Minutes of the Lake Barcroft Association - Board of Directors

The meeting of the Lake Barcroft Association (LBA) was called to order at 7:31 PM by President Sally Determan at 6425 Lakeview Drive, Falls Church, Virginia.  Those present were LBA Directors Sally Determan, Lee Price, Pat Payne, Betsy Washington, Eva Kosztarab, Diane Smalley, Shane Oleson, Frank Phillippi and Anne Cullather.  Board members Warren Russell, Rick Aldrich and Diane Davidson were not present.  Jim Kilbourne attended by teleconference.  Water Safety Supervisor Kevin Hardy was also present.

The minutes of June 12, 2013 were approved as presented. 

WSS REPORT:  Kevin Hardy discussed his recent report with an update about a diving practice that is currently taking place at Beach 4 and went over a few of the items in his report.  The sewer cap at Beach 2 has been addressed and the county flushed the line due to gas smells.  He informed the Board that, with several lifeguards returning to college before Labor Day, Beach 5 will have reduced hours and he will be looking for outside staff the week before Labor Day.  Chris asked Kevin to notify him of this issue next year so that she can mark off the calendar for scheduling of any parties when there is a lifeguard shortage.  There was a discussion about how people in boats on the lake might contact lifeguards when they observe an incident. The possibility of sharing the number of the Beach 4 lifeguard station was considered. Jim asked about the budget for water safety and whether Kevin was expecting any major increases.  Kevin answered that he did not expect major increases and noted that rain days during the season had saved some money on payroll.

OLD BUSINESS

CALENDAR REVIEW:  Sally discussed the calendar and the civic affairs meeting is scheduled for October 8 at Belvedere school.  Since this is an election year in Virginia, she expected that several candidates would attend. 

In addition, another community meeting to debate the pros and cons of a pavilion at Beach 5 is scheduled for December 5 at the Mason District building. 

PAVILION NEWSLETTER PIECE:  Sally reported that a newsletter article on the pros and cons of a pavilion at Beach 5 was now scheduled to appear in November. She added that the WID has agreed to give LBA additional space for a pavilion behind the stage and did not believe that it would have a negative effect on the environment.

NEW BUSINESS

REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL BOAT RACKS:  Pat discussed a recent conflict between neighbors involving boat space issues.  She added that there is space that can be used at Beaches 2, 3 and 5 to construct additional racks.  George, Sally and Pat inspected the beaches and Pat and George will put together a proposal and budget for this.  Pat suggested encouraging residents who have not been using their boats to consider removing them, with assistance if needed.  She added that creating a “kayaks only” rack could help the current problem as well.  Sally discussed the common understanding that if a chain is in the space on the rack, the space is being occupied. She noted that there was no rule on this and suggested that we develop one.

BEACH HOUR EXTENSION IN 2014:  Sally discussed having the lifeguards start and finish a couple of hours later on weekdays, shifting from 10-6 to noon-8. She noted that there is little activity before noon and that non-residents appear to wait until lifeguards leave to use the beaches for a couple hours before dark. She asked the Board to think about this for next season.

TRANSFER OF FUNDS TO CAPITAL ACCOUNT:  Jim discussed his proposal to reallocate fund balances in some of the current reserve and capital accounts to recognize the changes in requirements since the budget was adopted.  (See attached report.)

A motion was made by Sally and seconded by Pat to accept Jim’s proposed changes to reallocate funds within the existing accounts.  All voted in favor.

WID TRUSTEE OPENING:  Sally stated that Chuck de Seve is the sole candidate for the open WID Trustee position. Because he would be serving a third term, a vote of the LBA Board is required to approve his selection.

A motion was made by Frank and seconded by Diane Smalley to allow a third term for Chuck de Seve to the WID Board.  All voted in favor.

NEWCOMERS REQUEST FOR FUNDS:  Sally informed the Board that the Newcomers are requesting $2,000 from LBA for printing additional copies of a history of Lake Barcroft and purchasing supplies for their welcome baskets.  Discussion took place.

A motion was made by Pat and seconded by Diane Smalley to approve $1,000 be given to Newcomers this year and $1,000 distributed to them next year for additional printing of the history of Lake Barcroft and purchasing welcome baskets.   All voted in favor.

NOMINATING COMMITTEE:  Sally reminded the Board that she has to appoint a nominating committee that is chaired by the immediate past President and co-chaired by the Membership Committee chair, by September 1.  She said that Ellen Feldstein has agreed to serve on this committee.  She asked the Board for suggestions of others from the various sides of the lake to serve as well.  She also asked Board members whose term will be expiring this cycle to please contact Warren to let him know if they will be running again.

CIVIC AFFAIRS MEETING DATE:  Sally informed the Board that the LBA Annual Civic Affairs meeting for the community is scheduled for Tuesday, October 8 at Belvedere Elementary.  She reminded the Board that this meeting is mainly held to introduce upcoming political candidates to the community and allow our local representatives to make a brief presentation.  She added that invitations would go out soon.

BEACH PARTY REQUEST:  Sally informed the Board that a resident had been mailed a flier for an upcoming party at Beach 5 and was concerned as it appeared to be a commercial activity to recruit new clients. The person organizing the event was a new resident to Lake Barcroft who had initially said that she was putting together a client appreciation event for approximately 100 guests. The resident receiving the flier had not been a client. It also appeared after speaking with the resident organizing the event that the flier was mailed to a much larger list.  Although the current rules restrict commercial activities, they do not clearly rule out events such as these and a similar event had been allowed in the past. It was agreed to go back to the resident and instruct her to try to keep attendance down to what was initially suggested. It was also agreed that because of the ambiguity of the rules, the rules for renting the beach should be clarified to preclude invitations to 500 business-related contacts.


Sally said she has received a request for use of the Beach 4 parking lot to store pipes for the sewer company that are fixing lines on that side of the lake.  She suggested that the sewer company be allowed to use the lot, but only after October 1.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

LEGAL:  Eva reported that she had met with Chris and that they had updated the HOA package concerning collection of delinquent dues and fees upon resale of the property.  She also informed the Board about a dead tree issue on Jay Miller that she had inspected with George Waters. It does appear to be on LBA property in Parcel A. George Waters is working on having it removed along with another small dead tree on the same parcel.

Eva proposed the following language for a Sexual Predator Rule to be added to the common property rules as requested: 

“Except when in the immediate accompaniment of his/her own children, any adult who has been convicted of any offense that results in prohibiting proximity to children shall be prohibited from going onto any of Lake Barcroft’s “common properties,” which include the lake, the dam, the five beaches, their parking, picnic, park and maintenance areas, the island, the garden areas at Beach 5 and the Woman’s Club Community Garden, including the bridge.  A violation of this rule will result in a trespassing charge filed against the individual.”

A discussion then took place between Board members.

A motion was made by Lee and seconded by Shane to approve the proposed motion regarding sexual predators.  Eight voted in favor, Frank and Pat abstained.  The motion carried. 

Eva will forward this addition and placement in the common rules for the website and upcoming directory to Shane and Chris.

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY:  Betsy reported that the residential tree program is going well.  23 residents have applied and selected their trees and 3 are deciding. She hopes that around 30 trees will be planted as part of the program. Planting of these trees will take place in mid September.  Holly Hazard has been interviewing dog breeders (to locate a Geese Peace Dog) and currently is in discussions and will report back.  Betsy informed the Board that the Fairfax County Resource Protection Area (RPA) guidelines have been updated and have been given to Shane to update the website and for the upcoming directory.

SPECIAL EVENTS:  Diane reported that Ralph Petta will be heading up the annual Labor Day games again and that they were still seeking volunteers.

SECURITY:  Frank reported that the season is going well.  A hide out was found at Beach 5 and the Police were contacted.  Vandalism seems to have subsided.

TREASURER’S REPORT:  Jim thanked everyone for their assistance with the allocations issue regarding various reserve accounts.  He reported that to date we have collected more income than expected and expenses have been lower than expected. He asked that committee chairs contact him with any upcoming expenditures.  He noted that the web site was budgeted for $35,000 but only $8,000 has been spent to date, with the rest expected to be spent before the end of the year. 

COMMUNICATIONS/PUBLICATIONS:  Shane discussed the reasons for the delay in publishing the directory. He hoped to have it sent to print soon. 

Shane also reported that staff turnover at the company updating the website has caused delays on that project, too. He has met with the president of the company and is reviewing proposed changes with them.

ARC:  Jim reported on behalf of Rick that the committee has received 13 applications of which 5 have been approved.  Existing projects are being reviewed.

MAINTENANCE:  Nothing to report at this time.

MEMBERSHIP:  Anne informed the Board that currently there were 12 lots whose owners have not paid their annual fee this year with a few having prior years owed.

The Board agreed to convene the next meeting on September 18, the third Wednesday rather than the customary second Wednesday of the month.

The Board then went into executive session.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:43.