September 12, 2017

John advised that a draft of the minutes of the previous meeting had been circulated for comment.

STATUS UPDATE ON PENDING ACTION ITEMS

Nominations for 2018 HFCA Board

The nominating committee (Melissa, Dante, and Don) advised that all the current board members and one additional community member had agreed to be placed on the slate of candidates. Nominations from the floor would be sought at the Annual Meeting.

It was noted that the proxy form that had been used previously was to be used again, and that each homeowner could vote no more than 5 proxies. Any proxies collected for whom a voter had not been designated would be voted by the Secretary.

Common Grounds (Melissa)

Melissa advised that a1 ½ acre area would be sprayed with herbicide Sep. 18, under her supervision, to eliminate bamboo and the other invasive plants overgrowing the common areas.

She also advised that she had ordered signs for the upper path and for the bamboo eradication areas. She expected them to be delivered by no later than the following week (week ending Sep. 19). She had already called Miss Utility, which would mark the areas where the signs would be placed.

Bruce advised that a path paralleling Rabbit Run had been marked, in the common area between Rabbit Run and Cotton Farm Lane, which would allow people to travel from the upper path to the intersection of Cotton Farm Land and Farm House Road without walking through the trees surrounding Rabbit Run.

Neighborhood Watch (Debbi)

Debbi noted that several teams had been added to the list of those performing Neighborhood Watch. Only another 16 teams would be needed to reach the goal of 50 teams. It was suggested that she contact the Fairfax Police Department (FPD), which may have Neighborhood Watch signs that could be posted at the entrances to Hickory Farms.

NEW BUSINESS

Architectural Control Committee (ACC)

It was noted that a homeowner on Roundtop had a load of firewood dumped into his yard. He was advised that it would be necessary to at least put the piles of firewood behind a fence.

It was further noted that a house on Spinning Wheel Court that had been a problem for a long time was being cleaned up.

Bruce added that every property in Hickory Farms had been inspected, the homeowner of every property with a problem area had been contacted, and the neighborhood had responded positively.

Annual Meeting

It was noted that the 2017 Annual Meeting was scheduled for October 10. Minutes of the 2016 Annual Meeting were on the HFCA website.

Agenda topics were identified:

• HFCA Board Member Election
  • Ballots would be distributed. Nominations from the floor would be sought.
• Volunteers recognition
• Recent yard sale was considered successful - 14 homeowners participated.
• Plans for the common grounds in 2018 would be presented, then the meeting would be opened to the floor for discussion.
• Deed and declaration
  • The Board would seek to get attendees to sign at the Annual Meeting. Bruce stated he would have a draft presentation on the deed and declaration at the Boards next meeting.
• The Board discussed various subjects that would bring more homeowners to the Annual Meeting. Among the topics were a representative from FPD to talk about security or a guest speaker from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

2018 Budget

A motion by Kirk, amended by John, passed. The motion was to develop a budget permitting additional work to be done in the common areas, according to the proposal developed by Melissa, such that annual dues would increase to no more than $200 from the current $150.

It was noted that some households were on fixed income or had other expensive issues that might make paying such an increase difficult. However, it was also noted that the dues had not increased for the past decade.

Next Newsletter

The next newsletter would be written during the last week of September. Input was due to don by Sep. 27.

Other Business

Kirk noted that come households in Hickory Farms were pursuing the installation of solar panels, and some solar panels had already been installed. Although it might be too late to address at the Annual Meeting, he suggested that some guidelines regarding the installation of solar panels should be developed.

Next Meeting

The next regularly scheduled Board would be October 3.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:30pm.