Minutes - Fairlington Mews Board of Directors

I. Approval of Minutes.

Approval of the May 25 minutes was deferred to the next meeting so that Sher Opal might explain a question about insurance premiums.

A motion to approve the minutes for the June 22 meeting was made by David Biette, seconded by Seth Low. The motion was passed unanimously.

II. President’s Report.

Gretchen Martin raised some concerns which were discussed by those present.

A. Roofing. Gretchen reported that there were concerns by some residents about the roofing work being done, especially that some of the workers were not dressed in protective clothing. Management was notified, and the contractor said they were up to Virginia code, and management reminded the contractor that work should be done to federal code. Gretchen formally thanked residents for being eyes and ears to the community, and added that roofing work should be covered with tarps.

B. Lights. Someone had put black tape over the photo cell in the lights in Court 6.

C. Masonry. Gretchen read the report on masonry repairs in Court 1. Don Taylor spoke again about his conversation with the contractor and his walk-through to assess conditions of the various porches. He reported that work had been done on porches that had not needed work done, adding that he considered such extra, un-contracted work as “theft.” He said that in the three weeks that work had gone on in Court 1, not one porch had been completed. Gretchen Martin stressed that no work should be done except the work outlined in the schedule for the contractor. Don Taylor reminded the board that Seal Engineering and Legum & Norman are employed to be sure that such contracts are done according to specification. He suggested that the Mews needed a designated coordinator for projects so that work can be regularly monitored that it is being done according to contract.

Gretchen Martin added that the Mews would not pay for uncontracted work.

III. Treasurer’s Report.

Seth Low passed out copies of the approved budget for the fiscal year.

IV. Committee Reports

A. Landscape Committee. Tom Corbin and Lori Olivas presented the report of the Landscape Committee. They said that pruning in Court 1 had not been done correctly, that Sher Opal had not yet met with Fred Peratt to discuss a multi-year contract with Environmental Enhancements, and that there had been no follow-up on letters sent to various residents about overgrown plantings.

The Committee presented its proposal for enhancement work which was outlined in the report to the board, and recommended that the board approve their request to use $9,631 from the committee budget for the work outlined in the proposal of September 21, 2004 from Environmental Enhancements.

A motion to approve the Landscape Committee’s request to have Environmental Enhancements carry out detailed enhancement work as outlined in their proposal, for a total of $9,631 including labor and materials, was made by Seth Low and seconded by Ben Marglin. The motion was passed unanimously.

B. Recreation Committee. David Biette said that he would e-mail photos of shade structures that the board might consider for the pool enclosure. The committee had recommended earlier that a complete replacement of the pool deck be done much later as the current deck was in fair shape and could continue to be repaired and be satisfactory for the near term. It was suggested that the board consider setting up a reserve fund to replace the deck as it will be an expensive proposition; discussion on this was deferred until the finance committee makes its final report. The board discussed a proposal by management that Century Pool company be responsible for opening and closing the pool. There was unanimous disagreement for this proposal and the board restated its satisfaction with the work done by World Pool.

The board agreed to repair the net at the 34th Street tennis court and brace it according to recommendations submitted by the tennis chair, Roger Taylor.

C. Newsletter Committee. The Newsletter committee asked for input and material from the board for the next newsletter which would be published in November. The committee added that the last issue cost significantly less than earlier issues.

V. Monthly Financial Management Report

The monthly financial report was discussed.

I. Old Business

A. Committee Roles and Responsibilities for Handbook Update. Gretchen Martin reported that she was working on the updates for the final committee descriptions and would submit them for the next meeting.

B. Asphalt Repairs. The August leak in Court 13 was discussed, which turned out to be a problem with a county water main. The board discussed the proposal by W.P. Donaldson & Son, submitted on September 28, to repair the asphalt on the fire lane/pool access drive and in Court 13 (resulting from the August leak) for $6,413, as well as repair the surface of the lot in Court 10 for $1,860.

A motion by David Biette, seconded by Seth Low, to allocate $8,273 for asphalt repairs in Courts 10 and 13 was approved unanimously.

C. Leafguard Contract. The contract for the Leafguard gutters was discussed at earlier meetings, and the contract was signed by Gretchen Martin on September 14.

A motion by Seth Low, seconded by Ben Marglin, to accept the Leafguard contract as signed on September 14, was approved unanimously.

II. New Business

A. Fall Landscaping. Landscaping enhancement for the fall were voted earlier in the meeting.

B. County Request for Owner/Vehicle Information. The board acknowledged the request from Arlington County’s Commissioner of the Revenue for a list of community residents so that the County can advise vehicle owners of the tax obligation they may have to Arlington County.

C. Snow Removal Contract. Discussion on the snow removal contract for the 2004-2005 season was deferred to the October meeting.

D. Pool Contract. Discussion of the 2005 pool contract was deferred to the October meeting.

E. Anonymous Letters. The board agreed that it would not respond to anonymous letters.

F. Finance Committee. The board requested that the instructions to the finance committee be published in the next Mews News.

G. Leak in Court 13. The August leak in Court 13 was discussed earlier in the meeting.

H. Book on Reserve Funding. Ben Marglin referred the board to a book had had found on reserve funding for community boards.

III. Establishment of Next Meeting. The next meeting of the Mews board of directors will be held on October 26, 2004 at 7:00 p.m. at the Fairlington Community Center.

IV. Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m.