Board Meeting Highlights - 2005

Full minutes of board meetings can be received through the property management office. Click here for that contact information. From this section, you can review highlights from board, annual, and special meetings.

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Nov 14th, 2005 (Board Meeting)

• The ARC is holding together well. The 3rd inspection is being planned. Habitual offenders will be given special attention. Discussion centered on changing the process homeowners follow when making enhancements to the exterior of their house (e.g. adding a deck). Today homeowners are asked to have their neighbors sign a form that denotes they are aware of the upcoming construction. Removing the request for a signature is being discussed by the board.
• Motion passed to accept new 2006 budget. We will send around a cover letter and the revised 2006 budget. The homeowner’s fees will be adjusted up to $202/quarter, which is inline with consumer price index. Resolution passed to  apply any excess income to the following year assessments. 
• The board talked about staking the association property around the area to be developed to identify trees on our property to protect our trees from being cut down.
• GJB invoice for construction oversight was reviewed. Motion passed to  pay invoice. 
• GJB invoice to correct the retaining wall installation was reviewed. Motion passed to short pay the invoice by $300. The $300 is outlined in the invoice as time spent revising the drawing due to construction modifications from original design. Will send Landscape Construction (who built the retaining wall) letting them know the association doesn’t feel responsible to cover the additional fees and if they have any questions to contact us within 30 days. 
• Discussed ARC and the difficulties on keeping membership up to complete inspections. Discussed potential for hiring ProCAM to perform inspections, which was quoted at $4000/year, which would cover 3 inspections. The board is considering this option. Would need the association’s approval to increase the fees to cover these charges, which would require a 2/3 vote of the association membership.
• Reviewed proposal to add lights to Dominion Way. Cost for one light is $3377. That area probably needs a minimum of 2 lights. No more than 4 lights would be necessary.
• Discussed hiring a landscape architect to address the conditions of the neighborhood grounds. Reviewed one proposal from Deanna Foster. The board wants a proposal to design solutions for the 2 entrances and along Dominion Road (i.e. the problem areas).
• Discussed the landscaping contract currently in place and the proposals from potential vendors. The board needs references from Professional Grounds. The board will vote via email on procuring a new vendor.
• Ratified Valley Crest’s proposal to plant 180 pansies in 3 areas.
• AAA Trash and Recycle is increasing their fees – as communicated to the board via a letter from AAA. The price is being adjusted to $17/unit. The old contract entailed $2386 for the year and will be going up to $3043 for the year.
   

Sep 12th, 2005 (Board Meeting)

• The board ratified expenditures for GJB Engineering and Landscaping Construction for planning, oversight and construction of retaining wall.  
• Residents and Board are still unhappy with the damage that was caused to the grounds by contractor Ivey Smith.
• Revision made to rules and regulations. No satellite dishes can be mounted to front of property or on common property.
• The board approved Valley Crest proposal to remove an encroaching tree. 
• The board discussed the landscaping needs of the community and agreed on getting estimates for improvements. 
• Reviewed Valley Crest to install a Dogwood. The board wanted to verify this is the same type of tree in front of 2120 Hutchison Grove Ct. Approved contingent on findings in front of 2120 HGC.
• Reviewed Valley Crest proposal for various landscaping enhancements. 1- repair erosion problem near 2127 Dominion Way 2- repair erosion between 2111 and 2113 Dominion Heights Ct 3- remove fallen tree 4- prune Pines along Dominion Drive 5- provide a screen for residents adjacent to (Dominion Drive?) Remove 2 trees 6- remove 21 Pines along Dominion Drive For this proposal items 1-3 were approved 5.  The board needs clarity on the other items in order to make a decision. 
• Reviewed Valley Crest proposal to install pansies in 4 planting areas. Installation of 180 pansies approved for 3 planting areas.  Need to remove begonias from these areas. The board needs advice on these areas since flowers have not flourished in all of them.
• Discussed ARC violations and lack of clarity in letters sent to homeowners. The issues centered on all potential violations were listed on the letter, but only those that applied to a particular homeowner were highlighted in bold. The association needs a solution that doesn't require so much data entry. And we need to improved the accuracy of information that is initially written up by the ARC on to the actually letters sent to homeowners. The board wants to stress that ARC members are doing inspections consistently.
• Discussed improvements needed related to lighting around the mailboxes on the north side of Dominion Way.  It was mentioned that some homeowners have encountered issues with their cars being broken into while parked on Dominion Way. And discussed that a potential cause is the lack of significant lighting in some areas on that road.
• It was reported that a tree in the rear of 2157 Dominion Way has fallen and needs to be removed. A request will be sent to Valley Crest for an estimate for removal.
• Discussed the upcoming cookout and the roles/responsibilities of board members for the event.

July 11th, 2005 (Board Meeting)

• Talked about retaining wall progress. Question was brought up about the poor condition of wood fences in homeowner’s back yards, and some houses that don’t have a fence. Discussed banding together homeowners to jointly replace fences and get a group discount. Elena will put the word out on her street (Dominion Heights Ct). 
• The board discussed getting gas extended to our houses. Discussion ensued about the historical reasons why this had not occurred. Also discussed landscaping options and policy about removing trees. The policy regarding trees is that if a tree falls down a homeowner is expected to replace it with another tree. 
• Management Report Rules and regulations were retyped. The board needs to review them for accuracy.
• Regarding the retaining wall at 7710 Marshall Heights Ct., a letter will be sent to the homeowner asking for agreement to split the cost of the wall’s construction. 
• The board discussed Ivey Smith and their restoration crew who needs to repair some damage they did to the ground/grass when putting fiber in the ground. Some areas have grass that was ripped up and not replaced. 
• It was mentioned that Cox Communications has a lot of cable above ground.  Individual homeowners need to individually complain. Tim Sawyer is interested in being a point of contact for communicating with Cox. 
• Luke Foster is interested in being on the board as Treasurer. Motion to nominate Luke passed 
• Homeowner at 2110 Dominion Heights Ct. is appealing an ARC violation. The board will pass issue to legal counsel for review. And the board would like to invite the homeowner to the next board meeting to discuss. 
• Storm door discussion: ARC need to review paint color policy and come up with a proposal for changing the policy. The board discussed appeals to ARC violations for the following homes: 7788 Marshall Heights Ct.: going to re-inspect. Will look at railings. Will send letter about where to get “chimney” for front lamp. Will look into rules for deck, it may not even be in violation. 7778 Marshall Heights Ct. The board agrees to allow tree trimming on community property. 7744 Marshall Heights Ct. The board agrees with ARC that the size of the proposed front light is too big and will send a letter requesting homeowner to find another light that fits within the look and feel of existing lights in the community. 
• Discussed the upcoming cookout scheduled for Sept. 17th 5-7pm. The cookout will be adjacent to the tot lot on Hutchison Grove Ct. 
• Next meeting scheduled for Sept. 12th at 7132 Hutchison Grove Ct. Marshall Heights Ct. at 7:00 pm 

May 9th, 2005 (Board Meeting)

• Resident Forum: Discussed architecture violations and storm doors. Central topic was how we archive infractions and catch non-compliant homes. After three violations and the opportunity for a hearing before the Board of Directors, the unit owners can be assessed. 
• Architecture Review Committee reported that on April 27th letters were sent out to homeowners with violations.
• Management Report Financial Report: We have a CD that expires at the end of May. The board will research interest rates and propose via email a suitable replacement.
• Discussed tree maintenance and money we pay to remove fallen trees.
• Recycling was not picked up last Friday. Homeowners should contact ProCAM or AAA directly to complain about the missing pickups.
• Rules and Regulations need to be published on our web site. Will review rules and regulations as a board and submit suggestions via email.
• Motion passed to write off Martin Lawn & Landscaping duplicate payment. Martin Landscaping has been contacted no less than five times. The Better Business Bureau was contacted in an attempt to recover the money. It was determined that the next course of action of taking them to court would cost the association more in legal fees than the amount of the money we were attempting to recover.
• Discussed erosion behind Dominion Heights Ct and Hutchison Grove Ct. Two proposals to form a swale and install river rock were reviewed. Passed motion to accept Valley Crest to complete work.
• Tabled topic of new tree on Hutchison Grove Ct. Referred to ARC for review.
• Motion to use maintenance mgmt. to move doggie station to south side of Dominion Way.
• Cox cable has some exposed coax. People that notice this should contact Cox directly.
• Issue with ARC inspection of 2210 Dominion Heights Ct. The house wasn't accurately inspected when this house was sold Storm door is non-compliant. There is a disclaimer on the disclosure that highlights that it's still the homeowner's responsibility to be compliant.
• Next meeting scheduled for July 11th at 7746 Marshall Heights Ct.

Mar 3rd, 2005 (Board Meeting)

• Adjacent property development
  Andrew Aman from Whitestone Investments presented an easement request to the board. His engineer requested to tap into water and sewer at a different location than originally planned. It will require amending the agreement to allow easements. Andrew offered to pick up the tab for any legal fees to make the amendment happen. He estimates that the actual work will be about 3 days. He also mentioned that zoning is approved. He will submit a site plan to the county for review. He expects 30 days for any changes to be finalized. And another 60 days for final approval. It could be 6 months before construction begins.
• Motion passed to roll an expiring CD to another CD at a competitive rate
• Issue with duplicated payment to Martin Landscaping was tabled.
• Storm door - need to revamp the policy. The board wants to have an open discussion at the annual meeting.
• Abandoned trash cans. Will put signs on them making notice that the trash service will take them away within a week if someone does not move them back to their yard.
• Motion passed to accept proposal from New Look Service to repair damaged fence behind 2165 Dominion Way.
• Motion passed 3-0 to accept Landscape Construction Services proposal to replace the 2 retaining walls.

Jan 20th, 2005 (Board Meeting)

• Architecture Review Committee - discussed paying the management company to do the ARC inspections. The membership on the ARC is fading. The board will canvass the homeowners via email for recruits. It was mentioned that we need a chart to standardize the audits, with space for making notes. The goal is to have a consistent audit across all houses. Early April is target for developing a new chart template
• Received a bid from Mohn & Allen to perform an audit of MHHA financial records. The board decided to wait to hear from existing auditor before making a decision on whom to use.
• Received notice that AAA Recycling & Trash is raising prices for trash removal.
• A certificate of deposit (CD) is due for termination 2/28/05. The board discussed options of rolling the money into a new CD. Will research rates with a few banks. The board will evaluate and vote via email on what to do.
• Discussed retaining walls. Want info from Landscape Construction to validate they will be able to do the work. Will contact them to see what their availability is to do the work. Need to discuss the following items to make sure they will be included in the price: demolition, debris removal, backfill, restore site to existing condition. The contingency is to talk with Valley Crest to start work on wood wall.
• Association Documents. Motion passed to have legal counsel check if the documents are recorded with Fairfax County. If so will ask him to proof against recorded copy. If not will proof against our existing documents (hardcopies are hard to read). Then will have him record the edited copy with the county.
• Discussed complaints from homeowners related to ARC violations
• Motion passed to approve Valley Crest proposal to cut 3 trees behind Dominion Way and to grind the stumps at the same time.
• The annual meeting is scheduled for April 11th