2 July 2020

Dear Residents,

The Lorton Valley Board of Directors wants all homeowners and/or residents to know that every effort is being made so residents can enjoy as many of our amenities that is practical during the current pandemic.
This letter, a follow-on to the 21 June 2020 letter announcing the closure of the swimming pool for the 2020 season, serves to notify of the following: The HOA will be opening the Tot Lots and the Basketball Court on Thursday, 2 July 2020 at 12:00 am. But, there are requirements for use. These areas are “Use At Your Own Risk”. Individuals should take all steps to protect themselves against the COVID-19 Virus by following minimum CDC recommendations. These requirements will be posted at each amenity:
+ Stay at least 6 feet from other people.
+ Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash and wash/sanitize your hands.
+ Wear protective face covering (mask).
+ Do not touch your eyes, nose and mouth.
Ensure you have hand sanitizer with you and use it often.
Please refrain from confrontations with others regarding compliance with these requirements. Best to just leave or step outside the play area until the situation has rectified itself. We do not need unnecessary and disrespectful interactions between neighbors. We see enough of that on media!
Let Randy Kline know of any issues.

The use of the Basketball Court has this additional stipulation:
+ Players must stay 10 feet from each other (cannot have close contact with others, which eliminates game play. Basketball shooting only). Play, HORSE, Around the World, Knockout, etc.
Violation of any of the above rules can result in the closing of play areas, especially the BB court, until the end of the pandemic. All areas are under the watch of Signal 88 Security patrol officers and monitored/recorded by CCTV cameras.

Regards,
Randy Kline
Community Manager
Lorton Valley HOA

21 June 2020



Dear Lorton Valley Member:


Like you, we are dealing daily with the many difficult situations presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. In reality, we have never been faced with such a challenging and potentially unsafe situation, and the myriad of remedies we have been following these past 3 plus months. We be-lieve it is even more important than normal that we, as your Board of Directors, make the best decisions about matters affecting our community.

We are very proud of our community and its many amenities including our clubhouse, pool, gym, basketball court and tot lots. As the wellbeing of the community and its residents is of the ut-most importance to the Board, we have made what we consider to be the most difficult decision we’ve ever had to make.

During our first ever online HOA Board of Directors Town Hall Meeting, on Wednesday, 17 June 2020, the Board of Directors presented information available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Fairfax County Department of Health, the Board of Supervi-sors, our attorney, and our insurance company as it related to opening HOA amenities. Follow-ing the presentation the Board voted to follow the lead of Fairfax County (among other local ju-risdictions) and not open the pool for the 2020 season.

This decision was very difficult. The protection of our residents, particularly our kids, as well as the safety of the young adults and teens who staff our pool was our highest priority. Safeguard-ing our association and its members from liability surrounding any COVID-19 problems was also part of the decision. The numerous new mandatory restrictions, rules, protocols, and procedures that we would have needed to adopt and properly implement on a rush basis to comply with all applicable laws and governmental orders were extremely challenging, and, frankly, more than what we could confidently handle with our available resources. Had we decided to open the pool when the Governor announces the start of “Phase II” of his re-open plan, we would have been legally required to: control crowd size, enforce social distancing in and out of the water, retain a special cleaning company to perform high-intensity sanitation and cleaning services, and implement and enforce other new rules designed to promote safety in response to the risks caused by the public health pandemic. These are the “operational difficulties” that the County cited when it decided not to open its public pools. These “operational difficulties” apply equally to us, and we have less resources than the County.

The Board understands that many of you will be disappointed with this decision. We’re disap-pointed, too.

Status of Other Amenities

Tot Lots, Basketball Court, Gym, Tot Lots: Per the Governor’s Executive Order #61, proprietors are required to control access, practice social distancing, clean and disinfect shared use outdoor equipment and facilities after each use and supply hand sanitizer or hand washing stations for our members. The Board has decided that these requirements are not practical, nor reasonably moni-tored or enforced, for our association; therefore, we cannot approve the use of these facilities at this time. These facilities will remain closed until further notice.

The Board will be exploring ways to return these facilities to full operation as soon as practical.


Sincerely,
Board of Directors

Dear Lorton Valley Resident,


Recently the Lorton Valley HOA distributed 2 community-wide email announcing the idea of hosting a community parade intended to celebrate our High School Graduates. Feedback was disappointedly sparse both times!

In light of the low response the Board of Directors has determined that we could not see a way forward in celebrating our graduates with a parade. We continue to solicit photos of graduates to place on our 2020 Graduates Photo Wall, to include college graduates. The Photo Wall will be available on our webpage (See Photo Album link) through the month of August 2020. We wish each and every graduate the very best as they move on to the next phase of their lives! Please respond to the following email address: cgherbert@cox.net.

Thank you!


Clint Herbert, President
Board of Directors
Lorton Valley Homeowners Association