2010 Annual Meeting Minutes

The Annual Meeting of the West Park Community Association was called to order at 7:05 p.m. on 4 November 2010 by President Karl Kraus.

Attendees: Karl Kraus, Barbara Alexander, Cyndy Unwin, Dan Clark, Irene Pierce, Jim Emery, Steve Beltz, Jeff Peters, Ken Burns,and nine others.

READING OF LAST YEAR'S MINUTES

Cyndy Unwin read last year's minutes. There was a motion to accept the minutes, which was seconded and passed.

TREASURER'S REPORT

The treasurer's report was presented by Dan Clark. Highlights included:

No dues increase for this year; still remains $50
Took in $3900 of basic dues
Moved CDs around so that they both come due at the same time each year
Expenses: small administrative costs; path resurfacing was a bit more than budgeted; spent less on tree expenses than budgeted (2 trees cut down-one on path and one on playground)
Did not spend any legal money
Spent more than we took in, but we still have plenty in our total assets
Path resurfacing is not an annual expense (happens every 7-8 years)
Jim Emery (Board President-Elect) pointed out the need for WPCA to submit an annual report to the Virginia Real Estate Board with the fee, which is required by Virginia law; it costs $25 per year, so this amount needs to be added to the budget
Jim Emery proposed that we add $100 to the budget for a website for the WPCA that could be used to display the bylaws and architectural control standards, announce board meetings, communicate WPCA news, etc. He proposed that a committee be formed to work on the website. He will head this effort and he and the committee will be responsible for keeping the website up-to-date.
Proposed budget: Maintenance contract with Blue Sky Landscaping has gone up slightly; added a bit more for any rise in insurance cost; will continue to keep a legal fund in place in case a lien needs to be placed because of non-payment of dues.
Dan met with Jim Adams, who owns Blue Sky. Asked about snowplowing options. Mr. Adams is sending quotes for plowing (he verbally quoted $300 for first plow; $100 for repeat plow). More discussion will be necessary once official quotes are received.

There was a motion to accept the treasurer's report with the two proposed budget changes, which was seconded and passed.

OLD BUSINESS

HEADLY PARKING CONGESTION: A Headly Court resident indicated continued concern with the boat and trailer parked on the street. The boat owner has been approached by letter and in person with these concerns in the past, but he has chosen not to remove the boat and trailer. During last year's snowstorms, the road could not be plowed properly because of the boat. Children who are playing in the street nearby cannot be seen, and another resident indicated she had a close call and nearly hit a child when coming around the corner. Other nearby jurisdictions have taken action to prevent boat parking on residential streets (Loudoun County [ordinance 480.10], Prince William County, Arlington County, and some parts of Fairfax County). The concerned resident contacted Ann Sharp, senior staff assistant for constituent services at Supervisor Cook's office, who gave her information about RTAP (the Residential Traffic Administration Program) under Section 82-5 of the Fairfax County Code. A homeowners' association may petition to create a CPD-Community Parking District-and if there is 60% support from the entire area and 50% support on each block, certain parking prohibitions may be put into place, to include prohibitions on watercraft, motor homes, campers, trailers, vehicles with greater than or equal to three axles, vehicles greater than or equal to 12,000 pounds, or vehicles transporting greater than or equal to 16 passengers. There is a required $10 fee to Fairfax County per petitioning address.

Issues to consider are whether enough signatures can be gathered to get the 60% necessary to apply for the CPD. Petitioners also need to be willing to pay the $10 fee. The president proposed that the old and new Board meet to consider the materials presented and the degree to which WPCA would be involved in this endeavor, if at all.

NEW BUSINESS

RATS: We have rats in our neighborhood. Karl has seen rats in his backyard, and they have been seen by the Headly pipestem and near the entry to the neighborhood. Rats are particularly attracted to bird seed, grass seed, and dog feces. Residents are urged to help contain the rat problem by helping to limit their food sources.

OTHER WILDLIFE: Deer and foxes have also been seen in increasing numbers in the area, probably due to GMU construction and more limited habitat availability for these animals.

NEWSPAPERS: Lots of newspapers are being left out on driveways, especially the free ones (the Examiner and the Connection). Go on the Examiner website or contact the Connection at tomnann41@msn.com to have delivery of the papers stopped if you don't want them.

ARCHITECTURAL CONTROL: Some exterior property improvements are still being done without WPCA Architectural Control Committee knowledge or pre-approval. Some are in violation of county codes. Please be sure to submit requests to the Architectural Control Committee (chair, Ken Burns) for sheds, fences, hot tubs, decks, new front porches, and changes to the exterior structure of homes. Jim Emery proposed forming a committee to develop a more specific set of standards for architectural control. These could be put on the website.

OVERGROWN BRUSH IN DOMINION LAND BEHIND HEADLY PIPESTEM: A member will be checking with the Fire Marshall and sending other letters, since Dominion has been less than responsive to complaints about accumulating brush and debris in the area. The Dominion forester (contacted by WPCA multiple times) never follows through.

RESERVES STUDY: Jim Emery indicated that this study is required by Virginia law and must be accomplished every five years and reviewed annually to determine how much our organization needs to set aside as financial reserves. Jim will need a couple of volunteers to work on doing this study.

ELECTIONS

The 2011 slate of officers was presented. There was a motion to accept, which was seconded and passed.

Jim Emery, President
Steve Beltz, Vice President
Faye Kraus, Secretary
Dan Clark, Treasurer
Jeff Peters, Member-at-Large

There was a motion to adjourn, which was seconded and passed. The meeting was adjourned at 8:23 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Cyndy Unwin
WPCA Secretary

Note: These minutes were edited in accordance with the WPCA Privacy Policy and were posted 10 November 2010. The full text of the official copy of the minutes may be reviewed or obtained by request by any WPCA member by contacting the WPCA president, president@kpwwpca.org.