The Villages at Belvoir November 2016 Community Connections CONTACT US COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT OFFICES Office Hours Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Dogue Creek 703.781.0020 Janet Mooneyhan, Community Manager Serving residents of Dogue Creek Village Fairfax 703.781.4833 Duke Ainsworth, Community Manager Serving residents of Belvoir, Cedar Grove, Fairfax, Gerber, Jadwin Loop, Rossell, and Park Villages George Washington 703.781.0596 Jakeina Price. Community Manager Serving residents of George Washington and River Villages Lewis 703.781.5901 Sasha Majano, Assistant Community Manager Serving residents of Lewis Village Vernondale 703.781.7280 Suubi Barlow, Community Manager Serving residents of Colyer, Herryford, and Vernondale Villages Woodlawn 703.781.0566 Carmen Adams, Community Manager Serving residents of Woodlawn Village MAINTENANCE 703.619.3880 24-Hour Maintenance FAMILY HOUSING WELCOME CENTER 703.619.3877 Office Hours Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. BE PREPARED Winter FOR WHEN weather ARRIVES Winter inspires both joy and woe. Some people cannot wait for the cooler weather, snow, skiing and ice skating, curling up by a fire and the holiday spirit. Other people dislike the frigid temperatures, snow and ice that are often part of the season. Nevertheless and regardless of whether winter is among any of our favorite seasons, it will officially arrive on December 21 and The Villages at Belvoir team wants all residents to know that we are ready to tackle any winter weather that may come our way! For your reference so that you, too, may be prepared to tackle any winter weather, following is our Inclement Weather Policy as it pertains to snow. In general, our snow plan calls for plowing of all roadways once 2 of snow has accumulated. The plow trucks will start working on clearing roadways bumper-to-bumper and curb-tocurb. Once the roadways have been cleared enough to allow for the safe passage of two vehicles, or cleared to their widest point, the plow trucks will spend more time on clearing parking spaces, dead ends, driveway entrances, and alleyways that are not obstructed by vehicles. Continued on next page
Page 2 GO GREEN FOR FREE! Wash in cold water and save up to $40 in hot water costs a year. Clean the lint screen in your dryer after every load to improve your dryer s air circulation and speed up drying time Your energy usage will drop. Dust the coils behind your refrigerator. If they are grimy, they won t transfer heat effectively and will use more energy. Unplug electronics when not in use, to stop phantom energy draw. BE PREPARED FOR WINTER WEATHER (continued) When plowing and clearing is required due to accumulation as previously noted, so that it may be performed safely and effectively, we ask that all residents: Park all vehicles in your garage, driveway, or designated parking space Move any vehicles you may have parked on any roadway, dead end, or alleyway to your garage, driveway, or designated parking spot Not shovel your vehicle and/or parking spaces out until contractor has cleaned the roadways curb-to-curb or bumper-to-bumper. This will help you from having to duplicate your shoveling efforts. If you live in a Village with no garages or driveways and you need to utilize parking spaces or roadways, everyone is asked to please park on the same side of roadway when possible. It would be helpful upon returning home if you moved your vehicles into areas that have already been cleared by the contractor. Doing so will help speed up the plowing process within the community by allowing the snow contractor access to all paved areas. Do not park in front of areas the contractor is using to pile snow. Please do not stop the contractor and request that they plow your individual space, as this will surely slow the process down. Make every effort not to shovel out cars and walks and place the snow back in roadways. This will prolong the cleanup process immensely. Instead, place shoveled snow in lawn areas and islands where possible. Please instruct children on the danger of playing in or around roadways especially during these types of events. Having them play in common grounds and back yards away from roadways is the safest approach. Depending on the amount of accumulation, shoveling of sidewalks by our team normally starts when snow accumulations have ended. Crews will work their way through the community clearing common sidewalks only (not sidewalks that lead from common sidewalks to front doors). The sidewalk crews will treat all areas they have cleared with calcium or potassium chloride. Please remember that as outlined in your Resident Responsibility Guide, that you are responsible for removing snow from the sidewalk that leads from your front door to the common area sidewalk as well as from your driveway/parking pad. To assist you with your efforts, a limited supply of sand and/or ice melt and loaner snow shovels will be available at the Self Help Center should you want to use the items. Interested residents may pick the items up at the Self Help Center during regular business hours when inclement weather happens. If your family has special needs and you require assistance with the snow removal process, please contact your Community Management Office before bad weather hits to discuss your request. Additionally, and as always, please remember that should you experience a maintenance emergency or power outage at any time, including when inclement weather occurs, please call our 24-hour emergency maintenance line at 703.619.3880 to report the emergency or outage. We also want to remind residents who have a Facebook account to Like The Villages at Belvoir on Facebook as we often use our page to provide updates on information important to residents, including when bad weather moves into the area. Simply search for The Villages at Belvoir and Like us to keep updated on news and events.
Page 3 Maintenance AND Safety Corner AVOIDING SERIOUS WATER DAMAGE AT YOUR HOME Hose Bib Winterization To prevent damage to your home and belongings, all residents are asked to drain your outside hose bibs during the winter months. Not draining the hose bibs means you run the risk of water freezing in the pipes inside your walls. When the exterior hose bibs are turned on, they attempt to push water through and past any frozen sections, leading to an inevitable breaking of the pipes and flooding inside your walls. Unfortunately, it seems as if each spring burst pipes and the ensuing repairs inconvenience several Fort Belvoir families. If you do not expect to use the exterior faucets during the winter months, we advise that you drain the hose bibs and shut off the water line from inside your home. For most homes, the valve is located in the furnace closet. To turn the main water line off, pull the red valve down to the horizontal position. If you should ever experience a MAINTENANCE EMERGENCY at your home, please call our 24-hour Maintenance Line 703.619.3880 If you expect to use your exterior faucets during the winter months (even if we experience a spell of warm weather), make certain that you drain the hose bib of any excess water after each use. THE HOSE BIB MUST BE DRAINED AND THE HOSE DISCONNECTED AFTER EACH USE during cold weather or pipes may freeze and burst causing flooding of the home. To prevent your pipes from storing and subsequently freezing excess water, your hose bibs have been equipped with anti-siphon devices. Using these siphon devices, after disconnecting the hose and shutting off the water, push the siphon ring up. This permits hydrant line to drain free of water. Valves should be left in this position during cold temperatures. Winterizing your hose bibs throughout the cold weather months helps to ensure that your family will not have to bother with burst pipes and potential water damage during periods of warmer weather or in the spring, and we thank you for your attention to this important home maintenance issue. Siphon Ring IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE TURNING OFF YOUR HOSE BIBS OR WITH IDENTIFYING WHERE YOUR MAIN WATER LINE SHUT OFF IS LOCATED, PLEASE CALL THE 24-HOUR MAINTENANCE LINE 703.619.3880
Page 4 A Look Back at a Few Recent Fun-Filled Resident Events There is Always Something Great Happening at The Villages at Belvoir! - HALLOWEENIE ROAST- Hosted at All Centers
Page 5 A Look Back at a Few Recent Fun-Filled Resident Events There is Always Something Great Happening at The Villages at Belvoir! - FALL FESTIVAL- Hosted at Woodlawn Village
Page 6 FREE NOVEMBER RESIDENT EVENTS Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 6 DON T FORGET TO TURN YOUR CLOCKS BACK 1 HOUR! 7 CRAFTERNOON at Lewis Center from 2 to 4 p.m. YOUTH FINANCE CLASS at Vernondale Center, RSVP Required 1 2 NOW ACCEPTING ENTRIES FOR THE DECEMBER BIRTHDAY BONANZA CLUB! Stop by your Community Management Office to enter! 8 ELECTION DAY 9 THANKSGIVING ARTS AND CRAFTS hosted at the Woodlawn Center from 3 to 5 p.m. 13 14 15 16 TOP CHEF COOK OFF hosted at the George Washington Center WATCH FOR DETAILS! 3 4 FIRST FRIDAY BREAKFAST hosted at all Community Management Offices 10 11 VETERANS DAY OFFICES CLOSED 17 COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS TREE DECORATING hosted at the Woodlawn Center WATCH FOR DETAILS! 5 12 18 19 COCOA AND COLORING hosted at the Fairfax Center from 2 to 3 p.m. 20 21 22 23 24 THANKSGIVING DAY OFFICES CLOSED 25 OFFICES CLOSED 26 27 28 29 30 MORE EVENTS TO COME PLEASE WATCH FOR EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE FOLLOWED BY A ONE CALL NOW EMAIL MESSAGE WITH EVENT DETAILS FOR THE MANY FREE RESIDENT EVENTS WE HOST EACH MONTH!