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February 2013 •
Villa Photos—Pg 2
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From the GM’s Desk—Pg 3
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CASA—Pg 4/5
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Public Safety End of Month Report —Pg 6
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Rules & Regulations—Pg 7
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Board ReCap—Pg 8/9
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Villa Article —Pg 9/10
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Villa Financial Info—Pg 11/12
C OOSA WA TTE E R IVE R RE S ORT A SS N., INC.
V OLU ME X I I— ISS UE 1 —FE B. 2013
HIGHlights & Footnotes
The Villas...
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HIGHlights & Footnotes
V OLU ME X I I— ISS UE 1 —FE B. 2013
COOSAWATTEE RIVER RESORT ASSN., INC.
By: David Durgin
February 2013 The board of directors and the budget committee are hard at work on preparing a new budget for the next fiscal year. Hundreds of man hours will go into the process and it will take a couple of months to come up with the final figures. Since we are hard at work on the budget process we know that spring cannot be far behind. In just another month or so the temperatures will start warming up and all of the wildlife will be out and looking for snacks. Are you having or have had trouble with animals raiding your garbage cans and creating an awful mess? You’re not alone. Dogs, cats, raccoons, opossums, rats and other animals can have a king-sized buffet if they get into your trash—even if the lids on your cans are latched on properly. First, let’s cover some things you shouldn’t do: Don’t put your trash out early. Don’t put your cans out until shortly before the scheduled for pickup. Don’t pour bleach, ammonia or other chemicals on the garbage. Animals might be repelled only temporarily, and the chemicals can damage your yard and environment. Also, garbage handlers aren’t fond of strong chemicals coating their hands and clothes. Don’t shoot or poison the animals. They’re hungry, they smell food and they need to eat to survive. They don’t realize they’re causing you trouble. If it’s a pet, such as a neighbor’s dog or cat, contact the owner and explain the problem. You should contact local animal control if you need help solving the problem. Now, here are some options for deterring the scavengers: Stake the handles. If your garbage cans have handles, drive stakes into the ground and place the handles around them. It prevents animals from knocking over the cans. Try bungee cords. Connecting bungee cords helps secure the lids and, if you wrap them around multiple cans, may keep them in an upright position. You also may try connecting the cords to a fence or other structure. Put them in a box. Put the cans in a wooden or plastic box with a lid and clasp. It hides unsightly cans and adds another level of protection from animals. Please check association guidelines to ensure your box complies. Of course, it’s another matter if bears are the culprits. They’re stronger and a little more determined than your average scavenger. The only way you’re guaranteed to keep bears out of your trash is a bear box or keeping the cans inside a garage or building that is “bear proof”. Living in and with nature is not always the easiest thing in the world but, with proper precautions and a little planning, it is well worth the effort.
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COOSAWATTEE RIVER RESORT ASSN., INC.
From the General Manager’s Desk—Continued….
While I don’t want to be a fear monger, it reminded me that we all need to take a look at things that we may not have looked at in years and do an assessment if there are steps that we need to take to make our homes safe or safer. While carbon monoxide can kill quickly, other things, like radon gas, can be just as deadly, only taking longer to claim its victims. If you use a fireplace, have gas burning appliances, heaters or fireplaces or occasionally use a kerosene heater, you should have a reliable CO detector, preferably several, around your home. If you have never tested for radon inside your house, especially those homes with finished basements or where a lot of time is spent in a workshop, you should purchase and test for radon. It is recommended that you test in several areas of the house and if one of the short term testers show a higher than normal level, you can purchase long term testers that will show results over a 90 to 180 period. Test kits are much less than they used to be and the purchase of the kit includes the lab testing once you have followed the directions. Our local county extension agent carries these as do big box stores like Lowes and Home Depot. You can also order on line. During this winter season stay warm, stay bundled up but stay safe. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of our friends and family.
Until next month, David
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C OOSA WA TTE E R IVE R RE S ORT A SS N., INC.
V OLU ME X I I— ISS UE 1 —FE B. 2013
HIGHlights & Footnotes
A Wonderful New Year’s Resolution!
Volunteer Your Time to Change a Child's Life Nobody longs for a safe and loving family more than a child in foster care. As a CASA volunteer, you are empowered by the courts to help make this dream a reality. You will be the one consistent adult in these children’s lives, vigilantly advocating for and protecting their fundamental right to be treated with the dignity and respect every child deserves. You will not only bring positive change to the lives of these vulnerable children, but also their children and generations to come. Help us reach every child in need. And in doing so, you will enrich your life as well.
What Do CASA Volunteers Do? CASA volunteers listen first. Then they act. Volunteers get to know the child by talking with everyone in that child's life; parents and relatives, foster parents, teachers, medical professionals, attorneys, social workers and others. They use the information they gather to inform judges and others of what the child needs and what will be the best permanent home for them.
Who Can Be a CASA Volunteer? You do not have to be a lawyer or social worker to be a child advocate. We welcome people from all walks of life. We are simply looking for qualified people who care about children. As a volunteer, you will be thoroughly trained and well supported by professional staff to help you through each case. For more information and an application to be a part of this wonderful group of volunteers please call 706.276.2272 or email us at info@appalachiancasa.com.
Public Safety Information:
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For actual Emergencies, please call 911.
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If you need assistance from Public Safety, please call 706-276-1060 x 244 for the Central Monitoring Station.
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If you need assistance from Compliance, please call 706-276-1060 x 246.
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If you would like information on the House Check Program, please call Public Safety Director Gail Williamson at 706276-1060 x 230 or email her at gail@crra.biz.
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HIGHlights & Footnotes
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C OOSA WA TTE E R IVE R RE S ORT A SS N., INC.
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HIGHlights & Footnotes
Article III Vehicle Parking Section 1.
Parking of Vehicles
If a vehicle or equipment is temporarily blocking the roadway, the driver, or his designee, must warn all oncoming traffic from both directions. Any Vehicle or equipment blocking a roadway or right-of-way must be moved immediately or it will be towed at the owner’s expense. A. Private Property. Vehicles shall be parked only on owner’s property. Special occasion parking or temporary parking permits may be obtained from Public Safety. B. Specialty Vehicles. For the sake of the overall appearance of CRRA; ATV’s, motorcycles, golf carts, go-carts, mini bikes, boats, boat trailers, utility trailers, and construction equipment should be kept under shelter, or its appearance minimized from the street. C. Recreational Vehicles. Per the covenants, “The location of recreational vehicles on lots on a temporary basis shall be subject to regulation by the POA, as the same may be amended from time to time.” All recreation vehicles (RVs, trailers, campers, etc.) must be under roof or concealed from all CRRA roads by an ARC approved fence or other ARC approved methods. Temporary parking for RVs that are not in an enclosed structure will be allowed, with a permit from Public Safety, for a maximum of 14 days at any one time and a maximum aggregate time of 45 days per calendar year. D. Junk / Stored Vehicles. For purposes of this regulation no Junk vehicles or stored vehicles shall be parked outside. Junk vehicles are those in any one or more of the following categories. 1. Not fully readily operational (i.e. Flat tires, no engine, etc.). 2. Various stages of repair for more than thirty days. 3. Not currently licensed for road use. 4. Car covers made specifically for that purpose may be used to protect a vehicle. No tarps, tarpaulins, plastic sheeting, etc., may be used for this purpose. Car covers should have no noticeable advertising or logos. E. Construction Equipment. 1. Construction vehicles and equipment at construction sites must be stored on the site. Equipment stored or parked on common property must have a parking permit obtained from Public Safety. 2. Construction equipment with steel treads must have road protection devices to protect common roadways and should not travel more than 150 feet on roadways. 3. Only equipment with rubber tires / tracks will be allowed to operate on asphalt or gravel roads without road protection devices. Exceptions can be made for tracked vehicles needing to travel on gravel roads with prior approval from the General Manager and with supervision from a Public Safety or Roads & Grounds employee. Arrangements must be made prior to the day such travel / loading / unloading is needed.
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V OLU ME X I I— ISS UE 1 —FE B. 2013
C OOSA WA TTE E R IVE R RE S ORT A SS N., INC.
HIGHlights & Footnotes
Board Meeting Recap January 2013 The board started a new process in the September 15th board meeting. Owner’s comments will be heard prior to the beginning of the board meeting and after recessing into executive session. The board meeting will be called to order at the end of the owner’s comments or at 9:30, whichever comes first. Saturday, January 26, 2013 owner comments:
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Dennis Ralin, BFL 105: Flint Timber re-platting and bankruptcy – Mr. Ralin wants to know why we didn’t protest the request for the court to allow funds for FT to sue us? Mr. Ralin thought that the previous explanation given several months ago was ridiculous. It was explained earlier that that decision was based upon advice from legal counsel. There was no further discussion or explanation. Beverly Cochran, BBL 433: Budget, newsletters, Florida RV show – Ms. Cochran thanked Ashley for her efforts of collection of funds and wanted to know about the $200 extra everyone is paying for non-collected assessments. Ms. Cochran also stated that she looks forward to the newsletter and we haven’t had one for the past two months and she wants to know why. Ms. Cochran also wanted to know about the trip to the RV show, what was the cost and how many lots did we sell. Susan Gardner explained many of the details and that we sold three RV lots for a total of approximately $7,500 and had serious offers on four residential lots and we have several others who are going to visit the resort for the purpose of possibly purchasing lots. Eric Barnes, BFL 2013: Employment – Mr. Barnes thinks that all jobs at the association should be announced to the owners before opening up to the public. It was decided later in the meeting to create a web page for the posting of job opportunities. Don Murray, EML 1526: Road Safety in CRRA – Mr. Murray stated that the community has lost two friends and good men the past two weeks with the passing of current and former board members Jim Lyons and Jimmy Jones. Don also spoke regarding the safety of the roads without the stripes being replaced. Don asked that the board adopt a policy which would preclude this (the lateness and delay) from happening again.
Open Session: The regularly scheduled monthly business meeting was held on Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 9:00 AM at the Water Tower Conference Center.
⇒ The board was presented with a draft vision statement with recommendation from the Long Range Planning Committee to adopt. The board discussed and adopted the vision statement which reads: To promote a clean, safe community of well maintained properties through pride of ownership and enforcement of governing documents while providing year round amenities and promoting harmony with our natural environment.
⇒ It was announced that there are two vacant board seats, one from Beaver Forest and one from Eagles Mountain
Campground. Those interested in serving on the board and who own property in one of these two areas should complete the board application and return to the nominating committee (nomcom@crra.biz) as soon as possible.
⇒ It was announced that a new committee had been formed, the Eagles Mountain Campground Committee. The new chair is Lawrence (Larry) Jackson.
⇒ Betty Reece stated that she needed all of the Board Independence Questionnaires to be returned to her as soon as possible for the filing of the taxes and tax forms.
⇒ Sherman Hawkins made a motion requesting a report quarterly for all expense reimbursements going forward and
for the past year looking back. After a good deal of discussion to determine what was wanted and needed the board approved the motion.
⇒ Curtis Alverson presented a motion to the board that “every effort be made to hold the next year’s assessments to $628”. The motion passed.
⇒ Mildred O’Donovan presented a motion regarding a requested report from the COO on an annual basis. The report is to provide the number of paying lots as of January 2nd or each year and presented in written and oral format to the board of directors. The board approved. Continued on Page 9
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C OOSA WA TTE E R IVE R RE S ORT A SS N., INC.
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HIGHlights & Footnotes
Board Meeting Recap January 2013 Continued from page 8.
⇒ Board member Tim Sullivan read a letter of commendation from the Ellijay Gilmer County Water and Sewerage Authority commending CRR employee Alex Simpson on the excellent job he is doing as operator for the campground water system. The letter was framed and will be presented to Alex at the next Roads & Grounds Committee Meeting.
⇒ A discussion regarding advertising notice of employment opportunities in CRR was held. Future job openings will be posted on the CRR website when an opening becomes available.
The open session was recessed until the executive session convened. Owners were again given an opportunity to speak to the board and audience.
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Bobbie Shepherd, EML 611; Meeting cancellation, Flint Timber, Florida RV show – Ms. Shepherd had a few follow up questions regarding Flint Timber and the Florida RV show.
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Eric Barnes, BFL 2013: Employment –wants all full time and part time be approved by the board and positions placed on the website.
Executive Session An executive session meeting was held by the full board immediately following the open session. The following items were discussed and addressed.
⇒ The board authorized an employee to be added to the electronic banking.
Vacation Via the Villas By: Kaitlin Hames With the economy still in recession and so much stress coming at us from every direction, all anybody wants today is just a few days to relax and leave the world behind. If it’s that time for you, take a semi-staycation and spend a few nights at the Villas at Coosawattee. Depending on which villa you choose, you can either stay by the Water Tower, next to the Rec Center, or on the river and all amenities available to property owners and their guests are also available to villa guests that are renting during their stay. Also, in every Villa location, there are both villas designated for rentals and others which are designated for time-share owners only. If you are either a property owner or friends or family of a property owner, discounts are available for you year-round, as well as during high-demand holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Fourth of July. For information on current rates and discounts, call Patsy at Reservations, (706) 276-1075. Customarily, the villas can be used for both renting and long-term leasing and depending on their location, the villas vary in their floor plans. For example, villas on the river at Fife Bridge include 5 3-bedroom units with hot tubs which tend to be very popular along with several 1-bedroom units which are quaint for couples. As for both property owners and guests, they will find the Rec Center units to be very convenient in walking distance to the Rec Center and just a short drive to the General Store. Up at the Water Tower, these villas are often used for both wedding party guests and close friends of property owners. Keep in mind that if you are a property owner and are inviting close friends or family for a special event, you can reserve the Water Tower space for just $100.00 per day plus a security deposit. Continued on Page 10.
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HIGHlights & Footnotes
Continued from Page 9. While the villas have been around for about 30 years now, with the condos getting sold in 1979 and the rest of the villas being sold in the early 1980’s as each was completed, many of the villas have now been refurbished and brought up to date. The villas became dilapidated over the years due to their lack of maintenance which stemmed from the original developer of the villas and finally the Beaver Forest Chalet Villa Owners Association, Inc. (BFCVOA) going bankrupt. Prior to merging with CRRA, the villas were independent corporations with separate Boards of Directors. The villas were originally built as timeshares as they were constructed during the time-share heyday, but after the developer went bankrupt, the sales dropped off drastically. Originally, the condos and the villas operated together as partners. However more money was spent fighting CRRA in court over their assessments than was spent on maintaining the buildings. The buildings and furniture were allowed to fall into disrepair. Prior to the merger of Coosawattee and the Villas, the lawsuit that the time-share owners brought against CRRA resulting from a long-term disagreement between the villa owners and the property owners over assessments, was settled, and CRRA received about $800,000 from an escrow account that initially started the CRRA Capital Reserve Fund. While the original lawsuit was settled before the merger, the lawsuit was as hard, laborious, and difficult as the disagreement that led to the lawsuit and both the disagreement and hence the lawsuit took years to resolve. However, once CRRA had the villas, money was allotted to the refurbishing of the Villas and the repairs and renovations began in August of 2008. Depending on the location of each villa and the amount of damage it sustained in 20+ years, most villas have been treated and dealt with accordingly. For villas up at the Water Tower, they tend to get the worst exposure to the wind and sun and the windows installed back in the 80’s were single-pane and prior to their renovation, the windows would often fall out when being cleaned. As for the A-frame structures at River Park, they required relatively few repairs, just receiving paint jobs and other minor repairs to keep them serviceable while other villas had to be refitted with new water pipes because when they were originally constructed the water-pipes were made with polybutylene which is susceptible to leaks. Other repairs were made throughout with some siding and windows getting replaced and both interior and exterior painting where it was needed. In managing the villas today, the Villas operate with a maintenance supervisor and 3 maintenance persons; a housekeeping supervisor and 1 full-time assistant along with several part-time housekeepers on call to clean when need be. The administration consists of Susan, who handles all administrative work, and Patsy, who manages reservations for both the villas and the water tower. Steve serves as Director for this department as well as the General Store and Amenities Department. As of now, there are a total of 57 villas and 4 units in the “condo”, some of which are used for time-shares, others are for short term rent, some for long term lease, and still several others which are either in need of repair or are closed more or less permanently due to a state of disrepair. 7E, a bedroom cabin, for example, is closed permanently as the sewerage in a shared septic tank backed up in the unit and completely destroyed the interior. Villas 24, 25, 33, 34, and 35 at the Water Tower are closed for now and in need of work before they can be placed in service. Out of the remaining villas, CRRA is currently using 26 for timeshare owners or shortterm rentals. As for the others, 12 are being used for long-term leasing, and 8 others are being prepared to be used for long term leasing. Another unit at the Water Tower is a meeting facility for the timeshare owners and small groups. Furthermore, villas 39, 46, and 47 are now closed and in need of very substantial repairs and therefore will probably never be re-opened and lastly Villa 37 is currently waiting to be finished and opened to guests. When staying in the villas, guests are expected to follow all rules and regulations that property owners abide by and property owners are responsible for the actions and behavior of their guests. For guests staying at the villas there are restrictions regarding pets being brought in. In the meantime, you as members of the Coosawattee community can help to maintain and support the Villas by recommending the Villas to your friends and inviting them to come and stay for a weekend. The villas are a great place to stay and are available for very competitive prices, so all we ask is that you make a good impression about Coosawattee and the Villas and help keep them occupied. Also, keep in mind that while it’s true that the CRRA made considerable financial investment in rehabilitating the villas, the villas can have a negative effect on Coosawattee and the property owners if they are allowed to deteriorate as they would diminish the value of Coosawattee properties. So, with your help, we can avoid a bad situation and keep the villas in good condition while offering both property owners and their guests an ideal weekend get-away.
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HIGHlights & Footnotes
The Villas Financial Information contributed by Bob McCall – Finance Committee Now that you know more about the Villas within CRRA, let’s take a look at the financial data. As you can see by the Revenue pie chart, Villa revenue for FY11-12 was $366,185. The Top-3 revenue generating areas were Maintenance Fees (which comprised 65% of all revenue), followed by Rentals (which comprised 19% of all revenue), followed by Lease Agreements (which comprised 6% of all revenue).
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HIGHlights & Footnotes
On the expense side, the Top-3 Villa expense areas were the Staff (which accounted for 43% of all expenses), followed by Utilities (which accounted for 29% of all expenses), followed by Contract Labor (which accounted for 11% of all expenses).
During FY2011-2012, Villa Operating Expenses exceeded revenue by $201,383. Including depreciation of $7.59 this equated to $48.53 (7.7%) of each paying lot owner’s $628 annual assessment. A recent initiative to place some of the Villas on long term leases is estimated to increase revenue in excess of $80,000 in this fiscal year. Currently, 14 Villas are available for long term lease, with the goal of leasing up to 20 Villas on a recurring basis. Next month the Amenities Department will be featured.
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