November Board Meeting

Tuesday, November 13th, 2023

7 pm

Virtual via Zoom

Attendees: Karen Reese

Board:  Kristina Myers, Cyndi Hartman-Newland, Sandy Mohler and Kelly Fairbank and  Joy Charles

Agenda

Community updates

1. Tree inspection
   • https://go.quotientapp.com/q/80O0iRknCPYKhfzvQmOPLtsngJZ4q2WNirjXRsGIWDQ
   • https://go.quotientapp.com/q/7ipjQS5KrZ3QP3GdLqo18pMsni6ytqUZXmx-D0iEX4o
   • https://go.quotientapp.com/q/AIQQssKnphvBe65APFiDsTQLEuOlgTMX3a9izXMMH1M

• Questions:
  • How much do we have left in the 2023 tree budget?
    • Kelly believes we’ve paid everything out so far for 2023.
    • Looks like $8,850 rolling over from 2023
  • If we were to pursue everything on this list, would it get us through 2024?
    • Yes, aside from unexpected, significant costs these lists would cover our 2024 tree needs. 

Board Discussion on Tree Inspection: 

• Some of the trees on the list may require DRB review as they are on communal cluster property. 
• Should we prioritize only Priority 1 quote? This would leave a bit of money for any aesthetic changes and for any immediate disasters, should they occur. 
• How can we make sure we’re only prioritizing the most important and urgent situations now and setting up priority 2 for future reviews and re-prioritization? (Ex. Poplars near 2246 for example) 
• How much would it be pertinent to leave in the tree budget? 

Board Decisions: 

• Keep a cushion in the budget, but be prepared to pull from reserves if we have to for unexpected, disastrous, emergencies. 
• Sandy will ask Kevin if we can just leave a spar on 2214 (Kevin from TreeSmith USA)
• Then, we’ll work with Kevin to focus on the Priority 1 list, with an emphasis and investment on preservation and tree management. 
• Maximum investment of $15K will be the budget we ask Kevin to work within. 

2. Update on concrete
   • Two areas mentioned in walkthrough
     • In front of 2254 by large oak $3410
       • Problematic area because of ongoing tree issues – the tree roots are very obviously lifting sidewalk, would like to consider other options besides replacing that area of sidewalk right now – Sandy exploring other ideas
     • Lower cluster pad – crumbling – needs repair $4860

Board Discussion: 

• Should we prioritize this work before it gets too cold for the winter? 
• Is the lower pad, which is crumbling, really the highest priority of these two? 
• Do we try to shave or grind down the sidewalk by 2254? Juan’s recommendation was not to as the concrete is already too brittle with the tree roots pushing upwards. 

Board Decision: 

• Work with Juan on the lower pad, but save it for 2024 to ensure we don’t go over budget for 2023. 
• We’ll continue to explore ideas for resolution for areas in front of 2254. 

3. Drainage project by 2231
   • Project proposed by Juan was approved by RA but…
     • Tree problem observed by Kevin during tree inspection
     • Can we fix the problem without damaging the tree?
     • Discuss alternatives with Riverbend Landscaping and Bright Construction group

Board Discussion

• Concern over this having been a long-standing issue that has been delayed by new information from Kevin
• How can we ensure we’re resolving this issue in a timely manner, that won’t potentially hurt a tree in the cluster unnecessarily? 

Board Decision

• Plan to continue to review and treat it as an ongoing project as we research and gather information. 

4. 2024 Proposed Budget
   • Proposed budget
   • Rolling over money unspent from lingering 2023 projects
   • Dues increase

Board Discussion: 

• Should we propose $1600 vs. $1500 per household per year (up from $1300) in our dues to extend the time between when we’d need to do a next increase? (Looking at at least a 2 year hold if we went this avenue) 
• Would this amount to $400 per quarter? 
• Comparison of close clusters and their associated costs
• Mailing total updated to reflect purchase of stamps, which usually last up to two years
• Snow removal budget agreed to by all members
• Dumpster budget for cluster clean up cost was very close to the total cost this year so Kelly will only slightly increase budget $100.
• Kristina will check on the total amount of the erosion grant, she thought it might be a bit higher. 
• Have we fully considered the full impact of dues increases in relation to new, incoming residents? 
• Discussion on approach for incremental increases pros vs. cons for Cluster in comparison to Reston Home Owners Association (RHOA) process 
• How do we set the cluster up for long-term success with our reserve funds in light of the large cost of the parking lot we know we need to spend? 
• Is there value in a one-time assessment rather than relying on just a dues increase? 
• Discussion on possible cluster impacts if we don’t get the planning for fiscal future right for the cluster 

Board Decision:

• To allow the community to plan in advance, Kelly and Kristina will break down options for the community, post special flyers and emails and we will allow the community to review the two proposed dollar amounts in advance for voting. 

5. Annual Meeting
   • Monday, December 4th at 7pm – zoom
     • Topics for meeting
       • Reserve study

• Resident Karen Reese asked that the board send out the Reserve study information in advance for cluster residents to review and get questions prepared or if we should have a separate meeting just to discuss the reserve study. 
• Together with the board and Karen, the decision was made to send out specific details via flyers and email related to the Reserve Study in advance by the community to prepare questions in advance of the December Annual HOA Meeting. 

• Dues increase
• Budget review/budget proposal
• Ongoing projects
  • VCAP
  • Drainage
  • Trees
  • Design updates
  • EV charging
  • 2nd speed bump – make sure to get quote
    • Kelly will send the invoice from the last speed bump purchase.
    • Cyndi mentioned making sure we address why these speed bumps are not looking at being installed permanently for right now to address cluster resident questions. 
• Pet waste guideline amendments
• Letter or newsletter to go out to residents re: annual meeting highlighting the need for dues increase and quorum vote

6. EV charging
   • Dominion’s Level II charging program for multi-family communities
   • Charge Up fairfax
   • Greenspot

Board Decision: 

• Kristina will send a note to the board with more updates to review. No significant conversation now. 

7. Additional items
   • VCAP project
   • Design updates

• Sandy stressed if this takes up too much discussion time at Annual Meeting, she is willing to hold a special meeting just to go over these if we need to. 

• Parking/towing speeding in the neighborhood
  • Easton Warner
  • Car notices to go out to cars in violation of cluster parking guidelines
• Watchlights- No updates
• Zelle-No updates
• Lower cluster island- Kristina and Joy will follow up on maintenance with Chris. 
• Pet waste stations- Hold on discussion; Kristina will follow up with more details https://mail.google.com/mail/u/2?ui=2&ik=518b55584c&attid=0.2&permmsgid=msg-f:1779471710756162327&th=18b1f417c77a4b17&view=att&disp=inline&realattid=f_lnlubdw41

Financials

Next meeting:  Monday, December 4th (Annual Meeting)

Tuesday,August 8, 2023

7 pm

Virtual via Zoom

Attendees: 

Board: 

Cluster Residents: 

Agenda

Community updates

1. Erosion/Drainage
   1. VCAP project approved by board – design proposal signed and sent.
   2. 2229/2231 sidewalk drainage project
      1. Final proposal sent by Juan at Bright Construction group
         1. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y3StFCa-nFv5tdV1qhaYRU7bRlXL1EgU/view?usp=sharing

Board Decision: 

• Start with Option 1 from Bright Construction Proposal
• Then look at completing options 2 and 3 in the next fiscal year from our drainage budget. 

2. Reserve Study
   1. Copy of the study needs to be published on our website
   2. Any additional comments?

Notes: 

• After Action: Kristina will send Jade a clean copy of the reserve study.
• After Action: Jade will update the website with the reserve study. 

3. Update on concrete
   1. Proposal for areas needing repair?

After action: Cyndi will do another walk through with Juan to review our usual areas of concern. 

4. Repaving parking lot
   1. Burt with Pavement Design, LLC has decided to help us with the management portion of the repaving only.  The cost of management only is $2500.  Included:
      1. 
      2. 
      3. He has based our needs for parking lot reconstruction off of the reserve study as well as Dominion’s proposal.
         1. Dominion recommended the drive lanes being replaced.  When you send out the RFP for bids, you may want to include the option of full asphalt replacement, with the asphalt being installed is 3 inches.  As your reserve study showed.  Most damage is in the drive lanes,  I would recommend a total of 4 inches in the drive lanes because of trash trucks, recycle trucks etc.  Also you may have more than 3 inches now in areas of your parking lot.
         2. Burt now needs our signed contract as well as names of the companies we would like bids from.  I can ask if he has specific recommendations as well based on who he has worked with.

Decisions: 

After Action:  Kristina will resend the proposal to the board; Board will review scope of the proposal and board will vote via email.  

After Action:  Kristina will reach out to Burt to let him know he should scope companies who are willing to work with the Cluster in Coordination with any EV charging station needs either immediately or down the road, as well as a note regarding sewers/underground issues. 

5. Tree inspection
   1. Do we have an inspection date scheduled?
      1. 2272 Hemlock tree – this tree trimming was done by TreeSmith USA – still needs to be inspected?
      2. 2246 Elm Tree – trimmed by TreeSmith USA, but will circle back in fall and possibly JL to see about possible removal
      3. Tree branch hanging over Olde Crafts behind 2201/03 
      4. Hemlock at the bottom of the cluster has enough fungus/bacteria that we need to remove it.

Decisions: 

• After Action: Joy-See what J&L has to say about the health of the tree at 2252 to determine if this tree is salvageable
• Board Decision: Allocate $450 to hemlocks in upper cluster for bacteria.  

6. Design Updates
   1. Decks, fences
   2. Doors
   3. Bin enclosures

Discussion: 

• DRB for decks, fences and doors is almost finished; Sandy is working to finalize and send this over to Kristina by 08/09 , with goal to get finalized DRB submitted to Reston ASP 
• Bin Enclosures will be next on Sandy’s docket for review with Reston Association for DRB guidance on how to modify. 

7. Landscaping
   1. Updates?

After Action: Kristina will send a note to Joy to ask the landscaping crew to spray the weedkiller in the cracks.

After Action: Kristina will coordinate with Joy and get notes out to Cluster Residents regarding seeding options with the cluster landscaping team. 

8. Pet waste in neighborhood
   1. Problem with pets using the bathroom on homeowners’ lawns and common grassy areas
   2. Board agrees that communicating specific areas in communities that are on and off limits for pet bathroom use is important.  Current guidelines seem to be draconian.
   3. Rework guidelines to be clear about which areas are acceptable and unacceptable, email community about upcoming changes and vote at annual meeting

Decisions: 

• After Action: Jade Perez will take a look at the cluster map for a first draft on where can pets have waste? Then, she’ll send a draft proposal to the board for the September meeting for the board to review and discuss. 
• After Action: Kristiina will send General Cluster Email with annotated Map and Cluster Waste Areas with note regarding annual meeting bi-law updates
• Decision: Infractions from within our neighborhood that occur will get targeted emails from the board. 
• Decision: Purchase additional signage regarding Private Property/Trespassing/Pet Waste areas for front and back of the cluster

9. Resale disclosure Act
   1. Effective July 1, 2023, all documents prepared by community associations in connection with the sale of a lot or unit will be referred to as resale certificates. In addition, several procedural and substantive changes should be noted:
   2. The current operating budget of the association, rather than just a summary, must be provided;
   3. Copies of approved board meeting minutes from the last six months and copies of approved or draft meeting minutes from the most recent membership meeting must be provided;
   4. Specific statements must be made concerning: (i) parking and vehicle restrictions in the recorded covenants or rules and regulations, (ii) restrictions on the operation of home-based businesses, and (iii) restrictions on an owner’s ability to rent their home;
   5. Fees for resale certificates may be required to be paid upon request of the certificate rather than being due at settlement; and
   6. Associations must publish and make available a schedule of all applicable fees assessed as part of the resale certificate preparation and delivery process.

After Action: 

• Kelly will review what is required from the Cluster within the guidelines to ensure we are in compliance. 

10. Additional items
    1. EV charging- No updates 
    2. Worms/wood chips behind 2243-47-No updates 
    3. Wood borders by LFL-After action: Jade and Kristina will tidy this until the Fall clean up. After action: Jade will grab the wood pallet for Thursday pick up. 
    4. Parking/towing speeding in the neighborhood- After Action: If the car in the lower cluster has not been removed, Kristina will call the towing company on 08/09/2023
    5. Watchlights- No updates 
    6. Zelle-No updates

Next meeting:  Tuesday, Sept 12th

Tuesday, July 11th, 2023

7 pm

Virtual via Zoom

Attendees: 

Board: 

Cluster Residents: 

Agenda

Community updates

1)  VCAP project – Adele from DecoFootprint will join us for a short segment of the meeting at 7:15 to answer any questions.

1. Who is responsible for determining underground utilities?  For HOA common areas, we typically schedule Miss Utility to mark for underground public utilities roughly one week prior to any field work for project design or project build.  If there is concern for marking private utilities, most HOA Boards have their management company schedule this, or for an extra fee we can coordinate this.  
2. Complaints – is there a time frame where we as a client have time to assess work and have issues addressed?  After our field inventory, site analysis, base mapping, stormwater assessment, VCAP/CAP project concepts and design, we can schedule a design presentation to reveal the proposed project plans before submitting to NVSWCD the project application that includes the plans.  We can discuss any revisions, if needed, and then submit the project application to be considered for rebate approval.
3. Is this a severable contract?  The reason we present a separate Design Proposal first is to cover our services rendered for planning, design, application submission that includes a preliminary budget, and application approval.  Once your VCAP project application is approved, we present a second Project Proposal that outlines the project site prep, site work, and site restoration.  
4. Watering of vegetation – responsibility of client or DecoFootprint?  If water access is provided by the private homeowners near the project, we typically like ot water immediately after planting and adding the mulch layer.  This is usually one of the last steps before site restoration.  The HOA is responsible for watering the vegetation after the first watering.   
5. What condition will jobsite be left after completion of work?  Site restoration is mentioned in our Project Proposal.
6. Plant guarantee – pests/disease?   This is mentioned in our Project Proposal.
7. Is travel time billed?  ​​​​No.
8. Underground obstructions clause?  What happens if there is something that is found that makes the work substantially more difficult?  This is mentioned in our Project Proposal.
9. Acts of God clause?  Also mentioned in our Project Proposal.
10. Is work/plants guaranteed for some period of time upon completion?  Also mentioned in our Project Proposal.  Here’s a link to our SAMPLE Project Proposal:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MvJGK9P4PaepHm-66-agCS3SuJujuhN5/view?usp=sharing
11. Regarding property plats, many of our homeowners do not have these and when they’ve been necessary for work, homeowners have had to shell out costs to have their land surveyed.  Homeowners have not had luck obtaining these records from the county.  Have you had this issue before?  I have a site planning map of the whole neighborhood – I’m not sure if that would help at all.  Unless a homeowner waived the plat at settlement, the majority of property owners received a property plat with their settlement papers.  If they settled on the property less than 7 years ago, they can contact their settlement company to request a copy if available, contact their realtor to chase it down, or make a trip to the Fairfax County land records department to request a copy.  For townhome property owners in Fairfax County, it’s not available to request a plat online.  Other HOA Boards provide both the community planning map/s (aka grading plans) and the community record plats.  Both sets of plans are extremely helpful.  The record plat is the more important one because it’s the legal recordation of the community property lines, easements, right-of-ways, etc.  If the Board does not have these plans, and they do not wish to pay extra for an engineer or surveyor to prepare new land surveys (expensive!), then a Board member or community volunteer makes a trip to the Fairfax County land records department to request copies of the community recordation plans. 

Clarifications Provided by Board Members in Q&A with Adele from Deco Footprint

• Rick Fairbank- Shared with Kristina that he doesn’t think it would be standard for most homeowners to have their plats. This didn’t appear to him to be a common theme in closings that he has seen. Rick explained that our entire plat for the community is on file with Fairfax County and because there are such standard delineations for properties, not every mortgage lender feels the need to require a plat, nor does every seller get required to require one in selling. 
• According to Adele, individual plats are less important for this project than the community plats. However, the issue of roof water and creating appropriate irrigation, might create complexity because the irrigation may need to begin at the site of individual homeowners, but as the focus is on a communal area (the steep hill) and this is a community supported conservation landscaping project, Adele felt okay that we could begin without individual plats.
• What would it look like if we did need to get individual plats? How would we proceed with that, recognizing that they are not on file with Fairfax County? According to Adele, Deco Footprint would just have to be more cautious with their measurements to ensure they are not missing something that could cause a problem down the road, but they have worked on similar situations working without plats. 
• At what point does a community submit their application to the Reston Association from Adele’s perspective? After the design plan is finalized or approved by VCAP? Adele recommends doing both simultaneously in case we are approved as her company is largely limited to two planting seasons in Northern Virginia, Spring and Fall, due to weather. This way if approved for the VCAP grant, RHOA is also already approved and Deco Footprint could begin their work as quickly as possible. 
• Is April the earliest planting? Generally speaking, but as long as the ground is above 40 degrees Farenheit they can begin planting and have begun as early as January.
• Deco Footprint could send a designer to support the board in the RHOA Design Review board meetings to answer questions about the project, if needed. 
• Deer deterrent plantings will be prioritized, but Adele did recommend we begin to focus on deer deterrent methods, such as fencing. Fencing is not currently included in the budget for this project so Wheelwright HOA will need to consider how to move forward on the fencing issue afterwards. 
• 8-10 foot logs with a 10-12 inch diameter that we can save in the neighborhood from fallen trees might be able to be reused on the project. 
• Deco Footprints does offer a maintenance contract that HOA’s can purchase after the installation if they’d not like to do the initial maintenance, including appropriate watering schedules, themselves, but after the first year or so, the maintenance should be fairly minimal, as planned. 

2)  Reserve Study

1. Reserve study – final copy received with a few amendments
   1. What is included:
      1. Summary including where we are with funding, what our goal is over a 20 year period, what do we have to do to get there
      2. Condition of areas in our community that fall under capital expenses
         1. Notable findings of common assets:
            1. Parking lot
            2. Concrete
            3. Storm water drainage system (After Action: Kristina will ask for clarity on recommendations here)
      3. Methods of funding over the 20 year period
         1. Cash flow
         2. Component
         3. Hybrid approach
      4. Schedule for capital repairs
2. Annual contribution to reserve fund – currently $9000, recommend $21,100.

• Things to keep in mind:
  • All expenses are being covered through the collection of HOA dues. 
  • Some of these expenses will fall under Capital Repair, which could come out of that, instead of the current annual budget. 
  • The purpose of the reserve study is to ensure our HOA can potentially avoid special assessments, thus the increase in dues. (After Action: Kelly will continue to review the numbers to confirm what this year’s quarterly increase will be in preparation for the annual meeting in December.) 

3. Asked to include repaving of the parking lot in 2024. 
4. Capital expenses – what qualifies, what doesn’t qualify?
   1. Where does our money come from to take care of capital expenses?
   2. Do we need to make adjustments?
   3. We need to take into account our checking account balance.
   4. What investments do we want to make going forward?
5. Taking into account interest when investments are made. 

3)  Drainage issue by 2231

1. Proposals from:
   1. Riverbend Landscaping
   2. Sunrise
   3. Bright Construction Group (Juan)-Pending work to be done.

4)  Update on concrete

1. Update on walkthrough?  Cyndi is working to finalize a walk through. 
2. Which are areas of concern?

After Action: Cyndi will focus on an expedited time frame for all of the proposals to ensure we can finalize plans for the work ASAP. 

5)  Repaving the parking lot

1. Burt with Pavement Design, LLC
2. Are their services more than we need at this time?
   1. Pavement inspection for cracks/sealant issues
   2. Pavement upkeep plan/schedule
   3. Management of the construction is another component

Decision by Board: 

We do want to have good oversight of the work  that is not from us. However, we not feel we need another assessment or inspection to tell us we need to replace the pavement. We will go back to Pavement Design, LLC, to ask to remove the inspection from their contract as we know we need to replace the parking lot paving ((the base layer as well as a full mill and resurfacing) (After Action: Kristina will take this back to Pavement Design LLC) 

(After Action: Kristina will reach out  VA Asphalt Company and have them come do an estimate for work at recommendation from Cyndi) 

6)  Tree inspection-Delayed pending Joy’s input as the tree lead

1. Do we have an inspection date scheduled?
   1. 2272 Hemlock tree – this tree trimming was done by TreeSmith USA – still needs to be inspected?
   2. 2246 Elm Tree – trimmed by TreeSmith USA, but will circle back in fall and possibly JL to see about possible removal
   3. Tree hanging over Olde Crafts behind 2201/03

7)  Cookout this Sunday

1. By the little free library at noon? 

Board Decision: Moved location to lower cluster to avoid parking impacts near Little Free Library. 

2. Kristina has 3 packages of 10 hotdogs
   1. Other remaining items from Cluster Community Cookout included water and chips, along with condiments, which Cyndi will manage. 

8)  Whose terms are up at the end of year/what are people’s intentions?

Kristina and Sandy were both considering wrapping up, but felt that with so many ongoing projects they are going to hold on they think for now and will be willing to serve on the board for another term of two years. Kelly feels she is also willing to serve on board for the coming year, as does Cyndi. 

Next meeting: 

Tuesday, August 8th

Tuesday, June 13th, 2023

7 pm

Virtual via Zoom

Attendees: 

Board: 

Cluster Residents: 

Agenda

Community updates

1. Cluster Clean up – projects remaining

• Wood chips – Kristina contacted homeowners 2243-2249
• All replied yes (did not hear back from 2243)
• Jen Ren mentioned soil (clay that isn’t very porous) and slope

Board Discussion:  On 2245 we can put the mulch between the pavers; Kristina will reach back out to Karen Beasley at 2243 to make sure she’s okay before she puts down the mulch.  The goal here is to reduce the moisture and we need to use the mulch we have. 

We’ll start on 2243 and 2245 as there is the most moisture there. 

Sandy recommended the board may want to look at including Earthworms to create an organic solution to help with the soil that is mostly clay. After Action: Sandy will research. 

• Wood borders around lfl

Decision from the board: After Action: Jade will lay the wood out in front of the LFL near the hill and we will table this project for the Fall cluster clean up. 

• Do we still have perishables from the cookout?  Schedule another?

 Hot dogs and hamburger buns are frozen and there are some chips that need to be eaten; Cyndi has an older case of beer that needs to be used. 

2. Erosion/Drainage
   1. VCAP – answers to questions from Adele at DecoFootprint:

1)  I remember when we first met, you said that the timeline for breaking ground would be probably early next year.  When and what would we owe you in 2023 based on our discussion of a final budget of $14,500 so that we can obtain the maximum $7,000 VCAP funding?  What would we owe you in 2024?  For this year, we would like a good faith deposit of $2,500 to get us started on the VCAP planning and design for a Conservation Landscaping project on a steep hillside.  Since our services are considered “technical assistance” this portion will be covered by the VCAP rebate when the project is completed.  The remaining $12,000, depending on when the potential VCAP project is approved, we typically collect a 50% project deposit of $6,000 to reserve a space on the install schedule for spring or fall, the two most busy times to install plants, and collect the remaining 50% deposit of $6,000 upon project completion.  If this is acceptable, I can write up our Proposal that explains this in detail.

2)  Before you begin with your design, will you give us an idea of what option you are going with?  I.e. terracing using biologs, coir matting, coir matting and biologs, rerouting downspouts or not, etc?  We’ll also want to make sure that the design includes plenty of walking space for our homeowners to access the backs of their homes as well.  Yes, we can present the preliminary design to you or to the Board for Q&A and at this design presentation discuss our observations, assessments, professional recommendations, pros and cons, etc.

Discussion: The board is fine to go forward with this as a good faith risk, but the board has asked for a reasonable “contract” that can show how this can work, including acts of God that are unexpected. 

After Action:  Kristina will reach back out to her and will follow up with the board on where we are on this “Good faith contract” 

2. Drainage work by 2231/33
   1. Another project proposal from Riverbend landscapes

2. Juan? –

Cyndi and Juan are scheduled to meet on Thursday to review this; Kristina asked to get very specific measurements to ensure we can use those for the design review board; the goal is to be able to make the decision at next month’s board meeting. 

3. Design updates
   1. Doors/sidelight
   2. Garbage bin enclosures
   3. Clear stain for decks

NO updates: Sandy working on writing up items. 

4. EV/Charging Stations
   1. Draft of EVWG charter sent to Chesapeake Law Group, PLC
   2. Second meeting tentatively scheduled for Sunday, June 18th
      1. Dominion update
         1. Dominion’s Design and Construction team will come out and do a review of our site and let us know the best places, costs, etc. From the sounds of it, they will draw up plans for us as well

5. Concrete/Watchlights
   1. Walkthrough schedule update? Cyndi will be walking through this week. 
   2. Watchlights?- No new reported issues. 
6. Parking/Towing
   1. 2217, 2215, 2213, 2211, 2209, 2223 parking space shuffle – keep Kristina posted a week in advance to inform homeowners
   2. Speed bump moved
      1. Feedback?

Several members of the board have noticed speeding from the lower cluster now; concern expressed for the safety of neighborhood kids and older residents 

Discussion: How can we help ensure we can support the safety of the community without taking overly punitive actions?  

Decision: We’ll start with a notice in the newsletter and we will review how to add a second removable speed bump. Kelly will share the cost of the previous speed bump at the July meeting and we will review how to pay for this next month at the board meeting. 

3. Registering cars with cluster – update?

After Action: Jade will do a walk through and comparison against registration next weekend.  Any concerns? Areas to focus on? 

4. Self registration form – updates?

Looks like we may be able to do this with a combination of WordPress and Google forms. However, this will take a bit more time to ensure we can create an authentication and role-based process; research in progress. (FYI: As part of the process, we may need to scrub our current subscribers list in WordPress (currently 681 subscribers) and do an update of associated emails. )

Discussion: As long as it’s not a smart phone required for two-factor authentication, fine to move forward. 

Decision: Jade will go forward with pro-typing this for the board to review and will include a training/enablement plan to ensure that all residents can be included (Ex. Zoom transition for the board) 

5. Start meeting with paving companies again
   1. Burt – Pavement Design, LLC? – pay to hold our hands through the process?

Board Decision: This is a valuable service for such a large expenditure and will provide us the expertise we need to ensure we’re getting the most bang for our buck. Kristina will reach out to him to ask for the services they offer again and the costs associated. 

7. Landscaping
   1. Update on:
      1. Bags of mulch?

Joy has the final two bags of mulch and will ask Kelly at 2248 if she wants the remaining two bags mulch. We need to bill for the Mulch so  Joy and Kristina will put those numbers together and will send that to Kelly.  

2. Stump removal (Chris)
3. Individual yard landscaping through Chris?  Still pursuing? 

Decision: We will hold on this until next spring and will reach out next year in advance of the Spring clean up to see if they can offer this then. 

4. Chemical application to lawns – Elite is still giving us notice after treatment

After Action: Joy will follow up with them on this. 

Ater Action: Joy will follow up with Elite to ask if they can start cutting the grass just a bit higher as we enter the slower growing season.

After Action: Joy will reach out to Chris for cost estimates now so that we can hopefully include notes on lawn aeration and seeding in the July newsletter.  

8. Reserve Study/Online payments 
   1. Reserve Study – final is in our hands

All- Kristina asked for all board members to review for 

2. Zelle for online payments – update?

 Still on Kelly’s to do list for 3rd quarter invoices

3. Possibility of linking to website- Kelly is still confirming the details on this. This is something that can be noted on the site, but she isn’t sure just yet. 

9. Trees
   1. Tree maintenance with Tree USA scheduled for Tuesday, June 27th.
      1. Do we need to ask Chris to avoid that day for landscaping? Agreed yes and Joy will manage that. 
      2. Kevin with Tree USA is offering a 15% discount to homeowners who want to have work done on personal property around the same time.

Board  Decision:  Put in a newsletter and have homeowners contact individually.

2. Tree list for summer inspection
   1. 2272 Hemlock tree- This trimming will be taken care of by Kevin at Tree USA 
   2. 2246 Elm Tree-Holding until the Fall for a final decision on moving/keeping and JUL trees will do standard trimming. 
   3. After Action: Joy will reach out to Mike Pendleton for the August tree inspection with J&L trees

10. Newsletter topics
    1. Ad-Hoc Cookout in late June? 

Vote is for this to happen on Sunday, July 16th; we’ll block off the spaces near the LFL and we’ll do it there. 

2. Cluster Clean Up results
3. Benefits of planting native plants in cluster and yards 

Kristina will include this in the newsletter

11. Garbage
    1. Issues?

Financials

Next meeting:  Tuesday, July 11th

May Board Meeting

Tuesday, May 9, 2023

7 pm

Virtual via Zoom

Attendees: 

Board: 

Cluster Residents: 

Agenda

Community updates

1. Cluster Clean up review
   1. How did it go?

• It turned out okay, better in the afternoon. It seemed like people weren’t sure due to the rain.
• Discussion: Next year we may want to include shifts and a skill notation (ex. Carpentry) if the work requires it. 

2. What still needs to be completed? 

• We need to deal with the mulch in the parking lot. 
• Building additional benches; ideally Sandy would like to have one more person to help her at a time, but it would be helpful to have others with carpentry skills. 

3. What food is left over and what to do with it? 

Discussion: 

• Hot dog and hamburger buns probably need to be reduced in the coming year. 
• Sandy mentioned maybe getting the Kona Ice truck for the coming year
•  Kristina will freeze the hot dogs and hamburgers for a possible late-June impromptu meeting. 

4. Projects left for completion? 

• Wood chips
• Mulching slope by 2231: Kristina will email neighbors around this area to see if they are okay with adding the mulch
• Wood borders the Little Free Library. After Action: Jade will move these to match trench line until Fall clean up happens
• Invasive removal: We could still remove more. 
• Spraying weeds
• Benches
• Clear seal stairs: After Action: Sandy would like to hold on this until the Fall so that we can research more about dealing with clear stain 
• Painting trash bin enclosure – oxford brown

2. Erosion/Drainage
   1. VCAP
      1. Adele Kuo – landscape designer with Deco Footprint.  She has a lot of experience with VCAP and most of her designs are approved for VCAP funding.  She will submit the application, take care of any easements, fully design and implement the project.  She will work within our means.
         1. Budget of up to $14,500.  With VCAP rebate the project would cost us a total of $7,500.
      2. $7,500 is our entire budget for the year 2023.
      3. Timing would likely put us in 2024 (according to Adele)

Board vote and decision:

 Update the erosion budget for the year 2024 to be $14,500 (with the firm belief that we will be eligible for the VCAAP rebate) 

Discussion: Concern for the design meeting RA guidelines and works for residents nearby. After Action: Kristina will find out what the contingencies are for the contract to ensure, should the grant fall through, we can pull out if needed. 

Drainage work by 2231/33

2. Jose – never heard back after multiple efforts to contact; the board (Cyndi) will likely ask for a 2nd proposal from Juan. The goal is to finalize the bids and make a decision before the end of the year. 

3. Design updates- No updates beyond D. 
   1. Doors/sidelight
   2. Garbage bin enclosures
   3. Clear stain for decks
   4. Attaching stucco to concrete blocks- Resolved. No more language is included. 

4. EV/Charging Stations
   1. We have not yet had a second meeting.
   2. Fairfax county update on Charge Up Fairfax program
      1. Concluded their review of applications and engineering site visits will begin in the next month.  Those communities will then hire contractors to complete the installation.
      2. Contingent on budget approval, Charge Up Fairfax will open up to the county in the Fall with the launch of an official program webpage.
      3. Electrical contractors-No recommendations from the county
      4. Jill will work on getting information about Dominion

5. Concrete/Watchlights
   1. Walkthrough schedule update? 

Cyndi is working to coordinate  with Juan when this can happen. 

2. 2205 and 2219 watchlight update?

 No issues observed right now. 

6. Parking/Towing
   • 2217, 2215, 2213, 2211, 2209, 2223 parking space shuffle; a week ahead Kristina would like to have a week of notice on their moves. 
   • Speed bump still needs to be moved to temporary home at top of cluster

After Action: Jade, Joy and Kristina will coordinate to move; Cyndi can help coordinate with her cart 

3. Registered cars – time for another walkthrough?

After Action: Jade will do walk through the weekend of May 20th 

4. Self registration form

After Action: Jade will work on a prototype form to share for next month with notes of consideration in the build for the following? 

• Renter access; can we create roles for the renters to be able to register their own cars?
• How can we include notification to the board?
• Highlight that Old Crafts is the approved spot for parking multiple vehicles

7. Landscaping
   1. Update on:
      1. Mulch delivery for cluster residents

After Action: Joy will send out a note to ask residents to confirm if they’ve picked up mulch and who hasn’t gotten their mulch yet; Kelly asked for the spreadsheet of who got mulch so that she can bill residents 

2. Stump removal (Chris)

Pending equipment for this 

3. Individual yard landscaping through Chris?  Still pursuing?

Joy will follow up with Chris 

4. Issues? No reported issues and homeowners seem to be happy with the mowing; 

Ad-Hoc- Kristina asked if elite could give us at least a days notice on the chemical application so that we can better notify residents 

8. Reserve Study/Online payments 
   1. Kelly submitted final edits a month ago this week and we’re expecting to hear back this week. 
   2. Updates?

Possibility of online payments for cluster dues

Zelle is free, but Kelly is working to visit in person to help get this set up.Kelly’s goal will be to get this set up for the board to test by 3rd quarter dues. 

After Action: Jade, Sandy and Kristina will help to test Zelle for the cluster when it’s ready. 

9. Trees
   1. Reston tree experts quote for tree trimming/pruning
      1. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MrMHgNJDmfLWKqFIzJ60IpPqnFpCIffe/view?usp=sharing

Concerns from Reston Tree Experts included: 

• Trees that are too large for peninsulas
• Mulch has been over built up around our trees, which can cause the roots to grow up and beyond where they should for health. 

Discussion:

 Should we go with J&L for standard maintenance, rather than having one of these specialized groups do this larger work? Would it be valuable to get a quote from J&L to see where there is overlap? 

Can we get a quote from Kevin at TreeSmith that removes the trees that would normally be covered by J&L for preventative maintenance? 

Board decision: We will have J&L do their normal work and we will contract with Treesmith USA for the corrective pruning, minus the Elm tree removal, for 3200. After Action: Sandy will do the outreach to get this moving.  

2. Elm tree – problem of the giant tree on the tiny peninsula by 2246
3. Tree list for summer walkthrough
   1. 2272 Hemlock tree

10. Newsletter topics
    1. Ad-Hoc Cookout in late June 
    2. Cluster Clean Up results 
11. Garbage
    1. As long as homeowners are allowed to deposit items in the roll off dumpster, we are no longer eligible for a voucher from the county to deposit garbage at no cost.  This will have to be taken into consideration for future budgeting. 
    2. Issues?-Nothing reported 

Financials

Next meeting:  Tuesday, June 13th

Thursday, March 10, 2022 at 7 pm via Zoom

Attendees: Kristina, Sandy, Kelly, Cyndi, Kayleen, Karen

Community updates

Design updates

1. Doors/Decks/AC unit DRB’s
   • Updates on DRB submission? No Updates
2. Architect for garbage enclosures
   • Satish – walk through?  Updates? Working to send in doors and decks DRB to RA first and then will start this process.
3. Speed bumps – Kayleen
   • Quote for 1 or 2? To have speed bumps in one location it will be $223 plus shipping. For two locations it will be $447 plus shipping. Will follow up with the company to get instructions on how the speed bumps are removed to make sure it won’t be destroying the parking lot. 
4. Parking Lot
   • Oil prices:  It appears that asphalt base index for January 2022 was $525/liquid ton.  Currently $745/liquid ton.  Probably cost us an extra ~$15,000 if we were to repave right now.  This will likely go up.
   • Here is oil price outlook according to Car and Driver
     • GasBuddy released a statement about this weekend’s milestone saying that, while international sanctions that are crippling Russia’s crude oil exports are one cause of the price spike, that’s not the only reason GasBuddy expects fuel prices to continue to rise.
     • “Seasonal factors including increased demand for gas, refinery maintenance and the switch to summer blend gas, on top of current geopolitical tensions, could propel prices upward of $4.25 per gallon by Memorial Day,” the group wrote in a statement. On the bright side, the company’s 2022 Fuel Outlook predicts prices will start to slope downward after that, with a national average all the way down to $3.78 by December 2022. That number used to seem high, but it’s all relative.
     • The patch work from Fall cleanup seems to be holding up well. We can use that to fix some spots or the normal cold patch for bigger areas. Hopefully this will hold us over until prices go down.
5. Pavement Design, LLC:  what is included in parking lot assessment:
   • Condition survey and evaluation of pavement
     • Pavement condition index rated as per US Army Corp of Engineers
   • Obtain inventory information
     • Information relevant to pavement sections gathered based on the construction of the property
     • Involves meeting with maintenance staff as well as observing traffic conditions/patterns
     • Reports including analysis and pictures
       • Inventory report
       • Aerial image report
       • Pavement condition index report
       • Network maintenance report
       • Network summary report
       • Maintenance and repair report
       • Recommendations
       • Inspection schedule report
       • Budget planning report
     • Review of final assessment with client
   • Will take time looking through and deciding. Since we are holding off on the parking lot we have some time.
6. Reserve Study
   • Update
   • Reserve study to help determine timeline for parking lot (i.e. can we eke another year out of it?)
   • Asphalt is a big part of the studies. The study in 2007 had a significant portion for asphalt. Holding off on proceeding with the parking lot makes sense until the reserve study is done.
   • All of the proposals look about the same. One more has been thrown into the mix but we are seeking a proposal from the company that did our 2007 study. We would lean towards choosing them if their range is in line with other proposals.
   • After all proposals are received they will be sent to the Board to review so a decision can be made. 
7. RA’s next meet and greet
   • April 11 Meet & Greet to Cover Site Lighting
   • The impact of Fairfax County’s new zoning  ordinance modification on site lighting in Reston
   • Dominion Energy’s initiative to convert to LED light sources
   • Reston’s Design Guideline for site lighting in clusters
   • The design review process for site lighting installation and replacement on cluster common ground, to include review of the ‘photometric plan’ requirement stipulated by the applicable site lighting Design Guideline
   • Cyndi plans to attend. Kristina will try to attend.
8. Electric Car Charging
   • Any updates? Some inquiries have been sent out. There are a lot of options out there which could be good from a competitive standpoint. Cyndi is also working on gathering information to see which do residential versus just business areas. 
9. Tree work – Cyndi
   • The trees near the path to the woods have some trees that are almost touching the ground. Is this something landscaping could take care of or would we need JL to handle it?
   • Nothing is impeding the path, so it may not be worth the cost but it will be mentioned during the next walkthrough
   • Kerry mentioned a tree that is overhanging his deck. It may have tipped over from the ice storm. It is significantly hanging over. He talked to JL and they said they need to take a rope and try to stand it back up. He will need to talk with the tree committee to determine what needs to be done and to get a bid. 
10. Landscaping – Sandy
    • Bus path – done!  (still some wood chips left – ideas?)
    • Updates?
      • We plan to spread them where they are. It is such a muddy area that a deeper and wider path may be better. 
      • Emailed Chris – they ran out of mulch and they are coming back 3/11 to finish. 
11. Getting the neighborhood into parking compliance
    • Sent an email directly to everyone who has not registered with the cluster.  Only one person has responded so far.
    • Next step is to put flyers on doors. We could also put flyers on cars parked in neighborhood that aren’t in our database.
12. Cluster Clean – Up – Saturday April 30th
    • Roll away dumpster – need to schedule with Bates – should we park in a couple of lower cluster parking spaces? 
    • Hazardous waste pickup – 2 weeks before?  Saturday April 16th?
    • Donation pickup – ideas?  When? Should we go with Green Drop again or look into other options.
    • We could Rent a Uhaul van and load it up and then drop it off at the Green Drop at Fox Mill. However, we would need to communicate with Green Drop to make sure they can accommodate what we bring.
    • Project ideas?
      • Planting natives on slopes to help with erosion?
      • Reston Association is having a native plant sale and pickup is Saturday April 23rd. Reston Association Native Plant Sale
      • Board will look through to see which ones they think will look nice and would work in the area. We should move fast so that inventory doesn’t run out. 
    • Other ideas?
      • Rebuild the benches throughout the cluster
      • Paint or stain the trash bin that was built (Oxford Brown)
      • Patching asphalt
      • Double checking the stairs to see if there are additional boards that need to be replaced
    • Cluster cookout?
      • Shopping for food/supplies
13.  Erin Gable (Wheelwright Covenants Advisor) has offered to attend a board meeting
    • Did we nail down a time and topic? 
      • Shed enclosures and size and design. Schedule for May
      • Non-Board Meeting with an open forum to ask questions. Send out a newsletter seeing if there is interest

Other

Traffic Cones

• approval to order 6 traffic sticks for $120

Concrete 

• Trying to schedule a walkthrough in the next month 

• Near Jill’s house, the sidewalk in front is starting to lift up and form a lip. It’s about an inch taller than the pad next to it.

Financials