Minutes of the Lake Barcroft Association - Board of Directors

On January 14, 2015 the Board of Directors of LBA met at 7:30 at 6425 Lakeview Drive, Falls Church, Virginia.  Those present were LBA Directors, Lee Price, Anne Cullather, Warren Russell, Betsy Washington, Rick Aldrich, Shane Oleson, Eva Kosztarab, Frank Phillipi, Bill Lecos, Pat Payne, Diane Smalley and Jim Kilbourne. Also attending the meeting were Chris Lawson and Andrew Cassolini, who was observing as a candidate in the upcoming board elections.

Pat made a motion to accept the minutes of the November regular Board meeting and the special ARC appeal Board meeting, as modified, which was seconded and approved unanimously.  

The community calendar was then reviewed, noting that Earth Day was scheduled for April 26 and the LBA annual meeting is scheduled for February 17.  

The agenda for the annual meeting was reviewed and discussed.

Jeb Stuart Crew Team
The Jeb Stuart Crew Team has requested permission to continue their practices on Lake Barcroft.  The proposed contract was reviewed and Betsy made a motion to authorize Jim to sign the contract. The motion was seconded by Rick and passed unanimously.

Traffic Calming
Jane Guttman on Dearborn Drive had submitted to Jim a request for a speed bump to be installed on Dearborn due to traffic near the Women’s Garden. Jim Kilbourne will call her to acknowledge the request and provide background on previous traffic studies on Waterway. No board action was taken.

LBA Service Award
The process and guidelines for awarding the LBA Service awards was discussed, noting that the awards are not made very year.  Awards have been given three times: 2007, 2008 and 2012. Bill made a motion for Warren to chair and convene a committee to identify and present candidates for board consideration, and waive the September timeframe that is referenced in the guidelines.  The motion was seconded by Betsy and approved by unanimous vote.  The goal is to have the awards completed in time for presentation at the February annual meeting.

7-Corners Re-development
Bill Lecos provided an update on the County’s project to re-develop the 7-Corners area on Leesburg Pike and the work of the Sears site task force.  The 7 Corners special committee held a November design workshop, and a number of ideas surfaced based on LBA suggestions.  On December 9th there was an open house at Barnes and Noble, and about 150 people attended.  County staff drafted a document/proposal that reflects a high level of mixed use, retail and office space, green space, public space for meetings, and possibly senior housing. There will be additional meetings and public hearings scheduled to receive public comments.

Regarding the former public school site at Willston (Opporunity Area A) , there is a great deal of discussion whether the County should return that site to the School Board for a new school. There is also considerable debate over whether a public school should be constructed at a location near Columbia Pike.  Avalon Bay has a contract to build a school on Moncure Street off Columbia Pike, and the Fairfax County Board has adopted a plan amendment.  The developer has applied for re-zoning and development of the site.

The Board discussed how important community land development issues have become and how LBA can better track and participate in such decisions.  After the upcoming Board elections, Jim will make a recommendation how the Board can more fully track these events.  

ARC Appeals Update
Rick provided an update on the two ARC appeals.  Regarding the Smalley appeal, Mr. Smalley obtained clarification from the County that it considered the area where he wanted to build his car park as “side yard,” rather than “front yard.”  In light of that, the ARC sent Mr. Smalley an approval letter with certain additional specifications.  Regarding the appeal of ARC approval of the construction plans on the McManus property, the appeal had previously been denied by the Board. Jim approached the McManus family regarding the issues, and they agreed to add foliage to enhance privacy.  They are also working on a stormwater management plan for the county and indicated they would likely be submitting that to the ARC for review. The question was raised whether LBA had authority to prohibit landowners from cutting down or removing trees as part of a renovation project.  There was discussion about the LBA covenants and a suggestion was made that aspirational language be added to the ARC guidelines regarding preservation of trees.  Jim agreed to pull together a group to develop language that could be added to the ARC guidelines.

Committee Reports 

Improvements
  Frank reported that the committee came in on budget at $60,000.

Legal – Eva reported that WID had requested her to draft easements on property owned by LBA near the WID compound.  When WID needs access to the west side of the dam, the most direct access is through private property at 6200 Lakeview Drive.  Under discussion is a proposal that the owners of 6200 Lakeview Drive grant an easement across their property  to provide access to the dam,  LBA and the WID would in turn would allow the homeowners to continue informal use of LBA property immediately adjacent to the dam structure on which the homeowners have previously placed a shed used for storage of kayaks.  The issue will be discussed further at a future board meeting.

Membership – Warren reported that there are 6 lots with outstanding dues at the end of 2014, totaling $9,000 in unpaid dues.  3 of the lots are first time offenders; 3 have never paid and liens covering previously unpaid dues have been filed.  2015 income from dues is tracking pretty well - $185,000 has been submitted, representing 49% of the dues.  A second invoice will be mailed in February.  Chris will also revise future invoices to reflect a January 1 due date.

Architectural Review Committee – Rick reported that comments  are coming in from the community regarding the draft revisions to the ARC guidelines.  The main issues that are subject of discussion include fence limitations and tree removal.     Jim asked, and the Board agreed, that the comment period should be extended to include comments received through the upcoming membership meeting in February.     Rick also updated the Board on the status of applications. Since the last board meeting, the ARC has approved 7 applications. Rick also discussed two homeowner projects that violated the ARC procedures/guidelines because they were completed without ARC approval:   1) a seawall renovation project at a home on Mansfield Drive and 2) a patio and retaining wall project at a home on Lakeview Drive.  Jim will work with the ARC to determine whether the Board should take formal action regarding these violations.  

Water Safety – Pat reported she is working on a contract with Kevin Hardy who committed to return to Lake Barcroft for the summer.

Special Events – Diane reported that 50-60 neighbors attending the first caroling event at Beach 5 in December.  Eva will add this event to the list of events covered by LBA’s insurance policy.

Communications - Shane reported that the new volunteer for newsletter editor (Ed Davis) is working with Carol.  They are still looking for a volunteer photographer for the newsletter.  The contract for emergency notification services has been executed with Swift 911 and paid, and Shane has completed the training.  He is currently updating the data in the community spreadsheet, and there will be an article in the January newsletter about the new service. Swift911 will send community members written notification of the service; community members will have the option to opt-out of the service if they wish. 

Shane also reported on the status of developments for the updated website: agreements have been executed with two consultants to finish the web site, which should be completed by the end of March.  

Budget Report - Lee reported the numbers are on budget, which overall are looking good – although  income is coming in at a good rate, although overall is down $23,000 , but expenses are also down by $34,000.

Environmental - Betsy reported that she is gearing up for Earth Day, and all suggestions are welcome.

Executive Session
The Board went into executive session to discuss personnel matters.