Good Afternoon,
I hope everyone has had an opportunity to enjoy this beautiful weather. We have been taking advantage of this, and I hope everyone gets a chance to get outside and enjoy it.
The pavers are here! The pavers are here! You may have seen the paving on the other side of the power line easement was done yesterday. Today the crews are working on White Cliffs. They plan to be on site today and tomorrow and should get everything done. In addition to the road paving, several road shoulder areas are going to be paved in order to widen them a bit and prevent larger vehicles from damaging the grass and natural areas. The preliminary plat for White Cliffs and Barnesmore has been completed, and everything should be turned in to New Hanover County in the next couple of weeks.
We’ve had unusually high sales traffic over the last several weeks with twenty visits just last week. The folks coming in, for the most part, have visited with us before and are narrowing down their choices. Work continues on the model homes and JMP’s house on Lot 38, as well as Vahue’s house on Lot 70, should be done in the next two weeks. Premier Homes is now offering the Florida Bay model on Lot 213 for sale and plans to start two new models once it goes under contract.
Thanks very much to all of you attended the HOA meeting last week. The feedback and conversation was very productive and we look forward to moving ahead. An updated budget and financial reports will be added to the portal next week. The various committees have been very busy, and I will update you on some of their activities in a moment. The portal information session prior to the meeting last week was well received, and if you’d like for us to do another one, please let us know. There is a tremendous amount of information available to you through the portal, and we are happy to help you take advantage of it.
The USS North Carolina tour (headed up by Ritt Schiano) was a great success with seventeen participants and with Ritt’s help, we plan on scheduling more this year.
Amenities Update
TMC Taylor Construction had the pad for the bathroom building at the tennis court area poured this week, and they started framing today. Burrows and Tara are meeting with the security company and internet provider today to coordinate the access systems and cameras. The next step there will be the installation of a septic system for the bathrooms and then fencing for the various courts and dog park. Bellingham Marine is working on the floating dock sections that will complete the riverwalk, and we hope to have those completed by March.
The committee working on the Multi-Use room met yesterday and went over some design issues, and the contractor plans to begin work there the middle part of next week. The amenities committee also distributed a poll to everyone last week to get your input on several different ideas they are working with us on. Please make sure to get your response in by February 5th so we can get as much feedback as possible. You can e-mail the form to Tara or just drop it off at the sales center.
Neighborhood Safety
As discussed at the annual meeting, twenty-four-hour coverage at the gate over the weekends will be discontinued in about two weeks. Tyler (who works those shifts) will be staying on to fill in for Ron and Scott as needed and he will be training for daytime duty over the next couple of weeks.
This weekend we ask that you, please stay away from the White Cliffs and Barnesmore areas as there will be crews working on the roadways and it will be controlled chaos until they leave. Additionally, there is work being done at the boat ramp right now that makes passage challenging.
Community Activities
The free chicken wing event was well attended last night and thanks to everybody who came out. It looks like we will continue this and we’ll let you know the February date in the next week or two.
Super Bowl Party – February 4th the New England Patriots face off against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 52. Many of you have already signed up for the party at Porches, and there is still time to come in and prepay. The cost is $20 per person ($30 the day of the event) and includes food and two drink tickets. In addition to the TVs already there, we will have a couple more set up as well, including one outside if the weather cooperates.
Farmer’s Market – Hopefully everybody saw the e-mail from Farmer Steve yesterday regarding the market tomorrow. Feast for the Gods will there from 10:00am-3:00pm. Steve will be installing the high tunnel cover this afternoon, and that will open up a lot of new opportunities for the farm.
Dry Cleaning Pickup/Delivery – Nature’s Way Dry Cleaning has started pickup and delivery, and if you’re interested in taking part, you can e-mail Tara for information.
Have a fantastic weekend and thank you again for making River Bluffs your home.
-John Lennon