Minutes of the Lake Barcroft Association - Board of Directors

The meeting of the Lake Barcroft Association (LBA) was called to order at 7:28 p.m. by President Sally Determan at 6425 Lakeview Drive, Falls Church, Virginia.  Those present were LBA Directors Sally Determan, Warren Russell, Cindy Waters, Rick Aldrich, Diane Davidson, Jim Kilbourne, Eva Kosztarab, Shane Oleson, Pat Payne, Frank Phillippi, Diane Smalley and Betsy Washington. Maintenance Co-Chair George Waters and WID Trustee Chuck deSeve were also present as were lake residents Todd West, Bryant Snee, Nancy Firestone, Chris Buehler, Don Christian, Rusty Metz, Kevin Howe, Michael Mastropaolo, Kevin Kampschroer and Tacie Yoon.

The minutes of the August 8, 2012 meeting were approved as presented.  (Subsequently, Shane Oleson, Publications Chair, submitted the following correction for the second sentence in the Website Budget discussion under New Business – changes appear in italics: “He explained that the contractors list, directory, blogs and payment sections are limited to (current owners – delete) one owner per lot and does not allow for renters, spouses, or other household adults.”)

The agenda was reviewed.

OLD BUSINESS

CALENDAR REVIEW: The Board reviewed the calendar.  Sally reminded the Board that she was hosting a pot luck dinner at her home on Sunday, September 23, for Board members, WID trustees and their spouses.

COMMUNITY GARDEN TASK FORCE UPDATE: Chuck de Seve, Chair of the Task Force, began his presentation by acknowledging and thanking the Task Force consisting of Diane Davidson as Co-Chair, Rusty Metz, Rick Aldrich, Nancy Firestone and Stephanie Perez. The Advisory Committee members are George Waters, Betsy Washington, Mike Niebling and Dorothy Werner.  He emphasized that compromise produced a plan that had unanimous approval by the Task Force and the WID. He presented a drawing of the plan and discussed aspects: hardscape issues, including the waterfall and pond; drainage issues; paths; shoreline, including floating docks; and plantings. WID would provide $28,800 in in-kind costs and LBA and WID would each contribute $37,613.  WID will guarantee any costs above LBA’s share. Work on the pond, shoreline and docks can start almost immediately; the rest can begin in the spring. Warren reminded that the Board had previously approved spending up to $35,000 for the garden but Sally stated that the two year time frame for that authorization had expired which is why this needed to be revisited. Questions followed concerning the wetlands, garden use, the lower pond and parking.  

A motion was made by Diane Smalley and seconded by Pat Payne authorizing the expenditure of up to $38,000 from LBA for the Community Garden. All voted in favor.

FIREWORKS: Eva explained that the choice of fireworks personnel is an insurance discussion. We do not have a policy that will cover volunteers unless LBA were found to be negligent when a volunteer would be covered by LBA’s general liability policy. Zambelli’s policy matches ours. In the event of an accident, Workers Comp would provide minimal medical coverage.  So the question is: do we continue with volunteers or do we hire an outside company.

Kevin Howe promoted the argument in favor of continuing with the ever-increasing numbers of community volunteers. He further discussed the several safety factors put in to place over the years as well as his understanding of the Workers Comp issue.   Kevin Kampschroer elaborated on the discussion of safety and improvements including review and documentation with the fire marshall, sequencing of firing now spaced out, the change in location and structure of the batteries, and that the organization has become more efficient and repeatable. Bryant Snee continued the discussion of the reward of community participation experienced over the years. 

Pat asked to see a copy of the waiver that the volunteers sign. Eva suggested redrafting a new release form after further review.

The Board determined that there was not enough of an issue to warrant paying the additional money to Zambelli and risking whether the company would have technicians available and agreed to let the volunteers continue.  Kevin thanked everyone for their time.

BEACH 5 PAVILION UPDATE: Kevin Howe, Warren Russell and George McLennan comprise the committee exploring this subject.  Kevin discussed the costs but has not gone through the probable permit process, including RPA. Community feedback has been requested – some negative feedback from surrounding neighbors has been received citing noise and parking.  Kevin will make a presentation at the Civic Affairs Meeting in October following further review by the Board.

RESERVE STUDY: Todd West presented his preliminary report on asset replacements. Sally thanked Todd and his committee for the excellent work to date.

NOMINATING COMMITTEE: Warren gave a brief report. He suggested that the Board consider not filling Marty Mandelberg’s remaining term but elect seven Board members on the next ballot instead of the current need for six. The Board agreed. We therefore need 10 nominees for the ballot.

COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD UPDATE: Warren and his committee (Jenny Talati, Kim Mills, George McLennan and Jerry Mendenhall) received 15 nominees for consideration and reviewed those 11 who were eligible. The committee votes were close and their recommendations were presented to the Board for consideration. The selection was made and the award will be presented at the Civic Affairs Meeting.

NEW BUSINESS

ELECTION OF CINDY WATERS AS SECRETARY: Sally reminded that Cindy has graciously been serving as the acting secretary and thought it was time for her to be formally elected. 

A motion was made by Pat Payne and seconded by Betsy Washington to elect Cindy Waters as the LBA secretary.  All voted in favor.

FAIRFAX COUNTY FEDERATION OF CITIZENS ASSOCIATIONS: Sally reported that lake resident Roger Hoskins has volunteered to be the representative from LBA and will report back as necessary.

CIVIC AFFAIRS MEETING DATE AND AGENDA: Sally said that the Civic Affairs Meeting would be held on Tuesday, October 30, at Belvedere Elementary School from 7:30 to 9:30. Agenda items will include presentations by candidates for local offices, representatives from the Lake Barcroft Village, the Garden Task Force, Beach 5 Pavilion committee and an update on beavers. 

UPDATE ON BEAVER ATTACK: Mention was made of a second rabid beaver attack, this one occurring in Springfield. Betsy has agreed to chair a committee including Holly Hazard and wildlife biologist John Hadidian of HSUS to look into wildlife, rabies and health outreach issues. It is likely that “our” beaver was probably itself bitten by a rabid raccoon or fox. We will continue our outreach to experts and will keep neighbors informed and we will review our policy. There was a reminder of the Friday night presentation at the Moose Lodge for those who might be interested. 

TRESPASSING ENFORCEMENT ISSUES: Frank Phillippi has agreed to chair a committee regarding trespassing in the community.  Warren said he wants consistency on this issue – he reminded that several letters had been sent to this trespasser and suggested that the police issue her a citation. Frank offered that we keep her on probation if/until a future incident occurs.  Eva informed the Board that she was required to file a notice of occurrence with our insurance company.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

LEGAL:  No report

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY: Betsy has ordered 48 new trees.

WATER SAFETY/BEACH MAINTENANCE: Pat described two issues: (1) Homeowner whose canoes were sold at auction filed a stolen property report and (2) a resident who claims that stickers were on his boat but that they were removed and the boat sold at auction. Pat is continuing discussions with the latter resident.

SPECIAL EVENTS:  Diane Smalley reported that the Labor Day Games were a success and thanked Ralph Petta and his volunteers for a job well done. She is continuing to look into the Battle of the Bands as a future event.

SECURITY: Frank Phillippi said that he will have the Committee’s trespass report by December.  Officer Murphy will report on summer patrols at the end of this week.

TREASURER:  Jim Kilbourne will be working with the reserve fund committee.  He will also be working on the draft budget and reminded Board members to get their committee budgets to him by the October meeting.

PUBLICATIONS: Sally thanked Shane for his detailed report to the Board regarding maintenance of the website.  He wants to explore 5-10 firms for web design and will put a notice on Lakelink about the search. He reported that the directory meeting went well.

ARC:  Rick Aldrich reported that two applications have been approved.  He mentioned that there is a property storing two large boats in the driveway and on the property and the ARC is looking into it.  Jim agreed to contact the homeowner. He also mentioned looking at realigning the covenants; addressing and perhaps revising some ARC rules such as fence heights; working to make applications electronic; and looking to update records.

MAINTENANCE: George Waters reported on a tree down along Columbia Pike (between Aqua Terrace and the dam) that has finally been removed by VDOT.  The trees at Beach 5 have been dealt with and there is a tree at Beach 2 that needs to be removed. He has replaced some locks and chains at the beach gates and will re-set the combinations soon. Permanent signs at Beach 5 will be dealt with in the spring. The status of the electric box at Beach 5 was discussed briefly.

MEMBERSHIP: Cindy Waters reported that four $50 transfers were received in August.  There are 17 lots with outstanding fees – three are pending settlement.

OTHER OLD BUSINESS: Cindy distributed Board books to everyone and asked Board members to fill them with necessary documentation during their tenure and then to pass along to their successors in the position. Sally thanked her for all of her work in organizing these and emphasized that they will be very helpful to new committee chairs and officers in the future.

The meeting adjourned at 10:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Cindy Waters, Secretary