Good evening,
After a couple of unseasonably warm and muggy days, I think fall has finally arrived. Now if the rain would just go away for a couple of weeks! Our development efforts have really been slowed down with the amount of rainfall as its difficult to finish road building when your bulldozers are stuck in the mud. Thankfully we are looking at drier weather ahead. That said, its time to go ahead and cut off your irrigation system for the winter. Going dormant is actually healthy for your grass and watering during the winter increases the chance of it “waking up” on warmer days. We also strongly suggest that you have the system drained to prevent freezing over the winter. Crews began installing the pine straw today and are supposed to continue until they’re done. They are running about a month behind right now due to……….you guessed it……Hurricane Florence. I realize it is frustrating to still have unresolved issues from the storm but please realize that the magnitude of the event drained our labor force completely and those who are working are going first to the jobs for which they can make the most money (ie its a lot quicker to get a roof replaced than repaired). Overall we are in great shape when compared to other areas around southeastern North Carolina.
Sales activity has fully recovered from September’s storm related drop off and we continue to see great traffic in the Sales Center. Over the last two weeks we have sold five Lots and we expect the trend to continue through the balance of this year. In addition to adding new sections to Rosewood Landing, the road and utility construction leading to the marina will allow us to offer some new products at River Bluffs and we will be telling you more about some of those in the next several weeks. Speaking of the path to the marina, you can traverse the path over the bridge to get there and as soon as Duke Energy is done we will be cleaning that whole area up and regrading the path. New Hanover County told us that we would have the hurricane debris removed before Thanksgiving but I’m guessing it will likely be afterwards.
The exterior lighting at the mail center has gone out a couple of times over the last ten days and today both an electrician and the lighting company were on site to make repairs. If you notice that the lights are not on, please e-mail us right away as we are usually not here at night and may not realize there is a problem. The same goes for street lights. If you notice a street light out you can either let us know or go on Duke Energy’s website to report the outage. The number on the side of the pole (black lettering on a yellow background) is important to include with the report.
Amenities
As I indicated in my last update, the pool furniture will stay out for the balance of this month and then we will store it in the restrooms for the winter. We will be locking the gates at that time as well. We did remove the trash can from the mail center as the HOA was having to pay to have it emptied several times a week.
A couple weeks ago we had some floating debris get hung up on the river walk and that has now been cleared. Burrows was able to use a boat and remove a lot of the debris that comes down the river. The fencing contractor has completed repairs to the fencing around the tennis and pickle ball areas and now we will focus on cleaning up the dog park and completing the improvements to it.
Neighborhood Safety
Last week an e-mail went out to the builders in the community informing them that any of their sub contractors who were cited for speeding on Chair Road would be permanently banned from the community. Any sub contractor who was the subject of two speeding complaints within the community will be permanently banned. This will apply for truck drivers who can’t seem to follow instructions as well. North Carolina DOT is also conducting a speed study on Chair Road to determine whether conditions warrant reducing the speed to 35 for its entire length. Just keeping it real…………the biggest problem with speeding on Chair Road is still with residents of River Bluffs. Please slow down, respect your neighbors in River Bluffs, respect our neighbors on Chair Road and don’t be the one who gets a ticket or hits a child with your car.
Community ActivitiesÂÂ
Trivia Night – Be sure to come to Porches tonight for our inaugural Trivia Night. It starts at 7:00 and should be a great time as everyone tests their smarts.
Neighborhood Oyster Roast- Saturday December 1 starting at 5:30. This will be our holiday celebration and our opportunity to thank you for a great year. The food will be provided at no charge and there will be a cash bar. We will also have Bill Kerr playing live music during the event. We do ask that you register just by calling Porches and letting them know you plan to attend. We need to have a solid head count for the oysters and other food.
Farmer Market – Farmer Steve will be hosting the last market of the season tomorrow on the front porch of Porches beginning at 10:00. He will be returning in the spring but in the interim you will likely see he or some of the regular vendors out on a Saturday this winter if the weather forecast is good. Farmer Steve will let you know when those opportunities come up and they will also participate with us in events we host as a neighborhood.
Wilmington’s RiverFest – RiverFest is this weekend and if you haven’t been, its a lot of fun. Water Street is closed off downtown and there is live music, food and vendors both Saturday and Sunday. Its worth going down for.
In closing, the Sales office will be closed next Thursday and Friday in celebration of Thanksgiving but we will be open next Monday-Wednesday and then again next weekend. Have a great Thanksgiving and thank you for each of your contributions to this great community.
John Lennon