Good Afternoon,
I think we can officially say that winter has arrived. While tomorrow may be a little milder, next week promises to be pretty cold and windy. There’s a lot to cover in this update (so much so you may want to read this twice) so let’s jump in.
This past week has been surprisingly active, and we just put the completed home on Haughton under contract today. We also started working on the pricing for the Lots coming on White Cliffs, and Barnesmore and several of the potential buyers who have reservation agreements have been meeting with builders. I know our goal was paving on White Cliffs by Christmas but the combination of vendor delays and weather have pushed that back to early January. The “behind-the-scenes” work with the New Hanover County Planning Department has been going on for several weeks to record this next section.
Crews are continuing to work on the roadway on the other side of the power line easement, and that will continue as we work to get the roadway to the marina paved. Duke Power is planning on moving the poles closest to the river bank back approximately seventy-five feet sometime in 2018. Instead of the four pole configuration currently there, the replacement poles will be similar to the others in the easement. This is a Duke Power project, so we are all at their mercy regarding timing. The work you will start to see in the next couple of weeks will be down on the river itself. With the approval of the permit modification, we have been working diligently to get the contractors on-site. The large crane on the barge will be returning to begin placing rip-rap on the shoreline in the middle of January, and the dock builders are actively working on the remaining sections of floating docks. There will also be a lot of work going on down at the boat ramp next week so we’d like to ask those who have kayaks secured down there to please put them up on the top of the bulkhead, out of the way by Tuesday of next week.
The tree relocation program was a big success with seventeen trees moved the week before Christmas. We are planning on having the vendor return sometime in January, so if you are interested in participating, please e-mail Tara.
This past week I have learned more about e-mail systems than I ever thought I would. Several of you let us know that you were not receiving emails generated by the community portal. As we investigated it, we learned that users with a Yahoo account were not receiving the e-mails because of controls put into place by our mail server and Yahoo (mostly due to limitations by the holiday email traffic). In some cases, users with other mail servers had inadvertently blocked emails from the portal. It now appears that all of that has been corrected. The best way to measure whether you are getting our posts is to look for my update every other Friday. If you don’t see it by Saturday morning, let us know. RBDC chose to pay to have the portal designed after several other forms of communication proved to be problematic and not everyone chooses to utilize social media. The reality is that no form of communication is perfect these days but we will certainly keep trying. While we don’t have an obligation to do so, we believe communicating with all of you is vital in creating and maintaining a sense of community in the neighborhood, and it helps sales. We will continue to refine the portal as time goes on. You are always welcome to reach out to me directly if you have any thoughts or concerns on this issue.
Most of you have likely received the notice of the Annual Meeting for the HOA. It is scheduled for 6:00 pm on January 17th at Porches. For those of you who would like to get more familiar with the portal and its uses, there will be staff and residents available beginning at 5:00 pm in Porches to go over it with you. This will be a great opportunity to learn more about it. The notice of the annual meeting did not include the proxy, even though the letter indicated it was included. A copy of the proxy has been put on the portal under “Community Information” in the section labeled “HOA.” In that same section, you will find a 2018 proposed budget worksheet, a comparison of the 2017 budget to the proposed 2018 budget and November 2017 financials which include year-to-date information. The thought process behind the proposed increase is based on fiscal prudence. The current fee of $135 per month was set in 2014 when the HOA started, and the preliminary budgeting was done. While the budget has been fairly accurate, some new expenses have come up such as increased coverage at the gate (currently paid by RBDC), power washing and care for the multi-use room. Most importantly in the budget, you will see that the contribution to the reserves is increased and the projected surplus will also go to the reserves. The contribution by RBDC is proposed to increase to $180,312 per year versus the current level of $155,015. In looking at several other line items such as landscaping, you will notice that they increase dramatically, but that is based on occupied homes. In other words, the more people that move in and start paying dues, the more the HOA spends on trash, landscaping, etc. Feel free to reach out to Jake Davis at Premier Management or me if you have any questions. We will talk more about this at the annual meeting as well.
Amenities Update
The contractor working on the tennis courts and bathrooms will be starting any day now. As I’ve indicated in the past, he will also be working on the multi-use room and the Consulting Committee’s subcommittee (say that five times real fast) for the Multi-Use Room will be meeting with the contractor and us in the next few weeks. The dog park, pickleball, and basketball facilities will be going in at the same time as the tennis court. I mentioned the riverwalk earlier, and you will see a lot happening in mid-January with that project.
Neighborhood Safety
Another couple of quiet weeks in the community. One of the other subcommittees to the Consulting Committee is working on the issue of coverage at the front gate. As you may recall, RBDC added overnight coverage for Friday-Sunday and had been carrying that expense. The subcommittee will be working with the Neighborhood Watch captains in getting feedback on continuing, ending or expanding that coverage as it is now reflected in the proposed 2018 HOA budget. We strongly recommend that even if the desire is to discontinue that coverage (thus reducing the proposed 2018 figure for Greeters) that those funds be contributed to the reserves for the Association.
Community Activities
Free Chicken Wings!!- Our first chicken wing night was such a success we are planning another one for Thursday, January 25th at 5:00 pm. If it continues to be successful, we will plan to do it each month.
USS North Carolina Tour – In previous posts, I have mentioned that River Bluff’s own, Ritt Schiano, is now a certified docent for the Battleship and as such can lead VIP tours of one Wilmington’s most celebrated attractions. The inaugural tour is planned for Thursday, January 25th from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. The cost is $20 (if we get ten people) and includes not only the general admission but also the VIP tour. If you are interested in attending, please e-mail Tara and arrange for payment before the tour. When the tour is done, you can come back home to Porches for free chicken wings!
Porches Cafe – Porches will be closing at 3:00 pm on Thursday, January 11th for a private party. Lunch will operate normally that day; there just won’t be dinner service. Live music will be returning weekly to the restaurant after February.
Super Bowl Party – We are working on arranging a Super Bowl Party at Porches on Sunday, February 4th. More details to follow but the thought is to have a flat charge which will include chili and other great food and a couple of drinks. There’s also talk about a party to watch the Duke/Carolina basketball game (for those newer to the area the day of that game is pretty much a State holiday) later this season.
Concealed Carry Class – The Bullets and Bows group has arranged for a Concealed Carry Class for River Bluffs residents on Saturday, January 13th. There is additional information on the portal if you are interested.
Farmer’s Market – Farmer Steve will be back on the porch tomorrow from 10:00-3:00 pm with a bunch of great items. He will be emailing everyone regarding future markets (during the winter) as they may be weather dependent, but he also has some other exciting things coming up.
Thank you all for a great 2017 at River Bluffs and as we close this year out we are all very excited to move forward into 2018. The completion of the amenities and continued growth of the neighborhood will be an exciting thing to be a part of, and we thank you for choosing to be part of it.
Happy New Year