Patti Burke
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f
you’ve lived in the Commons for a while, you will recognize Patti’s name. Over the years that Patti was with us, she
served on our Board of Directors as President, Vice President, and
Treasurer. As a member of our Board,
Patti could always be counted upon to assist with whatever needed to be
accomplished and to provide a unique and insightful perspective on the issues
facing our condominium. For the past
year, Patti had been waging what appeared to be a successful battle against
cancer. Sadly, Patti passed away on
Monday, April 7th. Her
contributions to our community, and to our Board of Directors, will be greatly
missed.
In
addition to her efforts on the part of the Commons, Patti had a long and
distinguished career in both government and private industry. She was recently promoted
to the position of Vice President for Conference Services of the National
Private Truck Council where she worked for more than five years. She also had an extensive background in
marketing, special events and meeting planning, having served in the Reagan and
first Bush administrations at the U.S. Information Agency (now the Department
of State), primarily in designing study tours for government officials from
Europe and other international exchange programs. Patti had also been a consultant for the U.S.
Postal Service, traveling the country to promote the "Celebrate the
Century" stamp outreach program to grade school children. Originally from Boston, Patti held a Bachelor
of Arts Degree in Modern European History from Emmanuel College in Boston.
Patti
was a very private individual, but one aspect of her life that she readily
shared with everyone was her love of baseball, and particularly of her hometown
team, the Boston Red Sox. On more than
one occasion, Board meetings on the brink of overtime were brought to a speedy
conclusion by Patti reminding us that she needed to be home to root for her
beloved Sox.
Spring is here again, and the Boston Red Sox have taken the field, but diminished by the loss of one of their most ardent fans. It is only fitting then, in this season of nature’s rebirth and the return of our great national pastime that we honor Patti’s memory with two simple words…“GO SOX!”
Recreation Passes
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pplications for 2008 Recreation Passes will be distributed to
Commons residences by early May.
Recreation Passes are required to use our swimming facility, tennis
court, and basketball court. Please complete the
application and return it as soon as possible.
Completed applications may be placed in the mailbox in front of the pool
or mailed to 3367 South Wakefield Street, Arlington, VA 22206.
Recreation
Passes will be available for pickup at the pool beginning Saturday, May 24th. A representative from each unit will need to
sign for the passes. No passes will be
issued for units that are more than one month delinquent in condominium fees or
late charges.
As
in past years, one guest pass
will be issued to each unit that requests Recreation Passes. Recreation Passes will be issued only to Co-Owners
and Residents of each unit.
The Board reserves the right to request further information if a unit
requests an excessive number of passes and may request proof of residence or
other information before passes are issued.
Additional
information, including a copy of our pool and tennis facility rules, will be
included with the Recreation Pass Application Package.
Pool
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ur Swimming Facility will open on Saturday May 24th of the Memorial Day Weekend and will be open seven days per week from 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. except on those school days that fall between Memorial Day and the final closure of Arlington County public schools, when pool hours will be 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The Pool will close for the season at 6:00 p.m. on Labor Day Monday, September 1st. The pool season may be extended at the discretion of the Board of Directors, contingent on weather and budget.
Board Member Needed
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ith
Patti Burke’s passing, a vacancy exists on our Board of Directors. Persons interested in serving on our Board
should contact President John Sinks at 703-931-2660 or by e-mail at
Jsinks@comcast.net for additional information.
To serve, you must be a Co-Owner of at least 21 years of age.
Our Board consists of five members; President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and At-Large. In accordance with our By-Laws, the Board may select a new member from any volunteers. The new member will serve until the October Annual Meeting, when the seat will be up for election by the Co-Owners for a full, three-year term. The Board will reconstitute itself following selection of the new Board member, meaning that the new Board member would not necessarily be expected to serve as Vice President.
Agronomic Applications
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ollowing is the agronomic application schedule for 2008. Please remember that these dates are tentative, and may need to be adjusted based on weather or other factors. Signs will be posted in advance advising of actual application dates.
We will be using four products:
·
Dimension – Crabgrass Control Agent
Application Dates:
Organic Fertilizer, Corn Gluten, Strike III Spot Applications, and Dimension (Rain Date May 9)
Organic Fertilizer, Corn Gluten, Strike III Spot Applications, and Dimension (Rain Date June 20)
Organic Fertilizer, Corn Gluten, and Strike III Spot Applications (Rain Date August 8)
Strike III Spot Applications and Organic Fertilizer (Rain Date September 19)
Organic Fertilizer (Rain Date November 7)
Signs
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everal Co-Owners have recently complained to the Board of
Directors about the posting of signs by their neighbors. Residents are reminded that the posting of
signs is prohibited by our Bylaws, Article VI, Section 6, Paragraph (f) which
states: “No sign, notice, or
advertisement shall be inscribed or exposed on or at any window or other part of
the Family Unit, except such as shall have been approved in writing by the
Board of Directors, nor shall anything be projected out of any window without
similar approval.”
At a meeting of the Council two years ago, the Co-Owners overwhelmingly supported limiting owner posted signs to those dealing with real estate sale or rental, security (alarm system) signs, and small notices posted on doors for fire department use in determining the number of children or pets in a unit. Your cooperation in complying with our By-Law regarding signs will be greatly appreciated by your neighbors.
Trash
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f
you’ve lived in the Commons for a while, you can probably recite from memory
our Trash and Recycling Pickup schedule, but for our new residents, and as a
reminder for everyone:
To
ensure pickup, trash and recycling must be at the curb or designated pickup
point no later than 7:00 a.m. the morning of pickup. Residents
may place trash and recycling at designated pickup points no sooner than dark
the previous evening.
A
few of our residents have been placing their trash out for pickup as early as
the afternoon prior to the pickup day. Please
do not do this. The last thing that
the rest of us, visitors to our community, and prospective homebuyers want to
see is your trash littering our community.
The Commons has previously dealt informally with most violations
of our trash and recycling policies, although in a few cases Arlington County’s
Police and Health Departments have been notified.
Roofs and Sidewalks
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ith the advent of spring weather, work has commenced on those roofs and sections of sidewalk most in need of replacement. Bob Turley, our concrete contractor, is working with his crew to replace the section of sidewalk at 3345 through 3349 South Wakefield Street, having completed work on Utah Street last month. Patrick McCloskey, our carpenter, is working with his crew to replace the roofs of 3320A&B, 3322, and 3324A&B South Wakefield Street.
In communications with our fellow Co-Owners prior to and at the 2008 Budget Meeting, we talked about our intention to use a relatively new but proven roofing material that is similar in appearance to slate but eliminates many of slate’s inherent issues, including weight, high purchase and installation (labor) costs, and periodic maintenance (ridge sealing). This material is currently being installed at the above addresses.
Made
from a 100% recyclable blend of virgin resins and natural limestone that has
been compression-molded in multiple molds to create different edges and
surfaces giving the look of authentic slate, our new roofs will be warrantied
for 50 years. A wide variety of color
options will allow us to accurately mimic the random coloration of our original
1943 slate roofs – two shades of grey are being used on the roofs currently
being replaced. For more information on
our new roofs, check out the InSpire Products website at:
http://www.inspireroofing.com/
Parking Passes
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esidents
are reminded that a Fairlington Commons Parking Pass is required if you wish to
park a vehicle in any of our off-street parking lots. Parking Passes are not required if you park
exclusively on S. 34th, Utah, or Wakefield Streets, which are
Arlington County Public Streets.
A
copy of our Parking Policy and Parking Pass Application is available on the web
at: http://fairlington.org/commonsdocuments.htm.
Parking Passes must be hung from the rearview mirror so as to be readily identifiable any time that your vehicle is in our parking lots. If your Parking Pass has become worn or damaged to the extent that it cannot be hung from the mirror, please contact Board Secretary Bernie Weaver at 703-671-7024 to request a replacement. Your current Parking Pass must be surrendered at the time a replacement is issued. There is no charge for replacement of severely worn or damaged Parking Passes.
Plumbing Emergencies
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lumbing
emergencies should be immediately and directly addressed to Billy
Anderson. Billy has been the Commons
plumber for many years, and knows the locations of our water lines, shut-off
valves, sewer laterals, storm drains, and manhole covers, many of which are not
obvious to a plumber who is not familiar with our facilities. Be prepared to
leave a message when you call – but count on a quick return call.
If
Billy determines that a problem is the responsibility of the Commons, he will
bill the Commons. Otherwise you are
expected to pay Billy at the time service is rendered. Over the years owners have found Billy’s
prices reasonable. Billy is also
available to perform routine, non-emergency work for Commons residents on an
individual basis. Billy may be reached
at 703-836-4716.
Thanks!
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any
thanks to Commons resident Jim Sharpe for his stewardship of our Tennis Court
and for recently pitching in to help ready our Pool’s pump room for operation!
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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 |
Vacant |
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Secretary |
Bernie Weaver E-mail WeaverBW@comcast.net |
671-7024 |
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Treasurer |
Christine Sivigny E-mail CSivigny@hotmail.com |
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At Large |
Dennis Maridueña E-mail dmariduena@gmail.com |
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