Next Community Meeting and Concerns

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Vincent_Przybyla
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Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2014 11:36 pm
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Next Community Meeting and Concerns

Post by Vincent_Przybyla »

Hello. I am a full-time resident who is relatively new to the community (as of April of last year). Good to meet everyone. Please bear with the length of this message.

To begin, I wanted to confirm the next HOA meeting (May 18th?). I am concerned that HOA meetings are seemingly so few and far between. My last HOA had monthly meetings and it appears that Fairfield has trimonthly sessions (?). Please correct me if I am wrong. Also, why are there only three members currently on the board? Again, please correct me if I am in error. If I am correct, I find this extremely odd. I would be more than happy to volunteer despite holding two full-time jobs. My community--as does the decisions affecting my personal property--matters to me. The community is an investment just as is my actual home.

I think that there are a lot of issues that are forcing people out of this community and thereby decreasing the value of our neighborhood and individual properties. These issues need to be addressed in regularly scheduled monthly meetings. I would like to reach out to others and gather their opinions re: these matters.

Here are a few that immediately come to mind:

1) Our trash service: For a community this size, how is it that we have only one small container? Why does Phase 1 have its own container and not Phase 2? Unfortunately, I am forced to haul my trash in my mid-sized car and hope that the container is not overfilled (which it is much, much too often). If it is overfilled, I am expected to keep rotting trash in my garage and wait until the container is empty again? Forgive me, but this is preposterous. We are being told that if we are "of good standing" as of April 15th, we will receive our own trash cans? To be candid: you are withholding services and dividing set privileges based on standing during a time when you have increased our dues by over 100 dollars? Where is the half a million in excess you have as of last the statement I viewed on April 12th of last year? Has this money already been spent? If so, could you please provide the necessary financial details? These are decisions of which we should all be a part.

2) Over the winter, I asked the Community Manager why ice melt was not distributed (per our bylaws). I was told that there has to be over an inch of snow before they plow, and that laying ice melt down was at the discretion of the board. I find the latter outrageous. I should mention here that I actually had to send her pictures of the snow and call her twice to even get her to plow. I also had to relay to her that someone fell and hit their arm very hard on the way to the mailbox before she would even attempt to address the overall concern (she was worried that I would sue, I believe). I did not see one grain of ice melt this whole winter and am perplexed as to why.

The Community Manager also told me that driveways would not be plowed unless the member was "in good standing". Again, how can this be? Who is making this determination? Set privileges are being divided? This is very dangerous ground legally--and this concerns me.

3) Lawn care: where is this service? Should they not be here now? Yesterday, I had to cut my own grass due to it being over 8 inches high in spots (have pics to confirm) and my catching a snake making its way into my garage. Why, again, is this so? Why am I put in the position--after paying for these privileges--to badger the HOA and Community Manager to have such issues resolved? I would prefer not to and would like to have confidence that my dues are being used in the manner for which they are intended. I find all of this complicated for no apparent good reason and am offended that after only a year of residence, I have so many negative experiences. I have considered driving to Falls Church to speak to Legum Norman (corporate) about these issues. I travel to VA for my job a few times a month and so it would not be a stretch.

Actions by the HOA are resulting in an overall decrease of property value and a loss of residents. To be frank, I have been thinking of selling my house already because of this fact. I have spoken to other residents here who feel the same. I find it fairly offensive that we have so little say in the decisions being made that affect all of us.

I appreciate you allowing me to discuss these matters.

Vincent Przybyla
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