News Articles
September 2024 Newsletter
Posted on Nov 12th, 2024
Fairland Towns Homeowner Association
PO Box 1376
Annandale, VA 22003
September 2024
Dear Neighbor,
I hope this letter finds you healthy and happy and looking forward to the "cool" changes that come with the Fall season.
You Look Marvelous!
I want to start with a shout out to our “Garden of the Month” for September. It is Rosie and Eliseo at 4700 Minor Circle – the house with FTHOA award sign out front - or see photos at www.fairlandtownshoa.com . If you see them out in their yard, give them a “green thumbs up.” A little effort in our own space makes us all shine!
Open Board Meeting.
Our community’s annual open board meeting was held 5 Sept at Weyanoke Elementary School. It was encouraging to see the growing turnout and interest in our community welfare. We had a very robust exchange highlighted by homeowner concerns, as well as the work the board is doing to keep our community vibrant. Financial issues topped the agenda, and our decision was supported to increase HOA dues to $500 (per six months) beginning January 2025, in order that we can keep up with rising costs of our basic services. This allows us to keep our reserve assets intact and avoid the need for a special assessment for major expenditures (i.e. future street repairs). We had hoped to get your vote on proposed HOA Bylaw amendments, but we did not have the needed number of homeowners present (plus proxies) to do so. There was general agreement for the proposed changes by those who attended, so we will schedule a short Open Meeting in October intended only to discuss and vote on the Bylaws with the reduced majority required by our covenant (see below). Finally, there were no volunteers to join the Board, so all five of your current Board officers agreed to remain in position and were approved by attendees. See the HOA website for the full meeting minutes report.
Snap-Open Meeting.
You are all invited to attend a follow-up community meeting on 10 October, 7pm, to vote to update bylaws. We need at least 22 homeowners and/or proxy letters for a proper vote under our bylaws. To make it easy for you, Lucia and I will host it at our home, 4702 Major Court, so no need to go far. If you cannot attend, do provide a proxy letter (see website under “Documents” tab) to a neighbor who attends. Please join us; we need your voice in our community decisions.
'Tis the Season to Vote!
No, not that election – a Community Survey! Several topics were discussed at the Community Meeting that we would like to hear your opinion about. We ask that you click on https://surveymonkey.com/r/ZL7C7V5 browser and complete the anonymous 6-question survey. You will also find the link on our FTHOA website www.fairlandtownshoa.com . It will take only two (2) minutes - promise. The Board wants to be sure we are serving your interests and those of the neighborhood.
Power Washer.
After some pretty heavy use and a little TLC, the power washer is back in service. To schedule it, you should contact Jeff Kaufman, our Secretary, for pickup and instructions. He can also point you to someone in the neighborhood who is available to do the power washing for you for a modest fee.
School’s In – Drive Carefully.
Our kids are back to school. Please stay alert and drive vigilantly on the community streets, especially when entering/existing the community as these are busy areas for young people during the school months.
FTHOA Website.
PO Box 1376
Annandale, VA 22003
September 2024
Dear Neighbor,
I hope this letter finds you healthy and happy and looking forward to the "cool" changes that come with the Fall season.
You Look Marvelous!
I want to start with a shout out to our “Garden of the Month” for September. It is Rosie and Eliseo at 4700 Minor Circle – the house with FTHOA award sign out front - or see photos at www.fairlandtownshoa.com . If you see them out in their yard, give them a “green thumbs up.” A little effort in our own space makes us all shine!
Open Board Meeting.
Our community’s annual open board meeting was held 5 Sept at Weyanoke Elementary School. It was encouraging to see the growing turnout and interest in our community welfare. We had a very robust exchange highlighted by homeowner concerns, as well as the work the board is doing to keep our community vibrant. Financial issues topped the agenda, and our decision was supported to increase HOA dues to $500 (per six months) beginning January 2025, in order that we can keep up with rising costs of our basic services. This allows us to keep our reserve assets intact and avoid the need for a special assessment for major expenditures (i.e. future street repairs). We had hoped to get your vote on proposed HOA Bylaw amendments, but we did not have the needed number of homeowners present (plus proxies) to do so. There was general agreement for the proposed changes by those who attended, so we will schedule a short Open Meeting in October intended only to discuss and vote on the Bylaws with the reduced majority required by our covenant (see below). Finally, there were no volunteers to join the Board, so all five of your current Board officers agreed to remain in position and were approved by attendees. See the HOA website for the full meeting minutes report.
Snap-Open Meeting.
You are all invited to attend a follow-up community meeting on 10 October, 7pm, to vote to update bylaws. We need at least 22 homeowners and/or proxy letters for a proper vote under our bylaws. To make it easy for you, Lucia and I will host it at our home, 4702 Major Court, so no need to go far. If you cannot attend, do provide a proxy letter (see website under “Documents” tab) to a neighbor who attends. Please join us; we need your voice in our community decisions.
'Tis the Season to Vote!
No, not that election – a Community Survey! Several topics were discussed at the Community Meeting that we would like to hear your opinion about. We ask that you click on https://surveymonkey.com/r/ZL7C7V5 browser and complete the anonymous 6-question survey. You will also find the link on our FTHOA website www.fairlandtownshoa.com . It will take only two (2) minutes - promise. The Board wants to be sure we are serving your interests and those of the neighborhood.
Power Washer.
After some pretty heavy use and a little TLC, the power washer is back in service. To schedule it, you should contact Jeff Kaufman, our Secretary, for pickup and instructions. He can also point you to someone in the neighborhood who is available to do the power washing for you for a modest fee.
School’s In – Drive Carefully.
Our kids are back to school. Please stay alert and drive vigilantly on the community streets, especially when entering/existing the community as these are busy areas for young people during the school months.
FTHOA Website.
Our website has a fresh face and is more inclusive of community needs. We continue to press for it to be our “go to place” for urgent and routine communication between you and the board and across the community, with our intent of going “all digital” in 2025 – no more mass mailings of dues and ARB citations. The website is where you will find announcements on emerging issues, urgent notifications, HOA documents and guidelines, and Tried & True resources/contractors for maintaining your home. Please familiarize yourself with our webpage, check in on it regularly, and let us know if you have suggestions for making it more useful to community needs. See www.fairlandtownshoa.com.
ARB Matters.
A big thank you to those diligent homeowners who have completed repairs from the Spring walkthrough. However, we have over 30 homes who have not taken action to complete repairs, and the 90-day grace period for doing has long passed. Noncompliant homeowners are now subject to penalties under consideration to “encourage” compliance. Do be a considerate neighbor and keep your home looking its very best.
Planning an Alteration?
If you are planning ANY alterations to your property, major or minor, you must seek approval from the ARB in advance. Alterations in structure, color, material, etc., all have HOA standards. We have, unfortunately, had to address several alterations by homeowners whose changes are not allowed under the guidelines. We all agreed to abide by these rules when we accepted the HOA covenants as part of our purchase contract. The Board will not accept a homeowner’s unfamiliarity with the covenants or ARB guidelines as an excuse for an architectural oversight. Please review the guidelines; if in doubt, give the Board/Hector a shout first.
Breaking News.
Yep, we agree that Bladerunners should not have mowed this week in wet weather. We are addressing the matter with their leadership to make it right for us.
That’s it for this month.
We hope to see and meet you at our SHORT HOA meeting on 10 Oct. There will be chocolate! And don't forget to take the above-mentioned special topics survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZL7C7V5 .
Spread kindness!
Cheers,
Kevin (703-772-6216), Ronda, Neil, Jeff and Hector
ARB Matters.
A big thank you to those diligent homeowners who have completed repairs from the Spring walkthrough. However, we have over 30 homes who have not taken action to complete repairs, and the 90-day grace period for doing has long passed. Noncompliant homeowners are now subject to penalties under consideration to “encourage” compliance. Do be a considerate neighbor and keep your home looking its very best.
Planning an Alteration?
If you are planning ANY alterations to your property, major or minor, you must seek approval from the ARB in advance. Alterations in structure, color, material, etc., all have HOA standards. We have, unfortunately, had to address several alterations by homeowners whose changes are not allowed under the guidelines. We all agreed to abide by these rules when we accepted the HOA covenants as part of our purchase contract. The Board will not accept a homeowner’s unfamiliarity with the covenants or ARB guidelines as an excuse for an architectural oversight. Please review the guidelines; if in doubt, give the Board/Hector a shout first.
Breaking News.
Yep, we agree that Bladerunners should not have mowed this week in wet weather. We are addressing the matter with their leadership to make it right for us.
That’s it for this month.
We hope to see and meet you at our SHORT HOA meeting on 10 Oct. There will be chocolate! And don't forget to take the above-mentioned special topics survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZL7C7V5 .
Spread kindness!
Cheers,
Kevin (703-772-6216), Ronda, Neil, Jeff and Hector