"It's not enough that we do our best;
sometimes we have to do what's required."
by Sir Winston Churchill

There is great deal of information being distributed in February that is directly linked to the March 24th Annual Meeting.  The Annual Meeting will start at 9:00am at the Montclair Country Club.  The central theme of this meeting involves a number of issues; a vote on the Fiscal Year 2008 Budget with a proposed $36.00 annual assessment increase, the election of three new Board members, and a referendum seeking input on changes to the Community Guidelines allowing the display of political signs on private property.

Balloting Information coming in the Mail: In mid-February homeowners that are eligible to vote will be receiving a voting package in the U.S. mail that will contain all of the information you need to cast your votes.  This year a variety of options for casting your votes are being made available.  These options include: return of the voting material through the U.S. mail, voting in person, via fax, or, a new option that we hope improves voter turnout, the Internet.  This is a very important envelope that you must not throw away.  It will contain information that is linked directly to your individual ability to vote.  If you misplace this information there will still be options available to you to vote prior to the annual meeting but one of the easiest options, the opportunity to vote via the Internet, will not be available.  Under the contract for this service we only have a small number of "no-cost" Internet "reissue" opportunities available to us.  To achieve quorum at the annual meeting our governing documents require 25% of the eligible voting pool to cast a vote on the budget.  

I want to make a request of all of the residents who are eligible to vote.  First and foremost, please vote. Second, when you cast that vote, I strongly encourage you to vote in favor of the Budget and its associated annual assessment increase of $36.00.  If the budget passes the new annual assessment will become $493.00.

Candidate's Night: On Wednesday, February 21st at 7:30pm the Election Committee will host the traditional Candidate's Night at the MPOA Building.  This will give members of the community an opportunity to hear from the three candidates that have submitted their names for the three At-Large Board positions. The three candidates running for the Board are: Timothy Jack, Catherine Kudrick, and Geoffrey Winkworth.  I thank each of them in advance for stepping forward to help manage the community.  I encourage all residents to consider attending this event.  The evening is intended to provide the candidates an opportunity to express their ideas on their contributions to managing our community.

Townhall Meeting: On Thursday, February 22^nd at 7:30pm at the MPOA building there will be a town hall meeting focused on explaining the FY2008 Budget.  I strongly encourage members of the community that want to understand the background behind the assessment increase to attend this meeting.  The meeting will include a short power point presentation followed by a question and answer period. 

Accessing Information via the Internet:  I encourage all residents to take advantage of the updated community website located at www.montclairva.com.  In addition to downloading community documents such as the draft FY2008 Budget, residents can also find links to ArmstrongConnect and the Internet voting.  Prior to the actual voting date, there will be an interactive "test" site operating so that residents have an opportunity to see the voting process that will be used for the Annual Meeting.  Again, please do not throw away the voting packet that you will be receiving in the mail in February.

Security Patrol: On January 9, 2007, the MPOA Board placed on contract a professional security services company, Eagle Protection Services. Inc. of Manassas, Virginia.  For the next four months two uniformed Eagle security officers will be on duty seven days a week during an 8 hour period starting in the late afternoon.  These officers will be making random tours of the entire community and available to receive and respond to calls to the 703-878-SAFE phone number.  During off-duty hours, a call to 703-878-SAFE number will direct you to leave a voice mail message for staff to follow-up on.  In addition to conducting roving tours, the officers are available to perform house checks (pre-arranged only, please contact the Management Staff for details on having this service arranged).  This four-month service is being offered as a demonstration of the proposed service in the FY2008 Budget.  Residents are reminded that ANY and ALL emergency situations should be directed to 911.

If you wish to add comment or provide me with input please feel free to send an e-mail to: Dtaggart@montclairva.com or Dougtag@aol.com.