Happy New Year!
We have a lot of information to share this quarter!
Condolences to Guadalupe Prieto, the Prieto children and their families on the death of Hector Prieto on September 8th. Mr. and Mrs. Prieto have owned 2113 Colts Neck Court since February 1st, 1989 and were residents of Fairgreen Cluster for many years before they moved to Oakton. According to Hector's obituary it appears we all missed a treat in not enjoying his BBQ.
Congratulations Rekha Kaula!
Rehka and her band, American Crush, performed their debut concert at Jammin’ Java on December 1st. They will also be touring in Europe in 2020! Please join us in congratulating Rehka.
Yard Waste: Yard waste season is suspended until March 4th. During this "non-yard waste season," you may put out leaves and other brush with the regular trash on Monday or Thursday. They need to be in compostable yard bags, preferably paper. The trash company may pick up leaves set out with Christmas trees, but they did not confirm that in this year's reminder. You can put leaves and yard debris in trash cans if the trash can is marked “yard debris.” They should not exceed a reasonable weight- 35 pounds for regular trash and recycling and 50 pounds for yard debris (per our contract). Bundled yard debris must be in lengths no longer than 4’ and no branch larger than 3" in diameter. Unbundled yard debris is not taken.
Thank you to those members who took the time to come to the annual meeting in October. Thank you also to those who helped with the fall cluster cleanup! Thanks to Rodney D'Souza (nonresident owner) and to Steve Tucker for their monetary donations. We’d like to see more of you so please consider coming out!
Treasurer's report: Year-end figures are enclosed for owners. There is only one delinquency for one quarter currently. Dues will remain the same for 2020: $325 per quarter. The split will be $69 for the parking lot fund, $31 to the capital reserve fund and $225 for the general fund.
Tree work will be performed in the mid to late January/February since we receive better rates that time of the year. If you have personal tree work that you’d like done, you can have your work concurrently scheduled by contacting John Holtzapfel at Northern Virginia Tree Experts (703) 263-3199. It will be greater cost-savings for you to have it done when the crews are already here.
Snow removal: You know the drill! But a reminder on snow removal:
The snow contract only covers the parking lots, and for liability reasons, they do not get very close to the cars.
It is your responsibility to shovel your walk and the main cluster walk in front of your house.
Keep a path in front of the mailboxes!
Help your neighbors who may have difficulty shoveling their own walks.
When shoveling out your vehicle, do not put your snow in the path of another car, in a neighbor's unoccupied space, or on the sidewalks.
If the snowplow has not been through, you can put a limited amount in the drive, but it must not impede the plow or other vehicles. Otherwise you must push it to the curb - or on the island on Colts Neck – no fun!
Help the parking lots to drain faster by removing leaves from the gutter pans in front of your cars.
On South Lakes Court, one spot per house is reserved. It is permissible to park in any unmarked spot, but when there is snow, be considerate of your neighbors. If they have taken the time and shoveled out one of the extra spots, leave it for them. The snowplow will push snow to the ends of the parking lots, so some normally reserved spots may not be available while the snow blocks them. If you plan to have guests, you may need to shovel out another space.
Some residents on Colts Neck Court, who are not regularly using their second spot, may be agreeable to providing that space to neighbors who have extra cars to give more clearance for the snowplows. If you would like to volunteer, please contact your neighbors. The forecast for this winter is colder and snowier than normal, so keep in mind that this could mean the loss of that spot for an extended period.
Sand is available in the "sand containers" for traction. There is a container located on each side of the cluster. Please do not use it on the walks - it tracks badly into people's homes. Kitty litter is also great for traction under cars, but it tracks even worse into homes if put on the walks. Any product used on the main walks should be one that will not damage the concrete, so please check the labels.
Reston Association News: In October, Reston Association repaved its path which runs through the cluster from Colts Neck Road to the entrance to the parking lot on South Lakes Court. The path looks nice and hopefully eventually they will upgrade the rest of the path in the cluster from the South Lakes Court entrance to the top of the hill past the tunnel. They did far less damage this time to plants and trees along the path than in previous repairs, although they did put asphalt over the end of the drainpipe of the South Lakes Court parking lot drain. Thank you, Bob Babcock, for noticing the problem and removing the asphalt!
We have a new RA Counselor: Kelly Beavers - (703) 435-6521 – kbeavers@reston.org.
Given some high turnover, it’s a good idea to check RA's website (www.Reston.org) if you need to reach out to our current advisor. Go to “Property Owners Resources,” then “Design Review.” At the bottom of the page click on the blue link for “Covenants Team and Appointments.” On the right side of that page, select “Advisor Assignments.” An excel spreadsheet will download. Look for “Fairgreen Cluster,” (“Colts Neck Cluster” is a different cluster), then scroll over to the right to get the advisor's contact information.
Next fall we are due for a cluster wide inspection in the cluster by RA. Begin fixing your properties. If you have things on cluster common grounds which should not be there, they need to be removed. This includes wood piles, compost bins, wheelbarrows, or other items outside a fence. After Reston Association meets with the Board in the spring, we will furnish all information they provide us.
Sidewalk work on Colts Neck Court: The membership at the annual meeting voted to have JES perform work on Colts Neck Court to raise the main walks where they have gotten out of line and could be a trip hazard. This company and procedure was used for a smaller area on South Lakes Court last year and was successful. The cost for the Colts Neck Court work was $6,000 as a lot more slabs needed attention. Membership also voted to have any broken slabs fixed when the concrete company is here for the parking lot repairs. The JES work has been completed.
Parking lot repaving: The membership also approved the repaving of the parking lots next spring. We know it will be inconvenient being out of our spots for several days and we will do our best to make arrangements at the park and hopefully with the Golf Course. If you have somewhere else you can park, we suggest you do so, especially for second cars. The park will not hold everyone. We have the funds on hand to do this and want to be proactive before potholes form and the project becomes costlier. Mail trucks and trash trucks won't be able to enter during the work, and mail will have to be held and picked up at the post office or delivered after the work is completed. Try not to schedule Amazon deliveries either. We will have tow-trucks on standby and will tow anyone who has not vacated their spot when the work begins. We will provide everyone with further details as soon as we can, so stay tuned come spring.
The membership also voted at the annual meeting to ask Reston Association for a conceptual approval for additional parking spaces on Colts Neck Court from the right of the mailboxes to where the current parking in front of 2117 begins. That application has been filed with Reston Association and will go before the DRB January 28, 2020. Any owners wishing to express concerns about this project should contact Kelly Beavers at kbeavers@reston.org.
Other Trash Reminders: Shorter days mean trash can be put out earlier, however please be mindful that no trash, including yard waste, should be put out prior to dark the night before pickup. Please retrieve your trash cans on the days of pickup. If you will be out of town, ask a neighbor for help. Remember that trash cans should be either on your decks or screened from view with appropriate plants. With permission, RA will grant approval for certain wooden screens. No trash cans are permitted on the sides of end units.
You can schedule a pickup with American Disposal for furniture and other large non-metallic household items (not to exceed 2 cubic yards total in volume) on your second collection day each week. There will be an extra charge for special pickups that exceed 2 cubic yards total in volume, and for the pickup of ferrous metals/white goods such as stoves, refrigerators (all CFC’s should be removed prior to pick-up), washers, dryers, hot water tanks, and other bulky metallic items. Special pickups need to be scheduled with American Disposal in advance, and you must make arrangements for the payment for those pickups. The cluster does not pay for personal charges. The number for American Disposal is (703) 368-0500.
Recycling: Recycling can be put out in the bins provided by the company or in your own personal rolling recycling bins which can be purchased from Home Depot, Lowes, etc. All recyclables should be clean and rinsed well. Dirty recycling can cause us to lose this service so all please pay attention to what is permissible. Please check the cluster website for recyclable items or American Disposal's website and consider the information presented as you put out your recyclables.
Although we have not yet received notice that American Disposal is not collecting glass, some companies have already begun this practice as Fairfax County is no longer accepting it. The county has installed purple collection bins at various sites throughout the county. The closest to us is one located at the back of the Park and Ride on the corner of Reston Parkway and Lawyers Road. Only bottles are accepted, and they are to be loose and not in bags. They need to be rinsed of food and beverage debris. Nothing else is permitted there. Should American Disposal no longer collect bottles you will be required to take them to the recycling dumpster as county ordinances still provide mandatory recycling of certain items, including glass.
If you have not signed up to be on the e-mail list in case of trash pickup changes (which can happen in the winter), now is a good time to let Debbie know you would like to be on this list. The trash company will not put their trucks on the road if the conditions are dangerous to their crews.
New officers for 2020: All were elected by acclamation. New officers elected at the November board meeting for 2020 are as follows:
President – Jenni Canning Jacyna
Vice President – Nancy Streiff
Secretary – Caroline Fitzpierce
Treasurer – Debbie Carroll
Member at Large – Atif Irfan
Upcoming Board meetings: Please check with board members if you wish to attend since there are times meetings are adjusted.
January 14 – 11852 South Lakes Court
February 11 – 2123 Colts Neck Court
March 10 – 2129 Colts Neck Court
April 14 – 11850 South Lakes Court
May 12 – 11856 South Lakes Court
June 9 – 11852 South Lakes Court
July – the Board generally does not meet in July unless necessary
August 11 – 11856 South Lakes Court
September 8 – 2123 Colts Neck Court
October 6– annual meeting at the Community Center
November 10 – 2129 Colts Neck Court
December – the Board generally does not meet in December unless necessary