Message from the President of Lakeport Cluster

By Mary M. Sapp

I hope that all of you are safe and healthy as our community and indeed the entire world struggle to cope with Covid-19. Although our lives have been upended, we are fortunate to be able to shelter in place in a lovely setting with easy access to necessary shopping at South Lakes Village, and the Reston paths allow us to get out to exercise and enjoy fresh air and nature. The beauty of spring helps remind us that at some point in the future we will be able to resume lives that will be different from now even if they will not be exactly the same as they were pre-Covid. Until then I urge you to try to re-capture some of the social interaction that we all need now more than ever by greeting or chatting with neighbors (from a safe distance) when you are out walking or on your decks.

We are grateful to those whose job or volunteer work has helped support the fight against this pandemic. Special thanks also go out to those of you who are supporting your neighbors in various ways: by volunteering to shop for those who need to be most careful about going out, those who offer ways for neighbors to stay healthy, those who have engaged in random acts of kindness (a personal thanks to whoever anonymously left a lovely pink lily plant on my front walkway) or who do something else to brighten the days of others. Please use the “News about Lakeport Residents” topic on the Forum at https://www.townsq.io/ to share updates on how you and your neighbors are doing and to recognize neighbors who are helping out.

Unfortunately, guidelines for dealing with Covid-19 have required us to curtail some activities within Lakeport. Our Annual Easter Egg Hunt was canceled, and we will also be canceling this spring’s TGIF, postponing the dock party originally scheduled for the end of June, and skipping our spring work day. Board meetings are now being held via conference call. The Board also announced that we would grant an extension on quarterly assessment payments—fortunately only one owner has taken us up on the offer. However, despite Covid, the Lakeport Board has continued to conduct Lakeport business. Here are some of the projects undertaken in the last few months:

• After reviewing proposals, we engaged Miller-Dodson to update Lakeport’s Reserve Study. The reserve analyst has already received requested documents and other background information, conducted a site visit, and submitted a draft of the Reserve Study. The Board reviewed the report and sent questions and requested changes, with an updated version expected soon. 
• A new standard for garage doors was submitted and approved by RA’s Design Review Board (DRB). The color requirement was changed to allow a close match to the home’s trim color for doors with factory-installed finishes (previously an exact match to the trim color was required). This approval brings the number of Standards that the DRB has approved (out of Lakeport’s ten Standards documents) to eight in the last two years. I want to thank Kelly Driscoll for his hard (and continuous!) efforts to help make it easier for owners to repair the outside of their homes. 
• We verified with RA that their inspection is still planned for next fall and received the maintenance checklist they will use. Note that RA will also check for violations of Lakeport and RA standards, which is one reason why we’re happy to be done updating the Lakeport standards. See the article entitled “RA Inspections Next Fall” for more details.
• Gail Pitches and Melanie Clement, Landscape Committee co-chairs, have been working with Blade Runners to ensure landscaping on our common property is maintained. The two of them and Blade Runners walked the community independently and then met together (from a safe distance) to discuss maintenance, trees, and potential enhancement projects. We’ve already received a preliminary proposal for tree work and expect to receive proposals for landscape enhancements soon. 
• At the end of last year, we received word that the County would reimburse us for 70% of the cost of a rain garden and conservation landscape to mitigate storm water damage on common property between Lakespray and Lakeport. That project will be started soon. 
• A burned-out lamp in the streetlight behind 1944 Lakeport Way was replaced by J&J Electrical Works, who also voluntarily checked the ballasts of our other seven lights.
• Board member Barbara Khan has been reviewing and editing Lakeport’s Handbook. The new Handbook will be posted soon and an email sent to the community to explain substantive changes made.

I’d like to close by welcoming some of our newest residents: Melanie Clement and Bill Birkas at 1907 Lakeport Way, Jeff and Heidi Warrington at 1913 Lakeport Way, Richard Shelton at 1942 Lakeport Way, and Dawn Fraioli at 11112 Lakespray Way. And I’m especially happy to share the news that we have two other recent additions to the Lakeport family. A baby girl was born this past weekend to Heidi and Kelly Driscoll, and  Kristen and Kevin Dandy also now have a new baby daughter. Both mothers and daughters are doing well. Their email addresses are in the Lakeport Directory if you want to send congratulations. 

I look forward to the time when we can gather again in person as a community!