Housing Resident Portal

Q. What is the Mayor Program?

A.   The Fort Belvoir Mayor Program is the Garrison Commander’s program, which was initiated as part of the Army's ongoing efforts to improve military housing. The mission of the program is to enhance the Quality of Life for Fort Belvoir residents, increase unit chain of command involvement and visibility, improve communication between the Garrison leadership and Residents, and develop a sense of community within each of the 15 villages of Fort Belvoir.

Q. Where can I find the contact information for all of the Mayors?

A.  The name and email for each of the 15 Mayors is located on the 'Housing Portal' under the "Mayor Program" Tab. You can also contact your mayor via their official Facebook group here.

Q. Do Mayors and Deputy Mayors get compensated?

A. No. Mayors and Deputy Mayors are volunteer positions that are registered through the ACS Volunteer Corp program. 

Q. Does the Mayor Program replace the Levels of Escalation?

A. No, the Mayor Program or the Ombudsman does not replace the Levels of Escalation. Residents still have the option to use the chain of command outlined in the Levels of Escalation to resolve their housing concerns or they can use their Mayor and Ombudsman to advocate on their behalf.

Q. Will the Mayors get the opportunity to communicate with their residents?

A. The Mayors meet with the Garrison Command Team once a month to discuss housing concerns, issues, recommendations, installation events and activities. Additionally, the Mayors and Deputy Mayors meet with the Ombudsman on a regular basis.

Q. How will the housing Mayors and Deputy Mayors communicate with their residents?

A. Mayors will use their Facebook page that represents their respective community to disseminate information and address questions.  

Q. What can Mayors do for their residents?

A. Mayors and Deputy Mayors are a tremendous asset to both residents and our housing partners. Mayors can assist residents by serving as a housing liaison which allows the resident to focus on other priorities. They can also diffuse situations and offer alternative courses of action to resolve their concerns.  Due to their positions, they are often able to take concerns directly to the appropriate person to resolve their issues. They can also provide guidance on quality of life issues outside of housing, such as, reenlisting, spouse employment, schools, etc.

Q. How can I contact the Fort Belvoir Ombudsman?

A.  The Fort Belvoir Ombudsman can be reached at 540-273-7450.

Directorate of Emergency Services - Police

Q. Is anything going to be done to increase MP presence in Woodlawn Village with the growing crime happening right outside of our village? A permanent MP right at our entrance would honestly be great for us! There’s so much traffic from people that don’t even belong in our village that makes many of us uncomfortable.

A. DES continues to assess the Woodlawn Village housing area. The Garrison previously had an Access Control Point at the Woodlawn Village. Residents complained at the time and wanted the gate removed. DES lost the manpower for that guard service at the time and is unable to recover manpower to provide access control.

Q. Is it possible to have a more active police presence at the intersection of Solider and Surveyor Road? Many people do not stop, and it is a safety concern for the children.

A. DES will provide as much manpower in the area as possible. Our commitments to the community also involve school services, response capability, MPs diverted to cover guard shortfalls to maintain gate operations. DES commitments are excessive at present and limiting factors are approximately 50% manning in guards, which taxes law enforcement patrols.

Q. What is the plan to mitigate speeding on post in housing communities and the PX/Commissary complex?

A. DES monitors speeding and has conducted surveys of housing areas. Speeding occurs sporadically and the surveys in housing do not support a speeding problem. Speeding is not an event that DES can constantly control based on the limited staffing of police officers and MPs. We make every attempt to be present but there are priority commitments and service calls that prevent the police from being at every different area of the installation at all times. This is the first DES has received complaints for PX and Commissary areas and we are present at different intervals of every day. Additionally, there are no speed limit signs located at      PX and Commissary; however, DES will request a traffic study the installation Safety Office and Directorate of Public Works to assess if signage is necessary at this time. The community and residents are encouraged to report speeding with a description of vehicles to the Emergency Communications Center. These actions are standard practice for DoD installations. DES will discuss the issue with the local Defense Commissary Agency to discuss        possible courses of action and to identify the scope of the speeding issue reported.

Q. A patrol car just came up to the Woodlawn Village gate and just turned around. What are we going to do about it?

A. Please provide a date/time of this occurrence. Patrols are frequently called for service while enroute to Woodlawn Village. DES is unable to affect a call for service. Without a timeframe to investigate the reason for a turnaround, DES is unable to substantiate the allegation or reason(s) involved. Please provide specific details of these occurrences.

Q. Is there anything that can be done about the people trashing the Woodlawn area?

A. Please report trashing of the area immediately. Send photographs if possible. Parents have a responsibility to monitor their children and who their children bring to play at in the housing area. Law enforcement makes attempts to be present in the area. There is little crime in the Woodlawn Village showing the area is much safer than surrounding locales. Trashing the public use areas should be reported immediately so law enforcement can respond. We encourage parents to monitor their child’s behavior while playing in the Woodlawn Village public areas.

Security Gates

Q. There have been many manning issues with Walker Gate lately and with disseminating closure information (twice this week alone it was closed early without being announced on the Fort Belvoir page or Digital Garrison app). Is it possible to adjust the hours back to 0600-0900 & 1500-1800 to cover peak hours and minimize required manning?

A.  Starting Monday, Nov. 21, 2022, the Walker Gate will be closed until further notice. Please plan your travel accordingly.

Q. Can we get some MPs to patrol walker gate instead of closing it?

A. Starting Monday, Nov. 21, the Walker Gate will be closed until further notice. Please plan your travel accordingly. Currently, the guards are down to below 50% manning and DES is unable to maintain the current gate posture. MDW and ID-S have been made aware of this action.

Q.  Will Lieber Gate re-open?

A. DES is constantly assessing gates and access. Currently, there is no plan to open Lieber Gate based on manning shortfalls of almost 50% in guards. This also increases the workload for civilian police and MPs who backfill guard shortages.

Housing Maintenance

Q. Can we please start getting more accurate work order communication in River Village?

A. Neighborhood centers will be closing every Wednesday from 1100-1200 in order to touch base with residents on recently closed work orders and to status check pending work orders.

Q. The bathroom exhaust fans do not seem to work properly, is there a plan to fix this issue? It causes a concern for mold and is a building code violation.

A. Exhaust fans are inspected on preventative maintenance inspections as well as during the Between Occupancy Maintenance turnkey work and Quality Assurance inspections. If your exhaust fan is not operating properly, please contact the Maintenance Office at (571)-339-8221.

Q. Can more options be added to the app to report issues, and can maintenance get some of the tools needed to do some of the tasks more appropriately such as sweeping/cleaning of dryer vents?

A. Thank you for the feedback on the app, please contact our Community Management office to provide feedback on additional options, your feedback will then be shared with the developers we partner with to hopefully improve the interface. Maintenance has access to dryer brushes, but in some homes the runs are longer than what they can access from the exhaust port of the dryer. In some cases, forced air can be used for cleaning.  Otherwise, a contractor is called to perform the cleaning.

Q. Why are residents required to sign NDAs prior to initiating the dispute resolution process?

A. Residents are not asked to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements or Non-Disparagement Agreements in order to initiate the Dispute Resolution process.  However, all participants in the Dispute Resolution process are required to maintain the confidentiality of discussions during the Dispute Resolution process.  This is a requirement of the Universal Lease.  The Dispute Resolution process is confidential in nature because it is specific to each case that is addressed. In order to allow parties to speak openly and come to the best resolution possible, all parties are asked to keep these discussions confidential.

Q. Maintenance work orders are ignored for months and then being updated as completed without the proper work being done. What is housing doing to keep the maintenance team accountable for this reoccurring issue? Are there any repercussions?

A. The Villages takes seriously any complaint that a work order has been closed without the work being completed. If you have experienced this issue, please contact your Community Management office. We will review the specifics of the complaint and address accordingly.

Q. What is the industry standard that is being followed for mold remediation? What’s the max moisture level when checking for mold?

A. The Villages’ procedures follow an Army approved Environmental Management Plan and Moisture and Mold Operations and Maintenance Plan, which are based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s mold assessment and remediation guidelines.  These procedures utilize the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s standards for the size of the project to determine if the work is performed by our trained technicians or if a qualified third-party inspector and remediation contractor are used.  All third-party inspectors prepare remediation protocols that are consistent with the guidance documents published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (Bioaerosols: Assessment and Control), and/or the Standard and Reference Guides of the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) for Professional Water Damage Restoration and Professional Mold Remediation. 

Q. What standards are being set for sub-contractors conducting maintenance in the housing area? Many arrive unidentifiable, using civilian vehicles without a uniform or form of identification.

A. All vendors of The Villages at Belvoir are to utilize either logos or magnets that identify them as housing contractors. Additionally, they are required to wear some type of clothing that identifies their company name. In response to this question The Villages is reaching out for more information from the resident who raised the question. If it is determined that a vendor is not following this requirement, then the vendor will be served a Corrective Action Notice to correct the issue.

Q. Why is an independent housing company utilizing a “Garrison quality control” to inspect housing?

A. The Villages uses quality control teams to inspect work orders, between occupancy maintenance work, and remediation work. The Garrison currently offers Quality Assurance inspections as an additional check for the completion of remediation work and for every home undergoing the Between Occupancy Maintenance process. The home is not considered move-in ready until it passed this independent Command QA inspection.

Q. Dogue Creek Village continues to have weekly gas leak emergencies. What are you doing to train your mechanics, installation teams, and removal/lock out tag out teams? Why are we continuing to have leaks? The home next to me has had two within the last six months.

A. Any time a gas leak is called in, the resident is instructed to reach out to 911 and a technician is dispatched immediately. Additionally, all homes receive a gas inspection on every Preventative Maintenance inspection and Between Occupancy Maintenance inspection. Gas utility statements are monitored by a third-party vendor named ConService which provides lists of high output users to try and identify potential concerns.

Q. Why are maintenance technicians inspecting for potential SFG and determining way forward?

A. The Villages at Belvoir employs trained maintenance technicians who are the first response to all work order requests. All maintenance technicians have been trained to identify conditions that can lead to mold growth, to include active leaks, elevated moisture, water damage, and suspect mold growth. If any of these conditions are identified, the Moisture and Mold Operations & Maintenance Coordinator and, if applicable, a third-party inspector will be consulted to determine the protocol for addressing the conditions.

Facilities

Q. Is there an update on Woodlawn Chapel and when it may be open for use again?

A. Construction has begun.  Estimated completion date is March of 2023.

Q. Will we be getting a better dog park? The fence and size of the current one is too small for my dog.

A. There are no current plans to create a new dog park.

Q. Is it possible to have a traffic light installed at the intersection into the Woodlawn entrance?

A. Garrison property ends at the fence line and does not include the road or intersection.  Coordination will need to be made with Fairfax County who has responsibility for that road outside the entrance to Woodlawn Village.  Garrison can bring this up at our next scheduled meeting with our Fairfax County Representative.

Q. Is it possible to have cameras installed in the common areas on base?

A. Cameras fall under the responsibility of DES.  The current crime statistics do not warrant a need for cameras to be installed throughout the installation at this time.  Any future cameras installed would be for post incident only, as DES is not able to provide monitoring services for cameras.

MWR

Q. Will the movie theater on post reopen?

A. No.

Q. Will Wells Gym reopen?

A. Wells Gym will not be re-opening, but residents are invited to sign-up and reserve the space at Well Gym for private use. The number to reserve the Wells Field House is 703-805-2532.

Q. Is it possible to have fitness classes again?

A. At this time, we are not returning classes as we do not have the staff, we did prior to the pandemic to host the classes. There are spin classes available and the schedule can be found on the Digital Garrison app. If you hold a certification and would like to discuss hosting a class, please email kristen.d.kinnamon.naf@army.mil.

Q. Will there ever be 24hr access at any gyms on post?

A. We are working on putting systems in place to bring the gym back to 24-hour access.

Q. When will youth sports on base have more backing/promoting? Why is there not more community outreach? Why is there not more support for the current staff?

A. We do rely heavily on volunteer support for youth sports, and we are spread thin in many areas including CYS. The growth in youth sports will be slow. For more information, contact Jerry Arrington, the youth sports coordinator, at jerry.r.arrington.naf@army.mil or call MWR at 703-805-2532.

Housing Questions

Q. Are there any plans to increase the contract oversight of privatized housing?  Low quality maintenance, poor care of landscape, and lack of any long-term maintenance of homes with little recourse for tenants must change.

A. Congress is looking through various avenues on ways to increase the oversight of privatized housing.  Some of those ways are seen with changes/amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Q. Given the current housing shortage within the DMV, why do houses sit vacant for several months?

A. (Answer from The Villages at Belvoir): Our General Officer Belvoir homes are assigned by the Director of Army Staff office from the Pentagon. They are allotted a timeframe (75 days) to assign the homes before we are able to assign the homes. 

Q. Why isn't there some sort of scheduled housing updates?  Two examples: we have a bathroom that the cabinet and medicine cabinet is probably 30 years old, the laminate wood is flaking off, yet housing refuses to replace it?  Also, the horrible chandelier in the dining room is an eyesore for everyone. 

A. (Answer from The Villages at Belvoir): Cosmetic fixes are typically updated on turn or if a work order is placed to have the item fixed. This feedback about the chandelier is valuable and will be noted when future renovations are considered.

Q. How can maintenance schedule an appointment and not show up for it, and what recourse do we have when we sit at home and wait during the designated window?

A. (Answer from The Villages at Belvoir): No showing for an appointment without proper notification should not happen. We are sorry this happened and work to ensure we communicate with every resident when we need to reschedule. If you have experienced a no-call/no-show, please reach out to the Community Director and/or Facility Director.

Q. Why do some houses still not have new appliances? It was shared 4 years ago that all houses on the village had appliances purchased for them and would be replaced. What happened to all of the bought appliances?

A. (Answer from The Villages at Belvoir): The program to upgrade working appliances has been put on hold and has not resumed. We are replacing appliances as necessary when they fail. There was not a bulk purchase of appliances.

Q. Who is George and why do all my work orders go to him to die?

A.  (Answer from The Villages at Belvoir): George Conley is the Maintenance Supervisor for Belvoir Village. If you have been waiting for a response from George, please reach out to the Facility Director. 

Q. Why is there no system or accountability with work orders? 

A. (Answer from The Villages at Belvoir): The Villages at Belvoir uses the RealPage platform to track all work orders and notes for each work order. This platform is visible to multiple layers of oversight.

Q. Why do the yard people never show up two weeks in a row, who runs that contract?

A. (Answer from The Villages at Belvoir): We have a third-party vendor that cuts the grass. If a lawn is missed, we ask residents call their community office or put in a work order, so we are able to follow up. 

Q. What is the process for outsourced maintenance calls and what is a reasonable wait time for project completion? Example: Several broken floorboards were submitted in January and replaced in late April. A downspout was not attached to the house. A work order was placed in May and then stayed "on hold" until November. A chimney cleaning request was submitted on 10/24 and is "in progress"

A. (Answer from The Villages at Belvoir): There are many factors that determine the time for completion of a project or maintenance calls. Anything related to life/health/safety is an emergency and should be stabilized within 24 hours. Work orders related to quality of life (e.g. range functionality, no fridge) are urgent and should be stabilized within 48 hours. Standard work orders (interior door handle, towel bar, etc.) are categorized by availability of parts as well as staffing. 

Q. What recourse do we have with poor workmanship by outside vendors? When work is finally complete, no one from maintenance inspects the work. As a homeowner, I would not pay for the poor work completed. Example: A contractor arrived to work on my roof and had never fixed a slate roof before. He assumed I had the supplies, left and came back a week later only to admit this was his first such roof. A contractor arrived to repair floor boards in my sunroom and rather than use the correct size boards, very poorly filled the gaps with wood putty. A contractor arrived to fix a clogged toilet that backed up into the tub (the toilet issues had been reported by the previous owner but was never fixed so he used another bathroom). When he left, the toilet was not reseated properly. Not to mention he left a mess from the master bath to the front door that the maintenance team had to come clean.

A. (Answer from The Villages at Belvoir): We strive for 100% satisfaction and ask all residents to notify us if they are not satisfied with either our work or any vendor work. When we are notified of poor workmanship or customer service by our vendors, they are issued a Corrective Action Notice. If a vendor has multiple or egregious issues, the work relationship will be severed. Please notify your Community Manager promptly if this takes place.

Q. Why, when there is a contract to replace all old white appliances, do ten houses (according to George) still have white appliances? And when my oven (and another's fridge) failed earlier this year, they were replaced with white appliances rather than stainless. From a cost and depreciation perspective, it does not make sense.

A. (Answer from The Villages at Belvoir): When an appliance fails or cannot be repaired, we try not to mix and match. However, if a different color is all we have in stock, we will replace that broken item with an in-stock item, so the resident does not have to go without. We have white appliances in most homes and therefore that is what we have the most stock of. 

Other Questions

Q. When will the Fort Belvoir Officers' Club return to normal operations?

A. At this time, there are no plans to return to normal operations at the Officers’ Club. However, there may be certain services offered by the club in the future.

Q. Are there consistent procedures for gate entry (i.e. when to use the arm, when to check all passenger IDs)? 

A. Since the Trusted Traveler Program has been reinstated, random security procedures, such as 100% ID check, searches, use of the pedestal (arm down) and handheld scanning, have been implemented in order to maintain security. We understand it can be confusing at times, however, DES remains committed to expediting installation access while also ensuring the safety of our customers, patrons, and residents. Click here to learn more about installation access. 

Q. Why are the on-base gas stations still rationing gas to 30 gallons per purchase and why are they not more competitive to off-base prices?  AAFES used to be considered a privilege, they no longer are. 

A. (Answer from the Fort Belvoir Exchange): The Exchange monitors competitor prices throughout an automated system and makes price changes up to three times daily to maintain competitiveness in the marketplace. The Exchange policy on fuel pricing is to match local competition for each fuel grade where the competition offers a similar service at the same terms and conditions.  The competitors are typically within the 5-mile radius in line of sight of the gate.  Additionally, our pricing policy remains unchanged with the brand partnership with Amoco.  The transition to TOP TIER™-certified branded fuel improves the Exchange’s already-secure fuel supply chain to further strengthen mission and community support, especially during emergencies and natural disasters.

For the purchase gallon limit, this is a default setting that is set up in our dispensers.  It is also tied in to unattended fueling per EPA requirements (in case of any spills), which we do have at both of our Expresses. EPA guidelines at our stations are set as follows:

o   Attended Fueling:  30-gallon limit

o   Unattended Fueling (after hours):  24-gallon limit

Q. Why do people blow leaves around at the Fort Belvoir Officers' Club every week instead of cleaning them up once?

A. Currently, there is no place for the base operations contractor to take the leaves. However, this issue is still being evaluated. 

Q. When will parking lines be painted and numbered in the recently paved sections of Dogue Creek?  

A. Response from The Villages at Belvoir: This project is scheduled for Feb. 2-3.

Q. What is the process/oversight in ensuring that The Michaels Organization maintains accurate maintenance history records? We resided in a house in GW Village last year but were displaced due to mold.  Our child has extensive medical issues, and his healthcare team asked to see the mold remediation results (however extensive they may have been).  The Michaels Organization refused to provide that documentation, stating we no longer resided there. Additionally, the residents that moved into that home were not informed of any mold remediation.  In fact, the maintenance history did not show any mold remediation, and they were told that the kitchen range was replaced due to rust. That is not factual, and we have photographic documentation showing mold there.  Can Garrison tighten their oversight to ensure these occurrences do not continue?

A. Response from The Villages at Belvoir:  No work was performed while the resident requesting the report was a current resident, thus the reports associated with the remediation would not have been applicable. Resident was, however, supplied with the inspection report of the findings. At the time the Villages was entering all work associated with the Between-occupancy-maintenance work orders under a general catch all “make ready”work order. This has been explained to the resident in question in depth, the Garrison was informed of the situation, and the new resident walked through the work completed with the Environmental Supervisor.

Q. Can Garrison provide the number of DES responses to gas leaks in Dogue Creek over the last year, and is Garrison as concerned as the residents of Dogue Creek are?

A. Response from the Directorate of Emergency Services: 10 of the 159 gas leak responses spanning Fort Belvoir were located within Dogue Creek between the time period of 1 DEC 2021 to 31 DEC 2022, according to the Fort Belvoir Fire Chief. These responses are similar to most military installations and is a frequent response spanning the DoD. Almost all housing responses on Fort Belvoir involve the area between the meter to the inside of the residence; therefore, DES would have to defer interested parties to the housing office for further clarification as responses of this type that are not external to the residence is outside the purview of DES. Any appliance and heating units are susceptible to gas leaks. Age of appliances, lines, and maintenance practices contribute to the frequency of responses.

Q. Can Garrison advocate for the residents of Dogue Creek, urging The Michaels Organization to complete the project as soon as possible without further delays? The Michaels Organization assured Dogue Creek residents multiple times that the newly paved parking areas would have lines/addresses painted to avoid parking confusion. That work remains incomplete, despite ample time to contract and finish the project.

A. Response from The Villages at Belvoir: This project is scheduled for Feb. 2-3. 

Q. Can Garrison urge The Michaels Organization to maintain at least partial staffing during these training events, and what is Garrison doing to oversee work order completion and records keeping?

A. Response from The Villages at Belvoir: The Villages always has a vendor or skeleton crew to respond during training events. In any instances where a resident has shared they feel a work order has been closed without resolution, the information is shared with the Community Manager, Maintenance Supervisor, and Facilities Operations Manager to investigate. These training events are part of a solution presented in direct feedback with concerns about quality of workmanship shared by residents via the mayors and ICE comments.

Q. Why is/has a resident on Barlow Rd allowed to store a covered what appears to be unusable vehicle with expired license plates in a 00 spot for over 6 months now?

A. Response from The Villages at Belvoir: It is against the Villages’ Resident Responsibility Guide to store non-road worthy vehicles. We are aware of this situation and working with the family as they attempt to establish new tags for this vehicle.

Q. When a neighbor engages in suspicious behavior towards you or your children, if you cannot report it to April (as we personally have been told by April herself) who can you report it to?

A. Response from The Villages at Belvoir: The Villages encourages any families who see or suspect suspicious behavior to involve the MPs.

A. Response from the Directorate of Emergency Services: Call 9-1-1 and report suspicious behavior. Contact DES Community Relations Officer, LT Simpson-Stokes, or Military Police Investigations Chief, Mr. Bob Dillon, through the DES Emergency  Communications Center at (703) 806-4277. 

Q. How can maintenance be run better?

A. Response from The Villages at Belvoir: The Villages appreciates your feedback and look forward to hearing from all of you your experiences and ideas for potential process improvements. Our work orders are assigned to one of three priority levels; 1.) Emergency, 2). Urgent, 3). Routine. The standards for response and completion vary depending on the classification of priority. Routine work orders are scheduled for completion in AM or PM blocks. We don’t schedule emergency or routine work orders as fast response and resolution is imperative in those situations. The time for the work order to be added to the schedule depends upon current staffing, already scheduled appointments per day, and residents’ specific needs for scheduling (eg entry instructions). At times appointments run over or emergency situations come up. In all of these situations you should receive a call from the Customer Service Representatives or Maintenance Supervisor informing you. If this is not happening, please email mcramer@tmo.com with a cc to jwatkins@tmo.com with the work order number, scheduled time, and your contact information.