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Wheelwright Cluster Board Meeting Minutes – October 2021

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Thursday, October 14, 2021 at 7 pm via Zoom

Community updates

Cluster Clean up – Saturday, October 23rd

Projects

  1. Cold patch repair on parking lot

Jay from RA has a product he recommends that is superior to Coldpatch and much easier to use called Aquaphalt.

Kristina will order the Aquaphalt from Ace Hardware as it is the best price.  Will take measurements to determine how much is needed for the potholes

2. Pulling invasive weeds and cleaning up natural areas between rows 2241 and 2243 and the area to the right of 2249 as well as other unkempt areas around tot lot. 

Mulch to be added.  Need to order.

Talked about ordering mulch from the company that delivers in bags as opposed to our landscaper who will deliver in a large pile which makes it more difficult to haul.  (Update:  did not end up ordering mulch – decided to wait until Spring.

  1. Tot lot benches

Cyndi to lead this effort – benches need to be sanded and stained.

  1. Moving sod from 2248 to the surrounding path by 2249 and 2251

This may end up being a cluster clean up project

  1. Cookout

KM put it into the last Wheelwrighter.  Thinks we are probably ok to go ahead and has been watching county COVID transmission rate, down from high to substantial.  Numbers are lower with a 3.31% positive rate.  Proposes still having the cookout since it’s outside.  Board agreed to start planning for it and cancel if transmission rates worsen.

After everyone reviews the shopping list for cookout, Kristina will go to Costco to pick up items.

Roles

Kristina will man check-in table and have coffee available and go to work later in the morning.

Will also direct people where they can do to help during clean up.

Cyndi already has some of the items needed for coffee and a table.

Sandy – in charge of asphalt patching

Cyndi – in charge of benches

Kelly and Kayleen to be in charge of weeds/invasives in the area by tot lot and between rows of houses between upper and lower cluster.

Kyle and/or Tim to grill during cookout.

Sandy to put out samples of siding and door colors and some decking information for people to view during the cleanup.  Sandy has some paint sample chips that folks can take for our approved siding colors.  If we don’t have enough, people can get more at Sherwin Williams.Erosion – 

Erosion

French drain – 2243, 45, 47, 49 and access path to right of 2231 application – this has been approved by RA but waiting on clarification on a couple of things.

For the French drain Jose will be using 57 gravel and covering it with soil and grass seed making it invisible.  RA said to use river jack instead of 57 gravel for aesthetics but agreed if underground, 57 gravel should be ok.  They had also wanted a metal edging that will go along the access path to prevent wood chips from washing down the slope.  That metal edging is supposed to be 6 in. in height but RA said they don’t want it to be higher than 4 in.  (Part of this will be underground and not visible and in places where the grade of slope prevents the railing from “hiding” some of the railing, it is ok.  Sandy suggested that the stipulation likely is so that the railing does not exceed the height of the wood chips creating a tripping hazard.  We’ll try to ensure the chips are flush with the railing.

Jose said he could probably come out to start the work after the 25th After the lines are marked by “Miss Utility” to get the lines marked.

Kristina talked to Jose about him possibly using the wood chips from the stump of the tree in front of 2230’s house for the path.  (Update:  Jose will not use these chips – we will use for other projects – Sandy suggested using around the tot lot benches since it is muddy there)

Haven’t yet gotten a quote from Chris for price to move mulch once the tree stump has been grinded by J and L.

Concrete

Completed.  Railing installed.  Everything looks great!

Everything looks really good.  Railing is installed.  

Kerry had a couple of concerns about the concrete surface being too rough and clean up being less than adequate.  We may want to monitor this going forward if we continue to use the same company but no one else has complained.  Things seem to have been completed well and on time.

Watch light updates? 

2265 replacement and 2215 blinding lamp

***New work orders submitted 10/4. Keeping an eye on 2265. Appears to be working, let me know if anyone notices otherwise. No feedback about the “searchlight” as yet.


Cyndi submitted new work orders on 10/4.  They didn’t give feedback on turnaround time.  Iit seems they have come by and taken care of it.  No one has gotten back to her about the one in front of 2257.  She will follow up if she doesn’t hear back.

Sandy mentioned the light in front of Cyndi’s house which appears to go on and off periodically as well.  Cyndi has only noticed an occasional flicker but will keep an eye on.

Deck renovations -materials and colors, Door colors and styles

Sandy working on slide-show to share with the Cluster.  Meaghan hoping to have some updates regarding decks by the end of the week.  Once we get feedback Sandy will finish DRB and send it off.  2263 submitted their DRB for deck and railings.  Sandy recommended clarification/changes  – square rails instead of round and railing holders underneath instead of on top – to their DRB before the Board signs off on it – she will address with 2263.

Community outreach

Feedback

DRB

Tree work

The amount of tree work remaining will total $6247.50 as opposed to $8100 that would have included removal of shredded stump wood chips which we hope to use for our access path by Cyndi’s home.  However, we’ll need to factor in the cost of moving the chips from one location to another in the cluster – our landscaper, Chris has offered to do this for us but I don’t have an estimate yet.

Tree planting – Jeffrey has proposed 2 trees for planting behind his home to replace the felled trees from a couple of years ago.

Tulip Poplar (native)

black sourgum tree (native)

American sweetgum (native) (alternate)

Jeffrey got prices on the Tulip Poplar trees from a nursery in Ashburn for $169.99 for a sizable baby tree (can’t remember exact size).  The sourgumm and sweetgum can also be found at the same nursery.  No price available for those yet.  The price of the trees will come out of the tree budget.  They are not covered by our tree credit.  Is everyone ok with spending the roughly $325 for the two trees behind Jeffrey’s house.

Board agreed to the trees.  (Update:  Jeffrey went to the nursery and purchased 2 black gum trees – one of which was the price that was agreed upon, the other was significantly bigger and the price was significantly more.  Board will have to address.)

Sandy proposed waiting on the cherry tree behind 2250 as agreed upon by the homeowners because when the cherry tree left, other trees filled in and now there is not a lot of light back there.  A small sapling won’t do well.  Also, many of those trees need to be considerably pruned.  Some of the remaining roots are actually sprouting and we may be able to use these offshoots to replant this cherry tree either there or other places in the cluster.

Cyndi has talked with her neighbor about the very dead tree in her neighbor’s yard and has suggested that others help to cut down the tree.  Sandy offered to take her chain saw to it after we can confirm with the homeowner.

Scope of work that the tree committee is responsible for and what the board is responsible for.

The tree committee says that they only handle trees that potentially imperil life or property.  We didn’t realize that and assumed anything to do with trees fell under the purview of the tree committee.

Board will take on the task of figuring out how to go forward with smaller tree work and potentially explore other companies for this.

Parking lot

Email regarding visit with Jay from RA

Kristina met with Jay from RA about parking lots.  Biggest take away was that RA does not do any seal coating of their parking lots because it doesn’t add to the life of the parking lot.  Addressing cracks as soon as they appear is important.  He added we are potentially looking at a foundation problem with our parking lot and it might be wise to do the 4 inch mill & pave.  

Discussion about only doing 4 in. mill & pave in the middle of the parking lot and 1.5 inches in the parking space.  Jay from RA thinks that’s a good idea.

K will continue to gather information and will talk with the guy from Pavement Design LLC to answer her questions and determine cost.

Also, determine if Jay from RA is available for a paid consultancy/project management.

Email from Pavement design, LLC – consultants for repaving lots – proposal and sample report that was completed for Marriott recently. 

Email from Pavement & Design LLC, a consultant who basically holds your hand through the process….they go through bids and put together a 10 – 15 year budget and tell you how to elongate the life of your parking lot.  However, Kristina had questions about a recent Marriott proposal that they had worked on & contradictory message about seal coating.

Landscaping 

Issues? 

Aeration of Steve’s yard that was done even though he had not ordered it.  Sandy talking with Chris to address the problem.

Progress on seeking other bids?

Will likely need to continue using Chris for another year.  No one has time to look for new bids.  Might need to save money by only doing common areas.  This way there won’t be any more problems with individual lawns and will save money too.

Will ask Chris for two proposals, 1) Common areas only, 2) common areas plus individual yards.

Homeowner Fall lawn service update

Swale installation update

Maybe next week or the week after. (Update:  Chris says he will do week of October 25th.)

Garbage/Recycling

Rollaway dumpster has been ordered for Friday 10/22 to Monday 10/25. – Ordered

Voucher to exempt us from dumping fees was actually processed and received and submitted to Bates already.  (Miracles can happen) – Done

Issues? 

None reported.

Neighborhood donation pickup

Cyndi has been working with Green Drop to get us a date for a community pickup of donated items for multiple families.  Email went out and we will hopefully get multiple homeowners to sign up

****scheduled for Wednesday 10/20 7am – 7pm – Done.

Compost bin discussion. 

Texted Lynn to ask if she’d keep an eye on it.  

Cindy asked how to take care of it and offered to help maintain as well.

Update:  Lynn has offered to keep an eye on it and communicate any issues to the board.

Parking  

Sandy suggested to start enforcing guidelines more strictly since pandemic restrictions are easing a little….two cars, tags up to date, inspections current, etc.

Financials

Financial outlook 

2022 budget

Dues increase

Kelly & KM talked about dues increase and determined that $350 is where we want to be.  It is the average for other clusters in Reston are paying..  Talked about doing it incrementally, $25 this year, $25 next year.  Money in CDs will be needed for pavement mill & grind in 2022.

CD’s

Two CD’s listed in online banking totaling $95K.  Need to call the bank to talk about them and get details.

P&L, dues

Reserve study

We have a CPA for tax prep.  KM reached out to an attorney via email but hasn’t heard back yet. Kelly will reach out to CPA to ask about reserve study.

Next Meeting

  • Thursday, November 11th at 7pm
  • Annual Meeting Monday Dec. 6th, at 7pm
    • Still half virtual, half in person?

Consensus is to have it virtual. KM will ask RA for a refund for the room.

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 – 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 – 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

Recycling in the Neighborhood

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Recently there has been some confusion about what can be recycled and what is actually being recycled. Due to recent changes to the type of recycling that China is accepting from the US, the rates of local recycling have gone down. To ensure that recycling is accepted, we want to reduce the amount of “wishful recycling” and only put items in the bin that can be recycled: https://www.batestrucking.com/recycling-collection-services/residential/.

Any trash and recycling that is picked up by our new trash and recycling collector, Bates Trucking, is still subject to the rules of the locality that it is dropped off, materials taken to the I-66 Transfer Station or I-95 Landfill Complex within Fairfax County. Here is a great reference webpage that can help determine if it will be accepted or not: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/publicworks/recycling-trash/residential-materials. Many items in recycling end up in the trash due to wishful recycling and also the costs of recycling the raw materials.

Please ensure that you are placing recycling in the proper bins and trash in the proper bins. The green top bins are for trash and blue top bins are for recycling. Recycling placed in plastic bags will not be accepted for recycling and will be picked up by the trash truck. If you need a blue recycling bin or trash bin, please email wheelwright.cluster.assoc@gmail.com to request one; include your name and address please.