SEMINARY WALK BOARD OF DIRECTORS - June 2015 Meeting Recap

FHA – The Board of Directors decided not to pursue FHA certification at this time because of the potential risk to the community under current rules governing FHA certification for condominium communities contained in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Mortgagee Letter 2012-18, which became effective in 2014. This decision is based on information and advice supplied by Seminary Walk’s Counsel, information available from the Community Associations Institute, and an analysis of Seminary Walk sales over the last several years in comparison to similar condominium communities in the 22314 zip code.

Exterior Lighting Upgrade – The Board approved a proposal to upgrade existing outside lighting
throughout the community to address needs identified in the Community Lighting Survey conducted
with Alexandria Police Department in early spring.

Community Yard Sale and Fall Cleanup Day – A Seminary Walk Community Yard Sale will be
held Saturday, September 12 in the parking lot behind Buildings 105, 203, and 205. Also, the Seminary Walk Grounds Committee will sponsor a Fall Cleanup Day on Saturday, October 17. Detailed information about both events will begin to be posted in late July and August.

New Bike Storage Phase 1 – Acting on a suggestion by a Seminary Walk owner, the Board approved repurposing a portion of the unused Party Room in Building 51 for bike storage for residents  of Phase 1 units. The process of conversion will take several weeks, and information about its availability will be announced when completed.

Parking Issues – The Board has decided not to make any changes in Seminary Walk's parking
regulations at this time. As parking needs in the community have grown over the years with some
residents having multiple vehicles, however, the Board urges all residents to be courteous to your
neighbors by parking only one vehicle per apartment in the parking spaces provided. This includes
spaces on the east side of Skyhill Road that are currently “un-restricted.”

Web-Based Information – If you are not already registered as a user of the Seminary Walk web
site, send an email to seminary@kpamgmt.com and request registration. It’s your best way to stay
current with happenings in the community.

Got Cat Issues? Who Do You Call?

Animal Welfare League of Alexandria!



Website: http://alexandriaanimals.org/trap-neuter-return.html


There are feral cats that like to dine in the 51 Skyhill Rd trash container (people don't know how to close a trash bin door...or purposely keep it open for rats, raccoon, and other critters). There has been sightings of the orange cat with a grey kitten.


Chief of Animal Control: Chief Reese: 703-746-5582
Adoptions Manager (for kittens under a certain age): Joanna 703-746-5508

Intro to Seminary Walk

This is random information for new residents to know about the community.

Websites:

• HOA Payments, Board Meeting Minutes & other documents, & Repair Requests: www.seminarywalk.org (Warning, the website is very disorganized and minimal)
• Informal Community Group: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/seminary_walk/info
• Go to plumbing company: Eddie's Plumbing: http://eddiesplumbingcompany.com/ (they are very reasonable and honest company, and I would personally recommend if you need to do a rough-in for a washer/dryer install)

Who to Email and Hope They are in the Mood To Answer:

• Community Manager: Jeff Miller <JMiller@kpamgmt.com>
• HOA Board: Board@seminarywalk.org
• Community Documents: Sonia English-Johnson <sjohnson@kpamgmt.com>

If you know of any more useful websites, please let me know and I'll add them on!

No Car & Living at Seminary Walk? What are my options?

Moving from DC proper to Old Town Alexandria was a bit of a challenge for me, as my main mode of transport either by foot, bus, or metro. Though now I've owned a car the past year for occasional work purposes, I never needed it living in Crystal City, where I'd roll right out of bed, roll across the street, and hop onto the metro.

The local public transportation options are either from DC WMATA (www.wmata.com) or Alexandria DASH (www.dashbus.com). You can look up on their website for trip planner, or use google maps for more timely information.

While Seminary Walk is still pretty close to the metro, just about a .9 mile (or 15-20min) walk (depending on your speed), here are some options on buses and the schedules you can catch the bus from Duke St or off of Janney's Lane:

Bus Option 1: From King St. Metro, take AT2 westbound bus (towards Lincolnia) for approx 3 stops to Janney's Lane and W. Taylor Run Pkwy and walk down to Skyhill Road.

Bus Option 2: Take AT8 bus westbound (towards Van Dorn Metro) - stop at Duke St. & W. Taylor Run Parkway. Walk up W. Taylor Run Parkway and turn left at Dartmouth Road - turn left at Skyhill Road.

FHA Recertification of Seminary Walk

For Seminary Walk Condo Owners,

One of the issues we need to seriously look into is the the FHA re-certifications; I have noticed that despite the fact many condo owners claimed our condos are 'sellable' due to location, many have been on the market for more than 80+ days now. One of my neighbors is trying to sell their home for more than 80+ days now, ideally for something at the same cost they bought it for or more, and I would imagine limitations with FHA qualified buyers has prevented them from many potential buyers. 

Unfortunately they cannot attend the board meetings due to work schedule conflicts, slightly jaded by the effectiveness of their input to the Board, as with many other condo owners. As the FHA certification will be an issue that affects us all at some point or another, this is a serious matter for the owners and HOA to effectively look into.