“Nature and Community in Harmony”
VOLUME 42, NO.4
THE BURKE CENTRE CONSERVANCY
APRIL 2015
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY: CLIFF WHITMER
Early Birds Get the Worm & the Savings...
Best Discount of the Season - Burke Centre Pool
Membership Early Bird Resident Rates - ($110-EB;
$140-Regular Season Family; $60-EB Single;
$75-Regular Season Single)
Deadline 5 PM on April 30, 2015
See page 16 for more info...
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
BURKE, VA
PERMIT NO. 853
BURKE CENTRE ELECTION RESULTS
Your 2015-2016 Board of Trustees
PICTURED LEFT TO RIGHT: Renee Mumford, Landings Trustee; Brenda Trask, Woods Trustee; Marc Flaster - Board Treasurer & Commons Trustee; Susan Lukas Board President & Trustee At-Large; Anita Musser - Board Vice President & Oaks Trustee; Brian Engler, Trustee At-Large; and Lee Schmidt - Board Secretary & Ponds Trustee
L MEMBERSHIP!
SOM EON E WIL L WIN A FAMILY POO
Annual Cluster Committee
Orientation
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
7:30 PM, Woods Community Center
10100 Wards Grove Circle
T
he Annual Cluster Committee Orientation is open to all new and
returning cluster committee members. Sign up now to come to the
Conservancy’s cluster orientation on Tuesday, May 12, 7:30 PM, at the
Woods Community Center. Meet your 2015 Conservancy Board of Trustees,
fellow cluster volunteers, and Conservancy Executive Director and staff.
Didn’t sign up as a 2015 Cluster Committee Member? No problem - the
orientation is open to any resident with an interest in representing their cluster,
or someone who just wants to learn more about the basics of Burke Centre
governance and the services available through the Conservancy.
Informational handouts will be provided by the various departments and
staff members will be on hand to answer your questions. Enjoy displays and
refreshments, and enter to win a door prize such as a Family Pool Membership!
Please RSVP by May 8th to Rita at (703) 978-2928; or by email to rita@
burkecentre.org. You can also register on-line at www.burkecentreweb.com
using the Events RSVP form found under the e-forms link.
PAGE 2
2015-2016 Elected Cluster Reps
COMMONS NEIGHBORHOOD:
• Seville Commons Cluster Committee: Mark Capozzoli, Tim Leslie, Jack Lyons,
Adam Tracy, Julia Warren
• Walden Commons Cluster Committee: Marc Flaster, Carole Skole
LANDINGS NEIGHBORHOOD:
• Burke Cove/Cove Landing Cluster Committee: Marshall Mutumanje, Joshua
Smith
• Burnside Landing Cluster Committee: Cory Dixon, Michelle Dixon, George
Nunez, Martine Nunez, Frances Spence, Gerald Weigand, John Wertman
• Eagle Landing Cluster Committee: Sam DiBartolo, Shirley DiBartolo, Anthony
Kanellis, Elaine Kanellis, Mike Searson,
• Forest Landing Cluster Committee: Esther Beck, Steve Iselin, Pamela Mack,
Terry Murtaugh, Rod Walsh
• Martins Landing Cluster Committee: Laura Donahoo
• Powells Landing Cluster Committee: Cathy Cronin
• Waters Edge Landing Cluster Committee: Christopher Benner, Richie Busigo,
Bill Delaney, Marge Greene , Derek Harris, Joe Showers, Mark Siemer, Ann
Vaughn
• Woodwalk Landing Cluster Committee: Kevin Morse, Donna Roy, Dave
Saunders, Michael Walsh
OAKS NEIGHBORHOOD:
• Bear Oak Cluster Committee: Cindy Aloise, Francie Meade, Diane
Schnurrpusch, Gary Schnurrpusch, Kirk Streitmater, Mary Streitmater, William
Sinnott
• Burr Oak Cluster
CLUSTERS continued on page 12...
THE BURKE CENTRE CONSERVATOR
APRIL 2015
CONSERVANCY BUSINESS
Free Local Shredding
T
he Fairfax County Solid Waste Management
Program sponsors one secure document
shredding event in each supervisory district
per calendar year. These events are only open to
Fairfax County residents along with residents of
the Towns of Vienna, Herndon and Clifton and the
Cities of Fairfax and Falls Church. Documents from
businesses will not be accepted.
Accepted Items: Residential material of a sensitive
nature such as tax documents, ﬁnancial records, etc.
(Please recycle junk mail and magazines through your
normal collection service.). Up to ﬁve medium-sized
packing boxes per vehicle accepted.
Prohibited Items: BINDERS of any type (3-ring,
plastic, spiral, metal), plastic document covers, wet or
moist paper, hanging ﬁle folders with metal support
bars, metal binder clips, electronic media including
computer disks and diskettes or CDs, books, either
hardback or paperback, credit cards, magazines,
catalogs and newspapers (unless just the page with the
address), ﬁlm or photographs. Fairfax County will not
shred documents for businesses – even if documents
are delivered by an employee who is a county
resident. These events are only for residents to destroy
sensitive material they have from their home. If you
require written certiﬁcation of document destruction,
it is recommended that you contract individually with
a shredding service provider.
rolling carts. Once full, the carts are taken to the shredding truck
where they are emptied into a shredder. All documents are crosscut shred on-site, by a private contractor, on the day of the event.
Following the event, all paper is delivered to a local recycling facility
for processing. Written certiﬁcation of shredding will not be provided.
For additional information, please contact 703-324-5230, TTY 711.
The Burke Centre Conservancy will also host a free community
shredding afternoon on May 9 for Conservancy members only.
Storm Drain Safety for April
T
here are many storm water management basins or ponds, and
other drainage structures and channels located throughout the
property in the Burke Centre Conservancy. While not all of
these areas are designed to hold water on a continual basis, even these
dry ponds and basins can pose a risk of harm, especially to children,
when certain conditions are present.
Parents and others are asked to remind children to be cautious around
all storm water management ponds and facilities, and children should
be instructed not to go in the water. Many of these areas are subject
to dramatic and rapid changes during ﬂood events and these areas can
create hazardous conditions including sudden drop-offs, subsurface
currents and the risk of entanglement due to vegetation or debris
within the pond or facility.
Parents are reminded to not allow children to play in or around
any storm water management pond or facility, especially after any
heavy rainfall or when drainage areas are holding water. When these
drainage areas contain water, they are often muddy and may appear
shallow. However, these areas often have the capacity to hold water
deep enough to present a drowning risk to anyone that may enter the
area.
2015 Shredding Event Dates: All shredding events
are held from 8 AM-Noon:
• April 25: North County Human Service Center,
1850 Cameron Glen Drive, Reston 20190
If you notice a drainage area that appears to be clogged, ﬂooded or
• May 16: South County Governmental Center,
holding water for an inordinate amount of time, contact the County’s
8350 Richmond Hwy., Alexandria 22309
Storm Water Management Division at (703) 877-2800, and the
• June 20: Cooper Middle School, 977 Balls Hill
Conservancy ofﬁce at (703) 978-2928. You may also ﬁll out a request
Rd., McLean 22101
form online at: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/
• July 18: Oakton High School, 2900 Sutton Rd.,
environmental/swm_pond_form.htm for non-urgent reports.
Vienna 22181
• Aug. 15: Mt Vernon High
Architecutral Review Board (ARB) Stats for March 2015
School, 8515 Mt. Vernon Rd.,
Alexandria 22309
• Sept. 19: Springﬁeld
Governmental Center, 6140
Rolling Rd., Springﬁeld 22152
• Oct. 17: Sully District
Governmental Center, 4900
Stonecroft Blvd., Chantilly
20151
• Oct. 24: Braddock District
Governmental Center, 9002
Burke Lake Rd., Burke 22015
BURKE CENTRE CONSERVANCY
“Nature & Community in Harmony”
6060 Burke Centre Parkway
Burke, VA 22015-3702
Oﬃce Phone: (703) 978-2928
Oﬃce Fax: (703) 978-1073
Web Site: www.burkecentreweb.com
Conservancy Oﬃce Hours
Monday-Friday: 9:00 am-5:00 pm
Saturday: 9 am-Noon (RecepƟon services only)
Assessment Mailing Address
Payment Processing Center
P.O. BOX 105007
Atlanta, GA 30348
CONSERVANCY VOLUNTEERS
All Board and committee/organization members are volunteers; not paid employees of
the Conservancy. When you contact these
fellow residents, please remember that they
are volunteering their own time to serve the
Burke Centre community. Thank you!
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
COMMONS: MARC FLASTER, Treasurer
[email protected]
LANDINGS: RENEE MUMFORD
[email protected]
OAKS: ANITA MUSSER, Vice Pres.
[email protected]
PONDS: LEE SCHMIDT, Secretary
[email protected]
WOODS: BRENDA TRASK
[email protected]
AT-LARGE: SUSAN LUKAS, President
[email protected]
AT-LARGE: BRIAN ENGLER
[email protected]
APPEALS BOARD
DENIS GULAKOWSKI, Chairman
COLEEN CHESTERMAN
KEN MUSSER
MERRILL PHELAN
GREG SMITH
ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW BOARD
BLAKE MYERS, CHAIR (Ponds)
[email protected]
BO NORTON, VICE CHAIR (Ponds)
CINDY OGREN (Woods)
NANCY WADE (Oaks)
TOM WADE (At-Large)
ARB Applica on Deadline:
5 PM on 4/2 for APR mee ngs
5 PM on 5/5 for MAY mee ngs
Conservancy Management Team
PATRICK GLOYD, ExecuƟve Director
([email protected])
Procedures: Residents drive
through a line as directed by staff.
For safety reasons, residents MUST
remain in their vehicles. County
staff will remove boxes from cars
and trucks and empty paper into
APRIL 2015
Jeannie Winslow, Director of AdministraƟon
([email protected])
Karen Frank, Finance Administrator
([email protected])
Jack Liszka, FaciliƟes & Resources Administrator
([email protected])
THE BURKE CENTRE CONSERVATOR
PAGE 3
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
The following summarizes the March 11 & 12, 2015 Board meetings, and the 2015 Annual Meeting. Please note
the Annual Meeting minutes will not be approved until the next Annual Meeting on March 10, 2016. Please contact the Conservancy ofﬁce at 703-978-2928, [email protected], if you have any questions.
Board Briefs - March 11,
2015 DRAFT
(Please note the ofﬁcial minutes will not be ﬁnalized
until they are approved at the next Board of Trustees
meeting on April 9, 2015.)
GENDA APPROVAL: Vice President
Musser called the meeting to order at 7:35
PM. Following review, Trustee Engler made
a motion, seconded by Treasurer Flaster, to approve
the agenda as presented. The motion was approved
unanimously, 5 yes votes. Treasurer Flaster made
a motion, seconded by Trustee Engler, to excuse
Trustee Hoefke from the meeting. The motion passed
unanimously, 5 yes votes.
A
MINUTES APPROVAL: Following review,
Treasurer Flaster made a motion to approve the
minutes of the February 12, 2015 Board of Trustee
minutes as presented. The motion was seconded by
Trustee Engler and passed unanimously, 5 yes votes.
PRESIDENTS REPORT & ANNOUNCEMENT:
Vice President Musser announced the following
upcoming events: a New Resident Welcome Reception
on March 18 and the ARB Standards Revision Town
Hall Meeting on March 24. Trustee Engler announced
the Spring Book Sale at the Burke Centre Library
from March 19-21.
RESIDENT INPUT: None received.
NEW BUSINESS:
Annual Meeting Agenda Review: Following review
and discussion, Trustee Engler made a motion,
seconded by Trustee Trask, to approve the draft
Annual Meeting agenda as presented. The motion
passed unanimously, 5 yes votes.
Draft Election Results: The Board reviewed the draft
election results provided by the third-party electronic
voting vendor.
Business Liaison Committee Businesses re:
Advertising: Following a lengthy discussion, Trustee
Trask made a motion, seconded by Secretary Schmidt,
to direct the staff to work with the Business Liaison
Committee to develop advertising beneﬁts for Burke
Centre businesses as discussed, to be presented to
the Board at a future meeting. The motion passed
unanimously, 5 yes votes.
TREASURER’S REPORT: The report was deferred
pending the presentation of the audit at the Annual
Meeting on March 12, 2015.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT: Mr. Gloyd
PAGE 4
advised that Marla Diaz, Conservancy legal counsel,
was named a partner at Whiteford, Taylor & Preston,
and that Rich Stang, a partner at DeLeon & Stang,
Conservancy auditors, was elected as President of the
Corporate Volunteer Council of Montgomery County.
Treasurer Flaster requested that John Miranda be
recognized at the April Board of Trustees meeting for
his service on the Budget & Finance Committee.
Trustee Engler made a motion, seconded by Treasurer
Flaster, to excuse President Lukas from the meeting.
The motion passed unanimously, 5 yes votes.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned by
unanimous consent at 8:10 PM.
explained the audit and reported on the sound ﬁscal
position of the Conservancy. Mr. DeLeon responded
to numerous questions regarding funding levels
of the reserve fund, cash balances, Conservancy
income, assets, revenue levels, and the Conservancy’s
tax status and liability. Mr. Gloyd also responded
to questions regarding income sources for the
Conservancy
MEMBERS FORUM: Susan Gaertner (Landings)
asked for an update on the cell tower that was
approved for installation near Kohl’s and the proposed
health club on Clara Barton Drive. Mr. Gloyd
provided updates on these projects. John Pak (Ponds)
commented on how well run the Conservancy was
and thanked the Board and staff for the work they do.
Sam DiBartolo (Landings) commented on the need
to pursue repaving for Coffer Woods Road. Several
residents commented on how to best address issues
arising from uncollected pet waste and efforts to
reduce the geese population in the community. There
was a discussion on the lack of trash and recycling
collection service during the recent inclement weather.
Discussion ensued regarding various methods
BOARD BRIEFS continued on next page ...
2015 Annual Meeting
Minutes Summary
March 12, 2015, 7:30 PM Woods CC
C
ALL TO ORDER: Patrick Gloyd
welcomed everyone to the meeting,
and then called for a motion to call the
2015 Annual Meeting to order. Sam DiBartolo
(Landings) made a motion, seconded by Bo
Norton (Ponds), to call the meeting to order. The
motion was approved by unanimous consent.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF ELECTION
RESULTS: Mike Gropman, Chairman of the
Election Committee, announced winners of
the 2015 election for Board of Trustees: Susan
Lukas, At-Large Trustee; Brian Engler, AtLarge Trustee; Marc Flaster, Commons; Renee
Mumford, Landings; Anita Musser, Oaks; Lee
Schmidt, Ponds and Brenda Trask, Woods.
Mr. Gloyd thanked Mr. Gropman, and noted that
Ms. Trask had been re-elected as Woods Trustee
as a write-in candidate.
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: Mr. Gloyd
called for a motion to approve the 2014 Annual
Meeting minutes. Following review, John Pak
(Woods) made a motion, seconded by Kevin
Morse (Landings), to approve the minutes. The
motion was approved by unanimous consent.
PRESENTATION OF THE FY 2014 AUDIT
REPORT: Al DeLeon of DeLeon & Stang
reported that the Conservancy received a clean
audit rating without any areas of concern with an
unqualiﬁed opinion based on GAAP (Generally
Accepted Accounting Principals). Mr. DeLeon
THE BURKE CENTRE CONSERVATOR
APRIL 2015
BOARD BRIEFS
BOARD BRIEFS
continued from page 4
that could be implemented to alert the community
when service has been suspended. Residents also
commented on the snow removal operations during
the recent storm.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS REPORT: Mr. Gloyd
discussed the routine items that make up the daily
operations of the various Conservancy departments:
Facilities & Resources, Finance, and Administration,
which includes the Community Services-ARB,
Community Services-Activities functions. He also
noted that the Burke Centre Conservancy could not
operate at the level it does without the efforts of the
many community volunteers that contribute their time.
ADJOURNMENT: Mr. Gloyd called for a motion
to adjourn the meeting. Bo Norton made the motion,
seconded by Kevin Morse, and it passed unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at 8:45 PM.
Board of Trustees Meeting
Summary – March 12, 2015
C
ALL TO ORDER: Mr. Gloyd introduced
the 2015 Board of Trustees: Commons
Trustee - Marc Flaster; Landings Trustee Renee Mumford; Oaks Trustee - Anita Musser; Ponds
Trustee - Lee Schmidt; Woods Trustee - Brenda Trask;
APRIL 2015
At-Large Trustee - Brian Engler and At-Large TrusteeSusan Lukas.
SEATING OF THE NEW BOARD & ELECTION
OF OFFICERS: Trustee Lukas called the meeting to
order at 9:05 PM. Trustee Mumford made a motion,
seconded by Trustee Flaster, to approve the following
slate of ofﬁcers: President - Susan Lukas; Vice
President - Anita Musser; Secretary - Lee Schmidt;
and Treasurer - Marc Flaster. The motion was
approved unanimously, 7 yes votes.
President Lukas thanked everyone present for
attending the meeting. She then noted that Marla
Diaz had recently been named a partner at Whiteford,
Taylor & Preston.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: By unanimous consent
the meeting was adjourned into an Executive Session
at 9:07 PM for a legal brieﬁng. The regular meeting
reconvened at 10:15 PM.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned by
unanimous consent at 10:20 PM.
BCC Web Access
R
equest online access at www.
burkecentreweb.com using
eForms under the HOME tab.
THE BURKE CENTRE CONSERVATOR
Business Liaison
Committee
M
eets once per month - typically on the
ﬁrst Wednesday of the month, 7:30
PM, Ponds Community Center. Please
check with the Conservancy ofﬁce if you have
any questions.Open for all Burke Centre Business
Owners and Managers to attend. Visit COMMUNITY at www.burkecentreweb.com for local
business listings.
Many thanks to the BLC for their assistance at
the recent Welcome Event, held on March 18.
A huge thanks to the following businesses that
also helped to sponsor the event by providing
outstanding door prizes for new residents to win
throughout the evening:
BC Conservancy - Family Pool Membership
Burke VFW Post 5412 - American Flag
Five Star Jewelers - $50 gift card (see ad p. 8)
Girl Scouts - Cookies!
Gymboree - 1 month membership
Select Heating & A/C - Honeywell Thermostat
Sherwin Williams - $50 gift card
Please see page 15 for event photos & details...
PAGE 5
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
THE COMMONS
BY MARC FLASTER
Treasurer & Commons Trustee
W
ith spring’s arrival, a new Board of
Trustees takes shape, and this year we
welcome Renee Mumford, the Landings
Trustee, who takes over this position from Brian
Engler, now an at-large trustee. I look forward to
working with Renee, who brings a fresh face and
outlook to our board. But before I get into the heart
of the column, I would like to thank the residents of
the Commons, who once again have selected me to
be their trustee. I much appreciate the conﬁdence that
you have shown in me over the years.
Over the next month or so, the 2015 Board will reach
consensus on our goals for this year. You will hear
more about this as they are developed, but in this
space, I’d like to call your attention to the following
three issues that will impact the Board and the
community this year.
 ARB Standards. By the time you receive this
newsletter, the March 24 town hall on the new
ARB standards will have taken place. Once that
event occurs, the next step is for the Board to vote
PAGE 6
on the standards. As you know, we tend to revise
these wholesale about once every four or ﬁve
years. These standards have an important impact
on your property and affect any changes that you
wish to make to it. I urge everyone to review the
standards and voice any comments or concerns to
your trustee before they are voted into effect. Go to
your neighborhood council [on April 6, 7:30 PM,
Commons CC], ask questions, and suggest changes
if you believe they are needed. We will all have to
live with the new standards for the next ﬁve years,
and so the best time for input is before they are
adopted.
 2016 Budget. Yes, it seems like we just ﬁnished
this year’s budget discussions and agreed upon—
after a lot of work behind the scenes—a ﬂat rate for
the assessment at $127 a quarter. And we are not
going to begin the next cycle until sometime later
this spring. With continual increases in contracts,
fees, salaries, etc., I would be surprised if we
could retain the assessment at the same level for
next year. Much attention was given last year to
scrutinizing costs and I suspect we’re not going to
ﬁnd much that can be pared back this year.
So that leaves us with the income side to review.
We raised resident pool fees last year, and I
personally would not be supportive of another
THE BURKE CENTRE CONSERVATOR
raise at this time. But what about increasing the
rental rates for our community? Raising similar
charges for community events? Advertising rates
in the Conservator? These are all issues that the
Budget and Finance Committee members, and
Conservancy staff will be tackling this year. Your
ideas and suggestions are appreciated, and I urge
you to share them with your neighborhood trustee
as the budget develops over the year.
 Tree Survey and remediation work. Our community
has spent much money on the tree surveys and
remediation work for removing and replacing
trees of our aging community. And there’s much
more that needs to be done. Not all the surveys
have been completed, and we made a promise to at
least survey all of our clusters and condominium
communities. The question is: how much more
do we spend on this project? When does it end?
And at what expense to the other pressing needs
that we have in Burke Centre? And also that is
out there, is the fairness issue that while Burke
Centre’s condominium and co-opt communities
can share in the survey work, they have not been
included among the communities that are receiving
corrective tree treatment. I don’t have an answer
for these questions and I would appreciate hearing
from my residents on their views.
After a long winter that ended strongly, I trust that
we will have a pleasant spring before summer’s heat
arrives. I’ll check in with everyone next month.
APRIL 2015
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
THE PONDS
BY LEE SCHMIDT
Secretary & Ponds Trustee
A
h, Spring – what a delight is your
return!
Thank you, thank you, for returning me as your representative on the Burke Centre
Conservancy (BCC) Board of Trustees. I am proud to serve in this capacity and
appreciate your conﬁdence in me. Thanks. I am also so proud that this year there
are so many elected Cluster Committees.
I want to encourage everyone to “spruce up” their yards so to continue exhibiting
our high standard of “curb appeal”; thanks to everyone who helps keep BCC
looking so beautiful.
Some events in April you may be interested in:
•
April 7: West Springﬁeld Citizens Advisory Committee meeting: “Crash
Reconstruction Unit” at 7:30 PM at West Springﬁeld Police Station, 6140
Rolling Road.
•
April 8: “Legislative update” at Braddock District Council of Community
Associations meeting, 7:30 PM at Braddock Hall adjacent to Kings Park
Library, 9000 Burke Lake Road.
•
April 15: Last day to ﬁle/pay Federal taxes; Virginia taxes due May 1. Also
Aging in Place seminar at 7 PM in Braddock Hall adjacent to Kings Park
Library, 9000 Burke Lake Road.
•
April 23: Friends of the Burke Centre Library annual meeting, 7 PM at Burke
Centre Library, 5935 Freds Oak Road, with guest speaker Stone Brooks,
“What it’s like to run a used book store.”
•
April 24: Healthy Strides Expo, 4-7:30 PM at South Run Recreation Center,
Reservation Drive.
•
April 30: Last day to buy Early-Bird Pool Passes at BCC Ofﬁce, 6060 Burke
Centre Parkway.
Bike to Work Day
O
n Friday, May 15, 2015, Commuter
Connections and the Washington Area
Bicyclist Association invites you to join over
10,000 area commuters for a celebration of bicycling
as a clean, fun and healthy way to get to work. Bike to
Work Day is a free event for both new and experienced
bicycle commuters throughout the Washington
metropolitan region.
Those who register and attend one of 70 regional pit stops will receive a free Bike
to Work Day T-Shirt*, food, drinks, and a chance at winning bicycles or other great
rafﬂe prizes. (*T-Shirt supplies are limited to ﬁrst 11,000 who register).
Visit http://www.biketoworkmetrodc.org/ for more information or to register.
APRIL 2015
THE BURKE CENTRE CONSERVATOR
PAGE 7