2011 Annual Meeting Minutes

The Annual Meeting of the West Park Community Association was called to order at 7:31 p.m. on 25 October 2011.

Attendees: Jim Emery, Ken Burns, Jeff Peters, Steve Beltz, Dan Clark, Karl and Faye Kraus, Lauren Crum, and seven others.

READING OF LAST YEAR'S MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting of 4 November 2010 were read by secretary Faye Kraus. There was some discussion regarding the issue of the clearing of the brush around the utility substation noting that it had been done. There was a motion made to accept the minutes as read that was seconded and passed unanimously.

PRESIDENT'S COMMENTS (JIM EMERY)

  • The Board of Directors focused on bringing our association into full compliance with Virginia laws and our covenants this year
  • The Board has been working on filing a change to our Articles of Incorporation, which were voted on in 1989, but never completed and filed
  • The Board submitted $100.00 to the Common Interest Community Board, which is required by law. Now it will only cost $10.00 per year.
  • The website is up, running and available. This fulfills legal requirements to provide openness of information. In compliance with our Privacy Policy, we don't track log-ins.
  • The Board has been announcing Board meetings in advance and publishing the minutes on the website. We are also working at making the business of the Board more transparent.
  • Steve Beltz, VP, is working on an archiving and records retention policy
  • In regard to the issue of the common driveway payout that the Board has asked to be repaid, it is the Board's opinion that the amount will not be repaid, so we will just continue to track which homeowner owes the payback
  • Some homeowners have failed to submit their plans to the Architectural Control Committee for approval, as required
  • There has been much discussion about "stockade fences." At this point, the Board has tabled this issue, as pursuit of this issue may be costly and futile.
  • Common area maintenance: only three trees were removed this year plus three stumps were ground in the playground area recently. A question was raised that there may be a tree leaning excessively in the area. Jim will look into this.
  • There is a suggestion that trash cans be "put away" in garages or backyards, not in front where they can be seen

OLD BUSINESS

HEADLY PARKING CONGESTION. A petition can be circulated that requires signatures from 60% of the homeowners and $10.00 per household for Fairfax County to implement a Community Parking District to restrict parking on Stallworth Court and Headly Court. Actions taken during the year included an e-mail survey to determine interest in instituting a Community Parking District. Of the 61 homeowners contacted, 35 were in favor, 6 were against, and 20 did not respond. During the Board of Directors meeting of 24 February 2011, it was determined that it would not be the Board's responsibility to pursue the petition. There are two homeowners who are interested in establishing the Community Parking District, but at least five homeowners must be involved to request the petition from Ann Sharp in Supervisor Cook's office.

RESERVE STUDY. A study required by law to be done by homeowner associations, reviewed yearly, and updated every five years, was completed. It projects expenses and actions to maintain our common area. The determination was made that it will require $1,400.00 per year in our budget for reserves to maintain our common area. The study is posted on our website. The Board did a site survey and made recommendations for items that needed maintenance. Further discussion ensued regarding use of the common area including the playground and walking path. The majority of those present at the meeting indicated that they had used the common area, especially the walking path.

NEW BUSINESS

No new business was raised.

TREASURER'S REPORT

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

  • All dues were paid
  • There was less interest earned this year due to the low rates being paid
  • Less money was spent than budgeted including savings from using e-mail instead of mailings
  • The recommendation was made to change the line item "Legal" to "Legal/Professional" to potentially cover the cost of having a CPA review our financial information at some point in the future
  • The proposed vote for a dues increase was tabled because of insufficient votes. Only 23 proxies were returned.
  • There was a question regarding the amount of funds to be spent for playground painting. Questions were raised about getting volunteers to do the work for less. There was a recommendation to form a committee to clean up and paint the playground equipment. Lauren Crum volunteered to head this committee. A vote, regarding the expenditures for playground repair and upgrades, was made and passed as a 2012 line item.
  • The Board can vote to increase the dues by 10% to $55.00 without a vote of the members, so this was assumed in the income line of the revised 2012 budget
  • Further discussions ensued regarding the budget, reserve study, and increase in the Blue Sky contract, but no other changes were made to the proposed 2012 budgeted expenditure amounts

The budget with discussed modifications was voted on and passed unanimously.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS

The Board for 2012 was nominated, voted on, and passed unanimously.

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

Ken Burns and Karl Kraus were appointed to serve another year on our Architectural Control Committee.


A motion was made to adjourn the meeting, voted, and passed. The meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Faye Kraus
WPCA Secretary

Note: These minutes were edited in accordance with the WPCA Privacy Policy and were posted 28 October 2011. 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.