PWCA Information for Members and Residents (August 2023, Message #2)

Good afternoon.  There is a larger than normal quantity of information below due to the time of year.

PERMANENT LINKS:

PWCA Website: https://parkwestcommunity.org/

PWCA Meeting Packets: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1UQIfzyb72xFD9Y7_mshcRNVRE5wv8m5h?usp=share_link

ACC Documents:  https://parkwestcommunity.org/architectural-control-committee/

Parking Documents: https://parkwestcommunity.org/parking/

Trash and Recycling Information:  https://parkwestcommunity.org/our-environment/

Newsletters: https://parkwestcommunity.org/newsletters/

Quarterly Assessment Timeline: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1LpwaIZ5NVobKPDzCmuTnOy20KcwpxXXg?usp=share_link

SEASONAL LINKS:

2023 Pool Application:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1X5vE-ynAfWoDrMIIYwTpEgVq7obm8MtE/view?usp=share_link 

Pool Sign-In System: https://www.signupgenius.com/tabs/13576df05a6cdeac1aa3-pwcasign#/

2023 J&J Individual Home Maintenance Program:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jVoOGfz0pZBZCO78YPB16S6FY–syCk3/view?usp=share_link

2023 Puppy Plunge:   https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12IMDaPc0fYfv4j8CJjPwFAPYYdHfeC3y?usp=drive_link

INFORMATION ITEMS:

1.  SCHOOL’S BACK IN SESSION; MONDAY; AUGUST 21, 2023.  Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) begin the 2023-2024 school year and George Mason University begins the Fall 2023 semester tomorrow.  As such, there will be many more people on our streets, whether to the University for classes or young children heading to and from the school bus stops in our community.  Here’s a portion extracted from the latest Braddock Supervisor’s Advisory:  “Please prepare for more traffic and be patient with school buses and student drivers on the roads.  The County’s Department of Emergency Management and Security (DEMS) offers a few safety reminders for the first week back to classes:  #1 – Stop and wait for school buses to safely load and unload children; #2 – Slow down and take extra care in school zones and in neighborhoods; #3 – Make eye contact with drivers and pedestrians at stoplights and intersections before proceeding; #4 – Make sure children know who to call in case of an emergency, their home address, and a parent/guardian’s phone number.

2.  SPEEDING THROUGH OUR COMMUNITY.  With the start of the school years – a reminder that the speed limit in our community is 15 miles per hour.  Stop signs and speed bumps are located at major intersections and in drive lanes to remind you to stay at-or-under the speed limit.  Fairfax County police have the authority to enforce traffic and motor vehicle laws on our private streets and are in the community on a regular basis.  There are many children and walkers in the neighborhood – please follow our traffic rules.  You really won’t save much time by blowing through stop signs or speeding on our streets – the potential cost to you and to the pedestrian you hit far outweigh those seconds. 

3.  POOL OPERATING HOUR CHANGE; MONDAY; AUGUST 21, 2023.  With the start of the FCPS school year, our pool will be open from 4:00 PM on all Fairfax County public school days.  Closing times remain as normal (9:00PM on Thursdays and Saturdays, 8:00PM all other days).  The 9:00PM closing times equate to August 24th, 26th, 31st, and September 2nd.  We will open at 10:00AM on September 4th as that is Labor Day.  The weekend after Labor Day is planned to occur but is dependent on weather.  See the Pool section of the website for the specific daily schedules to the end of the season.

4.  EXTENDED POOL OPERATIONS; SEPTEMBER 9 AND 10, 2023.  We plan to operate our pool for the weekend after Labor Day.  The hours will be:  Saturday; September 9, 2023:  11:00 AM to 7:00 PM and Sunday; September 10, 2023:  11:00 AM to 6:00 PM. On September 10, 2022 from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM will be the annual Puppy Plunge – no humans allowed in the pool during this last hour of the season. 

5.  SUNDAES ON SUNDAY; SUNDAY; SEPTEMBER 10, 2023; 5:00PM, POOL.  Due to some challenges beyond our control, the Farewell to Summer / Community Potluck will not occur this year.  However, we are planning to host one more Sundaes on Sunday for the 2023 season!  We’ll have various ice creams and toppings that are sure to please both the young and young-at-heart!  As always, a volunteer or two for this event would be greatly appreciated.

6.  POOL FURNITURE STORAGE; SUNDAY; SEPTEMBER 10, 2023; 5:30PM; POOL DECK.  We will store our furniture for the 2023-2024 off-season starting at this time.  Please consider giving us a few hours of your time to get our pool ready for the off-season.

7.  PUPPY PLUNGE; SUNDAY; SEPTEMBER 10, 2023; 6:00PM; POOL.  During the final hour of the season we’re hosting a Pool Pawty!!!!  Please review the rules for this event  Bring proof of your 2023 Fairfax County dog license with you. This can either be the current tag or the current receipt from the County. The tag or receipt will be returned to you after review. You will also need to sign the Puppy Plunge Agreement prior to entering the pool deck with your dog. We will have two dog egress locations (the permanent steps and a temporary dog ramp) in the main pool. The main pool and the wading pool will both be available for your dogs’ enjoyment during the 6:00 PM-7:00 PM hour.

8.  FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING; TUESDAY; SEPTEMBER 12, 2023; 7:00PM; VIRTUAL.  The September 2023 Finance Committee Meeting will focus on the line-item review of the Draft 2024 PWCA Budget presented to the Board and residents on August 15, 2023.  Please consider attending as we discuss the future orientation of the Association in consonance with the Governing Documents as articulated through our Strategic Plan. 

9. BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING; TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2023; 7:00PM; VIRTUAL.  The monthly board meeting will be conducted via the RingCentral virtual meeting framework. See the website under ‘Meetings’, select the year (2023), then the meeting (09 – 20230919). Document #01-1 contains the information to join the meeting. 

10.  ELECTRONIC CONSENT FORMS.  For Owners/Members of the Association who may not know, electronic consent forms provide the Association the ability to send certain communications to you electronically only, thereby saving us the cost of printing and mailing those documents.  The form is available on our website within Policy Resolution 17-04 and in the August newsletter.

11.  ANNUAL MEETING – CALL FOR NOMINATIONS. In preparation for our Annual Meeting in November we attached a nomination form in the August newsletter.  At each Annual Meeting there are three of our nine-member Board of Directors are up for election.  Please consider submitting your name for consideration by the membership.  If that seems to large a step, consider volunteering for any one of our committees.  I KNOW they’d be happy for any assistance you could provide.

12.  TRASH AND RECYCLING.  With the turnover to new tenants and owners, if everyone could review the trash and recycling rules we would greatly appreciate it.  We are starting to have:  #1 – items placed out that require advance notice to Patriot, #2 – items out at incorrect days and times, and #3 – items placed out after pickup.  Some of these items placed out also carry a fee for disposal.  If you have items to dispose of please be considerate to your neighbors and to the community and take the responsibility to get rid of such items correctly.  Please refer to the website for current information on trash and recycling.

13.  PARKING.  I thought I’d just give you a couple of thoughts based on our change of community composition.  #1 – When parking in any curb-side parking ensure both your front and rear wheels are on the concrete gutter.  #2 – Do not park in any yellow painted curbs, nor any white painted curbs during any snow-emergency designated days and times by the Association.  #3 – The entire community (assigned and unassigned spaces) is permit parking only – have a permit in your vehicle or risk the vehicle being towed.  #4 – If you are parked in any visitor space or at any curb-side parking, remember to move your vehicle every week, after ten days your vehicle is subject to towing.  #5 – No parking or storage of any vehicles (e.g. trailers, motorcycles) on common areas.  #6 – no parking at the pool parking lot unless actively using the pool or upon approval from the Association.  If you have questions or need more information, please review the Community Rules on our website.

14.  2023 POOL PASS DISTRIBUTION.  If you have passes ready for distribution, please coordinate a designated date and time to receive your passes with our Pool Committee Chair.

15.  WINE AND CHEESE MINGLE WITH NEW RESIDENT WELCOME; SATURDAY, AUGUST 19, 2023; 7:00PM; POOL.  Thanks to all those who participated in our event last night!  We had fantastic weather and a great turnout – I hope everyone enjoyed themselves!  Thank you to our amazing volunteers:  Diane, Tammi, April, David Sharon, Jacen. Lisa, and Jesus – your help ensured the success of this event. 

16.  PARK WEST PAGES, AUGUST 2023 EDITION.  The August 2023 edition of Park West Pages has been released – please see the website for the document.  The Communications and Hospitality Committees each have hard copies of the edition if you’d like a printed copy.  There will also be a copy at the pool house in the ‘Newsletters’ binder near the entry door.

17.  BRADDOCK ROAD STOP SIGN AND MESSAGE BOARD.  We have started the replacement work for the stop sign and assessment of the message board with our local contractor.  We are also working with Dominion to assess the viability of installing some kind of protection system  (e.g. a guard rail, stanchions) for the transformer.   The results of that discussion will impact when and where the stop sign is re-installed as our preference would be to have inside the protected zone if possible.

18.  INDIVIDUAL GROUNDS CARE OFFER FROM J&J LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT, APPLY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.  I’m keeping this in my messages due to our new residents as this offer has options for fertilization and leaf removal for your yards.  Our grounds care contractor is offering residences in our community the ability to have the private yards maintained.  Please refer to the link listed above for details or contact myself if you cannot access the form. If you would like to advantage of the offer please contact them as soon as possible.

19.  STREET LIGHTS.  All street lights should be operating normally.  Reminder, while we have periodic contractor visits to check our street lights we don’t always notice in a timely manner when street lights malfunction.  Please let the Streets and Sidewalks Committee at  streets@parkwestcommunity.org know if you notice something I haven’t spoken about in a message.  Street light status may also be found in the board packets.

Enjoy the upcoming week!

Have a great rest of your weekend – for those starting your academic year tomorrow, may your upcoming year contain accomplishments and enjoyment!  

Regards,

Mark