Message from the President of Lakeport Cluster

By Mary M. Sapp

The Board is happy to report that work on the dock is finally underway and completion is planned for August! The process up to this point turned into a saga, with the most recent chapter being the long period of time to obtain our permit. For more information, read the article by Board member Paul Renard, who has been doing a wonderful job coordinating this project, even visiting the permit office a couple of times himself. Paul’s article also mentions a couple of work projects related to the dock. Please consider volunteering—you’ll enjoy the satisfaction of knowing you’ve contributed to improving this focal point of our community.

Several other projects to improve the attractiveness of Lakeport are being coordinated with the dock project. After the dock is completed, new lighting will be installed along the Reston Association walking path. Owners voted at a special March meeting to approve an expenditure of up to $21,000 to replace Lakeport’s 11 old bollards (three of which have been destroyed by vandals) and to add a twelfth bollard and another smaller light to improve lighting along the section of the RA path from the entrance down to the lake between 1923 Lakeport Way and 1925 Lakeport Way. The new bollards will have LED lights to minimize maintenance and will be more vandal-resistant than our old ones.

In addition, Reston Association will repave the section of their walking path that goes by the dock, which will complete the new paving of the RA path through Lakeport.

A third dock-related project is shoreline restoration and landscaping just to the west of where the new dock will be built. We need volunteers to help install bio-logs and related plants there to retain the shoreline, but we’ll leave the rest of the work to a landscaper. Once the dock work is done a landscaper will also be installing new plants in the landscaped areas adjacent to the dock that will be damaged by the excavator used for pile-driving. See the article on landscaping for more information about these two projects, other landscaping efforts, and information on how to get an estimate for trimming your own trees at a cost savings. A special thanks to Pete Hatfield for his work chairing the Landscape Committee this past year and to Karen Cook, who has agreed to chair the committee going forward. See the “Thanking Volunteers” article for a list of other volunteers who have helped enhance our landscaping and made other contributions to improve Lakeport.

Under the leadership of chair Kelly Driscoll, Lakeport’s Standards Committee  surveyed owners about possible changes to design guidelines, and then, based on the survey results, updated several Lakeport standards. A new Lakeport standard for roofs and a revised siding standard combining Lakeport’s two previous siding standards have already been approved by RA’s Design Review (DRB), and a new standard for front doors is pending review by the DRB at its July 10 meeting.

Other committees continue to add to the quality of life here. See the request from Liz Blankespoor, chair of Social Committee, for a host for the next TGIF (and photos of your neighbors—and a pig!—having a great time at the last one to show you why you should attend). Chuck Foster has advice on how to deal with crime in his Neighborhood Watch article, and Kevin Burke has written his second installment in his series on Density in Reston. Finally check out our list of alerts and reminders: everything from direct debit to one-lane bridge etiquette to swimming (or not).

I close with a thanks to MaryAnn Hoadley for her time on the Lakeport Board—we will miss her! We are fortunate that Alison Yeloushan, a new resident on Lakespray, has agreed to join the Board—you can learn more about her in the Board and Committees article.