Ascot Homeowners Association
Minutes, Annual Homeowners Meeting -- Monday, October 23, 2006
Prepared by Secretary, Julie Reiss

Ascot's general meeting was held in the Forestville Elementary library on October 23, 2006. All Board members were in attendance, including Mick Fox, Lars Okeson, Heide Zufall, Dave Peirce, and Julie Reiss. In addition, 27 homeowners, as well as an engineer and a builder retained by the Barkers, attended the meeting.

New Board of Directors

The first order of business was a welcome and introduction by Mick Fox. With 27 homes represented in person and 25 proxies, homeowners satisfied the by-laws requirement of at least two-thirds representation for voting approval of new Board members. Dani Micsan made a motion to elect the new slate of candidates, Lars seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously. For the annual term of Oct. 2006 to 2007, Ascot's Board of Directors consists of Mick Fox, Lars Okeson, Heide Zufall, Ken Thomas and Tara Ruszkowski. Thanks to all who attended the meeting and those who provided proxies for the election. In addition, Mick thanked the outgoing board members, Dave Pierce and Julie Reiss, for their time and dedication to the community. Dave has served twice on the board for a total of 4 years of service. Dave handled all document requests of the association and was instrumental in all the major improvements in our common area over the last 4 years. Julie served 1 year on the board, but as will be witnessed in these minutes, her positive impact will be felt by all of us, financially, for quite a while. Both Dave and Julie deserve a big thank you the next time you see them for the time they gave to our neighborhood.

Small District Five

Mick announced that the upcoming tax district hearing and vote will occur on Nov. 20 at 5:30pm at the Fairfax Government Center. County Supervisor Catherine Hudgins has made a motion to the Board of Supervisors to remove Ascot and other nearby communities from Small District Five, which would result in significant tax savings to us. To ensure successful passing of this measure Mick requested that each member of the HOA strongly consider attending the Fairfax Board of Supervisors meeting at the Fairfax Government Center. He explained that it will only take about an hour of your time (plus travel), and should result in a minimum of $500 per year savings to you (based on your homes assessed value). *If you pay your taxes via escrow with your mortgage company, you will see your monthly mortgage payment decrease due to this action. (Comment inserted by Mick Fox: A special note should be made that this vote would not be possible if it not for the hard work and commitment to this matter on Ascot's behalf by Julie Reiss. If this measure passes, as is expected if we get your support, a special thanks needs to be paid to Julie. In addition, much appreciation goes to all those who attended the March 27 hearing, and all who wrote to Supervisor Hudgins in support of this movement.) Please see the Community Notes section at the end of the minutes.

Financials

Lars handed out copies of Ascot's financial statements through Sept. 2006 for everyone in attendance. Reading off significant line items, he briefed the group on Ascot's financial status. All dues payments have been received, thanks to Lars' persistence. Lars deserves a very special thank you for diligently establishing a budget that not only takes care of all of our current year requirements, but also in establishing a capital improvement fund to continue to take care of our neighborhood well into the future, without raising our dues.

Neighborhood Watch

Diane Preston will continue to serve as our Neighborhood Watch Coordinator. Mick and Lars briefly discussed the three stolen speeding-deterrent signs: two sidewalk 'Sammies' and one placard. Mick informed everyone that the police had patrolled Ascot's roads 21 times in unmarked cars from March to August this past year on the board's request. Aside from a few repeat offenders, whom Mick has or will be contacting, the primary finding was that vehicles that appeared to be local and residential, respected the speed limit within a 'tolerable' threshold (5 MPH); however the vehicles that provide services to our residents were the main culprit for speeding. This issue will once again be taken up by this board. In addition, several residents have requested the new Board concern itself on security issues. If anyone has any ideas on how to decrease speeding or increase safety in our neighborhood, we are looking for ideas.

New Basketball Hoop

The new basketball hoop has arrived. In the coming weeks, Dave will gather a crew to install it. Lars commented the new hoop was the focus of this year's Capital Expense Fund, a portion of which is budgeted annually for common area upgrades. Both hoops will now be adjustable so fun may be had by all our residents. Please contact Dave Pierce if you can make yourself available for a few hours to help with the installation.

County Sewer Connection and Easements

Ed and Lisa Barker have retained a civil engineer to study the possibility of gaining access to a county sewer line near their home and Route 7, in lieu of upgrading their septic system. Reed Dudley of Ryan Dudley Survey Engineers spoke at length and noted the county has asked for all homeowners to have the opportunity to consider a county sewer connection, to reduce the number of future requests for easements, and to properly size the connection to the main sewer line.

Reed stated the first step is to create a detailed engineering survey of the Ascot property. This would cost approx. $3-$5K depending on the number of homeowners interested or if the association decided to have this accomplished as a whole. The total connection costs are individualized depending on where you live and the distance between your house and the main sewer line. Reed provided a roughly drawn map displaying how the underground line might proceed beneath some of Ascot's roads. The scenario presented was primarily for residents North (towards rt 7) of the intersection of Burywood and Bishopsgate. This connection starts at the Barkers' lot, which is close to one of the county's main sewer lines (which runs roughly parallel to route 7), and then proceeds to travel through the common area near the creek and into and through a homeowner's lot (the Tugwells'), reaching pavement at the Burywood cul-de-sac nearest rt 7, and continuing along Burywood Lane.

Homeowners narrowed the easement discussion to two main possibilities: granting only the Barkers' easement or granting a master easement to the county for any future connections. Bob Naftal raised concerns about granting easements in general. Mick expressed his approval of the Barker's easement, but raised concerns about granting a master easement.

There was no motion raised during the discussion, therefore no vote was taken. Ascot bylaws require that 67% of the HOA must approve any easement involving Ascot HOA owned property, and the members of the HOA be given a 30 day notice of such a vote. The board is in contact with the Barkers. If they choose to proceed with a request for an easement, an announcement will be placed both on the Ascot website and in your mailboxes. Maps can be made available to those interested of the common area affected. The Barker easement involves a tiny strip of only approximately 20 ft of Ascot property directly behind their property and route 7. The master easement discussion involves stretches of common area primarily running along the creek.

Preston Deck Approved

In a motion presented to the board after the meeting but before these minutes were published, Ben and Diane Preston asked for approval to install a deck to the rear of their home, 11011 Burywood Lane. The Preston's provided architectural drawings of the proposed deck to the board. The board unanimously approved the deck due to the fact that it was of similar in nature to other decks in the neighborhood and the fact that the Prestons' asked the neighbors who will be visually impacted by the addition of deck.

New resident Stacey Circle has volunteered to be Ascot's Webmaster. Thanks to Stacey for stepping forward to take on the webmaster duties. Scott Rackham, despite moving out of town several months ago, has continued as Webmaster until now. We extend our appreciation to Scott for serving as both Webmaster and Board Secretary.

Respectfully submitted,
Julie Reiss, Board Secretary,
October 2005-September 2006

We need your presence! Please join us at the Fairfax County Govt. Center auditorium the evening of Nov. 20th for a show of force at the hearing and subsequent vote on our removal from the tax district. Details to follow when the meeting agenda is released. Thank you.

Contacting the Board

Homeowners are welcome to contact the Board about community concerns. The Board of Directors can be reached by email, or by US Post to Ascot Homeowners Association, PO Box 934, Great Falls, Virginia 22066-0934, or by direct contact with any Board member. Our website is www.ascotwalk.org