Meeting Calendar

Committee Minutes & Calendar

• January 2009

• March 2009

• April 2009

• May 2009
• June 2009
• July 2009

• August 2009

• September 2009

• October 2009

• November 2009

• January 2010

Please call 911 or

Sheriff's Non-Emergency Number 703-777-1021 if to report any vandalism taking place on Common Areas such as tunnels, parking lots, tot lots, fields or athletic courts.

This committee is open to new volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering, and an Ashburn Farm resident, please contact this committee via email.  The email address shown below should also be used for all comments, questions, etc. to be addressed to this committee.

openspace@afhoa.net

Windmill Pond

Nighttime view of the fountain

in Windmill Pond.

Pet Waste Disposal Systems

Additional Pet Waste Disposal systems (pictured) have already been installed by the Ashburn Farm Maintenance Crew.  These stations were purchased by the Open Space committee. 

The committee has recently purchased more stations for other commonly used areas where dogs are walked. 

Click here to view a list of the locations where these stations are installed for use.

Thank You, Volunteers!

On a cloudy Saturday, April 24th 2010 a crew of 107 volunteers continued the Ashburn Farm "Beautification Day" tradition which began in 2008. First of all, we want to thank the residents of Ashburn Farm that volunteered for this great event. A big thank you to the students that are in the Key Clubs and National Honor Society from Broad Run H.S. and Stone Bridge H.S., to all the kids that volunteered from Cub Scouts pack 1154, the employees that volunteered from the Best Buy store #1022 located in Leesburg, Mr. James Sledge the store manager and employees from CVS Store #2111 located in the Farmwell Hunt Plaza of Ashburn.

We also want to say thank you to all the following people:

* Ashburn Farm Assistant GM, Jeremy Cushman - for providing grippers, gloves and assistance to us.
* Connie Olivera - for writing the article about Beautification Day for the Ashburn Farm newsletter and organizing the event.
* Marc Ripperger - for gathering the refreshments; coordinating with Starbucks, Giant Food, Papa John’s Pizza, and Wal-Mart; setting up the Pavilion; and collecting trash bags left by the volunteers.
* OSC members Mike Kimmel, Steve Lubore, Connie Olivera, and Ed Valaer - for registration, community service forms for the students, handing out the equipment for all and the pavilion clean-up.
* The BOT members who took part in the event - Eric Hornberger, Tammi Marcoullier, Marc Ripperger, Steve Lubore, Tim Hughes, Darrell Miller, and their families who assisted with the cleanup.

Again we want to say a big “Thank You” to all the volunteers that came out and participated in Beautification Day. We are also looking to add some new members to the Open Space Committee, which meets once a month in the evening at the Association building on Windmill Drive. So, please join the Open Space Committee of Ashburn Farm. You can also visit the Ashburn Farm Association’s website at www.ashburnfarmassociation.org and check the community calendar for the Open Space Committee monthly meeting dates.

Thanks again to all,

Ed Valaer
Open Space Committee Chairman

Is Gardening in your Blood?

By Mike Kimmel

Do you like to garden?  Do you have a Green Thumb?  Are you interested in learning more about gardening in Northern Virginia?  The Open Space committee of Ashburn Farm wants to organize an Ashburn Farm Garden Club.  The mission of this club would be to bring people together that like to garden and provide them with the ability to work and meet with others that share this passion.  This would be a great opportunity to meet more of your Ashburn Farm neighbors, learn gardening tips from each other, and enhance the landscape around Ashburn Farm.  Ashburn Farm will provide some common land for the members to use which they can enhance with beautiful plant beds.

The members of this club would meet periodically to discuss gardening techniques and plants that work well in the northern Virginia clay and the Ashburn Farm rock.  Since many folks have transplanted to Ashburn Farm from other areas of the country, this would be a great opportunity to exchange tips of what works well and what doesn’t in this area.  In addition, members could learn about plants not native to the area that Virginia transplants know about. 

If you are interested in joining your neighbors in the pursuit of a beautiful garden, please e-mail the open space team at Openspace@afhoa.net expressing your interest.  If there is enough interest shown, we will organize the initial Garden Club meeting. 

Open Space Committee Charter

The role of this committee is advisory in nature. The committee has the power to advise and make recommendations to the Board of Trustees (BOT) of Ashburn Farm. The Committee will work in conjunction with the Architectural Review Board (ARB) on matters regarding architectural enhancements and improvements to the Ashburn Farm common areas as well as any other impacted committees such as the Budget and Finance. This committee does not have the authority to make decisions, enter into, or approve any contracts on behalf of the Ashburn Farm Association. The Committee shall focus on the requirements, desires, and environmental concerns of the community including any restrictions of the governing documents.

Responsibility

The responsibility of the Open Space Committee is to advise and assist the Board of Trustees by making recommendations for enhancements to the existing common area and to propose solutions to open space and environmental problems and issues identified by staff, homeowners, residents, Board of Trustees or other committees. It is the duty of this committee to encourage and establish programs for volunteer activities, which would provide enjoyment and education to residents and other civic organizations to improve the quality of the Ashburn Farm common areas.

Present the BOT with a list of potential projects for the upcoming year within the constraints of the Annual Budget, Capitol Improvement Fund, and the Reserve Replacement Fund. The Open Space Committee shall work with the Budget & Finance committee to secure funding for common areas approved by the Board of Trustees, and work with Association Staff regarding implementation, management and maintenance of such projects.

The Open Space Committee shall assure that all projects fall within the County requirements as well as Ashburn Farm’s Covenants and Restrictions, ARB guidelines, and any resolutions passed by the Board of Trustees. The Open Space committee can make recommendations to the ARB for any existing ARB guidelines that should be updated, changed or eliminated as needed to improve conditions in common areas.