Leewood Homeowners Association
Board Meeting
Minutes

July 14, 2009

Board Members Present:
Janet Rourke - President
Maggie Pitotti – Treasurer
Mohammed Umar – At-large
Rose Weber - Secretary
Melinda Ford - G&M Chair

Also Present:

Bonnie Becker - Homeowner
Bob Flynn - Homeowner
Tony McSorely - Homeowner
Paul Prados - Attorney (Counsel to McSorely)

Convening: Meeting was called to order at 7:35 pm. Meeting was held in the Phillips School Library.

Minutes: A motion was made to approve the June 9, 2009, regular meeting minutes. The motion was carried and the minutes were accepted for the record.

Open Forum: Bonnie Becker discussed her previous request that the ARC Standards be modified to allow for the use of artificial flowers/vegetation in front yards. Miss Becker believes the better quality of faux vegetation produced now versus what was available in the past should be taken into consideration as "silk" flowers/vegetation look so real that homeowners should be allowed to augment their yards with them. She also believes this would allow "green-minded" residents to conserve water. She also feels this would allow older resident or those with health issues an alternative way to keep their yards looking nice without the pain of gardening or the expense of hiring someone to do their gardening for them. The Board explained that their reluctance to remove the prohibition was the wide interpretation of what artificial plants/flowers are appropriate. The Board is concerned that to reverse this rule would open the door to yards that were overrun with cheap and inappropriate plastic flowers. Additionally, the problem of maintenance could become an issue; just because a flower or plant is artificial, does not mean it does not need to be maintained so that it remains natural looking. Miss Becker understood the Board's position but asked that a formal vote be taken anyway. The Board voted unanimously not to change the ARC standards.

Architectural Review Hearings: There were two scheduled ARC hearings, for a total of two ARC violations. The Board convened an Executive Session at 7:50pm to conduct these hearings. In one case the Board voted to assess penalties effective 1 August 2009 (homeowner was not present, nor was any evidence or argument provided on the homeowners behalf). In the other case arguments were provided and considered. Because the violation has corrected itself, the Board voted not to assess penalties (homeowner was in attendance w/counsel). Executive session adjourned at 8:10pm.

Officer Reports:

President: Kudos to Al Carchedi for all his work coordinating the recent street repair. The work progressed smoothly and looks great! The President provided an update on the property at 7088 Bradgen that has been vacant since the death of the owner. The situation is somewhat unique, as there does not appear to be any heirs or living relatives. There is a lien on the property, but probate/other resolution may be a long way off, which means the property will continue to deteriorate. The Leewood newsletter was discussed. The Board agrees that both a hard and soft copy should be produced and that the Board should be more active in providing meaningful contributions to content. The LHOA received a request from a home remodeling contractor. This contractor wanted to host a social event for our community in return for being allowed to provide a presentation to our homeowners, be advertised in our newsletter and have access to our community to distribute flyers etc. The Board voted to deny this request to avoid the appearance of endorsement. The President met with the regional Postmaster who shared some vital information with regard to the installation of locking mailbox clusters. He stated that as long as the HOA was purchasing the boxes and paying for their installation, they could be placed wherever the HOA chose; current postal regulations regarding placement and proximity to street traffic did not apply to self-purchased boxes on private property. This means we can use our existing concrete slabs, do not have to destroy the landscaping and can leave the boxes facing the street. More importantly, these considerations will cut down on the cost considerably. The President and Secretary have a meeting scheduled with the Main Street Mailboxes to re-look the mailbox plan and get an adjusted bid.

Vice President: Not in attendance, but provided draft Leewood Directory for review.

Treasurer: Status of assessments not provided due to the fact that assessments were due in June and it is too soon to start working the figures for a meaningful report.

Secretary: Letters to the Granberry HOA regarding potentially dangerous trees and the operation of a business from a residential property will not be sent. Research and discussions with local real estate firms have found that Granberry Estates, while chartered to have an HOA, does not actually have one, and never has. Issues brought to the Boards attention with regard to businesses being run out of residential property and dangerous trees will need to be handled by individual Leewood homeowners. The LHOA will send letters to all addresses with trees that abut the Leewood perimeter so that, under the new Virginia tree legislation we will be covered should any Granberry trees come down on our perimeter fence. Plans for National Night Out are complete and the only thing left to do prior to the event is the shopping.

At-large: Nothing to report.

Committee Reports:
Architectural Review Committee (ARC): The following motions were made and approved regarding active ARC violations (Note: as the ARC Chair, The Board President, Janet Rourke, does not vote on ARC hearing decisions or other ARC matters requiring approval of the Board):
Hearing(s): There were four cases approved for hearing letters, for a total of eight violations.

Extensions: There were five extensions granted for a total of six violations.
Hearings to be re-scheduled: None.
Second violation notices: There were no cases due for Second Violation Notification letters.

With Lawyer: There is currently one case with the lawyer.

Grounds and Maintenance: Five-year tree plan has not been developed, "No dumping" signs for wooded common areas have not been researched/purchased. The G&M Chair and the Secretary did reinforce/repair the entire perimeter fence along Leestone Street with brackets so that the sections would stop pulling loose from the posts. This repair/reinforcement will solve the fence problem for now, but the replacement of that section of the perimeter fence needs to be considered in the next year or two. The President asked that the remaining drainage issues be revisited and re-bid.
Financial - Balance sheet and budget report were provided

Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 9:07pm.

Certified for the record:

___________________ _____________
Rose Weber, Secretary Date
LHOA

Convening: Meeting was called to order at 7:33 pm. Meeting was held in the Phillips School Library.

Minutes: A motion was made to approve the May 12, 2009, regular meeting minutes. The motion was carried and the minutes were accepted for the record.

Open Forum: Bob Nelson expressed concern over the timeliness of minutes being posted on the webpage. He brought to the boards attention that the April minutes still had not been posted. The Board acknowledged that it does sometimes take more time than it should to post minutes, and explained that because we an all volunteer community, sometimes things were done based on a volunteer's personal schedule and availability to complete tasks as opposed to an ideal timetable. Street repair was also discussed and the Board explained that work on upper Leestone was currently in the bidding process.

Architectural Review Hearings: There was one scheduled ARC hearing, but an extension of that hearing was requested and approved.

Officer Reports:
President: The President discussed the telephone directory and stated that we needed to proceed with finalizing it. The Secretary explained difficulties in finding time to devote to this project, so the VP volunteered to complete the telephone directory. Further discussion was held on locking mailboxes. A motion was made and carried to vote on whether or not to proceed with locking mailboxes. The vote to proceed with bids was carried with a 5 for, 0 against vote. A decision was deferred until the July meeting in the case of a request made by a homeowner to change the architectural standards to remove the prohibition against artificial foliage. The President did visit Fairfax police to discuss the possibility of posting an officer in Leewood at random times a few days a week to ticket "cut-through" and other speeders. The police gave several reasons why they could not, or would not do so.
Vice President: Nothing to report.
Treasurer: Presented an update on the status of assessments. As of June 9, 2009, 18 homeowners were in arrears, two of those cases are with the attorney and one is being held due to the death of the homeowner.
Secretary: Yard sale was a success in that there was good participation by Leewood residents and sales were good. Coffee, hot dog and soda sales earned approximately $30.00, which will be used for Leewood's 2009 National Night Out Cookout. Letters to the Granberry HOA regarding potentially dangerous trees and the operation of a business from a residential property have not yet been sent.
At-large: Nothing to report.

Committee Reports:
Architectural Review Committee (ARC): The following motions were made and approved regarding active ARC violations (Note: as the ARC Chair, The Board President, Janet Rourke, does not vote on ARC hearing decisions or other ARC matters requiring approval of the Board):
Hearing(s): There were no cases due for hearing letters.
Extensions: Ahearing extension was approved for one violation.
Hearings to be re-scheduled: One (due to approved extension).
Second violation notices: Thirty-six Second Violation Notification letters were approved.
With Lawyer: There are currently two cases with the lawyer.

Grounds and Maintenance: Two bids researched by Al Carchedi were discussed. After in-depth comparison, the Board voted unanimously to select Dominion Paving and Sealing to do the street work on upper Leestone and lower Leestone.
Financial - balance sheets and budget report presented.

Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 8:55pm.

Certified for the record:
___________________ _____________
Rose Weber, Secretary Date
LHOA