Good morning,
Well after weeks of beautiful weather it looks like the rain is settling in for awhile. The great news related to that is that it helps things grow faster and our sales traffic hasn’t slowed down a bit.
We had anticipated receiving the plantings for the bluff over the river this past week but the vendor surprised us and let us know that they would not be here until next week so for those of you who were kind enough to volunteer with the planting, we will reach out to you once they are here and see if you are still available. You may have noticed crews working on the bluffs over the last week from the “topside”. They are planting grass and filling in areas of erosion along the bluff and are also resolving areas of potential erosion that may start at the top of the bluff. Development work is continuing on both the next section of Rosewood Landing and the roadway to the marina. Duke Power is installing electric service now to the six Lots we just recorded on the other side of the power line and I’m happy to report that two of those Lots (393 and 395) are already under contract.
If you have been up and down Chair Road this week you have no doubt noticed the intensive logging operation taking place on the south side of the road. River Bluffs Development Corp nor any of its affiliates have anything to do with that logging project and we are as disappointed as you are to see all the trees come down. We have been told by several of the neighbors that some of the property owners decided to raise some cash by selling the timber on their property and apparently that idea caught on. Whether that is the case or not we’re not sure but none of the properties have changed hands recently. One of the residents of Chair Road initially thought we were involved in the project and posted a poor review of River Bluffs on Facebook. I had a lengthy conversation with her yesterday and assured her that we were not involved and also listened to her concerns about the changes to the Chair Road community over the last several years and drivers speeding up and down the road. She grew up here and just returned after being gone for several years. We will keep you posted as we learn more about the logging project.
Amenities
A whole lot going on in this section! As you have seen, the basketball, tennis and pickle ball courts are all done and have already been used several times. The bathrooms are completed and will remain locked through this weekend. The reason for that is that Homes Security has completed the installation of the cameras and access systems and we will go live with those this coming Monday. Once the gates are closed you will simply waive your key fob in front of the sensor by the gate, go through and the gate will close automatically behind you. To exit the court area there is an green button to the left of the women’s restroom that you  push to leave. We will distribute the restroom code on Monday when the system is turned on. It is very important that the restrooms stay locked when not in use. The RV center will also go live on Monday and we are waiting on hearing back from five tenants in the RV area to get their fob information set up in the system. If we don’t have your information by Monday, you will not be able to gain access to the RV area. We have been charging only half of the rental rate in the RV area until such time as we activated the cameras and access systems and as we have been billing quarterly, the full rates will go into effect July 1, 2018.
In addition to a large telescoping forklift down at the boat ramp area, you may have seen crews working on the northern end of the marina docks. They are configuring the transition area to the floating docks and expected to complete that today but they rain has slowed them down somewhat and they are pretty close to being done. Sections of floating dock will continue to be delivered, put into the water and floated down to be pieced together. Please be careful if you are around the boat ramp  area or on the marina docks over the next two to three weeks as there will be crews in both areas if the weather permits.
The third time was a charm and the refrigerator is now in place in the Community Activity Room and the committee for the room met with Burrows and I this past week to go over the proposed rules and reservation policies. Tables arrive next week and the committee will be announcing a ribbon cutting once we get everything in place.
If you have a few minutes you might want to watch this video at this link as it covers Striper fishing locally and features River Bluffs. We will be doing a lot more with the Coastal Fisherman website as the marina expands. Our portable pump-out unit has been ordered (several weeks ago) and is supposed to be shipped at the end of this month.
ÂÂ
Neighborhood Safety
There will be a Neighborhood Watch meeting next Wednesday at 6:00 at Porches. All are invited to attend and Deputy Moore with the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Department will be there. As some of you may have seen, the exit gate on Rosewood Landing has been acting up and we are asking that you please exit the community via Haughton and Chair until Monday when the vendor promises they will here to make the repair. If you exit through Rosewood once the gate is closed for the evening, the gate will not automatically close.
Neighborhood Activities
The Wine Dinner was an absolute success and Erin plans to do a few more. For those that attended the event and ordered wine it is available for pick up at Porches
Spring Block Party- The party is still on and will be held in the park across from Porches this Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00. There will be grilling, music and great opportunities to fellowship with your neighbors.
Flower Arranging Event-May 25th at 6:00p.m. at Porches. Learn how to make great flower arrangements for your home. There is a fee and more information can be found at https://alicestable.com/
Karaoke Night-Apparently we have some real artists in the community and they got an opportunity to show off their talents last night in the first River Bluffs Karaoke event. It was such a hit we are planning another one for Just 21st. Stay tuned for details and special thanks to Karen for putting such a fun event together.
Have a fantastic weekend and thank you all for choosing this neighborhood as your home. We look forward to continue making it a great place to live.
John