3367 S. Wakefield Street, Arlington, VA 22206 March
2009
Co-Owners Hold Line on Budget
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he Fairlington Commons Council of Co-Owners has voted against an increase in fees to fund the use of natural slate for roof replacement in 2009, a decision which means synthetic slate will be used instead.
Co-Owners representing 101 of the Commons’ 229
units, or 44.8% of the voting interest, cast votes at a special meeting on
Tuesday, March 10th or submitted their vote by proxy. The level of
participation exceeded the 33.3% needed for a quorum. A total of 78.7% of participating Co-Owners
voted against raising fees and 21.5% voted to raise them. There was one abstention. Approximately 43
people attended the meeting.
Had the increase been approved, condo fees would
have gone up 4.3% averaged over the year.
However, since the increase would not have taken effect until May 1, it
would have been collected over eight months instead of 12. This meant that from May 1 until the end of
the year, the increase would have been 6.5%.
In the days before the meeting, the Board
distributed a detailed letter to all Co-Owners that summarized the pros and
cons of the two materials. During the
hour-and-a-half long meeting, views were presented on both sides of the
issue. The Co-Owners’ vote will guide
Board decision-making on natural vs. synthetic slate in the future.
The
Board expresses its thanks to Co-Owner Nick Lowry for reviewing the meeting
notice and helping distribute it.
Painting Plans
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he Board is competitively bidding our painting
contract for 2009-2011. Five contractors, including incumbent Shamrock
Painting, have been invited to take part.
A walk-through was held March 4th so the bidders could see
what needs to be done in 2009 and familiarize themselves with the
community.
Bids are due March 20th. The Board will select a contractor thereafter
based on the lowest responsible bid, after verifying that reference checks and
insurance coverage meet our requirements.
Hopefully, painting will begin next month or in early May.
Once painting begins, the contractor will alert
Co-Owners of units to be painted several days in advance. You will be asked to pull up storm windows to
allow access to the space between the windows.
In addition, in order to paint the full surface of doors, painters will
need to be able to open them. If the door is locked and no one responds to the
painter’s knock, the door will be painted in place.
Doors in their natural color are the responsibility
of the Co-Owner and will be ignored by the painters unless the Co-Owner informs
Service Coordinator Eric Pamer that they want it painted.
Co-Owners are reminded that the Board has previously
decided back doors will be painted on a six-year cycle instead of every three
years. This means that back doors of approximately half the units scheduled for
painting this year will be painted.
A list of all units to be painted over the three-year period will be posted on the Commons’ website after April 1. Below is this year’s schedule. Units with bolded addresses below will have their back doors painted this year:
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34th Street |
Wakefield Street |
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4415 - 4425 |
3315 - 3319 |
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4437 - 4447 |
3325 - 3327 |
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4501 - 4527 |
3345 - 3349 |
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4689 - 4697 |
3369 - 3373 |
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3332 - 3358 |
Enforcement Matters
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he Board has been forced to take a number of
enforcement actions this year to assure compliance with our By-Laws. Attention focused on non-conforming satellite
dishes, vehicle hangtag violations, delays in removing construction trash, late
payment of condominium fees, and storage of items in the General Common
Element.
In addition, in one parking lot, a different type of parking problem emerged. A resident’s vehicle straddled the line between two parking spaces, creating a ripple effect down the line as others parked their cars. Our towing policy also applies to such violations.
Fence Replacement
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ur contractor, Patrick McCloskey, will soon begin replacing the patio fences of 3321 A&B and 3323 A&B S. Wakefield. The fences at 3359-3361 S. Wakefield are also scheduled for replacement this year.
Turf’s Up
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o prevent soil erosion along the steep hillside
along the street above the upper Utah parking lot and to beautify the area,
Somerset Landscaping will soon be planting pachysandra, maiden grass,
forsythia, and liriope. The work, an
add-on to our contract with Somerset, will be done for $6,396.00.
Call for Volunteers
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ant to help improve the Commons community and perform a civic service at the same time? Volunteer! The Grounds Committee could use your help, and parking monitors are needed in lots around the Circle and those situated off S. Utah Street. Contact any Board member for further information.
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Fairlington
Commons Board of Directors |
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President |
John Sinks E-mail jsinks@comcast.net |
931-2660 |
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Vice President |
Christine Sivigny E-mail CSivigny@hotmail.com |
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Secretary |
Bernie Weaver E-mail WeaverBW@comcast.net |
671-7024 |
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Treasurer |
Arvy Myers e-mail:
Arvy.Myers@gmail.com |
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At Large |
Jim Sharpe e-mail: grosharp@msn.com |
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