A few weeks back, Kevin Corcoran printed out a newsletter and distributed it to most (if not all) homes, just before the switch to CSI. I've finally got a copy of that here on the website - in the Resident's Only section (you can find them here).

Note that with the 3rd Quarter bills, Koger included a newsletter, but that was the draft from March, and a lot changed between that initial draft and when we finally had enough information to put out a real newsletter. We had gotten the final copy to Koger last week, but I guess they printed the wrong file. :(

I just got back in from walking through most of the community, trying to (finally!) complete my Bond Release problem list. While on my walk, I spotted someone in a light blue shirt with a clipboard, quite possibly doing the same thing as I was (we'd been told that VDOT / Edgemoore would be in the neighborhood soon). Maybe 10 minutes later, I saw an unmarked police car coming in along Walney Park Drive. Another 10 minutes after that, I was approached by a uniformed Fairfax County Police Officer in a marked cruiser.

I told him I was on the HOA Board, and that I was compiling a list of problems for Bond Release. The officer asked if I'd seen the other person, and I told him where and when I'd seen him. I asked if a resident had called in a complaint, but the officer wasn't sure. He thanked me, I thanked him for coming out, and I continued on my walk. As I was walking away from the cruiser, another cruiser drove up, and then the unmarked car I'd seen earlier, and then another unmarked car. So there were a total of four police cars dispatched to cruise through the neighborhood to see what this person was up to.

Over the last couple of years, we've had several problems with our current trash pickup company (AAA). Sometimes, pickups would be missed altogether. People have had difficulty getting replacement cans. They never seem to pick up yard waste. And, finally, earlier this year they changed the pickup schedule on us and didn't bother to notify anyone. So, we've had enough, and have decided to change companies.

After careful consideration, Ed Blansitt opted to resign his position on the board effective immediately. He felt that this would allow him time to work with his replacement, especially as we complete our future budget projections and finish close-out of SFMC accounts, and the 2004 audit. The Board appointed Mike Parks to finish Ed's term, "effectively swapping" Ed's and Mike's slots.

The Board then met briefly, at Mike's house, to elect officers and set out a rough agenda for the coming year.

At the originally scheduled Annual Meeting (click here for notes), we only had about 25 homes represented, fewer than the 30 homes required for a quorum. Therefore, we couldn't hold an election for the soon-to-be-empty slot on the Board. While the Board could have simply appointed someone to the empty slot, we felt it important to give the community a chance to bring a new member onboard, so we scheduled a follow-on meeting.

To mark Earth Day, the Westfields Business Owners Association will sponsor an electronics recycling event. It will be held at the Sully District Governmental Center and Police Substation, from 7 am until 3 pm this Thursday, April 21. The Center is near the intersection of Stonecroft and Westfields, just west of the new Rt. 28 and Westfields interchange.

This is a perfect chance to recycle your old computers, monitors, printers, fax machines, cell phones, and other electronics. Electronics frequently contain high levels of lead and other pollutants, and throwing them out isn't always the best idea.

It appears that our trash schedule has changed.

We're still working on final confirmation, but we've received a letter dated March 7 that indicates we were to go to a new schedule last Monday, the 21st. We (the Board and Koger Management) only received this letter *today*, through email.

The schedule appears to be:

Trash pickup: Monday and Thursday
Recycling pickup: Friday
Yard Waste pickup: Wednesday

We're verifiying the yard waste day, and trying to figure out why no notification was sent to residents. We're also re-evaluating the contract, in light of this new change. With the new schedule, we'll have stuff on the curb 4 days out of five, and that might just be too much. On the other hand, if we were to change to a new provider, we might have to go through the hassle of trading out all our trash cans and recycling bins, and still we're not guaranteed a better schedule or cheaper rates.