=Community Wide Yard Sale Saturday=
June 20, 2009 8 AM to 1 PM
Eagle Mountain General Store
Only Property Owners are Allowed to set up tables
- BUT ANYONE CAN SHOP!!!! Bring your tables - Spots
are FREE!! **Please limit your sale items to what
will fit within a 10 ft square**
=Ellijay Amateur Radio Society
Field Day=
June 26, 27, 28
On June 26, 27 and 28, members of the
Ellijay Amateur Radio Society (EARS) will once again
set up a simulated emergency communications base in
North Park here in Coosawattee River Resort. Every
year on the 4th weekend in June, amateur radio operators
(also called "HAMS") all over the United
States participate in an event called "Field
Day." Hams go out in the open and erect antennas,
radio transceivers, satellite systems, emergency power
systems and even computers with the intention of contacting
other hams operating under simulated emergency conditions.
Short messages are exchanged during the contacts.
Why do hams do it? They do it so they can be prepared
to set up temporary communications systems in real
disaster or wide-spread emergency situations during
which normal telephone lines, the Internet and cellular
telephones might become inoperable. Hams have been
doing this for many years and their proficiency and
operating skills have proven invaluable in numerous
catastrophic events such as 9-11,
Hurricane Katrina, tsunamis, earthquakes,tornados
and wildfires.
The North Park Field Day site set up begins on Friday
and is completed by or before 2:00 PM on Saturday.
The communications period begins at 2:00 PM Saturday
and runs for 24 straight hours ending at 2:00 PM on
Sunday when tear down, pack up and clean up begins.
Coosawattee residents are cordially invited to visit
our emergency field day installation on Saturday,
June 27 between the hours of 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM and
on Sunday between the hours of 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM.
Please visit us on th Web at http://www.ngamtn.com/w4hhh/
Board Appointment for Vacancy
in Eagle’s Mountain Campground
The CRRA Board of Directors will be appointing a
replacement member for the Eagle’s Mountain
Campground. The current board member, Budd Garfield,
has chosen not to run for reelection. The proposed
candidate for his seat withdrew his name after the
close of nominations. The vacant Eagle’s Mountain
Campground seat will be filled by the board, according
to the bylaws, at the regularly scheduled board meeting
in September.
Bylaws, Section 4 states:
Vacancies. Vacancies in the Board of Directors caused
by any reason, except the removal of a director by
vote of the membership, shall be filled by a vote
of the majority of the remaining directors, even though
less than a quorum, at any meeting of the Board of
Directors. The successor so selected shall be from
the same portion of the Community as the director
whose position is vacant and shall hold office for
the remainder of the term of the director being replaced.
The following are steps to follow for nominating
yourself for the Coosawattee River Resort BOD:
- The first thing you must do is go to the POA reception
desk and request a nomination form.
- Fill out the form and create a brief resume that
states your education level, jobs held and skills
acquired.
Write a cover letter that includes a brief statement
of why you want to serve on the BOD and any other
qualifications that are not included in your resume.
- Take your application form to the person at the
POA reception desk along with a copy of your resume
and a cover letter.
- Nomination form, resume, and cover letter must
be delivered to POA not later than Noon on 31 August
2009.
The election committee will verify each candidate’s
eligibility and submit the eligible candidates to
the Board of Directors. To be eligible, a candidate
must be up to date with his/her dues and any other
monies due to the CRRA.
During the September 12th Board of Director’s
Meeting, the Board will interview each candidate and
the President of the BOD will conduct a vote of the
Board Members using a secret ballot to decide the
winning candidate.
Immediately after determining the winning candidate,
the President will seat the new BOD member.
Thank you for your interest in becoming a Board of
Directors’ member.
If you have any questions, please email me at:
jmurphy [at] crra [dot] biz
John C. Murphy
Chairman,
Nomination and Election Committee
Georgia State Senator David
Ralston tours Coosawattee River Resort
Another Distinguished Visitor Tours
the CRRA For the second week in a row, the Coosawattee
River Resort (CRRA) hosted a member of the Georgia
Legislature. On May 21, 2009, Representative David
Ralston visited. Mr. Ralston was given a briefing
by David Durgin, Don Murray and John Murphy. He was
apprised of the covenant expiration problem the CRRA
faces in 2025 and he offered his help with getting
relief from the Georgia Legislature. After the briefing
and discussion, Mr. Ralston was taken on a tour of
the CRRA which included: maintenance department, security
facility in the octagon room, the Recreation Center,
Teen Center, Fish Trap Park, and finished off with
lunch at the Water Tower. This was the first trip
for Mr. Ralston to the CRRA and he was very impressed.
Lunch was served at the Water Tower by Linda Webb,
Pat Barton and Janice Clayton.
Georgia State Senator Chip
Pearson tours Coosawattee River Resort
On Monday, May 11, Coosawattee River Resort (CRRA)
hosted Chip Pearson, Georgia State Senator District
51, accompanied by State Representative Tom Graves
of District 12. Mr. Pearson and Mr. Graves were briefed
on the statistics of the resort, including its size,
miles of road in the resort, number of owners, number
of residents and number of registered voters. After
the initial briefing, they were given a tour of the
Resort which included a tour of the Property Owners
Association building, the security monitoring facility,
maintenance facilities, the recreation center building,
the Teen Center, a number of parks, General Store
and the Equestrian Center. After the tour, the Senator
and the Representative were treated to lunch at the
Water Tower Conference Center prepared by volunteers,
Lynda Webb, Pat Barton, Charlene Ivey, Janice Clayton
and Jean Lyons.
L-R Front Row:
Katrina Prince Burrell, Lynda Webb, John Murphy BOD
Member, Mark Chastain, Chairman Board of Commissioners,
Gilmer County, Sen. Chip Pearson, Rep.Tom Graves,
Don Murray BOD Member.
Back Row: Kyle Probst, Gen. Counsel
CRRA, David Durgin, Gen. Mgr & COO of CRRA, Jim Lyons,
President of BOD, John Mitchell, and Joe Skinner.
The Ellijay Gilmer County
Water and Sewerage Authority has been short listed
for a major water system rehabilitation project under
the “Stimulus Plan”
The Water Authority listed several potential projects
for consideration with GEFA under the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), commonly referred to
as the “Stimulus Plan”. The Georgia Environmental
Facilities Authority (GEFA) has the function of providing
financing and other support services for infrastructure
improvements in Georgia. One of their programs is
referred to as the State Revolving Fund (SRF) and
this is where a small part of the funds from the ARRA
were allocated. GEFA has developed a new Web page
summarizing GEFA’s water and energy activities
related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act. You can visit this Web page www.gefa.org/Index.aspx?page=475
to review ARRA-related activities at GEFA.
About 6 billion dollars worth of Georgia water and
wastewater projects were submitted to GEFA but the
Federal Government only provided about 142 million
dollars in funding. Therefore the list was cut down
to what they called the “Fundable Projects”
list. Two projects were put on the list from the ones
submitted by the Ellijay Gilmer County Water and Sewerage
Authority. The projects that are ultimately selected
will require a 30, 40 or 50% payback of funds in the
form of a twenty year loan @ 3% interest (on payback
amount) and 2% closing costs (on the whole amount).
The percentage of payback would most likely be 40%,
assuming the project is considered “Green”;
but we are hoping for 30%, which is for projects that
are considered “Rural”. The Fundable List
represents about 4 or 5 times more projects then can
be funded, so it will be pared down by determining
who can fund their costs and which are the most worthy.
One of the projects that was submitted was for 4.75
million dollars to rehab (replace / upgrade) approximately
30 miles of aged and leaky PVC pipe. There are about
70 miles of 2” and 8 miles of 4” piping
in the CRR. The Authority is reviewing the potential
for strategically replacing up to 30 miles of the
78 miles of small piping with 6” and 8”
ductile iron piping and fire hydrants in a way that
would place a fire hydrant within between 500’
and 1,000’ of the majority of the properties
in the community. The Campground would not be included
since it is a private water system.
The potential to replace more than or less than the
30 miles of pipe would be dependent on the bids received,
should the project move forward. The Authority would
need assistance in funding this project in the form
of a percentage of the closing costs from the CRRA
and an increase in the fixed charge on water customers
of 3 or 4 dollars per month. Hopefully everyone will
realize that this is a one-time chance to see this
level of improvement and the cost to the individuals
would be offset by the improved fire protection. Adding
fire protection to this community could also help
property values. This funding process will move forward
over the next weeks until such time as the GEFA is
notified that it is not wanted. The Authority will
continue to develop the piping plan and will provide
a preliminary map to show where the potential improvements
might be made. The project would require a commitment
from the CRRA, the water customers in the target area,
the Authority Board of Directors and possibly the
Gilmer County Commission.
Web Site for CRRA Property
Owners
Stay up to date and current on all things pertaining
to the CRRA. There is a relatively new web site just
for CRRA owners at www.coosawattee.info.
This site is not owned nor operated by the CRRA but
was created for all property owners and owned by a
property owner. If you sign up at the site you can
check to see many different topics that are being
discussed by property owners and you can even sign
up to receive the messages via email, directly into
your email inbox.
New
Budget for 09-10 Fiscal Year Approved
BOARD OF DIRECTORS BUSINESS
MEETINGS
The CRRA Board of Directors meets monthly on the
second Saturday of each month. These meetings are
held at the Water Tower Conference Center at 10:00
A.M. These are official business meetings for the
board to conduct CRRA business but the board always
has an open mic forum for the property owners to speak
at the beginning of the meetings.
Communication with our property
owners is very important.
In order to improve our communications
we are creating an extensive database that will be
used for contacting owners for urgent matters via
phone or email. You also have the option of requesting
to receive the CRRA newsletter, as well as routine
informational emails.
Click
here for Communications Sign-Up
NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH PROGRAM
The Coosawattee River Resort Association (CRRA) is
spread over 6500 acres and is generally composed of
wooded home lots. Some homes are not in sight of a
neighbor and, in some cases, well off a main road.
Many homes are second homes and only occupied periodically.
Daily, hundreds of non-residents access the CRRA.
Our Public Safety Patrols do a great job but they
need our help in providing property security. You,
using your powers of observation, can be of great
help to the safety and security of your and your neighbor’s
property. By signing up to join a Neighborhood Watch,
you will join a group of your neighbors to discuss
community concerns and develop a plan for action,
start a phone contact list and take steps to increase
security. When citizens take positive steps to secure
their own property and neighbors learn how to report
suspicious activity around their homes and their neighbors,
burglary and related offenses decrease dramatically.
If you are interested in setting up and joining a
Neighborhood Watch, contact Gail Williamson Director
of Public Safety,
Email: gail@crra.biz
Phone: 706-276-1060 Ex 230
|
pdf)