Dear Neighbors,
 
I hope the New Year has had a great beginning for all of you.
 
Winter Open Board Meeting.  

I want to start with a reminder that our winter neighborhood board meeting will be Wednesday, 28 Feb, 7:00pm, in the cafeteria at Weyanoke School.  he school is located just a block south of our neighborhood on Braddock Road, and is easy walking distance.  A draft agenda for the meeting is attached.  Along with normal business, important items to be discussed include snow and lawn service, Spring tidy-up, grounds tree and shrub service, road maintenance and overdue repairs by homeowners. We will provide ample time for you to voice your thoughts and concerns, too. If you are unable to attend, please provide another neighbor with a written proxy note to represent you on decisions at the meeting.   Arrange to walk over with a neighbor!  I hope to see you there.
 
Security.  

We had a car stolen from the drive of one of our homeowners on Irvin Court in December.  My apologies for not issuing a timely notice, but we also experienced a temporary outage of our website at the same time.  It does remind us that, although we are fortunate to have a low crime neighborhood, non-violent crime does still occur.  Please be vigilant by keeping cars locked, items in cars out of sight, and report suspicious persons.  Do also check-in on our website periodically, to get the latest notice on any neighborhood happenings.
 
Trash bins.  

Immense thanks to all of you for attention to ensuring trash and recycle bins are located out of sight.  Our neighborhood’s appearance is much improved.  I appreciate your continued efforts on this #1 complaint by our homeowners.  I also appreciate your efforts to resolve issues with your neighbors before bringing them to the board.  We have had recent success in your doing just that.
 
Snow, snow, snow.

Mother nature has been good to us so far this winter.  We have had only one significant snow event, and one that resulted in much less fuss than was forecast.  Both offered opportunities for your Board to make decisions (guesses) on how to schedule services with Blade Runners, our contract landscape service.  Not sure we guessed correctly in either event.  Would like to hear your thoughts on this at the board meeting, as this is one of our biggest recurring expenses.
 
Poo, poo, poo.  

We have received several notifications of homeowners walking their dogs in the neighborhood and not picking up after their pets. Fairfax County Code states "The owner or custodian of any dog shall be responsible for the removal of excreta deposited by such dog on other’s property, including public areas (County Code Section 41-1-2, Sect. 108-5-2 and Sect. 41-2-6).  Please comply and kindly remind others who neglect to follow this law to do so and keep our neighborhood clean and sanitary.  Pet owners can also use their own fenced yards if they find it inconvenient to comply with this common courtesy.  Don’t be a “poopy” neighbor!
 
Home repairs.

 As reminder, 01 March is the deadline for completing/scheduling home repairs for those issued citations by the ARB last November.  After that, homeowners who have not complied will be subject to financial assessments until repairs are complete, as allowed in our HOA bylaws.  Our appreciation to those who have responded to us on the citations and/or completed the necessary work.
 
HOA dues.  

Lots of January dues were paid late, and we still have a number outstanding. Please do pay on time, as we are very dependent on this income to ensure the services you expect and depend on are paid on time, and our cash reserves remain healthy for those pesky unexpected costs.  If you did not receive your dues reminder, please contact us to make sure your contact information/address is current.
 
That’s it for now.  

I hope to see, meet and hear from you at the 28 February board meeting.  Spread kindness!
 
Cheers,
Kevin, Ronda, Neil, Jeff and Hector