February 7, 2017

Tuesday, February 7th, 2017 @ 7:30 PM
10110 Round Top Ct., Fairfax, VA 22032

Board Member Attendees:
President, Board of Directors: Bruce Bernhardt (via teleconference)
Vice President: Chuck Stewart
Secretary: Melissa Stark
Architectural Control Committee: Brian Roethlisberger
Common Areas: Don Lobeda
At Large: Neighborhood Watch: Debbi Buchanan
At Large – Newsletter Editor: Don Seymour (via teleconference)
At Large: Kirk Randall, John Kitzmiller, Dante Gilmer
Webmaster: Bryan Crabtree

Opening, Welcome and Introductions:

Bruce B. welcomed the board members and thanked them for attending.

Introductions were made, since there are some new members that have been added to the group.

Secretary: Bruce B. made a motion to approve 12.6.2016 Board of Directors Meeting minutes as revised (see HFCA website). The motion was made, seconded, and passed.

Standing Agenda Items

Secretary

The events calendar was reviewed by the board and the board has requested adding the newsletters publication schedule and bunco night.

Treasurer

2016 Final Budget & Actuals Report

• We came in $2,444 over budget in 2016, due to a large number of trees needing to be taken down in the commons area.

2017 Budget & Actuals Monthly Report

• We are currently within budget and operating in the black.
• $23,000 in certificates were redeemed and deposited into a savings account temporarily.
• Bruce B. and Kirk R. will work with the Treasurer, Brenda, to put together a long term capital funds account.

2017 Annual Assessment Status

• Currently there are 17 outstanding properties with uncollected dues, one of which is a foreclosure.
• A question from the board was if any of the properties on the list are rentals. The list that Kirk R. provided will be reviewed prior to action being taken.
• A motion was made, seconded and approved to authorize holding off a week on sending our attorney the delinquent annual assessment list for 16 out of 17 homeowners.
• A motion was made, seconded and approved to send in the paperwork to our lawyer for the delinquent annual assessment on the foreclosed property, 4357 Farm House Ln. The board has notified NJ Auction Company multiple times on the annual assessment and its payment due date, as well as, the board has provided documentation of ACC violations multiple times for their review.

Common Grounds & Paths

The board approved, via email, the tree removal expense of 2 tree jobs for $2,500 in January.

There is concern about the moss growing on the northern path and lower commons area path. Kirk has agreed to be in charge of putting together a committee to help take care of asphalt repairs, in addition to, the removal of moss. Don L. will talk to Merrifield Garden Center about the best solution to take care of the moss.

Architecture Control Committee (ACC)

2016 Property Violations Status/Actions In Progress

• 18 letters were sent out to HF homeowners for violations. Of the 18 violations, 6 complied and fixed the issues, 5 partially complied and 7 HF homeowners made no effort to correct these issues.
• 6 applications were sent in for approval. Of the 6 applications, 1 fence was submitted and rejected, due to it being metal and not resembling wood or brick in any way, as required by HF Rules & Regulations.

Neighborhood Watch

Debbi B. talked about the recent meeting she attended and how it stressed the importance of have two volunteers per night, as well as, car hopping and the recent trend in homes being stacked out for homeowner patterns and then being targeted for robberies.

Viability to continue the Neighborhood Watch

• Currently volunteers are on a 2 month schedule. The question was posed how many volunteers are needed in order to have one person on every two months.
• Some ways of recruiting more volunteers were discussed. One being updating the information page on the neighborhood watch website. Debbi said she would take that action item and send it to Bryan, our webmaster. Also the need for everyone to talk to their neighbors and have Debbi create some positive press. This topic will be going into February's newsletter.
• The NW signs at Burke Station and Still Meadow were discussed about adding a sign that was missing off of Still Meadow and then moving/turning around the sign on Burke Station so it faces those entering the community vs. leaving.

Newsletter

The next publication of the newsletter will be sent out mid – February. For future publications, Don S. plans to request that all content be sent prior to the last Friday of the month and the newsletter will aim to be sent out the first week of every month.

The board suggested that we recruit reporters from the community to provide 2 paragraphs on a topic of interest or possibly to interview members of the board.

Don S. also stated that he will work with our advertisers in getting smaller text files for their advertisements, this way our e-newsletter is an easier read for those reading off of mobile devices. Kirk noted that this could raise concerns with advertisers who value the impact of the full color ad copy.

At Large Issues, Vice President and President

No topics to present

2016 Annual Meeting Actions

Declaration Change Volunteer Subcommittee

Legal opinion and draft text were received.

A subcommittee lead will be identified for the declaration changes.

The president asked the board if there are any other issues that we would like to share with the homeowners in person. For those that have topics and a message that they would like to provide to homeowners, please email the president, Bruce B.

• Topics that were brought up were the following: neighborhood watch, group purchase for leaf and garbage collection, verify contact information and willingness to publish the information in the HFCA directory
• We will need 150 signatures in order for the declaration change to be made. A recommendation was made that we leave our contact information for those homeowners that we are unable to reach.

Rules and Regulations Changes Volunteer Subcommittee, if the Declaration Change Fails

If we fail to obtain 150 signatures, then we will pull the language from the Rules and Regulations regarding violation charges.

2017 Property Inspection Volunteer Subcommittee

Dante G. currently has 9 volunteers, which will roughly be 22 homes audited per person.

The board decided that the annual property inspection will be held every year in early spring (mid – end of March).

2017 Property Inspection Contractor SOW

Brian R. will provide the SOW out for review and have it completed by the end of February. He welcomes the boards feedback electronically.

If the 2017 property inspection volunteers cannot complete the spring inspections, a contractor will be engaged to complete the task.

Property Inspection Checklist

Brian R. has completed the checklist and will send it to the ACC for review and approval. Once the ACC approves the final documentation, it will be sent to the board for their approval. This task should be completed by the end of February.

Community Issues & Complaints

Web Hosting Package Renewal

Bryan C. has evaluated our current web hosting package that expires on 2.18.17 for $131 year and decided that switching host companies would best benefit HF.

Bryan C. has decided to go with InMotion Hosting, since they are offering the best pricing for services provided (2 yr @ $6/mo. and after 2 yr. @ $8/mo.) and they also offer a dedicated IP address ($2/mo.) which is required for a secure section to our website. We will transfer our domain name from our previous web provider when the name registration term expires in 2022. The new host will transfer the domain for free. We will have unlimited storage and bandwidth with our new provider.

A motion was made, seconded and approved for Bryan C. to set up the new website and transfer information between sites.

Board Member personal information on Website

Bruce B. brought up the need of posting the Board of Director's personal information on the HFCA's website and within newsletters. It was determined that only the phone numbers of the president and common grounds would be published.

Bryan C. will be in charge of removing all personal information of the board, as well as, providing email links so our personal information remains hidden.

County Leaf Collection/Trash Collection Proposal

Bryan C. said that Fairfax County's new rules for yard waste collection, specifically about plastic bags, has been postponed indefinitely. Since there currently is not a ban on the use of plastic bags for yard waste, the board has decided to table this discussion.

Property Encroachment on Northern Path

Two of our Fairfax City neighbors have made alternations to the Hickory Farms owned property and it is in the policy of Hickory Farms to protect Common Ground property lines, both inside and outside the community.

Bruce B. will be talking to the Fairfax City homeowners the week of February 12th about their encroachment onto the northern path and adjacent land, all of which are owned by the HFCA.

Water Runoff on the Northern Path

Bruce B and Chuck S. will contact Fairfax City and Fairfax County engineer to consider our options for correcting the water runoff.

Individual Property Issues

It was reported that 10007 Tumbleweed Ct. property seems to be encroaching on the commons area, using it as the homeowner's personal space. Bruce B. will take a look at the situation.

It was noted that all cable junctions mark the property line of the commons areas. If the Hickory Farms residents property goes past this line, we are to notify Don L.

New Business / Open Discussion

The creek (Rabbit Run) railing off of Cotton Farm Rd is rusting (on both sides of the road) and the right hand side railing heading to the cemetery has been spray painted blue.

Kirk R. will enter in a ticket to VDOT to take care of the issue, since it is on their property.

A motion was made, seconded and approved to authorize Melissa S. up to $150 in materials to fix the railing if after 4 weeks VDOT fails to fix the issues.

Next Meeting

Confirm date, time, location for next HFCA Board Meeting:
Tuesday, April 4th @ 7:30 PM Location: TBD

Meeting Adjourned: 9:43 PM