Good afternoon,
Well, the great thing about a North Carolina summer is that you get to experience a little bit of everything. Dry weather, wet weather, cool weather, and hot weather. That is one of the greatest things about living here is that each day is different, but there are far more great days than gray days. I have lots to cover in this update so let’s get started.
Electric and utility service has been completed all the way down to the marina, and the paving company started bringing heavy equipment in this week to begin grading the roads, rocking them and putting down asphalt. Cottage Park is really rolling, and we expect to have the first thirteen of those homesites, plus the remainder of the River Club homesites recorded next week. In White Cliffs, homesite 182 has closed along with 196 and 197. 467 is currently under contract, and we expect to have 179 under contract sometime this weekend. Charter Building will be starting a new house on 145 in the next several weeks, and homesite 8 in Quince Commons is going under contract today. In Rosewood Landing we have a new home starting on 242 and several new garden homes getting ready to begin. Overall, traffic and sales activity is going well, and we expect that trend to continue into the fall. September will be a busy month for the Sales Team with our attendance at the Wilmington Boat Show (stop by our booth in the exhibit hall at the Convention Center) the weekend of September 6th. We have an Ideal Living show in New Jersey the weekend of September 20th, another Ideal Living show in Northern Virginia the weekend of September 27th and the Raleigh Home Show the weekend of October 4th.
Amenities
Bellingham Marine is on schedule to add two more “T-heads” to the main dock at the marina that will provide us with additional slips. The installation is still scheduled for October/November and will provide new twenty-five and thirty-five-foot slips. Lewis Construction is finalizing their estimate for the Pavillion down at the marina and has been out to the site several times. The new benches for the court-sport area have arrived as well as some new tables and chairs for the pool area. One request regarding the pool, please keep in mind that our neighborhood pool is just that; for the entire neighborhood. That means that what is ok behavior, language, etc. for some may not be for others. If you have guests or children at the pool, please make sure they are supervised, and everyone in your group respects the other visitors as well.
Please make sure that we all help keep an eye on our amenities. If you see something out of sorts, please let Rob Dunham at Premier Management know so that he can get it corrected as soon as possible. We have been having some issues with the HVAC units in the restrooms at the sport-court area, and the controllers for the units are now on the window sills in each bathroom. Please don’t adjust them as we are experimenting to determine whether having them each in a bathroom, (instead of in a closet) will keep the temperature more stable.
Neighborhood Safety
I know I write about this a lot but just when I don’t think I can be surprised anymore by people speeding on Chair Road, I’m proven wrong. Someone is going to get a ticket, get hurt, or get killed. Traveling over the speed limit from the gate to Castle Hayne Rd. will decrease your overall travel time by no more than ten seconds. Congratulations, you’ll be the first one to the Stop sign. Please slow down. Thank you.
We have also had a couple of instances where we have found evidence of our local wildlife being fed. As you may recall from the North Carolina Wildlife biologist’s presentation earlier this year, that can only end badly as animals begin to equate humans with food. Please be sure to let our wildlife be wild.
Over the last several months we have had several instances where an appraiser, photographer, or other such service providers will come to the gate and indicate that they are here to photograph or inspect your house. Most often this is related to a refinancing, insurance policy or other such normal procedure. The problem is that the Greeters don’t know if it’s legitimate or not. If you know you have someone coming to work at your house (including vendors, contractors, etc.) or if your bank or insurance company is sending someone out its a good idea to call the Welcome Center at 910-675-2183 and let them know you’re expecting someone. I’ll be talking more about this with the Resident Advisory Committee at our meeting on Wednesday in order to get some feedback.
The marketing team is working on a series of blogs that will be public-facing; they have already talked to the Community Watch club and will be having conversations next week as the authoring process begins. The first of this blog series will cover life in a gated community and what makes River Bluffs unique. If you are interested in contributing to the River Bluffs blog, please email Megan at riverbluffsmarketing@gmail.com.
Related to boating safety, our very own Otis White is involved heavily with the Coast Guard Auxiliary and will be happy to coordinate a safety inspection of your boat. Just contact him at 480-363-0776 to coordinate a convenient time for both of you.
Neighborhood ActivitiesÂ
-September 11th 5:00 p.m.- the much anticipated (and feared by some) “official” rematch of the Water Volleyball Club and the River Bluffs staff will be held at the pool. Be sure to mark your calendars and join us for a great event.
-September 17th 5:00 p.m. – Our next-door neighbor, GE, has graciously offered to host an event to learn about what they do next door and how they are involved in the community. There will food provided (courtesy of GE) and a cash bar and the event will include a presentation as well as time for “Q & A”. We are really excited about this event and appreciative of their offer to host it. As you know, we have several past and present GE employees in the neighborhood, and this will be a great chance for the rest of you learn more about what they do.
-Trivia Night- we are thinking about moving Trivia Night from Thursday nights to Saturday nights in order to get higher participation. Not a done deal, just looking for feedback. Please e-mail Chloe (Chloe@riverbluffsliving.com) if you have any thoughts on the idea.
Thanks again for your decision to live in the River Bluffs community and be part of this special place. We appreciate your support and look forward to working together in the future. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or comments.
John Lennon