General Meeting
October 17, 2006
Rocky Run Middle School

Present
Board: Kevin Corcoran, Jim Jones, David Schuetz
Management: Saundra Lucke
Guests:

• Sully District Supervisor Michael R. Frey
• Ellanor C. Lawrence Park Manager Leon Nawojchik
• Pete Schumann and Craig Carinci – Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services

Supervisor Frey

The meeting opened at about 7:15, with Supervisor Frey speaking for about 30 minutes. He first introduced the guests from the county DPWES, here to discuss the bond release process, then spoke about road issues, in particular, Walney and Stringfellow roads.

There exists a “Governor’s Opportunity Fund” that provides money for quick, valuable road projects in the county. The county hopes to use that fund to help pay for improving the intersection at Poplar Tree and Stringfellow road. The plan would be to slightly widen Poplar Tree leading up to the intersection, to lengthen the turn lanes, and will also probably split the eastbound and westbound signal phases (so all eastbound traffic goes through the intersection, then all westbound traffic). Supervisor Frey expected a public meeting on the changes to occur sometime next spring.

The Rt. 28 / Walney / Braddock intersection was next on the agenda. Supervisor Frey refreshed our memory regarding the long term needs for that area, especially the eastbound I-66 to northbound Rt. 28 traffic, which is forecast to be “close to I-95 levels.” Since the last round of public meetings, VDOT has made a few changes to the proposal. They now hope to remove some of the lights at I-66 and Rt. 28 itself, by routing some traffic through the I-66 / US-29 interchange instead. This is in response to a near-universal comment of “you’re just pushing the bottleneck a half mile south.” By doing this, the final configuration should only include two northbound red lights (permitting southbound to eastbound I-66 and westbound I-66 to Braddock traffic), and one southbound red light (permitting the left turn onto Braddock). They also hope to install a traffic light at Walney and Westfields, to improve the flow of traffic from east of Rt. 28 that’s to be diverted to Westfields and Rt. 28. The continuing complaint regarding these proposals is that residents want the interchange “done right.” It’s estimated that a comparable intersection, Fairfax County Parkway and Fair Oaks Parkway (which has a similar situation with Monument Drive just north of the intersection) is anticipated to cost over $60 million, and improving the double I-66 to Walney interchange would probably cost more, maybe up to $75 million. So this is really the only way to improve anything in the near term. Supervisor Frey expects a decision by the end of the year.

Other transportation issues:

• In preliminary design stages for widening US-50 between Rt. 28 and the Loudoun county line
• Fewer than 2 lane-miles of road are budgeted per year in the county
• The long-planned, still in early stages widening of Stringfellow will cost about $46 million for 2 miles
• The county only receives about $23 million per year for secondary roads (for example, Walney, Poplar Tree, and Stringfellow)
• More than 50% of state road funding goes to maintenance
• VDOT has already determined that they will not plow residential neighborhoods this year if less than 3” of snow have fallen
• The county, Renaissance Homes, and residents at the corner of Lees Corner and Poplar Tree have come to an agreement and a traffic light will be installed there soon
• The extension of Autumn Glory Way through the new Renaissance community (Poplar Parc) may open as soon as Thanksgiving

Fairfax County DPWES

Next up were Pete Schumann and Craig Carinci, two representatives from the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services, here to talk about the Bond Release process and how we’re progressing. They spoke generally about the process, and also about how there are various loopholes in the system that allows companies more flexibility than consumers would like them to have. Discussion of specific interest to our community:

• They confirmed that our roads have been accepted by VDOT
• We can’t convert our drainage ponds to “dry ponds” because a larger area would be required for equivalent filtering capacity
• A safety “bench” is required inside the ponds – 10’ wide, flat space, just under the water at the shoreline, to help stop people from falling into deep water
• We can’t put screens on the drain inlets at the pond, or at the street, to reduce trash infiltration, because it would impede the drainage flow
• They also suggested that we contact the Northern Virginia Soil and Water District offices for help with pond ideas (plantings, etc.)

Fairfax County Park Authority

The final guest for the evening was Leon Nawojchik from the Fairfax County Park Authority, who is the manager for Ellanor C. Lawrence Park. He spoke briefly about the trail system in the park just west of the community, connecting Henry Pond Court with Walney Park Drive. The unauthorized sections of trail that were built a few years ago have been closed and covered up, and new sections built to county standards. Unfortunately, someone has been re-opening the closed sections, re-opening the hole in the wall on the Henry Pond pipestem, spreading lawn waste on the unauthorized trails, cleaning up fallen trees using chainsaws, planting in parkland, etc. All this unauthorized work requires further attention by the Park Authority, which could be devoted to properly maintaining the official trail.

The plan for the official trails is to put a fine gravel on the gravel section (along the wall), and continue maintaining the woodlands trail with mulch and, as necessary, herbicides. Leon issued a call for volunteers to help maintain this and other trails in the park system, and also told us that financial donations to the FCPA can be directly earmarked for specific projects, at the donor’s request.

He closed his section of the meeting by talking about a few other items of interest. Over 200 deer have been shot and removed from the park in the last 5 years. A few bridges in the park were washed away in the strong storm this past June. And the trail from Bennet Pond to behind Poplar Tree Elementary is still in “limbo,” as a homeowner adjacent to the trail attempts further protests with the county at all levels of government (complaining that it was too close to his property, though the trail was built to all applicable standards).

Financial Report and Open Forum

Once our guest speakers had finished, it was time for the more formal part of the meeting. Kevin Corcoran described the state of our finances. At this time, our cash balance is good, though we’re below the projected reserves level. Any “profit” at the end of the year will be redirected to the reserves account. The current plan for quarterly dues is to remain at $150 / quarter for 2007 and, possibly, 2008, with an increase to $155 in 2009 and to $160 in 2010. As always, that plan will be re-evaluated each year as expenses change.

Open Forum

The meeting concluded with a brief open forum.

• Jim Jones requested volunteers for all committees, and reminded the community that Board Elections would be held in April (at which two positions would be open).
• A complaint was voiced about the ARC being slow to respond to homeowners: The board attributed that to some recent turnover in the ARC membership as well as the ARC simply being very busy lately
• A kids costume parade is planned for Halloween, at approximately 5:30 in the Autumn Glory Way common space
• Speed is still an issue in the community
• Please talk to your neighbors to help raise awareness
• The police department put a speed measurement sign up for a couple days (though in the wrong location)
• Some people have given license plate numbers to Jim, and he’s talked directly to some people driving too fast
• The board will need to start discussing traffic calming measures, now that we’re off the VDOT bond
• A question was asked regarding whether the community has an adequate insurance policy for the ponds (especially with regards to liability). The Board agreed to look into that.

The meeting adjourned at 9:20.