We hope that this Summer Newsletter finds you staying safe and healthy. While the Board has not been able to meet (more on that later,) we do have some important updates for you!
Postponed until next year: The redo of the parking lot, which would keep us all out of the lots for about four days, has been postponed until next year. Although this work is badly needed due to weeds and grass now growing through widening cracks, the Board decided that we should not ask residents to move from the parking lots while many are working from home. We were in the pre-bid meeting stage when the state shut down and while our consultant advised that waiting until next year will add costs, we believe we have enough funds to cover that delay.
Also postponed until next year is the Reston Association inspection of our properties, so you now have another year to get everything in shape. Take a good look at your properties and see what needs to be done. Some things to consider:
Decks needing painting
Fences needing repairs
Items installed on the outside which were done without RA approval
Doors needing a coat of paint
Gutters coming loose
Fire walls needing to be power washed
Ivy growing up houses
These are just a few suggestions – anything on the outside of your home should be evaluated to see what you think needs to be done.
Treasurer's report: Only one homeowner is delinquent at the time of this newsletter.
Fairfax County Leash Laws: Please remember that when you’re out with your dog, it must be kept on a leash. Fairgreen Cluster adheres to Fairfax County’s Leash Laws:
Section 1. Leash laws enforced. Dogs are not allowed to run loose in Fairgreen Cluster and must be on a leash at all times when outside of the owner's unit. All property within Fairgreen Cluster shall be subject to the leash laws imposed by Fairfax County and signs to that effect will be placed at both entranceways.
Help protect your dog, as well as other residents’ dogs by keeping them safely on their leashes!
Yes, we have had issues with the trash. We hope everyone has signed up for the cluster e-mail distribution list. When we have information about a delay in trash it is sent out via e-mail as soon as we receive notice from American Disposal. Trash companies performing residential service are experiencing way more trash which fills the trucks faster thus requiring more trips to the landfill. We were advised early in the quarantine that there was at least a 30% increase in residential trash with people home all day.
Our yard waste day has been moved from Wednesday to Fridays although there have been days they moved that to Saturday. Some of those Saturdays have been missed. When it is missed, as long as Debbie knows, she contacts the trash company. Yard waste is only to be put out in paper compostable bags. You should not be using the clear plastic bags. The county, as well as trash companies, have phased out taking plastic bags. Brush is only taken when it is bagged or clearly tied in bundles no longer than 4 feet. The tied bundles must hold together when picked up. The trash company will empty trash cans which clearly are marked “yard waste” and they cannot weigh more than 50 pounds.
Recycling: We have been advised that although our trash company is currently still taking glass in the recycling, that will stop in the new future. They will notify us of that date. They have provided a new flyer even though we have not yet been advised that glass is not being accepted. They say glass can then go in the trash, although Fairfax County ordinance still requires recycling glass, but their website now shows the following so apparently the ordinance has not yet caught up:
https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/publicworks/recycling-trash/minimum-residential-recycling-requirements
The website mentioned above has resources for single-family homes and townhomes, and covers the following categories of recycling:
Cardboard & Mixed Paper
Metal Food & Beverage Containers
Plastic Bottles & Jugs
Appliances: Contact your collector for set out instructions. You may be charged an additional fee for the collection of appliances.
For those who want to recycle glass, there are two purple glass recycling bins at the rear of the park and ride lot on the corner of Reston Parkway and Lawyers Road. We’re unsure of how long it stays, as it appears that dumping is beginning there like when the recycling bins were there several years ago. Due to the dumping they were removed.
Should you be conscious of efforts to maintain the planet and wish to pay for a service to pick up your glass, there is a company now providing this service and they have several packages available:
Please try to be sure all your recyclables are secure in your containers. On windy days things often blow about. Some residents have now purchased large, closed lid rolling containers. They are sold at Home Depot and various places online, including Amazon. They will empty any recycling bin clearly marked with the recycling emblem. Remember that if you’re using the company-provided bins, that they must be returned at the end of the contract. If you purchase your own bigger bin, be sure to contact the American Disposal to return your bin or save it until the contract with them is no longer in service.
No trash, including yard waste, should be put out prior to dark, the night before pickup. The days are longer, so that time to put trash out is later. And summer means kinds of wildlife, some of which get into the trash. Lately there have been sightings of a fox, raccoons, a skunk, and not to mention the usual squirrels and chipmunks. The deer are clearly around and now enjoying many yard plants for their late-night snack. There are some repellents you can spray on your plants which will make them go to your neighbors! Several residents have seen a hawk here lately and one resident got this photo.
Cluster trees: If you are out taking a walk take note of tress in the cluster where ivy is growing up them. Ivy will kill our trees. Our tree costs continue to increase due to things we cannot control – white pines reaching the end of their lifespan and lately oak boring insects killing several huge oaks. However, we can control the ivy. If you see ivy growing up trees, take clippers out the next time you walk and cut the ivy at the base. If it easily comes off the tree, you can pull it down, but it will die once it is cut back at the base. Ivy is invasive and any new planting of English ivy is prohibited in Reston, as are other certain species of invasive plants. Check Reston Association's website for those plants before you purchase new ones for your yard:
2021 – Brood X Cicadas return. Keep in mind before you plant new trees or young shrubs this year that next year will be return of the 17-year cicadas. There will be thousands of them, or if WTOP is correct– trillions. Those who have been here through these invasions know the noise will be deafening as the males attempt to mate. They are rather big and ugly and a few of what they call stragglers are about this year. Brood IX is hitting other parts of the state and country this year. Adult cicadas crawl out of the ground in huge numbers and perch on tree trunks and limbs. Then they crawl out of their flaky shells with newly formed wings. Their shells will be everywhere. They will cut the ends of tree branches which will hang with dead leaves until they eventually fall off, often in the fall.
An excerpt from the article:
"Brood 10 is what D.C.-area residents have to worry about, especially if they’re planting any trees or shrubs this year or next.
'We’re going to be the epicenter of emergence that ranges from Georgia to New England, and there will simply be trillions of cicadas emerging' Raupp said." (Mike Raupp, an entomologist known as “The Bug Guy” at the University of Maryland, College Park.)
"That’s why he is advising against planting any new trees before next fall, especially fruit trees.
'Don’t plant this spring, don’t plant this fall, don’t plant next spring, because these trees are going to simply get hammered next year when those cicadas show up,' Raupp said.
Instead, he added, wait until the fall of 2021.
Though that advice comes a little late for some people, there is a backup plan.
'The thing to do is next year — next spring, by the middle or end of April — you’re going to purchase netting,' Raupp said. 'Or fine netting with net sizes about maybe a centimeter or less, and cover those trees entirely. This will protect those trees.'
He said netting works far better than pesticides.
'If you’re going to put small trees and shrubs in the ground this year, make sure by next April that we go ahead and get those things covered up, because when those cicadas emerge, they’re going to be looking for wooden stems about the size of my pinkie to lay their eggs in,' Raupp said."
Parking: The DMV should be returning to conduct business although appointments will probably need to be made if you cannot conduct your transaction online. Your cars need to have the appropriate current inspection stickers and current license decals. The State did provide a grace period of 90 days at the beginning of the pandemic. Check your cars to be sure you are current with both. If not, please take the necessary action to bring cars into compliance. License renewals can be conducted online up to 90 days beyond the expiration date. After that you will need to make an appointment with the DMV. Inspection stations are continuing to do safety inspections and emissions inspections.
Additionally, on parking, since more of us are now working from home, try to park without the nose (or rear) of your car over the curb. This allows more room for the landscaping crew to cut that strip of grass between the walk and parking lot.
Board meetings: The Board has been unable to meet during the pandemic but hopes to be able to get back on track shortly. See the website for meeting dates and locations.
Everyone, please do all you can to stay safe. Check on your neighbors and see if they need assistance. As the new saying goes: "We are all in this together".
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