New Board Members 2012

With the biggest turn out at a Hickory Cluster Annual Meeting since I moved here 14 year ago, two new board members were elected and one motion was voted on.
Note: Board president Fred Swartzendruber did not run for re-election.

Welcome to the board: Blake Travis & John Rowley

A motion was made to limit the number of proxy votes each member could present.  A lively discussion of the current Hickory Cluster voting rules followed.

Final Motion:
"After this meeting, no member may vote more than two proxies."
The motion was voted on (including proxy votes) and passed.

Thank you to Darryl Kramer for his dedication to Hickory Cluster and service on the board these past three years and an enormous debt of gratitude to Fred Swartzendruber for serving the last six years as HC Board president... for his leadership & guidance through the years on such HC projects as the garage reconstruction, replacement of the concrete stairs and railings & the WSSI Stream Restoration proposal process to name a few!

Sara Bradley
Hickory Cluster Secretary

Hickory Cluster Annual Meeting: May 19th, 9-11am

Hickory Cluster Annual Meeting
May 19th, 9-11am @ RCC-Lake Anne 

On the agenda (subject to change) for the meeting will be...

• Stream restoration update
• Block III EIFS and railing maintenance & painting
• Announcement of the HC Landscape Committee formed over the last year
• more...

TWO Hickory Cluster board seats are up for election at the May 19th meeting.

• Darryl Kramer, Block II, Board Member (Darryl is not running for re-election)

• Robert Laird, Block I, retired architect and former board member... more.
• Fred Swartzendruber, Block II & current HC board president
• Blake Travis, Block II, new resident and businessman... more info here 

If any other HC resident is interested in running and would like to have their information posted on the website here, please send your information to me.

PLEASE NOTE
If you can not attend the meeting in person and would like to vote, please fill out the proxy vote that you received in the mail at the end of April and either mail or drop off at TWC (address below) in time for the meeting on the 19th OR give it to a neighbor who's attending & can submit for you OR you can put it in my mail slot at 11517HC. Blank proxy & ballot forms.

TWC
Attn: Hickory Cluster Ballot
397 Herndon Parkway, Suite 100
Herndon, VA 20170

Cluster gratitude to Darry Kramer for his dedicated service on the board!

Hickory Cluster Annual Meeting 2011

Hickory Cluster Annual Meeting
RCC- Lake Anne
May 21st, 2011  9-11am
2011 Annual Meeting Doc
Hickory Cluster president Fred Schwartzendruber gave community updates on....

• LA Canal Dredging: Dredging is complete, water bags will take a week or so to drain and will then be removed. 
• RELAC: Up and running and is expected to get performance benefits from the recent RA canal dredging.
• Stream Restoration: The Forest Edge restoration project is coming to a close.  WSSI is still on target to begin the HC stream restoration next Fall.  Funding has not yet been secured but may be 'bridged' as has been done in other portions of the project throughout Reston. WSSI will present the next phase to the DRB at an upcoming meeting. 
• 11501 Maple Ridge: Renovations have halted and the homeowner is in communication with RA and DRB concerning design issues.  HC is registered as an affected party.

Hickory Cluster board member Madeline Cohen spoke about HC reserves being at a level where we can soon plan needed repairs to Block 3 stucco and rusted metalwork as well as plantings and maintenance for planters throughout the cluster.

Board member Michael Poss spoke about local efforts to gain National Historic Registry Status for Lake Anne Plaza and improvements slated for the Gonzalo Fonseca Underpass (the HC North Shore Drive underpass).
Virginia Department of Historic Resources Form 4/2011

Two board members were up for re-election, Judith Loomis & Madeline Cohen.  Ralph Youngren and Michael Smith announced their interest in running for the seats as well.  Ralph Youngren and Michael Smith were elected to the Hickory Cluster board. 

A very special thank you with infinite gratitude to Judith and Madeline for their great work on the board and off in support of Hickory Cluster and its residents!

Hickory Cluster Proposed Stream Restoration

At Saturday's Hickory Cluster Annual Meeting, Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc. made a presentation specific to our portion of the planned stream restoration project.

The proposed stream restoration will be paid by the Friends of Reston Fund administered by RA and thusly offers many free benefits for HC.

• Stream erosion problem will be corrected.
• Exposed sewer manhole will no longer be exposed.
• Exotic invasive plants in project area will be removed.
• Duck pond will be dredged. (Stream restoration may help restore the pond from a stagnant pool to a healthy ecosystem.)
• A new foot bridge will be built.
• New plantings of all native species will replace vegetation and trees removed. (see presentation pdf below for plant list.)

Hickory Cluster Easements Required
Two special HC easements will be needed for work to start on the restoration project. Both easements require a 60% of total residents "yes" vote.

Trees
On hand at the meeting was a 10 page handout of a draft Hickory Cluster Tree Inventory. Wetland Studies completed their tree inventory over the last few months (silver tags signify trees included in the survey.) Of the 517 trees included in the inventory, the project would require the removal of 114 most of which are sapling-small trees (97). 15 medium trees (18"-29") and two large trees (30"+). Wetlands Studies will replant trees and other vegetation with native species when work is complete.

The HC board will schedule walk-through(s) with Wetlands Studies folks for those interested in seeing what would be restored and which trees would be removed.

PDF of the Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc. 5/22/10 presentation.