The Cloisters West
WINTER 2009 NEWSLETTER
Message from CWHOA President
My husband and I have decided to embark on a new adventure; we have purchased an operating bed and breakfast in Belfast, Maine. In late March when we hope the snows have melted throughout New England (this expectation may be optimistic), we depart Washington and the Cloisters West. This transition also means that I am resigning as President of the CWHOA, as well as my position on the Board, effective 27 March; Judith Dowd, the Vice President, will assume the helm and the vacancy will be filled in June when we have our annual elections to the Board.
During my two year tenure as President, the CWHOA has faced stiff challenges and enjoyed many successes. We prevailed in a discrimination suit brought against the Board and our management company by a landlord owner. We have maintained our common property in excellent condition: under the guidance of the Master Committee, we soon shall break ground with the refurbishment and beautification of our entrances; and within the month, signs and signposts will be replaced with new cedar posts and uniform signs. Amidst all this serious work, we have joined the community together in Halloween festivities and Holiday parties; and have welcomed new residents with baskets and flowers.
I urge you to attend the Annual Meeting on Tues.16th June 2009, held in the Heritage Room of Visitation at 7pm. There you will hear more about the CWHOA activities and Board members will be available to answer all questions and enter into dialogue with residents. I also urge you to consider running for the Board — you will come to know your neighbors and your community and you can make a difference.
On a more personal note, thank you all for your forbearance during the repair of our sewer pipe (3737 Winfield). I know more now about sewers than I ever cared to know. Each of our houses has a main pipe leaving the house way underground which carries out all the water from all sources. Our main pipe backed up and flooded the lower level, resulting in a huge repair effort to dig out the blocked pipe and replace with a new one. While I do not know if our disaster could have been prevented, I would recommend that each owner periodically clean out this sewer pipe; I also recommend that each of you buy your homeowner's policy from a extremely knowledgeable and seasoned insurance agent. I cannot provide enough high praise for my agent: Jim Cassedy of Cassedy Insurance Agency (jcassedy@cassedy-insurance.com and 703-471-4701). Give him a call.
We have rented our home here to a lovely French couple, and we plan to return, at least on a part time basis, after several years. In the meantime, Santiago and I invite you to visit Maine and stay with us. Check us out at The White House Inn: www.mainebb.com.
Diana Rich
Management Report:
Maintaining the exterior appearance of your home is important to you and the community. If you defer maintenance, a small paint job can mushroom into a wood replacement issue that can cost thousands of dollars. The appearance of your home is important to its value as well as the values of other homes in the community.
When making any exterior change on your home you must complete an exterior change request form which can be found on the web site. For example, if you wish to change colors, you must select from the approved palette on the website and get approval of the Covenants Committee by completing the change form. If you are installing a satellite dish, you must get Covenant Committee approval.
Several satellite dishes have been installed in the community in inappropriate places and homeowners will shortly be asked to have them moved to locations on their homes that are not a visual eyesore for adjoining owners.
Fences in the Community are aging and many are in need of repair. Please check yours closely and have repairs made. It is much cheaper to fix a fence than replace it after it falls over. Please remember that fences must be replaced with identical fencing systems.
Finally, over the years a number of homes have lost their rear house numbers or these house numbers have been replaced with tacky stick-on materials. The rear house numbers are important for emergency vehicles. Please check yours to make sure that they are correct and replace any missing or improper numbers with numbers similar to those originally installed throughout the community. Just check a neighbor’s house for examples of the type of numbers that would be appropriate.
Following the exterior change procedures will keep you in harmony with the Covenant’s Committee which is working hard to keep the community looking great.
Roger Tilton
CWHOA Seeks Board Members
There will be 4 seats open for election in June! Out of 5 total Board Members, one is re-locating and 3 members are reaching their 2-year terms. Although a few members may choose to run again, this translates into the need for someone else to take a turn attending monthly meetings and contributing to the community. This is an opportunity to take part in planning for the future and maintaining the beauty and value of The Cloisters West as a place to reside in our nation’s capital. If you would like to stand for election in June as a Board member of the CWHOA, please contact:
Nancy Carpenter
CWHOA Board Secretary NancyLCarpenter@hotmail.com 202-342 5775
News from the Neighborhood Safety Committee
What better time than the beginning of a new year to give you some good news. I am sure you will be happy to hear that our PSA 206 has had a 40% decrease in crime from January 2008 to January 2009. No other PSA in the Second District came close to that percentage. The closest was PSA 202, which came in at 17%. These statistics were announced at the Citizens Advisory Council meeting by Acting Commander Matt Klein on January 28, 2009.
This good news comes as a result of the good work of the MPD, along with our Reimbursable Detail, and the CAG Securitas Guards. Our CWHOA pays $6,000 per year for the Reimbursable Detail: off-duty MPD poliemen patrol in MPD cars. Securitas is a private guard firm paid by CAG (Community Assoc. of Georgetown) to patrol Georgetown.
The contact names/numbers are:
John Pfordresher - the new Head of Securitas and Reimbursable Detail - 202-438-8917
If John cannot be reached, call Block Captain - Bev Casserly - 202-494-6433
Hours of Operation: Securitas - Tuesday through Sunday - 6 PM - 3:30 AM
Reimbursable MPD Detail - Friday through Sunday- 9:00 PM - 3:30 AM
These services can be called during the times listed for any disturbances or any suspicious activity. John is in constant contact with both details. You may notice the MPD or Securitas cars in our neighborhood doing routine checks to keep us safe. If on a call for an out-of-control party, or the like, Securitas will always be accompanied by an MPD car. During these times, or any other time, you can always call 911, as needed. Securitas (CAG guards) and the MPD Reimbursable Detail (off-duty MPD officers) are an additional protection provided by our neighborhood for our safety and peace of mind.
I am the CAG Block Captain for our neighborhood, and I am joined by Ann Fox, Frances Spencer, Millie Florian, and Carole Anderson to keep you informed about safety in the Cloisters West. We provide neighbors with a list of crime alerts via email for the entire Second District to keep you safe at home, or most places you go nearby. We also encourage anyone in the neighborhood to call/e-mail with any concerns or observations you may want to share about crime or potential crime. If you would like to receive these alerts, please contact Bev Casserly at 202-333-8383 (Home) or 202-494-6433 (Cell). You can also contact me by e-mail: Gypsy64526@aol.com.
Stay safe!
Bev Casserly
Oh, RATS!
The CWHOA Covenants Committee found a few garage doors that had issues with holes at the bottom (for rats/mice to enter/exit.) Please be advised if you notice any rodent activity on your property:
1. Contact Tilton Bernstein Management Company; if necessary, a bait box will be placed on your property.
2. Always put bags that contain food waste in closed trash containers inside the garage as rats smell the food and will eat through wooden fences and garage doors. Never put bags of garbage that contain food waste on your back patio or in your garage unless they are in covered trash containers.
3. Garage doors with holes must be satisfactorily repaired.
4. Trash must be put on the curb no earlier than the evening before trash day and must be in covered containers. Recyclables can be put out in bins. Trash days are Tuesday AM and Friday AM each week. (Recycle Day is Tuesday.)
Got it? Good.
COVENANTS COMMITTEE:
CWHOA found a very qualified volunteer to Chair the Covenants Committee: Art Roberts of 3540 R. This special committee is responsible for insuring that our houses are well-maintained and our property values are secured. The well-being of our community depends on its volunteers. Thank you Art for stepping up!
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Community Meeting: Master Plan
Who: Cloisters West Home Owners
What: Community Master Plan Meeting
When: 7pm, Wed. March 25, 2009
Where: Heritage Room: Georgetown Visitation
Why: Determine what will work best for our community.
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WWW.CLOISTERSWEST.ORG
Have you been on:
www.cloisterswest.org
The Cloisters West web site lately?
Do you have any suggestions for improvements?
Be careful what you wish for!
Contact:
NancyLCarpenter@hotmail.com