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!
The neighborhood communication resource for residents of Cedarvale Estates in Alburgh, VT
About Me
- Cedarvale Estates Homeowners Association
- Alburgh, VT, United States
- Welcome to Cedarvale Estates Homeowners Association online newsletter. Please visit frequently for ongoing neighborhood updates, news, information, and resources. Use the links at the bottom of this page to follow this blog and to sign up for email notifications when new issues of the newsletter have been posted. If you have photos, news, or other things to share, comment in response to this and future posts, or email us at CedarvaleAlburgh@gmail.com.
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