NEWBERRY STATION HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION
** BOARD MEETINGS ARE NOW HELD ON THE FIRST WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH**
A. Pool
Company Misuse of Clubhouse: One resident complained that her neighbor found
the clubhouse in deplorable condition the day she rented it for a party a couple
weeks ago: towels and wet bathing suits strewn over chairs, unvacuumed floor,
overflowing trash cans, bathrooms dirty, and the refrigerator with leftover
food. In addition, there are reports that the A/C has been going all the time.
The Board said that it would revisit the pool contract next year to make it more
specific as to what the pool company can and cannot do with the facilities, and
what the proper pool procedures are. Beth said she received numerous alleged
violations of present company, including too few lifeguards, lifeguards not in
seat, opening pool late, having friends over while on duty, and taking extra
long breaks. But she is reluctant to refer other companies to us because they
can have excellent references from some locations, and do poorly in others.
B. Clubhouse Carpet Expense: One resident was alarmed at the price tag of over $800 to dry out and clean the carpet in May. Beth explained that our insurance deductible was $1000. The water heater had broken, flooding a good portion of the carpet. Service Master responded the next day they were called and, in addition to extracting the water and blow-drying the area, replaced a significant portion of the carpet pad. Deodorization and mildew treatment were also done, all in time for pool opening and Annual Meeting.
C. Playground Committee: One resident who signed up to head the Playground Committee asked for guidance from the Board: Could she get the company she found to survey the needs and submit an estimate? What is her budget? The Board decided to table any discussion of this committee until the other two members were present (Purvis had not arrived yet).
D. Parking Violations: A Shannon’s Landing resident said that a Jet Ski had been parked in front of a house for weeks, in violation of bylaws. Also, a couple cars had expired tags and one car had parked for days in a common space. Beth said she would have cars towed if parked for more than 10 days in common space. She would also have cars with expired plates and the Jet Ski towed if found in violation.
E. Pet Servicing: A complaint that owners aren’t picking up dog droppings prompted the Board to ask Beth to include in a mailing (see Buildings and Grounds, below) a reminder of responsibility of pet owners to pick up after their leashed pets.
A. Inspections: Cardinal expects inspections to be mailed to residents in August. Beth reiterated that Architectural inspections aren’t in the management contract, only a comprehensive common site inspection.
B. Shed on Stationhouse: Cardinal said shed reduced in size, but wasn’t moved far enough away from the house. Since the AECC didn’t grant a variance on this, the Board said that the shed must either be moved an appropriate distance from the house or be taken down completely and re-built, if necessary. Status quo is unacceptable.
C. Shannon Landing Townhouse Fences: Association by-laws don’t require homeowners to erect a fence, since the contractor built fences for all Newberry Station townhouses making the requirement was unnecessary. Hence, no requirement exists for Shannon residents to erect fences, where the developer left all townhouses unfenced. The Board will consider amending the by-laws.
D. Approval Needed for Decks & Fences: The recent deck and fence built at Shannon Landing, by Hamilton Ct., didn’t get approval prior to construction. The house next to it just recently sought, and received AECC approval for building the same.
E. Architectural Inspection Prior to Selling: The Seller may request an AECC inspection prior to selling. Responsibility for completing the violations is determined at settlement.
A. Asphalt
work: The Board asked Brothers Paving to fill certain areas, paint curb yellow
that was missed on Trestle, smooth out drainage on Hamilton Ct., and re-paint
the Stop lettering. Upon completion, the Board will authorize Cardinal to make
final payment.
Brothers suggested the Board do an “overlay” in the future instead of patching
and surfacing. This consists of applying asphalt over existing road,
eliminating the need for more expensive milling. Up to four inches of asphalt
is applied in the middle of the road and then the surface is beveled toward the
gutter. Paving fabric is put on this beveled portion for durability, and road
drainage overall is enhanced.
B. Depression in Parking Space at 6924 Hamilton: Pooling of water caused by subsidence of ground at his site was beyond the scope of the asphalt paving project. Will require demolition of adjacent curb, sidewalk, and pavement; additional fill material; and reconstruction of curb, sidewalk, and pavement. Board will decide at a later date whether to proceed with a fix.
C. Utility Lines: Laura will walk grounds to get addresses and precise locations of exposed lines so that cable and telephone companies can repair/bury them.
D. Split-Rail Fence on Hamilton: Mark and Brandon will survey Shannon Landing homeowners whose property abuts the fence to get their views on the fence. They will summarize their findings prior to next Board meeting so that a decision can be made as to the disposition of the fence and tentative landscaping requirements. The majority of Newberry residents seem to want removal.
E. Drainage Problem: Drainage repair behind 6920 Hamilton was not done properly, but Cardinal paid VA Contracting. Newberry HOA didn’t authorize Cardinal to pay, and Brandon believes that the Cardinal inspector at the time was unhappy with work. Beth will contact this employee, who she believes has leverage to get VA Contracting to re-do the job, since the company does a lot of business with Cardinal.
F. Tree Pruning: Cardinal requested bid from Springfield Nursery for general tree pruning, but hadn’t received it as of meeting time.
G. Front-yard Stumps: Stumps must either be removed or cut down to ground level.
H. Plats for Individual Lots: Board will have Cardinal request plats from the County for two or three lots where responsibility for retaining wall repair is in doubt, rather than get plats for the whole community. The Board will use the plats to determine whether repairs are on common ground or private property, and act accordingly.
I. Landscape Common Area: Cardinal should request a bid from Springfield Nursery to landscape a bare patch of ground near 6901 Trestle.
J. Hedges by Stationhouse Mailbox: Board decided not to act on Springfield Nursery bid to remove hedges from around mailbox, which Cardinal requested, since majority of residents present prefer to retain the hedges.
K. Area Behind Trestle Ct, odd #s: Springfield Nursery needs to trim and clean up this section of the grounds.
L. Realtor Signs: these “open house” and “directional” signs are allowed on common ground as long as the company removes them the same day.
M. New Mailboxes?: Only if development is new. We can’t get ‘em because ours don’t need replacement.
N. Clubhouse Roof: Board is going to find out when and how much of the roof was replaced after the fire damage a few years ago. Then the Board will then proceed with a bid for that portion only. The bid obtained by Cardinal seemed too high, and possibly unnecessary.
O. New Trash Hours: Cardinal sent letter to Nightingale documenting trash company’s agreement to pick up trash at the new hours of 7:00 to 11:00 AM.
P. Letter for Trash, Pet Servicing, and Parking Violations: Cardinal will send a letter to all residents informing them of new trash removal hours (7-11 AM); proper servicing of leashed pets; prohibited vehicles in parking spaces; and the importance of maintaining current plates, inspections, and property stickers on vehicles.
Covered under Open Forum, above.
A. The Slate of Officers was postponed until next meeting.
B. Richmond Home Requested Repairs/Restoration: Cardinal has sent 3 letters to Richmond requesting a meeting concerning the proposed path and a number of landscaping issues, such as the removal and replacement of dead trees by the road. Richmond hasn’t responded. If no response is forthcoming from 28 July 05 letter, the Board will consider appealing to Gerry Hyland’s office and/or going to the County to request that Richmond not be released from its bond until said items are done.
IX. Adjournment
1. Bring by-laws to the September meeting so that the Board can see about amending them to require residents to erect fences in all townhouse sites.
2. Bring a copy of the existing management contract for reference in case of misunderstanding about the terms, such as who is responsible for inspections.
3. Bring reading file (e-mail) to each meeting.
4. Ask Brothers to complete repairs as outlined in these minutes.
5. Send letter to residents on trash, pet droppings, and parking violations (See B & G, above).
6. Request bid to landscape bare area by 6901 Trestle.
7. Contact Virginia Contracting to properly repair the drainage problem behind 6920 Hamilton at no additional expense to Newberry Station HOA (see B & G, above)
8. Follow up on letter to Richmond Homes. Decide which items should still be addressed if they agree to a meeting:
a. There is a Verizon box with no lock on it between Shannon’s Landing Way and the flood plain.
b. The pine trees between the new houses and existing houses on Trestle Ct need to be moved.
c. We need to make an effort to contact all homeowners with another welcome letter.
d. There is dead grass in the new part of the community and needs to be replaced.
e. RAH has removed some of the trees and replanted them on the other side of the property line, but now some of them are on people’s property or in front of areas that should be their gate.
f. The drainage from the new development is still a problem. The runoff from the new houses to the existing house’s yards is getting worse. The water now meanders between the yards like a river.
g. Signs need to be placed around the storm retention pond in the new section of the community.
h. The board has decided that the path from the new community will be placed next to 6920 Trestle Ct.
i. Trees have been marked for removal that have caused problems for people exiting the community.