Reminders

Disaster Preparedness: Now that we’re in the midst of Covid-19, it’s more obvious that we need to be prepared for pandemics and other disasters. This might be a good time to check resources at https://www.lakeportcluster.org/p/disaster-preparedness-plan.html. Those who followed the guidelines would have had N-95 masks, vinyl gloves, hand sanitizer, a stock of toilet paper, non-perishable food, and a number of other items that have been in high demand and hard to obtain.

Glass recycling: Glass recycling at the County’s purple box glass recycling locations resumed earlier this week. The closest glass recycling receptacle to Lakeport is at the far end of the Reston South Park and Ride, located just north of the intersection of Lawyers Road and Reston Parkway.

Drive Slowly: Now that spring is here and schools are not in session because of Covid-19, children will be out playing on sidewalks and in the streets. Please remember to drive slowly and keep your eyes out for children (and other pedestrians), especially given that the need to maintain a six-foot separation means that people cannot pass on the sidewalk.

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 springtime in Lakeport. Also, if you notice overflowing trash from the can in Triangle Park or the one at South Lakes Village, please take a photo and forward it to the Board so we can pass it on to Reston Association or South Lakes Village management company.

Dog Waste: If you see a dog walker who fails to pick up the dog’s waste, please remind the person that doggie bags are available at two stations on the RA walking path in Lakeport and another on Lakespray Way.

Geese: We continue to experience problems with goose poop on our dock. Please don’t feed the geese (not only does that 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!).

Regular trash collection: If your trash or recycling is not picked up by 2:00 p.m. on a scheduled collection day, please call ADS at 703-388-0500 (also imprinted on the outside of your trash bin if you forget the number).

Maintenance of the exterior of your home: Spring is a good time to line up contractors to make repairs to the exterior of your home to avoid a violation when annual inspections are done. Also check out the Spring Maintenance Check Up article in this issue for smaller maintenance projects that could save you major expenses and headaches in the future.

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.

Group Projects: If you will be undertaking a major repair (e.g., new roof, new windows, siding replacement with HardiePlank, or resurfacing/sealing your driveway) and would be interested in investigating the possibility of a group rate from a contractor for multiple houses at the same time, let the Board know and we’ll share names of others doing similar work. For instance, two Lakeport owners received a discount for having their roofs done at the same time, and two others had HardiePlank installed at a discount for the same reason. In addition, several owners received a lower rate because they had work done on their driveways at the same time.

You Must Replace Any Tree You Remove. If you recently removed a tree (dead or alive) on your property, remember that RA requires that you replace it with another tree. Reston Association has several resources for finding a replacement tree: See the list of recommended small trees at https://www.reston.org/Parks,RecreationEvents/NatureEnvironmentalResources/EnvironmentalResources/RecommendedTrees/tabid/571/Default.aspx. In addition, you might want to review https://www.reston.org/Portals/3/2018%20PARKSREC/tree%20brcochure%20web%20FINAL%2018.pdf and https://www.reston.org/Parks,RecreationEvents/NatureEnvironmentalResources/NaturalResources/TreesinReston/TreesShrubGuidelines/tabid/569/Default.aspx

Do You Have Carpenter Bees (Lakeport Does!)? If you think you’ve seen lots of large bumblebees buzzing around your deck, chances are they are carpenter bees instead. Although they can be good pollinators of open-faced flowers (they tend to be too big to get down into other blossoms), they also can be very destructive of untreated wood, boring tunnels that can cause structural weakness.
This article from a pest-control company in New England offers some helpful tips to avoid problems with carpenter bees:
https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bigbluebug.com%2Fblog%2Fpost%2Ftips-to-avoid-carpenter-bee-damage&data=02%7C01%7Cssapp%40miami.edu%7C4eef081c19ea431467e508d6ccf4154e%7C2a144b72f23942d48c0e6f0f17c48e33%7C0%7C0%7C636921746032147815&sdata=f6Q%2FlwDl7Sc78yxqov3nXRNOVhTzy31E8L9%2B%2FKa09vk%3D&reserved=0

Improve lighting in Lakeport: 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 lights on at night, especially those in end units with short post lights, which according to long-time Lakeport residents used to be standard practice. This is of course voluntary, but doing this small thing would be a gracious contribution to the overall safety and attractiveness of our community.

Reporting 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 another crime that has already occurred). The police request that even if you just have a “gut feeling” something is wrong, you 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.

Enjoy Time in Nature Frequently: A great way to enjoy nature and to relieve some of the stress we are all feeling right now is to explore Reston's trails. There are many proven benefits for spending time outdoors: better concentration, sharper thinking and creativity, improving mental health, and improving your immune function. Greenery and exercise are known to reduce stress. With 55 miles of asphalt trails and 12 miles of natural surface trails in Reston, there are plenty of opportunities to explore near-by nature. For Reston walking trails, see https://www.reston.org/portals/3/Whats%20New/RSA_Map_2.pdf. For Fairfax County trails, see https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/trails/trail-buddy. Please be sure as much as possible to maintain a six-foot separation from others using the trails.


Never Again Be Late Paying Your Quarterly Assessment: Please consider paying your quarterly assessments by direct debit through your bank instead of sending a check or paying online (which incurs an extra fee). If you decide to switch to automatic debit, it means that you never have to worry about incurring late fees because you forgot to make the payment (currently $25 plus the charge from SCS for sending the letter). Alternatively, you could pay the entire assessment at the beginning of the year ($1380 for 2020). Either way, you save the Board time spent reminding people who haven’t paid shortly before the late fee would be incurred, as well as extra costs to the Association for processing and mailing quarterly statements (last year we paid around $600 to have statements sent to owners who had not prepaid or set up direct debit). You can cancel the arrangement at any time. To take advantage of this convenient way to pay your Lakeport assessment fees, follow the instructions for filling out and mailing the form at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U_9xgrDVzZlOBoUG04XT2vlxmWa99C6q/view.

Questions for the Management Company: If you have a question about quarterly assessments or other questions for Select Community Services (SCS), contact Lakeport’s portfolio manager Ali Long at along@scs-management.com.

Update Your Contact Information: Please go to the Lakeport Directory (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oHeCXhec0Uu0n02cE-i1VrAJbZgw1l_g/view; PW=lakespray) and check the contact information listed there for you. If a correction is needed, either send an email to webmaster@lakeportcluster.org and copy along@scs-management.com or fill out the form at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfFILfWGBoWIgWlBPSQmIKj4kIX0kPA7XsRjnsaOsNXuvVSkw/viewform. If your home has renters, please also ask them to fill out the form to be listed in the directory. Remember also that if you need to contact a neighbor or just forget someone’s name, you can always check this directory.