Village Crier - Old Town Village

Old Town
Village Crier
January Issue
Old Town Village, Alexandria, Virginia
2016
From the OTVOA Board of Directors
Gary Jacobs, OTVOA Secretary/Treasurer
Happy healthy new year to all of our friends, neighbors and hard
working volunteers. It’s been a challenging year but one
filled with a sense of inspiration and aspiration.
A special note of appreciation goes to our three
OTVOA Board named Volunteers of the Year:
Todd Moorman, John Roe and Janie Smith.
These three go about their work quietly and without fanfare and deserve our special thanks.
As a community, we are well positioned for the road
ahead. Our financial house is in order, our partnership with
the OTVCUOA Board is working well and our leadership team is
collegial and well balanced.
It’s really hard to please all the different interests in our community.
The key that I found to make it work is to be transparent within the
constraints of VA statute and our operating rules. As an example,
if Board members have a full time job, it’s incredibly challenging to
find time to discuss foundational issues with fellow board members
in order to formulate an individual position on a specific topic that
may lead to a broad action. As a volunteer, you can only do your
best given your personal and professional time constraints.
During my tenure on the board I have lived through two lawsuits,
one in which we, as board members, were sued personally. As a
volunteer working to improve our neighborhood, it’s incredulous to comprehend that something a board member
does to help fellow neighbors would lead to suits and
become so personal.
I appreciated the opportunity to serve, and I hope
you feel the board’s contributions have bettered our
community. OTV is a terrific place to live. It’s not only
our location in Old Town, but it’s our neighbors. I have
one more year of my three-year term and I am excited
to partner with Tom Lane and Jim Larocco as your Secretary/
Treasurer. Jim will be a great leader as incoming President.
I couldn’t end this without a special shout out to Steve Lindblom,
Tom Lane and Bob Hardiman for their guidance and help. The
same to our retained counsel, Michael Gartner, and to Hillary Lape
and Ron Purdy from L&N.
The next BOD meeting will be January 21 at 7 PM in the Roundhouse.
Two final thoughts: “Vision without execution is hallucination”. And
to thy own self be true..........
cloudarchitectmusings.com
Community Outreach
Activities Committee
Carpenter’s Shelter
This year’s Progressive Dinner was a huge success, and highly
attended! Thanks to Mary Farrell and to ALL those who cooked,
set up and cleaned up.
Priscilla Hardiman, Activities Committee Outreach
Betsy Aitken & Dani Lane, Committee Co-Chairs
In January we will collect coffee, tea and hot
chocolate for the Carpenter’s Shelter. Thanks
to all who generously contributed items for the
Carpenter’s Shelter Thanksgiving dinner. The
people at the shelter are most appreciative of
Old Town Village’s continued support.
Community Lodgings
December’s Holiday Party, with a host of Santa’s elves helping, also had record attendance, and raised over $2,300 for
the Child and Family Network. This highly rated local charity
greatly appreciates the support OTV gives each year. At this
fund raising event, it was so nice to see many new faces, as
well as old friends!
Community Lodgings is accepting small
household kitchen items (glasses, cookware, dishes and food storage containers)
only. Please leave your items in the designated box in the Roundhouse.
Our next meeting will be Monday, February 1 at 7 PM at the Roundhouse,
where we welcome new participants
and ideas, while planning for the widely
anticipated St. Patrick’s Day Party!
clker.com
Thanks for helping!
clipartpanda.com
clipartbest.com
January 2016
The Village Crier 2
Finance
Frank Van Haste, Committee Chair
The Finance Committee appreciates the help received from the
rest of the community in support of the preparation of the 2016
budget, which was approved by the Board of Directors at its November meeting. The budget for the coming year is in balance
(i.e., anticipated revenues = anticipated expenses) and does not
require an increase in our monthly assessments.
The Finance Committee meets at the Roundhouse on the first
Thursday of each month, at 7 PM. We welcome all members
of the community. (Incidentally, our December meeting was cancelled as the information we planned to discuss had not been
received from the Community Manager.) Our next meeting will
be on January 7.
The committee’s attention will now turn to our financial outcomes
for 2015 relative to the budget adopted a year ago. We’ve identified a number of expenditure areas where budget allocations
were exceeded by quite a bit, some due to unforeseen and uncontrollable events such as snow. We’ll analyze these accounts
and make recommendations to the Board of Directors for ways to
avoid repeating these issues in the coming year.
OTV 2016 Residents Directory
Corrections and Additions
HELP WANTED
The Finance Committee
is looking for two additional members. The
committee’s job is to support the board by preparing budgets, monitoring
financial activities and
recommending financial
policies and controls that
will maintain and improve
content.dynamicmessenger.com
our community’s financial health and integrity. You won’t have to show up with a finance
or accounting background (although we sure wouldn’t mind!), but
some familiarity with a spreadsheet is useful. You’d need to commit to one committee meeting each month and probably two or
three additional hours per month on average. If this sounds like
an area where you’d like to help the Townhome community, contact the Finance Committee Chair, Frank Van Haste, at frank@
vanhaste.com.
Grounds & Services
Peter Cuviello, Committee Chair
Tasks and services completed or planned for ongoing work include the following:
Townhome residents are reminded
to update their pertinent directory information on the Townhome web site
(www.oldtownvillage.org) by January.
This includes new family members,
new phone numbers or emails.
You must sign in with your password
to be able to change your information. If you have lost your password,
please contact Heidi Plott at hjp319@
earthlink.net for assistance.
•
Leaf pick-up continues as leaves continue to fall.
•
Bush trimming continues.
•
Tree trimming to be done Jan.-Feb. or whenever it gets and
stays cold.
•
Drainage project completed in the NW quadrant.
•
Irrigation project to be worked Jan.-Mar. 16.
fcgov.com
We are ready for the snow--if
it comes! We will have a frontend loader (skid) this year
to help move piles around.
Please see the new Snow
Management Plan in the
G&S portion of the OTVOA
web site. Also, take note of
the new/reemphasized parking spaces and parking rules
during snow events.
For more OTVOA Townhome news & information, visit the community web site:
oldtownvillage.org
January 2016
The Village Crier 3
Management
Book Club
It’s “hail and farewell” as the Management Committee begins
its 2016 work. Farewell to Jim Larocco, who rode his successful
committee chairmanship to the Presidency of the Townhouse
board. Farewell also to committee member Andy Caldwell, who
closed out five years of service to the committee by joining the
condominium board as its newest member. Congratulations to
both! And, hail to our two new committee members, townhome
member Pete Falco, and condominium member Karl Kalbacher, as well as to our new Chair, John Prevar, who retakes the
gavel after a previous stint.
For November the group read A Colder War by
Charles Cumming. The book presents the return
of MI6 agent Tom Kell in a twisting spy thriller
set in circumstances almost taken from current
events. Kell is propelled into the investigation of
the death of MI6’s most senior agent in Turkey.
He must unravel seemingly unrelated events,
investigate longtime friends, comrades and enemies and engage in emotional ties to discover the truth.
Jerry Lipson, Committee Secretary
Phyllis Sciacca & Heidi Plott, Club Co-Chairs
The Management Committee has gotten a good head start on
2016 by getting the contract for the pool season under its belt.
Community Pool Service again will handle all the chores. It
may seem early, but the pool season is not that far off.
Looking ahead, the committee has its
work cut out for it, starting with a decision
on replacement of the defunct elevator in
the Roundhouse. The committee ended
2015 examining several replacement
possibilities. The cost would not be inconsiderable, but fortunately funds are available in the shared reserves. Meanwhile,
pending a decision on the elevator, the
yechh.com
committee has put on hold earlier plans to
replace the Roundhouse furniture, which is beginning to show
its age.
The group’s discussion centered on the fast moving plot and
characters, with emphasis on the plausibility of both. While fun
and entertaining to read, several of the characters lacked depth
and the motivation of their actions were not well defined. The
twisting plot was found to be enjoyable along with the intertwining of events.
The next Management Committee meeting is scheduled for
January 13, 2016 at 7:00 PM in the Roundhouse. All are welcome.
December’s read was My Stroke of Insight: A
Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey by Jill Bolte
Taylor Ph.D., a Harvard-trained brain scientist. Dr. Jill, as she is known, was 37 when a
blood vessel broke in her brain causing a severe
bleed. She describes what she was thinking
and feeling during the stroke as she watched her
mind deteriorate whereby she could not walk,
talk, read, write, or recall any of her life. After 8 years of rehabilitation and persistence she completely recovers and gives a
TED talk (currently over 8 million views) in which she shares
her understanding of the relationships between the left and right
sides of the brain and her profound feelings of euphoria during
the stoke. This talk launched her book and she is now a sought
after lecturer.
2016 Committee Members
John Prevar, Chair, [email protected] (Condominiums)
Pete Falco, [email protected] (Townhomes)
Bruce Goldhirsch, [email protected] (Townhomes)
Priscilla Hardiman, [email protected] (Townhomes)
Karl Kalbacher, [email protected] (Condominiums)
Jerry Lipson, [email protected] (Condominiums)
The group found the descriptions of Dr. Jill’s stroke and recovery
fascinating and would have liked to have read more about the
details of her physical struggles, methods and trails during her
recovery. While the group understood her dedication to sharing
her experiences, her emphasis on her feelings of “nirvana” and
how to achieve it came off as more evangelizing than teaching.
The group rated both books 3 out of 5 stars.
Next OTVOA Townhome
Board Meeting
Thursday, January 21
7 pm, Roundhouse
Join Us!
January’s book is Sisters in Law: How Sandra Day O’Connor and
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed
the World by Linda Hirshman. In addition an alternate Supreme
Court book, Supreme Conflict by Jan Crawford Greenburg, can
be read. The meeting will be held on January 14 at 7:00 PM in
the Roundhouse. Please feel free to drop by!
The reading list for 2016 will be posted on the OTV website.
picstopin.com
For more OTVOA Townhome news & information, visit the community web site:
oldtownvillage.org
January 2016
The Village Crier Townhome Welcome
OTVOA Townhome 2015 Board of Directors
Jerri Ginman, Committee Chair
The Welcome Committee would like to thank everyone who attended the 2015 New Residents’ Reception in November for
making our new town home residents feel so welcome!
Please give a warm Old Town Village welcome to our newest
resident, Meg Cloyd, who arrived recently from Hawaii to her
new home on Roundhouse Lane. Meg brought her kitties from
Hawaii, Ziggy and Gooball (whom she did not name!) and all
are settling into their new townhome. Meg, daughter of our
long-time residents Dale and Carole Cloyd, is looking forward to pursuing some Potomac River rowing
in the spring. Welcome, Meg!
Jerri, Janie S., Lisa, Freda, Debby,
Joan, Patty, Janie P.
Welcome Committee
Communicate with the Board
STARTING IN JANUARY, please send
any email correspondence to any member of the OTVOA Board at otvboard@
gmail.com. The Board will no longer
respond to personal emails. This will
enable all members to receive communication at the same time and improve
efficiency.
Mah Jong Club at the Roundhouse!
President
Jim Larocco
703-684-1984
[email protected]
Vice President
Tom Lane
703-549-7676
[email protected]
Secretary/Treasurer
Gary Jacobs
703-717-9541
[email protected]
Committee Chairpersons
Activities
Dani Lane, Co-Chair
703-549-7676
[email protected]
Betsy Aitken, Co-Chair
703-739-6738
[email protected]
Architectural
Review Board
Todd Moorman
703-836-7760
[email protected]
Communications
VACANT
Safety & Security
Steve Cragg
703-535-1123
[email protected]
Finance
Frank Van Haste
703-881-6101
[email protected]
Grounds & Services
John Roe
703-837-0317
[email protected]
Management
Committee
Welcome
We play Tuesdays at 1:30 pm in the
Roundhouse. You can just show up or
if you have questions, email Shannon
Collins.
Book Club
John Prevar
703-684-7537
[email protected]
Jerri Ginman
571-970-2275
[email protected]
Phyllis Sciacca, Co-Chair
703-519-6779
[email protected]
Heidi Plott, Co-Chair
703-836-1736
[email protected]
Hope to see you soon!
Every Friday is a Great Friday in OTV!
Come join your neighbors every Friday
at the TGIF get-together.
7 pm in the Roundhouse.
Bring your own beverage and
a snack or sweet to share.
It’s great fun!
ALL OTV RESIDENTS
ARE INVITED!
Peter Cuviello
703-684-0455
[email protected]
Hardscape
Even if you’ve never played before, we’ll be happy to teach you
the in’s and out’s. We’re very easy-going and enjoy chatting as we
play, so don’t worry about a high-stress situation.
’re !
You vited
in
4
Young Families
Organization
Meredith Harris
615-498-4040
meredith.a.harris@gmail
Community Manager
Legum & Norman
Ron Purdy
703-970-8827
[email protected]
For more OTVOA Townhome news & information, visit the community web site:
oldtownvillage.org
Condominium Happenings
January 2016
Board of Directors
& Committee Chairs
for 2016
PAGE 5
The Village Crier 2015 in Review
PAGE 5
Majesty West Update
5
Next OTVC
Board Meeting
January 19, 2016
PAGE 7
From the OTVCUOA Board of Directors
Board of Directors & Committee Chairs for 2016
The OTV Condominium Unit Owners Association’s annual meeting took place on November 19 in the Roundhouse.
A total of 26 proxies were used to help establish a quorum. At the meeting the membership approved last
year’s minutes and voted by acclamation to elect Andy
Caldwell to the OTVC Board of Directors. During the
meeting, the board approved the 2016 Operating Budget
and the 2016 Reserve Fund. The board also approved
a year-end bonus for Carolyn Cornwell, our GHA Portfolio Manager, and for Francisco Lopez, our GHA Maintenance Technician.
The OTVC Board of Directors for 2016 is:
⇒⇒ Cheryl Van Coverden – President
⇒⇒ Bradley Russell – Vice President
⇒⇒ Antonella DiLernia – Treasurer
⇒⇒ Andy Caldwell – Secretary
⇒⇒ Dan Hawkins – Member-at-Large
The board would like to thank all those who served as
committee chairs and committee members during 2015.
The board named the following individuals to serve as
committee chairs during 2016:
⇒⇒ John Prevar – Management Committee
⇒⇒ Pam Verick – Grounds Committee
⇒⇒ Dana Williams – Welcome Committee
⇒⇒ Rene Shonerd – Website
⇒⇒ Janet Donahue – Condominium Editor and Crier
Layout
Shut-Off Valves & Balconies
The inspection of the main shut-off valve in each unit has
been completed. Owners will be notified by GHA in the
near future if their valve needs to be replaced.
The community received a nice Christmas present this
past month – the balcony project was completed right
before Christmas. Again we want to thank everyone for
their patience and understanding while the project was
underway. Given the results, this effort was well worth it!
2015 OTVC Board
Year in Review
Passed Resolutions:
1. Re-Establishment of Grounds
Committee
2. Cost Schedule
projectmanagementhacks.com
for Providing
Copies of Books
and Records
3. Record Keeping and Access to Records
4. Resolution Relating to Regulation of Hose Bibs,
Vales and Pipes
Continued Improvements to Buildings and Grounds:
• Completed restoration of balconies: installation
of Trex Select composite decking, ledger flashing, new joist hangers, new joists, new rim boards,
beam supplementary support, mending plates,
blocking supplement or replacement of existing
railing post blocking where needed. Project was
completed under budget
• Painted interior of all five buildings, updated all
exit signs, and installation of security mirrors in the
lobbies
• Sealed the building exteriors with caulking - WR
Restoration
• Installed new cement thresholds on main entrances
and individual unit owners – WR Restoration
• Replaced common area Heat Pumps - Wright
Mechanical Services
• Removed trees, trimmed and pruned, replaced of
several bushes
• Approved Grounds Committee’s Recommendation
of Building 1 pathway
• Installation of steel edging along sidewalk and
flower beds for erosion
• Grounds Committee studied the possible installation of bicycle storage units
• Board established policy that policy issues would
be resolved at board meetings
• Represented association on Majesty West Development project
Board of Directors continued on next page
For more OTV Condominium news & information, visit the condominium web site:
oldtownvillagecondos.org
January 2016
The Village Crier Board of Directors continued from previous page
•
•
•
•
•
Signed new landscaping contract with J & M of Northern
Virginia
Signed new snow removal contract with Snow Movers
Established a Gutter Cleaning Maintenance Contract with
Katchmark of Chantilly Virginia
Oversaw the cleaning of all dryer & bathroom vents in each
unit
Had all main water shut off valves and outside spigot valves
inspected by Advanced Plumbing
Maintained Financial Vigilance:
• Approved the Level 1 Replacement Reserve Study – Miller
Dodson
• Reviewed the Replacement Reserves Funds
• Commissioned association audit
• Improved accounting process with GHAM
• Developed an improved process for OTV Invoice Receipt
Authorization
• Developed 2016 Operating Budget
• Held monthly maintenance fee increase to 3% for 2016
The next OTVC Board meeting will be on January 19, 2016 at 7
PM in the Roundhouse.
Don’t miss the Management
Committee Report on Page 3.
The Management
Committee is a joint
committee, comprised of members
of both associations,
that oversees the use
and operation of the
common facilities.
OTVCUOA Condominium
2015 Board of Directors
President
Cheryl Van Coverden
301-466-8881
[email protected]
Vice President
Bradley Russell
571-201-2363
[email protected]
Secretary
Andrew Caldwell
703-739-0128
[email protected]
Treasurer
Antonella DiLernia
301-249-4930
[email protected]
Member-at-Large
Management
Committee
John Prevar
703-684-7537
[email protected]
Grounds
Pam Verick
703-299-8811
[email protected]
Welcome
Dana Williams
703-403-5928
[email protected]
Website
Rene Shonerd
703-518-4475
[email protected]
Condominium Editor &
Crier Layout
Layout: Janet Donahue
(703) 548-7991
[email protected]
Janet Donahue
703-548-7991
[email protected]
Portfolio Manager
GatesHudson
TMP Coordinator
gateshudson.com
Send photos & articles by the 23th
of the month prior to publication to:
Townhomes - Janie Smith
[email protected]
Condominiums - Janet Donahue
[email protected]
Dan Hawkins
703-548-4346
[email protected]
Committee Chairpersons
Keep in Touch!
Published for the benefit of
owners & residents of
Old Town Village
Townhomes & Condominiums
(also available on online)
6
Carolyn Cornwell
703-752-8300
[email protected]
Next OTVC
Board Meeting
Tuesday, January 19
7 pm, Roundhouse
Join Us!
For more OTV Condominium news & information, visit the condominium web site:
oldtownvillagecondos.org
January 2016
The Village Crier 7
END NOTES
Cemetery Work Party Thank You!
Wow, what a group of energetic folks. The
fall clean up the Wilkes St. cemetery on October 31 was a huge community success.
This was our 18th semi-annual event with a
great turn-out. Thirty-three volunteers – 14
from the OTV Townhomes and Condominiums and The Duke working with members
of Christ Episcopal Church – helped to clean
up the Christ Church cemetery and three adjacent abandoned cemeteries. Together we
contributed over 85 hours of work to beautify
our surrounding neighborhood. Bit by bit, we
are making a real difference in our neighborhood and these cemeteries.
All events are held in the
Roundhouse unless otherwise noted.
JAN & *SPECIAL EVENTS!*
Day
Time
Event
7
7 PM
Finance Committee
(First Thursday of the month)
13
7 PM
Management Committee
14
7 PM
Book Club (see p. 3)
Jan 19
7 PM
Condominium Board Meeting
Jan 21
7 PM
Townhome Board Meeting
UPCOMING EVENTS: Mark Your Calendars!
Date
Feb. 1
Many thanks to Lisa Groover, Doug Struck,
Susan Swain, Stephen Slye, Jim Larocco, Jim
Blackman, Ann Smith, Ruth Arnold, Joyce
Burcham, Susan Lampshire, Joe Daley, Don
Wheeler, and Maggie and Barry Stauffer.
Event
Activities Committee meeting
WEEKLY EVENTS
Day
Time
Event
Tuesdays
1:30 pm
Mah Jong
Every
other
Thursday
3:30-5 pm
Young Families Group
NO MEETINGS IN JANUARY
Fridays
7:00 pm
TGIF!!
cartoon-clipart.com
MAJESTIC WEST Update
as of 12/15/14
As you probably have noticed, the contractor has the first building framed and
the homes are expected to be ready
for occupancy in April 2016. Sale of the
units has not yet opened officially, but
once they do (expected to open in January from off-site location) they will base
the scheduled start of another building
on the pace of sales. In a tentative estimate, the contractor expects to start the
next building in March 2016.
As for the land development on site, you probably can see that the
contractor is getting close to finishing up. The stone crew paved the
last piece of the interior alley. Virginia
American Water Company was on site
12/16/2015 to perform their work within
Wilkes and Payne Streets.
The sanitary outfall work still needs to
take place within the intersection of Wilkes and Payne Streets. That work will
take about a week to complete once
started. The contractor plans to begin
that work around the second week of
January.
Thanks for the update, Bob Hardiman!