riverridgewv.org Volume 30 Number 5
March, 2016
Board of Directors
Janet Anderson, President
(2013 –2016)
(301) 758 9412
Nancy Johns, Secretary
(2015 –2018)
(301)-816-0140
Tom Miller, Operations
(2015 –2018)
(304) 867-0205
Devon Hill,
Vice President,
Nominations
(2015 –2018) (202) 406-0292(cell)
Helen Herlocker,
Communications
(2013 –2016)
(304) 947 5914
Ron Skeans, Environment
(2013 –2016)
(703) 218 2093
Tom McLaren,
Vice President, Architecture
(2014 –2017)
(304)9477455
Larry Scriggins,
Long Range Planning
(2015 –2017)
(304) 947 7272
Ken Hohl, Treasurer
(2015 –2017)
240-401-3
396
THE NEXT MEETING OF THE RIVER RIDGE BOARD OF DIRECTORS WILL BE SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016 AT 10 AM IN THE RIVER RIDGE PARK.
All River Ridge owners are encouraged to attend. If you can’t attend, you can communicate your views to any Board member prior to the meeting. Your participation is essential for the Board to make informed decisions on your behalf.
From the President
Janet Anderson
I am told that spring is around the corner. It is hard to tell, looking out my window at the cold rain outside. Weather has dominated our experience in recent months, most notably the great blizzard of January 22-24, 2016, when WV's Eastern Panhandle had 42 inches of snowfall—more than anywhere else along the entire East Coast. The effects of this historic amount of snow give us all the more reason to appreciate the heroic efforts of our Operations and Maintenance team—Tom Miller and Tommy Kidwell. They worked non-stop to clear our roads and driveways under punishing conditions while other far better funded and equipped communities struggled longer to achieve the same result. Thank you Tom and Tommy!
Though we had some notice that this storm was coming, it can be difficult to fully anticipate what is required until you experience it. In this respect, Winter Storm 2016 provides a useful reminder that we need to plan now for future extreme weather emergencies. We welcome your suggestions and ideas as we anticipate the steps we need to take, now and down the road, for emergency preparedness in River Ridge. Please direct your ideas to Tom Miller, our Chair of Operations and Maintenance. Tom and the Board have already begun to explore lessons learned and options for future emergencies.
On February 20, the Board met at the home of Helen Herlocker. The meeting was ably chaired by our First Vice President, Tom McLaren, while I participated by phone due to a broken ankle.
A major outcome of the meeting was the report on River Ridge Roads, provided by Chuck Branch of Alpha Associates. Working with our road plan committee (Tom Miller, Larry Scriggins, Merle Saville, and Susan Straus) as well as input from the entire Board, Chuck's team shaped the final report to identify short and long term priority issues, recommended actions, and expected costs for roadway maintenance over the next twenty years. The report will serve as a blueprint for managing our roads and ensuring they remain sound and safe for years to come. Chuck indicated that given our existing resources and equipment, River Ridge has done an excellent job of maintaining its gravel and paved roads, although our drainage structures—culverts, ditches, and bridges—deserve more attention. We also decided to use funds from our road and equipment reserves to purchase a good quality used back hoe, as this will enable us to perform many needed maintenance and improvement tasks in house at substantially less cost than if we hired external contractors, based on estimated contractor costs in Alpha's Road Report. In fact, we believe much of the maintenance can be performed within our current budget. I should mention that the Board had previously agreed that purchasing a replacement backhoe would benefit the community. We expect to purchase it from existing funds. See Larry Scriggins' report on Long Range Planning and Tom Miller's report on Operations and Maintenance for more information.
Ron Skeans updated the Board on the outcomes of the first managed deer hunt undertaken in River Ridge, along with an exciting new plan to reforest River Ridge, starting with the common area at the beach. See his Environmental report for details on that.
See the Other Officer and Chair reports, below, for updates on the budget, communications, architecture, and nominations. Next Board meeting is April 23 scheduled in the River Ridge Park. At that meeting Sandy Simm will provide an updated Community Directory for Board review.
All the best,
Janet Anderson, President, River Ridge Board of Directors
Operations and Maintenance
Tom Miller
GENERAL
Let’s hope, with visions of the blizzard of 2016 fading in the rearview mirror, that winter is nearing its end.
As noted in the President’s letter, response to January’s major snow event was slowed by some “Rocks in the Road.” Operations and Maintenance sees this as an opportunity to review our response procedures.
It has been past practice to begin roadway plowing after the storm passes. This may be an area that we will rethink our approach. However plowing of opted-in driveways will not begin until roadways are cleared.
I would like to point out that River Ridge has 1 truck and plow to clear 10 miles of roadway. The purchase of a replacement backhoe presents us with a piece of equipment that will enhance our snow clearing response, particularly during major snow falls.
UPDATES
Upgrade to the bathhouse water supply and waste plumbing is scheduled to begin the week of March 7th.
Operations and Maintenance will be working with the Board and Long Range Planning Committee to prioritize and formulate a plan for infrastructure facility maintenance outlined in Alpha’s Road Study Report.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Tommy Kidwell for working long, late hours responding to the January 22-24 snow event.
The many residents who offered, both in person and via email, their appreciation for Operations and Maintenance snow removal efforts. Also, the many residents who cleared their own driveway to help.
Nancy and Walter Johns, Georgia and Evon Barvinchak, and Janet and Dick Anderson for offering areas on their properties for disposal of leaves collected from ditch cleaning.
If anyone sees maintenance issues or has a concern, I can be reached at 304-867-0205 or .
Please remember that the speed limit on all River Ridge roads is 20 mph.
Treasurer Report
Ken Hohl
All balances reflect transactions from July 1, 2015 through January 31, 2016
Income to date: / $95,438.17Expenses to date:
Administrative / $4,418.14
Communications / $460.08
Fund Expenses / $39,044.75
Operations & Maintenance / $8,138.53
Bad Debt Write-off / $1,594.26
Net Income to date: / $41,782.41
Balances in the following account are:
Checking Account / $8,687.30
Money Market / $48,412.40
Building Fund / $5,059.05
Engineering Service Reserve / $1,648.00
Environmental Fund / $50,549.39
Equipment Replacement Fund / $15,916.70
Reserve Account / $28,537.50
Special Road Fund / $42,716.60
Rip Rap Project / ($1,241.81)
Road Renovation Fund / $80,934.64
Cash on Hand / $281,219.77
The budget is holding steady and sufficient funds should be available going forward.
As of January 31, 2016 the total assessments owed are $14,913.52. Three property owners owe a total of $10,233.80 and have Personal Judgements filed against them. Twelve other property owners have not yet paid their most recent assessment that was due on January 31, 2016 for a total of $4,709.97. I will follow up with our accountant to make sure that that late payment notices are sent to these property owners.
We have just received a Notice of Increase in Assessment on the value of the common area property held by River Ridge (see attached). The previous assessed value was $25,920 and the new assessed value is $35,580. The county has not yet determined what our new property tax obligation will be since they have not finalized the new tax rates yet.
Please call or email me with any questions or concerns.
Long Range Planning
Larry Scriggins
As described in the President's letter, a major item of discussion at the February 20, 2015 Board meeting was the engineering study by Alpha Associates providing an analysis and recommendations for short, medium and long term maintenance and capital expenditures for our road system.Tom Miller,Chair of Operations and Maintenance, will be taking the lead on formulating a plan to follow up on the recommendations. We expect to report more fully in connection with the budget process for next year and at the annual meeting of members in June.
Environment
Ron Skeans
River Ridge has concluded its first limited deer management hunt in an effort to cull the deer herd within our community and to help restore our forests to a more healthy and natural state. The results of this limited hunt: in total 12 deer were taken in a 2 week period last December by vetted and authorized local hunters. Our WV Division of Natural Resources representative Rich Rogers has been notified. He instructed me that this type of hunt should be done for a few years before results can be seen in our forests.
To authorize another limited deer hunt for this year, another vote for approval will be needed by residents and property owners. This vote will be taken at the annual picnic in June, with absentee ballots made available.
The River Ridge Board has stated that this upcoming vote in June will seek approval to empower the Environmental Committee to conduct a limited deer hunt for a period of 3 years, at the Environmental Committee’s discretion. A favorable vote on this extended proposal would mean that the community would not need to vote each year on whether to conduct a limited hunt. This detail will be clearly presented on the voting ballot for your consideration.
The Environmental Committee would like to thank all River Ridge residents and property owners for their cooperation and understanding on this issue.
On to other business: In an effort to be proactive for the health and well-being of our forest, I am pleased to announce that River Ridge has received a grant for 16 small “balled and burlapped” trees free of charge. This grant was provided by The Cacapon Institute to promote urban tree planting and environmental education through volunteerism. The free trees will be planted in our park area by River Ridge residents on Saturday May 7th, with a rain date set for the following Saturday May 14th. Tom Sparks, a River Ridge property owner, has graciously offered the use of his heavy equipment to help dig the planting holes for the trees. The Board has authorized the use of River Ridge equipment in this endeavor.
A picnic will be held after the trees have been planted. Come join in the fun! Your help alongside other River Ridge neighbors will enrich our park and provide a good opportunity to work alongside other like-minded neighbors.
If this project proves successful, as I hope it will, The CommuniTree program may be available to residents and property owners this autumn for acquiring free trees for planting on individual properties within River Ridge.
Architecture
Tom McLaren
RIVER RIDGE PROPERTIES
23 February, 2016
Lot Status: ACTIVE (10)
List Price
Min. $24,000
Max. $63,000
Avg. $43,080
LOTS ACRES COMMENTS ASKING REALTOR
A-10(B) 5.50 Constant Run $63,000 Coldwell
A-17 5.51 Constant Run $34,000 Coldwell
A-24 7.38 Pioneer Trl. $59,000 Coldwell
A-31 5.50 Pioneer Trl. $33,900 Coldwell
A-26 7.96 Pioneer Trl. $59,000 Coldwell
A-93 5.96 Sideling Mtn. Trl. $55,000 Kesecker
A-101 5.61 Butterfly La. $43,400 Coldwell
A-103 5.47 Sideling Mtn. Trl. $24,000 Coldwell
B-18 3.13 Honey Locust La. $35,000 Century 21
B-20 Honey Locast La. $30,000 (Private) 304 947-5188
B-46 3.71 Honey Locust La. $24,500 Coldwell
House Status: ACTIVE (3)
List Price
Min. $128,500
Max. $260,000
Avg. $192,833
HOUSES ACRES COMMENTS ASKING/SOLD REALTOR
A-102 4.61 Butterfly La. $190,000 Coldwell
B-22 3.11 Honey Locus La. $260,000 Coldwell
B-44 3.10 Moss La $128,500 Perry
NOTE: All highlighted entries have been added or changed. TAM
Information provided by:
TERESA “TESS” SEVILLE, ABR, GRI, Realtor
COLDWELL BANKER PREMIER HOMES
Berkeley Springs
304 671-3515 (Cell)
NOTE: It has been mentioned that we have had road damage done to community roads during construction. We need to insure that contractors are aware to treat our roads gently and repair any damage they may inadvertently cause.
Nominating Committee Report
Devon Hill, Vice President
This will be the last opportunity for an appeal in the River Ridge Review to solicit candidates for the Board of Directors election at the June 4th Meeting. In the next newsletter, we will publish biographies of the candidates, and we certainly welcome more names. As you may recall, we have three open seats to fill on the Board this year. Please help us to identify persons who are willing to serve. If you have an interest in standing for election or if would like to know more about what service on the board entails, please reach out to me or any of the board members. Serving on the Board is very rewarding and an excellent way to give back to the Community. River Ridge has been very fortunate to have such great leadership that has kept our Community running smoothly. We need to continue that tradition. If you would like to stand for election or have suggestions of owners that I could speak with, my contact information is on the front of this newsletter.
A welcome sight after the storm
….And finally, from a local poet who asked to be anonymous
Just Thanks
The snow, it started at noon and went well into the night,
The next day was no better for the snow was still falling when we woke to the light.
It snowed inch by inch till it reached the number of forty-two, what would we do?
All of us felt that the end was near, no help was coming, no wildlife, no deer.
But little did we know with little rest and little sleep, even though the snow was deep,
Strings were being pulled and contacts were being made to supplement the community needs.
For it was clear that our equipment would be of no use, we would be in greater need