Neighborhood Update – October 25th, 2019 It’s a long one but please read

Good evening,

There is a lot of information to go over tonight, a lot of it involving some changes, so please be sure to read the whole update.

There are a lot of new houses starting throughout the community and we continue to see strong activity. The model (the Tidal Marsh) is under contract in Cottage Park and the builder will be leasing it back for continued use as a model. The first homesite closing in Cottage Park (413) took place this week and we expect two more in the first week of November. Currently there are nine homesites under contract in the community in addition to two resale homes. You may have notice some of the street signs being replaced and that work will continue. The original gold background we used on the street name blades was fading and not holding up as it should so we are replacing them with a sturdier, easy-to-read blade. The portable nets have arrived for use on the “new” pickle ball courts and this will allow for play on four courts when they are in use on the one tennis court we added lines to. Lewis Construction will be starting the Pavillion down at the marina in the next week and a large barge will be down at the river front next week to install the new boat slips. They will be going in to the north and south of the existing slips. We think we have finally found an electrician that will be able to work with us on installing the electric service to the docks and that work should commence in the next couple of weeks, along with water service installation. In the next month you will also see work continue at the river front with the continued installation of rip rap along the shoreline. The large pile of concrete debris you can see to the north of Black River Drive has been stockpiled for that purpose.

As the HOA continues to grow, the management demands do as well. After consulting with the Resident Advisory Committee (including an in-person interview), we’ve collectively made the decision to change property management firms. This decision was not entered into lightly but we believe it to be in the best interest of the Association to work with a proactive firm that works with similar types of communities. CEPCO Professional Association Management will begin servicing our Association effective December 1, 2019. They agreed to get started prior to the end of the calendar year so that they can be actively involved in the budgeting process for 2020. Over the next several weeks you will be receiving information from CEPCO regarding dues payments, ARC requests, maintenance requests etc. While we will be making every effort to get the budget for 2020 done prior to the end of the year, I will go ahead and prepare you for the possibility that it may drag into January and any transition like this always comes with one or two challenges. One of the critical components of the Associations’ budget is landscaping and we have been actively soliciting bids for that and CEPCO has relationships with a number of additional providers that will also be bidding. Cindy and Randy Norris are the principals of CEPCO and you will have an opportunity to meet them over the next couple of months.

After several discussions with our farmer, the decision has been made to go in a different direction and our relationship with Stephen Douglass and Turner Family Farms has concluded. Steve put in a lot of work at the farm but a number of unforeseen challenges resulted in the need to take a different path. There will be more information about this in the near future and please understand that River Bluffs remains committed to having the farm as part of our community. If you participated in the weekly CSA program with Turner Family Farms, please reach out to Steve directly as he plans to continue that program.

Most of you were able to attend the recent “Open House” meeting that GE held at Porches last month and it was a great opportunity to learn more about what happens at their facility next door to us. As a normal part of their business the GE Wilmington operation regularly tests its emergency plans. On Wednesday October 30, local, state and federal agencies will be on the GE site to participate in a federally-required emergency response exercise. Exercises like this one help ensure that any response to an actual event will be a coordinated one. While area residents should be aware the exercise is occurring, no action is necessary.

On the last topic of change, Karen Clow has an opportunity to be involved in sales for a new community starting in the Hampstead area and will be leaving our Sales Team at the end of this month. She has been a fixture with our team for the last three years and while she will be greatly missed, the opportunity is a fantastic one for her and we know she will do a great job, just as she has done here at River Bluffs. We are actively looking for another addition to our team will keep you posted.

Neighborhood Events