Fairlington Glen Newsletter
November, 2001

The proposed budget for 2002 was approved at the annual meeting held on November 8th, 2001. In addition, Arturo Lopez was elected to fill the one vacancy on the Board. The Fairlington Glen Board is as follows:

The B&G Committee and the Court Representatives are to be commended for their efforts in getting proxies from the co-owners. The usual concerns about having a quorum and therefore being able to conduct business were avoided since proxies and attendees totaled more than 63% of the co-owners.

PAINTING. The Board approved a bid from Capital Painting for the painting of Courts 5, 6, 7, and 8 next spring at a cost of $38,940.

TRASH PICKUP. The Board approved a proposal from Capitol Services for trash and recycling next year at a cost of $3,900 per month.

TREE PRUNING. The Board approved a proposal from Davey Tree for tree pruning work at a cost of $5,176.

There are new rules at Morgan & Cheves for requesting a certificate of insurance by title companies. Requests must now be made via fax to 703-739-0394. The turnaround is 24 to 48 hours and no last minute requests will be processed.

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.

The following are considerations, promulgated by disaster response officials, related to preparedness for any emergency situation:

• Phone systems may be disrupted ... develop a plan for your family to gather or regain contact with you. Travel may not be possible so family members who work in or frequently travel to another city should make arrangements to stay at a place in that city until the "all clear" is given. Assume that you will not be able to communicate with them for 24 hours or more.
• Frequently refuel vehicles so you have sufficient gas to get home even if delayed in local traffic. Gas stations need electricity to run and may be ordered to shut down in an emergency even if electricity is available.
• Carry cash in small bills ... if communications fail stores can not process credit card/ATM transactions. If you don't usually carry cash, have $40 stored in the car that you use the most.
• Stock a week's supply of freshly bottled water and easily prepared food, and have a few days supply of packaged food that requires no cooking in case electric and gas utilities are disrupted.
• In case of evacuation, prepare a portable emergency kit containing medicine, toilet paper, toothbrushes and paste, hand sanitizer, water/food, flashlights, portable radios and extra batteries, pen and paper, whistle, rope, duct tape, blankets, general toiletries, and anything else you need to sustain you and your family for one week.
• Ensure appropriate carriers for your pets and store food, water, and leashes/collars with the portable emergency kit. Do not leave pets unattended in emergency situations since they will know something is wrong and be easily scared and/or try to run away.
• In extreme cases the Red Cross and local governments utilize Amateur Radio to pass welfare traffic. If you evacuate, go to the Red Cross and have HAM radio pass welfare traffic to your loved ones across the country.
• Do not leave home when an emergency occurs since subsequent events could prevent your return and create undue worry for your family. You may also hamper emergency response and life saving efforts.
• Stay off the phone to avoid tying up the system and obstructing emergency services. It is best to call one party out of state and have them contact everyone else to let them know you are okay.
• Immediately report suspicious circumstances to law enforcement.

A co-owner recently reported that his mortgage company told him that he was required to have flood insurance because Arlington County as a whole had been classified as a flood zone. The following information comes from the Arlington County Public Works Department, Engineering Division (responsible for flood plain management) and the Federal Emergency Management (FEMA) website.

By law flood insurance is required in Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs). FEMA Mandatory Purchase of Flood Insurance Guidelines are located at http://www.fema.gov/nfip/mpurfi.htm and define an SFHA as:

"Darkly shaded area on a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) or a Flood Hazard Boundary Map (FHBM) that identifies an area that has a 1-percent chance of being flooded in any given year ... The FIRM identifies these shaded areas as FIRM Zones A, AO, AH, A1-A30, AE, A99, AR, AR/A, AR/AE, AR/A1-A30, AR/AH, AR/AO, V, V1-V30, and VE."

The Arlington County FIRM, which shows Four Mile Run as the only SFHA in our area and further shows all of Fairlington classified as Zone C, can be found at http://magellan.co.arlington.va.us/PDFmaps/FIRM/default.htm. While flood insurance is therefore not mandatory, and the Glen does carry some flood insurance as a general measure to protect against big sewer backups etc., some may want to acquire flood insurance for other reasons (e.g., flooding through window wells and foundations during heavy storms).

Unless you live in a Braddock, please secure your outside faucets (front and back) in order to prevent burst water pipes when the temperature drops and the weather remains cold. In the Barcroft units there is one valve to control both faucets located above the hot water heater in the utility room. For other units there are two valves, one behind the disposal under the sink for the patio faucet and one over the hot water heater in the utility room for the front faucet. To shut off the water, turn the valves off inside the unit and open the valves outside in order to drain the pipes and keep them from freezing. Leave the heat in your unit on to at least 55 degrees (even when you are away) to prevent broken pipes.

• Cleaning of the gutters throughout the Glen has been completed. If you note a problem with your gutters or down spouts, please notify Ricky.
• Preventive maintenance for all sewer laterals has been completed including the use of Root Destroyer.
• Leaf removal by Living Colour is scheduled for November 15th and 16th in Courts 1-8, 12, and 13. This will create some dust and debris. The remaining courts will be scheduled for a later date.
• The replacement of the roof in Court 7 has been completed.

TRASH. Trash must be put out during the week by 8am and on Saturdays by 9am. Large items are put out only on the first Saturday of the month and should be placed at the curb by 9am. Please do not put trash out the night before pickup or on Sundays since this will only provide a temptation to rodents, birds, and other pests. Thanksgiving Day is Thursday November 22nd which is one of the three holidays when there is no trash pickup. Please do not put trash out ... regular trash pickup will continue on Friday, November 23rd. Have a wonderful holiday weekend.

DOGS. Dogs are to be kept on a leash at all times. No dog is to be tethered to any object in the common areas. Dogs are not permitted to run free except in designated "off-leash" exercise areas in Arlington County. The closest dog exercise area to the Glen is currently at Utah Field.

SEWER LINES. Sewer backups are an unpleasant occurrence and Ricky and his crew do everything possible to ensure they are an infrequent one. However, we need to support his 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.

INSURANCE. If you experience a sewer backup, the Glen's insurance policy only covers the cleanup of this mess. Any damage caused by this unfortunate incident is the residents' responsibility. It is therefore important for residents to have their own insurance to cover these types of disasters. Please check your policies to make sure that you will be covered for the replacement value of items if such an emergency occurs.

PARKING. Parking in all courts is restricted to lined spaces. Parking is not allowed in court entrances, in fire lanes, or on lawns and sidewalks. Particular care should be taken if you are moving in or out of a unit ... make sure that you do not drive a trailer or other vehicle up on the grass. If you see this happening, please remind the resident and movers that it is not permitted.

Parking spaces in the courtyards are assigned to residents for their sole use. There have been instances where contractors and delivery personnel park in the courtyards while conducting their business. Please inform these personnel that the parking spaces are reserved and they need to park in the street. In addition, with the holiday season upon us, many residents will be inviting guests to participate in the festivities. Please make sure they are aware that the parking spaces are reserved. This small courtesy to your neighbors goes a long way.

REPORTING PROBLEMS. If you have a problem or concern, you can contact the Ricky and the chairpersons of the Landscape Subcommittee and the Pool Committee by calling 703-820-9567. You can leave a message by pressing "1" for the Landscape Subcommittee, "2" for the Pool Committee, and "3" for Ricky. Please be courteous and don't call these people at home ... they will take care of your concerns as soon as possible. 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.

MEETINGS

All Glen meetings are held in the Fairlington Community Center at 3308 South Stafford Street. All residents are welcome.

• Board of Directors, 7:15pm, 1st Tuesday of the month
• Building and Grounds Committee, 7:30pm, 3rd Tuesday of the month (no meetings in August, November, and December)
• Landscape Subcommittee, 7:00pm, 2nd Tuesday of the month

ON THE INTERNET

Visit "www.fairlington.org/Communit.htm" for draft Board minutes (any corrections to drafts appear the following month), newsletters, and the Handbook. Please contact Kennan Garvey if you have comments on Fairlington Glen information on this site.

The Fairlington Glen Newsletter is a communication channel by which the Board of Directors disseminates information to Glen residents and co-owners. Please provide any comments or recommendations to the Board Secretary, John Fuller, at fairlingtonglen@aol.com, or to any other Board member, prior to the monthly Board of Directors meeting.

Posted on November 12, 2001