LBA President's Report
January: Easements, Audits, Improvements
By George McLennan
Every lot at Lake Barcroft has an "unrecorded easement," which is "... an easement or right-of-way over a strip of ground 10 feet in width along the side outlines and 20 feet in width along the rear outlines of the lot... for the purposes of installation and maintenance of public utilities...." (See LBA Bylaws on Page 104 of the 1998 phone directory). These easements, which were placed on the lots by the developer, were never recorded in the County land records. Therefore, they are not shown on the survey plats.
Garrett Green, Architectural Review chairman, presented a recent case in which the potential buyers for a home (Lot 482) were unable to obtain title insurance because of a structure built on top of an easement. More accurately, the buyers would not accept the exception that the title insurance company wanted to apply to the policy.
Having a structure built on an easement is not a unique circumstance in Lake Barcroft. The sellers have filed a suit to quiet title, which if allowed to proceed without objection, will extinguish the easement.
Because LBA has never exercised its right to an easement and because there was no reason to oppose the suit to quiet title to this particular lot, the Board agreed to take no action in opposition to the suit so long as the requested relief (extinguishment of the easement) relates only to the subject property.
Committee Reports
Finance Committee (Karen Wehner): Karen is searching for an auditor and hopeful that there will be a short list of candidates by the next meeting. Karen is also in the process of obtaining liability insurance on the residual Parcel A properties turned over to the community.
Publications (Chris Lawson): Chris is now the Advertising Director for the newsletter and with the help of her husband Vince has commitments from 45 advertisers. There also was some discussion on how best to collect past due payments from a couple of advertisers seriously in arrears.
Architectural Review (Garrett Green): The ARC is experiencing a few of the stresses and strains one might expect in a new organization. There have been issues associated with the process and timeliness, and interpretation of the guidelines. As remedies Garrett suggested that the Board consider revising the guidelines, electing a Board member to serve specifically as ARC Chair, and increasing the number of committee members. These issues are likely to be revisited during the next Board term if they do not work themselves out over the next few months.
Security (Pete Walker): The Mason District Police Service Areas (PSAs) are being changed with the addition of a new PSA. The only impact on Lake Barcroft is the possibility that some of the officers who participated in our summer security patrols might be transferred, which could reduce our labor pool. There has been an increase in robberies and burglaries in the Mason district but not within our community. Pete will be providing additional information on pedestrian safety, particularly in the Seven Corners area, through a future newsletter and Lake Link.
Improvements Committee (George McLennan): Mike Neibling has been doing an excellent job overseeing community maintenance. Recent projects include completing leaf clearing, mulching the landscape beds, and trimming the trees along Columbia Pike at the Aqua Terrace entrance. Delfino also has either replaced or repaired fencing at the Community Garden, Beach 1 and Beach 5. Mike and Dorothy Schmitt will be updating the community's five-year improvement plan.
WID Report (Stuart Finley): Because of concerns over stability of the stream bank there will be a bit more work along the Potterton Bridge. The annual WID Spring meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 5th at 6 p.m. at the Fortune restaurant. A new programmable logic dam controller will be installed this year at a cost of $40,000 to $45,000. WID is looking at options for financing and constructing a debris boom on Holmes Run near the Sleepy Hollow Bath & Racquet Club.
A note for voters
When I ran for my first term on the Board a number of people called to ask where I stood on certain community issues. This was their way of evaluating the candidates. At the time this seemed like a logical approach, even though I did not know very much (if anything) about some of the issues at hand. However, my experience as a Board member seems to indicate that there might be a better way to approach this problem. Perhaps sharing my thoughts on this subject will help you select among the candidates for this year's election.
Generally speaking, the most successful Board members are dedicated volunteers characterized by the following attributes:
The Board conducts the business of the community. Each Board member serves as chair of one of the standing committees and is responsible for one aspect of running or maintaining the community. Each Board member is also expected to serve an active role on one other standing committee. The job is one of organizing people, participating in activities, and holding and attending meetings in addition to the monthly Board meetings.
If you are of a mind to make a closer evaluation of this year's candidates, please keep these thoughts in mind when you talk to them. And then come join us at the annual membership meeting at Belvedere Elementary School on Feb. 26, at 7:30 p.m. Come and vote!