Fairlington Commons Newsletter 3367 S. Wakefield Street, Arlington, VA 22206 Pool Party Scheduled! On Saturday, September 11th, Fairlington Commons is once again hosting our annual End-of-Summer Swimming Pool Party. As in past years, all residents and Co-Owners are invited to partake in the fun, which begins at 6:00 p.m. at the Swimming Pool on the Wakefield Circle. This year's event is our fifth annual Swimming Pool Party, and features Commons provided hot dogs, hamburgers, and sodas, as well as an opportunity to sample the salads, desserts, and other dishes provided by those attending. Past parties have been a great success, with participants having more than enough to eat and a great time renewing acquaintances and making new ones. If you'd like to help, or would like additional information, please contact Cathy Malin at 931-9260. Oh, if it should happen to rain, we'll simply hold the party at the same time on Sunday the 12th.
Your Community For those of you who are new to Fairlington, this newsletter is the official publication of the Fairlington Commons Council of Co-Owners. If you have received this newsletter, it is because you are a Co-Owner or resident of Fairlington Commons and need to be familiar with the benefits and services of your community, as well as the ordinances, rules, etc. that govern your activities here. Fairlington Commons consists of the triangular area bounded by I-395, South 34th Street, and South Utah Streets. Although the second smallest of the six South Fairlington condominium associations, it is one of the largest in terms of real estate, with approximately 23 acres of land. A five-member, volunteer, non-compensated Board of Directors operates Fairlington Commons on behalf of each of the 229 Co-Owners. We are a self-managed association, meaning that we do not employ a management company. The Board of Directors is responsible for hiring and directing the efforts of all contractors performing work on behalf of the Commons. A list of the members of the Board of Directors is included on the last page of this newsletter - residents and Co-Owners with questions regarding operation of the association should contact a member of the Board. As one of the seven Fairlington condominium associations, the Commons is a member of the Fairlington Citizens Association (FCA). The FCA also publishes a monthly newsletter, the "All Fairlington Bulletin." Annual Meeting Scheduled The annual meeting of the Fairlington Commons Council of Co-Owners will be held Thursday, October 14th in Room 10 of the Community Center, 3308 South Stafford Street, beginning at 7:30 p.m. The primary purpose of the meeting will be to elect board members and to discuss topics of mutual interest to Commons residents. This year, two seats on the Board of Directors are up for election, the ones currently held by John Sinks and Hugh Baumgardner. Anyone interested in running for a seat on the Board of Directors should notify Board President John Sinks prior to Saturday, September 18th in order to be included on the proxy ballot. The proxy ballot will be mailed to all Co-Owners with the formal meeting notification. Mr. Sinks may be contacted by telephone at 703-931-2660, or by mail at 3367 South Wakefield Street, Arlington, VA 22206 - the mailbox at the pool. You must be a Co-Owner to serve on the Board. If you are interested in additional information about responsibilities and time required, please contact a Board member with your questions. Budget Meeting Scheduled In addition to the Annual Meeting, the Commons also conducts a yearly budget meeting. This year's budget meeting will be held on Thursday, December 9 in Room 10 of the Community Center, 3308 South Stafford Street, beginning at 7:30 p.m. As is the case with the annual meeting, formal notification of the budget meeting will also be mailed to each Co-Owner, although you may wish to mark the date on your calendar at this time. Concrete Work Continuing our ongoing program of concrete maintenance and replacement, C.B. Turley Concrete Construction Company will once again be working in the Commons this fall, replacing deteriorated and crumbling sidewalks. Sections to be replaced were selected from throughout the Commons by the Board of Directors. Selections were based on safety considerations and the overall condition of the sidewalks. Surprise Fire Inspection Passed During a recent surprise inspection conducted by the Arlington County Fire Department, Fairlington Commons apartment style building passed with no corrective action required or recommended. This periodic no-notice inspection covers not only safety devices such as smoke detectors and fire extinguishers, but also includes general housekeeping. Contributing to the successful inspection was compliance by residents in not blocking the hallways in accordance with Commons rules. Also contributing were the efforts of three Commons contractors, Ace Fire Extinguisher (annual check and service), Harry Tran (checks and replaces lights and smoke detector batteries), and Fairlington Maid Service (monthly cleaning of the common halls). Trash and Recycling Pickup Many thanks to all Commons residents who have been complying with the trash and recycling rules and schedules. Your cooperation has contributed to our ability to have our trash and recycling materials removed with minimal damage and scattering by the marauding bands of crows and other scavengers. Although we've had some problems lately with our contractor's 6:00 a.m. trash and recycling pickups - this problem has been addressed by the Board of Directors and should now be solved. For those residents who have recently moved into Fairlington Commons, here are our trash and recycling schedule and rules: Collection Times - Trash is picked up on Tuesday and Friday mornings. Recycling is picked up on Friday mornings only. Trash and recycling must be at the curb or customary pickup point no later than 6:00 a.m. to ensure pickup. Residents are permitted to place trash and recycling at designated pickup points after 9:00 p.m. the previous evening. Trash and recycling not out by 6:00 a.m. on designated pickup days should be held for the next scheduled pickup. Do not put it out late because it will not be picked up! Recycling - Newspapers should be bundled in paper bags or tied securely with strong twine. Bundles may include inserts and magazines. Glass bottles, jars, aluminum and metal food cans should be rinsed and may be commingled in paper bags or a recycling container. Approved Containers - Trash placed for pickup shall be in heavyweight plastic bags. Dark colored plastic bags are recommended. Trashcans - Trashcans will not be used to place trash at pickup points. Trashcans and Recycling Bins are not to be stored in the General Common Element, defined as any area outside of a unit, fenced patio, or deck. They may be stored inside units, within fenced patios, or on decks. Storage of trash cans and recycling bins on or beside front porches or outside of fenced patios or decks is not permitted. Abandoned Cans and Bins - Recycling bins remaining at recycling pickup points more than 24 hours after the designated 6:00 a.m. pickup time will be considered abandoned and will be confiscated. Any trashcans or recycling bins otherwise discovered in the general common element will also be considered abandoned and will be confiscated. Questions about Trash or Recycling - Questions about trash, recycling, special pickups, or other trash or recycling related subjects should be directed to AAA/Rainbow Recycling and Trash Removal Services at 703-818-8222 or to the Fairlington Commons Board of Directors at 3367 South Wakefield Street, Arlington, VA 22206. Mosquitoes Fortunately, our mosquito problem is not as serious as in a lot of communities, but we do have some mosquitoes. While it may be impossible to totally eradicate the mosquito population, residents can help by accomplishing the following actions:
Parking Lots Earlier this summer, Fairlington Commons parking lots were resealed, and parking space lines and numbers repainted. This effort followed on the heals of extensive repaving accomplished two summers ago, and constitutes the beginning of a periodic maintenance program intended to prolong the life of our new parking lots and to protect our approximate $110,000 investment. When our parking lots were repaved, Fairlington Commons established a set of rules designed to protect the surface of our parking lots and to ensure equitable and fair availability of parking resources to the Co-Owners and residents. Those rules are reprinted here for the benefit of new residents, and as a reminder to all persons who utilize our parking lots. Conformance with Virginia and Arlington County Law. All vehicles parked in Fairlington Commons Parking lots must be in full conformance with the laws of the State of Virginia and the County of Arlington. The Arlington County Police have been granted written permission to enter Fairlington Commons Parking lots for the purpose of enforcing the law. Any vehicle not in conformance with the law will be reported to the Arlington County Police for appropriate action. Any vehicle parked in our parking lots that is not in conformance with Virginia and Arlington County law will be towed. Storage. Vehicles may generally not be stored in Fairlington Commons parking lots. Any vehicle parked in a parking lot and not moved for more than 45 days will be considered a stored vehicle and will be towed. Residents who plan to be absent for more than 45 days and who wish to leave a vehicle in their regular parking lot should coordinate in writing with the Board of Directors prior to your absence. The south (walled) side of the upper Utah Street Parking lot has been designated a vehicle storage area, however, no vehicle may be stored there without the written permission of the Board. Tandem or double parking. Arlington County law has designated the center portion of our parking lots as fire lanes that must be kept open for the passage of emergency vehicles. To conform to this law, vehicles may not be parked one behind the other, only one vehicle may be parked in each marked space, and vehicles may not be parked outside of marked spaces. Motorcycle owners should contact the Board of Directors regarding parking for their vehicles. Two Cars Per Unit. No unit may park more than two cars, including guests, in a parking lot. Any cars in excess of the two car limit must park on the street. Vehicle Repair or Maintenance. No vehicle repair or changing of fluids is permitted in the parking lots, however, checking of fluid levels or replacement of a flat tire is permissible. Vehicles with significant fluid leaks must be removed from the parking lot until repairs can be made. Recovery of Towed Vehicles. If your vehicle was towed from a Fairlington Commons Parking Lot, you must contact Frank's Towing at 703-412-1111 to recover your vehicle. If your vehicle was towed from an Arlington County Street, you must contact the Arlington County Police Department for information on how to recover your vehicle. Sewer Project Arlington County's sewer line renovation, originally scheduled for this past spring, has been delayed due to costs and non-compliant contractor bids. As originally planned, extensive work would have been required in the wooded area adjacent I-395 and Commons units located at the bottom of the South Utah Street hill. According to new, tentative plans by Arlington County, a new section of sewer line will be installed down the middle of South Utah Street to the bottom of the hill, where it will then cross under I-395, bypassing Fairlington Commons entirely. County plans also call for a sleeve to be installed in the existing line through the lower South Utah Street parking lot - work that will be accomplished without the necessity of digging. When complete, the new South Utah Street line will carry the majority of the flow, while the sleeve should resolve any lingering flow or odor problems in the vicinity of our South Utah Street units. Fairlington Web Site f you haven't already seen it, and if you have access to the Internet, you might want to take a look at the official web site of the Fairlington Historic District. Billed as "A Web Site for all of Fairlington!" the purpose of the site is to:
In addition, the site also contains links to each of the seven Fairlington Villages, including Board meeting minutes, newsletters, a photo gallery with examples of the varied community building types, and lots of additional information. Check it out at "Fairlington.org". Pool Season Ends It's hard to believe, but the summer swimming season is almost over. Monday, September 6th will be the last day of the regular season, and the pool will close at 6:00 p.m. that day in anticipation of the beginning of the school year. Although the pool will be closed through the week thereafter, it will open again, weather permitting, on Saturday, September 11th (don't forget the pool party) and Sunday, September 12th. It will also be open the following weekend, Saturday, September 18th, and Sunday, September 19th. Our thanks and appreciation go to Commons residents Kathy Spitz for the pool passes and to Bob and Georgine Schuster for the flowers and watering. Thanks also to the staff of Community Pool - Duane, Trey, Kelly, Katie, Colleen, Joe, Jessica, and Maya for a fine job!!! Best of luck - and hope to see you all next summer! Commons Contractors
Fairlington Commons Board of Directors President John Sinks 931-2660 Vice President Hugh Baumgardner 931-3973 Secretary Bernie Weaver 671-7024 Treasurer Jeff Hull 578-9717 At Large Bob Schuster 931-0201 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||