December 6, 2016

Tuesday, 12/6/2016 - 7:30 pm
4301 Still Meadow Road

Attendees:

• Bruce Bernhardt – President
• Chuck Stewart – Vice President
• Kirk Randall – At Large Member
• Debbi Buchanan – At Large Member
• Don Seymour – At Large Member

Open/Introductions

Bruce B. opened the meeting at 7:38 pm and noted there was a quorum of 5 of the 8 Board Members present. Bruce introduced two new Board Members – Debbe B. and Don S.

Secretary

The Board reviewed minutes of prior HF Board Meeting, 10/5/2016. There was one revision. The revised Minutes were approved as revised.

Annual Meeting Recap

The Annual Meeting held on 10/18/2016 marked the second year in a row that sufficient homeowners attended and/or sent proxy statements to achieve a quorum. There was significant discussion and the following activities resulted:

• Volunteer group was formed to solicit Deed and Declaration (D&D) change(s). Bruce obtained Opinion Letter from our attorney and draft language. He will send out copies to all Board Members via email.
• Volunteer group to conduct property inspections. Dante G. volunteered to lead the team.
• Board was directed to try a one year Pilot to use Property Inspection contractor. Brian R. is developing a draft Statement of Work (SOW) which should be ready for Board review in January.
• Proxy format for Annual Meeting was expanded to include three proxy options: (1) quorum count only, (2) directed proxy, and (3) un-directed proxy.

2017 Board, Officer and Lead Volunteer Position Assignments

Board Member Positions

• 8 Board Members were elected at Annual Meeting: Bruce B, Chuck S, Don S, Don L, Brian R, John K, Debbie B, & Kirk R.
• Bruce made a motion to appoint Dante G. as a Director At Large, to serve until the next Annual Meeting. Motion was seconded and unanimously approved. Total number of Board of Director Members now number 9.

Officers

• Brice B. will continue as President. He indicated this is the fourth year as President and believes he will not seek an additional term as President beyond 2017.
• Chuck S. will continue as Vice President.
• Brenda B. will continue as Treasurer.
• There were no volunteers for Secretary.
  [On 10/10/2016, Melissa Stark  volunteered to serve as Secretary!  Position is now filled!] 

Coordinators and Leads

• Don L. will continue as Common Grounds and Paths Coordinator
• Debbie B. volunteered to serve as Neighborhood Watch Coordinator
• Don S. volunteered to serve as Newsletter Editor
• Brian R. will continue as Architecture Control Committee (ACC) Chair
• Pete S. will continue as Yard Sale Coordinator
• Kendra S. will continue as Social Committee Chair
• Dante G. will serve as Volunteer Property Inspection Team Lead
• Brian R. will serve as Contractor Property Inspection SOW Lead
• The Declaration Change Signature Committee will select a Lead in early 2017

Standing Reports/Issues

Secretary

No report.

Treasurer

Brenda D. provided the following:

• 2016 Budget/Actual Report. Board reviewed report and accepted current.
• 2016 Actuals to Budget amounts. There were no outstanding questions.
• 2017 Budget Estimate. No changes to amounts provided at Annual Meeting.

Paths & Grounds

No report.

ACC

Brian R. discussed the following:

• Notice of Violation Letter Summary: 18 letters sent, 6 of 18 (33%) have fully corrected issues. 4 of 18 (22%) have partially completed corrections. 8 of 18 (44%) have not made noticeable attempts to correct identified issues.
• Round Top and Spinning Wheel properties are actively correcting identified violations. Continued progress is expected.

Neighborhood Watch

Board expressed concern with the reduced number of volunteers, open dates on the schedule and single person teams instead of two person teams. As new NW Coordinator, Debbie B. will engage in recruiting effort. If NW volunteer counts cannot be increased, Board may need to discuss ending Neighborhood Watch activities.

At-Large Members

No additional issues.

Vice President

No additional issues.

Individual Property Issues / Complaints

4282 Country Squire: open

Noise, grass, trash complaints. George Mason University has provided interaction with students living at 4282. Latest issue of trash piling up on the street and alongside the house was communicated to property owner by Board Member and President. Board will continued focus on this property to comply with HF covenants and Rules & Regulations.  

4351 Harvester Farm: closed

Contact information – property owners contact information has been confirmed.

4357 Farm House: open

Foreclosure property, 2017 Assessment Invoice, and Violation Corrections - invoice sent, letter received stating violations will be corrected in the next month 

10014 Cotton Farm: closed

Pressure Wash completed.

4313 Farm House: open

Pergola may be extending onto Common Ground. Will contact homeowner and discuss.

10035 Wheatfield Court: closed

Fire damage from July fire being repaired.

Community Issues/Complaints

Property Inspection Contractor Statement of Work (SOW)

Brian R. indicated the first draft is targeted for Board review in January.

Deed & Declaration Change Committee

Bruce received Opinion Letter from Attorney and proposed language for Declaration change. In January, Bruce will schedule a meeting with volunteers to develop schedule for obtaining required 75% signatures.

County Leaf Collection/Trash Collection Proposal

More information is required to fully address this issue. +50% signatures are required for HF to obtain Fairfax County trash or leaf collection. Charges would be included on bi-annual real estate tax statements. Price comparison is needed with current two trash commercial providers. Bryan C. will be asked to provide additional input. Fairfax County approves adding neighborhoods to trash or leaf collection only twice per year.

Property Encroachment on Northern Path

Two of our Fairfax City neighbors have made minor alternations to the Hickory Farms owned property on the north side of the Northern Path. Bruce B. is contacting both property owners to alert them to the incursion onto Hickory Farms common property. It is the policy of Hickory Farms to protect Common Ground property lines, both from inside and outside the community encroachments.

Water Runoff on Northern Path

Bruce B. and Chuck S. will contact Fairfax City and Fairfax County engineers to consider options for dealing with the water run off that is occurring along our Northern Path and impacting individual properties in Hickory Farms.

New Business / Open Discussion

No additional issues were discussed.

Meeting Adjourned

Respectfully submitted.