Ascot Homeowners Association
Minutes of Annual General Meeting -- Tuesday, September 26, 2005
Prepared by Secretary, Scott Rackham
The Ascot Homeowners Association Annual General Meeting was held in Theatre B at Forestville Elementary School on the 26th of September, 2005, beginning at 7:30 pm. Homeowner members from eight Ascot homes attended in person. Thirteen additional members were represented by proxies. Required quorum for the meeting being 20 percent of the membership, or 14 attendees, the Secretary noted that the quorum requirement was met.
During the first part of the meeting, members of the outgoing Board reported briefly on recent events or issues that may be of general interest to Ascot homeowners and which the new Board may need to pursue.
Bansal Agreement
Lars Okeson confirmed that Tony Bansal and the Board had finally executed an agreement enabling him to have work done to clear the shrubs and weeds off the finger of Ascot land behind his home in Falls Park Estates. Mr. Bansal paid Ascot Homeowners Association so that the Association, in turn, could pass the payment on to Mr. Bansal's contractor at the completion of the work. Work on clearing the land was started a day or two before the Ascot General Meeting.
Vandalism at Tennis Court
Ascot homeowners have reported at least three separate instances of finding broken glass bottles on the tennis court in August and September. In each case, it appeared the bottles had been deliberately lobbed over the fence so as to crash onto the court surface. No one has reported seeing who did it. Our tennis players will now need to watch for broken glass. Anyone who notices activity by the tennis court that seems out of place is asked to look more closely and report it.
Unsupervised Pre-Schoolers
The Board has also received comments about small children playing in the streets or trespassing on neighbors' properties. When the Secretary mentioned this at the General Meeting, some of the other attendees were able to cite additional instances. Considering the number of drivers who persist in speeding through the neighborhood, it should be obvious that allowing one's pre-schoolers to wander off down the street is not a good idea. It was suggested that any homeowner who notices small children playing in the street without supervision or wandering onto others' property should speak to the parents.
Reston Town Initiative
The outgoing Board suggests that the new Board may want to enroll a volunteer from the community to keep an eye on the efforts in Reston to turn Reston into a town and to annex Ascot and other communities in Fairfax Special Tax District 5. It's not clear at this point that either effort is likely to succeed, but to forestall possible adverse consequences in the form of higher taxes or school districting changes for Ascot students someone in the community needs to be keeping track of the proceedings.
Route 7 Bicycle Path
Similarly, the new Board may want to find a community volunteer to track what the commnunity might do to encourage the County to have a bicycle path installed along the section of route seven between Piney Run Estates and Reston Parkway. Some of our homeowners are concerned about the safety risks in walking or bicycling from Ascot over to the Reston hike and bike trails.
Budget
Lars Okeson reviewed this year's budget performance, noting that the Association's reserve accounts and cash balances are very close to the amounts projected leading up to the voting for the special assessment. Lars also reported that the special assessment payment had been received from all but one homeowner family, and that he expected to receive that last one shortly. A copy of the budget spreadsheet Lars distributed at the meeting will be posted on the Ascot Web site at www.ascotwalk.org. Any Ascot homeowner who would like a printed copy of the spreadsheet can contact Lars or Scott to ask for one.
Ascot Directory
Claudia Raffman reported that she was putting finishing touches on the updated Ascot directory, and expects to get it printed and distributed within the next few weeks. The Secretary promised to give her what information he has on the names of homeowners who have moved in during the summer months.
Election of Board Members
The Secretary collected signed proxy forms and distributed ballots listing the names of the five Ascot homeowners who had volunteered to stand for election to serve on the Board for the coming year. The five volunteer candidates were Lars Okeson, David Peirce, Heide Zufall, Julie Reiss, and Mick Fox. Voting was accomplished by written ballot. The Secretary then counted the ballots and announced that all five listed volunteers were unanimously elected to serve on the Board of Directors through the Annual General Meeting to be held in September, 2006.
Division of roles and duties among the new Board members will be decided amongst themselves at their first meeting.
First Meeting for New Board
The members of the new Board have scheduled their first meeting to be held at the Okesons' on Tuesday, the First of November, at 7:30 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Scott Rackham
Secretary, Oct 2003 - Sep 2005
COMMUNITY NOTES:
Our thanks to all who participated: The outgoing Board extends its thanks to the Ascot homeowners who took part, in person or via proxy, in this year's general meeting and election of new Board members. We thank the newly elected Board members for volunteering to serve.
Contractor Recommendations
During the meeting, it was suggested that the community try to put together a listing of contractors that our homeowners have used for one or another service, and would recommend to their neighbors. Scott Rackham, who continues to serve as webmaster for our Web site at http://www.ascotwalk.org, will set up a page for listing recommended local contractors. If there is a contractor whom you would like to recommend, please pass the information on to Scott, or send it to the webmaster address given below.
Contacting the Board
Homeowners are welcome to contact the Board about community concerns. Write to Ascot Homeowners Association, PO Box 934, Great Falls, Virginia 22066-0934. Contact any Board member. Or send email --
