November 21, 2017

It was noted that the minutes of the Annual Meeting had been distributed to Board members.

John advised that the October 2017 minutes would be available shortly.

Architectural Control Committee

Brian R. advised that progress was being made on all the properties that had been found in violation during the 2017 inspection, so there would be no need to pursue anyone in court. He noted that volunteers were being sought for the 2018 inspection. He added that it would be necessary to remind homeowners of the need to apply to the ACC for approval of modifications to their property.

Treasurer

Tom advised that a new policy on financial disbursement was being developed, to reduce the opportunity of fraud.

Bruce noted the need to monitor miscellaneous expenses more closely, especially given that the Board had voted an increase in the annual assessment.

Grounds

On a vote taken via e-mail, the Board approved signing a contract with Commercial Landscaping Services LLC to perform common grounds work in 2018 at an annual cost of $25,000.

Neighborhood Watch

Debbi advised that there were currently 35 teams working on Neighborhood Watch. She planned to try to increase this number to 50.

Terms of Office

In order to eliminate a long “lame duck” session, the Board agreed to make the term of office for members of the HFCA Board December 1 through November 30.

Modified Covenant

Bruce advised that about 17% of the required signatures had been collected to date. Efforts were continuing.

Officers for 2018

The HFCA Board selected the following officers for 2018:
President: Chuck Stewart
Vice President: Bruce Bernhardt
Secretary: John Kitzmiller
Treasurer: Tom DeMott

It was noted that only the above offices needed to be filled by homeowners.

Other Business

It was noted that the Newsletter Editor no longer lived in Hickory Farms. Although he was willing to continue for a time, the Board agreed there was a need to find a replacement.

Bruce asked that each of the officers and chairs write articles addressing issues in their areas of concern for the newsletter, in order to make the Editor’s job easier.

In addition, HFCA needed a new Social Committee Chair.

Kirk noted that increased surface water runoff. as a result of the construction of new homes in Fairfax City, was leading to severe erosion of Rabbit Run. Carr Homes, the constructor, advised that they would enclose the new storm sewer pipes in concrete. Also, Kirk advised that repairs around the exposed sewer lines were to be made by the Fairfax Department of Public Works and Environmental Services. Although the lines were exposed, none were leaking. Kirk also advised that Supervisor Ann Sharp had been apprised of the hazard created by the hills at the intersection of Roberts Road and Still Meadow Road.

Kirk proposed that there was a need to store HFCA records “in the cloud,” to reduce losses occasioned by the change of officers. Melissa offered to ask Brian Crabtree to look for software to perform such a task.

Chuck noted that D&O had prepared liability loss prevention guidelines for homeowner associations. He recommended that all officers read and understand those guidelines.

Next Meeting

The next meeting of the HFCA Board was scheduled for December 19, 2017, at the Palette 21 Restaurant in Alexandria, VA. The following meeting was scheduled for January 9, 2018.