Apologies for the lack of posts from me, but there hasn't been anything monumental to pass along of late. Alas, there are now several items that bear mentioning and 'food for thought' that serves us all here in Apple Creek Acres, so that'll make for a good fireside post.
By now, lot owners should have received our annual dues notice along with the minutes from the annual HOA meeting a few months ago. You will notice the annual per lot assessment is now $300, up from $250. We still can boast to having one of the most affordable HOA fees in the area, but as with everything else it seems, prices for goods and services continue to rise. The oil component for asphalt is one good example, so our paving/upgrades take on bigger costs. Insofar as winter weather concerns, I'll address that further into this post.
I am now in ACA much more than normal as I stepped aside from driving tour buses out of Asheville and now work in the Haywood school system full time. Two 'truths' come to mind: 1) nobody wants to be behind a bus, and 2) nobody wants to be on an HOA board. While many HOAs have a bad reputation, we're in pretty doggone good shape here....except we're wearing out those that are currently serving because noone wants to come on board, so it would seem. If that trend continues, we may have to consider moving to a third party to operate our HOA and there is nothing good to come of that, unless you are willing to fork out a significant annual assessment fee increase. Just food for thought for now...but we really need residents to step up to the plate and help out if at all possible. The time commitment is rather minimal, and you get one lot fee waived for serving. Please mull the issue over...
This winter....if I could get a dollar for every time I get asked about "What's this winter going to be like?" I could comfortably retire. Looking back over the winters since 2008, we have been in a bit of a snow 'lull' the past few years. In terms of the Pacific Ocean currents that affect us here in the Southeast, La Nina has been in place the past 3+ years, but El Nino is now setting up shop, though we won't feel the full brunt of it this year, and not right away. Climatology maps are showing moisture being prevalent in the Southeast throughout this winter, with temperatures trending downward from our above-average temps for November and December as we enter 2024. Several models predict snowfall for western NC to be above average for the January-March period. In the lot assessment letter is a smaller green sheet that goes over the Winter Weather Policy here in Apple Creek Acres. Please read and take heed.
Personally, I'm agreeing with models anticipating more snow than usual here. On December 18th, 2008, we got dumped with 18". I've seen a few others in the 10-14" category, as well, but not the past few years. This ol' body of mine is reaching a limit in my ability to manually push a 40" plow blade to clear my goony-golf driveway, so I invested in a great used UTV setup with a 6' plow blade. It damn well better snow...LOL! I've never been fond of long-term forecasts, but I watch incoming systems like a hawk and will be posting potential impacts here on this blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment