President’s Message
Dear OHECA Members,
In last year’s winter newsletter, I was bemoaning the lack of winter into January. (Full disclosure: I am a snow lover.) What a difference a year makes! The few inches of snow we received in early January was disruptive to work and school schedules, and some may have been disgruntled about how their neighborhood street was plowed and treated. In this newsletter we explain to some degree why the plowing may vary from block to block, and we make an attempt at perhaps mitigating your frustration.
The OHECA 2024 membership drive officially ended on December 31. We review the results. Thank you returning members, and a warm welcome to new members.
Your OHECA volunteers are proud of the several accomplishments made in 2024, and we look forward to more in 2025. We hope these don’t go unnoticed, because your dues support these projects. For example, you may have noticed recent landscaping at our adopted Cherry Run Park plot on Reservation Dr. Read more about it here.
The OHECA annual membership meeting will be in March. Some details are here, but more will be forthcoming.
Also in March, all dues-paying members will receive the 2025 edition of our community directory.
Best Wishes for 2025,
Gary Koblitz
2025 Membership Drive Results
Membership enrollments during the 2025 drive approximated the 2024 trend, the first year we shortened the campaign one month to October through December. If history is an indication, we expect some additional enrollments through the next few months. The number of 2025 household memberships should reach the low 400s, which seems to be a stubborn membership ceiling in the four post-Covid years. This represents about 45 percent of the 927 single family households in Orange Hunt Estates.
Thanks to our membership team, Les and Jody Terry, for their recruiting efforts this fall and to Tom Malejko, who tabulates the incoming membership data for OHECA’s record keeping. These are just a few of the volunteers who keep the machine running.
We will continue efforts throughout the year to promote awareness of OHECA, particularly with new residents. You can help; encourage your neighbors to sign up, and let us know when you have a new neighbor.
Cherry Run Parcel Update
Under the lead of VP Stacy Cheshire, some improvements to OHECA’s adopted Fairfax County Park Authority parcel bordering Reservation Dr were accomplished in early December. The parcel was poorly maintained by the Park Authority in the past. Encroaching bramble growth was removed to expand the plot back a distance, and three park-approved tree species were planted. Two of the planted trees, a dogwood and redbud, will bring color in the spring, and a third tree, a sugar maple, will be ablaze in the fall.
The left aerial photo marks the area where brambles were removed. The right ground-level shot shows the approximate locations toward the back of the parcel of newly planted trees (l. to r., representations of redbud, dogwood, and maple).
In the spring, we plan a community work party to spread free mulch from the Lorton landfill to suppress unwanted regrowth in the cleared area. In the fall we will seed the area to restore lawn that was once there. Other improvements are planned for 2025.
March Annual Membership Meeting
The annual membership meeting will be in late March, with details forthcoming once a library meeting room is secured. The core agenda is (1) the election of a President and Secretary for two-year terms and (2) presentation and approval by membership vote of the 2025 budget.
We welcome anyone from the membership who would like to be a candidate for either of the two offices. Send names to president.oheca@gmail.com. More details on candidates and agenda will be published closer to the meeting.
Treasurer’s Report
Treasurer Don Irvine reports that the association’s bank balance beginning January 1, 2025 was $108,767.349. Deposits for 2024 totaled $21,410.08. The majority of the income was from Membership Dues and Donations, as well as Paid Advertisements for the OHECA Directory. Operating expenses for 2024 were $18,588.42. The three largest expenses were for Lawn Maintenance, Membership Drive costs, and Directory Printing. Additional expenses for community improvement projects to include Tree Replacement, and Landscaping for Cherry Run Park were $9,378.23.
Directory Publication
With 2025 upon us, your OHECA volunteers are readying publication of the new community directory, or so-called “Orange Book.” During the past months and weeks, Patti Alf has been actively soliciting sponsorship ads for the directory. She reports a successful campaign. Patti welcomes your sponsor suggestions at any time for her future followup.
Another OHECA volunteer, Melissa Low, has been compiling directory articles, a variety of reference information, and the advertisements. She will be assembling the layout and design for the directory to prepare for editing and then delivery to the commercial printer. Once that is accomplished in March, Patti Alf’s team will deliver a copy to every dues-paying OHECA household. If you would like to help deliver directories on your street, please contact pattialf@gmail.com.
There is considerable community information in the directory and members are encouraged to keep it handy as a reference. We encourage you to view the sponsors pages and consider patronizing the listed businesses. Tell them, “OHECA sent you.”
VDOT Plowing Policy
The recent snowstorm likely caused some residents to feel dissatisfaction with the plowing of side streets and cul-de-sacs. According to its public releases, VDOT works to clear interstates and most primary routes first (e.g., Fairfax Co. Parkway). Crews also focus on major secondary roads with vital emergency and public facilities or those with high traffic volume (e.g., Old Keene Mill Rd). Low-volume secondary roads and subdivision streets are treated after these higher-priority routes and as additional resources are available.
VDOT contracts plowing and treating of our residential streets to vendors, generally landscaping services using smaller 1-ton pickups to navigate the narrower streets and tighter turning radii in cul-de-sacs. Curbside parked cars further restrict drivers’ maneuverability. These crews work initially to make side streets “passable,” which is defined as:
- An 8- to 10-foot wide path that provides access for emergency vehicles
- Drivable with extreme caution
So why are there some variances in how our streets are plowed and treated? For instance, why was Red Jacket Rd plowed to blacktop within a couple days of the storm, but Elk Dr on the opposite south end of the subdivision was still snow and ice covered five days later?
Can too much salt and sand be applied? Last winter an inordinate amount of sand was applied to Cottontail Ct, Game Lord Dr, and Reservation Dr. It lingered there for weeks until washed into storm drains or swept by a resident. After the recent storm, these same streets seemed to have more salt applied than necessary to melt ice, and it will likewise eventually be washed into eco-sensitive waterways or tracked into your cars and homes. (Last year, OHECA requested that VDOT use a mechanical sweeper to remove the accumulated sand, but that didn’t happen.)
These maintenance differences probably have to do with the skills, judgement, and workload of individual plow drivers assigned to different parts of our community. In their defense, it would seem a difficult task to quickly open our streets, make subsequent passes, and avoid parked cars without blocking driveways and piling snow at intersections. The snow has to go somewhere.
Orange Hunt Estates falls in the zone of responsibility of the Lorton Area HQ in VDOT’s Northern Virginia District. Lorton AHQ assigns vendor trucks a map area within its responsible zone. Orange Hunt Estates is within three different Lorton map areas.
Map Area 02 covers Orange Hunt Estates north of Sydenstricker Rd; Map Area 04 covers south of Sydenstricker Rd to Game Lord Dr; and Map Area 03 includes Game Lord Dr to the Parkway.
If after a reasonable time given to VDOT priorities, you believe your street deserves more attention, contact myVDOT with a weather related request.
Neither VDOT nor the county clears snow and ice from public sidewalks. While not legally obligated, residents should assume this responsibility to help keep sidewalks safe in front of their property for all pedestrians, especially school children and postal workers. Neighbors can help those physically unable or ill-advised to shovel. Some residents may want to contract their sidewalk clearing. For example, the back of the directory lists Junior Entrepreneurs in our community who would love to help earn a few dollars.
Closing thoughts:
- While nine inches of snow is more than we have experienced in years, a major storm depositing a foot or two of snow is possible every decade or so. In those cases, even more residents’ patience, understanding, and neighborly involvement may be necessary.
- Normally in our area after a snowstorm, the sun comes out, the temperature rises, and fast melting occurs. The persistent below normal cold we experienced this time preserved the snowpack longer than usual and promoted ice.
Where’s My Property Line?
You may like to have a plat of your property on file, but you didn’t know how to get one, or you didn’t want to deal with the process. Now it’s been made easier. Digital copies of Fairfax County residential plats and other property documents can be downloaded from the Zoning Property File Application. However, property surveys entered in recent months may not yet be digitized.
A recent addition was made in OHECA’s ongoing efforts to make our community streets safer. At our request months ago, the county installed this sign in December as one enters Reservation Dr from the Parkway and approaches Sangster Elementary School.
Parking Near Crosswalks
Fairfax County/VDOT prohibit cars from being parked within 20 feet of an intersection or designated crosswalk to make it easier for drivers to observe pedestrians readying to cross. Last year, VDOT marked this 20-ft distance with signs at the Huntsman Blvd-Bridle Wood Dr intersection, but it did not alter the curbside parking area pavement striping to be consistent. Also, other major crosswalks on Huntsman Blvd and Sydenstricker Rd have not been addressed the same way. OHECA will be addressing this in 2025.
Months ago, VDOT installed signs like this on each side of Huntsman Blvd approaching Bridle Wood Dr to prohibit curb parking within 20 feet of the intersection and designated crosswalk there. Note, however, that the old pavement marking allowing parking there remains.
This is the crosswalk at Side Saddle Rd approaching from the north on Huntsman Blvd. The cars are parked up to the crosswalk and thus obstructing the ability of a driver to see a pedestrian crossing from the right until they are well off the curb. There is no sign here like at Bridle Wood Dr and the pavement markings would seem to allow parking here. We need to get that changed.
July 4th Parade?
A community parade used to be a popular annual event in the community on the 4th. We collaborated with our neighbors in the Winston Knolls Civic Association on the event. OHECA would support renewal of the parade if someone from the community would be willing to volunteer to form a committee and look into the possibility of organizing the event once again. If you are interested, please contact president.oheca@gmail.com.
