The annual meeting was held in a meeting room of Thomas Jefferson Public Library 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. Refreshments provided by
Raymondale board members.
Sandy McConville provided a display of Raymondale archival materials.
Introductions of everyone present. 18 residents attended.
Year in Review by
Whitney Redding, Co-President
The proposal by FCPA of a new trail in Luria Park is now defunct.
All residents agree that the FCPA should take care of trails and bridges that
are there now. FCPA is supposed to fix/replace the stream bridge in
Luria Park and has given it a “high priority”. Surveying has been done, but no start date has been announced.
The Raymondale Environmental Stewardship Taskforce has
worked to remove invasive plants this past spring. Removal of invasive plants promotes
floral and fauna diversity. Many volunteers from other neighborhoods and
organizations removed 60-70 bags of brush from the small park near the
intersection of Brad and Dye. Another invasive plant removal is planned for
Spring 2013.
Annual National Night Out at Woodley Pool in August was a
success and well attended by many Raymondale and Broyhill Park residents as
well as the police with their squad car for the children to see.
Due to low attendance there will be no more neighborhood
wide yard sale.
Thanks goes to members of the Environmental Task Force for their
vigilant activity with the BRAC (Tricare) impact on traffic, land, etc. Photos
of stream dumping were taken and reported to the proper authorities. As a
result, the developers were forced to follow correct environmental rules for
stream preservation. A traffic study was scheduled for this past summer (after
school let out); not sure if it has been accomplished. Illegal U-turns on
Jaguar Trail is still a big concern.
Raymondale Sign by
Whitney Redding, Co-President
There was originally a Raymondale a sign in 1960 made of
masonry. In 2003 the newer sign was destroyed by an uninsured motorist. Raymondale
resident, Pete Eldred made a copy to replace the destroyed sign. The
replacement sign is now deteriorating. The RCA board is pursuing a proposal for
a new sign that will keep the integrity of the original sign and be weather
resistant. The new sign will be illuminated at night by solar lights. The bid by sign company (Kirby Newman of Fast
Signs) is $4585 including installation. There is a past recorded easement in
Fairfax County for a Raymondale sign to be located in the place of the current
sign. The Raymondale board will continue to consult with the property owner and have an attorney (possibly a George Mason Law
School student who could do pro-bono) look at the old easement document to confirm
that it is still valid. Separately, it
appears that insuring the sign against future damage is not currently possible since
Raymondale Civic Association is unincorporated. The board will seek counsel
from original attorney of most recent sign (2003) concerning this and other
sign issues. Currently the Raymondale Civic Association has $4700 in the treasury. All present at the
November 28th meeting, but one, voted in favor of the sign being
replaced. 17-1 in favor.
Per members’ suggestion, a flyer will be distributed to all
Raymondale residents as soon as possible, describing the project and requesting additional donations.
The majority present voted to use the money we have on hand
to get the new sign and then use rest of the monies raised to add to the
treasury as a reserve. Another suggestion was to let residents know how much
more is needed for the sign and solicit for that amount along with a picture of
the new sign.
.George Mason Law School (Arlington) may have students who
could do pro-bono law for Raymondale sign issue.
Real Estate by
Sandy McConville, Co-President
No homes currently on the market in Raymondale. Fairfax
County currently has a low inventory of available homes, 2 months’ inventory of
homes available. Homes don’t stay on the
market long. Usually less than 30 days. Price range is $380,000 - $435,000 in
the Raymondale area. No recent (last year and a half) foreclosures.
Elections
Solicit for new board members, nominations. None presented
Nomination of the current slate as a whole. Unanimous
approval to keep current board members.
Blog by Beth
Fedorko, Secretary
New Raymondale blog created: www.raymondalefcva.blogspot.com
Beth Fedorko will run blog. The purpose of the blog is to
post neighborhood announcements of events as well as snippets of history,
photos of interest to all (eg. wildlife in yard) on a weekly, bi-weekly basis
in a more expanded format than the list serve and on a more timely basis than
the current website. A blog is like a website, just more current and
up-to-date. If any neighborhood resident has anything of interest to post on
the blog, please contact Beth Fedorko at ehfedorko@peoplepc.com . The Raymondale
list serve will remain as a place for neighbors to post their own announcements
of lost pets, handyman recommendations, etc.
Meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
And...Mark Your Calendar!
Raymondale Annual Holiday Lighting Contest!
Judging will be
the weekend of December 15 and 16. So light up the night! Prizes will be
gift cards from MOM's Organic Market and Angelika Cinema both at the
new Mosaic shopping and dining complex in Merrifield! If you are interested in being a judge, please contact Beth Fedorko ehfedorko@peoplepc.com.
