Winter 2025 Issue of Ripples

Lakeport News

From the Editor/President – Stephen Sapp 

Landscape Committee Report – Mary Sapp

Social Committee Report 

Maintenance Committee Report – Jonathan Hammer

Neighborhood Watch – Chuck Foster

Book Club – Barbara Khan

Thanks to Our Volunteers

Lakeport Governance/Management

Helpful Information

Reminders 

Home Maintenance Checklist for Winter/Spring

From the Editor/President

By Stephen Sapp

Winter seemed to take a long time to get here this year, but when it did—wow, did it ever arrive! It’s been an up-and-down weather pattern, and we may still have some more winter before all is said and done. In addition to more snow than we have seen for some time and colder weather than in recent years, we have also experienced some high winds that have resulted in downed branches and overturned tables.

But I have seen some signs of promise that spring is coming: The most obvious one of course is the lengthening of daylight at both ends of the day (we recently experienced our last post-7:00 a.m. sunrise of Standard Time), and a big maple tree behind our home even has visible buds on the tips of its branches! So stay bundled up a little longer and look forward to the warmer weather that is sure to come soon!

In the meantime, however, if we do have more snow, please remember that owners are asked to clear snow from the sidewalk in front of their homes. Also, fallen branches, twigs, leaves, and other debris from back and front yards and driveways should be disposed of using compostable paper bags that are collected with our regular trash pickup on Thursdays (not blown into or dumped on common property, including the streets).

Let us know what you think of this Winter issue of Ripples. If you would like to submit an item for our Spring issue, please email me at ssapp@miami.edu. Photos of life in Lakeport are always welcome as well!

Switching now to my role as Lakeport’s Board President, I want to stress the importance of volunteers for making Lakeport the wonderful place to live that we all know it to be. Many residents give a great deal of their time and energy in many ways, and I (as should we all) want to thank them for all they do (see the “Thanks to Volunteers” article elsewhere in this issue). As the pictures accompanying this column show, Lakeportians have cleared blockages created by snowplows, have helped neighbors by shoveling their driveways, and have made sure they have what they need when snow and ice make it difficult for some folks to get out and about. We just sent a request for volunteers to help remove invasives in Lakeport on March 1, and later this spring we will issue a call for volunteers for the Spring Workday, one of two major annual cleanups, in which there are always tasks that virtually anyone can do (though perhaps not “virtually”!).

Speaking of volunteers, I want to mention several people who are leaving Lakeport who have been especially valuable members of our community. Paul Renard and his wife Mary are moving to Bend, Oregon, to be close to family, and we wish them the best. Paul in particular has contributed to Lakeport in many ways throughout his years here, among others by serving on the Board, as Chair of the Maintenance Committee (doing much of the work himself to save money), and by overseeing the construction of our new dock in the face of many challenges.

Jeanette Malin-Berdel and Joerg Dronia will return to Germany soon because his tour as commander of German military forces in North America has come to an end. Jeanette has served as Secretary of the Board and on the Landscape Committee, has been a regular member of the Book Club, and has faithfully swept goose droppings off the dock, and both have been active in various aspects of life in Lakeport, participating in fall and spring workdays and contributing the wonderful tables and benches for our dock parties. We wish them gute Reise as they return to their homeland!

Finally, I want to repeat several requests:

• When making repairs to your home, be sure to consult Lakeport’s Cluster standards and RA’s Cluster-Property Guidelines before starting any work. 
• Remember that common parking spaces are meant to be shared rather than treated as regular personal spaces. You should routinely use your own garage/carport and driveway for your vehicles and leave common spaces for guests and service vehicles.
• Please do not put out rat poison because it can kill other animals as well, especially predators who eat the poisoned rats and then die. We were saddened to see the body of a dead fox at the edge of the lake behind our home, probably there because it had ingested poison which increased its thirst. Many of us enjoy seeing the foxes in the neighborhood, and they likely do more to control vermin than poison does.  
• Do not remove, add, or modify plants in common areas without the permission of Lakeport’s Landscape Committee.
• As I do every issue, I will urge you once again to set up Direct Debit for your quarterly assessment payments, the next of which is due January 1 (see “Reminders” elsewhere in this issue for how to do this). The main advantage is that you never have to worry about being late and incurring extra fees, but you also save the hassle and expense of mailing a check (or being charged a fee for using a credit card online). I have heard from several people that they don’t like to use automated payments because they want to know exactly how much their bills are, but unlike electricity or water, for example, you already will know exactly how much your quarterly assessment will be, and rates are posted in the online “HOA Fee Payment: Charges for assessment, fees, administrative charges ” in the Residents tab of the Lakeport website (under “HOA Fee Payment”)! So please consider this time- and cost-saving way to pay your assessments (it will also mean Board members don’t have to send reminders to owners who haven’t paid so they don’t get charged a late fee).
• Also please check the Directory and add/update your information if necessary. If former residents are listed, email webmaster@lakeportcluster.org to request their names be removed, If you have renters, ask them to submit the form at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfFILfWGBoWIgWlBPSQmIKj4kIX0kPA7XsRjnsaOsNXuvVSkw/viewform?dods&gxids=7628. 

Landscape Committee

By Mary Sapp, Chair 

Project in Progress  

The Fairfax Invasive Removal Alliance (FIRA), whose mission includes finding ways to help manage invasive plants on private land, contacted us with an offer to send experienced volunteers to provide a free assessment of Lakeport's invasive plants, recommendations for how to manage them, and assistance in removing these plants. Their visit will include primarily clipping invasive vines from trees on Lakeport’s common areas and residents' private property. It will take place on Saturday, March 1, and focus on the wooded areas next to Lakespray, between Lakespray and Lakeport, and behind the fence on Sunrise Valley. If you want to volunteer to work with FIRA and Landscape Committee members on this project, contact msapp@miami.edu. 

Projects Completed 

 In November, Complete Landscaping installed 11 native plants along the RA path leading to the pool from the Sunrise Valley sidewalk (where a black locust was removed last spring). 

Complete also replaced difficult-to-maintain grass along the RA path by the dock with mulch and installed five stone steppers next to the new pollinator garden there to provide a path to the dock for nearby homes. 

In addition, Complete removed invasive Nandina bushes from the entrance and enhanced the soil in preparation for our major 2025 landscaping project, which will be the  installation of new plants to enhance the visual appeal of Lakeport for drivers and pedestrians on Sunrise Valley Drive.

Please remember that owners and residents are not allowed to remove, add, or prune plants in common areas without the permission of Lakeport’s Landscape Committee, and we ask that you consult with us before paying to have branches overhanging your property trimmed/removed.  

Social Committee

A big thank you to Robin Kolko and Marcy Foster, former Co-Chairs of the Social Committee. And thanks to everyone who participates and volunteers to make these events a success! As we look forward to more community gatherings, we seek a new Social Committee Chairperson to help organize events. It’s not a heavy lift and a great way to meet more of your neighbors. If you’re passionate about bringing our neighborhood together and enjoy parties, please consider volunteering for this important role. Interested candidates can reach out to Stephen Sapp at ssapp@miami.edu. 

A casual outdoor Mardi Gras driveway party will be held at 1909 Lakeport Way on Tuesday, March 4, starting at 6:00 p.m. Please feel free to join us. Bring your own chairs, drinks of choice, and a dish to share. If you have any questions, email Diane Zoukis at dzoukis@msn.com.

In December residents celebrated the holidays at Lakeport’s Winter TGIF, hosted by Mary and Stephen Sapp. We had a great turnout and people enjoyed visiting with one another, meeting new people, drinking eggnog, and eating lots of festive dishes!

Maintenance Committee

By Jonathan Hammer, Chair 

We have continued to maintain Lakeport’s common property to a high level, including the following projects:

• Bulbs have been replaced in bollards and streetlights when they burned out.
• The metal railings have been scraped and painted.
• Rotten wood on the fence toward the pool has been replaced.
• Broken concrete on the sidewalk near the community entrance has been repaired.

The remaining items on our community maintenance list are few, and most of these can be handled by volunteers. Please let us know if you are interested in helping with any of the following projects:

• Paint base of southmost mailbox 
• Seal benches on dock
• Repair mortar in stacked stone walls as needed
• Complete some small painting projects that we hope to take care of at the next workday.

As for projects needing professional assistance, we are reviewing a proposal to install five new disconnect boxes (to replace fuses with circuit breakers).

Finally, we are continuing to apply the goose repellant regularly to try to keep the geese away. So far this approach has been quite effective, and we expect the new pollinator garden to help as well because the foliage will obstruct the geese’s view of the lake. We will continue to monitor (and clean up). Thanks to all those who help to remove the droppings; please feel free to lend a hand whenever you see droppings on the dock (there are brooms behind 1939 Lakeport Way).

Neighborhood Watch

By Chuck Foster, Chair

In this edition, we will review long-term trends in crime. The graphs provided below compare crime in Fairfax County with the United States as a whole. The data are presented as the number of reported crimes per 100,000 residents, which is a standard measure. The data source is the Uniform Crime Report (URC), which compiles data from police agencies throughout the country.

The first set of graphs covers “Crimes Against Persons.” These include homicide, aggravated assault, rape, and robbery. 

Observations of Crimes Against Persons

Homicide is a very infrequent offense in the US, and it is even rarer in Fairfax County, at roughly 50% of the national rate. At the national level, aggravated assault is roughly ten times the rate of homicide and shows a steady trend over the six-year period. At the County level, it is about 10% of the national rate. Rape in the County is around 40% of the national level. Robbery shows upward trends both nationally and in the County following the onset of the pandemic.  

Although the charts show data only through 2023, the FBI released additional preliminary data for the first quarter of 2024. Compared with the same period in 2023, violent crime nationally declined by 15.2%, homicide declined by 26.4%, rape declined by 25.7%, robbery declined by 17.8%, and aggravated assault declined by 12.5%.     

The next set of graphs covers “Property Crimes.” This is a broad category, with only Burglary, Motor Vehicle Theft, Larceny-Theft, and Shoplifting provided below   

Observations of Property Crimes

Burglary at the national level shows a somewhat declining trend over recent years. The County data show a consistent trend at roughly 10% of the national level. Motor Vehicle Theft at the national level has risen dramatically and the gap to the County rate has widened. Larceny-Theft shows the County closely tracking the national rate. Shoplifting is the most surprising category. The rate in the County has far surpassed the rate at the national level. Last year, the Chief of Police for Fairfax County stated that “organized retail crime” is one of the most troublesome trends in the County. An organized group of shoplifters can work together to attack a retail store and quickly retreat, leaving major losses for the retailer. 

The FBI’s preliminary data for the first quarter of 2024 show that property crimes nationwide declined 15.1% versus the same period in 2023.                      

Book Club

By Barbara Khan, Coordinator

Want to join some of your neighbors and talk about a good book? Lakeport has an informal book club that is always open to new members. We meet monthly on the third Monday from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., rotating among members’ homes.

So what has the Lakeport Book Club been reading recently?

• Island of Missing Trees, by Elif Shafak
• The New York Trilogy, by Paul Auster
• Wonder, by R.J. Palacio
• In Memoriam, by Alice Winn

If these books interest you and you want to join the Book Club or have questions, contact Barbara Khan at bskhan@att.net. 

Thanks to Our Volunteers

Please be sure to thank your neighbors who volunteer their time and energy to make Lakeport a better place for all of us to live while also saving the HOA considerable money. If you want to volunteer, let the Board or a committee chair know—it’s a great way to meet your neighbors and contribute to your community.

Landscape 

• Mary Sapp (chair), Steven Browning, Marjorie Myers, Don Nagley, Elizabeth Pan, and Rosemary Welch – serving on the Landscape Committee
• Elizabeth Pan – putting mulch on the soaker hose in Triangle Park
• Steven Browning and Marjorie Myers – watering plants on Lakespray Way
• Mary and Stephen Sapp – watering new plants and tree along path to the pool (and Thear Hak – providing water)
• Jonathan Hammer, Don Nagley, and Trudy Stevens – watering pollinator garden (and Joe and Kathy Powers – providing water)
• Social
• We need a new chair of the Social Committee – please consider volunteering 
• Robin Kolko and Marcy Foster – co-chairing the Social Committee last year
• Carol Leos – welcoming new residents

Maintenance

• Jonathan Hammer – chairing the Maintenance Committee 
• Diane Zoukis and Matt Callan – clearing the snow left by plows at the top of Lakeport’s entrance/exit
• Bobby Chan – shoveling the sidewalk up to Sunrise Valley Drive
• Stephen Sapp – repairing the fence between Sunrise Valley and the pool and removing dead animals

Standards

• Jerry Beiter – chairing the Standards Committee

Other 

• Chuck Foster – chairing Neighborhood Watch 
• Barbara Khan – coordinating the Lakeport Book Club 
• Tom Barnett – maintaining Lakeport’s online directory and listserv for announcements and posting Ripples
• Stephen Sapp – editing Ripples

Lakeport Governance/Management

       

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Stephen Sapp - President
Rich Kolko - Vice President

Jerry Beiter - Vice President

Andy Nagley - Secretary 

Tod Vollrath - Treasurer

Contact the board via email:  Board@lakeportcluster.org

What Residents and Board Can Expect

• Board's Goals

• Directors' Task List

• Code of Ethics

• Rights and Responsibilities of Owners and Boards

 

COMMITTEE CHAIRS

Architectural Standards Committee - Jerry Beiter

• Standards Committee Charter

Landscape Committee – Mary Sapp

• Landscape Charter

Maintenance Committee – Jonathan Hammer

• Maintenance Charter

Neighborhood Watch Committee – Chuck Foster

• Neighborhood Watch Charter

Social Committee – TBD

• Social Committee Charter

 

OTHER VOLUNTEERS

Webmaster and Listserv Administrator – Tom Barnett

Editor for Ripples, community newsletter – Stephen Sapp

Book Club Coordinator – Barbara Khan

Fill doggie-bag stations – Kevin Burke and Steven Browning

Keep community dock clean – Jonathan Hammer

SELECT COMMUNITY SERVICES

Portfolio Manager: Alexandra "Ali" Long

Email: along@scs-management.com     

Direct: (703) 230-8725

Fax: (703) 266-2804

PO Box 221350

Chantilly, VA  20153  

Hours: Monday-Thursday 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.mm, Friday 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
Website: https://app.townsq.io/login 

 

RESTON ASSOCIATION 

Danielle Myers

Covenants Advisor

phone: (703) 435-6559

dwilliams@reston.org

https://www.reston.org/

Reminders for Lakeport Owners and Residents

Maintenance of the Exterior of Your Home: If you are contemplating maintenance involving possible changes to the exterior of your home, be sure to check Lakeport Standards, and if a relevant Lakeport standard doesn’t exist, you need to follow the appropriate Reston Association (RA) Guideline. Links to Lakeport and RA architectural requirements, the DRB application, discussion of RA’s counterintuitive party-wall rules, and resources for landscaping and replacement trees (required by RA if you remove a tree) are all available in Section A at https://www.lakeportcluster.org/p/documents.html.

Maintenance Resources: Be sure to review the Home Maintenance Checklist in this issue for smaller maintenance projects that could save you major expenses and headaches in the future. And remember that RA has arranged with Sherwin-Williams for a discount of 30% to 40% off paints and stains (exterior and interior) and 15% off paint supplies at Sherwin-Williams store #3385, located at 495A Elden Street in Herndon (703-471-1484). If you want to take advantage of the discount, the code is 2214-8496-7. Washington Consumer Checkbook is an online publication (www.checkbook.org) that offers a huge user-friendly database of reviews of many types of local service providers, along with high-quality advice about how to approach selecting and working with them.

You Must Replace Any Tree You Remove: If you plan to remove a live tree on your property, you need approval from Reston Association. Furthermore, if you will remove or have recently removed a tree (dead or alive), RA requires that you replace it with another tree, preferably a native. RA has several resources for finding a replacement tree. See https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a1epMYHN4gx8EB7l_K68ewk8bZnXnh1-/view

and https://www.dropbox.com/sh/f4ch21s6x062qsc/AABzwoLgm7q7-HL-WcrWbmCOa/Native%20and%20Invasive%20Species?dl=0&preview=Trees+in+Reston.pdf&subfolder_nav_tracking=1.    

Party Walls: Although sometimes counterintuitive, the RA Deeds make the repair of any architectural element that falls on the property line between two houses (e.g., wall, trim, fence) a joint responsibility. If you aren’t sure whose responsibility it is to pay for the repair or replacement of a shared wall or trim, please see https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxSpjzCTaI6Jd0xnbEZEcEhLT3NiWjRKODNlZDBtTWdRdTBJ/view for information relating to party walls.

Drive Slowly: Neighborhood kids will start to be outside more as the weather gets warmer, playing on sidewalks and in the streets. Please remember to drive slowly and keep your eyes out for children (and other pedestrians).

Improve Lighting in Lakeport: As the days grow longer, it is important to adjust the time your outdoor lights come on. A well-lit community is one of the most basic measures we can take to ensure the safety of our residents and the security of our property. One way to further the goal of safe lighting is for residents to leave their exterior lights on at night, especially those in units with post lights, which according to long-time Lakeport residents used to be standard practice. This is of course voluntary but doing this one small thing would be a gracious contribution to the overall safety and attractiveness of our community.

Lock Your Cars: If you park your car outside, be sure to lock it, and do not leave valuables visible, especially at night. Also remind guests to do the same. 

Report Suspicious Activity: If you see suspicious activity, don’t confront anybody but instead call the Fairfax County Police non-emergency number, 703-691-2131 (use this number also to report vandalism or any other crime that has already occurred). The police request that even if you just have a “gut feeling” something is wrong, please notify them with as many details as possible. It is helpful if you can also take photos unobtrusively. Police will be dispatched (or you may be able to provide a report over the phone). Also notify Lakeport’s Neighborhood Watch coordinator Chuck Foster at chuckfost@aol.com.   Please pay special attention to suspicious activity or sounds near the Lakeport dock, in the woods, or at night.

Visitors: If you have visitors whose car will be parked in common space for more than one night, put a note on the dashboard with your name and address and the dates the vehicle will be parked in Lakeport so the car is not towed.

Glass Recycling: Please remember that glass is not included as part of regular weekly recycling pickup. Therefore do NOT put glass of any kind in your blue bin!

Lakeport residents have two options to recycle our glass:

1. Free glass recycling is available at Fairfax County Purple Bins:

https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/publicworks/recycling-trash/glass  

The closest locations to Lakeport are at Reston South Park & Ride and at Baron Cameron Park (Wiehle & Baron Cameron). 

2. Glass Goat Recycling offers glass recycling with pickup for a fee: 

Bi-Weekly Glass Pickup 

Composting. If you are tired of smelly trash cans and want to reduce the amount of garbage you send to the dump, consider signing up for the compost pickup service offered by Veteran Compost DC–From Combat to Compost, which will turn your food scraps into high-quality compost. The company provides a bin, which has a sealing mechanism that is effective at trapping odors inside and is picked up and replaced once a week with a clean bin (currently early on Thursdays, meaning you can put everything curbside at the same time). The discounted group rate for residents of Lakeport is $28 per month. For more information, see https://veterancompostindc.com/ or call (202) 556-3806.

Help Keep Our Community Clean and Beautiful: Please contribute to the appearance of our community by picking up trash anywhere you see it while you’re out walking and enjoying nature in Lakeport (and elsewhere).

Geese: We continue to experience problems with goose droppings on our dock, though much reduced from earlier. We are paying Complete Landscaping to apply FlightControl, which appears to be effective in deterring (but not harming) the geese that eat the grass next to the dock. Please do not feed the geese (not only does this attract them, it’s not healthy for them), but do feel free to shoo them off the dock (just be sure not to harm them or allow them to attack you—we just want to make their time on our dock unpleasant enough that they will choose to hang out somewhere else!). It would be appreciated if you could help sweep the dock (there are brooms behind 1939 Lakeport Way that you are encouraged to use). 

Never Again Be Late Paying Your Quarterly Assessment: If you’ve been contacted by the Board for not paying your assessment as the end of the month nears (or even if you haven’t), please consider paying your quarterly assessments by direct debit through your bank instead of mailing a check or paying on TownSq (which incurs an extra fee). Using direct debit means that you never have to worry about incurring late fees because you forgot to make the payment ($35 in 2025, plus the $25 administrative charge from SCS for sending the letter). Alternatively, you can pay the entire assessment at the beginning of the year. Either approach means the Board does not have to spend time contacting you or pay SCS for mailing quarterly statements to owners who have not set up direct debit or prepaid. A third option for avoiding late fees (but you’ll still get a quarterly statement, which costs Lakeport money) is to use your bank’s electronic bill-pay option to set up recurring checks. For information about any of these three options and for mailing checks, go to https://www.lakeportcluster.org/p/hoa-fee-payments-lakeport-cluster-hoa.html. 

Update Your Contact Information: Please go to the Lakeport Directory https://drive.google.com/file/d/13Pr6_zpGlgmO2beIns_hqfhg0kzvawwS/view (PW=lakespray) and check the contact information listed there for you. If a correction is needed, either 1) send an email to webmaster@lakeportcluster.org and copy along@scs-management.com or 2) fill out the form at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfFILfWGBoWIgWlBPSQmIKj4kIX0kPA7XsRjnsaOsNXuvVSkw/viewform. If your home has renters, have them to fill out the form so they will be listed in the directory. If the directory lists someone who no longer lives at your address, please ask the webmaster to remove that name. Remember also that if you need to contact a neighbor or just remember someone’s name you have forgotten, you can always check this directory.