January 19, 2004 CVIII Board of Directors 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, president; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; Charles Vanderlyn, member-at-large; unit owner Lorraine Eide; and association manager George Hedrick. Michael McGregor, vice president, and Gary Ehrlich of CVIII’s accounting firm, Geimer, Ehrlich & Associates, 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’s comments are found under “New Business.”

Reading and Approval of Minutes: Mr. Vanderlyn moved that the minutes of the 17 December 2003 meeting be approved without change. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and Messrs. Stafford, Gerrity and Vanderlyn voted to approve it, Mr. McGregor not yet present.

CVIII’s Accounting Procedures: Members the Board raised questions during the past year with respect to Geimer, Ehrlich & Associates, CVIII and CMI’s compliance with standards for independent auditing found in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Board also had questions on the temporal allocation of expenses under the accrual system of accounting that CVIII used, CVIII’s income tax liability, and accounting procedures for writing off bad debt. Mr. Hedrick suggested that a representative of CVIII’s accounting firm be invited to answer these questions at a Board meeting. Mr. Gary Ehrlich of Geimer, Ehrlich & Associates was kind enough to attend this meeting. Compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Mr. McGregor asked Mr. Ehrlich if he or his firm had any ownership or other business relationship with CVIII, CMI or any member of the Board that constituted a violation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Mr. Ehrlich told the Board that he and his firm were fully compliant with applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in their business dealings with CMI and CVIII. Allocation of Expenses on an Accrual Basis: The Board told Mr. Ehrlich that $4,020.59 of landscaping work done in 2002 was charged to 2003’s books because a contractor was late in submitting his bills. Mr. Ehrlich told the Board that this $4,020.59 could be moved from 2003 to 2002’s books without materially changing the conclusions of his audit of CVIII’s books for 2002. The Board asked him to do so. Income Taxes: Mr. Ehrlich explained that CVIII was liable for federal and state income tax on unrelated business income, which was the interest income from its investments and income from coin-operated laundry machines less deductions for utilities and janitorial service. CVIII could file as either a corporation or a condominium owners association. If CVIII filed as a corporation, then its federal liability would be 15%, less a small allowance for paying CMI to manage its investments. If CVIII filed as an owners association, then its federal liability would be 30%. CVIII’s liability for state income tax was 6% regardless of how it filed. Mr. Ehrlich told the Board that he had been doing CVIII’s books for ten years and he had always filed CVIII’s taxes as a corporation. Accounting Procedures for Bad Debt: The Board noted that CMI prepares a balance sheet on an accrual basis for the Board’s monthly meetings, which shows CVIII’s assets being reduced by an “allowance for doubtful accounts.” This allowance amounted to $6431 in December 2003. Mr. Ehrlich explained that when his firm audited CVIII’s books at the end of the year, it was required to give a realistic statement of CVIII’s assets. This meant that if CVIII had delinquent assessments that it did not have a reasonable expectation of collecting, then a statement of CVIII’s assets must be reduced by a corresponding amount, i.e., an “allowance for doubtful accounts.” The Board asked and Mr. Ehrlich confirmed that this allowance approximated the sum of assessments delinquent ninety days or more from the year of the audit or earlier. The Board asked Mr. Ehrlich if the write-off of delinquent assessments more than ninety days should be shown as reductions in accounts receivables and allowances for bad debt on CVIII’s balance sheet or as bad debt on CVIII’s income statement. Mr. Ehrlich said that if the Board decided to write off delinquent assessments that were more than ninety days old, then such a write-off could be shown as reductions on CVIII’s balance sheet. Working Capital: Mr. Hedrick asked Mr. Ehrlich for an explanation of account #35000 on CVIII’s balance sheet, titled “Working Capital Fund,” which had shown an unchanging negative balance of $3,244.83 for the nearly four years he had served as CVIII’s association manager. Mr. Ehrlich said that when CVIII was formed unit owners were required to deposit an initial assessment in an amount equal to two months assessments. This amount was not to be credited toward owners’ regular monthly assessments, but treated as a working capital contribution and utilized toward the start-up costs of the owners association. Mr. Ehrlich said this account was no longer relevant to the operation of CVIII and that he would work with CMI’s accounting staff to remove it from future statements of CVIII’s accounts. Reserve Accounts: Mr. Ehrlich inquired about the criteria the Board followed in accumulating reserve funds to cover the cost of replacing and repairing long-lived commonly owned assets. The Board told Mr. Ehrlich that Article VI, Section 2, paragraph (c) of CVIII’s bylaws and the Virginia Condominium Statute governed its actions with regard to repair and replacement reserves. The latter requires that owner associations have a professional review of their reserve accounts by a civil engineering or similar type of firm every five years and that contributions to reserve accounts reflect recommendations made in that review. The Board told Mr. Ehrlich that CVIII had been making contributions to its various reserve accounts based on a review of CVIII’s common elements made in 2000 by Thomas Downey, Ltd. The Board said that it planned to have another such review made in 2005. Investment of Reserve Funds: Mr. Ehrlich asked the Board about the types and length of terms of securities in which it invested CVIII’s reserve funds. The Board said that it invested in government issued and government insured securities as required by Article VI, Section 2, paragraph (c) of CVIII’s bylaws. These securities had terms of three years or less. Mr. Ehrlich commented on the low interest rates these CDs were paying. He suggested that the Board improve the yield on some of these funds by investing them in securities with terms between five to ten years.

Reports of Officers: None.

Management Report:

Physical Plant: Mr. Kiman was not present at this meeting. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that there had been no unusual maintenance problems during the past month. The Board noted that mailmen who serviced CVIII were not using the olive colored relay box located adjacent to the northeast corner of the parking lot. The Board asked Mr. Hedrick to contact the Post Office about removing this box. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to have “For Sale” signs removed from two windows in unit #159 at 1817 Queens Ln.

December Financial Update: Mr. Hedrick reported that, after deducting $6,308 in errors and correcting for an omission of $1,166 in the December financial report, CVIII had a year-to-date operating deficit of $3,596.54 as of 29 December 2003. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that this deficit could attributed to either of two factors: (i) Hurricane Isabel, which left tree maintenance costs $6,837 over budget; or (ii) 2003’s near record snowfall, which left snow removal costs $6,343 over budget. Details of the December financial report are available for unit owner review at the CVIII office.

Asset Management: After review, the Board decided to improve the yield on CVIII’s investments by consolidating two money market accounts. Mr. Stafford moved that the Board authorize CMI to close CVIII’s money market account with Acacia Federal Savings and Loan and deposit the $43,534 it contained in CVIII’s money market account with Virginia Commerce Bank. Mr. Gerrity seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to provide it with reinvestment options for a $63,732 CD with Capital One maturing on 13 March 2004.

Correspondence: Mr. Stafford brought to the Board’s attention a letter from Eric Nicoll, a resident owner in CVIII for more than ten years, in which Mr. Nicoll expressed enthusiasm for the Board’s plans to improve CVIII’s landscaping. In particular, he urged the Board to replace the White Pines on the north and south sides of the parking lot because they drip sap on vehicles, which damages their paint finish. Mr. Nicoll also suggested reserving spaces in CVIII’s parking lot for unit owners who actually live in CVIII. This would encourage more owners to stay in CVIII rather than rent their units, which he felt would be in the best interest of all of CVIII’s owners.

Committee Reports: None.

Old Business:

Landscaping Update: The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to find what size were the Nellie Stevens Hollies discussed in McFall and Berry’s proposal dated 10 September 2003.

1729 Queens Ln. Replacement Chimney: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that Consolidated Waterproofing had informed him that it was still trying to resolve permitting problems with Arlington County, but remained hopeful that it would be able to begin replacing the chimney behind 1729 Queens Ln. in February 2004 weather permitting.

Replacement Doors Building Entrances: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that Precision Door had still not honored its commitment to install nine replacement building entry doors. The Board discussed the possibility that Precision was no longer interested in supplying and installing these doors in CVIII.

Storm Drainage: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he had received bids on storm drainage improvements for Buildings Two and Four from Hix & Sons ($21,356) and ValleyCrest ($23,075) and expected to receive a bid from Newborg Drainage and Landscaping shortly. The Board noted that the bids of Hix and ValleyCrest were not comparable because ValleyCrest’s bid omitted work on the south side of 1808 Queens Ln. and the west side of 1804 Queens Ln. and included hillside turf repair behind 1821 N. Rhodes St.

Pole Lamps 1816-1817 Queens Ln: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he had received bids from PSE of $4,490 and Kolb Electric $5,200 to replace three bollard style lamps located between 1816 and 1817 Queens Ln. with two pole lamps. He said he was still waiting for a bid from Contemporary Electric Services on this project. He asked and the Board agreed to put off a decision on this project until he received a bid from this third firm.

Common Element Circuit Breaker Maintenance: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that PSE had completed preventative maintenance of electrical distribution equipment in ten house panels. It found that the metal boxes housing these switches were badly rusted and some would need to be replaced in the near future. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to obtain bids from at least three firms to replace these panels.

Unauthorized Commercial Sign: The Board discussed a complaint that a sign advertising Drs. Gentry and Coutin-Gentry’s dental practice had been hung outside the entrance to 1831 Wilson Blvd. without permission from CVIII’s Board, Arlington County’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB), and Arlington County’s Zoning Administration. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that Article XI, Section 1, paragraph (i) of CVIII’s bylaws stated that “…no signs of any character shall erected, posted or displayed on, in, from or about any Unit or Common Elements without the prior written permission of the Board of Directors,” and the Board had not approved this sign. The Board asked Mr. Hedrick to inform Drs. Gentry and Coutin-Gentry in writing that it had received and reviewed this complaint and, while its first choice for a sign for their office would be one identical in size and shape to those currently used to direct visitors to various addresses within CVIII, it would approve the sign they currently had installed outside the entrance to their office if they obtained approval for this sign from Arlington County’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) and Arlington County’s Zoning Administration.

New Business:

Hallway Light Fixtures: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that residents moving in and out of buildings had damaged many of the diffusers for the fluorescent light fixtures in residential hallways. CVIII would have to replace entire fixtures because replacement diffusers for these fixtures were no longer being manufactured. He asked the Board to choose between a circular fixture 25½″ in diameter emitting 5800 lumens costing $82 and a 26″ square fixture emitting 5700 lumens for $186. He noted that both these fixtures emitted twice as many lumens as did the existing fixtures. After discussion, the Board decided to purchase two of the circular fixtures and install them in a building with four two-bedroom units on a trial basis. Mr. McGregor moved that the Board authorize the purchase of two F2081-36E1 fluorescent fixtures for a total of $164 from Dominion Electric Supply Co. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Website for CVIII: Ms. Eide told the Board that she had looked into what would be needed to establish and operate a basic website for CVIII and found that that software — Microsoft’s FrontPage2003 — needed to set up and operate this site would cost $200. Ms. Eide reviewed several ISPs with the Board and recommended EarthLink, which charged a $25 setup fee and $25 a month for Internet service, as a web host. She volunteered to set up this website if CVIII would pay for the software and the ISP. With expressions of gratitude all around, the Board accepted Ms. Eide’s offer. Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII authorize $200 for the purchase of Microsoft’s FrontPage2003 and $325 for a startup fee and one year of Internet service from EarthLink. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. With the hope that it would be available, the Board chose www.colonialvillageiii.com as a domain name. Mr. Gerrity and Mr. Hedrick agreed to supply Ms. Eide with material for this website.

Common Element Carpeting: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that he had received a bid of $1,158 from Dave’s Carpets to supply CVIII with sixty square yards of Mohawk Structures 874 carpeting in the color of Industrial Olive. He said that he was waiting on a bid for same amount and type of carpeting from Commercial Carpets. This carpeting is intended to replace portions of the common element carpeting installed in 2003 that suffered irreparable damage prior to the end of its expected fifteen-year service life.

Reserve Account for Electrical Equipment: The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to establish a reserve account effective 2005 to cover the cost of repairing and replacing common element electrical distribution equipment and common element lighting such as fluorescent fixtures and exterior pole and security lamps.

Brick Sidewalks: The Board discussed a suggestion that the appearance of CVIII’s grounds would be improved significantly if brick rather than concrete were used when CVIII’s sidewalks needed to be replaced. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that brick walkways would be more expensive than concrete walkways, but if installed over a concrete base they would have a service life comparable to that of concrete. Members of the Board noted if this suggestion were undertaken, it would be done in a piecemeal fashion over a number of years. The Board decided to solicit the opinions of CVIII’s owners on this project in an upcoming edition of the newsletter.

Keyed Entry Gates to CVIII’s Grounds: Mr. Stafford relayed a suggestion to the Board from George Hinkins that CVIII consider building a brick and wrought iron fence with a gate between 1816 and 1817 Queens Ln. similar to the fence that now extends between 1720 and 1721 Queens Ln. This would improve the appearance of CVIII, but more importantly, if locks were installed on these gates, a significant number of pedestrians who were not residents could be excluded. This would increase the security of CVIII’s residents and reduce the amount of vandalism that CVIII has experienced in recent years. Guests would still have access to the complex via the entrance to the parking lot and the two Rhodes St. walkways. The Board decided to solicit the opinions of CVIII’s owners on this project in an upcoming edition of the newsletter. If interest were widespread, then the Board would get estimates of the cost of this project and get back to owners.

Building Four’s Trash Room: Mr. Stafford relayed another suggestion to the Board from George Hinkins: CVIII should consider enlarging the trash room in Building Four (1801 through 1817 Queens Ln. and 1801 through 1821 N. Rhodes St.) Mr. Hinkins said that the existing trash room was too small for the sixty units in Building Four. The Board decided to investigate whether expansion of this trash room was warranted, and if so, whether it was feasible or there was space for a second trash room in Building Four.

Executive Session: Mr. Gerrity moved that the open session of this meeting be adjourned at 8:35 p.m., 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 24 February 2004 in the conference room in the CMI office at 1903 Key Blvd. The Board asked Mr. Hedrick to include in the notice of this meeting that the Board planned to hold an abbreviated session lasting no more than a half hour.

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

February 24, 2004 CVIII Board of Directors 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, president; Cheryl Connelly, treasurer; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; unit owners Eric Donovan and Lorraine Eide; maintenance engineer Stan Kiman; and association manager George Hedrick. Charles Vanderlyn, member-at-large, arrived at 6:45 p.m.

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

Resident Forum:

Eric Donovan, a resident owner living at 1817 N. Rhodes St., told the Board that he had experienced a leak in the ceiling of his unit because his building’s Sarnafil membrane roof covering had developed a hole or had been pierced. He asked if the cost to CVIII of repairs to his ceiling and the roof were covered by a warranty. Mr. Hedrick said that there was a warranty but he was unsure of its terms. Mr. Donovan asked for a clarification of recent mention of the Board’s plans for planting annual flowers. The Board said that it was considering suspending installation of annuals until landscaping renovations were completed. Mr. Donovan encouraged the Board to make more use of perennials when flowers were planted in the future. He noted a suggestion reported in the minutes of the 19 January 2004 Board meeting that brick be used as CVIII’s concrete walkways needed to be replaced. He said he was opposed to brick sidewalks because of their installation and maintenance costs and the added difficulty of keeping them clear of ice and snow. He also noted a recent complaint about sap from White Pine trees planted along the north and south edges of the parking lot damaging car finishes. He urged the Board not to solve this problem by cutting down these trees. He expressed support for a recent suggestion that spaces in CVIII’s parking lot be reserved for resident owners.   

Reading and Approval of Minutes: Mr. Stafford moved that the minutes of the 19 January 2004 meeting be approved without change. Mr. Gerrity seconded this motion, and Messrs. Stafford and Gerrity voted to approve this motion. Ms. Connelly abstained because she did not attend the January meeting. Mr. Vanderlyn was not yet present.

Reports of Officers: None.

Management Report:

Engineer: Mr. Kiman told the Board that the snowstorm on 26 January 2004 had been the only unusual maintenance problem during the past month. The Board thanked him for his efforts in keeping walks, steps and stoops clear of snow and ice. He told the Board that it had been necessary to arrange a special trash pick up to remove abandoned furniture and other bulky items left in trash rooms by residents. The Board noted that residents were violating the Arlington County Fire Code and CVIII’s bylaws by storing boxes and other items on top of their storage cages in the basement of 1809 Queens Ln. Mr. Kiman suggested that the best way to handle this problem would be to leave notices at the doors of concerned residents asking them to remove these items immediately and warning that if they did not do so, their belongings would be removed and disposed of without further notice. The Board noted that there was a large dent in the exterior side of the entry door to #138 at 1801 Queens Ln. and asked Mr. Kiman to use bondo to repair it when he got around to touching up this building’s common hallways. The Board also noted that the weather stripping for the entry door to #141 at 1801 Queens Ln. was so badly damaged as to constitute an eyesore. Mr. Kiman said he would need to arrange access to this unit in order to repair this weather stripping. The Board noted that a crawl space hatch was open in the laundry room and the closer springs for the trash room door were broken at 1808 Queens Ln.

January Financial Update: After making allowances for errors and omissions in the January financial report, Mr. Hedrick said CVIII had a year-to-date operating surplus of $8,782 as of the end of January. Mr. Hedrick attributed this surplus to (i) utility bills being inexplicably $3,740 below their historic averages for January on which he based his budget and (ii) snow removal expenses that were $3,020 under budget which was based on January 2003’s expenses. Details of the January financial report are available for unit owner review at the CVIII office.

Committee Reports: None.

Old Business:

CVIII’s Website: Ms. Eide informed the Board CVIII’s website, www.colonialvillageiii.com, was up and running. In reviewing its organization with the Board, she emphasized that it was still very much in a developmental state. There were pages for many aspects of CVIII’s operation, the sale and rental of units, and a bulletin Board, but scant content beyond CVIII’s welcome brochure and minutes from Board meetings during the past three years. The Board discussed various aspects of www.colonialvillageiii.com with Ms. Eide and thanked her for doing such an excellent job setting up this website for CVIII.

Landscaping Update: Mr. Gerrity told the Board that he would be prepared to discuss options for plant and shrubbery arrangements around building entrances at the Board’s March 15th meeting.

1729 Queens Ln. Replacement Chimney: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he had been informed that Arlington County would not issue buiding permits for the replacement chimney behind 1729 Queens Ln. as designed. The county wanted a solid brick replacement chimney to vent exhaust gases from hot water heaters rather than the plywood chase covered with a brick veneer containing a zero-tolerance metal chimney proposed by CVIII’s contractor. In addition the county said that the solid brick replacement chimney could be the same size as the plywood chase proposed by CVIII. The Board asked Mr. Hedrick to get bids on a chimney that met the county’s requirements.

Replacement Doors for Building Entrances: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that Mr. Gerrity had visited Precision Doors and had been told they would do their very best to install the nine remaining doors in their contract with CVIII during the week of March 8th.

New Business:

Garage Doors: Mr. Hedrick brought to the Board’s attention an opinion from CVIII’s law firm, Chadwick, Washington, which advised that the Board had the authority to decide when repairs to garage doors should be done and that such repairs should paid for with funds drawn from the repair and replacement reserve account set up for the garages unless damage to a given door was caused by its owner. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to survey the garage doors for damage and get bids for their repair.

Executive Session: Mr. Gerrity moved that the open session of this meeting be adjourned at 6:55 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 15 March 2004 at 6:30 p.m. in the conference room at 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 7:00 p.m.

March 15, 2004 CVIII Board of Directors 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; Michael McGregor, vice president; Cheryl Connelly, treasurer; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; and association manager George Hedrick. George Hinkins, a unit owner, 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, a resident owner living at 1812 Queens Ln., had two matters about which he wished to speak to the Board. The first was a request that the Board consider restricting nonresidents’ access to CVIII in order to increase the security of residents and their property and otherwise improve the quality of life in CVIII. He suggested that recent incidents of vandalism in CVIII and longstanding problems with groups of late night revelers were caused by residents of Rosslyn Heights and other complexes north and east of CVIII using the Queens Lane walkways as a shortcut to and from Wilson Blvd. To eliminate this pattern of trespass, Mr. Hinkins proposed that CVIII install a fence with a gate equipped with a lock between 1816 and 1817 Queens Ln. and a similar gate and lock in the existing Wilson Blvd. fence. The cylinders of these locks could be set to accept residents’ laundry room keys. Guests and tradesmen would still have free access to CVIII through the parking lot and the two Rhodes St. pedestrian walks. Mr. Hinkins, an architect by profession, volunteered to design this fence and these gates. He said that he would contact the Arlington County Fire Department to make sure that his design met the fire department’s requirements for access to the hydrant just northwest of 1817 Queens Ln. and to CVIII through these gates. He said he would be willing to appear before the Arlington County Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) if asked. The Board accepted Mr. Hinkins’ offer and asked him to prepare a design and a preliminary estimate of the cost of the fence and gates, which the Board would distribute to unit owners for their comments and suggestions. The Board thanked Mr. Hinkins in advance for the time and effort he would spend working on this project. The second item was to report that a sign asking residents to keep one of 1808 Queens Ln.’s basement doors closed was missing. Mr. Hedrick said that he would have Mr. Kiman replace it.

Reading and Approval of Minutes: Mr. Stafford moved that the minutes of the 24 February 2004 meeting be approved with one change. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Reports of Officers: None:

Management Report:

Physical Plant: Mr. Kiman was absent from this meeting due to illness. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that there had been no unusual maintenance problems during the past month.

February Financial Update: After making allowances for errors and omissions in the February financial report, Mr. Hedrick said CVIII had a year-to-date operating surplus of $12,361 as of the end of February. This surplus was attributable to: (i) $3,000 of interest income earned on investments in 2003 being credited to 2004’s books; (ii) water and sewer bills that were inexplicably $3,900 under budget year-to-date; (iii) 2004 snow removal expenses that were also $3,900 under budget year-to-date. Details of the February financial report are available for unit owner review at the CVIII office.

Asset Management:

After a review of the disposition of CVIII’s cash assets, Ms. Connelly moved that CVIII invest $93,000 in a three-year CD issued by Columbus Bank paying 3.5%. This $93,000 was the sum of a $66,885 CD with Capital One that matured on 13 March 2004 plus $26,115 from a money market account with Acacia Federal Savings and Loan. The latter was to be closed, and its $17,492 balance deposited in CVIII’s money market account with Virginia Commerce Bank. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Committee Reports: None.

Old Business:

CVIII’s Website: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that Mr. Gerrity had gotten CVIII’s bylaws scanned onto discs, which Lorraine Eide used to add them along with the minutes of the Board’s 19 January 2004 meeting to CVIII’s website, www.colonialvillageIII.com. Mr. Stafford moved that CVIII reimburse Mr. Gerrity $122.47 for the cost having CVIII’s bylaws scanned at Kinko’s. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. The Board reviewed the development of CVIII’s website and decided for the sake of forthright discussion to require users of its bulletin Board to identify themselves fully.

Landscaping Update: Replacement Trees on the East Side of the Parking Lot: Mr. Gerrity reviewed with the Board its decision made over the course of a number of recent meetings to remove the sixteen Red Cedars and twenty-one blue-green junipers on the east side of the parking lot and replace them with Nellie Stevens Hollies. The junipers were an eyesore because they were either diseased, unsuited for CVIII’s soil or climate, or all three. The cedars would be expensive to maintain in the long run because they would grow to seventy feet in height when mature. A cedar only one-third that height had already fallen over, and two others had died. Replacements that match the size of the existing cedars cost $2,000 or more. The Board chose Nelly Stevens Hollies as replacements because eleven were already planted at other locations in CVIII. They are healthy, grow rapidly, take pruning well, and their size and shape when mature satisfy the two reasons CVIII planted trees in this location––to screen the view of the parking lot without eliminating all afternoon sunlight for residents of 1737 and 1801 Queens Ln. and to create a barrier that channels pedestrian traffic away from the lawns and onto sidewalks. The Board reviewed a proposal from McFall and Berry to remove the existing trees and replace them with hollies. Mr. McGregor then moved that CVIII accept McFall and Berry’s bid to remove sixteen Red Cedars and twenty-one blue-green junipers on the east side of the parking lot at a cost of $104 per tree and replace them with twenty-one 10′-12′ tall Nellie Stevens Hollies at a cost of $720 per tree. The total cost of removing the existing trees will be $3,848; the total cost of the replacement trees will be $15,120; and the total cost of this project will be $18,968. The replacement trees are to be planted on eight-foot centers, eleven trees in the segment of arc north of the parking lot steps and ten trees in the segment of arc to the south of these steps. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Wilson Blvd. Gate and 1813 N. Rhodes St.: Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII authorize McFall and Berry to supply and install (i) two Hicks Yews to replace two dying yews located just inside the Wilson Blvd. gate at a cost of approximately $200 and (ii) six non-variegated euonymus to replace a group of storm-damaged arborvitae screening a meter stack at the rear of 1813 N. Rhodes St. at a cost of approximately $400. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Turf Renovation: Mr. Gerrity told the Board that he and Mr. Hedrick had requested a bid from McFall and Berry for turf renovation that included core aeration, liming, dressing with Compro, and then overseeding for the areas just outside the Wilson Blvd. gate and in front of 1720,1721, 1724 and 1725 Queens Ln.

Bartlett Tree Experts’ “Plant Health Care Program:” The Board reviewed an unsolicited $4,770 proposal from Bartlett Tree Experts to fertilize a large number of CVIII’s trees and to apply chemicals to suppress insects and diseases in trees and shrubs and found it not worthy of serious consideration because it was so vaguely written in terms of which and how many shrubs and trees needed treatment.

Tree Surgery: The Board reviewed a lengthy proposal from Bartlett Tree Experts listing trees that should be cut down because they were dying and limbs that should be removed because they threatened residents or buildings or were dead. Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII authorize Bartlett Tree Experts (i) to remove an 8″ limb from a Siberian Elm overhanging the walkway in front of 1733 Queens Ln. for $300; (ii) remove deadwood from a Siberian Elm overhanging the roof of 1721 Queens Ln. for $375; (iii) remove deadwood from a Siberian Elm on the right side of 1829 Wilson Blvd. Queens Ln. for $610; (iv) remove a Chinese Elm in front of 1816 Queens Ln. that had been partially uprooted by Hurricane Isabel and grind out its stump for $410. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Rhodes St. Woods: Mr. Gerrity told the Board that while clearing ivy from trees along Rhodes St. he discovered two very large poplars with substantial portions of their trunks rotted away at ground level. He advised the Board that both these would probably have to be taken down because of the threat they posed to CVIII’s buildings, particularly 1801 N. Rhodes St. He asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to have Bartlett inspect these trees and if their removal were deemed necessary, submit a bid.

1729 Queens Ln. Replacement Chimney: Mr. Hedrick reviewed the status of the replacement chimney for 1729 Queens Ln. He told the Board that Arlington County would not issue buiding permits for the replacement chimney behind 1729 Queens Ln. as designed. The county wanted a solid brick replacement chimney to vent exhaust gases from hot water heaters rather than the plywood chase covered with a brick veneer containing a zero-tolerance metal chimney proposed by CVIII’s contractor. In addition the county said that the solid brick replacement chimney could be the same size as the plywood chase proposed by CVIII. The Board again asked Mr. Hedrick to get bids on a chimney that met the county’s requirements.

Replacement Doors for Building Entrances: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that Precision Doors had begun installing the nine remaining doors in their contract with CVIII on March 8th. He said Precision would do basement doors first and then tackle the upstairs entry doors.

Garage Doors: Mr. Hedrick brought to the Board’s attention an opinion from CVIII’s law firm, Chadwick, Washington, which advised that the Board had the authority to decide when repairs to garage doors should be done and that such repairs should be paid for with funds drawn from the repair and replacement reserve account set up for the garages unless damage to a given door was caused by its owner. The Board again asked and Mr. Hedrick again agreed to survey the garage doors for damage and get bids for their repair.

Storm Drainage: The Board asked Mr. Hedrick about the status of bids on storm drainage improvements for Buildings Two and Four. He said he had gotten and passed onto the Board bids from Hix & Sons ($21,356) and ValleyCrest ($23,075), but had still not received the bid he requested from Newborg Drainage and Landscaping. The Board decided not to wait any longer for Newborg’s bid. After a review, during which it was noted that ValleyCrest’s bid omitted work on the south side of 1808 Queens Ln. and the west side of 1804 Queens Ln. and included hillside turf repair behind 1821 N. Rhodes St., Mr. McGregor moved that CVIII accept Hix & Sons’ bid of $21,356 to make improvements in storm drainage for Buildings Two and Four. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Doormats: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that doormats made of the same Mohawk carpet used in common hallways and suitable for use outside unit entry doors had been delivered by the contractor earlier this month. Mr. Kiman had put them in front of units that had no doormats. Mr. Hedrick told the Board he would accompany Mr. Kiman on a tour of the property and use these new mats to replace all carpet scraps and other mats that were worn out or filthy.

New Business:

Window Cleaning: Mr. Hedrick presented a proposal to the Board from Crystal Window Cleaning Company to clean the exterior side of CVIII’s widows at a cost of $5.50 a window. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to get bids from other window cleaning companies.

Carpet Cleaning: The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to get bids to clean carpeting in common hallways.

Executive Session: Mr. Gerrity moved that the open session of this meeting be adjourned at 7:55 p.m., 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 19 April 2004 in the conference room in the CMI office at 1903 Key Blvd.

Mr. Gerrity moved that this meeting be adjourned at 8:14 p.m. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

April 19, 2004 CVIII Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

Call to order: With a quorum present the meeting was called to order at 6:33 p.m. Present at that time were, Stanton Stafford, president; Michael McGregor, vice president; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; unit owners Eric Donovan, Lorraine Eide and George Hinkins; maintenance engineer Stan Kiman; and association manager George Hedrick. Charles Vanderlyn, member-at-large, arrived at 6:45 p.m.

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

Resident Forum:

Mr. Donovan had several matters about which he wished to speak to the Board. The first was to encourage the Board to find independent sources of advice on matters related to CVIII’s trees. He told the Board: “If you ask a tree removal firm: „Should this tree be cut down?‟ Nine times out of ten they will say yes, regardless of whether the tree actually needed to be cut down.” The Board told Mr. Donovan that his point was well taken and that it would consult with Arlington County‟s arborist on managing CVIII‟s trees. Mr. Donovan then asked the Board for information about a notice he received from Arlington County advertising hearings on renewing the use permit for the Exxon Station at Wilson Blvd. and N. Rhodes St. The Board said that to the best of its knowledge these hearings were no more than Arlington County‟s annual review of Exxon‟s right to operate a gas station at this location. Mr. Donovan also asked for more information about the doormats that were being placed outside unit entry doors. The Board explained that they were made of the same Mohawk carpeting recently installed in common hallways and were intended to maintain and improve the appearance of common hallways. Prior to replacing hallway carpeting last spring, the areas in front of entry doors had become some of the most soiled portions of hallway carpeting. Units that had no doormat at all had already gotten a new one. Units that have unbound carpet scraps or any type of doormat that is dirty or worn out would shortly get one of these new mats. The Board told Mr. Donovan that if he had a doormat, and it was clean, bound and in good repair, it would not be replaced unless he asked. The Board told Mr. Donovan that they were available at no charge from the management office at 1903 Key Blvd.

Reading and Approval of Minutes: Mr. Stafford moved that minutes of the 15 March 2004 Board 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 there had been no unusual maintenance problems during the past month. The Board asked about a rust-damaged wrought iron railing in front of 1813 N. Rhodes St. Mr. Kiman said that Ivey Welding was scheduled to repair it later this week. The Board also asked about a stairwell just outside the rear basement door of 1809 Queens Ln. that flooded whenever it rained because its drain was blocked. Mr. Kiman said that he had made several unsuccessful attempts to open this drain with a snake. He suggested having a plumber run a new drainpipe from this well to the sump in this building‟s boiler room. The Board asked him to report back on the feasibility and cost of installing such a drainpipe. 

March Financial Update: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that CVIII had a year-to-date operating surplus of $15,104 as of the end of March. The Board noted that it had authorized spending $18,969 to replace trees along the east side of the parking lot at its March 15th meeting and, given that CVIII‟s books are kept on an accrual basis, a deficit of $3,865 as of the end of March was a more accurate description of CVIII‟s operating budget year-to-date. Details of the March financial report are available for unit owner review at the CVIII office.

Committee Reports: None.

Old Business:

Landscaping Update: Renovations: Mr. Gerrity presented the Board with recommendations for the size, shape, color, type and location of plants that could be used to renovate the landscaping of building fronts. East Side of the Parking Lot: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that McFall and Berry had removed the cedars and junipers along the east side of the parking lot and replaced them with twenty-two Nellie Stevens Hollies. Mr. Gerrity noted that the Board had approved the installation of only twenty-one of these hollies. Because the extra tree was planted as a result of what appeared to be a good-faith communication error between Mr. Hedrick and McFall and Berry, Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII approve the payment of $720 to McFall and Berry for an additional Nellie Stevens Holly. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. Spring Clean-up: Mr. Gerrity informed the Board that McFall and Berry had cleaned and edged Buildings One and Three‟s ivy and shrubbery beds but not those of Buildings Two and Four; and no fresh mulch had been laid anywhere in CVIII. Mr. Hedrick was asked to have this work done as done as possible. Wilson Blvd. Gate: Mr. Gerrity informed the Board that McFall and Berry had not yet replaced two dead Hicks Yews, which the Board authorized at its 15 March 2004 meeting. Mr. Hedrick was asked to have this work done as soon as possible. 1813 N. Rhodes St.: Mr. Gerrity informed the Board that McFall and Berry had not yet replaced a number of storm-damaged arborvitae located on the east side of 1813 N. Rhodes St. with six non-variegated euonymus, which the Board authorized at its 15 March 2004 meeting. Mr. Hedrick was asked to have this work done as soon as possible. Rhodes St. Woods: Mr. Hedrick brought to the Board‟s attention proposals of $9,800 from Bartlett Tree Experts and $6,800 from Strictly Stumps to cut down two large poplars in the woods along Rhodes St. Both trees were recently found to have large cavities at their bases, which made them susceptible to being knocked down by high winds. Mr. Hedrick said that he was still waiting for a bid from a third firm, The Care of Trees, on this project. The Board noted for the second time that the bids from Bartlett and Strictly Stumps were not comparable. The former specified the cost of removing debris in its bid while the latter did not. The Board asked Mr. Hedrick for the second time to have Strictly Stumps clarify their bid in writing with respect to the cost of removing debris. Bike Path: Mr. Hinkins told the Board that there was a large tree west of 1821 N. Rhodes St. and adjacent to the bike path that he felt could be blown over by high winds because of the shape and location of its crown. The Board noted that because of this tree‟s proximity to power lines, its maintenance was the responsibility of Dominion Power‟s contractor, Asplundh, to whom Mr. Hedrick agreed to refer this problem.

Window Cleaning: Mr. Hedrick brought to the Board‟s attention a bid from Cliffhanger Services to clean the exterior sides of unit windows for $15.00 per window and a bid from Crystal Window Cleaning Company for the same service of $5.50 per window. Mr. Gerrity moved that the Board accept a proposal from Crystal Window Cleaning Company to clean the outside surfaces of windows in CVIII for $5.50 per window. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. Mr. Hedrick said written notices of when Crystal Cleaning would be at CVIII would be delivered to every unit in CVIII. Residents would indicate their desire to have the outside surfaces of their windows cleaned by removing screens. 

Carpet Cleaning: Mr. Hedrick brought to the Board's attention a bid of $1,130 from Clean Machine to clean common hallway carpets and treat them with Teflon. Because Clean Machine's bids to clean CVIII common area carpeting in past years had been substantially lower than its competitors, the Board decided not to ask Mr. Hedrick to get additional bids on this project, and Mr. Stafford moved that CVIII accept Clean Machine's bid of $1,130 to clean and treat with Teflon carpeting in CVIII‟s twenty-eight common hallways. Mr. Gerrity seconded this motion, and it was approve unanimously.

Common Element Carpeting: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that he had received bids of $1,158 from Dave‟s Carpets and $1,630 from Kemper Carpet to supply CVIII with sixty square yards of Mohawk Structures 874 carpeting in the color of Industrial Olive. Carpet One Alexandria bid $4,175.82 to supply eighty yards of the same Mohawk carpeting. This carpeting is intended to replace portions of the common element carpeting installed in 2003 that suffered irreparable damage prior to the end of its expected fifteen-year service life. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he was not sure that Dave‟s Carpets would stand by its bid given its age. After discussion by the Board, Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII accept Dave‟s Carpets‟ bid to supply CVIII with sixty yards of Mohawk Structures 874 carpeting in the color of Industrial Olive for $1,158 if that price were still available and no more that $1,630 if it were not. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Garage Doors: Mr. Hedrick brought to the Board‟s attention the following three bids to replace seven damaged garage doors: ASAP Garage Door, $3,640; Overhead Door of Washington, D.C., $5,208; and Academy Control and Door, $????. After discussion by the Board, Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII accept ASAP Garage Door‟s bid of $3,640 to replace seven garage doors. Mr. Vanderlyn seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Storm Water Drainage: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that Hix & Sons had been informed that it had been awarded the contract for storm drainage improvements for Buildings Two and Four. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that Hix had advised him that it would do this work in the fall. The Board asked Mr. Hedrick to request an additional bid from Hix to connect the downspout on the right front side of 1737 Queens Ln. to the storm drain in front of this address.

Storm Water Retention and Settlement Tank: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that Arlington County required that the storm water retention and settlement tank buried in the parking lot in front of the garages be cleaned and certified as operating properly on an annual basis. Vernco Plumbing had cleaned and certified this tank in March for $900. Mr. Hedrick advised the Board to include the cost of cleaning and certifying this tank in CVIII‟s annual budget effective 2005.

Replacement Doors for Building Entrances: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that Precision Doors has completed its contract to install ten replacement doors at various locations in CVIII. Mr. Kiman said that he hoped to finish priming their exterior sides by the 24th of this month. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to ask Precision to submit a proposal to replace the entrance door to 1801 N. Rhodes St.

1729 Queens Ln. Replacement Chimney: Mr. Hedrick said that a proposal from Consolidated Waterproofing to construct a solid brick replacement for the chimney behind 1729 Queens Ln. had been submitted to Arlington County, but he could not say if the county had issued the permits necessary for this project to proceed. He said that he had asked Consolidated to price this proposal and submit it for the Board‟s consideration.

New Business:

Termites: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that termite damage had been discovered in two doorframes in the basement of 1809 Queens Ln. Callaghan‟s Pest Control, the contractor CVIII uses for pest control services, inspected Building Two and found no evidence of an active infestation or live termites. Callaghan submitted an unsolicited proposal of $22,794 to install the Sentricon Colony Elimination System around all buildings in CVIII. There would be a $3,100 annual fee to monitor this “bait” system. The Board discussed this matter and asked Mr. Hedrick to provide it with information about alternative methods of dealing with this problem.

A Weight Limit for Pets: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that CVI recently had a problem with the owner of a large dog that behaved in an aggressive manner. Its bylaws, as do those of CVII and CVIII, permit the keeping of a single small domesticated animal, such as a dog, cat or caged bird, in a unit; and CVI resolved its problem with the aggressive dog by defining “small” as an animal weighing no more than thirty-five pounds. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that CVI had asked him to pass along a request to CVII and CVIII that, for the sake of uniform regulations throughout Colonial Village, they also define a small pet as an animal weighing no more than thirty-five pounds. The Board discussed the matter and decided that CVIII had no problems at the present time with pets that justified imposing a weight limitation for them.

Cleaning up after Pets: Mr. Hedrick reviewed with the Board two longstanding problems caused by dogs: (i) noticeable portions of the lawns and shrubs were being damaged by dogs urinating on them; (ii) owners were not cleaning up after their dogs had defecated on the commons. After discussion, the Board asked Mr. Hedrick to write a letter to residents that made clear that CVIII welcomed dogs because their friendliness made CVIII a more attractive place to live, but their owners had a responsibility to make sure that they did nothing to damage or foul commons areas. The Board asked Mr. Hedrick to emphasize in this letter that the common areas of CVIII, particularly its lawns, were available for the enjoyment of all CVIII‟s residents. No portion of the commons, especially the lawns, was set aside for a specific activity or group of residents. No resident was entitled to do anything in or to common areas that might diminish the use or enjoyment of common areas by other residents.

Fence and Gates: Mr. Hinkins presented the Board with a set of sketches for a six-foot high ornamental metal fence to be installed parallel with and just outside the barberry hedge between 1816 and 1817 Queens Ln. This fence would be constructed of G-90 galvanized steel with posts set on six-foot centers in concrete footings. It would have a single four-foot wide gate at the sidewalk leading to the bike path. This gate would be equipped with a closer and a heavy-duty lockset that would accept keys to CVIII‟s laundry rooms. This gate would also have a silencer to eliminate clanging noises caused by closing it. Mr. Hinkins also presented the Board sketches for a three-foot six-inch wide by six-foot high single gate to replace the existing double gate at the Wilson Blvd. entrance to CVIII. This gate would have the same hardware and silencer as the other proposed gate. Mr. Hinkins recommended that the proposed fence and gates and the existing Wilson Blvd. fence be painted black. Mr. Hinkins agreed to supply the Board with the names of three contractors he felt were competent to bid on this project. After discussing various aspects of this proposal with him, the Board thanked Mr. Hinkins for his time and effort.

Hot Water Heater: Mr. Kiman told the Board that a hot water heater serving Building Four had developed a serious leak that could not be repaired and he had it replaced immediately in order to maintain hot water service in this building. After discussion by the Board, Mr. Vanderlyn moved that CVIII approve the payment of $4,602 made on 18 March 2004 to Associates Plumbing, Inc. for the replacement of a hot water heater located in the basement of 1821 N. Rhodes St. 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 for the purpose of discussing (i) delinquent assessments, (ii) a request for reimbursement of a towing fee and (iii) garage door repairs. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously at 7:55 p.m.

The next Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on 17 May 2004 in the conference room in the CMI office at 1903 Key Blvd.

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

May 17, 2004 CVIII Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

Call to order: With a quorum present the meeting was called to order at 6:30p.m. Present at that time were, Stanton Stafford, president; Michael McGregor, vice president; Cheryl Connelly, treasurer; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; unit owners Lorraine Eide and Linda Johnson; maintenance engineer Stan Kiman; and association manager George Hedrick. Unit owner George Hinkins 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 asked about a disc containing the minutes from the Board’s 19 April 2004 meeting. Mr. Gerrity said that he would leave it at her front door first thing in the morning. Ms. Johnson introduced herself as a new resident owner, and said that she was attending the meeting to familiarize herself with how the Board and CMI managed CVIII. Mr. Hinkins told the Board that he did not make comments attributed to him in the minutes of the Board’s 15 March 2004 meeting: The comments in question were: “The second item Mr. Hinkins wanted to raise with the Board was another resident’s complaint that sap dripping from White Pine trees on the north and south sides of the parking lot was damaging the paint finishes of motor vehicles. Mr. Hinkins said that this problem was not severe enough to warrant removing these trees.” Mr. Hinkins asked that these comments be retracted, and the Board agreed to do so.

Reading and Approval of Minutes: Mr. Stafford moved that the minutes of the 19 April 2004 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 briefly reviewed the following topics discussed at that meeting with the Board: investing association funds; the fiduciary duty of Board and committee members; assessment collections, bankruptcy and non-judicial foreclosure; crime and vandalism; recent changes in statutory and case law; and the legality of actions voted on or otherwise agreed to in executive session.

Management Report:

Engineer: Mr. Kiman told the Board that there had been no unusual maintenance problems during the past month. Mr. McGregor asked about erosion along the south side of the stairs leading up to Queens Ln. from the parking lot. In some places the drop-off from the steps to the ground was nearly a foot deep. He said that it could lead to personal injury if someone wasn’t watching where he or she was going. He asked if this problem could be corrected. Mr. Kiman and others said that this problem was caused by storm runoff from a downspout on the front side of 1737 Queens Ln. Mr. Kiman said that he would fill in this eroded area; but this problem could not be corrected permanently until this downspout was connected to CVIII’s storm drainage system. Mr. Hedrick said that Hix & Sons had inspected this area and had been asked to submit a proposal to connect the downspout to the catch basin in front this building. Mr. McGregor also asked about a plastic drainpipe attached to a downspout on the south side of 1801 Queens Ln. that appeared to be clogged with leaves. Mr. Kiman said he would check it out.

April Financial Update: Mr. Hedrick provided the Board with information that indicated that CVIII had a year-to-date operating surplus of $974 as of the end of April after making allowances for errors and omissions in the landscaping, tree and lawn maintenance accounts. Details of the April financial report are available for unit owner review at the CVIII office. Mr. Hedrick advised the Board that he had been holding a bill for $2,000 from McFall & Berry for snow removal services in 2004 because his records of men and equipment employed to clean up after this year’s snowstorms indicated that this bill was $300 too high. He had invited McFall to come to CVIII to resolve this discrepancy, and interested Board members were invited to attend this meeting.

Asset Management: After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that the Board approve CMI’s purchase of a $97,696.48 three-year CD paying 2.7% from E*Trade Bank for CVIII on 2 January 2004. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Correspondence: Michael Brooks, a resident owner at 1724 Queens Ln., expressed mixed opinions in an email to the Board about the proposed installation of keyed gates at the Wilson Blvd. and bike path entrances to CVIII. Mr. Brooks said that he had noticed increased non-resident foot traffic through the complex and liked the idea of gated entrances as a way of controlling it. However, he did not like the necessity of going to these gates to meet friends, deliverymen or workers who did not use the parking lot to enter CVIII, and suggested that the gates only be locked from 10:00 p. m. to 6:00 a.m., perhaps by remote control. Mr. Brooks also inquired about the possibility of installing DirecTV antennas on the roofs of CVIII’s buildings. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to inform Mr. Brooks that this would require the unlikely approval of Arlington County’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB). Mr. Brooks also thanked Lorraine Eide for setting up CVIII’s website. Laura J. Hagg, a resident owner at 1801 Queens Ln., wrote a memo in which she thanked the Board for providing notice of public hearings on a proposed expansion of the National Science Teachers Association’s building. She said she had “conflicted feelings” about the proposed installation of gated fences. She said that concerns about vandalism and increased foot traffic on CVIII’s walkways were understandable, but asked if efforts had been made to make Rosslyn Heights aware of CVIII’s concerns about this unwanted pedestrian traffic and the outcome of such efforts. She reminded the Board that there was no sidewalk through the parking lot and if more guests, tradesmen and deliverymen had to use the parking lot to enter CVIII, there would be increased safety issues because of how fast some people drove in and out of the parking lot. She said that she found the “Dog Comportment” memo dated 11 May 2004 confusing and asked for clarification of the sentence: “No portion of the common areas, especially the lawns are set aside for a specific activity or group of residents.” She suggested that efforts by the Board to promote open and inclusive discussion would be the best way to resolve issues involving dog owners.

Committee Reports: None.

Old Business:

Termites: The Board asked Mr. Hedrick and Mr. Kiman for a review of CVIII’s problems with termites since the property’s conversion to a condominium fifteen years ago. They told the Board that there was no evidence of active infestation at the present time, but termite damage had been found in three areas since conversion: the front door and its exterior trim at 1737 Queens Ln.; the head jamb of the west entrance door to the basement of 1809 Queens Ln.; and the hinge jamb of the door to the janitor’s storeroom in the basement of 1809 Queens Ln. The cost of repairing the damage done to these three areas was approximately $2,000, or $133 a year since conversion. The Board noted that this was less than the annual cost of $3,100 to monitor a bait system to control termites in CVIII. The Board asked how carefully CVIII’s current exterminator inspected for termites. Mr. Kiman and Mr. Hedrick said that he made inspections only in response to specific complaints, and to the best of either’s knowledge he had never made an exhaustive inspection of the property for termites. After discussion, the Board decided that CVIII’s current preventative maintenance program and thorough annual inspections were the most cost-effective ways to deal with this problem at the present time. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to get bids from three firms for a comprehensive annual inspection of CVIII for termites.

Landscaping Update: Mr. Hedrick presented to the Board for its approval a final bill of $20,856 from McFall and Berry to remove cedars and junipers along the east side of the parking lot and replace them with Nellie Stevens Hollies. The Board noted a $145.37 overcharge, but chose not to contest it because McFall had given CVIII 300 feet of soaker hose and did not charge for taking away three-quarters of a truck load of debris unrelated to this project. The Board did express concern that CVIII did not have a written statement of McFall and Berry’s one-year warranty on these holly trees. Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII pay McFall and Berry $20,856 for this project upon receipt of a written statement of a one-year warranty on these hollies. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Tree Maintenance: Mr. Gerrity informed the Board that Dick Miller, an arborist with Arlington County’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Resources, had agreed to visit CVIII on 18 May 2004 to inspect and offer advice on how deal with trees in CVIII that were diseased, damaged or planted in questionable locations.

Garage Doors: Mr. Hedrick reported that five of seven garage doors had been replaced and he was working with the owners of the other two to schedule their replacement. Mr. Hedrick brought to the Board’s attention a letter from Debra Hollander in which she requested to be reimbursed for $795 she spent to replace her garage door (#9) given that garage reserve funds were used to replace other damaged garage doors. After discussion, Mr. McGregor moved that Ms. Hollander be reimbursed $795 for the cost installing a new door on her garage. Mr. Gerrity seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Storm Drainage: The Board reviewed two proposals from Associates Plumbing of Virginia, Inc. (API) to repair a blocked storm drain serving the stairwell of the rear door to the basement of 1809 Queens Ln. Both included breaking up the concrete at the foot of these stairs, installing a new trap and laying new concrete. If this drainage problem can be fixed by snaking the existing drain line, API would charge $1,478. If not, then API proposed rerouting the drain line to the adjacent boiler room sump, and the total cost of the project would be $3,369. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to get a bid on this project from Hix & Sons.

Security Lighting: The Board asked about the status of bids to supply and install two pole lamps to replace the three vandalized bollard-style lamps between 1816 and 1817 Queens Ln. Mr. Kiman said Contemporary Electric was unable to find the poles and was no longer interested in bidding on this project. Mr. Hedrick said he would ask another contractor to bid on this project.

House Electrical Panels: The Board reminded Mr. Hedrick that it had been advised that a number of house electrical panels need to be replaced because their interiors were rusting away and asked about the status of bids to supply and install replacements for them. Mr. Hedrick said that he was working on getting three bids for this project.

Doormats: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he learned that the delay in receiving doormats to go immediately inside building entrances doors was caused by Commercial Carpets’ requirement to be paid for these mats before ordering them. He said that he had arranged to have a check cut and mailed and, hopefully, these mats would be in place in the very near future.

Pets: The Board had a lengthy discussion about the effectiveness of its recent attempts to get dog owners to be more careful about where their pets relieved themselves and cleaning up after their pets. The Board decided to pursue a more targeted approach in the future. 

New Business:

Fences and Gates: Mr. Hinkins suggested that Board obtain a sample of the locks to be used in the gates proposed to ensure that they were the spring-loaded latch variety rather than dead bolts. He also suggested that the Board get bids for both residential and commercial grade gates and hardware. He recommended that CVIII purchase the commercial grade given the damage done to the existing Wilson Blvd. gate in recent years. Mr. Stafford said that he would provide the names of three firms from whom Mr. Hedrick could solicit proposals for this project.

Public Safety: Mr. Gerrity pointed out to the Board that windows in laundry and trash rooms were being left open twenty-four hours a day nearly every day of the year. Unauthorized individuals could gain access to the basements at almost anytime by lifting out the screen in any of these windows with such ease that it made little or no sense to have locks on the basement entry doors. He suggested that CVIII install bars on these windows. Mr. Hedrick said that he would first check with the Arlington County Fire Department to make sure that the fire code allowed the installation of such bars and if so, he would then solicit proposals for their installation.

Towing Service: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that Community Towing had been sold. Its new owner was not interested in patrolling parking lots of residential communities for vehicles parked in violation of their rules and regulations. He said that the driver who used to service CVIII for Community Towing, and did so in a responsible manner, had gone to work for Advanced Towing and he was going to ask this firm to submit a proposal to police CVIII’s parking lot. Mr. Hedrick reminded the Board that neither CVIII nor CMI received any money from the towing service and the county government set tow truck rates in Arlington, and, therefore, quality of service would be the key consideration in awarding this contract to a new company.

Trash Cans: The Board told Mr. Hedrick that a number of the 30 and 50-gallon plastic garbage cans used in the trash rooms appeared to be worn through at their bottoms and asked about options for replacements. Both Mr. Kiman and Mr. Hedrick recommended that that the same type of can be purchased. Better quality cans would end up in other sections of Colonial Village or in the possession of the trash company. The Board accepted their recommendation and asked Mr. Hedrick to get prices for this type of can from several sources.

Educational Material: After discussion, Mr. McGregor moved that the Board approve the purchase of $264 plus shipping for educational material related to the management of condominiums. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously

Executive Session: Mr. McGregor moved that the open session of this meeting be adjourned, and the Board go into executive session for the purpose of discussing delinquent assessments. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously at 7:50 p.m. Mr. Stafford had to leave the meeting at this point, so only Mr. McGregor, Ms. Connelly, Mr. Gerrity and Mr. Hedrick were present for this executive session.

The next Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on 16 June 2004 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 7:55 p.m.

June 16, 2004 CVIII Board of Directors Meeting Minutes 

 Call to order: With a quorum present the meeting was called to order at 6:33 p.m. Present at that time were, Stanton Stafford, president; Michael McGregor, vice president; Cheryl Connelly, treasurer; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; maintenance engineer Stan Kiman; and association manager George Hedrick. Charles Vanderlyn, 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: No one was present to speak

Reading and Approval of Minutes: Mr. Stafford moved that the minutes of the 17 May 2004 meeting be approved without change. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Reports of Officers:

Vice President: Mr. McGregor expressed concerns about the effect of current and proposed real estate development on the availability of street parking in CVIII’s neighborhood. He asked why Arlington County had not acted on CVI, CVII and CVIII’s petition to restrict parking on N. Rhodes St. between Wilson Blvd. and Lee Hwy. to vehicles with Zone 4 stickers twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. Mr. Gerrity said it was his understanding that Arlington County would not a make a decision on Colonial Village’s petition, or that of any other neighborhood, for tighter residential parking restrictions until it had finished developing a comprehensive set of regulations governing parking in the county. Mr. McGregor suggested that hiring a lawyer or lobbyist to make CVIII’s case to the county and, if need be, steer political contributions in the right directions to get the county to act favorably on Colonial Village’s petition. Other Board members argued that residents of CVIII had to be realistic about what the county will do to ameliorate parking problems in Colonial Village. Real estate development in the neighborhood would proceed more or less in accord with guidelines detailed in the county’s “Rosslyn to Courthouse Urban Design Study.” Consequently, demand for street parking will continue to increase. The county will not take parking away from adjacent neighborhoods to solve CVIII’s problems, and if the county does restrict parking in Colonial Village to “twenty-four seven” for Zone 4 permit holders only, it will likely do the same in neighboring zones, potentially “Balkanizing” the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. Since census data indicated that there were more vehicles owned by residents of Colonial Village than there were parking places in Colonial Village, those who came home late will have to find off-street parking somewhere. One way that CVIII could guarantee parking for its residents would be to build its own parking facility. Mr. Gerrity told the Board this idea was presented to unit owners in July of 2000. It received little support and a great deal of opposition. It was not pursued.

Secretary: Mr. Gerrity informed the Board that he had attended a second Community Association Legal Seminar held by CVIII’s law firm, Chadwick, Washington, and briefly reviewed presentations at that meeting on the role of the association manager and negotiating contracts.

Management Report:

Engineer: Mr. Kiman told the Board that there had been no unusual maintenance problems during the past month. Trash Room–1808 Queens Ln.: Mr. Vanderlyn said the trash room located in the basement of 1808 Queens Ln. was frequently filled to overflowing and asked what could be done about it. Mr. Kiman said part of the problem this week was that someone had left a stove in this trash room over the weekend. A bulk pickup was scheduled for next week, and this stove would be removed at that time. Mr. Kiman ascribed this problem more generally to the failure of the trash company to pick up trash as scheduled and completely empty trash rooms when they did make scheduled pickups. Mr. Hedrick said that he would contact the trash company about this problem, and Mr. Kiman said that he would monitor their efforts more closely. The Board noted that another resident had recently suggested that a site for a second trash room be found in Building Four. The Board asked Mr. Hedrick to continue to explore this idea. Shower Diverters: Mr. Vanderlyn said that his shower diverter was not operating correctly and asked if this problem was widespread, was it causing a significant waste of water? Mr. Hedrick said that this problem existed in other units, but he did not know if it was causing extensive waste of water. Mr. Kiman said owners could have this problem fixed through CVIII’s In-Unit-Service Program. Painting Newly Installed Building Entry Doors: Mr. Vanderlyn made the Board aware of his and other unit owners’ concerns that delays in painting ten newly installed wooden building entrance doors would allow them to absorb moisture. This would lead to swelling and warping, causing doors not to close properly or stick shut when they did close. Mr. Kiman said that he had already primed five of the six sides of each of these doors and planned to finish painting them the week following this meeting. Guidelines for Replacement Windows: Mr. Vanderlyn asked if Arlington County’s Historic Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) had ever approved guidelines for replacement windows in CVIII. He was told the HALRB approved such guidelines 17 July 2002, and they had been listed in the minutes of several of the Board’s meetings, CVIII’s newsletter, letters to unit owners, and were currently available on CVIII’s website.

May Financial Update: The Board reviewed the May financial report supplied to it by CMI and found a $13,750 error and a $20,856 omission. The $13,750 error occurred because Mr. Hedrick charged the expense of replacing ten building entrance doors to an operating account for building maintenance rather than the reserve account for building reserves where funds had been set aside to pay for these doors. Mr. Stafford moved that $13,750, the cost of replacing ten building entrance doors, be charged against replacement reserve account #30250,”Exterior Building Reserves,” rather than operating budget account #58100, “Building Maintenance.” Mr. Vanderlyn seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. The $20,856 omission was the result of Mr. Hedrick’s failure to show the expense of installing holly trees along the east side of the parking lot in CVIII’s operating budget. After making allowances for this error and omission, the Board found that CVIII’s operating budget had a year-to-date surplus of $14,543 as of the end of May. Details of the May financial report are available for unit owner review at the CVIII office.

Correspondence: Mr. Hedrick brought to the Board’s attention a letter from Mr. Geoffrey S. Underwood and Ms. Alyson Crow, resident owners of unit #186 at 1732 Queens Ln., in which they urged the Board to install locked gates at the entrances to CVIII. They said that the use of CVIII’s walkways by non-residents had increased noticeably since they moved into CVIII, and this continued public use of CVIII’s walks and lawns would lead to a deterioration of CVII’s “unique community asset––open, green space.”

Committee Reports:

None.

Old Business:

Landscaping Update: Tree Maintenance; Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that he had obtained bids from four companies to remove two Yellow Poplars located in the woods along Rhodes St. Concerns had been raised about these trees as threats to life, limb and property because cavities in the bases of their trunks appeared to make them more liable to being knocked down by wind storms than other trees. These bids were: Bartlett Tree Experts, $9,800 to cut these two trees (and three others) down to stumps approximately thirty feet high and haul away all debris were; Strictly Stumps, $6,800 to cut these two trees down to stumps approximately twenty to thirty feet high (at their first large forks) with no commitment to haul away debris; Davey Tree Expert Co., $5,940 to cut these trees down to stumps approximately twenty feet high (at their first large forks) and haul away all debris were. RTEC Treecare, $10,400 to cut these trees down to grade level and haul away all debris; Davey Tree Expert Co., $6,535 to cut these trees down to rear grade level and haul away all debris. The Board noted that trees were a substantial portion of CVIII’s landscaping assets, and, to ensure that its decision on cutting down these trees was correct, it asked Mr. Hedrick to check with Dick Miller, an arborist with Arlington County, to see if he made the measurements of these cavities that would determine if they were large enough to affect the stability of these poplars and, therefore, justified cutting them down. Lawn Service: The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to speak to McFall & Berry about their lawn mowing crew continuing to operate their mowers in such a fashion as to scar CVIII’s lawns with tracks worn down to bare earth, particularly on the west side of Building Four. The Board told Mr. Hedrick that McFall & Berry’s lawn mowing crew was doing a better job of cleaning magnolia leaves and other debris out of mulch and ivy beds and away from building foundations, but they failed to so in front of 1801-1821 N. Rhodes St the last time they were at CVIII. The Board suggested to Mr. Hedrick that since McFall & Berry’s lawn maintenance crew seemed to be mastering the art of cleaning leaves out of ivy beds, perhaps they could now try their hands at removing weeds from these same beds.

Replacement Chimney–1729 Queens Ln.: Mr. Gerrity noted that the contract to replace the exiting chimney behind 1729 Queens Ln. had been awarded in October 2002, and work had still not begun as of the day of this meeting. He suggested that the Board get itself more involved in finding what was causing this delay by talking directly to the contractor, Consolidated Waterproofing, and the consulting engineer for this project, Mr. Douglas White of Thomas Downey, Ltd. Mr. Stafford agreed to meet and pursue this matter with Mr. White.

Towing Service: Mr. Hedrick reminded the Board that Community Towing, the firm that currently held the contract to remove motor vehicles parked in violation of regulations governing use of CVIII’s parking lot, had been sold and was no longer patrolling this lot. He presented proposals from Metro Towing Service and Advanced Towing and Storage to replace Community. Because CVIII would receive no money from either company and the state government set their towing rates, quality of service was the criteria for choosing a new towing service. Mr. Hedrick told the Board he found it difficult to decide which company to recommend. Both companies offered free “private property, permit parking only” and “fire lane” signs, and permit stickers. The driver that Advanced planned to assign to patrol CVIII’s lot had worked for Community and had exhibited what Mr. Hedrick felt was a good work ethic tempered by good judgment in keeping CVIII’s lot clear of unauthorized vehicles. On the other hand, Metro offered to change flat tires, jump start and unlock the door of any CVIII resident’s vehicle at no charge, if that vehicle was parked in CVIII’s lot when such services were rendered. After discussion Mr. McGregor moved that the Board authorize Mr. Hedrick to sign a contract with either Metro Towing Service or Advanced Towing and Storage based on his judgment as to which of the two would provide better service to CVIII. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. The Board noted that both firms offered to supply and install at no charge a variety of signs advertising that CVIII’s parking lot was private property and that vehicles without current permits or otherwise violating regulations governing use of this lot would be towed at their owner’s expense. The Board urged Mr. Hedrick to use this new contract to get worn, damaged and ambiguous signs replaced at no expense to CVIII.

Fences and Gates: The Board discussed the effectiveness of several proposed locations for fencing and gates equipped with locksets in curtailing the use of CVIII’s grounds, walkways and parking lot as shortcuts by nonresidents. It decided that a fence running between and immediately north of 1816 and 1817 Queens with a gate equipped with a lockset and replacing the Wilson Blvd. entrance gate with a heavy-duty gate equipped with a lockset were the minimum that CVIII could do to secure its grounds from nonresidents. The Board left open the possibility of installing additional fencing and gates in the future. Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that he had received a written proposal from Long Fence to supply and install 116 linear feet of six-foot high ornamental steel fencing and two gates for $13,320. He said that he had received a verbal quote from Dominion to supply and install a similar fence and gates made of aluminum for $6,500 or steel for $7,500. Mr. Hedrick said that he had spoken to the Arlington County Fire Department about the location of the fence between 1816 and 1817 Queens Ln. relative to a fire hydrant that stood in its proposed path. He was told the fire code required that the fence be at least six feet from the fire hydrant. After discussion, the Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to go back to the fire department and find out if moving the fence and gate south by six feet and installing a Knox box would meet the fire code’s requirements. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that the specifications and drawings of this fence and these gates provided by George Hinkins greatly facilitated the bidding process. Members of the Board asked that the minutes note their expressions of gratitude to Mr. Hinkins for the time and effort he put into this project.

Storm Drainage: After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII accept a $4,998 proposal from Hix & Sons to connect three down spouts serving 1737 Queens Ln. and two nine-inch catch basins set in low spots in the lawn in front of this address with four-inch Schedule 40 PVC pipe routed through two tunnels under sidewalks and a core drilling into a storm drain at the edge of the parking lot. Cleanouts would be installed adjacent to each of the down spouts. Mr. Strafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. The Board directed Mr. Hedrick to charge this $4,998 and $21,356 previously approved at its 15 March 2004 meeting for storm drainage work to be done at Buildings Two and Four to reserve account #31070, “Water & Sewer Lines Reserves.” The Board noted that it had failed to set a completion date for this work when it approved Hix’s original bid. The Board suggested 30 September 2004, and Mr. Hedrick said that he felt that he could have this work done by that date.

Security Lighting: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that he had received three bids to replace two vandalized bollard style lamps located along the walkway between 1816 and l817 Queens Ln. These bids were: Contemporary Electrical Services, $3,420 to install two 16-foot poles with 250-watt high-pressure sodium lamps in yoke mounted fixture heads; Power Systems Electric, $4,490 to install two 14-foot poles with 175-watt, metal halide, shoebox style light fixtures; Kolb Electric, $5,200 to install two poles of unspecified height with 175-watt, metal halide, shoebox style light fixtures. Mr. Hedrick told the Board he was waiting for a fourth bid form Dyna Electric, before asking for a vote on this project.

New Business:

Laundry Room and Basement Security: The Board discussed a recent incident involving an intruder who entered the laundry room located in the basement of 1728 Queens Ln. and defiled a resident’s clothing. The windows in this laundry room were open and the screen for one of them had been removed at the time this occurred, and this was thought to be how the intruder gained access to this laundry room. The Board noted that residents regularly opened laundry room windows to let out heat generated by the washers and dryers, and, to prevent a reoccurrence of this incident or worse, it discussed taking measures such as permanently sealing these widows, installing stops to prevent windows from being opened more than three inches, security bars, and ventilation systems. Mr. Stafford volunteered to work up a plan to install exhaust fans to ventilate laundry rooms. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he had discussed installing security bars in laundry room windows with the Arlington County Fire department and was told they did not like anything that hindered individuals’ ability to exit or firemen’s’ ability to enter a building in case of a fire or other disaster. Mr. Hedrick was asked to continue his discussions with the Arlington County Fire Department on how to prevent the use of these windows as ways to enter (and exit) laundry rooms without violating the fire code. The Board noted that trash room windows were left open on a year-round basis and would also have to be secured if intruders were to be kept out of basements. Members of the Board observed that if residents did not keep basement and laundry room entry doors closed, then securing basement windows would be for naught. Ways to encourage them to do so were discussed.

Executive Session: Mr. Gerrity moved that the open session of this meeting be adjourned so that Board could go into executive session to discuss basement and laundry room security and delinquent assessments. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously at 7:48 p.m.

The next Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on 21 July 2004 in the conference room in the CMI office at 1903 Key Blvd.

Mr. Vanderlyn moved that this meeting be adjourned. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously at 8:00 p.m.

July 21, 2004 CVIII Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

Call to order: Mr. McGregor called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. with a quorum consisting of Michael McGregor, vice president; Cheryl Connelly, treasurer; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; Charles Vanderlyn, member-at-large. Also present at that time were maintenance engineer Stan Kiman and association manager George Hedrick. Stanton Stafford, president, 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: No one was present to speak.

Reading and Approval of Minutes: Mr. Vanderlyn moved that the minutes of the 16 June 2004 Board meeting be approved without change. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Reports of Officers:

Mr. Gerrity informed the Board that he had attended the 30 June 2004 meeting of the Arlington County Planning Commission at which time action on the application of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) to build a six story addition to its existing office building was deferred until the 7 September 2004 Planning Commission meeting and 18 September 2004 County Board meeting. This addition would be located on the site currently occupied by the Rhodeside Grill and Il Radicchio restaurants and would have 10,500 square feet of retail space on its ground floor. The reason for deferral was that NSTA and county staff were unable to resolve issues related to the lack of sufficient community benefits to ameliorate the effects of this proposal on adjacent properties––the availability of all parking in the garage to the public after standard office hours being the most important from CVIII’s perspective. Mr. Gerrity told the Board that NSTA had modified the original design of the building’s exterior so that it fit in better with existing buildings in the neighborhood, but the height of the addition made its mass disproportionate with respect to the existing NTSA building, Colonial Village and the nearly completed Bromptons town house complex. Insurance: Mr. Gerrity noted that State Farm had been CVIII’s insurance company since the condominium’s inception, and competitive bids had never been solicited from other insurance companies. He suggested that now would be a good time to solicit competitive bids to provide it with property, casualty and other types of insurance given current reports of the insurance industry’s good health. Members of the Board, admitting to a general but not detailed knowledge of CVIII’s insurance coverage, asked Mr. Hedrick to arrange a review of CVIII’s insurance coverage from a representative of State Farm and to obtain bids from other insurance companies.

Management Report:

Engineer: Mr. Kiman told the Board that there had been no unusual maintenance problems during the past month. The Board reminded Mr. Hedrick and Mr. Kiman that maintenance work on common elements took precedence over requests for in-unit service except in the case of an emergency. Mr. Stafford noted that the lock on the west entry door to the basement of 1729 Queens Ln. was sticking open. Mr. Kiman said he would fix it. Mr. McGregor asked whether the drop-off on the south side of the steps from the parking lot to Queens Ln. had been filled in with soil as had been discussed at the Board’s May meeting. Mr. Kiman said he had filled in this area with dirt, but recent rains had washed his efforts away, and this would continue to be the case until Hicks finished installing storm drainage pipes in this location. Noting that lawsuits were more expensive than topsoil, Mr. McGregor asked that this area be kept filled-in with dirt no matter how often it rained. The Board asked about disposing of the large amount of bulk trash in the trash room located in the basement of 1808 Queens Lane’s trash room. Mr. Kiman said that the trash company charged a flat fee based on truck size for making pickups. It cost CVIII the same amount of money to remove one bulk item as it did for a truckload. He had been waiting until enough bulk trash had accumulated, that is to say, a truckload, in order to minimize the cost of removing these items. He said that he expected to have this trash removed during the week following this meeting. The Board asked if the regular trash service was doing any better in completely empting this trash room when they made pickups. Mr. Kiman said that it still appeared that they were making partial pickups, particularly on Fridays and Saturdays.

June Financial Update: After making allowances for errors and omissions in the June financial report, Mr. Hedrick said CVIII had a year-to-date operating surplus of $17,764 as of the end of June. The Board noted that the largest component of this surplus was the Water and Sewer account where year-to-date expenditures were $10,033 less than year-to-date budget. Mr. Hedrick suggested that this was the result of some anomaly in CMI’s accrual accounting practices or how he set up CVIII’s Water and Sewer budget for 2004; or how Arlington County was submitting water and sewer bills. The Board pointed out that CVIII had an account–“Internet Expense” (#51925), but bills associated with CVIII’s website were being charged to “Office Supplies & Expenses (#51110). Mr. Hedrick said he would have the appropriate adjustments made. After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that a $1,617.03 charge for common hallway replacement carpet be transferred from the account “Building Maintenance” (#58110) to “Carpet & Tile Reserves” (#30070). Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. Details of the June financial report are available for unit owner review at the CVIII office.

Correspondence: Mr. Hedrick brought to the Board’s attention a letter from Ms. Gabrielle Fenlon in which she said that moving vans had blocked access to her garage on two recent occasions. She asked if it would be “possible to post a sign stating that moving vans should not block garage entrances.” Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he had received a written complaint about loud music and noisy behavior by the residents of unit #263 at 1821 N. Rhodes St. He said that he had written to the residents of unit #263 advising them that such actions were violations of CVIII’s covenants and asking them to comply with CVIII’s covenants.

Committee Reports: None.

Old Business:

Towing Service: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that Advanced Towing and Storage had matched Metro Towing Service’s offer of free tire changes, jumpstarts and lockout service and gone Metro several better by offering to paint fire lane curbs for free, to sweep the parking lot for free, and to charge reduced rates for snow plowing and sanding. He asked for a vote on a contract with Advanced. Members of the Board expressed great frustration with Mr. Hedrick. He was told that he didn’t need a vote. He had already been given directions–in a motion approved unanimously at the Board’s 16 June 2004 meeting–to sign a contract with either Advanced or Metro based on which firm gave CVIII the best deal, and to do so quickly. The Board reminded him that as CVIII’s business relationship with Community Towing ended, a large number of cars without CVIII stickers began parking in CVIII’s lot, and continued to do so at the time of this meeting, causing considerable inconvenience for CVIII’s residents. Mr. Hedrick told the Board he would sign a contract with Advanced as soon as he prepared a contract with which both parties were comfortable.

Replacement Chimney–1729 Queens: The Board suggested that some firm other than Consolidated Waterproofing be considered for the contract to replace the chimney behind 1729 Queens Ln. Nearly four years had passed since the Board first considered this project, and CVIII had yet to be given a starting date. Mr. Hedrick attributed the delay to difficulties in obtaining permits from Arlington County. Mr. Stafford said he had been unable to find the time to talk to the consulting engineer on this project, Doug White of Thomas Downey, Ltd., as of this meeting, but would try to do so before the Board’s next meeting. Mr. Gerrity told Mr. Hedrick that if he could obtain the control or tracking number assigned to this project by the Arlington County permitting process, and he would then talk to county officials. Mr. Hedrick said that he would provide this tracking number immediately after this meeting.

Window Cleaning: The Board asked Mr. Hedrick when the window-cleaning contractor was going to wash the exteriors sides of unit owners’ windows. Mr. Hedrick said that he had spoken to Crystal Window Cleaners this week, and expected to have firm dates soon for when they would be at CVIII.

Building Entry Door–1801 N. Rhodes St: The Board asked Mr. Hedrick for a progress report on the request made at its 19 April 2004 meeting for an proposal from Precision Doors to replace the entry door to 1801 N. Rhodes St. Mr. Hedrick said that he had spoken with Precision recently and hoped to have this bid by the Board’s next meeting.

Common Hallway Lighting Fixtures: Mr. Gerrity reminded the Board that it had been contemplating replacements for common hallway lighting fixtures. Many had broken lenses for which replacements were no longer available, and others, particularly in Buildings Two and Four, did not do an adequate job of illuminating hallways. He further reminded the Board that it had authorized the installation of two lighting fixtures in the hallway at 1801 N. Rhodes to test their lighting efficiency and their aesthetic appeal. He asked the Board if it wanted to use these circular fixtures–$186 apiece–or the less expensive rectangular fixtures–$82 apiece–that it considered at its 19 January 2004 meeting. Mr. Kiman told the meeting that Central Wholesalers had a circular fixture in its catalogue very similar to but likely less expensive than those installed in 1801 N. Rhodes St. Mr. Kiman was asked and agreed to get a price and report back to the Board.

CVIII’s Web Site: Mr. McGregor told the Board that he was unable to use Google to locate CVIII’s web site and asked if there was a problem with how the site was set up. Other members of the Board said that www.colonialvillageiii.com brought the site up immediately. Mr. Gerrity agreed to check with Ms. Eide.

Garage Doors: Mr. Hedrick brought to the Board’s attention a letter from Keith Davison of 1736 Queens Ln. in which Mr. Davison requested to be reimbursed for $137.25 he spent to repair his garage door given that garage reserve funds were used to repair or replace other damaged garage doors. After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that Mr. Davison be reimbursed $137.25 for the cost of repairing his garage door. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Security Lighting: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that he had received four bids to replace two vandalized bollard-style lamps located along the walkway between 1816 and l817 Queens Ln. These bids were: Contemporary Electrical Services, $3,420 to install two 16-foot poles with 250-watt high-pressure sodium lamps in yoke mounted fixture heads; Power Systems Electric, $4,490 to install two 14-foot poles with 175-watt, metal halide, shoebox style light fixtures; Kolb Electric, $5,200 to install two poles of unspecified height with 175-watt, metal halide, shoebox style light fixtures; and Dynalectric, $6,420 to install two light poles, thirteen feet above ground, each equipped with a single150 watt high pressure sodium lamp. After discussion during which it was noted that 150-watt lamps were used in similar lighting throughout CVIII, Mr. Stafford moved that CVII accept Contemporary Electrical Services’ bid to supply and install two 16-foot poles with 150-watt high-pressure sodium lamps each equipped with a single yoke mounted shoe-box style fixture. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Common Exterior Main Electrical Panels: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he had received a bid to supply and install common exterior main electrical panels from Dynalectric of $950 per panel, and he was seeking bids from additional firms

Fences and Gates: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he had received two bids to supply and install a fence and gate between 1816 and 1817 Queens Ln. and replace the Wilson Blvd. gate: Dominion Fence and Deck, $13,475; and Long Fence, $13,320. He was still waiting for bids from Hercules and Adkins Brothers. The Board asked Mr. Hedrick if he had gotten further clarification on whether the designs of this fence and two gates and the locations where CVIII wanted to install them were permitted by the Arlington County Fire Code. Mr. Hedrick said that a member of the Fire Marshall’s staff said that no portion of the fence could be closer than ten feet to the fire hydrant just to the north of 1817 N. Queens Ln. and the gates could not be locked. The Board discussed alternative designs and locations of fences, gates and hedges that would eliminate or reduce unauthorized pedestrian traffic in and through CVIII. Mr. Gerrity volunteered to make CVIII’s case in person to the Arlington County Fire Marshall.

Laundry Room Security: The Board asked Mr. Hedrick if he had gotten any feedback from Arlington County’s Historic Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) on installing exhaust fans in windows to reduce the buildup of heat generated by the machines in laundry rooms. Mr. Hedrick said that Michael Leventhal, coordinator for the HALRB, suggested venting this heat buildup through laundry room doors into basement corridors, which would solve CVIII’s problem of open laundry room windows being used as a means of entry by unauthorized individuals without marring the exterior appearance of CVIII’s buildings. Members of the Board asked how this would work if there was no way to get the vented heat out of the basements corridors. Venting this heat buildup through adjacent crawlspaces was suggested as an alternative to using doors and windows. The Board asked and Mr. Stafford agreed to review the feasibility of these various options for restricting access to laundry rooms without creating environmental problems such that residents found using these rooms an unpleasant experience.

Landscaping Update: Tree Maintenance: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that an arborist for Arlington County had measured cavities at the bases of two Yellow Poplars located near the Rhodes St. pedestrian bridge. He found that these cavities were large enough according to a formula used by forestry professionals to characterize these trees as so weakened as to be threats to life, limb and property, and justified their removal. Mr. Hedrick said the HALRB wanted Jason Papacosma, a county employee, to inspect these trees before they were cut down to determine the size of the replacements that CVIII was legally obligated to plant because of its historic status. Lawn Service: Mr. Hedrick said that he had made an inspection tour of CVIII’s grounds with Frank Jones of McFall and Berry in response to complaints from the Board that the lawn service was not doing a thorough job of cleaning debris and weeds from lawns and shrubbery and ivy beds. Following this visit by Mr. Jones, a lawn service crew made a special trip to CVIII to clean up behind Buildings One and Two, and pruning of abelias and similar shrubbery was scheduled for the beginning of August. Mr. Gerrity said that McFall and Berry was doing a better job in maintaining the appearance of CVIII’s grounds, but there was still much room for improvement. He told Mr. Hedrick that he would provide him with a typed version of the following list, which was not exhaustive with respect to weeds in ivy and mulch beds, of areas that needed further attention from the lawn service:

•  Clean dead material out of day lilies in the bed outside the Wilson Blvd. gate.
•  Remove ivy that has appeared right in the middle of a “specimen” yew at the corner of Wilson Blvd. and N. Rhodes St.
•  Clean debris out of ivy bed under magnolia and along building foundation at 1724 Queens Ln.
•  Clean debris off of sunken lawn in front of 1728 Queens Ln. Clean ivy out of yew in front of this address.
•  Clean dead material out of day lilies in the bed to the left of the front door of 1736 Queens Ln. Clean up debris at the rear of this address.
•  Several of the new hollies along the east side of the parking lot need to be restaked or replanted so that they stand in upright positions.
•  Clean weeds and debris out of the ivy beds in front of 1800 Queens Ln.
•  Clean weeds and debris out of the ivy beds in front of 1804 Queens Ln.
•  Clean weeds and debris out of the ivy beds in front of 1808 Queens Ln.
•  The cap yew planted in the triangular-shaped bed between 1804 and 1805 Queens Ln needs to be replanted so that it stands in an upright position.
•  Clean debris out of barberry bed in front of 1729 Queens Ln.
•  Clean weeds out of the ivy beds in front of 1801 Queens Ln.
•  Clean weeds out of the ivy beds in front of 1805 Queens Ln. Also cut back rose bush in front of this building.
•  Clean weeds out of the ivy beds in front of 1809 Queens Ln.
•  Clean up debris that has collected along the foundation on the front side of 1727 N. Rhodes St.
•  Clean weeds out of the ivy and shrubbery beds on the Rhodes St. side of 1728 Queens Ln.
•  Clean weeds out of the shrubbery bed on the north side of 1735 Rhodes St.
•  Clean up debris that has accumulated along the base of the wrought iron fence that runs between the driveway and the pedestrian bridge.
•  Remove a dissimilar plant that has grown in the middle of an abelia on the Rhodes St. end of the pedestrian bridge.
•  Clean up debris behind 1801 N. Rhodes St.
•  Remove a dissimilar plant that has grown in the middle of the Winter Jasmine in front of 1817 N. Rhodes St.

New Business:

Zone 4 Stickers and CVIII’s Parking Lot: Mr. Vanderlyn said that he had noticed motor vehicles parked in CVIII’s lot that did not have current Zone 4 parking permit stickers. He asked Mr. Hedrick what was CVIII’s policy on towing such vehicles. Mr. Hedrick said CVIII’s regulations governing the use of its parking lot required that motor vehicles parked there have current state tags and county stickers, and if they did not, then they would be towed. Members of the Board pointed out that failing to have a current Zone 4 sticker was not a violation of the law, and towing a car for this reason seemed a little harsh. Further, Arlington County was late mailing these stickers to residents of Zone 4, and it was giving residents a thirty-day grace period before it began ticketing vehicles with expired Zone 4 stickers. After further discussion, the Board decided that a current Zone 4 sticker was required, and motor vehicles without such a sticker would be towed. However, CVIII would have thirty-day grace period similar to that of Arlington County and would not tow cars without a current Zone 4 sticker until after 1 August 2004.

Parking Garage: In discussing parking problems in CVIII’s neighborhood, members of the Board argued that little or no help was or would be coming from Arlington County and the only way CVIII was going to be able to guarantee its owners and their tenants a parking place was to build an underground garage beneath the parking lot. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that undertaking such a project would require the approval of a substantial majority of CVIII’s owners and that there had been little support for this idea when it was first raised four years ago. In discussion, the Board seemed like-minded that CVIII’s parking problems were going to get worse, and the day when a majority of owners would be ready to seriously consider such a garage wasn’t all that far off. To be prepared for such an event, it decided to discuss this garage at upcoming meetings.

Bulk Purchases: The Board asked Mr. Hedrick if CMI consolidated purchases by CVI, CVII, CVIII and the Commons of items such as light bulbs in order to obtain price discounts from suppliers for bulk purchases. Mr. Hedrick said this was CMI’s practice to the extent that it was possible to accurately monitor the consumption of such items by each of the associations.

Executive Session: Mr. Stafford moved that the open session of this meeting be adjourned, and the Board go into executive session for the purposes of discussing delinquent assessments and communication between the Board, Mr. Hedrick, Arlington County and the other owners association in Colonial Village. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously at 7:37 p.m.

The next Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on 24 August 2004 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 7:51 p.m.

August 31, 2004 CVIII Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

 Call to order: With a quorum present the meeting was called to order at 7:02 p.m. Present at that time were, Stanton Stafford, president; Cheryl Connelly, treasurer; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; Charles Vanderlyn, member-at-large; unit owner George Hinkins; 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 21 July 2004 Board meeting be approved without change. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Reports of Officers:

Mr. Gerrity noted that CMI had been CVIII’s property management firm since the condominium’s inception sixteen years ago. No other firm had been asked to submit a bid to manage CVIII during that period. As a matter of principle, without passing judgment on the quality of CMI’s service to CVIII, the Board should be requesting proposals from other firms to manage CVIII. The Board could have no idea of what were the prevailing costs per unit for the services CMI provided CVIII or what other services were available unless it tested the market on a regular basis. As for how good a job CMI was doing, Mr. Gerrity said that it should be obvious to all that Mr. Hedrick needed help. Rhodes St. Parking Petition: Mr. Gerrity told the Board that he had met with Sarah Stott, Parking Manager with the Transportation Division of the Arlington County Public Works Department. Ms. Stott said her division had completed the Arlington County Integrated Parking Plan and would present this plan to the public and the Arlington County Board within the next four to six weeks. Once the county Board has approved a version this plan, there might be a decision on Colonial Village’s petition to restrict parking on N. Rhodes St. Ms. Stott offered to meet with CVIII’s Board to explain and answer questions about this plan or do the same with a larger group that would include all the communities in Colonial Village, the Astoria, Chelsea Landing and residents of other buildings that lie within the boundaries of the Colonial Village Civic Association.

Management Report:

Engineer: Mr. Kiman told the Board that there had been no unusual maintenance problems during the past six weeks. The Board complimented Mr. Kiman on the quality of the replacement lock he recently installed in the west entrance door to the basement of 1729 Queens Ln. It pointed out that a section of the privacy fence behind 1729 Queens Ln. had been knocked loose from one of its posts. Mr. Kiman said that it was already on his list of things to do. The Board noted a substantial depression in the lawn to the east of 1720 Queens Ln. and asked Mr. Kiman to fill it in the next time soil was left over from a project in CVIII. The Board also noted that erosion had created a considerable fall-off along the east side of the steps from the Queens Ln. walk to 1813 Queens Ln. The Board asked and Mr. Kiman agreed to fill in and lay sod on this area. The Board asked about a wooden window well behind this building that had been knocked apart. Mr. Kiman said the lawn service had run over it with a mower and it was on his list of things to repair. The Board asked and Mr. Kiman agreed to inspect the entrance door to 1801 Queens Ln. for loose hinges. Barbeque Grills: The Board noted the presence of barbeque grills outside the rear door to 1729 Queens Ln. and in front of 1816 Queens Ln., and asked Mr. Kiman to remove them. Mr. Kiman was asked if he could confirm what appeared to members of the Board to be residents using propane fueled grills. Mr. Kiman said he could not, but it was possible. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to distribute a notice reminding residents that keeping propane tanks in basement storage rooms was a violation of the Arlington County Fire Code.

July Financial Update: After making allowances for errors and omissions in the July financial report, Mr. Hedrick said CVIII had a year-to-date operating surplus of $20,317 as of the end of July. The largest component of this surplus was the Water and Sewer account, which was $10,479 under budget year-to-date. Lower than expected natural gas and electric consumption and higher than expected interest income also contributed to this surplus. The Board reminded Mr. Hedrick that Geimer and Ehrlich, CVIII’s accounting firm, had defined account #13090 –“Allowance for Doubtful Accounts”– on CVIII’s accrual balance sheet as monies owed the condominium by units owners ninety days past due dates. The 26 July 2004 “Delinquent and Prepaid Resident Report” showed the sum of monies ninety days past due as $4,151.44 while the balance sheet for the same date showed $6,341 in allowances for doubtful accounts. Mr. Hedrick was asked and agreed to resolve this discrepancy. Mr. Hedrick was asked and agreed to obtain an explanation from CMI’s accounting department or Geimer Ehrlich of the source of $11,746 shown on CVIII’s balance sheet in account #28001– “Deferred Income”– for more than a year. Details of the July financial report are available for unit owner review at the CVIII office.

Committee Reports: None.

Old Business:

Fences and Gates: Mr. Gerrity said that he had discussed the security fence and gates the Board wanted to install at the north and south entrances to Queens Ln. with representatives of the Arlington County Fire Department, Zoning Administration and Building Code Enforcement. He learned that CVIII could install this fence and gates more or less as initially planned with one major qualification: it had to be compliant with Chapter Ten of the International Building Code (IBC), which governs egress. This meant that people had to be able to get to a “safe” distance from CVIII’s buildings without the use of a key in case of an emergency such as a fire. Mr. Hinkins, an architect by profession, said that the center of the courtyard in front of Buildings Two and Four was probably a “safe” distance. Mr. Hinkins promised to provide the Board with a copy of Chapter Ten of the IBC so that this difficulty could be resolved.

CVIII’s Web Site: Mr. Gerrity told the Board that he had recently discussed taking over management of CVIII’s website with Lorraine Eide and had begun to familiarize himself with Microsoft’s FrontPage, the software Ms. Eide used to assemble and publish CVIII’s website. He told the Board he would have to buy a copy of FrontPage to manage the site.

Common Hallway Light Fixtures: Mr. Kiman informed the Board that he had purchased two circular fluorescent light fixtures for $46 apiece. He said that they should generate as much illumination as similar shaped fixtures costing $182 that he recently installed in the hall at 1801 N. Rhodes St. He suggested installing the $46 fixtures at 1805 N. Rhodes St. so unit owners and the Board could compare the two types of circular fixtures for lighting efficiency and aesthetics. The Board accepted Mr. Kiman’s suggestion.

Trash Cans: Mr. Kiman presented the Board with a written quote of $45.88 apiece for 55-gallon rubber/plastic trashcans from Central Wholesalers, Inc. These are needed to replace trashcans in CVIII’s trash rooms whose bottoms have worn through. After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII purchase twenty #22554 Huskee gray 55-gallon trashcans form Central Wholesalers, Inc. for $45.88 apiece. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. Mr. Kiman assured the Board the he would stencil “CVIII” repeatedly on these trashcans to ensure they didn’t end up somewhere else in Colonial Village.

Common Element Electrical Panels: Mr. Hedrick presented the Board with three bids to supply and install nine common element electrical panels to replace existing units whose interiors were rusting out: Power Systems Electric (PSE), $5,200; Dynalectric, $8,550; and Contemporary Electrical Services, $13,200. After discussion, Mr. Stafford moved that CVIII accept PSE bid to supply and install nine 125 amp,120/240 volt, NEMA 3R rated electrical panels and new circuit breakers for $5,200. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to have this $5,200 charged against reserve account #30240 – “Equipment Replacement Reserves.”

Window Cleaning: Mr. Hedrick told the Board Crystal Window Cleaners had cleaned 411 windows in CVIII on the 30th and 31st of August. Mr. Kiman verified the number of windows cleaned by counting windows without screens. Mr. Hedrick advised the Board that certain exposures to the sun caused leaching from aluminum screens onto window glass that was difficult to clean, and mention of this problem should be included in announcements of this service when this it is provided in the future.

Doormats: The Board asked Mr. Hedrick for an update on the status of CVIII’s order from Commercial Carpets for twenty-eight doormats to go immediately inside building entrances doors. Mr. Hedrick said that he had forgotten about this order, but he would check with the vendor before the Board’s September meeting.

Replacement Chimney-1729 Queens Ln.: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that Consolidated Waterproofing had finally obtained permits from Arlington County to demolish and replace the chimney behind 1729 Queens Ln. Mr. Hedrick said he had not yet received a starting date from Consolidated, and he warned the Board that this project might not get under way until the Spring of 2005. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to have Consolidated repair badly broken-up mortar in the uppermost courses of some of CVIII’s brick window wells.

Storm Drainage: The Board asked for a progress report on the storm drainage work Hix & Sons was doing for CVIII. Mr. Hedrick said that Hix had completed work on the west side of Building Two and the east side of Building Four and in front of 1737 Queens Ln. and then pulled its crew out of CVIII to work on another project without completing work behind 1817 N. Rhodes St. and 1804 and 1808 Queens Ln. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that Hicks promised to finish all work in CVIII by the end of September. 1809 Queens Ln.: The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to get at least one additional bid to repair or replace a storm drain serving the exterior stairwell on the east side of the basement of this building.

Tree Maintenance: Mr. Hedrick reminded the Board that CVIII received bids from four companies to remove two Yellow Poplars located in the woods along Rhodes St. These trees were considered threats to life, limb and property because cavities in the bases of their trunks appeared to make them more liable to being knocked down by high winds than other trees. These bids were: Bartlett Tree Experts, $9,800 to cut these two trees (and three others) down to stumps approximately thirty feet high and haul away all debris were; Strictly Stumps, $6,800 to cut these two trees down to stumps approximately twenty to thirty feet high (at their first large forks) with no commitment to haul away debris; Davey Tree Expert Co., $5,940 to cut these trees down to stumps approximately twenty feet high (at their first large forks) and haul away all debris were. RTEC Treecare, $10,400 to cut these trees down to grade level and haul away all debris; Davey Tree Expert Co., $6,535 to cut these trees down to rear grade level and haul away all debris. After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII accept Davey Tree Expert Co.’s bid of $6,535 to cut these trees down to rear grade level and haul away all debris. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. Replacement Trees: After discussion, Mr. Gerrity asked Mr. Hedrick to notify Jason Papacosma of Arlington County that CVIII would plant a Saucer Magnolia in front of 1725 Queens Ln. and a single stem Crape Myrtle in front of 1729 Queens Ln. as replacements for these two Yellow Poplars.

New Business:

Request for Relief from a Late Fee: Mr. Hedrick brought to the Board’s attention a written request from Geoffrey and Alyson Underwood, resident owners at 1732 Queens Ln., for relief from a $20 late fee charged because CMI did not receive their payment of the July installment of their unit’s annual assessment until after 15 July 2004. The Board noted CVIII considers a monthly installment of a unit’s annual assessment paid the day it is received by CMI, not the day it is given to the post office or any other means of delivery or transmission. It was the responsibility of the unit owner to find a dependable way to get their payment to CMI by the 15th of the relevant month. Mr. Vanderlyn moved that the Board deny Mr. and Mrs. Underwood’s request for relief from a $20 late fee. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion. Ms. Connelly, Mr. Gerrity and Mr. Vanderlyn voted to approve this motion. Mr. Stafford abstained. 

Exterior Painting: Mr. Kiman told the Board that the white paint on gables, exterior door trim, lintels and sills was peeling and flaking in many places and needed to be prepped, primed and top-coated. The Board asked Mr. Hedrick to find out if the warranty from Renaissance Painting Co., the last contractor to paint CVIII’s exterior, was still in effect with regard to the problems pointed out by Mr. Kiman. If not, then bids should be solicited to have this work done this fall or the spring of 2005.

Roofs: Mr. Kiman advised the Board the Board that 1728 Queens Ln. and 1813 and 1821 N. Rhodes St. were the last three buildings in CVIII with layered felt, tar and pea gravel roofing. He expressed concern that these roofs were increasingly prone to leaks because they were fifteen years old. He suggested that the Board consider replacing them. Members said that the expected service life of this type of roofing should be the guide for replacement, unless these began to develop leaks at a significantly greater rate than the Sarnafil membranes that covered the roofs of the other twenty-five buildings in CVIII. The Board asked Mr. Hedrick and Mr. Stafford to verify its impression that the service life of felt and tar layered roofing was twenty years. Mr. Kiman was asked to make an extra effort to keep the roofs of these three buildings free of debris that might interfere with drainage or cause punctures.

HALRB Violation: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that the tenant residing in unit #178 at 1728 Queens. Ln. had installed a window air-conditioner in violation of Arlington County Historic Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) guidelines. He provided the Board with copies of a letter he wrote to the owner of this unit asking for immediate compliance.

2004 Annual Meeting: After discussion, the Board agreed to schedule CVIII’s 2004 annual meeting for 20 October 2004 at 7:00 p.m. in the conference room in the CMI office at 1903 Key Blvd. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that the terms for two seats on the Board would expire as of this year’s annual meeting. Letters soliciting candidates to fill these two seats for three-year terms would be mailed to CVIII’s owners within a few days of this meeting. Mr. Gerrity and Mr. Vanderlyn both informed the Board that they planned to stand for reelection.

2005 Budget: Mr. Hedrick said he would present a draft of CVIII’s 2005 operating and reserve budgets at the 20 September 2004 Board meeting. The Board asked that account #30240 –“Equipment Replacement Reserves”– be renamed to read “Electrical Equipment Replacement Reserves.” Mr. Hedrick agreed do so if CMI’s accounting software was flexible enough for such a change.

Maintenance Engineer’s Annual Salary Review:

Mr. Hedrick recommended that Stan Kiman, CVIII’s maintenance engineer, be given a three percent salary increase. After discussion by the Board, Mr. Gerrity moved that Mr. Kiman be given a three percent increase in his hourly wage for the period 15 September 2004 through 15 September 2005. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Pet Comportment: Mr. Hedrick brought to the Board’s attention a letter from Violeta Tolosa, a resident owner at 1817 Queens, in which she told of being charged at by a large dog, which was not on a leash as it should have been, in the vicinity of 1801 Queens. Ms. Tolosa told of frequently observing as many as six dogs running loose simultaneously in this area. Ms. Tolosa said the dog situation in CVIII continued to worsen and asked that something be done about it. The Board discussed this letter and a verbal complaint from another resident owner about being charged by two dogs in the care of a resident of CVIII As an interim measure until it found a way to get dog owners to obey the rules, the Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to post a notice that unleashed dogs in common areas of CVIII were a violation of CVIII’s bylaws and Arlington County Ordinances.

Executive Session: Mr. Stafford moved that the open session of this meeting be adjourned, and the Board go into executive session for the purposes of discussing delinquent assessments and conducting Mr. Kiman’s annual salary review. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously at 8:23 p.m.

The next Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on 20 September 2004 in the conference room in the CMI office at 1903 Key Blvd. Mr. Gerrity moved that this meeting be adjourned. Mr. Vanderlyn seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously at 8:34 p.m.

September 20, 2004 CVIII Board of Directors 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 Stanton Stafford, president; Cheryl Connelly, treasurer; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; unit owner Violeta Tolosa: maintenance engineer Stan Kiman; and association manager George Hedrick. Charles Vanderlyn, member-at-large, arrived at 6:45 p.m. Michael McGregor, vice president, arrived at 7:15 p.m. Unit owners George Hinkins and Geoffrey Underwood 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. Tolosa thanked the Board for the time it spent at its August meeting discussing her letter of 24 July 2004 in which she asked the Board to do something about what appeared to her to be a growing number of dogs running about unleashed on CVIII’s grounds, particularly so, as she had been charged at by one such dog in August and yet another just a week before this meeting. Ms. Tolosa said that she had been terrified in both instances. She asked the Board what it was going to do about this problem. The Board said that the natural friendliness of dogs made CVIII a more attractive place to live, but no resident should ever feel intimidated or frightened by a dog’s behavior. The Board said that most of CVIII’s residents who owned dogs were “good citizens,” but it was obvious that some dog owners were unaware of prohibitions and permissions governing pet ownership and pet comportment found in Article XI, Section 1, Paragraph (h) of CVIII’s bylaws and others chose to ignore these regulations. The Board said that it was going to intensify its efforts to educate CVIII’s dog owners about these regulations. Violators would be dealt with on an individual basis. A first offence would receive a letter from Mr. Hedrick. Repeated offences would lead to a visit from a delegation of three or more Board members. Continued lack of cooperation would result in fines or banishment. Mr. Underwood pointed out to the Board that the absence of locked entry gates allowed dog owners who neither owned nor rented a unit in CVIII to use CVIII’s property as a short cut and a place to exercise their dogs. Misbehavior by their dogs could easily be sources of the complaints the Board had been receiving. He suggested that if residents felt comfortable doing so, they could ask such trespassers to leave CVIII’s property. If they were uncooperative and could be identified, then they would be referred to Mr. Hedrick or the Board for further action. The Board accepted Mr. Underwood’s suggestion.

Reading and Approval of Minutes: Mr. Stafford moved that the minutes of the 31 August 2004 Board meeting be approved without change. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously, Messrs. McGregor and Vanderlyn not yet present.

Reports of Officers: None.

Management Report:

Engineer: Mr. Kiman told the Board that there had been no unusual maintenance problems during the past month. The Board noted that the screws that fasten the doorknob and lock assembly for the west basement entrance door at 1808 Queens Ln. had come loose. Mr. Kiman agreed to tighten them. The Board also noted the lawn service continued to knock apart the wooden window well behind 1813 Queens Ln. It asked Mr. Kiman to replace it with a metal well liner when his work schedule permitted. Mr. Kiman agreed to do so if he could find a small enough metal liner. The Board asked and Mr. Kiman agreed to fertilize and water as necessary a group of euonymus located behind 1729 Queens Ln. that was growing poorly.

August Financial Update: After making allowances for the omission of a $2,254.61 monthly payment for lawn service and $2,260.50 for window cleaning from the August financial report, Mr. Hedrick said CVIII had a year-to-date operating surplus of $26,275 as of the end of August. The largest component of this surplus was the Water and Sewer account, which was $12,097 under budget year-to-date. Expenditures for legal services, electricity, and natural gas were also significantly under budget year-to-date. The Board noted that $18,092 paid to Hix & Sons for improvements to CVIII’s storm drainage system, which should have been charged to account #31060 Water and Sewer Lines Reserves, had been charged in error to account #31070–Water Heaters Reserves. Mr. Hedrick was asked and agreed to correct this error. Details of the August financial report are available for unit owner review at the CVIII office.

Asset Management: After review, the Board decided to improve the yield on CVIII’s investments by consolidating two money market accounts and purchasing a CD. Ms. Connelly moved that CVIII authorize CMI to close CVIII’s money market account with Virginia Commerce Bank and deposit the $97,603.74 it contained in CVIII’s money market account with Acacia Federal Savings and Loan. CMI would then purchase a CD thirty to thirty-six months in term with $90,000 drawn from funds consolidated in the Acacia Federal money market account. Mr. Gerrity seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Committee Reports: None.

Old Business:

Security Fence and Gates: Minimizing Inconvenience: Members of the Board expressed concern about the inconvenience these gates with locks would impose on residents and their guests. Mr. Stafford suggested to the Board that installing a lock on the gate in the fence between 1816 and 1817 Queens Ln. but not the Wilson Blvd. gate would eliminate almost all trespassing and cause the least amount of inconvenience to CVIII’s residents and their guests. Trespassing in CVIII was almost entirely the result of people living in communities lying to the north and east of CVIII such as Rosslyn Heights using CVIII’s grounds as a shortcut to and from Wilson Blvd. Very few of CVIII’s residents would have guests who found access to or from the intersection of Key Blvd. and N. Quinn St. the most convenient way to enter or leave CVIII. If experience proved this not to be the case, then a lock could always be installed on the Wilson Blvd. gate at some future date. After discussion, the Board accepted Mr. Stafford’s suggestion. To make sure that residents had ample opportunity to express their opinions on the fence and gates, the Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to include them on the agenda for CVIII’s 2004 annual meeting. Mr. Vanderlyn suggested that a new gate be installed at the Wilson Blvd. Entrance to CVIII because the existing gate was in bad shape. He said this would only add $2,000 to the cost of the project. He said that the gate in the proposed fence between 1816 and 1817 Queens Ln. should be key locked and the new gate he proposed for the Wilson Blvd. entrance should be key lock ready. Permit: Mr. Gerrity reported to the Board that he had another meeting with Ken Saks, an official with the Arlington County Zoning Administration. Mr. Saks said, based on looking at a map of CVIII, that the Queens Lane courtyards, the parking lot, the drive way, and the walkway adjacent to the north side of the garage together appeared to provide residents and visitors with safe means of getting to a “public way” that satisfy Chapter Ten of the International Building Code (IBC), which governs egress from buildings in case of an emergency such as a fire. Mr. Saks said that this fence and gates could be submitted for approval by the Zoning Administration as an “Administrative Change” to the existing approved site plan for CVIII. Mr. Gerrity said that the remaining issue was the location of the fence between 1816 and 1817 Queens Ln. relative to CVIII’s property line and the fire hydrant just northwest of 1817 Queens Ln. Mr. Hedrick strongly urged the Board to locate this fence so that both the pole lamps the Board had approved for installation along the sidewalk between 1816 and 1817 Queens Ln. would stand inside the fence. Mr. Hinkins said that he would prepare drawings and specifications suitable for an application for a permit to build this fence and install the two gates if he was provided with certified plats showing the location of CVIII’s northern property line in the vicinity of 1816 and 1817 Queens Ln. Mr. Gerrity agreed to obtain these plats for Mr. Hinkins. HALRB Approval: Mr. Gerrity reminded the Board that CVIII would need the approval of Arlington County’s Historic Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) to install this fence and gates before the Zoning Administration would approve it. He suggested and Mr. Hedrick agreed to arrange a meeting with Michael Leventhal of the HALRB to discuss this project before proceeding any further with it. Signage: Members of the Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to make sure that existing “No Trespassing – Colonial Village III Residents and Guests Only” signs were in readable condition and were posted in highly visible locations and this would also be the case after the fence and gates had been installed.

CVIII’s Website: Mr. Stafford moved that CVIII reimburse Dennis Gerrity $262.47 for his purchase of Microsoft’s FrontPage 2003 software and two “help” books. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. Mr. Gerrity had purchased this material so that he could take over management of CVIII’s website from Loraine Eide, who no longer lives in CVIII.

Building Entry Door: Mr. Hedrick presented the Board with a proposal from Precision Doors and Hardware to replace the entry door to 1801 N. Rhodes St., which Mr. Kiman said had deteriorated to such an extent that its hinges could no longer be kept screwed to its jamb. Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII accept Precision Doors and Hardware’s bid to furnish and install a #3070 9-lite fir slab wood door, three sets of hinges, a closer and a threshold at 1801 N. Rhodes St. for $1,544.75. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approve unanimously, Mr. McGregor not yet present.

Common Hallway Lighting Fixtures: The Board asked Mr. Hinkins for a report on the comparative effectiveness of two different types of circular fluorescent light fixtures in illuminating the hallways of 1801 and 1805 N. Rhodes St. He said the fixture installed in 1805 N. Rhodes St., which was both the smaller and less expensive of the two, did a satisfactory job of illuminating this building’s halls. He suggested that the Board verify this for itself, and the Board decided to do so immediately after this meeting.

Replacement Chimney – 1729 Queens Ln.: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that a temporary flue and scaffolding needed to replace the chimney behind 1729 Queens Ln. would be installed by the end of the week. Work on the chimney would begin shortly thereafter. He would post notices on bulletin Boards as soon as Consolidated gave him a firm date. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he had asked Consolidated to repair several window wells with damaged brickwork while they were at CVIII replacing the chimney.

Storm Drainage: Mr. Hedrick said that Hix & Sons had given him a commitment to finish work on the north side of 1817 N. Rhodes St., the west side of 1804 Queens Ln. and the south side of 1808 Queens Ln. by the end of September, weather permitting.

Laundry Room Security: Mr. Stafford briefly reviewed the Board’s plans to improve laundry room security. Stops would be installed on all windows in these rooms so that they could not be opened more than three inches. This would prevent anyone from entering laundry rooms through their windows. Exhaust fans would be installed to provide ventilation. Mr. Stafford provided the Board with a set of specifications for the type of fan he recommended for installation. Mr. Stafford told the Board that it would cost about $1,000 to supply and install each exhaust fan. He said that he would advise the Board on where these fans should be located in laundry rooms after further consultations with Mr. Hedrick and Mr. Kiman. He told the Board that it might be possible to use the same fan to ventilate both the laundry room and the trash room in a building. The Board discussed whether it would be best to leave these fans running twenty-four hours a day or activate then by a timer, light switch or thermostat. The Board chose a thermostat because dissipating heat generated by laundry machines was the reason these rooms needed to be ventilated.

Landscaping Update: Trees in CVIII’s Watershed Area: Mr. Gerrity told the Board he had learned during a recent visit to CVIII by Jason Papacosma, Arlington County’s Watershed Planner, that the ravine paralleling the Rhodes Street side of CVIII’s property is a Resource Protection Area (RPA) stream buffer. Land disturbance and tree removal within RPAs are subject to provisions of Arlington County’s Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance. More specifically, because the bands of treesgrowing on both sides of the stream running through this ravine are so narrow, any tree in this ravine that is cut down, for whatever reason, has to be replaced with the same sized tree or a sapling with the potential of matching the mature size of the tree that had been removed. This means that the two Yellow Poplars, which have large cavities in their trunks at ground level and the Board wants to cut down because they are imminent threats to life, limb and property, must be replaced with trees that will be “large” when they are mature, not the ornamental trees the Board discussed at its August meeting. Mr. Gerrity said that he pointed out to Mr. Papacosma that the tree canopy along the ravine was so dense, that saplings planted there probably had less than an even chance of maturing or even surviving due to inadequate sunlight. Mr. Papacosma acknowledged this was likely, but the law was the law. Mr. Gerrity recommended to the Board that CVIII plant the required trees and hope for the best. Expanding the Rhodes Street RPA: Mr. Gerrity relayed to the Board a request from Mr. Papacosma that CVIII consider voluntarily widening the Rhodes St. RPA by converting a ten-foot wide swath of lawn running the entire length of the ravine to shrubbery. According to Mr. Papacosma, this would be an act of good environmental citizenship because it would help reduce the runoff of soil and pollutants into the Potomac River and eventually the Chesapeake Bay. The Board discussed the matter and decided that shrubbery would not do as good a job as CVIII’s existing lawn in controlling runoff in this area. If Mr. Papacosma made further inquiries on this matter, the Board directed Mr. Gerrity to tell him its answer was “respectfully, no.” Tree Maintenance: Mr. Gerrity reminded the Board that CVIII had a number of dying trees and trees damaged last year by Hurricane Isabel that should be removed. In anticipation that some portion of this year’s operating budget surplus might be available for this purpose, Mr. Gerrity asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to obtain bids from three contractors to cut down and grind out the stumps of the following trees:

•  A Siberian Elm located in front of 1725 Queens Ln. This tree had been damaged by Hurricane Isabel.
•  A Siberian Elm located between 1737 and 1801 Queens Ln. This tree had been damaged by Hurricane Isabel.
•  A Chinese Elm located in front of 1812 Queens Ln. This tree had been partially uprooted by Hurricane Isabel.
•  Two Austrian Pines located behind 1828 Wilson Blvd. Both these trees are diseased and dying.
•  A Hemlock located on the west side of 1808 Queens Ln. This tree is dying.
•  Two Green Ashes located on the west side of 1816 Queens lane, and a third Green Ash located on the east side of this address. All three of these trees are dying.

 Mr. Hinkins pointed out a large cedar adjacent to the northeast corner of 1800 Queens Ln. and a hemlock on the east side of 1808 Queens Ln that were both growing so close to these buildings that their roots might have already damaged building foundations or could easily do so in the future. Mr. Hinkins suggested that Board consider removing them. Mr. Gerrity said that there was a White Cedar growing next to the northwest corner of 1727 N. Rhodes that posed a similar threat to that building’s foundation. However, all three were healthy, attractive looking trees, and he would not consider recommending taking them down until he had done some research on their root structures.

Parking: The Board had a wide-ranging and spirited discussion on how to solve CVIII’s parking problems. The one common theme in this discussion was that the residents of all four associations the two rental communities that comprised Colonial Village shared the same parking problems and had to work together to solve these parking problems. To make the best use of the Board’s time, Mr. Stafford suggested that those who felt strongly about a particular solution to Colonial Village’s parking problems organize their thoughts into a presentation to be given at a future Board meeting.

New Business:

2005 Budget: The Board reviewed Mr. Hedrick’s proposed 2005 budget for CVIII. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to make the following changes: increase account #46450 – “Interest Income”– to $18,000; reduce account #50700 –“Legal Expense”– to $5,000; increase account #58480 “Landscaping”– to $12,500; increase account #58800 – “Tree Maintenance”– to $12,500. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to reallocate CVIII’s contributions in 2005 to its reserve accounts as follows: reduce the annual contribution to account #80070 – “Carpet and Tile Reserves”– from $3,306 a month or $39,670 annually to $250 a month or $3,000 annually; increase the annual contribution to account #80870 – “Roof Reserves”– from $1,929 a month or $23,146 annually to $3,500 a month or $42,000 annually; increase the annual contribution to account #80260 – “Fence Reserves”– from $110 a month or $1,320 annually to $1,500 a month or $18,000 annually. The Board requested and Mr. Hedrick agreed to ask Geimer and Ehrlich, CVIII’s accounting firm, if the cost of a review of CVIII’s reserve accounts planned for 2005 could be charged against these accounts on a pro-rata basis or if a separate reserve account could be set up to fund this study. The Board also asked Mr. Hedrick to inquire of Geimer and Ehrlich if it would be appropriate for CVIII to set up reserve accounts to fund new projects and contingencies. Utility Expenses: The Board noted that utility expenses were considerably under budget year-to-date for 2004, and neither it nor Mr. Hedrick were able to provide convincing explanations for why this was so. The Board asked Mr. Hedrick to emphasize in the explanatory notes he prepared to accompany the approved version of the budget for 2005 distributed to CVIII’s owners in December that CVIII’s budget for utilities was based on historical averages, not expenditures in a single year.

Request for Reimbursement for Towing Charge: Mr. Hedrick brought to the Board’s attention a letter from Michael S. Kleesblatt of 1891 N. 16th St., Arlington, Va. asking that he be reimbursed the $95 fee he was charged by Advance Towing to tow his car from CVIII’s parking lot. In discussion, the Board noted that Mr. Kleesblatt admitted in his letter that he was parked in CVIII’s lot in violation of CVIII’s regulations governing use of its parking lot at the time his car was towed. Mr. Stafford moved that the Board deny Mr. Kleesblatt’s request to be reimbursed for this $95 towing charge. Mr. Vanderlyn seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Request to Hold a Charitable Yard/Bake Sale on CVIII’s Commons: Mr. Hedrick brought to the Board’s attention a letter from Jason Fiore, a resident of 1721 Queens, requesting that he and a “few of his friends” be permitted to hold a yard/bake sale on the lawn outside the Wilson Blvd. gate on Saturday, 25 September 2004, between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. The proceeds from this event would go the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The Board discussed Mr. Fiore’s request and found itself divided. Those in favor argued that the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society was a worthy charity and allowing such an event might help create a sense of community in CVIII. Those opposed argued that if the Board allowed fund-raisers such as Mr. Fiore proposed, then it would also have to allow for-profit yard sales by residents. These sorts of events, along with the damage they would inevitably do to lawns, would cheapen the appearance of CVIII, and, therefore, reduce the resale value of units. After further discussion, Ms. Connelly moved that the Board allow Mr. Fiore and his friends hold their yard/bake sale on 25 September 2004. They could set up for this sale any time after 11:00 a.m., and they had to remove their sale and clean up by no later than 6:00 p.m. No alcoholic beverages could be served. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion. Ms. Connelly, Mr. McGregor and Mr. Stafford voted in favor of it. Mr. Gerrity voted against it. Mr. Vanderlyn abstained. After further discussion, the Board agreed that it had to develop a set of regulations governing what, where and when events could be held on CVIII’s commons, or things could easily get out of control. The Board agreed to return to this topic at its November meeting.

Executive Session: Mr. Stafford moved that the open session of this meeting be adjourned, and the Board go into executive session. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously at 8:15 p.m.

The next Board meeting will immediately follow CVIII’s annual meeting scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on 20 October 2004 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 8:19 p.m.

 October 20, 2004 CVIIIAnnual Meeting Minutes

Call to order: With a quorum of unit owners voting by proxy and in person of 28.641%, the meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. Present at that time were Stanton Stafford, president; Michael McGregor, vice-president; Cheryl Connelly, treasurer; Dennis Gerrity, secretary. Also present were unit owners Melissa Bailey, Mahmoud Ghannam, Molly Harbin, George Hinkins, Linda Johnson, Eric Nicoll, Peyton Palmore, David Reizes, Christine Thornton, Jeffrey Underwood; Richard Donahue, a 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.

Reading and Approval of Minutes: Mr. Stafford moved that the minutes of the 20 October 2003 Annual Meeting be approved without change. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and all approved it except Melissa Bailey, Molly Harbin, George Hinkins, Linda Johnson, Eric Nicoll, David Reizes, Christine Thornton, and Jeffrey Underwood, who abstained because they did not attend that meeting.

Unit Owners Forum:

General Comments:

Mr. Hinkins told the meeting that he was impressed with the credentials of the three candidates for seats on the Board of directors. He said it was unfortunate that there were only two vacancies. He encouraged the candidate not elected and anyone else interested in the well-being of CVIII to attend meetings on a regular basis and try to find ways to get involved, perhaps by serving on a committee. Mr. Stafford told the meeting that Arlington County was now using e-mail to notify him of proposals and projects affecting CVIII. This would make it much easier for him to make CVIII’s owners and residents aware of matters of interest in time for them to make use of such information. Mr. Palmore told the meeting that he had served on the Board for nine years and this year's annual meeting had the best turnout in his experience. He discussed a number of large projects that had been completed during that period without having to resort to special assessments. He complimented the Board for its hard work. Mr. Gerrity encouraged the meeting to thank George Hinkins for the time and effort he had put into designing the security fence and gates CVIII wanted to install.

Specific Issues:

Proposed Addition to National Science Teachers Association: Mr. Hinkins reminded the meeting that 25 October 2004 was the deadline to submit written comments on the application of the National Science Teachers Association to build an addition to their building at 1840 Wilson Blvd. The Planning Commission of Arlington County and the Arlington County Board have public hearings scheduled on the 8th and 16th of November respectively to review this project. Mr. Hinkins expressed particular concern that the sidewalks on both the Wilson and Clarendon Blvds. sides of the proposed addition would not be wide enough to allow for outdoor dining on a scale similar to what was currently available at Il Radicchio and the Rhodeside Grill. Such restaurants were significant amenities in the neighborhood. Mr. Gerrity urged those interested not only to write letters but also to attend the upcoming Planning Commission and the County Board meetings. He suggested that they urge the Planning Commission and the County Board not to approve this project unless it included shared use of the garages in the existing NTSA building and its proposed addition after normal working hours and on weekends. He said that this would be the cheapest way to expand the supply of parking in Colonial Village’s neighborhood during periods of peak demand.

Proposed Security Fence and Gates: Mr. Reizes told the meeting that he walked his dog on the Queens Lane courtyards at all hours of the day and he saw trespassers all the time––many behaving in loud and vulgar ways, and one person actually vomiting on CVIII’s grounds. He urged the Board to reconsider its plans to install lockable gates at both ends of Queens Ln. but make only the lock on the gate in the fence between 1816 and 1817 Queens Ln. operational. He said that trespassing was a serious problem for CVIII, and the Board should not choose a halfway solution to it. If both gates could be locked, then both should be locked. Ms. Johnson told the meeting that she was in favor of locking the gate in the fence between 1816 and 1817 Queens Ln., but not the Wilson Blvd. gate. Locking the Wilson Blvd. gate would inconvenience residents carrying items such as groceries and guests. Ms. Harbin asked for an explanation of discussion about the height of the proposed fence. Was this an aesthetic concern or a security issue? Members of the Board said that the purpose of the fence was to improve the security of persons and property in CVIII by limiting trespassers. A height of either five or six feet would be enough to deter most trespassers. Mr. Hinkins pointed out that six feet was the height of security fences in Rosslyn Heights. Mr. Underwood suggested that the Board try to get the whole project approved at one time so that if locking the gate in the fence between 1816 and 1817 Queens Ln. did not do a satisfactory job of stopping trespassers, then the Wilson Blvd. gate could be made operational without having to go back to Arlington County for approval. The Board said that it planned to do as Mr. Underwood suggested.

Benches: Mr. Underwood said that he understood that the Board had previously considered and rejected the idea of installing benches for sitting at various locations on CVIII’s lawns. He asked the Board to consider this project a second time. He noted that CVI and CVII had such benches. Mr. Reizes spoke in favor of Mr. Underwood’s suggestion and asked the Board to act positively on it as quickly as possible. The Board said that it had considered such benches in the past but decided not to install them because they might lead to street people frequenting CVIII. Mr. Underwood pointed out that locked gates would eliminate this problem. The Board agreed to revisit this issue at a future date. Mr. Donahue suggested individual residents could provide their own outdoor seating, storing it in their units when not using it.

Parking: Ms. Johnson asked how Troy St. came to be restricted to Zone 4 permits holders twenty-four hours a day. Mr. Gerrity explained that a very popular bar opened cattycorner from CVII at the intersection of Wilson Blvd. and Troy St. It caused parking problems, and CVII did a very effective job in lobbying Arlington County into making Troy St between Wilson and Key Blvds. restricted to Zone 4 permit holders twenty-four hours a day. Mr. Gerrity said that residents of CVI, CVII and CVIII had presented a petition to the county asking that parking on N. Rhodes St. between Wilson Blvd. and Lee Hwy be restricted to Zone 4 permits holders twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. This petition and similar requests from other neighborhoods in Arlington had been put on hold until the county developed a uniform set of regulation to respond to such petitions. Mr. Gerrity said that Sarah Stott, who is Arlington County’s Parking Manager, has offered to attend a CVIII Board meeting or a meeting that would be open to residents of all of Colonial Village’s communities to explain and answer questions about the “Arlington County Integrated Parking Plan.” He suggested that CVIII wait until the Arlington County Board adopted a final version of this parking plan before asking Ms. Stott to come and answer questions about it. Mr. Donahue said that all the new condominiums being built in the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor provided each unit with an assigned parking place He said that if CVIII did not do the same, then the relative market value of CVIII’s units would fall. He recommended that CVIII consider paving sections of its lawns so that every unit would have an assigned parking place. Mr. McGregor and others said that CVIII’s lawns were what set it apart from other condominiums. They argued that Mr. Donahue’s suggestion was shortsighted because it amounted to destroying value to create value.

Laundry Room Security: Ms. Thornton informed the meeting that a crawlspace hatch in the laundry room located in 1808 Queens Ln. was missing. Empty beverage containers and food wrappers were visible in the crawlspace and made her suspicious this area was being used as some sort of lair. She asked that this be investigated and this entrance to an adjacent building’s crawlspace be closed off. Mr. Kiman said that workers had left the trash. He said he would reinstall the hatch.

Pesticides and Weed Suppressants: Ms. Thornton told the Board she was pregnant and was upset that pesticides (and chemicals meant to control weeds) had been applied to the lawns without any advance warning. She asked if this was normal practice in CVIII. The Board said that Mr. Hedrick’s normal practice was to post notices on hallway bulletin Boards giving advanced warning that these chemicals were going to be applied to lawns. Mr. Reizes said that he had a puppy and was fortunate to notice the lawn service applying these chemicals before walking his dog. He said that not giving CVIII’s residents advance notice of such chemical applications was a serious matter. Anyone could have sat down on the lawn to read a book and gotten these chemicals all over themselves. The Board suggested that the lawn service might have applied these chemicals without informing Mr. Hedrick. The Board said that a letter would be sent to McFall and Berry insisting that they give Mr. Hedrick sufficient notice prior to applying these chemicals so that he could post warning notices.

Landscaping: Owners asked about the Board’s landscaping plans for the balance of 2004 and 2005. Mr. Gerrity said dead trees and trees damaged by Hurricane Isabel were the only major items on the landscaping agenda for the rest of 2004. He said he hoped to use some of this year’s operating surplus to pay for their removal. He said he would propose the following projects to the Board in early 2005: (i) installing twelve replacement trees; (ii) renovating the shrubbery arrangements on the front sides of six buildings; (iii) creating new ivy beds along building foundations. Mr. Nicoll asked if there were plans to replace the White Pine trees lining the north and south sides of the parking lot. Mr. Gerrity said that he had discussed these trees with Richard Miller, an arborist employed by Arlington County. Mr. Miller said these trees were not a good choice for use in parking lots because so much sap dripped from them. He said that the pine trees in CVIII’s parking lot were meant to serve as a screen, but this purpose had been frustrated because they were planted so close together they interfered with the growth of each other’s lower branches. Mr. Miller recommended replacing these pines with Nellie Stevens Hollies or similar trees.

Move-In Fees: Unit owners asked how move-in fees were assessed and collected. The Board said that CMI charged new owners this fee when their accounts for annual assessments are set up. Owners who rent their units are charged this fee when CMI learns that a new tenant has moved in. CMI usually finds this out when tenants apply for a parking permit to use CVIII’s lot. These fees are used to fund the reserve account for hallway renovations. The Board was asked if this $100 fee was adequate to pay for hallway renovations. The Board said that it had considered charging a higher fee. Mr. McGregor pointed out to the meeting that because more than half of CVIII’s units are investor-owned, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHA would not buy mortgages on CVIII units in the secondary mortgage market. During an economic slowdown this would make it very difficult to sell units in CVIII at their market value. Mr. McGregor suggested that CVIII raise the move-in fee to $500 as a way to increase the number of owner-occupied units in CVIII.

Reports of Officers:

Mr. Gerrity told the meeting that while doing research on CVIII’s property line with reference to the proposed fence between 1816 and 1817 Queens Ln. he discovered that CVIII owned an additional acre of land. This acre of land lies east of CVI’s buildings in the 1900 block of N. Rhodes St. and runs north to Lee Hwy. CVIII acquired this piece of land along with the Rhodes St woods for $100 in 1999 when the Colonial Village Community Service Association was dissolved. It is carried on Arlington County’s property tax rolls as a resource protected area stream buffer. Its assessed value is $100. CVIII pays $.98 a year in property tax. Land disturbance and tree removal in this area is subject to specific provisions of Arlington County’s Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance. Mr. Gerrity said that he was told by Arlington County officials that trails could be laid in this area, and he suggested that if they were, then this area could be become a park for CVIII’s dogs.

Management Report: None.

Committee Reports: None:

Election of Members of the Board of Directors:

Mr. Stafford explained the requirements of the CVIII By-Laws with respect to the election of members of the Board of directors. Mr. Stafford said that there were two vacancies this year, both due to the normal expiration of three-year terms. Inspectors of Election: Unit owners Mahmoud Ghannam and Jeffery Underwood were appointed inspectors of the election of members of CVIII’s Board of directors. Candidates for Election to Board of Directors: The names of Melissa Bailey; Dennis Gerrity, a member of the current Board; and Eric Nicoll appeared as candidates on the proxy statements distributed prior to this meeting. Mr. Stafford asked if anyone else present was interested in standing for election to the Board, and if so, to please step forward. No one did. Ms. Bailey and Messrs. Gerrity and Nicoll briefly introduced themselves to the rest of the meeting’s attendees. All three said that they wanted to make CVIII a better place to live, solve its parking problems, and improve its landscaping. Election Results: Given the required quorum, Mr. Nicoll and Mr. Gerrity each received more than 50% of the common interest voted by proxy and in person at this meeting, and Mr. Nicoll and Mr. Gerrity both received a higher vote than Ms. Bailey. Therefore, Mr. Nicoll and Mr. Gerrity were elected to three-year terms on CVIII’s Board of directors.

2005 Budget: Mr. Hedrick presented the Board with a third draft of CVIII’s operating and reserve budget for 2005. He noted that revisions to the second draft proposed by the Board would result in a budget with an average increase in owners’ assessments of 1.33% for the year 2005. Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII approve this budget. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Executive Session: None.

The date and location of CVIII’s 2005 Annual Meeting will be announced in September 2005.

Mr. Stafford moved that this meeting be adjourned. Mr. McGregor seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously at 8:10 p.m.

October 20, 2004 CVIII Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

Call to order: With a quorum present the meeting was called to order at 8:10 p.m. Present at that time were, Stanton Stafford, president; Michael McGregor, vice president; Cheryl Connelly, treasurer; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; Eric Nicoll, member at large; unit owner 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:

Mr. Ghannam complimented the Board on its management of CVIII’s affairs. He urged the Board to make sure that it had CVIII’s repair and replacement reserve accounts analyzed by a consulting engineer on a regular basis and that these accounts were funded in accord with this consultant’s recommendations. The Board said that it was funding these accounts at levels recommended in 2000 by Thomas Downey, Ltd., a consulting engineering firm, and it planned to have this firm review these accounts again in 2005.

Reading and Approval of Minutes: Mr. Stafford moved that the minutes of the 20 September 2004 Board meeting be approved without change. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and Mr. Stafford, Mr. McGregor, Ms. Connelly and Mr. Gerrity approved it. Mr. Nicoll abstained because he did not attend that meeting.

Reports of Officers:

Treasurer: Ms. Connelly informed the Board that she was going to resign from the Board effective the end of December because she was getting married and moving away from the Washington area. The Board congratulated Ms. Connelly on her prospective marriage and thanked her for her contributions to CVIII as a member of its Board of directors. Ms. Connelly said that she would call Melissa Bailey and ask if she would be interested in taking her place on the Board.

Management Report:

Engineer: Mr. Kiman told the Board that there had been no unusual maintenance problems during the past month. Mr. McGregor noted that several splash pans for down spouts had been knocked askew. He asked Mr. Kiman to put them back in the right positions. Mr. Kiman said this had already been done. Mr. McGregor said that he had seen people not using the sidewalks and cutting between the recently planted Nellie Stevens Hollies and 1801 and 1736 Queens Ln. This was creating paths on the lawns. He asked if the plastic ropes strung between the hollies could be extended to the buildings. Mr. Kiman said this had already done. Mr. McGregor suggested that plants be installed to fill these two gaps. Mr. Hedrick said he would have prices for two smaller Nellie Stevens Hollies for the Board’s consideration at its November meeting.

September Financial Update: After making allowances for errors and omissions in the September financial report, Mr. Hedrick said CVIII had a year-to-date operating surplus of $27,051 as of the end of September. The largest component of this surplus was the Water and Sewer account, which was $11,648 under budget as of the end of September. Expenditures for insurance, legal services, natural gas and electricity were also significantly under budget as of theend of September. Mr. Hedrick acknowledged that CMI had charged a $2,254.61 bill for lawn service and $18,092 of storm sewer improvements to wrong accounts. He promised the Board that corrections would appear in the October financial report. Details of the September financial report are available for unit owner review at the CVIII office.

Committee Reports: None.

Old Business:

Storm Drainage: The Board reviewed two proposals to repair a blocked storm drain serving the stairwell for the rear door to the basement of 1809 Queens Ln. The first was from Associates Plumbing of Virginia, Inc. (API) who would break up the concrete at the foot of these stairs, install a new trap, and lay new concrete. API would then try to fix this drainage problem by snaking the existing drain line. If this was successful, API would charge $1,478. If not, then API proposed rerouting the drain line to the adjacent boiler room sump, and the total cost of the project would be $3,369. The second was from Hix & Sons who would break up the concrete at the foot of these stairs, install a new trap, lay new concrete, and then run a 4” PVC drain line from the trap through two walls into the sump in the adjoining boiler room for $2,998. After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII accept Hix & Sons’ bid $2,998 to repair a blocked storm drain serving the stairwell of the rear door to the basement of 1809 Queens Ln. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Security Fence and Gates: Mr. Gerrity told the Board that Michael Leventhal, Arlington County’s coordinator with the Historic Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB), had inspected the locations where CVIII wanted to install a security fence and gates. Mr. Leventhal recommended that the fence between 1816 and 1817 Queens Ln. be installed inside the barberry hedge and that it dogleg around the fire hydrant. He further recommended that the height of the proposed fence be reduced from six feet to five feet and that CVIII’s existing metal fences, which are currently painted white, be painted black. In anticipation of receiving a speedy approval of the fences and gates by the HALRB, Mr. Stafford moved that CVIII authorize the payment of $500 to Arlington County’s Zoning Administration for the permit to install the security fence and gates. Mr. Nicoll seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Replacement Chimney–1729 Queens Ln.: The Board asked Mr. Hedrick for a completion date for replacing the chimney behind 1729 Queens. Mr. Hedrick said that the concrete footing on which the old chimney was built had cracked and had to be replaced. The concrete for the new footing had been poured on the 14th or 15th and would take a week or so to cure. Once it had cured, building the new chimney should take no more than a week according to Mr. Hedrick.

Common Element Electrical Panels: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that Power Systems Electric (PSE) would begin installing replacement common element electrical panels in about two weeks. Electrical service will be interrupted only for common hallway lights. Electrical service to units, laundry rooms and hot waters heaters will not be affected.

Building Entry Door–1801 N. Rhodes St: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that Precision Doors called earlier in the day to set a date to install a replacement for the entry door to 1801 N. Rhodes St. Mr. Hedrick said that he was unable to return this call.

New Business:

Election of Officers:

Mr. Gerrity moved the election of officers of CVIII’s current Board of directors for the next twelve months as follows: Stanton Stafford, president; Michael McGregor, vice president; Cheryl Connelly, treasurer; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; and Eric Nicoll, member-at-large. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. 

Lawn Service Contract for 2005:

The Board reviewed the performance of McFall and Berry, the firm providing lawn service for CVIII in 2004. Lawn maintenance––fertilization, aeration, weed suppression, and overseeding; cleaning up debris; weeding the mulch and shrubbery beds; applying mulch; giving advance notice of pesticide and herbicide applications; and operating lawn mowers so they do not create ruts in the lawns were singled out as areas where the Board wanted significant improvements in 2005. The Board informally agreed to award the 2005 lawn service contract to McFall and Berry, but it asked Mr. Hedrick to invite Frank Jones of McFall and Berry to appear before the Board at its 15 November 2004 meeting at 7:00 p.m. to make sure he understood that the Board was serious about wanting improvements in his firm’s performance in 2005 before actually voting on this contract.

Executive Session: Mr. Stafford moved that the open session of this meeting be adjourned, and the Board go into executive session for the purpose of discussing delinquent assessments. Mr. Gerrity seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously at 8:50 p.m.

The next Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on 15 November 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 8:55 p.m.

November 15, 2004 CVIII Board of Directors 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, president; Michael McGregor, vice president; Cheryl Connelly, treasurer; Dennis Gerrity, secretary; Eric Nicoll, member-at-large; unit owner Melissa Bailey; 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 20 October 2004 Board of directors meeting be approved without change. Mr. Nicoll seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Reports of Officers: None.

Management Report:

Engineer: Mr. Kiman told the Board that there had been no unusual maintenance problems during the past month. The Board asked about broken “cleanouts” for the storm drainage system behind 1729 and 1733 Queens Ln. Mr. Kiman said Consolidated Waterproofing damaged the former and the lawn service damaged the latter. He said that he had asked Hix & Sons to repair them, and he would have the cost of repairs charged back to Consolidated and McFall and Berry. The Board noted that there was a sign in a window at 1801 Queens Ln., and it asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to have it removed. The Board noted that there was a one-inch gap between the bottom of the west basement entry door and its threshold at 1809 Queens Ln. The Board asked that a sweep be installed on the bottom of this door to keep vermin from entering this building. Mr. Kiman said Precision Door had promised to install a sweep on this and other doors. The Board noted that several of the stakes supporting the plastic rope running between the new hollies along the east side of the parking lot and one section of the plastic rope itself had been broken. Mr. Kiman said that he would repair and replace these items as needed.

October Financial Update: After making allowances for errors and omissions in the October financial report, the most notable of which was $14,755 to remove dead and dying trees, the Board noted CVIII had a year-to-date operating surplus of $18,156 as of the end of October. The largest component of this surplus was the Water and Sewer account, which was $12,310 under budget as of the end of October. Expenditures for insurance, legal services, and natural gas were also significantly under budget as of the end of October. Mr. Hedrick acknowledged that CMI had charged a $2,254.61 bill for lawn service and $18,092 of storm sewer improvements to wrong accounts. He promised the Board that corrections would appear in the November financial report. Details of the October financial report are available for unit owner review at the CVIII office.

Asset Management: The Board asked Mr. Hedrick for an update on the status of its request, which was made at its 20 September 2004, that CMI purchase a $90,000 CD with a thirty to thirty-six month term. Mr. Hedrick said that he could not confirm that this CD had been purchased. In the event that it had not been purchased and given wide-spread reports of rising interest rates, the Board asked that the range of its term to be reduced to between twelve and twenty-four months.

Income Taxes: Mr. Hedrick brought to the Board‟s attention a recommendation from an accounting firm that if CVIII filed its income taxes as a corporation, then it would be beneficial to CVIII if it passed the following resolution on an annual basis prior to the end of the condominium‟s fiscal year: “The Association elects to apply all or part of the excess assessment income from 2004 to 2005‟s assessments and that such final amount shall be at the Board‟s discretion.” After discussion, Ms. Connelly moved that the Board adopt the above resolution. Mr. Nicoll seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Correspondence: Pet Comportment: Mr. Hedrick brought to the Board‟s attention a letter from a resident owner living in Building Three who noted that the number of dogs owned by residents of CVIII had increased significantly since he moved into CVIII in 1991, and the problems associated with dog ownership had increased at least proportionally. There are always dogs running loose on the property, and, thus, there is always the possibility of a lawsuit by someone injured or frightened by an unrestrained dog. He said that “he was tired of stepping in dog feces, seeing dog feces, smelling dog feces in trash rooms and basements and worrying about their effect on the resale value of his unit.” He criticized the Board for its passive attitude toward this problem. He noted that when he moved into CVIII, dog and cat owners were required to submit pictures of their pets to the property manager, but this requirement is no longer enforced. He reminded the Board that CVIII‟s by-laws clearly state that the commons are for everyone, not just dog owners, and the no one had the right to do anything on or to the commons that lessened ability of others to enjoy the commons. He suggested that the Board deliver an ultimatum to dog owners: either obey CVIII‟s regulations with respect to pet ownership or find some place other than CVIII‟s commons to exercise their dogs. The Board discussed this letter and the possibility of acting on some of its recommendations in the future.

Noisy Party: Mr. Hedrick brought to the Board‟s attention a letter from a resident in which he complained about the noise generated by guests, who numbered twenty-five or more, at a lawn party hosted by residents of a unit at 1733 Queens Lane on 6 November 2004. This party started before 2:00 p.m. and ended at 10:00 p.m. or shortly thereafter. He said that if “CVIII is going to spend $14,000 or more to install a fence and gates to keep loud and drunken non-residents off its commons, then it should enforce its own rules and regulations forbidding such noisy and obnoxious behavior by its residents and their guests on the commons.” He noted that “the peaceful, tranquil atmosphere that one normally finds on CVIII‟s lawns adds enormously to the value of its units. Allowing residents to hold noisy, frat-house style parties destroys this value. If CVIII gets the reputation of being a „party‟ condo, then others will seek to lease or buy units for the sake of that life-style and the rest of us will be worse off for it.” He asked the Board to enforce Article XI, Section 1, Paragraph (q) of CVIII‟s By-Laws, which states: “No Unit Owner shall make or permit any disturbing noises by himself, his lessee, his family, his servants, employees, agents, visitors and licensees, nor do or permit anything by such persons that will interfere with the rights, comforts or convenience of other Unit Owners or occupants.” Mr. Hedrick told the Board that he had written the owner of this unit asking that they advise their tenants “to immediately and permanently cease and desist from this type of activity.” Mr. Hedrick also noted that CMI did not have a copy of the lease for the current tenants of this unit, which was a violation of Article XI, Section 1, Paragraph (f) of CVIII‟s by-laws, and that he had requested a copy of this lease, warning of fines and/or legal action in the absence of cooperation. The Board thanked Mr. Hedrick for acting promptly on this complaint.

Committee Reports: None.

Old Business:

Security Fences and Gates: Mr. Gerrity informed the Board that the Design Review Committee (DRC) of Arlington County‟s Historic Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) on 3 November 2004 approved unanimously CVIII‟s application to install a security fence and locking gatebetween 1816 and 1817 Queens Lane and replace the existing gate in the Wilson Blvd. fence with a locking gate. The DRC voted to place CVIII‟s application on the consent agenda of the HALRB‟s meeting on 17 November 2004.

Replacement Chimney–1729 Queens Lane: Mr. Hedrick informed the Board that construction of the replacement chimney behind 1729 Queens Ln. had been completed except for obtaining and installing a twelve-inch sleeve to connect the clay flue in the chimney with the vent pipes for the hot water heaters located in this building‟s boiler room. He said that equipment used for this project that was sitting in the parking lot would be removed shortly. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to keep the area where this equipment was sitting fenced off with warning tape so residents don‟t park there and interfere with the removal of this equipment. The Board asked about debris left behind 1729 Queens Ln. Mr. Hedrick said he would see that it was cleaned up and removed. Mr. Hedrick said that Consolidated Waterproofing had not repaired damaged brick window wells as requested by the Board, but would return to do so in the Spring.

Doormats: The Board reminded Mr. Hedrick that it had authorized the purchase of twenty-eight floor mats in the fall of 2003. These mats were to be placed immediately inside building entry doors to help keep common hallway carpeting clean. The Board asked him for a status report on their procurement. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that a 50% down payment on these mats had been sent to the vendor, Commercial Carpets of America (CCA), eight months ago and he had spoken several times to the sales rep, Ms. Courtney Ward, during that period. The Board discussed getting CVIII‟s law firm involved if a personal visit to CCA by Mr. Gerrity did not produce results.

Assignment of Common Element Interests for Units #230 and #230A: Mr. Hedrick told the Board that CMI‟s main office had not completely corrected errors in the assignment of common element interests for units #230 and #230A. This led to the owner of unit #230A being overcharged $324 and the owner of Unit #230 being undercharged $324. To correct these errors CMI reimbursed CVIII for unit #230‟s $324 underpayment and credited the owner of unit $230A for her $324 overpayment.

Laundry Room Security: Mr. Stafford, Mr. Hedrick and Mr. Kiman discussed setting up a meeting to review options for installing ventilation fans to serve laundry rooms so that the windows in these rooms could be secured to prevent unauthorized access.

Landscaping: Mr. Hedrick presented the Board with bids of $8,220 from Davey Tree Experts and $9,140 from Bartlett Tree Service to do the work listed below. Mr. Hedrick told the Board that both companies had advised him that they thought it was impractical to bring equipment onto CVIII‟s grounds that would grind out stumps deeper than eight to twelve inches: and this was reflected in their bids.

1. Remove two Austrian Pines located behind 1829 Wilson Blvd. These trees are dying because their roots have fungal infections. Grind out stumps as close to two feet below grade as possible.

2. Remove to near grade level one Red Maple located in a Resource Protected Area (stream buffer) adjacent to the 1800 block of N. Rhodes St. Haul away wood and debris.

3. Remove a dying Canadian Hemlock located at the northwest corner of 1805 N. Rhodes St. Grind out stump as close to two feet below grade as possible.

4. Remove a dead Green Ash located on the east side of 1816 Queens Ln. Grind out stumps as close to two feet below grade as possible.

5. Remove a Chinese Elm located in front of 1812 Queens Ln. This tree was partially uprooted by Hurricane Isabel. Grind out stump as close to two feet below grade as possible.

6. Remove a Siberian Elm located between 1737 and 1801 Queens Ln. Hurricane Isabel snapped off two thirds of this tree. Grind out stump as close to two feet below grade as possible.

7. Grind out the stump as close to two feet below grade as possible of a London Plane located in front of 1733 Queens Ln. that had been cut down because of severe damage done by Hurricane Isabel.

8. Remove a Siberian Elm located in front of 1725 Queens Ln. Hurricane Isabel snapped off one half of this tree. Grind out stump as close to two feet below grade as possible.

After discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that CVIII accept Davey‟s bid of $8,220 to remove the trees and stumps listed above. Mr. Stafford seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously. Mr. Gerrity informed the Board that the Design Review Committee (DRC) of Arlington County‟s Historic Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) on 3 November 2004 approved unanimously CVIII‟s application to remove the trees listed above. The DRC voted to place CVIII‟s application on the consent agenda of the HALRB‟s meeting on 17 November 2004.The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed not to give Davey authorization to proceed until the HALRB had voted to approve the removal of these trees. This vote was scheduled for 17 November 2004.

New Business:

Lawn Service and Snow Removal Contracts for 2005 and 2006:

At the Board‟s request, Frank Jones, a manager with McFall and Berry, CVIII‟s lawn service contractor for the past two years, attended this meeting to review his firm‟s performance in 2004 and to discuss a new contract for 2005 and 2006. The Board told Mr. Jones that McFall and Berry had done a better job in 2004 than 2003, but it wanted further improvements in 2005. The Board asked that McFall and Berry take a proactive approach toward improving the appearance of CVIII‟s grounds. The Board said that it would accept “better costs more” as long as it had a way to gauge the extent of improvements against their costs. Supervision: The Board told Mr. Jones and Mr. Hedrick that better supervision of McFall and Berry‟s work crews was the key to improving the quality of their work. McFall and Berry‟s supervisors had to get out of their trucks and walk the property during and after every visit to CVIII by one of their work crews. The same held even more so for Mr. Hedrick in as much as his firm‟s contract with CVIII obligated him to make sure contractors fulfilled their obligations before they were paid. Mr. Hedrick and Mr. Jones made a commitment to the Board to conduct a joint inspection of CVIII‟s grounds at least once a month, March through December during the coming year. Specific Improvements: In addition to more attention to basic lawn maintenance––fertilization, aeration, weed suppression, and overseeding, the Board asked that cleaning up debris, with particular emphasis on the leaves and cones that fall off of magnolia trees, and weeding mulch, flower and shrubbery beds be done thoroughly every time the lawn was cut. The Board insisted that lawn mowers be operated at a moderate speed and in a prudent manner so they do not create ruts, tracks or gouge marks in the lawns and do not damage storm drainage cleanouts and junction boxes for the electrical wiring for pole lamps. The Board also insisted that sufficient advance notice of pesticide, herbicide and fertilizer applications be given so that residents could be forewarned by written notice. The Board asked that plants located symmetrically with reference to building entrances be pruned to common sizes and shapes: and where there was a disparity, smaller plants would be allowed to grow to match the size and shape of larger plants. Termination of Contract: The Board asked and Mr. Jones agreed to remove the words “just cause” from Section II, Paragraph L of the final draft of McFall and Berry‟s contract with CVIII for 2005 and 2006. This paragraph dealt with how the contract could be terminated prior to its agreed date of expiration. The Board said that the words “just cause” were so ambiguous that they would lead to excessive legal fees should either party to this contract attempt to exercise this clause. Snow Removal Contract: The Board asked and Mr. Jones agreed that McFall Berry‟s supervisors would leave work tickets at the CMI office at 1903 Key Blvd. showing (i) how many men and when they started and finished working to clear CVIII‟s stoops, steps and walk ways of snow and ice and (ii) when plow trucks and sand/icemelt trucks started and finished working to clear CVIII‟s parking lot of snow and/or ice. Supervisors would write up and leave separate tickets at CMI‟s site office for each visit to CVIII by a work crew and truck. Motion to Approve Contracts: After further discussion, Mr. Gerrity moved that the Board accept McFall and Berry‟s bids to provide CVIII with lawn and snow removal service for the years 2005 and 2006. The fee for lawn service in 2005 would be $23,222.46, payable in ten installments of $2,322.25, each due on the first of the month, March through December 2005. The fee for lawn service in 2006 would be $23,686.91, payable in a similar fashion to 2005. The lawn service contract will contain language committing McFall and Berry to (i) improved supervision of its work crews; (ii) slower and more careful operation of machinery; (iii) advanced notice of herbicide, pesticide and fertilizer applications; (iv) pruning of plants and shrubbery to specifications provided by CVIII; (v) thorough removal of weeds and debris from CVIII‟s lawns, flower, shrubbery, mulch and ivy beds every time the lawns are cut; (vi) the right of both CVIII and McFall and Berry to cancel this contract with thirty days notice without reference to cause. The contract for snow removal contains the following fees: $115 an hour for plowing using a four-wheel drive pickup; $115 an hour plus material for a sand/icemelt truck; $42 an hour per man for shoveling; $50 an hour for snow throwers; $20.50 per fifty-pound bag of icemelt. All hourly charges are subject to a two-hour minimum. The snow removal contract will contain language committing McFall and Berry to providing work tickets showing the number and hours of men and types of equipment employed in clearing CVIII‟s stoops, steps, walks and parking lot of snow and ice. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Insurance: Noting that CVIII had purchased its insurance from the same firm, State Farm, for the last sixteen years without seeking competitive bids, the Board asked Mr. Hedrick for an update on its request for bids from three firms to provide CVIII with insurance. Mr. Hedrick said that he had asked State Farm, CUA and a third firm for bids, but all indicated that they wanted to wait until CVIII‟s current policy was closer to its expiration date in June 2005 before bidding. The Board asked and Mr. Nicoll agreed to review of CVIII‟s insurance coverage and oversee CMI‟s solicitation of competitive bids on this coverage in 2005. Mr. Hedrick agreed to provide Mr. Nicoll with a copy of CVIII‟s current policy.

Carpet Cleaning: The Board noted the common hallway carpeting in buildings with eight units appeared soiled enough to warrant cleaning twice rather than once a year. The Board asked and Mr. Hedrick agreed to inspect hallway carpeting in these buildings and report back on whether cleaning it more frequently was justified.

Snow-Throwing Machine: Mr. Kiman asked the Board to approve the purchase a Model #3866135 Yardman snow throwing machine to replace his current machine, which, while still running, was ten years old and near the end of its expected service life. The new machine would be twice as productive because it would allow Mr. Kiman to clear CVIII‟s walks in one pass rather than two passes the current machine required. Mr. McGregor moved that CVIII authorize $1,800 to purchase a Yardman #386135 snow-throwing machine. Mr. Nicoll seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

2004 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 15 December 2004 at 6:30 p.m. in CVII‟s meeting room in 1701 N. Troy St. Mr. Hedrick asked that CVIII make a $200 contribution to defray the cost of this party, and Mr. Stafford so moved. Mr. Gerrity seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Holiday Bonuses: After discussion, Mr. Stafford moved that CVIII give the following holiday bonuses: George Hedrick, $1075; Stan Kiman, $825; Leoncio Guevara $325; Leona Moore, $225. Mr. Gerrity seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Executive Session: Mr. Stafford moved that the open session of this meeting be adjourned, and the Board go into executive session for the purposes of discussing delinquent assessments, holiday bonuses, Mr. Hedrick‟s job performance, Mr. Kiman‟s job performance and competitive bids to manage CVIII. Ms. Connelly seconded this motion, and it was approved unanimously at 8:04 p.m.

The Board decided that it would not hold a meeting in December unless an emergency arose. The next Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on 17 January 2005 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 8:20 p.m.

CVIII's Board of Directors did not hold meeting in December 2004