trim (fascia board) that we already have approved.  The current approved color is Musket Brown, which does not match our trim color, Oxford Brown.  Going forward, we’d like to amend the color to Oxford Brown but grandfather those who have already put trim capping in the Musket Brown color.  The board voted and agreed.

Door art glass styles – Sandy presented a number of decorative glass options for door inserts from several different companies.  She would like to present the community with options from different companies.  Styles were presented from Therma Tru, Masonite, MMI, and Jeld Wen.  Generally, the board tended towards modern but simple styles with straight lines and geometric shapes.  From Therma Tru, Pembridge and Axis styles were the favorites.  From Masonite, the Crosslines and Brooklyn styles were favored.  From MMI, the Atherton style was favored; and from Jeld Wen, the Wendover style was selected.  Sandy will put together a list of our favorites and we will share with the community for input.  Also, we would like to consider whether the art glass options should be available for doors only or also for the sidelight.

Landscaping proposal – Noncompliance issues with rock swales that were installed as part of recent erosion control work. The surrounding swale installation application is almost complete now that Chris’ proposal came through.  Kristina should be able to complete it by early next week.

Parking lot and asphalt – On hold until maybe September? Board agreed to delve into this topic in September.  Since we’re consumed with concrete, erosion projects, DRB applications, we’ll hold off until we can have a more comprehensive discussion.  Kristina will put something together for the September meeting. We can then present the issue at the annual meeting. This will be at the top of the list for annual meeting topics, as the work may be scheduled in 2022.

General Landscaping – Nudge Chris to give a gentle reminder to his crews to be more mindful when using the large lawn equipment in the yards. There has been damage to residents garden gates and bushes.

Sandy will bring up with Chris again.  Cyndi mentioned that the equipment they are using is too large for our front yards.  Sandy said she has had discussions with Chris about this topic and the next step down is similar to push mowers, which Chris stated is not very cost effective or beneficial for a landscaping company.

Garbage/Recycling – There was another combined recycling/trash dump incident. Bates also missed the upper cluster during yard waste pickup. Kristina has been in touch with Theresa trying to get these issues fixed.

Tree inspection – We are waiting to hear when this will be scheduled from the tree committee

Summer community cookout? August 1st

Preparations -We will plan to host a cookout similar to that of cluster cleanups.  Kristina will do the shopping at Costco a few days before.  Cyndi has room in her fridge.  Ideally, we will set up in the lower cluster at 1pm.  Our goal is for Sandy to a bring charcoal grill from 2223, or Kayleen has offered to lend the cluster the use of their gas grill.

Neighborhood donation drive – We will hold a donation drive the weekend of October 16th for Cornerstones. Items that are needed include new and used blankets and towels, and new sweatpants and sweatshirts

The board decided to do the Cornerstones donation during the cookout.  That way we can also look for a charity that picks up a wide array of used items not needed by Cornerstones. Residents can donate used items to prevent our dumpster from overfilling with items in good condition during the Fall Cluster Clean Up.  Kristina will look into Lupus foundation or Amvets.

Board Member positions – We need a new board member and person to fill the officer position of secretary.  Ruth Schulte will be leaving her position as secretary, as she and her family are leaving the neighborhood at the end of August.  Kayleen from 2224 has graciously offered to step in as board member and secretary. 

Who else is planning on leaving after this term is up?  Terms are up for Cyndi, Sandy and Kristina.  All have expressed interest in continuing to serve on the board.

Annual meeting – The board feels that more people attend when the annual meeting has been in person.  Kristina will reach out to RCC to see what their availability is for rooms in December.  We will also try to have a Zoom option available.

Other topics? Renewal for website domain name needs to be renewed.  Kristina will check with Ruth to see if she can take care of the renewal.  If not, Kristina will do.

It was suggested that a hard copy of the Wheelwriter be distributed to the neighborhood especially around cluster clean ups. Members also agreed that now might be a good time for a hard copy to go out, including information about hazardous waste pickup, the cookout, the Cornerstones donation drive, the fall cluster clean up, and doors style options.

Financials

Reviewed the current status of the budget and the anticipated net income for the end of the year since we have had a few line items go over budget and/or have some unexpected expenses.

Discussed proper allocation of income based on current and future cluster needs, such as the grind and mill for the parking lot, and general increases to operating expenses.

Began discussions on how to ensure we are in a better financial position moving forward.

Next Meeting

Thursday, August 12 at 7 pm

Wheelwright Cluster Board Meeting -April 8

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Board Attendees: Kristina, Sandy, Cyndi, Kelly, Ruth

Members: 2207

Community Updates

Door and Siding Colors and Styles – Sandy

Allura prefinished product discontinued as of January 2021. Now the only manufacturer of vertical 8” cement siding strips is Hardie board (vertical Sierra 8). Hardie board does not come as a prefinished product so the siding will need to be painted. Allura also discontinued stucco boards.

RA working on discount at Sherwin Williams (SW). Sandy is finding colors at SW that are similar to what we had chosen in December from Allura. Paint samples ordered and will arrive later this month.

No word back from RA re: door styles with windows in them.

Cluster Clean up – April 24th

Projects:

  • Clean and sand benches by tot lot (Cyndi)
  • Bin for trash can at tot lot (Sandy)
  • Need 2 x 6 board for steps, cut to length (Ruth)
  • Trash collection (Lily)
  • Re-planting daylilies in upper cluster island where bed was damaged (Kristina/Mike)
  • Sign washing (Elli)

Parking Lot

Tri-technologies did not show up for the scheduled Zoom meeting regarding asphalt rejuvenation. Cluster does not intend to reschedule, as most advice has been that rejuvenation will not delay grind and mill.

Finley (Joe) provided estimates for grind and mill and suggested doing work before 2025. Quote for the entire parking lot was $76,000. Joe said patching would be okay if we want to hold off until 2025 but would cost between $10,000-15,000 each time we need to patch.

Dominion (Nathan) will provide quotes for the entire parking lot, just the areas that are driven on, and patching rough spots. They agreed with Finley that the top layer of asphalt is too thin to last until 2025 and suggested moving the grind and mill to an earlier date. 

Erosion

Need an estimate for erosion work on the hill by Cyndi’s house. No word back from Chris, yet. Kristina will look into it more, including a pathway for people to walk behind houses.

Jose De La Cruz spoke with Sandy about putting a 12 x 12 square drain behind Karen Beasley’s yard and running a French drain behind the adjacent houses for $2700

Cluster received a letter from RA about being out of compliance with the vegetation surrounding rock swales related to recent erosion work. Kristina will continue to investigate exactly where the non-compliance occurs and exactly what RA wants us to plant in those areas.

Landscaping

Cluster will offer to order bags of mulch to be delivered to the neighborhood. Residents need to order the number of bags they want and will be billed through the cluster. 

The turf was recently fertilized and overseeding will occur at some point in the future to the lawns that were seeded in the fall.

Concrete

Sandy and Kristina talked about the possibility of putting in a railing by the stairs in front of 2245 rather than having them redone. Cyndi reached out to Juan. 

Garbage and Recycling

Board decided to hold off on switching from Bates to another provider. Prices were competitive but did not include extra features like dumpsters and large item pickup.

Need the voucher for the dump fee for the roll-away dumpster that will be here during the cluster cleanup

Other topics? 

Chemical/hazardous waste pickup date? (Sandy – but Kelly will also try to reach out to Chris)

Financials

Financials were discussed. Cluster dues for the 2nd quarter were sent out in April.

Next meeting 

May 13th at 7 pm via Zoom

Wheelwright Cluster Board Meeting – March 11

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Board Attendees: Kristina, Sandy, Cyndi, Kelly, Ruth

Members: 2207, 2237

Community Updates

Door colors and styles: 

  • Sandy has not heard back from Megan about updating glass door styles. 
  • Goal is to narrow down color choices to 6-7 colors, with 1-2 alternates. 
  • Residents will be able to pick any of the colors, not based on siding color, so there will be some freedom of choice there.
  • Board and members in attendance viewed mock up versions of the house colors with the suggested door colors. Of those mock ups, there was consensus on the following colors:
    • Burgundy red,
    • Purple but not too grapey,
    • Black,
    • Creamy white (slightly darker than Amber White used on stucco), 
    • Mid-tone gray brown,
    • Deep green,
    • Navy or strong blue,
    • Aqua or slate blue, and/or
    • Possibly a mid-range blue
  • Sandy agreed to get larger paint samples for the navy and strong blue to help decide which one is preferred as well as larger paint samples for aqua or slate blue.
    • Consensus was that it would be better to stick to one shade in a particular color than have a variety of different shades in that color family.

Spring Cluster Cleanup:

  • Date set for April 24th 
  • Projects:
    • General trash pick up (need to purchase more trash bags)
    • Kristina will make a list of projects and necessary supplies so we can coordinate purchases.
    • Possibilities include:
      • Erosion control on Cyndi’s hill 
        • Potential path (i.e., wood chips) to guide people to walk at base of hill rather than on the hill
        • Might need to grade the path some and set up edging to keep the wood chips from washing away
      • Wash, sand, and repaint/reseal the benches at the playground/tot lot. 
      • Build trash can enclosure for the trash can by the tot lot (Sandy).
      • Plant bulbs around the cluster.
      • One of the steps on the hill by Duncan’s old house is missing and should be replaced.
  • Socialization – Decided to delay community BBQ until this summer based on current social gathering guidelines and to give more people a chance to get vaccinated. This will be mentioned in the next newsletter.
  • Cyndi will lead and direct residents to various projects since Kristina works on Saturdays.

Parking lot rejuvenation – Zoom meeting with Tri-technologies on Wednesday March 24th at 7pm

  • Kristina is also looking at resealing the parking lot with Finley Asphalt and Dominion Paving rather than going with rejuvenation 
  • Estimate will include evaluation to determine if we are still on track for grind and mill in 2025

Erosion – Some work can be done on Cyndi’s hill during Cluster Clean Up

Tree Work – Pausing tree work due to pending cicada swarm. Planting new trees will wait until fall or next spring.

Landscaping – Sandy will look at planting more bulbs and flowers around the cluster. 

Snow/Ice – No real updates.

Concrete – Cyndi will reach out to Juan about replacing steps in front of Nick’s house as well as sidewalk surrounding steps.

Garbage/Recycling –

  • Kristina got quotes from other companies
  • American Disposal Services quote was slightly under what we pay Bates 
    • Kristina will look into their capabilities to get more information
    • Do they already have customers that get pick up trash on Mondays and Thursdays? 
  • Waiting for estimates from Waste Management and Republic

Cluster Connect – RA’s newsletter to clusters in Reston

  • Wheelwright Board getting the RA’s newsletters and will forward to other board members 

Next meeting 

  • April 8th at 7 pm via Zoom

Wheelwright Cluster Board Meeting – February 11

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Board Attendees: Kristina, Sandy, Cyndi, Kelly, Ruthie

Members: 2207

Community Updates

Parking lot rejuvenation – Kristina talked to someone at Tri Technologies and she will send someone out to look at our parking lot to give us an estimate. Might be too late to try this option. Kristina spoke with someone else at an HOA that had the rejuvenation done by Tri Technologies. The work quality was great, but she seemed unsure that it was a better option than asphalt seal coating. Grind & mill schedule for 2025, but the parking lot seems like it needs work. Tri Technologies offered to give a 15-20 min presentation at the next meeting. Sandy suggested getting a prospectus for how long the rejuvenation would last. Effectiveness reported to be better when it’s put on early after the grind & mill (within 4 years and then subsequent 4 years to extend the need for another grind & mill). Kristina will do more research.

Erosion – Kristina spoke with Chris Hughes and looked at Cyndi’s hill. Discussed planting to help stabilize the hill and asked about putting in pavers so that people can get behind the houses along that row. He will give us an estimate for the work and we can look at what we might be able to do on our own.

Tree Work – Sandy said nothing is going on with tree work at the moment. There could be a tree credit for the over trimmed holly tree that could be used toward labor for planting a new cherry tree (which we would have to buy) or grinding of stumps (which would require us to pay for renting a grinder). Sandy agreed to get numbers on the cost of cherry tree and grinding equipment rental. Not sure what the tree credit is, so Sandy will ask Chris.

Landscaping – Sandy talked with homeowners with concerns about damage done (divots) to their yards when the crew last came through for mowing.  Chris Hughes said he would reseed this spring for those who had their yards seeded.

Snow/Ice – Peyton has come out to handle the snow and ice when needed. We could get a bucket of sand for the playground area or check with Peyton on how much it would cost to sand and/or salt common areas.

Concrete – Cyndi hasn’t contacted Juan yet because it’s too early in the season. Areas have been identified last year, but Juan needs to walk the neighborhood to assess if more areas have become problematic over the winter.

Siding color palette/door colors? – DRB application – Sandy still working on it. Cluster residents should meet in a special session (or roll it into a regular board meeting) to discuss door colors. We need approval from the Cluster before we can submit new door colors to DRB. Or, if our HOA guidelines don’t require a meeting, we can notify the cluster of the change using a flyer and that appears to be sufficient based on DRB guidelines. Kristina will look through the cluster guidelines to determine what is required. Sandy agreed to have a color palette for the doors by the next meeting so we can proceed one way or another.

Composting – A new compost bin has been installed by the playground. Sarah is the contact and agreed to maintain. Sandy is going to laminate the Do’s and Don’ts. Cyndi pointed out that there are discrepancies between the newsletter and the graphics provided by Sarah. Kristina will double check the different versions and send a copy to Sandy to laminate instead. 

Garbage/Recycling – Kristina talked to Teresa about the communication problem as to when garbage and recycling are supposed to come, particularly when it changes due to weather conditions. Kristina will reach out to Republic, American, and other waste management companies for updated quotes. Waste Management appears to accept new business, so we could try to contact them to see if they would serve our area again.

Parking registration – 42 homeowners have responded via online form or paper document! That leaves 20 homes not registered. It appears that many homes have more than two cars, which is against our guidelines. We will keep an eye on it to make sure that parking is still available. We can send out reminders as needed.

RA HOA cluster meet and greet – Sandy attended. Got a lot of good information on DRB application. 135 clusters in Reston. 

  • Meet & greet available to view online via YouTube. Survey sent to clusters to determine how cluster boards engage with their constituents. 
  • RA is trying to get a list of contractors and vendors and which clusters use those contractors and vendors so that we can determine which vendors are good to work with and not good to work with. 
  • RA is looking for ways for clusters to connect to each other and looking toward clusters to work with RA to facilitate those connections. Several new people joined the website after Sandy shared the information. 
  • RA has discount codes for Sherwin Williams 30-40% off so we can contact them to get that information. Sherwin Williams has a point of contact we can use and work with. 
  • RA is pushing clusters to go back and update guidelines and color palettes. RA will enforce whatever is in our guidelines, so if we don’t want those out-of-date products we need to submit new guidelines. 
  • Sandy discussed door colors and door styles with them. They shared new door styles that have been submitted and already been approved, which is a good sign that we can get the doors we want (especially if another cluster already has that door approved).
  • RA has revised DRB situations. There is now a 30-day turnaround. Previously the time was 5 months. RA is working on digitizing cluster standards so we will be able to go online to look at other clusters and see what they already have approved. Fences, decks, siding, and trim decisions now take place in the covenants committee to avoid going into additional committees.
  • When updating guidelines, we need to pay attention to wording so that older, original versions can be grandfathered in (except in cases like the color palette where we want only the new colors).
  • Sandy will look for a way to get us on future RA cluster DRB info meetings

Climate planning meeting in Fairfax County – Kristina attended. Action plan being put together to develop environmental standards and changes they want implemented in Fairfax County and they want to engage the community as much as possible. Group is looking for help from HOAs, churches, and other community groups to get their new standards and guidelines communicated to the public.

Financials

Treasurer went over monthly financials

  • P.O. Box fee went up. 
  • HOA fees will need to go up, probably up by $20 per quarter to increase operating budget. Previous increases in dues were put into capital costs rather than operating expenses, so we may have spent from capital costs to cover operating costs. Kelly will look into this in more detail.
  • Other clusters charge $270 to $350 per quarter, but some of these clusters have 100 or more homes so their budgets are much larger. Kelly will inquire what services these clusters provide to their residents. 

Next meeting 

  • March 11th at 7 pm via Zoom


Wheelwright Cluster Board Meeting – January 14

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Board Attendees: Kristina, Sandy, Cyndi, Kelly, Ruth

Members: 2207

Financials – Treasurer went over monthly financials and projected costs.

2020 Budget Review

  • Final numbers show a profit of $18,161.75

2021 Budget Review

  • 1st quarter dues just went out
  • Not a lot of rainy day funds and costs increasing so dues may need to be adjusted or services eliminated

Annual Meeting Review

  • Parking lot rejuvenation interest
    • Kristina will look into this to get names of people from potential companies who have had this work done
    • Also look for feedback from other neighborhoods if they’ve done similar work in their community
  • Erosion 
    • Completed
    • Reston Association will inspect work the week of Jan 18-22
    • No one needs to be present for inspection 
    • Inspection good for two years
    • Additional erosion projects to be evaluated for 2021 (Ruth and Kristina)
      • Focus on the hill by the tot lot – low lying gourds or pumpkins? (Cyndi)
      • Other alternatives like native sedges? (Kristina) 
  • Tree Work
    • Stump grinding behind 2250 was successful
    • Company slated to come back to reseed grass where truck damaged ground
  • Concrete (Cyndi)
    • Lower cluster slated to be done in spring 2021
    • Need to evaluate new spots that may have arisen due to weathering during winter
    • Some damage done to resident property during concrete work in fall
      • Cyndi will look into compensation for those areas
    • Look for property boundaries to assess ownership of stairs in lower cluster 
  • Landscaping (Sandy)
    • Lower cluster peninsula areas need to be addressed using grounds maintenance funds 
  • Electric car charging stations – community not ready to install but may be interested in the future
  • Glass collection option was not approved by the community
  • Community thought we should give composting a try and Sarah Keally offered to maintain it
  • Design Review Board (DRB) Application (Sandy)
    • Shingle guidelines will need to be updated so they will be included with color palette application to RA Design Review Board 
    • Annual meeting came to consensus about color palette for house colors and will be included in DRB Application 
    • Door options and colors still need votes by community 
      • We can add new colors in future if resident really likes a different color within the Alura color palette
      • Community agreed to give residents 10 years to comply with new color palette if approved by DRB

Action/Discussion Items

  • Complaints about Garbage/Recycling pickup
    • Standalone trash bags being placed in recycling truck rather than trash truck
    • Bates suggested moving recycling pickup to Wednesdays but this could be an issue with residents having to put bins out three times a week and increases possibility of people leaving bins out all week
      • Decided to leave trash pickup schedule as it is
      • Communicate with community about new recycling guidelines to improve compliance
      • Look into hiring a second company to pick up recycling on Monday
        • Would this be more expensive than hiring a new company to handle all trash and recycling?
  • Purchasing a compost bin
    • Site selected adjacent to tot lot
  • Decided to purchase a bin ($279 at Home Depot) that is designed to have good airflow (which might be better in a shaded area like the tot lot) and is mid-range in terms of size (187 g)
  • Update parking list (Kristina, Cyndi, Ruth) to make sure all cars parked are owned by residents of the cluster
    • Send out reminders about motorcycle parking in reserved spots, not sidewalk
    • Keep an eye out for cars with expired registrations (provide some leeway due to current registration process with DMV because of covid) 
  • The Cluster wheelbarrow is fixed!!! Located behind Cyndi’s house right now.
  • Need to update Cluster guidelines (Kristina will talk to Jessica)
  • Dog waste stations not viable given our current budget
  • Suggestion to put exercise equipment in place of tot lot or next to it
    • Tot lot is used and is an attractive feature to prospective families
    • Possible increase in liability
    • Compost to be situated near tot lot so another location would need to be selected
    • If we have budget to redo tot lot at a future point, we could look for designs to incorporate activities for children and adults
    • If RA plans to install exercise circuit around Snakeden Branch loop behind the cluster, see if we can get a stop posted close to the rear of our community
    • Not enough money in budget to pursue now
  • Native seedling sale to take place in February 
    • https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/soil-water-conservation/native-seedling-sale
    • Could be an opportunity to purchase native plants for erosion control
  • Landscape follow-up
    • Possible replacement for cherry tree behind 2250
    • Landscaping company agreed to reseed areas where grass did not grow because of late timing of grass seeding work in the fall and the amount of leaves that fell on lawns 

Board Members agreed to work with contractors or committees:

  • Snow Removal (Mike Peyton) – Kelly
  • Landscaping (Chris Hughes) – Sandy 
  • Garbage Pickup (Theresa Cunningham) – Kristina 
  • Concrete (Juan) – Cyndi 
  • Dominion (watchlights) – Cyndi 
  • Legal (Chesapeake) – Kristina 
  • Tree Committee Liaison – Sandy
  • Community outreach – Kristina 
    • E-news
    • Facebook updates
    • Sign

Next meeting 

  • February 11th
  • Upcoming meetings to be held on 2nd Thursday in the month
  • Virtual only