Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! Tomorrow we start a new year. Is there anything you would like to see in Arlington Village in 2010? I for one would like to see the meeting room and office renovated. The Board has been talking about it for awhile and with the new GM I think it is something that should be done. Anyone who has attended a board meeting knows the chairs are extremely uncomfortable, the table is falling apart and the room just looks shabby. The office, from what I saw at the annual meeting, is in great need of an upgrade. A number of the desks look like they are falling apart. I don't know the ins and outs of the condo budget but I feel like we could find the funds to make this happen.

I would like to see seeds distributed to interested residents again this year to help with bare spots. We had some great seeding this fall but I know there are several bare spots in my back courtyard.

I also want AV to continue to update the official website and begin an online version of the Crier.

What would you like to see??

Snow Storm Aftermath

It is hard to believe that all the snow from just over a week ago is practically gone. Are we in for another storm this weekend? I want to give a shout out to the Arlington Village staff for doing a great job of snow removal after one of the biggest snow storm in history. I also noticed several neighbors helping neighbors dig out their cars when the storm passed. My only complaint regarding the snow removal is aimed at the county. I am not sure why they could not plow Barton, Cleveland and other county streets. What is up with that? Columbia Pike was completely clear but yet I slid up and down AV streets for several days.

I have seen a few posts about parking. Some residents would clear out a spot only to leave and have the spot taken by another resident. All is fair I suppose.

Holiday Cheer & Break

This blogger will be taking a break until after the New Year. It has been a good year, in my opinion, for Arlington Village and we have a great deal to look forward to in 2010.

Please consider this an open thread to discuss anything AV related. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate Christmas, Happy Holidays to others and Happy New Year.

Events in Arlington Village This Week

December 14th -- the Holiday Lighting Contest will be judged on Monday, Dec 14, 2009, starting at 7:00 p.m. Arlington Village Residents are encouraged to decorate the front of their units and have the front porch light on. The porch light must be on, but does not have to necessarily be integrated with the decorations.

December 15th - Board of Directors Meeting.

December 16th - the Annual Holiday Party. It’s a good way to see your neighbors and meet new friends. The festivities begin at 7 p.m. and there will be a fabulous spread of food, music, and door prizes until 9 p.m. You are also invited to B.Y.O.B (wine & beer) to share.

The Arlington Village Toys for Tots program is also in full swing, so please drop off a new unwrapped toy at the AV Condo office now until the night of the party on Wednesday, Dec 16th.

Contractors - Open Thread

Who do you use? Who do you recommend? There have been requests from residents to put this out there. Please don't bash contractors unnecessarily, but I agree, it is more helpful to hear from residents who they use for maintenance in the Village than looking it up online or in the Yellow Pages.

I have had great luck with Kolb Electric for electrical work. I also highly recommend talking to the office if you have a question about any work you are doing in your unit. The facilities manager, John, knows more about our units than any other person in the Village. Though I have never used it, I believe you can also ask the office to send a worker over for minor repairs (leaky faucet) and they charge a modest fee for the work.

Holiday Season

Some commenters on this blog believe I must drive around the neighborhood looking for items to comment on each day. Well, I can truly say I do not. Who has time to do that especially during this busy time of the year?

Having said that, I want to point out I have not seen many holiday light displays up so far this year. Are people feeling the stress of the Holidays? Or have people just not had the chance to put the displays up? I guess I am looking for some holiday cheer.

Don't forget - the Arlington Village lighting contest is next week (December 14th) and the Holiday party is December 16th. 'Tis the Season to be jolly. I hope we see some spirit out there this month as we get closer to Christmas day (or whatever holiday you may celebrate this time of the year).

Short Crier This Month

The Crier came out today. Updates:

• The new General Manager starts Monday
• Winterize your Faucets
• Note there is a Board meeting on 12/15
• The Holiday party is 12/16 -- do not forget Toys for Tots

Blogger would like to say good luck to the new General Manager.

Should Arlington Village Move into the Social Media Age?

It is great that we have a new website out there for Villagers. It is not perfect, yet, but it is a good start. What is the next step? I would like to see an Arlington Village page on Facebook and the Board of Directors consider a twitter account.

The Environmental Resource Committee has incorporated twitter into its sight and I can definitely see the value. http://avgreenteam.wordpress.com/

More people each day rely on social networking and other sites to obtain information about our community and related news. My aunt sent me a friend request on Facebook the other day so it is certainly mainstream.

Having these sites out there, I feel, would only add value to our community and we should not be afraid of them. While I have received criticism as a blogger who blogs about Arlington Village, I believe the site has provided value and (some) transparency to a number of important community issues.

Sure, as Arlington Village, we can do nothing and keep the status quo. However, Arlington Village may think they control the message, but they do not. You can not control what is out there and being said on the web/social media/other sites. What we can do is embrace it and lead it.

Thoughts about moving our community forward and into the social media world?