By Mary M. Sapp
Spring is a time of renewal and hope after a cold and dark winter, and that is where we are now after our stressful past year. A number of Lakeport residents and owners have received their COVID-19 vaccinations, part of the accelerating rate of vaccination in the country. We are not there yet, but life is slowly starting to come back to normal.
There is also rejuvenation taking place here in Lakeport as several major initiatives are improving the appearance of our community. We are currently midway through improvements to our streets, the second of the two major capital projects identified in our reserve study (the other being the dock, which was completed two-and-a-half years ago). Repairs to concrete areas next to the streets were made earlier this month to improve safety and appearance, and next month Lakeport streets will be repaved and curbs, sidewalks, and speed bumps will be painted. This project will cost much less than the $156,000 owners approved spending on this project. See the article on repaving to learn more, especially how road closings will affect you.
Another enhancement is new landscaping at the entrance, including new shrubs, grasses, and perennials that will offer year-round color. Most of the plants are now in place, and four shrubs plus new plantings in the planter will be added soon. Thanks to major contributions by landscape co-chairs Melanie Clement and Gail Pitches, committee member Heidi Warrington, and other volunteers, we were able to accomplish this while keeping installation costs down and saving money in the long run by not having to pay to replace and water annuals each year.
You’ll also see landscape changes at Triangle Park. Liriope have been planted next to the RA path to mitigate stormwater runoff, and the Kids’ Garden will start to take shape soon, with input from our young “Lakeport Rangers.” We will also continue our multi-year effort to tackle necessary tree work throughout Lakeport, thanks to both professional arborists and volunteers. You can read the Landscape Committee Projects article for more details about all these undertakings.
Note that we will also be resuming home inspections this year after a hiatus due to COVID-19. Although we had originally anticipated having Reston Association (RA) perform the inspections, after meeting with them last week we have instead decided to have SCS, our management company, carry out the inspections of all Lakeport homes and to involve RA only when owners do not resolve violations from the SCS inspection and have not been granted an extension past the deadline. Because the SCS inspection will be happening soon, you should examine the outside of your home yourself ahead of time and make arrangements for any repairs you see that are needed. The article Get Ready for Upcoming Home Inspections has a list of violations SCS will be looking for as well as details about what will happen when RA does their own inspection of a home that has not had its SCS violations resolved. If you know of something that needs to be fixed, now is a good time to have it done. Also, be sure to review Lakeport’s design guidelines before undertaking any replacement or major repair. If you don’t see one of our standards that pertains to what you are doing, you need to check RA’s guidelines because they apply in the absence of a relevant Lakeport standard. Links to both Lakeport’s and RA’s design guidelines can be found at https://www.lakeportcluster.org/p/documents.html (and don’t forget to check there if you plan to have a tree removed—you’ll need to submit a DRB application).
As more and more people in the country get vaccinated, we look forward to having restrictions lifted and being able to resume traditional Lakeport social activities such as TGIFs, our community-wide dock party in the fall, neighbors gathering around fire pits to admire costumes from the Halloween costume parade and hand out candy to trick or treaters, and informal gatherings with neighbors. Perhaps we can even start a new tradition this year.
In the meantime, enjoy spring in our lovely award-winning community.
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