Announcements

Next Board Meeting

There will be no Board meeting in November. The next meeting of the Watergate of Alexandria Board of Directors will take place on Wednesday, December 10, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. at the offices of ProCam, located at 1422 Portner Road, Suite 5, Alexandria, Virginia 22314. The main entrance to the building is located on Powhattan Street where it intersects with Slaters Lane. ProCam's offices are located on the upper terrace level. All interested homeowners are welcome and encouraged to attend. This will be the last Board Meeting for 2008.

October 2008 Board Meeting

Our last meeting was held on October 23, 2008. Jim Blum, our new Treasurer, summarized our finances, and the Board adjusted its investment strategy for the next year. Work recently started on our Phase II reserve study, and steady progress continues on various grounds and infrastructure projects. Exterior repainting may start before the end of the year.

Laura DeWitt Resigns From Board, Kathryn Cross Replaces Her

Laura DeWitt announced at the October Board Meeting that, due to increased professional and personal commitments, she would no longer be able to serve on the Board. At the Board's request, Kathryn Cross agreed to serve out the remainder of Laura's term, which expires in Septemer 2009. The Board would like to thank Laura for her service to our community, including several years as President of the Association. We also thank Kathryn for agreeing to serve as a member-at-large on the Board.

Halloween Party

Watergate is hosting a community trick-or-treat for our youngest residents from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Friday, October 31, 2008, to be followed by a cocktail party at the fishpond for our older residents starting at 6:30 p.m. Consistent with past practice, we'll provide the drinks, and ask that party-goers bring munchies and laughter to share.

New Webmaster

Brian Lam has returned as Watergate's webmaster effective October 1st. The Association wishes to thank Dan Sionov for all his contributions over the past year. If you are interested in contributing an article, story, column or other piece for the website, please send an email to Brian.

Patio and Balcony Screens

On May 23, 2007, the Board of Directors of the Watergate of Alexandria Homeowners' Association adopted a policy resolution prohibiting homeowners and residents from erecting bamboo fencing or screening on any patio or balcony, other than the few fences that had been "grandfathered" by prior Boards. Click here to see the entire Policy Resolution.

Please remember that patios are a limited common element and are subject to covenant guidelines and other restrictions. Click here for a copy of the Covenant Review Form and Instructions (PDF).

Watergate Electric Power Supply

You should be aware of the power supply that we have here at Watergate. This information will be important for residents when purchasing electrical appliances such as water heaters, heat pumps, washers, dryers and kitchen appliances.

Watergate has commercial type transformers (three) that provide 120-208V. This is slightly less then those seen in residential transformers (208-240V). These transformers were installed at the time of construction, and may very well have been chosen by the developer because each transformer serves multiple customers and can be located below ground.

In addition, units served by a specific transformer are all located on the same panel. Had residential transformers been utilized instead, there would have been many more of them (approximately 20), and all of them would be placed above ground. Changing over to residential transformers (to supply up to 240V) is not really a structural or financial option for the community.

Please keep the voltage range 120-208V in mind when making future appliance purchases, as there are some that are designed to operate on these lower voltages.

In the event that owners wish to "step up" their power to 120-240V, then a "dry cell transformer" can be installed into that unit at the owner’s expense. Any questions can be directed to a member of the Board.