Hickory Farms

HFCA Board Meeting Minutes

July 8, 2025

1. Call to Order at 7:02 PM

  • Welcome and Opening Remarks – President
    • 10105 Forest Ave Encroachment situation is resolved – no further action needed.
    • Consult invoice received from lawyers regarding 10105 Forest Ave Encroachment; President will forward to Treasurer.
    • Registration info received for MailChimp (President).
    • Following up on post office mail email notification request (USPS Informed Delivery service); still need to obtain extra PO box key (President).
    • May need a separate meeting regarding community entrance signage (Common Areas Chair).
    • New neighbors moved in next door and a welcome wagon visit needs to be scheduled (Common Areas Chair will send email to Welcome Wagon Committee).
  • Confirmation of Quorum – Called by President, seconded and confirmed by group.
    • Steven Kubrak, President
    • Clair Hill, Secretary
    • Melissa Stark, Common Areas Chair 
    • Judy Deng, Treasurer
    • Tad Weed, Assistant Treasurer
    • Charles Chu, Member At-Large
    • Pam Barrett, Member At-Large

2. Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes

  • Review and approval meeting minutes for – Called by Secretary, seconded and confirmed by group; Secretary will post to web site.
    • May 27 Special Board Meeting: Encroachment
    • June 7 Special Meeting Board Minutes: Walkthrough
    • June 10 Board Meeting Minutes: Regular
    • June 17 Special Board Meeting Minutes: Signage

3. Reports

  • Treasurer’s Report
    • VPOAA packet update and CIC license status –
      • Confirmation of renewal still not received/confirmed; payment made but receipt not received.
      • President with follow up by calling them and then letter/email, referring to previous communications shared by Common Areas Chair.
      • Reference documentation on VPOAA process will be updated once renewal is complete (Treasurer).
    • Update on Backup Treasurer Support/Tasks – No one has volunteered yet but with redistribution of Treasurer tasks additional support no longer needed; redistribution of Treasurer tasks include:
      • MoneyMinder updates task will now fall to Secretary; Treasurer will send access invite to Secretary (Update: Done, but Secretary needs guidance on why and how to use).
      • VPOAA task goes to Vice President.
      • Digital invoices will help alleviate Treasurer workload; Common Areas Chair to follow up with TruGreen to submit invoices electronically (one invoice per month emailed by first week of the month).
    • PO Box Key – President working on getting second key.
    • Available Funds –
      • CD to mature on July 24 in the amount of $65K.
      • Community entrance signage may cost $20K, more for stone bases if desired, maybe $30K in total.
      • $50K balance currently in checking account so enough funds to cover signage.
      • Another $11K CD to mature in September.
      • Decided to renew the maturing CD for another 5 months.
  • Common Areas Committee Report
    • 10105 Forest Ave Encroachment – Legal response & next steps: Issue resolved but keep / upload all documentation to Teams for future reference (President & Common Areas Chair)
    • Northern Path –
      • Posts installation not researched yet (Common Areas Chair/Committee)
      • Fairfax City map correction: Bob Cosgrove emailed Fairfax rep (Common Areas Chair will follow up)
      • Grant follow-up with NV Water & Soil: Not contacted NV Water & Soil yet (Common Areas Chair/Committee)
    • Tree issue response process – templated letters: Reviewed letters briefly during meeting; Sectreaty to send link to Common Areas Chair for additional review.
    • Potential issue management rule changes –
      • Per 2008 rule changes, ACC is only responsible for managing changes in residential structures, board is responsible for management/residential notification of other issues that need to be addressed, such as overgrown yards or dead/dying trees (see June 7 email).
      • Pam Barret, Member At-Large, noted any changes that may need to be made to core governing documents and may need attorney consultation.
      • Propose: Common Areas Chair meeting with current board, ACC members, and available 2008 Board members to understand the intent of 2008 changes.
      • Table discussion for next meeting.
    • Update on Rabbit Run Survey Bid – Not done yet, to come.
    • Signage Initiative –
      • Recap of June 17 discussion was held the decision made to narrow down options.
      • All voted aye on concept #2 (one piece signage).
      • Common Areas Chair to send email to the board to preference rank the seven stone bases, work on pricing (board to meet quickly to review pricing).
      • Top three options will be sent to the community for a vote.
      • Survey for Rabbit Run: Status and scheduling. Table discussion for next meeting.
    • Tree Removal Updates –
      • Resident’s pine tree limbs dropping in common area: Resident has been notified and recommendations made regarding arborists; drafting follow up letter regarding other property issues (Common Areas Chair).
      • Several dead trees have been removed in common areas; Rabbit Run dead tree removal needs to be referred to and approved by the county as RPA area (Common Areas Chair).

4. Previous and Ongoing Business

  • MailChimp Setup Status –
    • President reported this service has a fee: Do we want to test it first?
    • Common Areas Chair said it is a necessity and recommended inclusion as an administrative cost in the 2026 budget, which is already posted but can be updated.
    • Cost is $20 per month, so $240 a year for five hundred contacts.
    • Motion made to get MailChimp, seconded, all voted aye.
    • May need debit cards (perhaps two) and need usage rules outlined before debit card in place; Treasurer will check with bank and outline process.
    • For now, President to charge his own card and be reimbursed for expense.
  • HFCA History Booklet – Progress and illustration permissions: Completed a third of document, sent to Bob Cosgrove for review. May need to pay for historical illustrations. At the next board meeting review the printing budget. Common Areas Chair will send Best Value Copy point of contact (online) to Pam Barrett.
  • Annual Meeting (October 21, 2025) – 7 to 8 PM
    • Format confirmation (remote): Confirmed!
    • Calendar check by all members: Confirmed!
    • Include announcement in next newsletter: Secretary to send email to newsletter editor re date for inclusion in Aug/Sept/Oct newsletters.
    • Goal is to use Mailchimp for the proxies; discuss voting process at the next board meeting (Common Areas Chair).
  • 2026 Budget –
    • Initial numbers due: Proposed budget was posted on Teams; all board members should review by July 31 as it needs to be posted in the newsletter.
    • $10 increase in annual dues.
    • Most fees increased by 3%.
    • Increasing tax preparer fee and printing costs to align with actual costs from this year.
    • Signage costs should be listed as a separate line item (from reserve funds, which are earmarked for any structure).
    • Common Areas Chair noted remediation costs may need to be higher based on actual costs for this year (moved funds from maintenance to balance costs).
  • Board Roles and Responsibilities – Member feedback was due July 3: No edits received. Note that Common Areas Chair role will be moving to committee level.
  • Newsletter Content Deadlines and Delivery –
    • Keeping deadline on the 25th. Welcome Wagon will manage newsletter delivery; point of content details to come (Common Areas Chair).
    • Vice President in charge of notifying Welcome Wagon of new homeowners as Vice President position is responsible for coordinating the HFCA disclosure package for new homeowners.
    • Per the HFCA regulations, homeowners are responsible for tenants and potentially notify the board of their presence, as well as addressing any issues (i.e., erecting non-permanent pool that may damage grass). Table discussion for next meeting.
  • Rental activity at Farm House – Potentially submit legal inquiry for advice regarding how to approach homeowners/tenants and any associated ACC coordination. Table discussion for next meeting.

5. New Business

  • Board Member Nominations for 2026 –
    • Confirmation from At-Large members: Pam confirmed. Charles needs to be confirmed.
    • Newsletter outreach on board service: President and Common Areas Chair to coordinate.
  • Volunteer Needs –
    • Treasurer assistant role needs to be filled for 2026: Current Assistant Treasurer is moving to At-Large Member role.

6. Announcements and Comments

  • 50th Anniversary Celebration –
    • Logo voting result: Winner announced via community listserv.
    • Final planning meeting & board participation: Secretary to send email to committee regarding status.
    • Signage for entrances and coordination with Germains catering: Pending.
  • Other Business from Board Members –
    • Pam Barret likes the real time HFCA Board meeting minutes! 

7. Adjournment

  • Confirm next meeting date (August 12, 2025) – confirmed!
  • Closing remarks – President: Motion to end meeting at 8:37, seconded, all approved.

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