Verizon Fios license agreement

Zalco property manager Dennis Freeman sent me a copy of the Westmoreland Terrace Condos' license agreement with Verizon for the installation of fiber optic network facilities. Some important lines from the license:

The Association has the authority to grant and does hereby grant to Verizon during the term hereof the non-exclusive right and license to construct, install, operate and maintain its facilities at the Buildings and to deliver its services to the residents of the Buildings. ...Licensor understands that Verizon’s obligation to furnish service to occupants in the Buildings is contingent upon Licensor allowing Verizon to maintain its fiber optic network facilities on the property and in the Buildings. However, at any time after the fifth anniversary of the date of this Agreement, Licensor may, upon 120 days’ prior written notice to Verizon, terminate this Agreement.

I don't see any competitive risk with this contract. In particular, if Arlington County or some other entity wants to connect Westmoreland Terrace to an alternate fiber network, Westmoreland appears to have retained the right to allow them to do so. Prospects for alternate fiber networks don't look good right now. But in any case, I'm happy that Westmoreland hasn't legally locked itself into a single fiber-optic network provider.

Arlington Artists Alliance's summer show

The Arlington Artists Alliance's summer show, "Dog Days of Summer @ Century 21" runs August 1-31 at the Century 21 Gallery, 1711 Wilson Blvd, Arlington. The opening reception is Friday, August 1, 6-9pm. Both 2-dimensional works (paintings, drawings) and 3-dimensional works (pottery and glass works) will be shown at the opening reception. For the rest of the show, only the 2-dimensional works will be on display.

The opening reception of the Arlington Artists Alliance's show earlier this year displayed some beautiful works and attracted a large crowd.

Update: Opening reception

Karen Tarlton's "Fragrant Flowers" caught my eye immediately when I entered the gallery. Must have done the same for someone else, because the painting had sold by 8 pm. Two of Linda Donaldson's works, "Metropolitan Museum: Brief Encounter" and "National Gallery: Joe & Friend," showed an old man looking at figurative art that featured beautiful women. Reminded me of how I sometimes feel riding my bike through Georgetown. My favorite work in the show was Linda Maldonado's "Heaven's Gate." It moved from a gate into a circle of text in an abstract piece that seemed to me to be a modern transformation of Byzantine art.

notes from condo board meeting, 7/28/08

Westmoreland Board members Jose Calvo, Jennifer Hastings, and Emil Tabakov, Zalco property manager Dennis Freeman, friendly, community-spirited resident Joy B., and your humble hyperlocal resident-reporter present (where were the rest of you?) Here are some unofficial notes I recorded. I'll post the official meeting minutes to the Westmoreland Terrace Condo email list when I receive them.

Six items presented at the meeting:
1. Fidelity bond responses needed from Board members for State Farm master insurance policy. I didn't understand what this item was about, but it didn't seem important.

2. Verizon Fios contract approved by 3-0 vote. Before the vote to approve, I followed up with my question dating back to the October, 2007 Board meeting. Specifically, I asked Dennis whether the contract included any exclusive clauses. He didn't answer that question, but offered to email me a copy of the contract. I look forward to studying the contract. Some Board members said that they had looked at the contract, and while not having legal expertise on the matter, they didn't see any exclusive clauses. It's not clear when Fios will be installed at Westmoreland.

3. The Board signed off on two payments. One, to Culberson, was for $44,641.62 as the first payment on the facade work being done to building 1301. There will be a second payment and then a release payment. The other payment was $15,905.18 to Structura for structural engineering work at Westmoreland.

The Culberson bill does not include the cost of repairing the canopy between 1307 and 1309. Initially the cost estimate for the canopy repair was about $53,000. But the relatively new roof of the canopy was not properly installed and led to significant structural damage to the canopy. The cost of the canopy repair is now estimated about $70,000.

Roof conditions appear to be better than originally thought. The drain spouts added to 1336 are working well. It now appears that the schedule for roof repairs can be drawn out over a longer period.

The current stage of building repairs should be finished in 30 days.

4. The Board consider the rising cost of the door-entrance phones. Residence who have the door entrance box calling their long-distance mobile phone numbers are increasing the cost of the door-phone boxes. Normal charges of $20/per month/per building (for 10 buildings) are increasing by an additional $3-4 per month up to $16 per month from increased calling charges. The Board resolved to notify residents of this issue by mail and posted notice.

5. The Board approved audit language related to excess assessment income at year-end. This apparently is a regular, tax-related technical exercise.

6. The Board discussed the difficulties with a resident who has removed an internal wall in the resident's unit. This is not permitted by condo rules, and the resident is required to replace the wall. If the resident does not replace the wall, the condo association will replace the wall and charge the cost to the resident's assessment. The Board discussed how much additional time the resident should be given to make the required repair.

The next regularly scheduled meeting is the fourth Monday of next month, 7pm, in the condo office.

new apartment construction

Construction in the lot surrounding the Fort Myer Market will produce a new, 4-floor apartment building at 1221 N. Pierce St. Previously Centex had planned a project called Scene Condominiums for this site. That project, however, was shelved because of the market downturn. Gables Residential bought the land from Centex. The new Gables Residential building will have 92 units of one and two bedroom rental apartments. Across the street at 1200 N. Queen St. will be another Gables Residential apartment building with 40 units of one and two bedroom rental apartments. Both buildings will have brick facades. The buildings are projected to to be open for rentals in Fall, 2009.

art atrium at Bennett Park Apartments

Bennett Park Apartments at 1601 Clarendon Blvd. has an art atrium open to the public. It currently includes Foon Sham's Writ I, Aya, and cloud-like pieces by Kendall Buster, similar to her Parabiosis series. These pieces and the incidentals of the space create an intriguing, other-worldly scene.

Future exhibitions in this space have not yet been scheduled.

get a free smoke detector

Captain Rick Genest of Fire Station 10 in Rosslyn emphasized in his talk at the April RAFOM meeting the importance of smoke detectors. Now I've gotten word from RAFOM President Stan Karson that Captain Genest is offering free 10-year lithium-battery smoke detectors to neighborhood residents. The Fire Department will even install the smoke detector for you.

To request a smoke detector, call Arlington County Fire Department, Station 10, at 703-228-0110, or email Captain Genest at Rgenes2 at arlingtonva.us

The goal is to have a smoke detector in every bedroom and at least one on each floor in every dwelling in the neighborhood. Potentially save your life, your neighbor's life, and a lot of property -- all for free. Get a smoke detector right away!

Update: I got one for my bedroom.

mosaics at TaBois-Bonhomme Galerie

Anne Schroeder has an exhibition of her mosaic art on display at the TaBois-Bonhomme Galerie in McLean. She draws inspiration from the colors and scenery of her childhood home on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. At her exhibition opening, she gave a demonstration of the intricate work of forming each piece of glass that she uses to make a mosaic. It's an unusual show at a new, intimate gallery. Well worth seeing.

new benches at Ft. Myer Heights park

Two new park benches have been installed at Ft. Myer Heights park. One, which is wheelchair-accessible, I hope to be able to use a half-century from now. Steve Campbell put together the proposal for these and other park improvements. A big thanks to Steve for his contribution to the neighborhood.

go green for dinner

Chop't Salad has opened a shop at 1735 North Lynn Street, about a ten-minute walk from Westmoreland Terrace Condos. It's got good-for-you greens, fast, friendly service, and reasonable prices for large servings of salad. I personally saw the manager order a new salad made for a customer who didn't get exactly what she wanted. And as a customer, you've got a huge assortment of ingredients to choose from to make your custom salad. My favorite: arugula with beets, broccoli, red onions, radishes, and angus steak, with exotic carrot ginger dressing. Yum, yum! Highly recommended. Hours: M-F, 10:30am - 9 pm, Sat. 11am - 6 pm, closed Sunday. Tel: 703-875-2888. They do take-out and catering; menu here.