Fairlington Glen
FENCES. The Board approved a bid from Expert Fence for the replacement of the pool fence with a commercial aluminum (Colonial style) fence and the replacement of the single tennis court and basketball court wall fences with black vinyl coated chain link fences at a cost of $45,300.
ROOFS. The Board approved a bid from Walls Contracting for the replacement of three roofs in 2003 at a cost of $101,971.
SEWERS. The Board approved a bid from JED Mechanical for relining 10 sewers over a three year period at a cost of $162,875 plus additional costs (to be determined) for sewer cleaning, jetting, and ejector work.
The time for the monthly Board Meetings has been changed from 7:15pm to 7:30pm starting in April. The meetings will continue to be held in the Fairlington Community Center.
There will be no Landscape Subcommittee meeting in March. If you have any landscape concerns during this period you can leave a message for the Subcommittee by calling 703-820-9567 and pressing "1". Our walk-through to get ready for the spring plantings will be on Saturday, March 15, 2003 at 8:00 AM. We will meet in the big circle at 36th and S. Stafford. Anyone interested is invited to join us.
The Board would like to commend Ricky and the crew for their excellent performance in cleaning up after our recent snow storms. They planned in advance for additional help, spent long hours during the cleanup effort, and were congratulated by many residents for their hard and effective work. Hopefully it will be many years before we have to call on them again for an effort of this magnitude.
The Board has selected a different process for renovating our aging sewer lines, starting this year, that will result in significant cost savings. Instead of replacing sewer lines as we have done in the past, we will be relining them employing the process the county used for the main sewer lines a few years ago. This option has recently become available for smaller sewer lines like those in the Glen. The cost of replacing the sewer lines was approximately $400 a foot and the process was very disruptive due to the required excavating. The new process will cost approximately $125 a foot and result in little disruption since excavation will consist of a single hole to allow access to the unit end of the sewer line.
The battle against crime involves both the police and citizens. It is a widely accepted fact that "police can not be everywhere". For this reason, the effective functioning of a police department is dependent on citizen cooperation and their resistance to crime. Many crimes would never be committed if more citizens would be alert to suspicious activity and take it upon themselves to notify the police. We are lucky to live in a relatively crime-free area; however, we are not immune. If you see any suspicious activity, please take appropriate action.
If you need to contact Ricky or the chairpersons of the Landscape Subcommittee and the Pool Committee by calling 703-820-9567, please remember that your phone number and address are essential and must be understood. Please speak slowly when providing this information and consider repeating it to ensure it will be understood by those accessing your messages.
SEWER LINES. While sewer backups are very infrequent due to the efforts of Ricky and his crew plus our sewer replacement efforts, they still occur. There was a recent backup and items that should not be flushed into the sewer lines were discovered. We need to support ongoing efforts by keeping items that contribute to sewer blockages and backups out of the sewer system so that neither you nor your neighbors have to experience a backup. Please be considerate by not putting sanitary napkins, dental floss, baby wipes, paper towels, condoms, tampons, or diapers down the commode. In addition, please inform your guests, house sitters, babysitters, etc. that our sewer lines are fragile and must be treated accordingly.
KITCHEN SINK BACKUPS. If you experience a backup of your kitchen sink, do not assume that the Glen is responsible ... most sink backups are the result of clogged pipes within the unit. The best way to determine where the fault lies is to flush the basement toilet. If it flushes properly, the backup is not a sewer problem and the co-owner is responsible for all efforts required to clear the backup. You should coordinate with your neighbors regarding both the repairs and what should and should not be placed in the sink drain since you probably share a common pipe.
COMMON AREAS. In order to maintain the quality of the Glen and ensure common areas are maintained in a consistent manner, significant restrictions are in place regarding what residents can do. When in doubt about doing something in common areas such as adding items to the flower beds, leaving personal articles in the common areas, and placing items on fences or having items in the patio area that are visible above the top of the fences, please check the Handbook or call Legum & Norman.
TRASH PICKUP FOR MAJOR ITEMS. Large items that you need to dispose of will be picked up on the first Saturday of every month. They must be placed on the curb at the street by 9 a.m. These pickups are free. Please do not put large items out at any other time ... THEY WILL NOT BE PICKED UP.
REPORTING PROBLEMS. You can contact Ricky and the chairpersons of the Landscape Subcommittee and Pool Committee by calling 703-820-9567. You can leave a message by pressing "1" for the Landscape Subcommittee and "2" for the Pool Committee. To leave a message for Ricky, wait for the tone at the end of the recorded message or press "9" or "#" to end the recorded message and go to the tone. Please be courteous and don't call these people at home. If you have an after-hours emergency maintenance problem or can not reach Ricky after a reasonable time, please call the Legum & Norman 24-hour emergency repair number ... 703-600-6000
HANDBOOK. All residents and co-owners should have a copy of the Fairlington Glen Handbook dated November 1999. Please review it occasionally since it provides essential information to ensure that you and your neighbors enjoy the wonderful experience of living in the Glen.
All Glen meetings are held in the Fairlington Community Center at 3308 South Stafford Street. All residents are welcome.
Visit "http://www.fairlington.org/glenindex.htm" for draft Board minutes, newsletters, and the Handbook. Please contact John Fuller if you have comments on Fairlington Glen information on this site.