Good News Letter – Summer 2017

Save These Dates…

Semi-Annual Meeting – October 28, 2017 – 10:00 AM at Rosemont Winery

Annual Meeting – April 14, 2018 – 10:00 AM at Rosemont Winery

We hope you’re enjoying this beautiful summer at the lake. The annual Fourth of July Boat Parade was bigger than ever this year! With the Holiday on a Tuesday, the parade was held on Sunday morning at 10:30. The boats gather at mile marker #17 and proceed along the shoreline into Holly Grove Creek, returning out to the main lake and heading west.

We here at Holly Grove have a great vantage point, and the parade really appreciates your patriotism!!! There were about 78 boats & vessels and a great many spectators on the water. At the end of the parade route at the mouth of Six Pound Creek you can hear the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of America the Beautiful. Keep this on your “to do” list for next year, watch the papers for the time and date.
We would like to take a little time to look back to our Annual General Membership Meeting held on April 22, 2017. We really appreciate your attendance at these meetings, it is our way of keeping the membership updated and involved. We have two meetings: one in April and one in October. Please watch the “GNL” for the dates, times and locations and mark your calendars.

First we want to thank the members that have served and are going off the Board:
Ray Marshall; Carol Haefner and Peggy Donochod.

Now we want to thank the new Board for their willingness to serve:
President – Al Veeck – 3 years
Secretary – Faye Harris – 2 years
Treasurer – Jeff Stanton – will fill 1 year term
Directors: Judy Williams – 1 year, Bill Biddle – 1 year, Doug Cloud – fill 2 year term, Jerry Corbett – fill 2 year term, Dave Edwards – 3 years, Robin Farner – 3 years

Our financial account for the 2016 Fiscal Year was reviewed and the 2017 Budget was approved.

Our roads are in great shape and the reason is that every year we resurface a portion of them. FYI this does use up the bulk of our annual budget. This summer it will be Dogwood Drive and Boyd Drive. Please drive slowly, especially around the curves to help protect the edges, the walkers and yourself!

Here are a few GOOD NEWS tidbits AND notes of interest for you:

• REAL GOOD NEWS…..Did you know that we are getting a brand new HOSPITAL and it’s scheduled to open on November 17th? It is located at the second South Hill exit # 15 just behind Kahill’s Restaurant. This hospital is affiliated with VCU in Richmond and so this will bring a number of new physicians and specialists coming to our area! They are working hard at fundraising and a new hospital in your area is a WISE thing to support. Our neighborhood is participating in their “buy a brick” fundraiser, so “HOLLY GROVE ESTATES HOA” will be represented at the VCU HEALTH Community Hospital. Please consider making a personal donation!
• 903 from the NC State Line to the Food Lion Shopping Center is now posted at 45 mph! And…you do need to watch out for “speed traps” along 903 also.
• Speaking of being careful……remember all boaters need a license, so please check into taking the course, you can take them in person or on line.
• Don’t forget to support our local Lake Gaston Volunteer Fire Department as they support US. Check with your insurance company…. you may get a discount on your home insurance since LGVFD has achieved an ISO Rating!
• Please be reminded that we all want to be good neighbors and enjoy our neighborhood so please keep dogs on leashes so that they are not tempted to join a neighborhood jogger as they go by.
• And if you’re walking bring along a bag to hold any trash you may come across along the way. I keep one in my car too and I’m not embarrassed to stop and pick up litter, I’m more embarrassed by seeing it left there. I do this on Morristown Road sometimes. We all need to take pride and “ownership” of this lovely area we are blessed to live in.
• Let’s be supportive of our local businesses, it is only by our patronage that they can survive. Rosemont has wonderful events over the year and it is soooooo nearby!

I do hope that you feel as proud as we do every time we drive into our entrance. It sure took a lot of time, patience, work and $ to make it happen, but it did happen and it represents our neighborhood well! Thank you Judy Williams for the lovely holiday decorations!

Last, but certainly not least are a few words from “From The Prez”: (at least it’s not a “tweet” !)

Your Board of Directors Activities:

The purpose of this report is to keep you up-to-date with any major items on the Board agenda. We will also do this by email whenever there is a major issue so that you can stay informed on happenings in the neighborhood.

First and foremost, thanks for paying your dues on time! Hats off to Faye Harris, Secretary and Jeff Stanton our new Treasurer for his follow-up and follow through. We are complete for 2017-18.

Your Board was able to save over $700 of your dollars on the repair of the Winding Way culvert. This culvert, over time, had been run over by trailers and the dirt and debris had clogged the opening to about 2 feet underground causing rainwater to flow across the street. Thanks to Board Members Jerry Corbett and Doug Cloud, the opening was dug up and a new pipe was installed extending further into the ditch along with concrete and rip rap surrounding the opening to prevent future issues. The pavement on the curve will also be expanded when LANCO does our yearly paving.

LANCO will be doing paving sometime after July 1 on Dogwood Way from the split to Lakeview and Boyd Drive. We are using a smaller-type gravel that promises a better, longer-lasting surface.

We have two reports on water quality; one is from our water companies (Aqua and B&B Testing) detailing testing results that show our drinking water is high quality; the second from one of our neighbors, Frank Liberto, volunteering for the Lake Gaston Water Quality group showing the lake tested in excellent shape. Good news on both items. Thanks Frank!

We will notify you by email when the Good News Letter is posted on the website along with the Draft Minutes of the Annual meeting held in April. You can also find a list of neighbors’ information on the website at www.hollygrovelg.com. We would also encourage all residents to read or reread the Covenants of Holly Grove. Also, whenever the website is updated, you will receive an email on what has changed. Normally, this is completed two times per year.

Two issues that we deal with on an ongoing basis in Holly Grove and need your help:

1. We have had a few issues lately with violations of our Covenants. Our streets are public highways but maintained by Holly Grove. No unlicensed driver may operate any vehicle in the neighborhood.
2. An equally troublesome issue has been animals that are allowed to run loose and create noise and are generally an annoyance to those who prefer not to own/have pets.

Our Covenants entitled all of us to the, “peaceful enjoyment of our Holly Grove property.” All of us cherish the peace and quiet of this area versus the noise and annoyance of living in a populated area. Please, we ask of you, be cognizant of any activity that would infringe upon the rights of any neighbors regarding any issue, and particularly these two.

Finally, your Board meets two times per year – September and March in preparation for the other two meetings, the Semi-annual meeting in October and Annual meeting in April. All meetings are open to any Member who wishes to attend with an RSVP. We will be letting you know of the dates of these meetings.

Sincerely,
Your Holly Grove Board