DHCA September Board Meeting Notes
Thursday, September 3, 2026 at 7:30 pm (on MS Teams)

Board Member Attendees: Ileana Ciobanu, John Riley, Jared Schwartz, Terri Schwartzbeck, Mark Troppe, Matt Richards, Kevin Mitchell, Shane Morgan, Katherine Sullivan.   Guest Neighbor Attendees: Patricia Kapur

 Cavalier Club Update (Mark Troppe)

• Project has all been approved that included the proposal for the lane change and was still up to review by VA DOT).  VA DOT did NOT like the plan, and they are reviewing it.  The biggest issue was reducing the lanes from 2 to 1, which was DHCA’s biggest concern as well.
• Mark is in contact with Mason District in Fairfax County.
• Public input opportunities have ended. Mason District folks will still be in contact with us for the dates of when it is going to begin.
• Mark will summarize more and send to Ileana for the website announcement.  Note: The summary has been posted on the public website.
• Note: Terri said that Toll Bros was at least a year from approval to construction so it may be a while.

Little Free Art Gallery (Ileana Ciobanu on behalf of Stacey Schwartz)

• Stacey Schwartz was informed that decisions will be made by Sept. 4. As soon as she hears either way, she will let us know. 

Neighborhood Plan (Ileana Ciobanu on behalf of Kristen Gilley)

• The initial draft of the Dominion Hills Neighborhood Plan was sent to Arlington County on July 10.  The County POC then reviewed and gave her comments to us on August 28.  Kristen then responded and sent back a revised draft this week.  The next step is that the Arlington POC will circulate to staff this month, and we hope to have the County Board vote in November/December on our plan.

 4^th of July Event (Ileana Ciobanu)

• A great event, despite the heat and appreciated by members.

September Children’s Clothes/Toys Exchange?

•  If the Board wants to do this, who is running this event?  Shane is checking who wants to run th

Shed Clean-up Day This Fall?

•  Shane: Should the Park Clean Up day include the shed?  John and Shane will work on this and will let everyone know the date.

Halloween Event on Saturday, October 31 (Ileana Ciobanu)

• Police escort confirmed.
•  Firetruck has been requested for kids to enjoy. 
• Signup Genius ready to go:DHCA: Dominion Hills Halloween Party 2026
• New neighborhood business Self-Miraculization LLC has paid the cost of the trophies and prizes, as well as the candy and printing of the newsletter.
• Courtney will get the flyer and the Facebook images set.

Instagram for DHCA (Courtney Desautels)

• In order to increase our neighborhood reach, Courtney would start an Instagram account for DH.  This would be a private account using the DHCA Facebook as the anchor.  We would be able to post the flyers and announcements in Instagram whereas the Facebook group would also be used for general comments by people.
• Board agreed it was doable. Courtney will follow up with Matt and get input from Terri if she runs into issues. 

Park (including trustee updates) (Ileana Ciobanu)

• Our insurance company has confirmed that the trustees are covered under our D&O insurance.
•   We have three past presidents happy to serve as trustees, so we can put up their names for election, along with the names of anyone else who wants to be considered for this position: Eric Sildon, Jeff Coughlin, Laura Bobeczko

Restoring Our 501(c)(4) Status (Ileana Ciobanu)  

•  Tax form to IRS almost done; we encountered some delays and snags requiring additional information that Kevin is collecting, so that the form can be filed as soon as possible this month.
•  Shane has sent questions to Kevin to answer, and then Shane can file the form

Should we raise dues?

• Summary: Discussion of whether to vote to raise dues prospectively when we vote on the bylaws and trustees. Good discussion over the increase of the dues to increase it to $50, which will be voted on by the membership at the November meeting at the same time that votes take place on the updated bylaws and trustees.
• Background.  About 25% of households pay their current dues either by check or on the website (where you can figure out if you are up to date). The majority pay it in December, a lot pay by check. If you are online, then you can see if you are paid up or not. Your payment goes toward the next year that you have yet to pay
• Why is it needed? We need more money to cover our growing costs. Having just a dues increase will help, but having more people pay is also key. Given the increased cost for insurance, park maintenance, number of activities, and the lack of dues increases in at least 6 years, it was agreed to bring to a membership vote in November a proposed increase in the dues.
•   Concerns:
• • Did we have a big pushback last time?  No recollection.
  • General consensus is that the amount of dues is not what keeps people from paying them. There is a hardship clause if people cannot pay.
•    Action:
• •  Agreed that people are just not sure if they paid their dues or not and having a specific renewal reminder period (while always having it open for new neighbors) would be more effective.
  •  In addition, having a specific outreach and campaign helps people remember to pay their dues. People respond more when it is not coming from the regular channels and sent from the website (though there is a possibility for people thinking it is spam).
  • Push for dues to be paid from Halloween through December. If the membership agrees to increase the dues, that will automatically take effect. When people pay Oct.-Dec. this year and they have already paid for 2026, it will go toward the following year. [IC4] Courtney, Matt, Kathy, and Daniel will work to get a campaign started.  However, a personal outreach from Board members to people in their circles would be helpful and effective (if your street has a group chat, for example).

Newsletter (Ileana Ciobanu)

• Timing for delivery: Draft to Board and Hannah Cheney by end of day Friday, September 4 (incorporating decisions from board meeting tonight)
• Finalize and start printing evening of Friday, September 11
• Pickup and delivery to the neighborhood Saturday, September 12-Sunday, September 20
• Printing paid for by Self-Miraculization LLC

Constitution and Bylaws for Vote in Future Meeting (Ileana Ciobanu)

• The Board went through the remaining comments in the draft document, and Ileana took for action making the final edits.  Ileana will circulate to Board the updated draft.  Note: Ileana circulated the updated draft later that evening.
• Ileana will also update the draft newsletter to reflect decisions made at tonight’s meeting, including having the November meeting be a Board plus Neighborhood meeting to vote on the dues, constitution and bylaws, and trustees, so neighbors should join to vote.  Note: Ileana circulated the updated draft letter that evening.
• The Board has until 5 pm on Friday, 9/11 to provide any further edits to the newsletter and the constitution and bylaws.  Ileana will then post the updated clean and redlined versions of the constitution and bylaws on the DHCA website and in the Facebook group.  Ileana will also start printing the newsletter the evening of 9/11, so deliveries can begin that weekend.

Website:

• Matt will do a presentation on the different options for the website (the cost of the current website is high).  This switch will affect people paying through the website, so the projected timeline for a transition would be February or March at the earliest. This will take time and effort. 
• Matt will write up the options and send via email to the Board this fall, so it can be discussed and acted upon at the next appropriate meeting.

Upcoming Board Meetings

• Oct. 1 (prep for Halloween event and November meeting)
• Nov. 5  Board Plus Neighborhood Meeting (general membership vote on constitution and bylaws, trustees, and dues).
•  Dec. 3
• No January meeting