Colonial Village Condominiums

January 20, 2003 CVIII Board Meeting Minutes

Call to order: With a quorum present the meeting was called to order at 6:45 p.m. Present at that time were Stanton Stafford, vice president; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; Michael McGregor, member-at-large; unit owners Betty Davis and Tanya Flemons; resident R.J. Donahue; and association manager George Hedrick.

Proof of Notice of Meeting: All unit owners in attendance acknowledged the timely receipt of notice of this meeting.

Resident Forum:

Ms. Flemons reminded the Board that it had given her permission to install wooden flooring in her unit at its 18 December 2000 meeting and that she planned to do so during the next several months. Expressing concern that moving materials for this project into her unit might damage newly painted walls and new carpeting, she asked when hallway renovations were planned. Mr. Hedrick said the months of February and March. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to try to schedule her building to be the last to be painted and have carpet installed. With respect to hallway renovations, Ms Flemons said that she felt that the Board’s procedure for involving unit owners in the process of deciding what paint and carpet colors should be used in renovating CVIII’s common hallways was inadequate. She said that the Board should take a more pro-active approach. Rather than announcing in CVIII’s newsletter and minutes that samples of paint and carpet color combinations were available for inspection at the management office at 1903 Key Blvd., the Board or association management should have taken paint and carpet color samples to unit owners and solicited their opinions face-to-face. Mr. Donahue said that the new paint color of his building’s common hallway should complement the color of the interior of the unit in which he lived. Mr. Donahue said that unit owners of a given building should have the right to decide the paint and carpet colors used in the common hallway of their building and the Board should have provided a wider selection of paint and carpet colors from which to choose. Ms. Davis said that any of the Board’s proposed paint and carpet color combinations would satisfy her.

Reading and Approval of Minutes: Mr. Stafford moved that the minutes of the 16 December 2002 meeting be approved without change. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Reports of Officers:

At-Large: Mr. McGregor said that CVIII’s delinquent assessment situation was improving and he would discuss details in executive session.

Committee Reports:

Physical Plant: Mr. Stafford told the Board he is still looking for independent ratings of the durability and energy efficiency of 100-gallon hot water heaters similar to those used in CVIII.

Management Report:

Engineer: Mr. Kiman was not present at this meeting because it was held on a federal holiday, a day he would not normally be working. The Board noted that the laundry room door at 1729 Queens Ln. would not close securely and the exterior basement entry door at 1809 Queens Ln. facing the courtyard also would not close securely. The Board asked Mr. Hedrick to request that Mr. Kiman consider and report back on the use of “river rock” to control erosion resulting from runoff from a downspout adjacent to the front door of 1737 Queens Ln. The Board asked Mr. Hedrick to contact Arlington County about trash accumulating on the east side of the privacy fence that CVIII uses to shield Building One from the shopping center at 1711-37 Wilson Blvd. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he would take photographs of this accumulation of trash and send them to Arlington County. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick said that he would report back on the removal of piles of debris left over from grinding out the stumps of trees removed from in front of 1805 Queens Ln. and the rear of 1817 Queens Ln. Mr. Hedrick was also asked to see about the reinstallation of a section of privacy fence behind 1817 Queens Ln., which had been removed to give the tree service access to this area.

December Financial Update: After making allowances for errors and omissions in the December financial report, Mr. Hedrick reported CVIII had a year-to-date operating surplus of $17,993 as of the end of December. The Board noted that when CVIII received final bills from the landscaping and snow removal services for work done in 2002, this surplus would be more on the order of $8,000. Details of the December financial report are available for unit owner review at the CVIII office.

Asset Management: The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to ask Lynn Wood of CMI to look for a three-year CD in which $50,000, currently in a money market fund, could be invested.

Old Business:

Replacement Windows: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that CVIII could not get a sample of a Trimline replacement window installed at no charge. The Board discussed the matter and decided it wanted a sample of the Trimline window installed for unit owners’ inspection because the window was a good value. Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII pay Fairlington Window and Door $1,100 to install a Trimline alumimun-clad series DR700 window in the storage room at 1821 Queens Ln. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. Mr. Hedrick told the Board he felt that he had commitments for the installation at no cost to CVIII of an Anderson vinyl-clad replacement window, an Anderson Renewal composite replacement window, and a Pella metal-clad replacement window.

1729 Queens Ln. Replacement Chimney: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that the Design Review Committee (DRC) of Arlington County’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) approved the second revision of CVIII’s proposal to demolish and replace the chimney behind 1729 Queens Ln. Mr. Hedrick said that he would meet with the contractors involved to determine when work on this project would begin.

Laundry Room Renovations: The Board told Mr. Hedrick it understood that separate eight inch vent pipes had to be installed to service the large driers in 1729 and 1812 Queens Ln. so that these machines operate efficiently. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to pursue the matter with Hoff. The Board asked for a progress report on the installation of new bulletin Boards in the laundry rooms. Mr. Hedrick said they were in hand and would be installed shortly.

Landscaping Update: The Board reviewed a bill of $6,316 from T&J Lawn Service for removing several trees and landscaping enhancements. $595 was deducted for work that was not done, and $296 was deducted for plants that were installed in CVII. Mr. Gerrity told the Board that CVIII would end up about $1,500 over budget for 2002 for landscaping enhancements and tree maintenance.

Snow Removal: After the Board reviewed a bill for $1,420 from McFall & Berry for snow removal services on 5 and 10 December 2002, Mr. McGregor moved that CVIII pay this $1,420 to McFall & Berry. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. 

Building Entry Door Replacement: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he was unable to make progress on getting bids for building entry doors. He hoped to have bids available for the Board’s February meeting.

Unit Main Circuit Breakers: Mr. Hedrick stated he had requested proposals from Natelco, Power Systems Electric and Kolb to supply replacements for the metal boxes that house electric meters and main circuit breakers.

Proposed Welcome Brochure: Ms. Davis gave Mr. Hedrick what she described as the first of many drafts of an informational brochure about living in CVIII for new residents. Mr. Hedrick said that he would review this material and get back to Ms. Davis.

New Business:

Hallway Renovations: Paint Colors and Carpet Selection: After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that (1) the portions of walls in common hallways below chair rails would be painted with Duron 8275A Coach House; (2) that chair rails and the exterior sides of unit entry doors and the interior sides of building entry doors and their frames would be painted Duron 8684M Oak Flats; (3) the portions of walls in common hallways above chair rails would be painted with Duron CW022W Soft Gold; (4) ceilings would be painted Duron Ceiling White. The paint used for walls would have an eggshell finish, doors and trim a semi-gloss finish, and ceilings a flat finish. There would be no color change for basement hallways and trash rooms. Further, Mohawk Structures carpet in the color of Industrial Olive would be installed as replacement carpet in the common hallways of CVIII’s buildings; and Mohawk molding Roppe P193 Black-Brown would be installed as cove base. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. Painting Contractor for Upstairs Hallways: After discussion, Mr. Stafford moved that CVIII award the contract to paint its upstairs hallways to Renaissance Painting, Inc. for $45,800. Mr. Gerrity seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. Painting Contractor for Basement Hallways and Trash Rooms: After discussion, Mr. Stafford moved that CVIII award the contract to paint its basement hallways and trash rooms to Renaissance Painting, Inc. for $4,500. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. Carpeting Contractor: After discussion, Mr. McGregor moved that CVIII award the contract to install new carpeting in upstairs hallways to Carpet One Alexandria for $31,927. Mr. Gerrity seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to prepare contracts with Renaissance and Carpet One with detailed specifications of the materials they were to supply and the work they were to perform.

Janitorial Contract: After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII agree to a 2.5% increase in the monthly fee paid to Clean Advantage Corporation for janitorial services. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. The Board noted that Clean Advantage’s overhead appeared to exceed the salary that it paid CVIII’s janitor. Mr. Hedrick was asked and agreed to prepare an estimate of how much might be saved by hiring Mr. Guevara as an employee of CVIII and eliminating Clean Advantage as a middleman.

Executive Session: Mr. Gerrity moved that the open session of this meeting be adjourned, and the Board go into executive session. Mr. McGregor seconded, and it was approved unanimously.

The next Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on 19 February 2003 in the conference room in the CMI office at 1903 Key Blvd.

Mr. Gerrity moved that this meeting be adjourned. Mr. McGregor seconded, and it was approved unanimously at 8:30 p.m.

February 18, 2003 CVIII Board Meeting Minutes

Call to order: With a quorum present the meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. Present at that time were Peyton Palmore, president; Stanton Stafford, vice president; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; Michael McGregor, member-at-large; unit owner Michael Bodden; maintenance engineer Stan Kiman; and association manager George Hedrick. R.J. Donahue, a resident, arrived forty-five minutes after the start of the meeting

Proof of Notice of Meeting: All unit owners in attendance acknowledged the timely receipt of notice of this meeting.

Reading and Approval of Minutes: Mr. Palmore moved that the minutes of the 20 January 2003 meeting be approved as amended. Mr. Bodden seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Resident Forum: Mr. Donahue requested that the Board amend his comments as reported in the draft of the Board’s 20 January 2003 meeting. The Board said that this had already been done. He asked that his building’s hallway renovations not begin until four weeks from the date of this meeting. He did not want to damage freshly painted walls of new carpet because he would not be finished moving materials related to renovations of his unit in and out of his building until that time. The Board said it could not promise this.

Election of an Interim Board Member: Mr. Gerrity moved that Michael Bodden be elected to fill the seat on the Board made vacant by the resignation of Christian Hamaker and assume the responsibilities of treasurer. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. Mr. Bodden will serve until this year’s annual meeting in October when unit owners will elect an owner to fill the final year of the term to which Mr. Hamaker was elected.

Reports of Officers: None.

Committee Reports: None.

Management Report:

Engineer: Mr. Kiman reported that, in addition to his day-to-day responsibilities, his major concerns during the past month were clearing snow and assisting CVI with a serious water line break in the boiler room at 1917 N. Rhodes St.

Snow Removal: The Board noted that CVIII’s walks and steps were cleared more quickly and thoroughly than CVI, CVII and the Commons every time it snowed this past month. This was due largely to Mr. Kiman, and the Board thanked him for his efforts. The Board also spoke well of the efforts of CVIII’s snow removal contractor, McFall and Berry. Presidents’ Day Weekend: The Board conducted a postmortem of efforts to cope with the storm that occurred on February 16 and 17. This storm produced so much snow that both Mr. Hedrick and Mr. Kiman were snowed in at their homes for two days. CVIII was left without their services, most important of which were coordinating and supervising the efforts of the snow removal service. If either had been able to make it into work, the Board felt that a better job could have been done. Consequently, in case of a credible forecast of a similar storm, the Board decided to offer to pay for their lodging at a local hotel so that they would be available for work. Mr. Hedrick and Mr. Kiman thanked the Board for the offer, but expressed serious reservations about being away from their families in such circumstances. The Board and Mr. Hedrick came to an agreement on improving communication between association management and the Board during weather events. Mr. Kiman told the Board that the snow blower he was currently using cleared only half the width of CVIII’s sidewalk each pass. A machine that cleared the full width of sidewalks in one pass would allow would allow him to remove snow twice as fast. The Board asked him to look into the purchase of such a machine and report back. Wilson Blvd. Sidewalk: The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to make CVII’s Board and the management of Colonial Village Apartments aware of complaints that even as late as of the start of this meeting no efforts had been made to clear their respective Wilson Blvd. sidewalks of snow and ice.

January Financial Update: Mr. Hedrick reported that, after making allowances for errors and omissions in the January financial report, CVIII had a year-to-date operating deficit of $2,174 as of the end of January. Details of the January financial report are available for unit owner review at the CVIII office.

Correspondence: The Board reviewed correspondence dealing with a complaint about a noisy resident of 1801 Queens Ln. The Board was informed that Mr. Hedrick’s warning letter to the owner of this unit and his noisy tenant had not produced the desired results. After discussion, the Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to write a letter warning that parking privileges associated with this unit would be revoked if the tenant did not quiet down.

Old Business:

Status of Hallway Renovations: Painting: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that the painting contractor had finished working in Buildings One and Two except for scattered unit entry doors and had begun prep work in Building Four. The Board told Mr. Hedrick that it could still see raw, unpainted wood when it looked up into the skylights in Buildings One and Two. It asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to have the contractor paint these areas. Carpeting: After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII accept Carpet One’s bid of $2,925.39 to supply area rugs to protect high traffic portions of the hallways and Carpet One’s bid of $3,100 to repair and replace damaged portions of the tiled flooring in the basements of three buildings. Mr. Bodden seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. Hallway Lighting: Mr. Kiman told the Board that he had experimented with different types of fluorescent tubes and had been unable to increase the amount of light generated by the fixtures currently installed in the upstairs common hallways. He told the Board that there was a second problem with these lighting fixtures. They were no longer being manufactured, and he could not find shades to replace those damaged by residents moving their possessions in and out of units. The Board suggested that he inquire of a firm such as Reed Plastics about having replacement shades made of a more translucent plastic. If this turned out to be a dead end, the Board suggested looking for new fixtures that generated more light and replace existing light fixtures building by building as he needed to scavenge replacement shades.

Sample Replacement Windows: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that a sample of Anderson’s Renewal replacement window had been installed in the bicycle storage room in the basement of 1821 N. Rhodes St. He said that he expected to have a sample of Trim Line’s replacement window installed by the middle of March.

1729 Queens Ln. Chimney Replacement: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he was still trying to coordinate with contractors on the installation of a flue that could be used on a temporary basis   hile the chimney behind 1729 Queens Ln was being demolished and rebuilt and then inserted in the new chimney on a permanent basis. He said that he expected to have a date for the start of work on this chimney by the Board’s March meeting

Unit Main Circuit Breakers: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that he was still waiting for bids to replace the metal boxes that house the meters and main circuit breakers from Kolb, Natelco, and Power Systems Electric.

Landscaping Update: Mr. Gerrity said that the landscaping committee would present its proposals for spring and summer landscaping and tree maintenance projects at the Board’s March meeting. The Board pointed out to Mr. Hedrick that Bartlett still had not removed mounds of wood chips left over from grinding out two tree stumps. After discussion, the Board accepted Mr. Kiman’s suggestion to have McFall and Berry use this material as mulch.

Proposed Welcome Package: The Board reviewed the second draft of a proposed “Welcome” brochure for new residents of CVIII. The Board asked that language be added making it clear to residents that Arlington County’s fire code forbade the storage of their possessions in any common hallway or the aisles of the storage rooms. Items found in these areas would be removed and disposed of without warning. The Board asked that a list of state and local government phone numbers useful to residents be included. The Board also requested the inclusion of a section briefly explaining state and local government regulations dealing with the registration of motor vehicles. Mr. Hedrick agreed to ask Ms. Williams to prepare a version of this brochure in a double column format.

New Business:

Building Entry Door Replacement and Renovation: Mr. Hedrick presented the Board with a proposal from American Exteriors, Inc. to remove and replace ten wooden building entry doors for $9,000. He said that he was still waiting for bids on these ten doors from Precision Doors and House of Doors.

Executive Session: Mr. Bodden moved that the open session of this meeting be adjourned, and the Board go into executive session. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

The next Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on 17 March 2003 in the conference room in the CMI office at 1903 Key Blvd.

Mr. Stafford moved that this meeting be adjourned. Mr. Bodden seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously at 8:05 p.m.

March 17, 2003 CVIII Board Meeting Minutes

Call to order:

With a quorum present the meeting was called to order at 6:35 p.m. Present at that time were Stanton Stafford, vice president; Michael Bodden, treasurer; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; Michael McGregor, member-at-large; unit owners Betty Davis and Helena Reca; maintenance engineer Stan Kiman; and association manager George Hedrick.

Proof of Notice of Meeting:

All unit owners in attendance acknowledged the timely receipt of notice of this meeting.

Resident Forum:

Ms. Reca told the Board that she wished to thank Mr. Kiman for his efforts in clearing CVIII’s walkways and steps of snow, especially those mornings he came to work at three o’clock this winter. The rest of those in attendance echoed her sentiments. Ms. Davis expressed concerns that the lawn service’s continued edging of flower and mulch beds would gradually eliminate CVIII’s lawns. The Board said that CVIII had a new lawn service this year and the number edging specified in this contract had been reduced from previous years. The Board did note that it was good horticultural practice to expand the mulch beds under some trees as they grew and their drip lines moved outwards.

Reading and Approval of Minutes: Mr. McGregor moved that the minutes of the 19 February 2003 meeting be approved without change. Mr. Bodden seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Reports of Officers:

None.

Committee Reports:

Local Real Estate Development: Mr. Gerrity reported to the Board that Arlington County had developed a new set of guidelines for real estate development for what it called the “In-Between” neighborhood, the area between Rosslyn and Courthouse bound by Wilson Blvd., Clarendon Blvd., N. Pierce St., and N. Courthouse Rd. These guidelines specified that all buildings in this area are to be mixed-use, that is to say, preferably retail or restaurants at street level and residential, commercial or institutional use of the floors above. Buildings erected across Wilson Blvd. from CVIII are to be no more than five stories or approximately sixty feet in height. Sidewalks must sixteen feet wide. Trees and street furniture are strongly encouraged. Taller buildings will be allowed closer to Pierce St and Courthouse Rd. The construction of a four story apartment building with lofts units on the top floor on the property currently occupied by the used car lot is scheduled for consideration by the Arlington County Board at its meeting on 26 April 2003. Mr. Gerrity told the Board that he had attended a Site Plan Review Committee meeting on this building and was impressed with the county’s efforts to make this building an attractive addition to CVIII’s neighborhood. He also informed the Board that another section of the Bromptons townhouse development was being built on the west side of Rhodes St. between Clarendon Blvd. and 16th St.

Management Report:

Engineer: Mr. Kiman informed the Board that, in addition to his day-to-day responsibilities, three small leaks in roofs had to be repaired and the wrought iron railing for the ramp to the west door to the basement of 1728 Queens Ln. had to be replaced during the past month. The Board asked and Mr. Kiman agreed to work out a division of labor with Mr. Guevara so that the dead bugs that had accumulated in hallway light fixtures were removed.

February Financial Update: Mr. Hedrick reported that, after making allowances for errors and omissions in the February financial report, CVIII had a year-to-date operating surplus of $15,199 as of the end of February. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that $12,000 of this surplus represented a payment received in February from HOF for laundry room renovations. Mr. Hedrick warned the Board that snow removal expenses and maintenance costs associated with CVIII’s storm water detention system would consume much of this surplus. Details of the February financial report are available for unit owner review at the CVIII office.

Asset Management: After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII authorize CMI to remove $88,337.76 from an Acacia FSB money market fund paying 1.44% and invest it with Treasury Bank in a thirty month CD paying 3.15%. Mr. Bodden seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Old Business:

Hallway Renovations: Painting: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that Renaissance Painting had finished painting walls and ceilings in upstairs hallways in all buildings except Rhodes St. and Wilson Blvd. addresses in Building Three. Unit entry doors in Buildings One and Two were nearly all completed, and the painters would be working on such doors in Building Four the Saturday following this meeting. Carpeting: Mr. Hedrick asked and Mr. Stafford agreed to sign the contract for new carpeting the Board approved at its February meeting. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he expected the installation of new carpet to begin by the end of this month. Hallway Lighting: Mr. Kiman told the Board that he still had not been able to find fluorescent tubes that improved hallway lighting. He said that his experiments with less opaque lens produced only better views of the inner workings of these fixtures. Mr. Kiman suggested and the Board agreed that he invite a firm such as Dominion Electric, which specialized in lighting fixtures, to make a proposal to supply more illuminating fixtures.

1729 Queens Ln. Replacement Chimney: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he had been informed by the contractor that a permit from Arlington County was necessary to install both the temporary and permanent flues for the replacement chimney behind 1729 Queens Ln. He told the Board that he had requested Doug White of Thomas Downey, Ltd. to assist in obtaining this permit.

Unit Replacement Window Samples: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that a sample of a Trimline replacement window had been installed in the storage room at 1821 N. Rhodes St. He said that he was still working to get samples of a vinyl-clad Anderson window and a metal-clad Pella window installed in this storage room.

Proposed Welcome Brochure: Ms. Davis told the Board that she felt there was confusion about the role she had agreed to play in developing a welcome package for new residents of CVIII. She told the Board that she had agreed to organize and edit content supplied by others. She said she was told it was her responsibility to attend Board meetings on behalf of the welcome package, but in view of her absence this summer this was not possible. The Board thanked her for her efforts and said it would correct the situation. Speaking of the material developed so far, Ms. Davis suggested that the brochure be a detailed history of colonial Village with an emphasis on welcoming new residents. Rules and regulations should be assembled separately. She provided the Board with a lengthy list of references to past bulletins and memorandums that would provide needed guidance and would answer many questions typical of a new resident. The Board thanked her for this.

Snow Removal Policies and Procedures: The Board reviewed McFall & Berry’s invoice for snow removal services for the President’s Day weekend storm, work done on February 16, 17, 18 and.19. Mr. Gerrity took issue with the contractor’s claim that it had five men clearing snow at CVIII from 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Monday, February 17. Both he and Ms. Davis said that they saw no one removing snow that day until early afternoon, about 2:00 p.m. and that they knocked off work about 7:00 p.m. Mr. Gerrity said this meant that CVIII was being charged $925, twenty-five man hours at $37.00 per hour, for work that had not been done. Other members of the Board argued the contractor had done a good job under difficult circumstances, and CVIII should pay this bill as tendered. Mr. Hedrick made an offer, which the Board accepted, to obtain the contractor’s time sheets for these four days. To prevent a repetition of this problem, Mr. Hedrick suggested that the contractor be given several members’ addresses so that the work crew could check in with someone if he or Mr. Kiman were not present. The Board accepted Mr. Hedrick’s suggestion.

Janitorial Services: The Board asked Mr. Hedrick if he had found a reliable source for a backup employee if CVIII decided to hire janitorial help directly rather than through a contractor. Mr. Hedrick said he had not gotten around to this, but did not think it would be a problem. The Board renewed its discussion of the desirability of hiring CVIII’s janitor directly. Some Board members expressed concern that this might lead to significant workman’s compensation expenses at some point in the future. Other Board members pointed out that the maintenance engineer was an employee of CVIII, not some contractor, and his duties were more demanding, and potentially far more dangerous, than those of the janitor. If the Board was really concerned about workman’s compensation expenses, then the first thing it should do is make someone other than CVIII the maintenance engineer’s employer. Questions were raised about how much money would really be saved if the janitor became CVIII’s employee and received the same benefits as Mr. Kiman. The response to this was: even if the savings amounted to only $5,000; $5,000 was one percent of CVIII’s annual budget and more than half the increase in unit owners’ assessments for 2003. Mr. Hedrick said he would research the cost of making the janitor CVIII’s employee.

Building Entry Doors Replacements: Mr. Hedrick presented the Board with proposals to supply and install ten building entry doors from American Exteriors at a cost of $900 per door and The House of Doors, Inc. at a cost of $1,685 per door. These bids were not comparable. House of Doors proposed supplying and installing commercial grade frames, closers, thresholds and door sweeps while American Exteriors planned to supply and install metal frames of unspecified quality, to use existing closers and made no mention of thresholds or sweeps. Mr. Hedrick recommended that the Board accept American Exteriors' bid based on price, but the Board took no action. The Board noted that American Exteriors planned to use metal frames and asked Mr. Hedrick to contact Mike Leventhal to see if CVIII needed the approval of Arlington County’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) to install replacement doors in general and use metal frames in particular. Mr. Hedrick agreed to do so.

New Business:

2003 Landscaping Projects: After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII accept McFall & Berry’s proposal to do the following landscaping work:

•  Install summer annuals for $1,500. These would be impatiens (4.5”) around the bases of the Bartlett Pear trees at the top of the stairs from the parking lot and two small groups of begonias to serve as highlights in the bed outside the Wilson Blvd. gate.
•  Install a Crimson pigmy Barberry (3 gallon) for $34.50 and two Golden Mop False Cypresses (3 gallon) for $77.50 in the bed outside the Wilson Blvd gate to replace missing, dead, and dying plants.
•  Remove twenty-two dead or dying arborvitae that served to screen utility boxes behind, 1729, 1801, 1816 and 1817 Queens Ln. and replace them with a like number of nonvariegated euonymus for $1,430.
•  “Slice seed” the lawn between 1737 and 1801 Queens Ln. for $220.
•  Renovational pruning of a holly adjacent to the front door of 1801 Queens Ln. for $125.
•  Create a bed in the triangular piece of lawn between 1804 and 1805 Queens Ln. for $1,750. The centerpiece of this bed was to be a Cap Yew, and the other plants were to be a mixture of Crimson Pigmy Barberries, Miscanthus Cabaret Grasses, Black Eyed Susans, sedum, and Happy Returns Daylillies.
•  Install one red Crape Myrtle (thirty gallon) in the courtyard between 1808 and 1809 Queens Ln. for $525.
•  Clean up and remove stump grindings in front of 1809 N. Queens Ln. and then seed this area for $80.
•  Remove a dead boxwood that served to screen air-conditioning units behind 1816 Queens Ln. and replace it with an American Boxwood for $85.
•  Remove eight dead boxwoods that served to screen air-conditioning units behind 1817 Queens Ln. and replace them with eight Compacta Hollies eighteen to twenty-four inches in height for $662.
•  Clean up and remove stump grindings behind 1817 N. Queens Ln. for $65.
•  Renovational pruning of a holly adjacent to the front door of 1821 N. Rhodes St. for $125.

Mr. Bodden seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Tree Maintenance: The Board put off consideration of work on CVIII’s large trees until after they had leafed out and what if any damage from last year’s drought and this past winter became evident.

Storm Water Detention System: Mr. Hedrick brought to the Board’s attention correspondence from Arlington County’s Department of Public Works informing CVIII that it must supply the county with a “Maintenance Certification completed by a Master Plumber, Registered Engineer or a Licensed Land Surveyor” certifying that CVIII’s storm water detention system had been inspected and was clean, free of debris, structurally sound, and functioning as designed. This maintenance certification had to be done on an annual basis, and failure to do so could result in substantial fines and/or imprisonment (of Mr. Palmore.) Mr. Hedrick told the Board that CVIII’s storm water detention system was a series of collection tanks connected by pipes to large holding/settlement tanks buried under the parking lot in front of the garages. This system was installed when CVIII was converted to a condominium. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he had been unaware of the existence of these holding/settlement tanks and this maintenance certification requirement until he received this letter. He told the Board that he had requested a proposal from Storm Water Management, Inc. for whatever work might be needed for CVIII to obtain this maintenance certificate. He said that he was looking for two other firms to bid on this work.

Executive Session: Mr. Stafford moved that the open session of this meeting be adjourned, and the Board go into executive session. Mr. Gerrity seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

The next Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on 21 April 2003 in the conference room in the CMI office at 1903 Key Blvd.

Mr. Gerrity moved that this meeting be adjourned. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously at 8:30 p.m.

April 21, 2003 CVIII Board Meeting Minutes

Call to order: With a quorum present the meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. Present at that time were Peyton Palmore, president; Michael Bodden, treasurer; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; Michael McGregor, member-at-large; unit owner Helena Reca; maintenance engineer Stan Kiman; and association manager George Hedrick.

Proof of Notice of Meeting: All unit owners in attendance acknowledged the timely receipt of notice of this meeting.

Resident Forum: Ms. Reca reminded the Board of its recent discussions of the financial desirability of hiring CVIII’s janitor directly rather than through a contractor. She advised the Board that, based on her experience working in the “Human Resources” field, CVIII’s financial liability if CVIII’s janitor were to suffer a job related injury would be the same regardless if he was CVIII’s employee or the employee of a contractor hired by CVIII.

Reading and Approval of Minutes: Mr. McGregor moved that the minutes of the 17 March 2003 meeting be approved without change. Mr. Bodden seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Reports and Comments by Officers:

President: Mr. Palmore apologized for being absent from the Board’s March meeting and said that he wanted to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Kiman for his efforts to keep CVIII clear of snow and ice this past winter.

Treasurer: Mr. Bodden informed the Board that he had a contract to sell his unit with closing scheduled for the end of May. He said that the Board’s May meeting would be the last he would be eligible to serve as a member.

Committee Reports:

Local Real Estate Development:

Mr. Gerrity informed the Board that he had attended the Arlington County Planning Commission’s 14 April 2003 meeting. At that meeting, the planning commission, after making a number of changes, unanimously approved the Holladay Corporation’s proposal to build a four-story apartment building on a site comprised of the used car lot across Wilson Blvd. from CVIII and other property lying between the used car lot and Clarendon Blvd. Most significant of these changes was a requirement that seven loft-style units on the ground floor level of the Clarendon Blvd. side of the building could only be leased as live-work units. Prior this meeting, the county had agreed to allow the developer to lease these seven units as apartments if he made demonstrable but unsuccessful efforts to lease them as live-work units. Another new requirement was that if the developer leased the retail space on the Wilson Blvd. to a restaurant, then he would have to provide additional parking in his building or within a block of the building. The planning commission made its approval conditional on the developer resolving his differences with the county housing authority on the size and nature of his contribution to the county’s affordable housing program.

Parking: The Board noted that that several residents had expressed concerns about the impact of the Holladay Corporation’s proposed four-story apartment building at 1800 Wilson Blvd. on parking in CVIII’s immediate neighborhood. Members of the Board acknowledged that this concern was legitimate, but argued that the greater threat to parking for CVIII’s residents was the 1,300,000 square feet of additional development Arlington County’s recently amended General Land Use Plan would allow in the two blocks bound by Pierce St, Wilson Blvd., Courthouse Rd., and Clarendon Blvd. After discussion, the Board decided that the only practical way it could improve parking for CVIII’s residents was to collect the required number of signatures and petition Arlington County to restrict parking on N. Rhodes St. and Key Blvd. for part or all of every day to vehicles with Zone Four stickers. Which blocks of these streets and what hours of the day this restriction would be in effect would depend on the willingness of the residents of CVI, CVII and the Commons to join with CVIII in seeking such a restriction. The Board asked Mr. Hedrick to discuss this matter with the Boards of CVI, CVII and the Commons at their next meetings.

Management Report:

Engineer: Mr. Kiman told the Board that he had encountered no unusual maintenance problems since the Board’s March meeting. He said that HOF had installed separate vent lines for the large clothes dryers in 1729 and 1809 Queens Ln., which should improve the efficiency of these machines.

March Financial Update: Mr. Hedrick reported that, after making allowances for errors and omissions in the March financial report, CVIII had a year-to-date operating surplus of $12,536 as of the end of March. Details of the March financial report are available for unit owner review at the CVIII office. Snow Removal Bill: Mr. Gerrity and Mr. Palmore told the Board that they had not seen the snow removal contractor’s crew working the hours it claimed on 17 February 2003. The disputed number of hours worked amounted to a potential overcharge of $925. After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII not pay McFall and Berry for snow removal services related to the Presidents’ Day weekend storm until McFall and Berry provided documentation in the way of time sheets for February 17th. Mr. Bodden seconded this motion. Messrs. Palmore, Bodden and Gerrity voted in favor of this motion. Mr. McGregor voted against it. Abandoned Vehicles: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that two cars had been parked for an extended period of time on CVIII’s lot with dead tags, county decals and/or inspections stickers. He said that their problem with tags or decals had not been corrected and they had not been removed after he had written the owners of these cars and asked them to make them legal or remove them, or risk having them towed. He asked for and the Board gave him authority to have them towed away.

Old Business:

Hallway Renovations Update: Carpeting: The Board noted that carpet installation was several weeks behind schedule and asked Mr. Hedrick for an explanation. Mr. Hedrick said that he had mistakenly thought that Carpet One of Alexandria would order the carpet from the manufacturer based on verbal notice that it had made the winning bid rather than receipt of a written and signed contract and the down payment agreed to in it. The latter were not sent to Carpet One until the end of March. Mr. Hedrick said it was now his understanding that carpet installation was to begin the 15th of May. Painting: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that eighteen or so doors still had to be painted. Some required only a second coat, others two coats. He told the Board that notices would be hand-delivered to each of these units on Thursday, 24 April 2003, stating that the painters be on the premises on Saturday, 26 April 2003, to paint these doors. If the residents of these units were not at home, their doors would be painted shut. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that Renaissance Painting had found the number of dings and dents it had to repair in the exterior sides of unit entry doors to be far more numerous than it expected when it made its original proposal. Renaissance asked to be paid $1,500 for additional work to repair damage to entry doors. After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII pay Renaissance Painting $1,500 for additional work to repair damage to unit entry doors. Mr. Bodden seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. Hallway Lighting: Mr. Hedrick told that Board that he was unable to find a firm to fabricate replacement lenses for the common hallway fluorescent lighting fixtures. The Board authorized Mr. Kiman to invite an electric supply firm such as Dominion Electric to make a proposal to supply CVIII with fluorescent fixtures that generate more light in hallways.

1729 Queens Ln. Chimney Replacement Update: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that Consolidated Waterproofing, Inc. planned to begin work replacing the chimney behind 1729 Queens Ln. on 5 May 2003 assuming that permits to install temporary and permanent flues had been obtained from Arlington County by that date.

Building Entry Doors Replacements Update: Mr. Hedrick presented the Board with proposals to supply and install ten building entry doors from American Exteriors at a cost of $900 per door, Precision Doors and Hardware, Inc. at a cost of $1,378 per door, and The House of Doors, Inc. at a cost of $1,685 per door. Mr. Hedrick could not tell the Board what was the qualitative difference between the doors these companies proposed to supply and install. After discussion, Mr. Hedrick and Mr. Kiman agreed to accompany a Board member to inspect these proposed doors.

Sample Unit Window Replacements Update: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he was still working on getting samples of Anderson and Pella vinyl-clad wooden replacement windows, which met the guidelines established by Arlington County’s Historic Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) for unit replacement windows in CVIII.

Proposed Welcome Brochure: The Board reviewed the latest draft of the proposed welcome brochure for new residents of CVIII. Suggestions for changes were made, and the “Welcome Brochure” committee said they would incorporate them and get back to the Board at its May meeting.

Janitorial Service: Mr. Hedrick presented the Board with a detailed review of the cost to CVIII of hiring its janitor directly rather than using a contractor as an intermediary. The Board decided to put off discussion of this matter until its May meeting.

New Business:

Storm Water Holding/Settlement Tank: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that he had obtain a thirty-day extension from Arlington County to have the storm water holding/settlement tank buried under CVIII’s parking lot cleaned and certified as operating properly. He provided the Board with three bids to clean and certify this tank: Storm Water Management, Inc., $5,340.50; Tri County Industries, Inc., $3,200; Vernco, $1,925. After discussion, Mr. McGregor moved that CVIII accept Vernco’s proposal of $1,925 to clean this storm water holding/settlement tank and certify that it was operating in accord with county regulations. Mr. Bodden seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Executive Session: Mr. Gerrity moved that the open session of this meeting be adjourned, and the Board go into executive session. Mr. Palmore seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

The next Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on 19 May 2003 in the conference room in the CMI office at 1903 Key Blvd.

Mr. Gerrity moved that this meeting be adjourned. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously at 8:12 p.m.

May 19, 2003 CVIII Board Meeting Minutes

Call to order: With a quorum present the meeting was called to order at 6:32 p.m. Present at that time were Peyton Palmore, president; Stanton Stafford, vice president; Michael Bodden, treasurer; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; Michael McGregor, member-at-large; Laura Hagg, unit owner; and association manager George Hedrick.

Proof of Notice of Meeting: All unit owners in attendance acknowledged the timely receipt of notice of this meeting.

Resident Forum:

Ms. Hagg said that she had two matters she wished to bring to the Board’s attention. The first was that she had asked for and was told by someone in CVIII’s management office that she would be given notice of an exact time when the exterior side of the entry door to her unit was to be painted. To her dismay, the painters appeared at her door on a Saturday morning without the advance notice she felt she had been promised. She told the Board she was unhappy about this. The Board apologized for whatever inconvenience this might have caused, but said there must have been a communication failure because it had never planned or actually made specific appointments for the painting contractor to paint the exterior sides of the entrance doors to units. Second, she asked the Board to make the residents of CVIII aware of the opportunities for and benefits from participating in Arlington County’s Citizens Emergency Response Team. The Board asked and she agreed to supply it with material describing this program so that mention could be made of it in the next issue of CVIII’s newsletter.

Reading and Approval of Minutes: Mr. Bodden moved that the minutes of the 21 April 2003 Board meeting be approved without change. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Reports of Officers:

Secretary: Mr. Gerrity informed the Board that he had attended Chadwick, Washington’s annual Community Association Legal Seminar and had several items of interest to the Board on which to report. Virginia Condominium Act: There had been a number of changes in the Virginia Condominium Act, most notable of which was the ability of owner associations to amend their bylaws to provide for a quorum as low as 10 % of votes of the association to conduct business at association meetings. Also, a Board is authorized to levy an additional assessment if it is determined that current assessments are insufficient to cover the common expenses of the association. The Board must give unit owners written notice of the additional assessment amount, an explanation of why it is needed, and a due date for the payment. Unit owners may rescind or reduce the additional assessment by a majority of the votes cast at a meeting held within sixty days of the mailing of the notice of the new assessment. In discussion of this change in the law, Mr. Hedrick noted that it effectively did away with the need for special assessments. Another change was to allow the use of e-mail to distribute notices of association and Board meetings and the submission of proxies and votes if (i) permitted by association instruments and rules and (ii) the e-mail contains information sufficient to verify the identity of the unit owner or proxy. Late Fees: In a review of collection practices, Chadwick, Washington’s lawyers advised that the courts viewed late fees as high as $30 as being compensatory, and not punitive, and would enforce their collection. In light of this information, the Board decided to increase the late fees CVIII would charge for delinquent assessment payments effective 2004. The exact amount of this increase would be determined at a future meeting.

Committee Reports:

Local Real Estate Development: Mr. Gerrity informed the Board that he had attended the 26 April 2003 Arlington County Board meeting at which the Holladay Corporation was asked and agreed to make design improvements to the eastern elevation of its proposed four-story apartment building at 1800 Wilson Blvd. The County Board also discussed the implementation of the extension of N. Quinn St. between Wilson Blvd. and Clarendon Blvd. To allow for additional public comment and to give county staff time to evaluate Holladay’s response to the county Board’s request for improvements and work on solutions to problems with the Quinn St. extension, consideration of the project at 1800 Wilson Blvd. was deferred until the County Board’s 17 May 2003 meeting. These problems could not be resolved before the May meeting, and on 8 May 2003 the Holladay Corp. and county staff asked that consideration of the Holladay Corporation’s project be further deferred until the 14 June 2003 Count Board meeting.

Management Report:

Physical Plant: The Board asked Mr. Hedrick to have Mr. Kiman survey CVIII for damaged brickwork, particularly window wells, that Consolidated Waterproofing could repair while it was working on the chimney behind 1729 Queens Ln. The Board reminded Mr. Hedrick that two damaged window wells on the south side of 1821 N. Rhodes St. had still not been replaced and that a window serviced by one of these wells was broken and needed to be replaced. The Board noted that portions of the privacy fence on the east side of CVIII’s property were being overgrown by ivy or some type of vine. Mr. Hedrick was asked to relay a request to Mr. Kiman that these vines be cut away or treated with an herbicide.

April Financial Update: Mr. Hedrick reported that, after making allowances for errors and omissions in the April financial report, CVIII had a year-to-date operating surplus of $10,702 as of the end of April. Details of the April financial report are available for unit owner review at the CVIII office. Asset Management: The Board reviewed CVIII’s investments and asked Mr. Hedrick to have CMI to invest $80,000 in a twenty-four month CD, assuming that one could be found that had a higher yield than the lowest paying money market fund in which CVIII currently had money invested. Snow Removal Bill: After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII accept an offer from McFall and Berry to reduce its bill for snow removal during and immediately following the Presidents’ Day weekend storm by $444 and authorize CMI to pay McFall and Berry’s invoice for this storm after deducting $444 from it. Mr. Bodden seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Old Business:

Landscaping Update: The Board noted that the mulch McFall and Berry had applied in the southern courtyard of Queens Lane appeared to be contaminated with weeds and asked Mr. Hedrick to have the contractor remedy this situation. The Board also noted that McFall and Berry’s lawn maintenance crews were doing a poor job policing mulch beds for debris. The worst example of this problem was under the magnolia in front of 1724 Queens Ln. The Board noted that one of the barberries and several of the grasses planted in the new bed between 1804 and 1805 Queens Ln. were dead and asked Mr. Hedrick to see that they were replaced.

Tree Maintenance: The Board reviewed a bid from Bartlett tree experts to elevate several trees and remove a dying hemlock by the Rhodes St. end of the pedestrian bridge. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to get bids on this work from two other tree surgeons to be selected from a list of such firms recently rated by Washington Consumers’ Checkbook.

Hallway Renovations Update: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that he expected to reach agreement this week with Carpet One on a schedule to install replacement carpet with work beginning, weather permitting, as early as next week.

1729 Queens Ln. Replacement Chimney Update: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that, weather permitting, Consolidated Waterproofing would begin preparations to demolish and replace the chimney behind 1729 Queens Ln. on 27 May 2003. Notices to that effect would be distributed to residents of Building One prior to the start of work. He asked and the Board agreed to allow Consolidated to use the four parking spaces immediately to the right of the steps in the parking lot for its trucks and other equipment. Consolidated would lay down plywood sheets between the chimney and the parking lot to protect the lawn.

Replacement Building Entrance Doors Update: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he along with Mr. Kiman and Mr. Gerrity made a “field” trip to inspect the replacement building entrance doors that House of Doors, Precision Doors, and American Exteriors proposed to supply and install in CVIII. They reached a consensus that the door Precision wanted to install was the best combination of quality and price. Its only shortcoming was that its muntins were wider than those of existing doors installed in CVIII. Mr. Hedrick said that the cost of these doors would increase by $400 apiece if they were modified with the narrower muntins. After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII accept Precision Doors’ bid to supply and install ten doors, frames and hardware as specified in its proposal for a total of $13,750. CVIII’s acceptance of Precision’s bid was conditional on Arlington County’s Historical Affairs and Land Mark Review Board (HALRB) approving the wider muntins. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Installation of Sample Replacement Windows: The Board asked Mr. Hedrick for an explanation why it was taking so long to get samples of windows that met HALRB guidelines for replacement windows in CVVIII installed in the storage room in the basement of 1821 N. Rhodes St. Mr. Hedrick said that he had verbal commitments from Hodges to install a vinyl clad wooden Anderson and Pella to install one of their vinyl clad wooden windows, but neither had followed through on their promises. The Board suggested that Mr. Hedrick contact these firms and point out that those firms with sample replacement windows installed in CVIII were the ones most likely to sell such windows to CVIII’s unit owners. Because the Anderson vinyl clad window was the most economical replacement window the Board had found, the Board said that CVIII might be willing to help pay for it. HALRB Hearing: Mr. Palmore told the Board that there was a HALRB meeting scheduled for Wednesday 212 May 2003 at which the HALRB would consider a CVIII unit owner’s request that he be allowed to retain replacement windows he had installed (i) without permission from CVIII’s Board and the HALRB and (ii) did not meet HALRB guidelines. He asked and Mr. Gerrity agreed to represent the Board at this meeting.

Storm Water Management Tank Cleaning and Certification: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that Vernco would clean and certify the storm water collection/settlement tank buried under CVIII’s parking lot sometime during the next two weeks.

Janitorial Service: The Board reviewed Mr. Hedrick’s detailed comparison of the cost to CVIII of hiring its janitor directly rather than using a contractor as an intermediary. It came to the conclusion that the savings were not great enough to justify a change at the present time. The Board did note the contractor’s apparent profit margins of 100 percent and asked Mr. Hedrick to be on alert for a contractor from whom CVIII or the janitor could get a better deal.

Welcome Brochure: The Board reviewed and made changes in the latest draft of a proposed welcome brochure for new residents of CVIII. Noting that Ms. Hagg had recently bought a unit and moved into CVIII, the Board asked her to review its helpfulness to new residents of CVIII. The Board said that it would consider incorporating whatever changes she suggested. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to see if he could produce photographs with his digital camera that would serve as artwork for this brochure. If this did not work out, the Board suggested that Mr. Hedrick check with one of Arlington’s high schools for an art student willing to produce some sketches of CVIII for a modest fee.

New Business:

Short Term Leasing of Units: A Board member brought the meeting’s attention to an Internet advertisement of a two-bedroom unit in CVIII with “all basics provided, including utilities, linens and kitchen supplies,” being available for short or long-term rental. A telephone call to the owner of this unit elicited the information that all or part of this unit was available for rental periods of less than six months and this unit was currently being rented for two months. The Board’s discussion of this matter came to the conclusion that initial leases less than six months long or the lease of a portion of a unit would lower the quality of life in CVIII and reduce the value of CVIII’s units. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that that Article XI, Section 1, Paragraph (f) of CVIII’s bylaws stated that: “No Unit shall be rented for transient or hotel purposes or in any event for an initial period of less than six months. No portion of any Unit (other than the entire Unit) shall be leased for any period. No Unit Owner shall lease a Unit on other than a written form of lease requiring the lessee to comply with the Condominium Instruments and Rules and regulations, and providing that failure to comply constitutes a default under the lease….Each Unit Owner of a Condominium Unit shall, promptly following the execution of any lease of a Condominium Unit, forward a conformed copy thereof to the Board of Directors.” Mr. McGregor moved that Mr. Hedrick write the owner of this unit and request a copy of its current lease and inform the owner that this lease and any future lease must comply with Article XI, Section 1, Paragraph (f) of CVIII’s bylaws. If not, fines and/or legal action would follow. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Parking: The Board reviewed its previous discussions of the effect of real estate development in the blocks on Wilson Blvd. across from Colonial Village and decided to proceed with getting the signatures of a majority of the residents of CVI, II and III living in units that have Queens Ln. and N. Rhodes St. addresses on a petition to Arlington County to restrict parking on N. Rhodes St. between Wilson Blvd. and Lee Hwy. to motor vehicles with Zone Four parking stickers twenty-four hours a day. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to prepare a draft of this petition for its review. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to ask the Boards of CVI and CVIII to endorse and participate in collecting signatures on this petition by allowing CVIII to post this petition on hallway and laundry room bulletin Boards in their buildings. The Board set a goal of submitting this petition to Arlington County before this year’s annual Owners Association meeting in October 2003.

Executive Session: Mr. Gerrity moved that the open session of this meeting be adjourned, and the Board go into executive session. Mr. Bodden seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

The next Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on 16 June 2003 in the conference room in the CMI office at 1903 Key Blvd.

Mr. Gerrity moved that this meeting be adjourned. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously at 8:45 p.m.

June 16, 2003 CVIII Board Meeting Minutes

Call to order: With a quorum present the meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. Present at that time were Stanton Stafford, vice president; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; Michael McGregor, member-at-large; maintenance engineer Stan Kiman; and association manager George Hedrick.

Proof of Notice of Meeting: All unit owners in attendance acknowledged the timely receipt of notice of this meeting.

Resident Forum: No one was present to speak

Reading and Approval of Minutes: Mr. Stafford moved that the minutes of the 19 May 2003 meeting be approved without change. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Reports of Officers: None.

Committee Reports:

Local Real Estate Development: Mr. Gerrity informed the Board that he had attended the 14 June 2003 Arlington County Board meeting at which the Holladay Corporation’s proposal to build a four-story apartment building at 1800 Wilson Blvd. was approved unanimously by the county Board. The county Board, the county manager, and various real estate developers resolved their differences over implementing the Quinn St extension with the county purchasing the Patel property and the developers contributing land for the extension of Quinn St. and housing to the county’s affordable housing program.

Parking: Mr. Gerrity informed the Board that petitions asking that parking on N. Rhodes St. between Wilson Blvd. and Lee Hwy. be restricted to vehicles with Zone 4 stickers or guest passes twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week were posted in buildings in CVI, CVII and CVIII soliciting signatures from the residents of 389 units whose first choice for a parking place could reasonably said to be on N. Rhodes St. between Wilson Blvd. and Lee Hwy. As of 13 June 2003, residents representing 44% of these 389 units had signed these petitions, and efforts to collect signatures representing 51% of these 389 units were continuing. Mr. Gerrity said that he spoke at the 14 June 2003 Arlington County Board meeting about the concerns of CVIII’s residents about the effect of the Holladay Corporation’s proposal for 1800 Wilson Blvd. on parking on N. Rhodes St. He described Colonial Village’s petition effort and was told the county staff would consider it promptly once it was received.

Management Report: Engineer: Mr. Kiman told the Board that he had encountered no unusual maintenance during the past month. He told the Board that he had obtained replacement window wells for 1821 N. Rhodes St. and would install them as soon as the weather and his work schedule permitted. He warned the Board that it might be necessary to have a glass company replace the broken window serviced by one of the wells. The Board asked and Mr. Kiman agreed to repair or replace needed leaking faucets and a damaged sink in the laundry rooms at 1728 and 1729 Queens Ln. The Board also noted that a resident had left a very large couch in the trash room at 1729 Queens Ln. This couch was blocking access to the trash room. Mr. Hedrick said that he and Mr. Kiman would try to dispose of this couch at a special trash pickup scheduled for 19 June 2003. The Board noted that major landscaping and tree maintenance work behind Building Two was finished for the year and Mr. Kiman could reinstall the section of the privacy fence adjacent to 1817 Queens Ln. Mr. Kiman agreed to do so.

May Financial Update: Mr. Hedrick reported that, after making allowances for errors and omissions in the May financial report, CVIII had a year-to-date operating surplus of $6,400 as of the end of May. The Board noted that $6,060 of landscaping enhancements and $1,980 of tree maintenance done in 2002 were being charged against the 2003 budget. The Board asked Mr. Hedrick to request in writing that CVIII’s auditor charge these two bills against the correct year’s budget. Details of the May financial report are available for unit owner review at the CVIII office. 2004 Budget: The Board noted that three accounts, natural gas, water and sewer, and insurance were all expected to increase substantially in 2004. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to carefully research these items so that CVIII’s budget for 2004 would accurately reflect these expected increases.

Old Business:

Hallway Renovations Update: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that ten of CVIII’s buildings remained to have new carpet installed, and he was optimistic that the carpeting contractor would be finished by the end of June.

1729 Queens Lane Replacement Chimney Update: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that Consolidated Waterproofing expected to begin replacing the chimney behind 1729 Queens Ln. during the first week of July. He said that he would distribute notices to residents of Building One giving notice of the date work was to start and its expected duration. He would also post “No Parking” notices for the four spaces to the right of the steps in the parking lot, which Consolidated needed for a dumpster for debris from the demolition of the old chimney. At Mr. Kiman’s suggestion, the Board asked Mr. Hedrick to have Consolidate lay three-quarter inch or thicker plywood under the dumpster’s wheels or skids to keep the parking lot’s asphalt from being damaged.

Replacement Doors for Building Entrances: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that Mike Leventhal, Historic Preservation Coordinator for Arlington County, had written to say that preliminary approval had been granted to CVIII by Arlington County’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) of a Master Certificate of Approval (MCOA 03-12) to install ten wooden replacement building entry doors. These replacement doors are to be Le Mieux F-944-2, two-panel, nine-light wooden doors. They are to be painted to match the original doors, existing hardware is to be transferred, and the wooden frames are to be replaced with metal frames. Final approval of MCOA 03-12 is contingent on CVIII’s Board of directors’ approval of these replacement doors as specified on the cut sheets for this project. After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII approve the installation of ten wooden replacement doors as specified on the cut sheets for MCOA 03-12. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Replacement Windows: 1816 Queens Ln., #233: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that Mike Leventhal, Historic Preservation Coordinator for Arlington County, had written to say that preliminary approval had been granted to Jonathan Thornton by Arlington County’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) of a Master Certificate of Approval (MCOA 03-10) to replace four non-conforming windows in unit #223 at 1816 Queens Ln., The replacement windows are to be Trimline Legends DR200 aluminum-clad, double-hung wooden windows with insulated glass and simulated divided lights for the upper and lower sashes creating a six/six effect. The brick molding is to be aluminum with a square profile and in the same dimension as isfound in other windows in CVIII. These replacement windows are to fill openings to the brick mold and existing wooden furring strips are to be removed. Final approval of MCOA 03-10 is contingent on CVIII’s Board of directors’ approval these replacement windows as specified on the cut sheets for this project. After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII approve the installation of four replacement windows as specified on the cut sheets for MCOA 03-10. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

1821 N. Rhodes St, #206: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that Mike Leventhal, Historic Preservation Coordinator for Arlington County, had written to say that preliminary approval had been granted to J.T.V. Warkentin representing Phil Eanes by Arlington County’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) of a Master Certificate of Approval (MCOA 03-11) to replace eight non-conforming windows in unit #206 at 1821 N. Rhodes St., The replacement windows are to be Anderson 400 Series aluminum-clad, double-hung wooden windows with insulated glass and simulated divided lights for the upper and lower sashes with a three-quarter inch SDL muntin creating a six/six effect. The brick molding is to be aluminum with a square profile and in the same dimension as is found in other windows in CVIII. These replacement windows are to fill openings to the brick mold. Final approval of MCOA 03-11 is contingent on CVIII’s Board of directors’ approval these replacement windows as specified on the cut sheets for this project. After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII approve the installation of eight replacement windows as specified on the cut sheets for MCOA 03-11. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Welcome Brochure: The Board asked Mr. Hedrick for an update on the “Welcome Brochure” for new residents in CVIII. He said he was still working on obtaining artwork for the brochure.

Landscaping and Tree Maintenance Update: The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to speak to McFall and Berry about the failure of its lawn cutting crews to use the right type of machinery to cut certain areas of the lawns. The Board pointed out a number of areas where a twenty-inch hand-pushed mower would do a better job than 42” riding mowers. The Board also asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to speak to this contractor about the failure of its crews to police mulch and flowerbeds and clean up under magnolia trees. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he was still trying to get second and third bids on a list of tree pruning and removal projects.

New Business:

Volunteer Opportunities with Arlington County: Mr. Hedrick relayed to the Board a request from Mr. Palmore to permit posting of bulletins from Arlington County giving information on opportunities to do volunteer work for Arlington County. The Board approved the using of laundry room bulletin Boards for this purpose.

Damaged Garage Doors: Mr. Hedrick provided the Board with copies of letters he had written to the owners of garages #2, #3, #5, #7, #9 and #10 informing them that the doors to their garages were damaged and needed to be repaired. If these repairs were not done within sixty days, then CVIII would have the repairs done and assess the relevant owner for the cost of said repairs.

Executive Session: Mr. Stafford moved that the open session of this meeting be adjourned, and the Board go into executive session. Mr. Gerrity seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

The next Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on in the conference room in the CMI office at 1903 Key Blvd.

Mr. McGregor moved that this meeting be adjourned. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously at 7:30 p.m.

July 21, 2003 CVIII Board Meeting Minutes

Call to order: With a quorum present the meeting was called to order at 6:31 p.m. Present at that time were Peyton Palmore, president; Stanton Stafford, vice president; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; Michael McGregor, member-at-large; unit owners Cheryl Connelly and Charles Vanderlyn; resident; maintenance engineer Stan Kiman; and association manager George Hedrick.

Proof of Notice of Meeting: All unit owners in attendance acknowledged the timely receipt of notice of this meeting.

Election of a Board Member: Mr. Gerrity moved that Cheryl Connelly be elected to fill the seat on CVIII’s Board made empty by the resignation of Michael Bodden and that Ms. Connelly serve as CVIII’s treasurer. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. Ms. Connelly’s term will last until CVIII’s annual meeting this coming October when unit owners will elect an owner to serve the final year of the current three-year term for this seat on the Board.

Resident Forum:

Charles Vanderlyn introduced himself as a resident owner in CVIII for fourteen years, six of which he spent as a member of CVIII’s Board. He told the Board that CMI, CVIII’s property management firm, and its on-site manager, George Hedrick, were not doing a good job managing CVIII. As an example of this mismanagement, Mr. Vanderlyn cited garbage rooms so crowded with discarded furniture and other bulk garbage that it was difficult or impossible for residents to deposit their normal household trash for more than a month. Further, these blockages created fire code violations. Mr. Vanderlyn said that one indisputable reason this situation persisted for such a lengthy period was that Mr. Hedrick failed to thoroughly inspect CVIII on a regular basis. Mr. Vanderlyn also cited a storage room with water standing on its floor for several weeks and residents’ possessions stacked up in the aisles of storage rooms to such a great extent that it was impossible for residents to open their storage cages. This too was a fire code violation, and also raised health and safety concerns. Mr. Vanderlyn asked the Board the following questions: exactly what sort of management was CMI providing CVIII? Simply collecting condo fees, or the full range of services normally associated with the management of a condominium? Who supervised Mr. Hedrick? How many other condominiums in addition to those in Colonial Village was Mr. Hedrick managing? How much of Mr. Hedrick’s workday or workweek does CVIII get? Mr. Vanderlyn said that when he was a member, his Board insisted that Mr. Hedrick’s predecessor, Les Kunz, serve as a full time manager of Colonial Village. Mr. Vanderlyn suggested that the Board review the various things Mr. Hedrick was suppose to do in managing CVIII and then use a checklist to monitor him to ensure that the work was done. The Board told Mr. Vanderlyn that it was the Board’s responsibility in general and its president in particular to supervise Mr. Hedrick. The Board told Mr. Vanderlyn that it would include his questions in its discussion of this matter with Mr. Hedrick in executive session.

Reading and Approval of Minutes: Mr. Stafford moved that the minutes of the 16 June 2003 meeting be approved without change. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. 

Reports of Officers:

President: Mr. Palmore informed the Board that he was completing the final year of his third three-year term on the Board and did not plan to stand for reelection this fall.

Committee Reports:

Public Safety: Mr. Stafford relayed to the Board a suggestion from George Hinkins that the “kick stands” be removed from the exterior entry doors to the basements containing laundry, storage and trash rooms. This would solve a longstanding problem of residents leaving these doors propped open, which allowed unauthorized individuals access to these areas, which in turn could lead to personal injury or theft of property. The Board acknowledged that Mr. Hinkins’ suggestion would go a considerable way toward solving this problem, but would create costs for CVIII’s residents. There are justifiable reasons for propping these basement doors open. It is difficult to bring a load of laundry or trash that requires two hands to carry into the building and at the same time open the door and keep it open long enough to allow safe passage. Bicycles present the same problem. The trash company had a genuine need to prop these doors open. Mr. Kiman warned the Board that if it had these stands removed from basement doors, residents would just find other ways to prop them open, some of which would end up damaging the doors. For the time being, the Board decided to use the newsletter to encourage residents not to leave these doors propped open and to speak to the trash service about its employees and Dr. Gentry about his cleaning service leaving these doors propped open after they finished their work.

Parking: Mr. Gerrity told the Board he planned to submit to the appropriate Arlington County officials petitions signed by residents of CVI, CVII, and CVIII requesting further restrictions on parking on N. Rhodes St. between Wilson Blvd. and Lee Hwy. and a cover letter to be signed by the presidents of their respective Boards of directors no later than the end of the first week of August. He told the Board that during the past month he had been counting cars parked on N. Rhodes St. between Wilson Blvd. and Lee Hwy. He found that around 9:00 p.m. there was an average of 45 cars without Zone 4 stickers or visitor passes. This number dropped to an average of 22 around 5:00 a.m. He told the Board that he and Mr. Palmore had counted cars with Bridget Jenkins of Arlington County’s Traffic Engineering Department at 9:00 p.m. on 8 July 2003, and Ms. Jenkins would conduct another survey of cars parked on Rhodes St. on 23 July 2003, the weather and her workload permitting.

Management Report:

Engineer: Mr. Kiman told the Board that there had been no unusual maintenance problems during the past month. He told the Board that he had replaced the damaged window wells on the south side of 1821 N. Rhodes St., but still had some backfilling of soil to do. The Board asked about water standing on the floor of one of the storage rooms in 1808 Queens Ln. Mr. Kiman said that it appeared to be from an underground source. He could find no blockages in the downspouts and pipes servicing storm runoff. He said that he would purchase and install a dehumidifier to help dry out this storage room.

June Financial Update: Mr. Hedrick reported that, after making allowances for errors and omissions in the June financial report, CVIII had a year-to-date operating surplus of $6,792 as of the end of June. The Board again reminded Mr. Hedrick that $8,040 of 2002 landscaping and tree maintenance expenses were still being charged against the 2003 budget. Mr. Hedrick said that he had spoken to the auditor about this. The Board again asked him to get this request to the auditor in writing. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to move a $647.60 charge for engineering services related to replacing the chimney behind 1729 Queens Ln. from the operating budget to the appropriate reserve account. Details of the June financial report are available for unit owner review at the CVIII office. 

Old Business:

Landscaping Update: The landscaping committee informed the Board that McFall and Berry had finally completed pruning shrubs and bushes in front and back of all buildings in the 1800 blocks of Queens Ln. and N. Rhodes St., but unfortunately, they did a sloppy and careless job in comparison with such work in the rest of CVIII. Mr. Gerrity told the Board that the quality of McFall and Berry’s lawn care work might be considered good for a highway median strip, but not so for residential lawns and shrubbery. Consequently, other companies would be asked to bid on CVIII’s 2004 lawn maintenance contract. 1829 and 1831 Wilson Blvd.: Tanya Flemons and Richard Donahue, residents of 1829 Wilson Blvd., proposed the following project to the landscaping committee: if CVIII would pay for the materials, they would supply the labor to build up low spots in the lawn adjacent to walks and steps in front of 1831 Wilson Blvd. and install sod in several locations where over-seeding had been unsuccessful in front of 1829 and 1831 Wilson Blvd. The landscaping committee accepted Ms. Flemons and Mr. Donahue’s proposal. Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII reimburse Tanya Flemons $195.20 for two cubic yards of topsoil, sixty-six pieces of sod, and two bags of grass seed. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. 1804-1805 Queens: Susan Palmore proposed to the landscaping committee that the new bed installed this spring between 1804 and 1805 Queens Ln. be enhanced with an arrangement of liriope and additional barberries. Ms. Palmore offered to make the trip to the nursery to purchase these plants if others would assist in installing these plants. The landscaping accepted Ms. Palmore’s proposal. Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII reimburse Susan Palmore $150.81 for ten liriope, four barberries, and planting materials. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. The Board noted that the cost of four of theses plants could be deducted from McFall and Berry’s bill because they replaced plants under warranty that had died. The Board noted receipt of a suggestion from a resident that the catch basins installed in the lawns would do a better job of removing storm runoff if the ground around these basins was resloped and brought up to the level of all portions of these basins except their grates.

Installation of Sample Unit Windows: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that Hodges Window appeared to be backing away from its offer to install at no-charge a sample of an Anderson vinyl-clad wooden replacement window that met HALRB standards.

1729 Queens Ln. Replacement Chimney: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that he was told in his last conversation with Consolidated Waterproofing that he would be given a week’s notice before work on replacing the chimney behind 1729 Queens Ln. would begin. He said that he had not yet received that notice.

Hallway Renovations: Floor Mats: The question was posed to the Board: why spend so much money to install attractive new carpet in the hallways if it was going to be littered with a collection of old carpet, beach towels, and other unsightly items? Why not require all unit owners to use the same size, color and pattern of floor mat in front of the entry doors to their units. The Board acknowledged that there was a problem here and that it had the authority to do something about it since the hallways were common areas and, therefore, under its control. Concerns about being too authoritarian led the Board to the conclusion that a minimum standard would be a better solution to the problem than a standard. Doormats that did not meet this minimum standard would be removed and replaced with bound pieces of the material used to carpet the hallways. The Board decided to have 172 of these floor mats made so that one would be available for every unit owner. Mr. McGregor moved that if residents place a floor mat in the hallway outside the entry door to their unit it must be either (i) a commercially available floor mat, bound in a recognizable and uniform fashion or (ii) a floor mat provided by CVIII itself. This means that scraps of carpets, towels, and other odd pieces of material cannot be used as floor mats. Mr. Gerrity seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII purchase 172 bound floor mats made of Mohawk Structures carpet in the color of Industrial Olive from Carpet One Alexandria for $3,817.70. Mr. McGregor seconded motion, and it was approved unanimously. 

Replacement Doors for Building Entrances: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that a representative of Precision Doors had visited CVIII the day of this meeting to take additional measurements for the nine doors yet to be installed. Mr. Hedrick warned the Board that metal frames that Precision proposed using would not result in as deep a setback as the wooden frames of the doors being replaced.

New Business:

Request to Install a Hand Rail: Mr. Hedrick brought to the Board’s attention a letter from Maureen McElligott, a unit owner residing at 1736 Queens Ln., requesting that a hand railing be installed on the two front steps to her building because problems with arthritis affected her balance. The Board discussed the matter, and Mr. Stafford moved that CVIII approve Ms. McElligott’s request if she was willing to pay for the railing and its installation and Arlington County’s Historic Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) approved it. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. The Board asked Mr. Hedrick, when communicating its decision, to explain to Ms. McElligott that it was requiring her to pay for this railing because it was for her not the common benefit. The Board asked Mr. Kiman to obtain an estimate of the cost of such a railing from Ivey Welding. The Board asked Mr. Stafford to obtain a drawing of this railing for the cut sheet that had to accompany CVIII’s application for a Certificate of Appropriateness from the HALRB.

Trash Rooms: The Board, Mr. Hedrick, and Mr. Kiman reviewed numerous complaints about trash rooms being so full of large items such as discarded furniture that it was difficult or impossible for residents to dispose of their normal household trash and recyclable material. All acknowledged that these complaints were substantive, not exaggerations. The same day as this meeting, a truckload of large items had to be removed from the trash room in 1729 Queens Ln. to give residents access to trash barrels. Mr. Kiman told the Board that these bulky items were usually put in trash rooms on weekends toward the end of the month when residents, mostly tenants, were moving out. Because of their size, they don’t fit in regular trash trucks, and special pickups have to be scheduled. The minimum cost of a special pickup is $250. Explaining that this was a lot of money to get rid of an old mattress, he said his normal practice was to remove these items from the trash rooms and store them in crawl spaces and boiler rooms until he had accumulated enough material to justify the expense of a special pickup. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that a reasonable interpretation of CVIII’s covenants was that the owners association had a responsibility to cover the expense of removing normal household trash, but not couches or other large items that only fit in the trash rooms at the expense of all other use of these rooms. He told the Board that when residents called the management office for information on disposing of bulky items, they were told that they had to arrange and pay for a special pickup. After further discussion, the Board decided that most residents were unaware that bulk trash was not to be disposed of in the trash rooms and educating CVIII’s residents would be the first line of attack on this problem. Mr. Hedrick was asked and agreed to make up and post on trash room doors signs advising residents “bulky items such as furniture, appliances were not to be disposed of in the trash rooms or any other part of CVIII. If residents wished to get rid of such items, they had to make and pay for their own arrangements.” Mr. Gerrity agreed to include similar information in the August issue of CVIII’s newsletter.

Laundry Rooms: The Board was made aware of several recent instances of large amounts of laundry seemingly abandoned or forgotten in laundry rooms for weeks on end, causing inconvenience for other residents who wanted to use the machines or folding tables. The Board discussed the matter and decided that single items such as a sock could be thumb tacked to a bulletin Board, but there should be a policy for larger amounts of laundry. Mr. Palmore moved that laundry left in a laundry room for more than a day be bagged and stored in the laundry room for a week and then removed and stored elsewhere for the balance of thirty-one days. After thirty-one days, such items would be donated to charity. Mr. Gerrity seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. Mr. Hedrick agreed to make and post signs stating this policy in the laundry rooms. Mr. Gerrity agreed to include similar information in the August issue of CVIII’s newsletter.

Car Burglar Alarms: Mr. Palmore noted that during a recent thunderstorm several burglar alarms on vehicles parked in CVIII’s lot were set off, and one stayed on for the rest of the night. He asked how this might be dealt with. Mr. Hedrick said that the police should be called. They would use the vehicle’s license plate number to locate and contact its owner to have the alarm shut off.

Bulletin Boards: Mr. Palmore told the Board that hallway bulletin Boards, which were supposed to be reserved of official CVIII business, continued to be inundated with advertisements for carpet cleaning services, pizza companies, furniture for sale, and units for rent. He suggested that signs be installed on or above the bulletin Boards stating that they are to be used only for official CVII business. Mr. Gerrity said that such signs would not deter Pizza Bolis, Mary’s Pet Sitting Service or anyone else. Posting these signs would only add to visual clutter. Mr. Gerrity argued that it would be better to stick to the current practice of having Mr. Kiman police these bulletin Boards when he made his rounds of the buildings. Mr. Palmore pressed the issue, and Mr. Gerrity moved that there be no change in CVIII’s current policy on material posted on hallway bulletin Boards. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously with Mr. Palmore abstaining.

Executive Session: Mr. Gerrity moved that the open session of this meeting be adjourned, and the Board go into executive session. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

The next Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on11 August 2003 in the conference room in the CMI office at 1903 Key Blvd.

Mr. Gerrity moved that this meeting be adjourned. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously at 9:25 p.m.

August 11, 2003 CVIII Board Meeting Minutes

Call to order: With a quorum present the meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. Present at that time were Peyton Palmore, president; Stanton Stafford, vice president; Cheryl Connelly, treasurer; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; unit owner George Hinkins; and association manager George Hedrick. Michael McGregor, member-at-large, arrived shortly after the start of the meeting.

Proof of Notice of Meeting: All unit owners in attendance acknowledged the timely receipt of notice of this meeting.

Resident Forum:

George Hinkins had three topics on which he wished to speak to the Board. The first was the threat to residents and their property posed by unauthorized individuals gaining access to basements and the laundry, storage and trash rooms because their entry doors were being left propped open and doors that would not close securely because of swelling caused by high humidity levels. He suggested that Board have the stoppers, which residents were using to prop these doors open, removed. The Board said that it shared Mr. Hinkins’ concern for residents’ safety, but these stoppers served substantive needs. Residents used them to hold these doors open when they had loads of laundry or trash that require both hands to carry. If these stoppers were removed, then residents would simply find other devices to serve as props, some of which would damage the doors. As an example of this, the Board pointed out that for years residents had used a log to prop open the rear door to the basement of 1808 Queens Ln. The Board told Mr. Hinkins that it felt that educating residents was a reasonable compromise for the time being. The Board also told Mr. Hinkins that the five new doors it had approved for the basements had metal frames; and this should reduce the problem of doors sticking open due to high humidity. Second was the question: why had trash rooms become so badly clogged with discarded furniture and other bulky items this summer? Mr. Hedrick attributed this problem to an unusually large number of bulk items being discarded by residents moving out of their units this summer and inadequate supervision on his part. An effort to minimize the cost of disposing of these items by waiting until a full truckload had accumulated also contributed to this problem. Mr. Hedrick said that from now on he would inspect the trash shortly after the first of each month, which was when these items usually appeared. He would make sure that residents had free and easy access to the trash rooms, even if this meant making what might be seen as wasteful expenditures on removal service. The third item Mr. Hinkins brought to the Board was his concern that not all move-in fees were being collected. Mr. Hedrick said that he had procedures in effect that brought most move-ins to the attention of CMI, but there were a few that slipped through. Mr. Hedrick said that he was looking for ways to improve his “capture” rate to 100% and agreed to include with his notice to unit owners of this year’s annual meeting a letter reminding them that this $100 fee was due every time someone moved into their unit. The Board asked Mr. Hinkins to contact Mr. Hedrick if he was aware or strongly suspected that specific residents had moved in without paying this fee.

Reading and Approval of Minutes: Mr. McGregor moved that the minutes of the 21 July 2003 meeting be approved without change. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Reports of Officers: None.

Committee Reports:

Parking: Mr. Gerrity told the Board that Colonial Village’s petition requesting that parking on N. Rhodes St. between Wilson Blvd. and Lee Hwy. to vehicles with Zone 4 parking stickers or visitors passes twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week had been submitted to the Traffic Engineering Division of the Arlington County Department of Public Works on 1 August 2003. Mr. Gerrity warned the Board that Arlington County did not have a clearly defined policy for imposing parking restrictions requested by residential neighborhoods. Having signatures on a petition representing 50% or better of the households living on a given block did not guarantee the petition’s desired outcome. County staff explained their decisions on such petitions by saying they were trying to balance the interests of all those that might be affected by the change in parking restrictions. How “interests” are defined and how they are “balanced” are not explained in a substantive fashion. Mr. Gerrity also warned the Board that even if Colonial Village got exactly what it petitioned for, residents would not be assured a place to park, but, rather, only a better chance of finding a place to park on Rhodes St., because there were more than 400 hundred eligible cars likely to park on this section of Rhodes St. and only 227 parking places on this section of N. Rhodes St.

Building Committee: Mr. Stafford told the Board that he was working on obtaining the drawings for the cut sheet that had to accompany Maureen McElligott’s request for permission to install a railing on the front steps to her building (1736 Queens Ln.) from Arlington County’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB).

Management Report:

Maintenance: Mr. Kiman was on vacation the day of this meeting. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that there had been no unusual maintenance problems during the past month except for dealing with the accumulation of sofas, chests of drawers and other bulk items discarded in the trash rooms. These items along with residents’ possessions abandoned in the storage rooms were trucked away on 6 August 2003. Mr. Hedrick said that Mr. Kiman continued to work on patching cracks in sidewalks, concrete risers and stoops. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he developed an extensive list of items for Mr. Kiman to work on during a three-hour inspection tour of CVIII’s exterior on 22 July 2003. Mr. Hedrick said that he would continue to make such inspection tours of CVIII’s common areas on a twice-monthly basis.

July Financial Update: Mr. Hedrick reported that, after making allowances for errors and omissions in the July financial report, CVIII had a year-to-date operating surplus of $7,631 as of the end of July. Details of the July financial report are available for unit owner review at the CVIII office. 2004 Budget: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he would have a draft version of CVIII’s budget for 2004 ready for the Board to review in executive session at its September meeting. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to take particular care in estimating the costs of natural gas, water and sewer, and insurance for 2004. 2002 Audit: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he had written to CVIII’s auditor, Geimer, Ehrlich & Associates, P.A., asking that its draft audit of CVIII’s books for 2002 with several changes requested by the Board be made available at the earliest date.

Old Business:

Landscaping Update: Mr. Hedrick advised the Board that he had scheduled applications of fertilizer and a post-emergent weed killer for Monday, 18 August 2003. Notices alerting residents of this would be posted on hallway bulletin Boards. Mr. McGregor asked about the quality of sod recently installed in the vicinity of the Wilson Blvd. gate and 1720 Queens Ln. Mr. Gerrity said that Home Depot had palmed off sod several days past prime on Mr. Kiman. If it could not be nursed into growing nicely, it could and would be replaced at no charge. After discussion, the Board decided to solicit proposals from landscaping architects to help organize a long-term plan for landscaping repairs and improvements.

Installation of Sample Unit Replacement Windows: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he could not get Hodges Window to honor its commitment to install a sample of a vinyl-clad wooden replacement window at no charge to CVIII. To solve this problem, he asked and Mid-South Distributors agreed to install such a window that met HALRB and CVIII standards in the storage room in 1821 N. Rhodes St.

1729 Queens Ln. Replacement Chimney: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that Consolidated Waterproofing was still negotiating permits with Arlington County. Once this was done, they would give Mr. Hedrick seven days notice before beginning work replacing the chimney behind 1729 Queens Ln.

Hallway Renovations: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that he and representatives of Carpet One of Alexandria had inspected the latter’s installation of new carpet in all of CVIII’s buildings. A “punch list” of problems was written up. When they are corrected, Mr. Hedrick would authorize the release of the final payment on the carpeting contract to Carpet One. After the Board selected a dark gray from color samples, Mr. Stafford moved that CVIII accept a proposal from Commercial Carpets of America to supply doors mats in the style Aqua Block 29 to be placed immediately inside building entry doors for $2,545.62. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Replacement Doors for Building Entrances: The Board again expressed its concern to Mr. Hedrick that the design of replacement building entry doors and their frames was such that they could not be set back deeply enough to meet the approval of the HALRB. The Board said that it did not want to spend $14,000 on doors that could not be installed correctly. Mr. Hedrick said that it was his understanding that their set back was sufficient for the HALRB’s approval. The Board asked him to double check and report back.

CVIII and the Web: The Board asked Mr. Hedrick for a progress report on CMI’s efforts to develop a Web page or site for CVIII. Mr. Hedrick said that CMI no longer had an employee with the necessary skills. Mr. Stafford said that he had acquaintances that were capable of such work and would solicit their assistance.

New Business:

2003 Annual Meeting: After discussion, the Board decided to hold CVIII’s 2003 annual meeting at 7:00 p.m. on 20 October 2003 in the conference room in the CMI office at 1903 Key Blvd. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he would soon distribute notices of this meeting and a call for candidates for the three seats on the Board that will be up for election this fall.

Replacement Cell Phone for Mr. Kiman: Mr. Hedrick asked the Board to approve the expenditure of approximately $100 for a new cell phone for Mr. Kiman. After discussion, Mr. McGregor moved that CVIII spend approximately $100 to purchase a new cell phone for Mr. Kiman. Mr. Palmore seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Storm Drainage: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he had requested a proposal from Hix and Sons to improve CVIII’s storm drainage system to correct soil erosion problems on the north sides of 1816 Queens Ln. and 1821 N. Rhodes St. and the west side of 1813 Queens Ln., ponding on the lawn between 1816 and 1817 Queens Ln. sides, and water leaking into a storage room in 1808 Queens Ln. from the south side of that building.

Executive Session: Ms. Connelly moved that the open session of this meeting be adjourned, and the Board go into executive session. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

The next Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on 15 September 2003 in the conference room in the CMI office at 1903 Key Blvd.

Mr. Gerrity moved that this meeting be adjourned. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously at 8:24 p.m.

September 15, 2003 CVIII Board Meeting Minutes

Call to order: With a quorum present the meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. Present at that time were Stanton Stafford, vice president; Cheryl Connelly, treasurer; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; unit owners Christine and Jonathan Thornton; maintenance engineer Stan Kiman; and association manager George Hedrick. Michael McGregor, member-at-large, arrived after the start of the meeting.

Proof of Notice of Meeting:

All unit owners in attendance acknowledged the timely receipt of notice of this meeting.

Resident Forum:

Ms. Thornton told the Board that she asked the Traffic Engineering Division of Arlington County’s Public Works Department if a decision had been made on Colonial Village’s petition to tighten parking restrictions on N. Rhodes St. between Wilson Blvd. and Lee Hwy. She was told that a decision on Colonial Village’s petition had been put off until Arlington County finished developing a countywide set of regulations to replace the series of ad hoc decisions that had been made on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis in the past.

Reading and Approval of Minutes: Mr. Stafford moved that the minutes of the 11 August 2003 meeting be approved without change. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Reports of Officers: None.

Committee Reports:

Building Committee: Mr. Stafford presented the Board with a drawing and specifications prepared by George Hinkins for a hand railing Maureen McElligott wanted to have installed at her expense on the concrete steps and stoop leading to the front door of 1736 Queens Ln. They complied with ADA requirements as much as possible without requiring these steps and stoop be rebuilt. The Board asked Mr. Kiman to have Ivey Welding price provision and installation of this railing according to the specifications provided by Mr. Stafford. Ms. McElligott and CVIII could then proceed with obtaining approval of this project from Arlington County’s Historic Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB.)

Public Safety: The Board asked Mr. Hedrick for descriptions of the individuals who had committed an armed robbery in the 1900 block of N. Rhodes St. on 6 September 2003 and a stalking incident on Queens Ln. 8 September 2003. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he had made no effort to get this information because the Arlington County Police Department had been uncooperative when he had asked for descriptions of criminals in similar incidents in the past. 

Management Report:

Maintenance: Engineer: Mr. Kiman told the Board that there had been no unusual maintenance problems during the past month. Hallways: The Board discussed the noticeable damage done to recently painted hallway walls and ceilings by residents moving in and out over the summer. The Board decided that October and June were the best months for repairs and touch-up painting and asked Mr. Hedrick to arrange with Mr. Kiman to have such work done during those months. Broken Windows: The Board informed Mr. Hedrick of broken windows in units at 1735 and 1821 N. Rhodes St. Mr. Hedrick said that he would write the owners of these units and ask them to repair these windows and warn them that if they did not comply with his request they could be fined by CVIII’s Board. “For Sale” Signs: The Board informed Mr. Hedrick that there were “For Sale” signs in the windows of units at 1728 and 1804 Queens Ln., and the presence of these signs constituted violations of Article XI, Section 1, Paragraph (i) of CVIII’s bylaws, which states that “..no signs of any character shall be erected, posted or displayed upon, in, from or about any Units or Common Elements without the prior written approval of the Board of Directors…”. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that the real estate firms involved had been contacted and the signs had been removed. The Board asked about the posting of “For Sale” signs by real estate firms in common areas in CVIII. The Board said that it realized that such signs were helpful in selling units in CVIII, but, citing one recent open-house that had seven signs with balloons planted in the lawns, said that it did not want CVIII looking like a circus. Mr. Hedrick said that he could not find written authorization of this or any other installation of “For Sale” by real estate firms or owners in common areas by any past Board of directors. He said that past Boards had most likely chosen to ignore such violations of CVIII’s bylaws. The Board said that it would return to this matter at a future meeting.

August Financial Update: Mr. Hedrick reported that, after making allowances for errors and omissions with respect to CVIII’s tax liabilities for 2003 and the auditor’s bill in the August financial report, CVIII had a year-to-date operating surplus of $9,117 as of the end of August. Details of the August financial report are available for unit owner review at the CVIII office. 2002 Audit: Mr. Hedrick presented the Board with a draft audit of CVIII’s books for the year 2002 prepared by the accounting firm Geimer, Ehrlich & Associates, P.A. The Board raised several questions that Mr. Hedrick felt could be best answered by a representative of Geimer, Ehrlich, and he suggested inviting Mr. Ehrlich to attend the Board’s January 2004 meeting. The Board accepted Mr. Hedrick’s suggestion.

Correspondence: Mr. Hedrick brought the Board’s attention to a letter from Violeta Tolosa, the owner of a unit at 1817 Queens Ln., in which she said that she had slipped on the new surface installed on the basement hallway floor at 1809 Queens Ln. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he had made the company that installed this flooring aware of this problem and that he had told Mr. Kiman to make sure to keep the non-skid rug in this basement hallway drawn up to the entrance doorway. The Board reviewed a letter from Andrew and Isabel Chatterton, the owners of unit #124 at 1733 Queens Ln., in which they requested permission to remodel their kitchen. After discussion, Mr. McGregor moved that the Board approve the Chatterton’s request to remodel their kitchen with the proviso that they provide CVIII with a copy of any permit required for this project by Arlington County. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Old Business:

Landscaping Update: Fall Annuals: After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII accept McFall and Berry’s proposal to supply and install $1,500 worth of pansies around the bases of the seven pear trees at the top of the stairs from the parking lot. Installation of these flowers was to occur on or after 6 October 2003. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. 2004 Lawn Maintenance Contract: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he requested proposals for lawn maintenance service in 2004 from ValleyCrest, Vincente, Tru-Greenand McFall & Berry. Landscape Architect: The Board agreed to invite a landscape architect to its November meeting to present a proposal to develop a master plan for CVIII landscaping. Parking Lot: The Board discussed what it felt was CVIII’s most noticeable landscaping problem: replacing missing and dying trees on the east side of the parking lot. These trees were installed when CVIII was converted to a condominium. They were meant to serve two purposes: (i) as a screen to block the view of the parking lot and (ii) as a barrier to direct foot traffic away from the lawn and on to the sidewalks. Two types were planted here: Eastern Red Cedars north of the stairs and unidentified cultivars similar to the Skyrocket Juniper to the south. One cedar and three of the cultivars are missing. All of the cultivars are diseased and dying. The Board accepted the reasons these trees were originally planted in this location, but thought the choice of trees was wrong. The Board felt that good landscaping design for this area would be to have the same type, size and shape of trees on both sides of the stairs. The Board considered a number of solutions to this problem and came to the conclusion that the best would be to take down all of the trees and replace them with Nellie R. Stevens Hollies, which were sturdy trees, pyramidal in shape, fifteen to twenty feet high, and ten to fifteen feet wide at the base when fully grown. CVIII had groups of Nellie R. Stevens planted at both ends of the ivy beds outside the Wilson Blvd. gate. The cost of these hollies would be between $20,000 and $24,000 depending on the height of the replacement trees. Replacing only the dead and dying cultivars with immature Eastern Red Cedars or Leyland Cypresses would cost $10,000 to $12,000 depending on the size of the replacement trees. Vincente Landscaping was asked to supply an estimate of the cost of another alternative, which would be to transplant arborvitae being used to screen heat pumps and meter stacks at various locations in CVIII. The Board considered replacing all the trees with a hedge of photinia or privet, but rejected this idea because of maintenance costs. The Board discussed how to pay for this project, and decided to return to this item at its next meeting.

Installation of Sample Unit Replacement Windows: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he continued to work with Mid-South Distributors to get a sample of a vinyl-clad wooden replacement window that met HALRB and CVIII standards installed in the storage room in 1821 N. Rhodes St.

1729 Queens Ln. Replacement Chimney: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that Consolidated Waterproofing was still negotiating permits with Arlington County. Once this was done, they would give Mr. Hedrick seven days notice before beginning work replacing the chimney behind 1729 Queens Ln.

Hallway Renovations: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that the problems detailed in CVIII’s “punch list” had been fixed, and final payment had been released to Carpet One of Alexandria.

Replacement Doors for Building Entrances: The Board asked Mr. Hedrick for a status report on the installation of replacement building entry doors at various locations in CVIII. Mr. Hedrick said that he would contact Precision Doors to get them on this project ASAP.

New Business:

Exterior Renovations: Mr. Hedrick presented the Board with a proposal from Renaissance Painting to replace and paint milled trim on two dormers at 1813 Queens Ln. and replace, caulk and paint nine plinth blocks at various building entrances for a sum of $1,400. After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII accept Renaissance Painting’s proposal to replace and paint milled trim on two dormers at 1813 Queens Ln. and replace, caulk and paint nine plinth blocks at various building entrances for a sum of $1,400. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Storm Drainage: The Board reviewed proposals from Hix & Sons: (i) to provide and install PVC drain pipes to collect storm runoff and condensate from downspouts at 1817 and 1821 N. Rhodes St. and 1808, 1809, 1813, 1816 and 1817 Queens Ln. and carry this runoff to the creek adjacent to Rhodes St. or existing drainage pipes and catch basins; (ii) provide and install 12” catch basins to collect storm runoff that was ponding on the east side of 1816 Queens Ln. and the west side of 1817 Queens Ln. and a 6” catch basin in a heat pump well to collect storm runoff that was ponding on the west side of 1804 Queens Ln. and carry this runoff with PVC pipe to existing drainage pipes or catch basins; (iii) provide and install two new window wells made of pressure treated lumber at 1809 and 1813 Queens Ln.; (iv) provide and install high clay content soil and do additional landscaping to direct rainfall away from the foundations of 1804, 1808, 1809 and 1813 Queens Ln.. The Board asked Mr. Hedrick to have Hix & Sons confirm in writing that cleanouts would be install by the downspouts at 1817 and 1821 N. Rhodes St., that additional cleanouts would be installed at fifty foot intervals in longer runs of PVC pipe and that turns in pipes be made in 45 not 90 increments. The Board also reviewed a proposal by ValleyCrest Landscaping Maintenance to do some of the work bid by Hix & Sons. The Board asked Mr. Hedrick to have ValleyCrest resubmit their bid so that it was fully comparable in scope and materials to the proposal made by Hix.

Executive Session: Mr. Stafford moved that the open session of this meeting be adjourned, and the Board go into executive session. Mr. Gerrity seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

The next Board meeting is scheduled to follow the annual meeting of CVIII’s owners association on 20 October 2003 in the conference room in the CMI office at 1903 Key Blvd.

Mr. Gerrity moved that this meeting be adjourned. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously at 8:35 p.m.

October 20, 2003 CVIII Annual Meeting Minutes

Call to order: With a quorum of unit owners voting by proxy and in person of 35.94%, the meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. Present at that time were Peyton Palmore, president; Stanton Stafford, vice-president; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; and Michael McGregor, member-at-large. Also present were unit owners Eric Donovan, Michael Eddy, Lorraine Eide, Mahmoud Ghannam, Laura Hagg, Paul Killoran, Gordon Meuse, Craig Sterkx, and Jonathan Thornton; resident Debra Schwartzberg; maintenance engineer Stan Kiman; and association manager George Hedrick

Proof of Notice of Meeting: All unit owners in attendance acknowledged the timely receipt of notice of this meeting.

Reading and Approval of Minutes: Mr. Stafford moved that the minutes of the 17 October 2002 Annual Meeting be approved without change. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and all approved it except Eric Donovan, Michael Eddy, Lorraine Eide, Mahmoud Ghannam, Laura Hagg, Paul Killoran, Gordon Meuse, Craig Sterkx, and Jonathan Thornton who abstained because they did not attend that meeting.

Unit Owners Forum:

Paul Killoran: Mr. Killoran asked if the Board had considered putting floor mats right inside building entry doors. These would be in addition to the black rubber already in use outside these doors, and would help keep hallway carpeting clean. The Board said such mats were on order. He expressed concern about the safety residents and their property because some individuals continued to leave basement and laundry room doors propped open. The Board that it had approved signs asking residents to think of their neighbors’ safety and help keep these doors closed but Mr. Hedrick had yet to get them installed. He complained that residents were not picking up their cigarette butts after they finished smoking outdoors. The Board said that it would ask them to do so in the next issue of the newsletter. He suggested that connecting security lighting to motion sensors on the east sides of Buildings One and Three could help reduce electricity bills. The Board agreed to look into the matter. He asked if the Board had decided whether to hire CVIII’s janitor directly or maintain the current arrangement of using a contractor as an intermediary. The Board said that it had decided to continue to use a contractor for economic reasons. He expressed concern about expenditures on landscaping given mention in the minutes of last month’s meeting that the Board planned to entertain a proposal from a landscaping architect. The Board said that it would proceed carefully in this matter.

Eric Donovan: Mr. Donovan asked how many trees had to be removed because of damage from recent storms. The Board said five; and they would be replaced as soon as money was available.

Mahmoud Ghannam: Mr. Ghannam asked about the status of CVIII’s reserve funds in general and specifically those for masonry renovations. The Board that it hired a consulting engineer in 2000 to provide estimates of costs of maintenance or replacement of those common elements of CVIII that required accumulating reserves. The Board said that it was building up reserves based on these estimates as required by state law. The Board noted that it was required by state law to have qualified consultant review these accounts every five years, and it planned to have such a review conducted in 2005. With respect to masonry renovations, the Board said that it had been advised by its consulting engineer, Douglas White of Thomas Downey, Ltd., that CVIII had $750,000 of tuck pointing to do over the next twelve to fifteen years. The Board said that it had been setting aside $50,000 a year since 2001 to pay for this work. The Board said that it planned to make a detailed review of masonry renovations this year.

Craig Sterkx: Mr. Sterkx asked about the approval process for replacement windows. Mr. Hedrick told him to submit a cut sheet with detailed specifications from his contractor to the Board. He was strongly urged to bring a sample of the window to a Board meeting if it was not a type of window already approved for use as a replacement window in CVIII by the Board and the HALRB. After the Board approved his submission, then he had to take it to the HALRB for its approval.

Reports of Officers:

President: Mr. Palmore said that 2003 was the ninth consecutive year that he had attended the annual meeting of CVIII’s owners association as a member of its Board of directors. Over that period, the Boards on which he served had completed a number of projects that improved CVIII. These included putting new roofs on twenty-five of CVIII’s twenty-eight buildings, making major improvements in CVIII’s storm drainage system, and renovating hallways, all done without resort to special assessments. He was also proud of helping CVIII come to an agreement with Arlington County’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board on standards for replacement windows, installing a gate at the Wilson Blvd. entrance, beginning the process of replacing building entry doors, and developing a welcome brochure for new residents of CVIII.

Secretary: Mr. Gerrity told the meeting that he had served on CVIII’s Board with Mr. Palmore for three years and, based on that experience, he could say that Mr. Palmore deserved high praise for his commitment to CVIII. He had supplied the inspiration for many projects that made CVIII a better place in which to live. He asked those in attendance to join him in thanking Peyton for his nine years of service to CVIII.

At-Large: Mr. McGregor said that he was looking forward to assisting in the development of a master plan for improving CVIII’s landscaping during the coming year. He also said that he was determined to see that there would be a halt to residents’ unauthorized attempts to improve CVIII’s landscaping.

Management:

Mr. Kiman and Mr. Hedrick decided not to speak in order to keep the meeting short.

Committee Reports: None:

Election of Members of the Board of Directors:

Mr. Hedrick explained the requirements of the CVIII By-Laws with respect to the election of members of the Board of directors. Mr. Hedrick said that there were three vacancies this year, two due to the normal expiration of three-year terms and the other to complete the final year of a three-year term of a Board member, Christian Hamaker, who had resigned. Inspectors of Election: Unit owners Craig Sterkx and Jonathan Thornton were appointed inspectors of the election of members of CVIII’s Board of directors. Candidates for Election to Board of Directors: The names of Cheryl Connelly and Stanton Stafford, members of the current Board, and Charles Vanderlyn appeared as candidates on the proxy statements distributed prior to this meeting. Mr. Hedrick asked if anyone else present was interested in standing for election to the Board, and if so, to please step forward. No one did. Election Results: Given the required quorum, Ms. Connelly, Mr. Stafford and Mr. Vanderlyn each received more than 50% of the common interest voted by proxy and in person at this meeting, and Ms. Connelly and Mr. Stafford both received a higher vote than Mr. Vanderlyn. Therefore, Ms. Connelly and Mr. Stafford were elected to three-year terms and Mr. Vanderlyn to a one-year term on CVIII’s Board of directors.

2004 Budget:

After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that a budget with an average increase in owners’ assessments of 5.4% for the year 2004 be approved. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Late Fees:

After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that late fees for delinquent assessments be raised from $10 to $20 effective 1 January 2004. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion and it was approved unanimously. The Board noted that this was first time in CVIII’s fifteen-year history that this fee had been increased.

Election of Officers:

Mr. Gerrity noted that Ms. Connelly and Mr. Vanderlyn were both absent from this meeting and moved that Stanton Stafford, Michael McGregor and Dennis Gerrity be elected on an acting basis as president, vice president and secretary respectively of the newly constituted Board until a Board meeting when all five members were present and able to vote on permanent officers of the Board for the coming year. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Executive Session: None.

The date and location of CVIII’s 2004 Annual Meeting will be announced in September 2004.

Mr. Gerrity moved that this meeting be adjourned. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously at 7:40 p.m.

October 20, 2003 CVIII Board Meeting Minutes

Call to order: With a quorum present the meeting was called to order at 7:45 p.m. Present at that time were Stanton Stafford, president; Michael McGregor, vice president; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; unit owners Michael Eddy, Lorraine Eide and Mahmoud Ghannam; maintenance engineer Stan Kiman; and association manager George Hedrick.

Proof of Notice of Meeting: All unit owners in attendance acknowledged the timely receipt of notice of this meeting.

Resident Forum: No one chose to speak.

Reading and Approval of Minutes: Mr. Stafford moved that the minutes of the 15 September 2003 meeting be approved without change. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Reports of Officers: None.

Committee Reports: None.

Management Report:

Engineer: Mr. Kiman told the Board that there had been no unusual maintenance problems during the past month. Hallways: The Board asked Mr. Hedrick and Mr. Kiman to ask supervisory personnel at CVIII’s janitorial firm to work with their on-site employee on doing a better job of cleaning finger prints, scuff marks and the like off of interior wall and doors. 1728 Queens Ln.: The Board asked Mr. Kiman: (i) to reattach carpeting that had come loose from a tack strip on the top step of the lower flight of stairs; (ii) to finish trimming out the new door on the west side of the basement of this building.

September Financial Update: Mr. Hedrick reported that, after making allowances for errors and omissions with respect the cost of cleaning up damage to trees by Hurricane Isabel in the September financial report, CVIII had a year-to-date operating surplus of no more than $3,000 as of the end of September. Details of the September financial report are available for unit owner review at the CVIII office.

Asset Management: The Board reviewed the investment of CVIII’s reserve funds. It asked Mr. Hedrick to have CMI look for a six month $90,000 CD with a yield greater than 1.2%. Funds to pay for this CD would come from closing CVIII’s account with a money market fund yielding .75% and withdrawing $60,000 from another money market fund paying 1.2%.

Correspondence: The Board decided to review correspondence in executive session. 

Old Business:

Landscaping Update: 2004 Lawn Maintenance Contract: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he had received proposals for lawn maintenance in 2004 from McFall and Berry, Tru-Green and ValleyCrest. He was still waiting for a similar proposal from Vicente Landscaping Service. He said he would present these proposals to the Board at its November meeting. Landscape Architect: The Board discussed and then decided to ask the landscape architect to make a walk-through of CVIII with several Board members and Mr. Hedrick prior to his appearance its November meeting. The Board also discussed what guidance to give this architect with respect to his presentation in November. Some argued that he be allowed to begin with a clean slate. Others argued that, given the cost of landscaping, he should be encouraged to make the best use of CVIII’s existing landscaping in his proposal and changes and additions he proposed would be low maintenance. All agreed that he should be made aware that Arlington County’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) had control over the appearance of CVIII’s grounds and had exercised that control when trees were removed. Installation of Sample Unit Replacement Windows: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he had still not found a vinyl-clad wooden window to serve as a sample that met the standards that the HALRB set for replacement windows in CVIII.

1729 Queens Ln. Replacement Chimney: Mr. Hedrick told the Board the Consolidated Waterproofing had informed him that it had resolved permitting problems with Arlington County would be ready to begin replacing the chimney behind 1729 Queens Ln. this coming December.

Replacement Doors for Building Entrances: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that Precision Door said that the nine remaining building entry doors in its contract with CVIII would be installed within forty-five days.

2002 Audit: Mr. Hedrick presented the “representation” letter required for release of the final audit of CVIII’s books for 2002 by Geimer, Ehrlich for signature by a Board member. The Board declined to sign this letter because it had not received a satisfactory answer for why bills for landscaping done in 2002 were being charged against the books for 2003. The Board and Mr. Hedrick agreed that Mr. Ehrlich’s appearance at the Board’s January 2004 meeting would a good time to resolve this problem.

Storm Drainage: The Board asked Mr. Hedrick if he had obtained revised bids from Hix & Sons that took into account changes the Board made in their original proposals for improvements to CVIII’s storm drainage system servicing Buildings Two and Four. He said he had not.

New Business:

Hallway Renovations: Mr. Kiman told the Board that he would begin patching holes and gouges in hallway walls and ceilings and touch-up painting when the weather turned cold. He advised the Board that Duron had discontinued its Plastikote line of paint. This could cause problems matching the texture of the existing paint, and, if so, he might have to paint entire sections of walls to keep the hallways looking attractive.

All-Village Holiday Party: After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that the Board approve a $125 contribution by CVIII to cover the cost of the annual holiday party held by CVI, CVII, CVIII and the Commons. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Executive Session: Mr. Gerrity moved that the open session of this meeting be adjourned, and the Board go into executive session. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

The next Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on 17 November 2003 in the conference room in the CMI office at 1903 Key Blvd.

Mr. Gerrity moved that this meeting be adjourned. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously at 8:50 p.m.

November 17, 2003 CVIII Board Meeting Minutes

Call to order: With a quorum present the meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. Present at that time were, Stanton Stafford, president; Michael McGregor, vice president; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; maintenance engineer Stan Kiman; and association manager George Hedrick. Charles Vanderlyn, member-at-large, and unit owner Lorraine Eide arrived shortly after the start of the meeting.

Proof of Notice of Meeting: All unit owners in attendance acknowledged the timely receipt of notice of this meeting.

Resident Forum: Ms. Eide chose not to speak

Reading and Approval of Minutes: Mr. Stafford moved that the minutes of the 20 October 2003 meeting be approved without change. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Reports of Officers: None.

Management Report:

Engineer: Mr. Kiman told the Board that with the exception of three lighting fixtures that had been vandalized there had been no unusual maintenance problems during the past month. Mr. Kiman said that he was currently occupied with preparing CVIII for the winter. Bollard Light Fixtures between 1816 and 1817 Queens Ln.: Mr. Hedrick and Mr. Kiman recommended that the three bollard light fixtures between 1816 and 1817 Queens Ln. be replaced with two twelve to fourteen foot high pole lamps. Mr. Kiman said the bollard lamps had been vandalized so often that it was a waste of money to keep repairing them. The Board accepted their suggestion and asked Mr. Hedrick to get bids for these pole lamps. Laundry Room Door at 1729 Queens Ln.: Members of the Board and Ms. Eide informed Mr. Kiman that the lock on the door to the laundry room at 1729 Queens Ln. was not working properly. On occasion keys would not turn the lock’s tumbler and the door could not be opened. Mr. Kiman said that he inspect this door and make whatever repairs were necessary. “House” Main Circuit Breakers: Mr. Hedrick presented the Board with a bid of $2,500 from Contemporary Electrical Services to clean and retorque electrical connections in ten house electrical panels. The Board noted that two years ago CVIII got a bid from Kolb Electric to do the same work on house panels plus clean and retorque the main circuit breakers for all 172 units for $2,556. The Board told Mr. Hedrick to leave no stone unturned looking for a better bid than that of Contemporary Electrical Services on this project.

October Financial Update: Mr. Hedrick reported that, after making allowances for errors and omissions in the October financial report, CVIII had a year-to-date operating deficit of $4,681 as of the end of October. Most notable of these errors and omissions were a $2,800 bill to truck away storm damage related to Hurricane Isabel and $2,210 for lawn service for the month of October. Mr. Hedrick further noted that CVIII’s auditor, Geimer, Ehrlich, had moved a $12,000 payment from HOF for laundry room redecoration from CVIII’s 2003 books to those for 2002. Mr. Hedrick explained that CVIII kept its books on an accrual basis. This meant that income was credited to CVIII’s books when earned, not when it was actually received. HOF installed the new laundry machines in late 2002 and made the payment for redecoration in early 2003. Details of the October financial report are available for unit owner review at the CVIII office.

Asset Management: The Board reviewed the disposition of CVIII’s cash reserves and found that $256,000 was invested in comparatively low yielding money market funds. Given that capital expenditures over the next twelve months were expected to be no more than $75,000, the Board asked Mr. Hedrick to have CMI look for CDs with terms of three years or less to invest $180,000 of the funds currently placed in money market accounts.

Correspondence: Mr. Hedrick brought to the Board’s attention a letter from William Raskin, the owner of unit #139 at 1801 Queens Ln., in which Mr. Raskin asked to be reimbursed $247.95 for repairs to the electrical wiring for his heat pump. Mr. Raskin wrote that his heart pump contractor said that the installation by CVIII of storm drainage pipes in the vicinity of his heat pump damaged this wiring. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that the storm drainage contractor had finished working behind 1801 Queens Ln. by August of 2001, which was two years prior to the date Mr. Raskin said in his letter that his heat pump failed. Mr. Hedrick said that if the storm drainage contractor had damaged the wiring for Mr. Raskin’s heat pump, it should have been apparent in the fall of 2001, not two years later. During that two-year period, numerous individuals, particularly other heat pump mechanics, could have been present in the area where Mr. Raskin’s heat was located. After discussion, Mr. McGregor moved that CVIII deny Mr. Raskin’s request for reimbursement. Mr. Gerrity seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Committee Reports:

Parking: Mr. Gerrity told the Board that during October he had attended three additional sessions of Arlington County’s on-going symposium intended to identify and find solutions for neighborhood parking problems. He told the Board that county officials were clearly aware of the difficulties that Colonial Village’s residents were having finding places to park on Rhodes St. at night because of spillover parking from restaurants and other commercial activity on Wilson Blvd. County officials were also aware of the fact that Colonial Village’s residents owned more motor vehicles than its streets and parking lots could accommodate. He said that tighter restrictions on vehicles without neighborhood parking zone permits appeared to be the county’s preferred solution to spillover parking. He warned the Board that tighter restrictions on the ability of those who did not have a permit to park in a given neighborhood could make thing worse for CVIII’s residents on those nights when everyone was at home because they would no longer be allowed to park in Zone 5 (south of Wilson Blvd.) or Zone 6 (Lyon Village.) Charging a fee for zone stickers (and incrementally higher fees for additional stickers for households that owned more than one motor vehicle) appeared to be the favored solution to the “internal” cause of parking problems in Colonial Village. The county gave no indication when it would move from talk of solutions to taking action.

Old Business:

Landscaping Update: Landscape Architect: Mr. Stafford told that Board that he had been unable find a landscape architect or designer who worked independently from a landscaping firm and who was interested in working with a nonprofit organization such as CVIII. After discussion, the Board decided that that it would develop a long-term plan to improve CVIII’s landscaping on its own. For independent advice, it would make use of Arlington County’s arborist and its USDA extension office. 2004 Lawn Maintenance Contract: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he had received proposals for lawn maintenance in 2004 from McFall and Berry, Tru-Green and ValleyCrest. He was still waiting for a similar proposal from Vicente Landscaping Service. He said he would present these proposals to the Board at its December meeting. Cleanup After Isabel: After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that the Board approve payment of $2,800 to McFall and Berry for the removal of four truckloads of debris created by Hurricane Isabel. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. Tree Maintenance: Mr. Gerrity informed the Board that Mr. Hedrick and he had conducted an extensive survey with Scott Bates of Bartlett Tree Experts and they found that CVIII had $20,000 of work to do to correct obvious problems with CVIII’s trees. The largest component of this $20,000 was $4,500 to remove trees damaged by Hurricane Isabel. Another $4,000 was to pay for the removal of three large trees that were dying. The balance was to remove dead wood and shape and elevate numerous trees. Eight replacement trees would have to be planted at an additional cost of $1,200 to $1,500 per tree. Mr. Gerrity said that none of these problems was an immediate threat to life or property and this work could done over the next three to four years

1729 Queens Ln. Replacement Chimney: Mr. Hedrick told the Board the Consolidated Waterproofing had informed him that it had not resolved permitting problems with Arlington County, but was hopeful that it would be able to begin replacing the chimney behind 1729 Queens Ln. in January 2004 weather permitting.

Replacement Doors for Building Entrances: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that Precision Door said more than a month ago that the nine remaining building entry doors in its contract with CVIII would be installed within forty-five days. He said that he expected to see Precision on the property shortly.

Hallway Renovations: Door Mats: The Board asked Mr. Hedrick for a status report on various doormats ordered as part of hallway renovations. Mr. Hedrick said their delivery had been delayed because of confusion, recently straightened out, over terms of payment. Carpeting: After discussion, the Board decided to purchase sixty square yards of the Mohawk carpeting recently installed in CVIII’s hallways in anticipation of the need to prematurely replace carpet in some locations because of instances of unusual wear and tear. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to bids from several firms on this amount of carpeting.

Storm Drainage: Mr. Hedrick provided the Board with bids totaling $21,355 from Hix & Sons for improvements to the storm drainage systems serving Buildings Two and Four amended to provide for the installation of eleven cleanouts and turns being made in 45 rather than 90 increments. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to get bids from at least two other firms on this project.

New Business:

A Web Site for CVIII: The Board discussed how to proceed with developing a Web site for CVIII. The Board decided to go for something simple that would not require hiring outside help. In the expectation that CVIII had at least several residents with the necessary skills, the Board decided to advertise for help in the issue of CVIII’s newsletter.

2004 Snow Removal Contract: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that CVIII’s existing snow removal contract with McFall and Berry ran until the end of 2003 and he would presents bids on CVIII’s 2004 snow removal contract at the Board’s December meeting.

2003 All-Village Holiday Party: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that this year’s all-village holiday party for residents of CVI, CVII, CVIII and the Commons would be held on 10 December 2003 at 6:30 p.m. in CVII’s meeting room in the basement of 1701 N. Troy St.

Executive Session: Mr. Gerrity moved that the open session of this meeting be adjourned, and the Board go into executive session. Mr. Vanderlyn seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

The next Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on 17 December 2003 in the conference room in the CMI office at 1903 Key Blvd.

Mr. Gerrity moved that this meeting be adjourned. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously at 8:35 p.m.

December 17, 2003 CVIII Board Meeting Minutes

Call to order: With a quorum present the meeting was called to order at 6:31 p.m. Present at that time were Stanton Stafford, president; Cheryl Connelly, treasurer; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; Charles Vanderlyn, member-at-large; unit owner Lorraine Eide; maintenance engineer Stan Kiman; and association manager George Hedrick.

Proof of Notice of Meeting: All unit owners in attendance acknowledged the timely receipt of notice of this meeting.

Resident Forum: Ms. Eide chose not to speak

Reading and Approval of Minutes: Mr. Vanderlyn moved that the minutes of the November meeting be approved without change. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Officers of the Board and their Responsibilities:

Because Ms. Connelly and Mr. Vanderlyn were unable to attend this year’s annual meeting, the rest of the Board elected its officers on an acting basis until both were present at a meeting to vote their preferences. This being such a meeting, Mr. Gerrity moved the election of officers of CVIII’s current Board of directors on a permanent basis as follows: Stanton Stafford, president; Michael McGregor, vice president; Cheryl Connelly, treasurer; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; and Charles Vanderlyn, member-at-large. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. Following the practice of past Boards, individual Board members agreed to oversight responsibilities for various aspects of CVIII’s operation, with the authority to act for the full Board on noncontroversial matters. Mr. Stafford will look after matters related to the maintenance of CVIII’s physical plant. Ms. Connelly will concentrate on the treasurer’s responsibilities of auditing CVIII’s finances and managing its assets. Mr. Gerrity, in addition to his responsibilities as secretary, will chair the landscaping committee and produce and edit CVIII’s newsletter. Mr. McGregor will monitor the efforts of CMI and Chadwick, Washington, CVIII’s law firm, to collect CVIII’s delinquent assessments. Mr. Vanderlyn will chair the public safety committee. To help ensure that problems are found and corrected promptly, members of the Board agreed to inspect CVIII’s buildings at least once a month as follows: Ms. Connelly, Building One; Mr. Gerrity, Building Two; Mr. McGregor and Mr. Stafford, Building Three; Mr. Vanderlyn, Building Four.

Reports of Officers:

Secretary: Mr. Gerrity told the Board Betty Davis had been kind enough to agree to edit the minutes for him.

Management Report:

Snow Removal: The Board thanked Mr. Kiman for his efforts to clear CVIII’s walkways of snow during and after recent storms. 

Engineer: Mr. Kiman told the Board that there had been no unusual maintenance problems during the past month. The Board noted that two grills were left out side 1813 N. Rhodes St. all the time. Mr. Kiman was asked and agreed to remove them. The Board also noted that the cover on a heater in the basement hallway of 1808 Queens Ln. was broken and needed to be replaced. Mr. Kiman said that this heater was not being used. He suggested that removing this heater made more sense than repairing it. The Board accepted his suggestion.

November Financial Update: Mr. Hedrick reported that, after making allowances for errors and omissions in the November financial report, CVIII had a year-to-date operating deficit of $5,296 as of the end of November. Mr. Hedrick noted that, while budget deficits were always matters of concern, CVIII would have had a year-to-date surplus of over $8,000 if not for snow removal expenses that were $6,177 over budget because of storms in January and February and $7,200 in unbudgeted expenses to cleaning up damage caused by Hurricane Isabel. Details of the November financial report are available for unit owner review at the CVIII office.

Asset Management: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board CMI had purchased a $96,962 CD paying 2.57% from BB&T that could be redeemed penalty free at any time. He said that CMI was actively looking for another CD of similar size with a two-year term. The Board suggested making inquiries at Presidential Federal Savings and Loan. The Board reminded Mr. Hedrick that a $64,000 CD was coming due in early March of 2004.

Committee Reports:

Public Safety: Mr. Vanderlyn told the Board of recently finding the fluorescent lighting burned out in the trash room at 1808 Queens Ln. He expressed concern about the safety of residents in such a situation. He suggested installing a second light fixture to serve as a backup. The Board discussed this matter and noted that there was some backup lighting from existing hallway fixtures and because this was such a rare occurrence decided that no action was necessary. Mr. Vanderlyn also pointed out to the Board that the light outside 1801 N. Rhodes St. was focused on shrubbery on the right side of the building rather than where it was needed, to illuminate the flight of stairs on the left leading to the building’s front door. Mr. Kiman suggested that moving this light fixture from the right to the left side of the door would solve this problem. The Board accepted Mr. Kiman’s suggestion and asked him to get a proposal from a contractor.

Old Business:

Landscaping Update: December Clean-up: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that McFall and Berry would be on the property December 23 or 24 to remove leaves and other debris so that the grounds would look attractive for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. 2004 Landscaping Enhancements: Mr. Gerrity queried the Board and all members answered affirmatively that they were still in agreement that CVIII would concentrate on one big project in 2004, replacing the cedars and spruces on the east side of the parking lot with Nellie Stevens Hollies. If any money were left over after this project was completed, then several sample renovations of shrubbery arrangements around building entrances would be attempted. Long-term Renovations of CVIII’s Landscaping: Mr. Gerrity presented the Board with a proposal to plant beds of ground cover along bare sections of building foundations throughout CVIII. He asked the Board to review the location, size and shape of these beds and the type of plant suggested in this proposal. Annual Flowers: Mr. Gerrity suggested that CVIII suspend planting annual flowers around the bases of the pear trees at the top the stairs from the parking lot until major renovations of CVIII’s landscaping, which the Board is contemplating, are completed. He noted that CVIII spends $3,000 to $4,000 each year on these flowers. He suggested that for the next four or five years this money would be better spent on plants and shrubs that lived for years rather than flowers that lasted at most six months.

1729 Queens Ln. Replacement Chimney: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that Consolidated Waterproofing had informed him it had still not resolved permitting problems with Arlington County, but remained hopeful that it would be able to begin replacing the chimney behind 1729 Queens Ln. in January 2004 weather permitting.

Replacement Doors Building Entrances: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that Precision Door failed to honor its commitment to begin installing nine replacement building entry doors by 15 December 2003.

Storm Drainage: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he had requested additional bids on storm drainage improvements for Buildings Two and Four from ValleyCrest and Newborg Drainage and Landscaping

Pole Lamps 1816-1817 Queens Ln: Mr. Hedrick presented the Board with the following proposals to replace three bollard style lamps located between 1816 and 1817 Queens Ln., which had been vandalized repeatedly, with two pole lamps: PSE, $4,490; Kolb Electric, $5,200. The Board decided to put off a decision until it received a bid from a third contractor, Contemporary Electric Services.

New Business:

2004 Lawn Maintenance Contract: Mr. Hedrick presented the Board with the following proposals to provide CVIII with lawn maintenance service in 2004: McFall and Berry Landscape Mgt., Inc., $22,546.08; ValleyCrest Landscape Maintenance, $28,180; Vicente Landscape Service, $28,775; TruGreen LandCare, $36,292. After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that the CVIII approve McFall and Berry’s bid of $22,546.08 to provide CVIII with lawn maintenance service in 2004. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

2004 Snow Removal Contract: Mr. Hedrick explained to the Board that nearly all companies providing commercial snow removal service were lawn maintenance companies and that almost all these companies tied providing snow removal service to signing a contract for their lawn maintenance service. Since the Board had approved a lawn maintenance contract with McFall and Berry, Mr. Hedrick said that he was going to recommend their proposal for snow removal service in 2004. He noted that their $38 per hour per man charge for shoveling and $102 per hour charge for plowing (with two hour minimums for both services) were lower than those in bids from other companies in past years. Mr. Gerrity moved that the Board approve McFall and Berry’s bid to provide CVIII with snow removal service in 2004. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Common Element Circuit Breaker Maintenance: Mr. Hedrick presented the Board with the following proposals to inspect, clean and retorque circuit breaker sockets in ten house panels: PSE, $775; Kolb Electric, $1,210; Contemporary Electric Services, $2,500. Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII approve PSE’s bid of $775 to provide preventative maintenance of electrical distribution equipment in ten house panels. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Unauthorized Commercial Sign: The Board reviewed material related to a complaint that a commercial sign had been installed without permission from the Board, Arlington County’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB), and Arlington County’s Zoning Administration. The Board decided to continue discussion of this matter at its January meeting.

Executive Session: Mr. Stafford moved that the open session of this meeting be adjourned at 7:33 p.m., and the Board go into executive session. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

The next Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on 19 January 2004 in the conference room in the CMI office at 1903 Key Blvd.

Mr. Stafford moved that this meeting be adjourned. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously at 7:45 p.m.