Break-In ALERT!!

  Word has come to our Association officers from Point of Tongue Road residents regarding a serious break in that resulted in property damage and loss of many articles from a home on the northern end of that road.

It is our understanding that, two weeks ago, one or more persons broke windows to gain access to 20 Point of Tongue Road sometime between the owners' weekend visits. Much of the home's contents was taken--certainly anything of value. It is assumed that the items were stolen to be resold, perhaps through some common outlet such as Craigs List.

Residents on Point of Tongue who spoke with two of the year-round families on Cedarvale thought  that #20 may have been chosen because it was clear no one was home--there is no garage into which a resident could put a car and no car in the driveway.

With economic times being what they are, it is not surprising that thieves are looking for ways to get money--and our seasonal homes are vulnerable. Since we have five families who live year-round on Cedarvale and can be seen coming and going all winter,  we may want to take the relatively simple step of buying some large Neighborhood Watch signs to post on the road, and individual homeowners may want smaller signs to place on their properties. If this seems like a good idea, check out the Neighborhood Watch website--nnwi.org--and you'll see that plastic signage is very inexpensive. There's no guarantee it'll work, but if our year-round neighbors don't mind being the "eyes" of the road when most residents are gone, it may be a worthwhile endeavor, with the understanding, of course, that they will be doing the seasonal residents a favor and not assuming any sort of liability.

Please let us know what you think about the Association buying the large signs (plastic 12"x12" @$4.95)--and if everyone agrees, buying at least one small sign for each property (plastic 5"x5" @$2.30). We'll need to know very soon, since most folks have left for the season, and we don't want to impose the installation of the signs on the year-round residents. Of course, if you have another idea or suggestion, let us know and we'll publish it!

Call Jim Wyman at 802.793.4632, Jim McCready at 802.796.3208 or Judith Lawson at 802.796.3456.

Community Meeting Notes

On Sunday, September 4, we had our first Cedarvale homeowners meeting of 2011 at #53, hosted by Roger Broome and Judith Lawson. The turnout was exceptional with all but a handful of neighbors gathered. As usual, we had quite a feast with all sorts of tasty nibbles, thanks to the excellent Cedarvale cooks!

First, the entire gathering joined in expressing our sorrow at the loss of Ed Baluch and Pete Libby this past year, and our deep appreciation for the immeasurable contributions these two wonderful men made to the Cedarvale community. Both are greatly missed.

Selecting Officers

First among the items we addressed was selection of officers to handle the business of keeping our road in good repair, keeping everyone informed and keeping our contact information up-to-date. By general acclamatioin, Jim Wyman (#91) is our new president, Jim McCready (#63) the new vice president/treasurer, and Judith Lawson (#53) the new secretary/reporter.

Reports


Then we heard reports from several community members who'd been working on behalf of the Association in preparation for the meeting. Jim McCready reported on the recent opening of a new Cedarvale Estates Homeowners Association checking account at the Peoples United Bank in Alburgh. The account is to be the repository of the community's road fees to pay for road maintenance. Jim explained that it was necessary to open a new account because the previous account was closed and probated after Pete Libby's death. Jim indicated that he will be publishing a summary of the activity on the account in each newsletter, and any homeowner wanting additional information can contact him.

June Lantry (#4) reported that she had completed an initial update of a community directory, and sought corrections of contact information from all present. She will attempt to reach all those not in attendance to make sure their contact information is correct. She plans to have the directory available by October 1 and will be mailing copies. Watch for it!

Also, mention was made that some of the Cedarvale homeowners have asked that they not be contacted except by the Association officers on official business--so, if anyone has Cedarvale residents' email addresses in their address book, please delete them. We want to be respectful of each other's wishes and privacy.

Judith Lawson (#53) reported that she was working to establish a free online newsletter/blog for the Cedarvale Estates Homeowners Association--and here it is! Diane Libby actually set up the original site, and we thank her for her time and expertise. We hope this will speed communications and keep us in touch, especially when we're scattered to the four winds in the off-season. Feedback is welcome!!

Other Items


After the reports, we discussed several items: first, road maintenance. Our road is in reasonable shape, even after a very wet spring and several fierce storms. The "usual suspect" potholes continue to be a challenge and we discussed seeking the counsel of several contractors who maintain gravel roads. Irick Excavating has been working on our road for the last several years, and most residents seemed to think he has done fine. But we agreed that we need to take different steps to address the pothole situation--such as asking the road contractor to use larger stones and roll them in when the ground is wet to form a firmer underlayment.

We also agreed that our first priority for our next roadwork will be adding new stone "down in the woods." If funds permit, we hope to put new stone on the entire road, using larger-size white stone.

Several residents asked that all of us be more cognizant of our speed on the road. Though we have a posted 15 mph speed limit, sometimes we--and visitors to our road--forget to drive slowly. And in dusty times, even 15 mph throws up huge clouds behind our cars. We will be doing much to preserve our road surface and good-neighbor relationships if we drive no more than the speed limit. In the spirit of good-natured encouragement, here's a little quip to remind us to slow down and take better care of our road and our neighbors:

           "Every year we buy stones to level our ride--but the faster we drive, the farther they fly!"

The issue of snow plowing also came up--in the context of the damage done in the past to the road surface and with a request that the plowed snow not be piled up so that it blocks access to homes. Several residents asked that the plowman put a guard/spacer on his blade to prevent scraping too close to the surface and displacing our precious gravel, and that he angle the blade to push the snow off to the side of the road. The Association officers will see to it that whatever contractor does the plowing receives these stipulations in writing.

On the topic of the condition of Lake Champlain, the Hartls (#105) reported that they attended this summer's official water-quality meeting. And the news was rather dire, with phosphorus levels increasing dramatically by five- to tenfold with the heavy rainfall this year. The commission gave useful advice on controlling bank erosion and minimizing homeowner contribution to the declining water quality, but reported little in the way of large-scale efforts to solve the lake's problems. To obtain printed materials, homeowners can ask for "Shoreline Stabilization Handbook" from the NW Regional Planning Commission in St. Albans (802.524.5958 or nrpcvt@nrpcvt.com) and "A Cleaner Bay Starts at Home" from St. Albans Town (802.524.2415).

Next Meeting

We haven't set a firm date for our next get-together, but we agreed that mid-to-late June is preferable to Memorial Day weekend. We'll discuss particulars in the spring.  Meanwhile, have a wonderful Autumn!