Minutes of the Lake Barcroft Association - Board of Directors

 On February 11, 2015 the Board of Directors of LBA met at 7:30 at 6425 Lakeview Drive, Falls Church, Virginia.  Those present were LBA Directors Jim Kilbourne, Lee Price, Anne Cullather, Betsy Washington, Rick Aldrich, Eva Kosztarab, Frank Phillippi, Bill Lecos and Pat Payne.  Directors absent from the meeting were Diane Smalley, Warren Russell, Shane Oleson and Sally Determan. Also attending the meeting was Chris Lawson.

The meeting was called to order at 7:30 by Jim Kilbourne.     

The minutes from the January meeting were reviewed and revised. Pat Payne made a motion to approve the minutes as amended. Eva seconded the motion, and the minutes were approved unanimously.

The Board then went into executive session to review the minutes of the executive session held at the January 14, 2015 board meeting.  Pat Payne made a motion to approve the minutes as amended, and Eva seconded the motion.  The minutes were approved as amended by unanimous vote, and they will be included in a separate notebook maintained by Chris Lawson for executive session minutes.

The Calendar
The Board reviewed the calendar of events for the community.  The annual meeting was scheduled for February 17.  A discussion of the Seven Corners development issues was placed on the annual meeting agenda, to be led by Bill Lecos.

LBA Exceptional Service Awards
Jim noted that on January 31, 2015, he called for an electronic vote of the Board to approve the ad-hoc Nominating Committee’s recommendation that Dorothy Werner and Joan Doupe each be awarded LBA’s Exceptional Service Award this year.  Voting concluded on February 2.  There was unanimous consent by all thirteen Board members to holding the electronic vote and unanimous approval of the two nominees.  At the Board meeting on February 11, Jim announced that the Awards would be given at the February annual meeting, that award plaques had been ordered, and that he would notify the candidates before the meeting.

LBA Sign Policy
Rick and Eva led a discussion of the LBA policy regarding the posting of signs in the community.  Rick noted that there is a pending case before the Supreme Court that could impact the policies of homeowner associations.  One option is for LBA to defer to Fairfax County rules, which are 31 pages long and vary by zoning area.  County rules limit the size of the signs, the duration they can be displayed, the distance from the street.  Eva and Rick will develop a synopsis and present it to the Board.  Penny Gross had provided Jim with several traffic-control/slow-down signs that could be posted in the neighborhood. The Board examined the signs but because of their size/design decided not to post them in the community.  Jim will return them to Penny Gross.

Seven Corners Redevelopment Update
Bill Lecos provided an update on the current status of the Special Working Group that is studying the Sears Site (Opportunity Area C).  Bill explained, and then the Board discussed, the revised design concept.  Jim said that the Sears Site matter will also be discussed at the upcoming membership meeting on February 17th and that he would then call for an electronic vote of the Board to advise Bill how to vote at the final meeting of the Special Working Group, which is scheduled to occur on March 4th. 

Architectural Review Committee
Rick provided a summary of several occurrences where neighbors violated the ARC guidelines.  In one instance, WID will inspect sea wall work that was completed for conformance to their standards. In another instance, Jim will send the homeowner a letter to put them on notice regarding the violation and request that they provide their justification.  

Regarding the revised guidelines, Rick indicated that the public comment period would remain open until the annual meeting, and that the Committee won’t be developing final recommendations until the comment period is closed.  The big issues that are being highlighted in comments include fence heights, shed size, landscaping, and the definition of an “affected” neighbor.  Jim, Betsy and Rick are still discussing what should be put in the ARC guidelines regarding trees, and will make a recommendation to the Board after the close of the comment period. 

Committee Reports

Improvements Committee – Frank had nothing to report.

Legal Committee – Eva addressed a WID easement issue and requested Board approval for Jim to execute easement documents related to property at 6200 Lakeview Drive.  Frank made a motion to authorize Jim to execute the easement documents, which was seconded by Lee and approved by unanimous vote of the Board.  Jim thanked Eva for her work on the issue.

Membership Committee – 3 transfer fees have been received.  Of the 1045 lots in LBA, 831 have paid their dues and 214 have not paid as of February 11.  Chris also noted that 131 proxies had been received for the annual meeting so a quorum had been achieved.

Architectural Review Committee – Rick reported that 4 applications had been reviewed. He has also been contacted by a builder who had purchased a vacant lot on Dockser Terrace, and Rick told him where on the LBA website the guidelines could be found.  

Water Safety – Pat reported that Kevin Hardy will be again working for LBA for the summer.  She is still working on his contract.   Shane will investigate the possibility of having on-line W-2 forms on the community website.  The President of Sleepy Hollow Recreation Association informally inquired whether LBA would be interested in providing lifeguard services to that pool.  The Board discussed, but did not support this proposal. 

Events – Diane was absent and there was nothing to report. Eva noted that she and Chris spoke with the insurance company and will add the December caroling event as a covered event on our policy.

Communications - Shane referred to the written report he had circulated  We are still looking for a replacement Newsletter Editor, but Carol Donlan will continue assisting with the Newsletter until June while additional volunteers are recruited.

Security – Bill will provide a discussion of our options regarding private security services at the next Board meeting.  He mentioned several incidents of vandalism that had been reported in the community. 

Environment – Betsy provided an update on Earth Day programs, which will include education programs on trees and the participation of an urban forester.

Budget – Lee reported that more than $258,000 in income from all sources had been received as of the end of January, a significant increase over January 2014 receipts.  

The meeting adjourned at 10:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by, Anne Cullather, LBA Secretary

 

Supplemental Minutes Re: an Electronic Vote on the Sears Site Plan
On March 2, 2015, Jim Kilbourne sent an email to all Board members stating that it looked like the March 4th meeting of the Special Working Group would be its last meeting, so he called for an electronic vote of the Board.  He moved that Bill Lecos, the LBA representative to the Working Group, be authorized to vote in favor of the plan that the Special Working Group had been considering, with the further understanding that the Plan was still a matter under discussion, so Bill is further authorized to use his judgment to vote in favor of the plan so long as any changes that may be proposed at the Working Group meeting constitute improvements to the plan.  The Board finished its electronic consideration of this request by March 3.  All members of the Board unanimously consented to consider this motion by electronic vote.  The motion was approved by a vote of 12 in favor, none against, and one abstention (Warren Russell).