Historically, the Braddock District Council does not schedule meetings in July and August in recognition of the fact that many people are on vacation during those months and therefore attendance at our meetings might be sparse. This does not mean, however, that Council business ceases. Since the June meeting, members of the Executive Committee have been busy with on various fronts:
On 24 June, I attended a meeting with Supervisor Walkinshaw requested by Tyler Moore, President of Bren Pointe HOA (Mason District) and head of a coalition of associations concerned with data center construction in Fairfax County. The meeting was focused on the upcoming vote in July by the Board of Supervisors on revised zoning regulations for such facilities. Related to this issue, pursuant to the approval of the Council at the June meeting, I was a signatory on a letter to the Board of Supervisors urging it to adopt more stringent standards for approving data centers and ensuring public input in the process.
On 27 June, I met with Supervisor Walkinshaw to discuss a variety of issues, including the Corporate Transparency Act and its reporting requirements. I provided him with a copy of the letter that I sent to Congressman Connolly and our two U.S. senators addressing this issue. He promised to look into the matter further
On 1 July, Charlotte Hannagan and I attended a virtual meeting hosted by Supervisor Walkinshaw that was requested by Martin Shepherd (Ravensworth Farms rep to the Lake Accotink Task Force). Mr. Shepherd is working in connection with Save Lake Accotink, Springfield Civic Association-Crestwood/Lynbrook, and other groups to ensure citizen input on the County’s efforts to implement the Task Force recommendations. There was a full and frank discussion of the many issues involved in this complex, costly, long-term effort to determine the best way to keep the “lake” in Lake Accotink.
On 22 July, Treasurer Barbara Smith met with Julie Stewart (George Mason Forest HOA) and Doug Dane (Stone Haven CA) for the purpose of conducting the required annual audit of Council financial records. The auditors’ report found that the books were being properly maintained and that the fiscal year final balance was correct. Copies of the audit report will be available at the 18 September Annual Meeting. I would like to thank Julie and Doug for volunteering to serve on the Audit Committee.
On 23 July, Paul Hartwell, Aging in Place (AIP) Program coordinator, hosted a Zoom meeting on the topic of “Don’t Blame the House” presented by Dr. Patrice Winter of George Mason University. A helpful home checklist from that presentation has been posted on the BDC website. To be added to the AIP email distribution list, please go to: aging-in-place-zoom-group-braddock@googlegroups.com. To contact Paul directly, use his BDC email address: bdcfxaip@gmail.com
Vice-chair Marie Norman has continued her Senior Outreach efforts with various community associations. She is also reaching out to Woodleigh Chase (Erickson Living’s continuum-of-care campus on Braddock Road) and the adjacent but separately managed Ilda’s Overlook Senior Residences. Residents of these retirement communities are also residents of Braddock District and developing an organizational relationship with them offers potential synergies that we would like to explore further.
Now it’s your turn. Between now and September, I ask you to do the following to get us ready to launch the 2024-2025 operating year:
If your association has not yet paid its dues for next year, please do so as soon as possible. Treasurer Barbara Smith is in the process of preparing the next fiscal year’s budget and needs accurate revenue figures. We ended the 2023-2024 year with 37 member associations and many, but not all, of them have renewed their membership. Our aspirational goal when we began the BDC “reboot” after COVID was to reach 40 members. We are almost there. The Board is continuing its outreach and asks members to talk up the benefits of the Council with friends and acquaintances in other associations that are not members.
Review the draft BDC Bylaws documents on our website. The current Bylaws were adopted in 2006 and last amended in 2013. The proposed changes are aimed at making the Bylaws reflect the realities of how we operate. At the September meeting, I would like to devote sufficient time to get initial feedback on the draft amendments with the goal of approving them at the November meeting. Go to the "About" page and scroll down to the May 2024 entry.
Think about topics for presentations in the upcoming year. You, as community leaders, face many issues. Hearing from experts on these issues can be a valuable tool in improving the management of your association so please let us know what you would like us to set up
Be sure to attend the 18 September Annual Meeting
Speaking of meetings, the proposed schedule for 2024-2025 looks like this:
18 September (Annual Meeting)
20 November (Regular Business Meeting)
December (TBD) (Best of Braddock Awards Presentation)
15 January (Regular Business Meeting)
19 March (Regular Business Meeting)
April (TBD) (Legislative Review Meeting)
18 June (BDC elections for 2025-2026)
This schedule satisfies the Bylaws requirement for four meetings in addition to the September Annual Meeting. We have the option of scheduling additional meetings as warranted/desired. We can discuss this schedule further in September.
I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the summer and I look forward to seeing all of you again in September and the months ahead.
Bob Cosgriff
Chair
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