CWCA President, Lizzy Conroy, called the meeting to order at 7:03 pm and welcomed everyone to the spring virtual meeting. 27 households were in attendance.
Treasurer’s Report CWCA Treasurer, Susan Garrahan, presented the treasurer’s report for the fiscal year so far – 10/1/21 – 4/25/22:
- CWCA collected dues from 384 houses (75% of households) which generated $6,003 in revenue. We are continuing to collect dues as our fiscal year runs from October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022.
- Our biggest expense was for snow removal and we spent $7,316 this year versus a budget of $15,000.
- The next largest item is social activities. We’ve spent $2,145 on a variety of pandemic friendly activities including a food truck, scavenger hunts, and Halloween contests.
- We also incurred expenses related to the website (mostly to get caught up on unreimbursed expenses), Pineapple Patrol, signage/flyers, and meeting costs. Total expenses for the year so far were $10,447.
How to Pay Dues (Information provided after the meeting).
You can pay your dues online via Paypal* or by check:
- Online – Log into Paypal and choose the “Send” option. Designate chesterbrookwoods@gmail.com as the email address. Please use the friends and family transfer method rather than the commercial transfer to avoid having PayPal charge CWCA a fee. Include your name & CWCA street address so we can properly credit your household.
- Pay by Check—Send a $15 check made payable to “CWCA” to: CWCA Treasurer Susan Garrahan, 1714 Oak Lane, McLean, VA 22101. Be sure your check includes your CWCA street address so we can properly credit your household. Questions can be directed to susan.garrahan@gmail.com.
CWCA Board Election
Lizzy Conroy advised that in the next few weeks we will send out information on the CWCA Board Election. Voting will take place by email. The nominating committee is speaking with potential candidates now. If you’re interested in serving on the Board, please email chesterbrookwoods@gmail.com and we’ll contact you about our vetting process for the positions.
Not an elected position, but we are looking for a new webmaster. We thank our longtime webmaster, Ellie LeBaron, for many years of service. If you are interested in helping with the website redesign or serving as webmaster, please email chesterbrookwoods@gmail.com
We are also looking for a new team to organize our fall Oktoberfest party. Thanks so much to our most recent team: Melissa Burnison, Lara Covington and Nicki Sterling, who along with a team of volunteers helped organize the last few Oktoberfest parties which have been on hold due to the pandemic. If you are interested in organizing this fun Chesterbrook Woods fall event, let us know by emailing chesterbrookwoods@gmail.com so we can start building the team. It is such a fun party for residents of all ages and a great way to get to know other residents in the neighborhood.
Committee Reports
Pineapple Patrol: Bonny Sadler advised her committee of six has welcomed seven new families since the start of 2022 and there are a few more in the queue. The Pineapple Patrol delivers a bag with a note pad enscribed with the www.chesterbrookwoods.org web address, a directory and cookies or a plant. The Pineapple Patrol
gets information on new neighbors from block captains, the CWCA Board and neighbors. Please email cwcapineapplepatrol@gmail.com to join the team or to send them information about new neighbors.
Snow Removal: Ed McGrady gave the report. We spent $7,316 this year for three snow events which required plowing, sanding or application of salt. There were some challenges with the first snow of the year when we were only allocated one plow (due to labor issues created by the pandemic), but clearing was great for the later snow events. Ed advised they worked to improve clearing for James Payne Circle (last year there were issues for Grady Randall). A cul de sac is particularly challenging as parked cars can prevent the plow from being able to navigate the turns. Also, the snow that has been cleared has to be placed somewhere which is more complicated in a cul de sac. Ed noted that CWCA collects dues from our residents to fund this service, however, there is no service difference for someone who has not paid their dues.
Here are a few things residents can do to make the snow removal process work better:
- Communicate with the snow committee via twitter.com/cwcasnow or by email cwcasnow@gmail.com Let the committee know when things aren’t working, but don’t ask neighbors to pile on with the complaints.
- Move your cars off the street so that the plows have room to maneuver.
- If you have an emergency, call 911. CWCA Snow is not designed to be able to respond to emergencies.
- Don’t chase the plows down the street as it is not safe.
Many thanks to Ed McGrady and Steve Sunderhauf who have been managing the snow removal process for many years!
Security: Cabell Fooshe provided the security report. He advised we have had very few issues in the neighborhood in recent months, however, there was an incident yesterday where a car ran a stop sign and drove recklessly. The police were contacted. Please drive carefully through our beautiful neighborhood, obey the stop signs and remember there are pedestrians walking and children playing here.
Environmental Committee: Elizabeth Ende gave the report. The Environmental Committee promoted the following Earth Day activities 1) Stream Clean-Up of Pimmit Run; the CWCA Ecochallenge; McLean Community Center’s Earth Day drive-through event; and Mt Vernon District’s 4th Annual Environment Expo.
County Activities Update: Supervisor Foust reported that the county has been laser focused for the last two years on dealing with COVID. It was hard from an economic and health perspective. There are 1.2 million people in the Fairfax County Health District and 185,000 cases of COVID with 1,509 deaths as of mid-April. 84% of residents over 18 (approx. 900,000) are vaccinated. The county goal is to encourage all that are eligible to get vaccinated. Fairfax County reports an uptick in COVID-19 cases so the Fairfax Health District urges continued vigilance. Vaccines are widely available. If you are eligible for a COVID vaccine or booster, you can make an appointment at a local pharmacy (Safeway, Giant, CVS, Walgreens and others — some also have walk-in appointments) or you can schedule through Fairfax County.
One time revenue for COVID related costs and recovery was substantial because of support from the federal government. County recurring revenue is better than expected. Real estate assessments went up dramatically (approximately 9% countywide) so the Board of Supervisor’s lowered the tax rate from 1.14 to 1.11. If you are 65 or older or disabled and income is less than $92,000 you may be eligible to seek tax relief. Car values have also risen quite a bit so to provide some relief, the Supervisors have adjusted the property tax to be based on 85% of the assessed value.
The McLean Revitalization Project is continuing. They are working on three circles. The inside circle is the core with retail, restaurants and parks, then there’s a buffer area and the periphery area (outer circle) will largely be left alone. The central area is designed to have a sense of community and vibrancy. They are working on
design guidelines now. A new grocery store will be built before the Giant Food store is knocked down. The drugstore will stay and they anticipate 14 retail store fronts.
A Lidl grocery store is going in where the International Safeway used to be. There will also be a Matchbox, and Big Buns Eatery. Chain Bridge Sunrise, a 140 person senior living facility is going in where the Old McLean Medical Building was on Chain Bridge Road. There is also a 42 unit condo project going up by the Palladium in the parking lot behind Chipotle.
The upcoming budget will fully fund county employees’ merit and COLA raise, public safety (which is important because they are having difficulty recruiting and retaining fire/police/sheriff personnel), and the budget fully funds schools. The budget added almost $800,000 to deal with natural resources through the park budget.
VDOT and the County have been working on a project to replace the sewer pipe that goes under Chesterbrook at N Albemarle (to help control flooding) with a 54 inch pipe. VDOT has asked the County to look at some additional piping near Quail Hollow, so that needs to happen before the project proceeds. VDOT is also planning to add 5×4 box culverts. The construction is projected to begin in 2024 and likely will take a year to complete.
Project Updates
Dominion Undergrounding Project – Ben Jarratt, Oak Lane block captain, reported that for the past two years, Dominion Power has been working with more than 130 of our neighbors concerning four proposed strategic underground projects in Chesterbrook Woods.
Dominion did a 10-year review of our area and identified more than 30 electric power outages that were directly related to the overhead equipment on our streets that could be avoided with this initiative. The purpose is to help stabilize our power grid, so Dominion can respond more quickly to future outages.
The four projects are currently “on hold” since Dominion needs to obtain easements from these property owners in order to transition the existing overhead electric distribution lines to underground lines. The four proposed projects include: 1) Crestwood Lane, Oakdale Road, Woodley Road & that section of Forest Lane; 2) Dahlia Court, Calla Drive & that section of Forest Lane; 3) Copley Lane; 4) and Oak Lane. Dominion finished the underground project for about 25 property owners on Chesterbrook Road at Woodman Drive in 2021; neighbors can drive-by to see those results.
CWCA has arranged for a Zoom meeting with Dominion Power on May 24th at 7 pm. The purpose is to help educate our neighbors about this initiative. CWCA will provide zoom instructions later in the month.
Sidewalk Segments on Kirby/Chesterbrook Road – Elizabeth Ende gave a report.
Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) is completing construction on the Kirby Road sidewalk project that extends from Franklin to Chesterbrook School. It is expected to be completed this summer.
The Kirby Road sidewalk project that extends from Chesterbrook Road to Mori is scheduled to begin utility relocation late 2022 with project completion by late 2023.
FCDOT has combined the three remaining Chesterbrook Road sidewalk segments which run from Maddux Lane to N 41st Street. When the design is 90% complete, FCDOT will hold a virtual community meeting – expected for November/December 2022. FCDOT expects to begin land acquisition starting summer 2023 and expects to begin utility relocation in early 2024 with sidewalk construction to be completed in 2025.
The project to insert a 54 inch pipe under Chesterbrook Road at N Albemarle (referenced earlier by Supervisor Foust) could impact the sidewalk project schedule since it needs to be completed before the sidewalk is installed. FCDOT has advised that they are aware of the pipe project.
Announcements
Clean up after your dog, please! Help us keep Chesterbrook Woods clean by picking up your dog’s waste and discarding it in your own trash bin. Do not leave bagged dog waste in a neighbor’s trash bin, on the ground or throw it down a storm drain.
Construction Debris: If construction is taking place at your house, please be sure that your contractor is keeping the area clean. This includes regular trash as well as nails and construction materials.
CWCA Book Club: Book Club is a women’s social group in Chesterbrook Woods and has begun meeting in person. The next meeting will likely take place in late May. To get added to the email list, please contact Jeanne Wang, mama.j.wang@gmail.com
CWCA Bunco Group: This is a great way for the women of Chesterbrook Woods to casually socialize with neighbors without attendance requirements or prior experience. Bunco has been in hiatus, but hopes to start in- person meetings soon. To get added to the email distribution list for when meetings restart, please email Lori Boerner loriboerner@gmail.com.
Food Truck in the ‘Hood: Neighbors, Cabell Fooshe and Robin Finnell, have arranged for the Roaming Coyote Food truck to come to Chesterbrook Woods on April 30th from 5-8 pm. Note added after the Spring Meeting: It was a great community event with nearly 200 people participating. Many thanks to Cabell and Robin for organizing the event. There are already plans afoot to schedule another food truck. Details will be sent out under separate cover.
If you have community activity ideas or want to help organize a future food truck, please email chesterbrookwoods@gmail.com.
Other Activities:
1-2-3 Junk will be in the neighborhood this Saturday, May 7th from 10am-12pm at 1615 Brookside Road courtesy of Lizzy Conroy. You can drop off household items you no longer need or your junk. No paint, tires, concrete or hazardous materials. 1-2-3 Junk works first to donate, then to recycle and if neither of those conditions can be met, to dispose.
Last Day of School Ice Cream Truck: Lizzy Conroy has arranged to have an ice cream truck in the neighborhood on June 10th to celebrate the last day of school. We will forward details as we get closer to the date.
A neighbor reports that Langley HS has announced it plans to host fireworks this year!
Meeting Adjourned 8:14 PM.
Chesterbrook Woods 