“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
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