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The Herald Articles

KPW Melissa Sbrocco wins 2010 “BRADDOCK YOUTH OF THE YEAR”

Congratulations to Melissa A. Sbrocco, daughter of Edward and Cynthia Sbrocco of 10170 Bessmer Lane, for receiving one of John Cook’s Best of Braddock Awards - “2010 Braddock Youth of the Year” for her dedication to volunteering and outstanding community service in the Braddock District as well as outside our country. Melissa is a 2010 graduate of Robinson Secondary School. She served as a volunteer with Eddie’s Club in 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grade, was a Teacher Cadet, Peer Helper, Assistant Coach for Metro 14’s American Volleyball Club and Secretary for Future Educators of America. She was also a member of her Church Youth Group for all four high school years helping to carry out monthly community service projects. She also traveled to the Appalachian Region of Virginia repairing homes for residents, and took two trips to Honduras making physical repairs and bringing children’s supplies to depressed schools.

Melissa held down a retail sales job during 11th and 12th grade and also worked as a life guard at Kings Ridge Swim Club during the summers. She was a leader in athletics, serving as manager for Robinson’s JV Baseball Team in 10th and 11th grade and player and captain of JV and High School Volleyball, Northern VA and Metro American Volleyball.

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The KPWCA FY-2011 Budget

by Tony Vellucci

The next page presents a notional budget for KPWCA’s 2011 fiscal year which commences 1 October 2010. This budget is presented to acquaint you as members with KPWCA’s anticipated revenue and spending. It is pretty much an update of the Fiscal Year 2010 budget updated for anticipated increased costs.

The KPWCA Board of Directors will be meeting 9 August to develop a final budget for presentation at our annual membership meeting. The KPWCA board-approved budget will be published in the next edition of the Herald – due to come out mid-September - so that members are aware of it, as per our bylaws, prior to voting on it at the Annual Meeting of Members scheduled for Wednesday, September 28th, 2010 at Robinson.

We have been dipping into savings for the last four years and have been spending more than our revenue. We are now at a point where our cash reserves are about $18-20,000. To be compliant with commonwealth law, we need to adopt a “pay-as-we-go” approach to ensure that those contributing to the association receive the benefits of the association.

The budget anticipates a member-approved $5.00 increase to our annual membership dues resulting in annual dues of $20.00 per membership. As I have mentioned previously, while costs have increased over the past 25 years, our membership dues have not increased at all, and our membership level has remained relatively constant – about 1100-1200 members. Consequently, we now find ourselves at a point where we need to take some action to increase revenue, reduce spending, continue to dip into savings, or a combination of the above to ensure KPWCA’s continued financial viability.

If anyone has a question about the budget, please send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . I will either respond to you directly, or address a number of similar questions / concerns / issues at one time.

Community Notice – Long Grass Ordinance

Fairfax County ordinance (Code 119-3-1) limits lawn grass length to 12 inches on residential lots less than half an acre. County zoning officials notice properties in violation as they drive around the county, or in response to neighbor complaints. They notify owners by either speaking with them directly, or posting a green Notification of Violation on the property. Owners then have 10 days to comply with the notification. If the owner does not comply and cut the grass within the specified time, the County will contract to cut the grass and will charge the owner for the cost of the cutting and administrative expenses. The violation may also be punishable by a civil penalty. See the Fairfax County website http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/code/ for more information about grass height, and other code requirements.

FCPA Plans For Crooked Creek Park – Community Input Sought

by Tony Vellucci

Recently, Mark Rogers (Area Four Manager of the Fairfax County Parks Authority (FCPA)) contacted me as part of an exploratory effort to determine what the community sentiment might be if the playground equipment at Crooked Creek Park was removed.

FCPA notes that the playground is old and does not meet current playground safety guidelines. Further, repairs to the equipment and upgrades to the surfacing system are problematic due to its age and the unavailability of parts. The playground equipment is targeted for toddlers to four-year-olds.

If removed, the equipment would in all likelihood not be replaced due to cost, the availability of the new Katie Thelin playground at Royal Lake Park off Gainsborough Drive, and the recent installation of new playground equipment at Lakeside Park off of Pommeroy Drive.

Anecdotal input received from some KPW residents to date notes that the location of the playground equipment at the bottom of the steep ravine does not permit safely pushing strollers down or up the hill. Further, removal of the playground equipment would permit safer sledding during the winter.

I am interested in getting community feedback so, please send me your thoughts in an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Kings Park West Community Association

President's Notes

During the June Board of Directors meeting, the following individuals were appointed/re-appointed to executive positions: Joe Meyer, President; Armand Fournier, Vice-President; Jim Messinger, Treasurer; and Virginia Scattergood, Secretary. Larry Velte, Linda Silver Bufano, and Mark Heppner are members-at-large. As always, association members are welcome to attend monthly board meetings. Meetings start at 7:30 at Robinson on the second Wednesday of the month. See the website www.kpwhoa.org for more details as well as copies of recent meeting minutes.

It appears that the construction of the Roberts Road “dam” has been completed. The project coordinator has assured me the county will be back to plant some replacement shrubs and trees. Due to the extreme weather we have been having, they prefer to wait until the fall to do the plantings, since there is no easily accessible water to keep them alive. The end result is an acceptable alternative to the wild brush we had before, but does open up the possibilities of an excellent skateboarding platform, as well as other risky endeavors. We encourage you to keep your kids off these access roads; the incline of the pavement is sufficiently steep to cause serious injury. This is primarily Fairfax County property.

A reminder that the covenants of the Association require homeowners to apply for approval when making modifications to your home. This includes exterior alterations, adding pools, sheds, playhouses, and fences. We need two copies of a drawing of the project, of the plat of your lot indicating where the project will be placed, and of the building permit (if one is required). You will note that the Architectural Review Committee has 30 days to respond. The paperwork can be scanned and emailed to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or mailed to P.O. Box 271, Fairfax, VA 22038.

Best wishes for a continued fun-filled, and safe summer.

Joe Meyer

Welcome

Hello neighbors! Wow! This summer sure is turning out to be a hot one. To all of you who are new to Kings Park West there are so many things to see and do in our wonderful community. The pools are a great way to beat the heat and the trails around the lakes are a cool escape, too. The play grounds are a fantastic place for little ones to run off all that energy we adults wish we had more of! Friday evenings are a good way to relax and meet folks as they enjoy Braddock Nights concerts in the park.

There are ways to be involved in this community, too. If you would be interested in joining our family of volunteers it very easy to do! If you have received a Civic Association Membership Form recently the volunteer info appears at the top of the form. If you see something you are interested in please be sure to mark it down before you mail in the form. If you haven’t joined the Civic Assoc. yet you may still find an area of interest in the front of this edition of the Herald on page two. We will be happy to help you find a way to contribute to this growing community.

To all of our neighbors I hope you enjoy this special time of year!

Lisa Waldrop

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