Minutes of the Lake Barcroft Association - Board of Directors

The meeting of the Lake Barcroft Association (LBA) was called to order at 7:36 PM by President Sally Determan at 6425 Lakeview Drive, Falls Church, Virginia.  Those present were LBA Directors Sally Determan, Cindy Waters, Jim Kilbourne, Regina Derzon, Diane Smalley, Eva Kosztarab, Pat Payne, Shane Oleson, Frank Phillippi, Diane Davidson, Marty Mandelberg and Betsy Washington.  Warren Russell was not present.  Chuck de Seve of the Watershed Improvement District (WID), Water Safety Supervisor Kevin Hardy, Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Chair Ralph Smalley and Improvements Co-Chair, George Waters were also present.

WID PRESENTATION:  Sally welcomed Chuck de Seve of the WID, who presented a PowerPoint presentation regarding the dam restoration project.  He also presented slides on the Community Garden Project.  He added that Diane Davidson, Rick Aldrich, Nancy Firestone, Rusty Metz and Stephanie Perez were on the joint Community Garden LBA-WID Task Force.  Betsy Washington, George Waters, Mike Niebling and Dorothy Werner are part of the LBA advisory team.  The accepted bid for a series of plans for the community garden is $5,610 which will be jointly paid equally by LBA and WID.

WATER SATEFY SUPERVISOR REPORT:  Water Safety Supervisor Kevin Hardy summarized his report.  He discussed the new phone system with Sprint resulting in a lot of dead spots and poor service.  He asked the Board for help in resolving this as he had signed a 2-year contract.  Pat suggested finding a compatible service and then she could then get us out of the current contract because it is not functioning out here.  He added that he has had to schedule his guards longer in order for them to pick up the batteries from the WID as the new phone batteries don’t last as long.  Sally asked Pat to work with Kevin to resolve this problem.  Kevin reported that the lifeguard boxes at Beach 1 and Beach 5 need replacing and agreed to work with Kevin Howe on this.  This purchase will be a capital expense. Kevin also needs new ropes at Beach 1 and Beach 2.

Kevin reported on two incidents, one in which an adult resident was very rude to a manager and refused to leave the beach when he didn’t produce a beach tag.  Second, a mutilated bird was found on the Beach 2 lifeguard stand.

Kevin expressed his concern regarding a stretch of the party rules with residents and explained that residents coming to the beach were within the new guest limits but with several other residents doing the same, they created sufficiently large numbers of people to be within the party rules.  Sally suggested a notice on LakeLink reminding people to contact either Kevin or the office if they know they will be having more than normal numbers at the beaches.

THURGOOD MARSHALL SCHOLARSHIP:  Ralph Smalley stated that at JEB Stuart’s graduation, 4 students each received a $4,500 scholarship.  He discussed the history of this award and funding.

The minutes of April 18, 2012 were approved as presented.

The calendar was reviewed.  July 28 was set for the boat auction.  National Night Out date is needed.  Shane will update the calendar on the website.

OLD BUSINESS

ENCROACHMENT UPDATE:  Eva discussed certified letters sent to encroachers near Beach 3 and informed the Board that the encroachers have not responded to the letters sent.  Eva called both parties June 5 and again today.  The violation will need be noted in the resale package whenever either party sells their property and will need to be rectified prior to sale.  Eva will attempt to contact the encroachers again and will report back to the Board.   A house in Parcel A is also encroaching on LBA property and the situation will be addressed.

NEWLY ADOPTED BEACH GATHERING RULES:  It was moved and seconded to add in the new rules that parties must end by 8 PM, the same time that beaches close for the evening during beach season.  The motion passed unanimously.

RESERVE ACCOUNTS:  Regina said the Reserve Committee is surveying the community common property and has begun the process of reviewing the various reserves previously established.  The Reserve Committee is tasked with recommending appropriate replacement reserves for all LBA assets, taking into account use of volunteers, our excellent maintenance practices, etc.  As capital items are added, they would also be included in this list.  Sally added that this study is required by Virginia law and LBA policies and must be done before we can determine how much money we have in reserves for spending on other items.   Regina explained the appointment of the committee and the need for the service of non-Board members with certain expertise.

BOARD RESPONSIBILITY HANDBOOKS:  Cindy discussed the Board statement of responsibilities handbooks that she has been working on and said they are almost completed.  Her hope is to have the books issued to each committee chair and then those Board members would pass it along to their successor.  She plans to distribute these next month.

NEW BUSINESS

ELECTRICITY AT BEACH 5:  Sally discussed the electric box at Beach 5. She had asked the WID to look at it and determine whether it was dangerous or not and asked them to get a bid if determined to be dangerous.  The WID did feel that it was potentially dangerous and solicited a bid to repair.  Sally added that there was also a previous bid received.  George Waters stated that a third bid should be obtained.  Sally said she would like to authorize an expenditure of up to $7,000 and that this would be a capital expenditure.  It was agreed to wait until next month to vote on this until all bids have been received and reviewed.

USE OF BEACHES AFTER DARK BY RESIDENTS:  Sally asked the Board if we wanted police officers to ask residents with beach tags to leave when the beaches were closed.  Discussion took place and it was moved and seconded to permit residents to be on the beaches until midnight.  The motion passed unanimously.  All trespassers should be removed immediately by the police officers.

ADOPTION FOR COST SCHEDULE FOR COPYING:  Eva said as of July 1, HOA’s have to have a cost schedule if a resident wants copies of documents from the office.  She read the new statute and said it must be a reasonable cost.  Eva discussed the various costs.   It was moved and seconded that a fee would be charged consisting of $30 per hour billed in five minute increments for labor plus 15 cents per copy would be charged.  The motion passed unanimously.

Eva will prepare this document for Chris to have in the office and will give to Shane to post on the website.

ARC:  Jim reported that 4 applications were recently approved and 4 are being looked into.  One ramp’s impact on drainage was a concern by a neighbor but the County, upon review, stated that drainage would not be an issue.

WATER SAFETY:   Pat will talk with Kevin about several issues.

MAINTENANCE:  George distributed his report to the Board via email (a copy of which is attached).

SPECIAL EVENTS:  Diane reported that over 300 people attended the community Ice Cream Social.  Sand Day went well.  Receipts for reimbursement of a little over $300 were submitted for this year.  A volunteer also submitted a request for reimbursement for last year in the amount of $346.50.  It was moved and seconded to amend the budget to add $400 to the special events budget.   There were 5 abstentions and 6 voted in favor.  The motion passed.  It was also agreed that any request for reimbursement of expenses must be submitted within 60 days.

PUBLICATIONS:  Shane discussed a privacy issue.  Shane has had discussions with Trestle Media about issues that need to be corrected.  He has been spending a lot of time resetting passwords.  He would like to work with someone such as an intern to update the contractors list and the upcoming directory.  Various enhancements to the website were discussed, including access. Shane will have several proposals at the next meeting for a Phase 2 development of the website and will ask for additional funds to move forward.

MEMBERSHIP:  Cindy reported 5 transfers in April and May.  There are still 20 people who have outstanding dues. 

SECURITY:  Frank discussed vandalism that George Waters has been dealing with. A “no trespassing” letter was sent out.  He sent an e-mail to section leaders for Neighborhood Watch.

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY:  Betsy distributed pictures of Earth Day and Eagle Scout program.  Count was over 220 for Earth Day.  Several vendors want to come back next year.  Energy Action Project article will be in the NL regarding energy efficiency.  The watershed program has begun and the tree replacement program will start soon.

TREASURER’S REPORT:  Regina stated that the April and May statements have been distributed to the board.  The 2010 audit report was presented and each board member received a copy.  Regina clarified that the report has a slight error:  Page 10 states 2008 was the year of the most recent review of the reserve account, but it should read December, 2007. 

LEGAL:  Eva reported that subcommittee met to discuss Congressional’s potential subdivision.  Stuart Feldstein as Chair, Betsy, Natalie Gluck and Ralph Smalley have met and have divided up the tasks and will report back as needed.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:43 PM.

Respectfully submitted by,

Regina Derzon & Eva Kosztarab